Word: medicaid
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...cheaper generic version of an expensive name-brand drug is a no-brainer. But Senate Republicans are under fire from Democrats for encouraging just the opposite. The dispute has arisen over how much of a discount pharmaceutical companies should be expected to offer on drugs sold to Medicaid, the health care program for the poor. A deficit-reduction bill under consideration last week by the Senate Finance Committee had included a provision that would increase to 17% the current 15.1% rebate manufacturers of brand-name drugs must offer Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office estimated this increased discount would save...
...pharmaceutical economics at the University of Minnesota, predicts it'll end up being "one of those penny wise, pound foolish decisions." That's because generic drug companies, which have far smaller profit margins than the brand-name firms, warn that the increased discount would squeeze them out of the Medicaid market, leaving the brand-name manufacturers-which can more easily absorb a rebate increase-to cash in when the federal program has to buy the higher priced drugs from them...
...study found that by the time they were 12, kids in fluoridated communities averaged only 1.4 fewer cavities than those in non-fluoridated areas. And even in fluoridated cities, severe decay remains rampant among the poor--partly because some 85% of dentists, according to state surveys, reject Medicaid patients. Still, for those with little dental care, water fluoridation makes a difference, contends Bellingham's Curtis Smith. "Twenty percent of our kids account for 80% of the cavities," he says. "With fluoride in the water, they would get a blast every time they drink...
...high spending on Katrina means the government needs to cut back everywhere else. "What people are saying is that our spending is getting out of hand," said House Republican Jack Kingston, who represents an area of southeastern Georgia. Congress already approved around $35 billion in cuts for programs like Medicaid and farm subsidies earlier this year, but House Republicans will this week explore raising that amount to $50 billion. They are also considering budget cuts of 1%, 2% or 5% that would affect programs throughout the federal government, drawing the concern of GOP moderates in the House and Senate...
...Bush administration over how to handle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sen. Tom Coburn has asked Bush to appoint a CFO to monitor Katrina spending, Sen. Judd Gregg continues to call for a separate government agency to oversee Gulf Coast reconstruction and Sen. Chuck Grassley wants to create special Medicaid funding for Katrina victims. The administration has declined to support any of these proposals...