Drug manufacturers under scrutiny from insurers, policymakers
As the cost and scale of prescription drugs continues to increase insurance companies are seeking assurances that they are getting value for money and legislators are also keen to ensure that the manufacturers are not being excessive in pricing.
Manulife is one of the insurers that is tightening its coverage for prescription drugs and will be examining new-to-market treatments to see if their effectiveness warrants their high cost. This will end the practice of new treatments being automatically added to the list of drugs that the insurer will pay for as soon as they are approved by Health Canada. It may mean that some clients will find claims for new treatments will be declined.
Meanwhile US lawmakers are increasing their efforts to curb excessive pricing by the pharmaceutical industry. The Wall Street Journal reports that The Health and Human Services Department is looking at plans to tackle the issue and presidential candidates across the parties are also adding pressure to the drugs makers.
The pharma industry says that legislators should be looking at insurers though. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says that insurance companies forcing clients to pay deductibles before drugs coverage takes effect needs to be addressed.
Irish insurance industry set to continue making losses
Insurance rates in Ireland have not increased enough to make the country’s insurance industry profitable. Recent figures from insurance group FBD showed its worst performance in 40 years with a first-half loss of 96.4 million euros (U$103.3 million). It says that although rates are growing it will be “challenging” to make a profit this year or 2016. Policy volumes at the group have declined by 9.2 per cent in 2015 so far with rate increases up 9.1 per cent. The firm has made cost savings including redundancies this year.
Obamacare criticized for back-end costs
The New York Times reports that many consumers are finding that they are unable to visit the doctor even after signing up for a health plan under the Affordable Care Act due to the deductibles. The report says that while the subsidies provide low premiums, making policies attractive, the ‘back end’ costs that often run to a few thousand dollars makes the policies unusable. With $3,000 or more not uncommon according to the paper’s review some consumers are canceling policies. Although there are limits on out-of-pocket expenses it’s reported that Democrats, and some Republicans, are concerned at the situation.
