Never has the need for transparency been greater for the Medicare Part D drug plan than when the new so-called reference-based pricing will begin on covered branded drugs possessing generic equivalents, in January. Under this plan, beneficiaries will have to pay an additional fee for these drugs under Part D, as opposed to other drugs which have no generic equivalent. Let the confusion begin.

[C]ritics complain reference-based pricing can result in hidden charges. “I am concerned that beneficiaries could find themselves paying far more out-of-pocket than they expected,” Rep. Pete Stark, chairman of the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, recently wrote in a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “CMS needs to make sure that beneficiaries are aware of these penalties before they choose their plans.”

Is this a job for the new HHS Secretary? | LINK

Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:

1. Study: Generic Cardiovascular Drugs As Effective As Branded Ones Two-thousand eight has been dubbed the “year of the generic”...
2. Medicare Part D Open Enrollment: Higher Premiums for Beneficiaries Only the Beginning It’s that time again: open enrollment for Medicare Part D....
3. Study: Medicare Part D Provisions Create Access Hardship for Latinos, Blacks How’s this for the ultimate Medicare entitlement irony? Medicare Part...
4. Vermont: Seniors Should Return Government Checks to Close Part D Drug Cost Gap Beginning this week seniors should have already started receiving checks...
5. Medicare Prescription Drug Premiums to Fall in 2012 Prescription drug premiums under Medicare Part D will not be...