The IRS has "released what it's calling “temporary regulations” under which brand-name drugmakers must pay fees "to help fund" health-reform law provisions.
This was, as you will recall, part of “the deal.”
The regulations request payments of $2.5 billion in 2011 and are due by September 30th. Additionally, IRS calls for $2.8 billion in each of '”fee years” of 2012 and 2013; $3 billion for fee years 2014 through 2016; $4 billion for fee year 2017; $4.1 billion for fee year 2018; and $2.8 billion for fee year 2019 and thereafter.
So what’s “temporary?” And what about those who are pounding the podium about rebates for dual eligibles?
Just asking.
According to reporting in Congressional Quarterly, although pharmaceutical companies have to "pay fees," they will garner "far more sales as millions of the uninsured gain coverage."
The requirement applies to companies with annual drug sales of "$5 million or more" to Medicare "Parts B and D"; Medicaid; and Veterans Affairs, and Defense Department and TRICARE programs.
