And now a cry for “mandatory rebates.”
Really? Why don’t we just call it what it is – a tax. More precisely, an excise tax imposed by Uncle Sam on drug sales to dual eligibles (based on the price difference between Medicaid prices and those of the private market).
But wait, it gets worse. The revenues from this tax don’t lower costs for a single patient. Not one. The cash would go into the general fund. It’s not a “rebate” – it’s a tax, plain and simple. A levy imposed on price.
And it’s a tax with a hidden purpose – the introduction of backdoor price controls. And price controls equal cost controls – with or without IPAB.
Forewarned is forearmed.
