Trump admin rejects Massachusetts drug pricing proposal

[Snellius]

Source: The Hill

The Trump administration on Wednesday rejected a request from Massachusetts that state officials argued would have given them more flexibility over its Medicaid program and greater negotiating power over drug companies.

The state's Health and Human Services department asked the administration to approve a plan that would have allowed the state to limit what drugs would be covered in its Medicaid program.
...
In an effort to reduce what the state is spending on prescription drugs through Medicaid, the state asked the administration if it could exclude coverage of drugs that aren't cost effective and have little evidence of actually working.

But the administration ruled that the proposal goes against federal law.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/394447-trump-admin-rejects-mass-drug-pricing-proposal

[Hoyt]

1. Things are crazy. Under any other Admin, we'd applaud denying a state right to say No to Medicaid

beneficiaries whose physicians prescribed a costly drug. But, that is one of the actions it will eventually take to lower the cost of healthcare.