AFGE President Testifies About Harm to VA Staffers and Veterans from Recent Law American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox, Sr. testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs on Tuesday. Cox stated that the VA Accountability Act of 2017, a law that stripped civil service protections from many Department of Veterans Affairs employees, has had devastating consequences. He pointed out that the legislation has made federal workers more vulnerable and made it easier to fire whistleblowers who expose
problems within the agency. “The VA has tried to hide the true harm that Act has caused,” said Cox. “Despite the limited published data, the Act’s disproportionately large impact on VA’s low wage and veteran workforce is undeniable.” He expressed particular concern that older, retired, and disabled veterans are the most negatively impacted by the new law, especially because the standard of veterans’ care has
been hurt by the large number of vacancies caused by increased firings. Cox also informed the committee that studies have proven the VA provides a better standard of care than private companies, and suggested that addressing mismanagement is key. “The VA cannot fire its way to success,” Cox testified. Others witnesses expressed concern about legislation directed against a veteran-heavy federal workforce. Several
congressmen asserted that the Trump administration has not tolerated dissent well, and could be looking to prevent veterans and other workers from speaking out by firing them. “The Accountability Act could not have strayed farther from its intended purposes,” said Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Peters, Jr. “Letting management punish whistleblowers is a poor way to promote accountability, and diminishes quality of much needed care for our veterans.”
CMS Proposes Drug Pricing, Price Transparency Changes for Medicare CMS has proposed new policies to improve prescription drug affordability for beneficiaries and has released a request for information on price transparency regulations. CMS has proposed a ser ies of policy changes for Medicare that would promote prescription drug affordability within Medicare, and has also requested stakeholder comments about ways to improve price transparency for Medicare services. As part of changes to the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee
Schedule (PFS), CMS would adopt a new pricing model for Medicare Part B drugs so that the prices patients pay for prescription drugs accurately reflect the true cost. The new drug purchasing model aims to reduce out-of-pocket spending for senior citizens. The proposed rule cuts the price tag add-on to the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of Part B drugs from 6 percent to 3 percent. The agency is amending this policy to
reduce beneficiary cost sharing and high expenditures within Part B. In addition, CMS has issued a Request for Information (RFI) around strategies to promote price transparency about the cost of healthcare services for beneficiaries. “We are seeking information from the public regarding barriers preventing providers and suppliers from informing patients of their out-of-pocket costs; what changes are needed to support greater transparency
around patient obligations for their out of pocket costs; what can be done to better inform patients of these obligations; and what role providers of health care services and suppliers should play in this initiative,” CMS said. The agency is enthusiastic about the changes in the proposed rule and believes that the new policies would enhance patient experience with the Medicare program, while reducing program cost and administrative burden….Read More
Déjà Voodoo: Pharma’s Promises To Curb Drug Prices Have Been Heard Before Prescription drug prices were soaring. Angry policymakers swore they’d take action. Pharma giant Merck responded by promising to address the problem voluntarily, vowing to keep price increases under the overall rate of inflation. “We believe these moderate increases are a responsible approach, which will help to contain costs,” the Merck CEO said at the annual shareholders meeting. That assurance wasn’t made last week, when multiple drug
companies offered similar pledges amid similar criticism. It was nearly three decades ago, in 1990. Promises by the pharmaceutical industry to contain prices are a familiar — and fleeting — phenomenon, say analysts who have watched the unstoppable rise in drug costs over the years. History’s lesson, they say, is that price-restraint vows last only as long as it is politically necessary for companies to
make them. Recent pharma pledges are unlikely to be any different, they predict. “These things are always very temporary,” said Paul Ginsburg, director of the University of Southern California-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy. “I don’t think anyone considers this significant.” Last week, Swiss drugmaker Novartis said it would not raise prices on U.S. products between now and the end of the year.
Pfizer, Merck, Sanofi and Roche have all made similar announcements in the wake of repeated criticism from policymakers, especially President Donald Trump. The current assurances come as the administration floats proposals that could contain costs at the margins, such as promoting competition from generic drugs or changing Medicare drug-purchase policies, some analysts believe….Read More
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