BIOtech Now
Andrew Segerman
Writing for The Hill, BIO’s President and CEO Jim Greenwood shined a spotlight on a shocking Wall Street Journal investigation showing how health insurance companies in the U.S. dramatically inflated their cost projections under Medicare Part D for financial gain over a 10 year period:
“Under peculiar language of the statute, insurers are paid by Medicare for drugs in advance of their purchase, based on their own estimated outlays. However, they only have to repay a portion of the overpayments to the Treasury if their estimates come in high. Insurers exploited this loophole for a decade, and American taxpayers coughed up a staggering $9 billion to insurers for drug costs that they never actually incurred.”
Did you miss this one? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, as newscasts and social media feeds have given this issue little to no attention – all while the health insurance industry has been profiting at the expense of our nation’s most vulnerable population.
As Greenwood points out, even Dr. Peter Bach – who is typically an outspoken critic of the pharmaceutical industry – shared his thoughts on the findings.
“Even expert dart throwers don’t hit the bullseye every time, but their misses are spread around in every direction. If they start missing in one particular direction over and over, they are doing it on purpose.”
The insurance industry is always quick to paint drug manufacturers as the culprit for rising health care costs. Reports like these from the Wall Street Journal, however, tell a very different story:
“Until and unless Congress enacts a statutory fix, the fleecing of Medicare and America’s seniors will continue.”
Read the full piece here.
Powered by WPeMatico