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HCV DAA Drugs' Discounts
 
 
  "Gilead already provides a mandated discount off its list price to U.S. government health plans and insurers at about 23 percent.......Alton said the company has deals for "supplemental discounts" for government-funded agencies such the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense, on top of the 23 percent" http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/29/us-gilead-hepatitis-idUSBREA2S0EZ20140329Reuters........drugmakers must offer state Medicaid programs from 15.1 percent to 23.1 percent for most brand name drugs, and by smaller amounts for other drugs and generics http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/medicaid-pharmaceutical-laws-and-policies.aspx
 
On the other hand, the Department of Veterans Affairs, which can and does walk away, has decided to cover sofosbuvir and has reportedly obtained a 44% discount from Gilead........http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140424-718145.html
 
"The Congressional Budget Office has found that Part D plans secure larger-than-average rebates compared to commercial health plans," according to Allyson Funk, director of communications for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America....... http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Hepatitis/46346
 
The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which houses about 9% of the nation's inmates, gets a 44% discount on Sovaldi and Olysio through a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program, making the drugs a bit more affordable.....State prison systems, which house 58% of U.S. inmates, generally don't have access to these discounts, though some are exploring other ways to get price breaks.....Some 12% to 35% of the 2.3 million inmates in the U.S. are estimated to be infected with hepatitis C, versus 1% to 1.5% of the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.....J&J said it is having discussions with prison systems to negotiate a price for Olysio that ensures prisoners have access to it.....The Federal Bureau of Prisons saw spending on hepatitis C drugs more than double to $4.4 million in 2012 from 2011, partly because of the cost of protease inhibitors, a spokesman said. The bureau started making Sovaldi and Olysio available to inmates in February......In New York, nearly 60 inmates with the most serious cases of hepatitis C have begun using them, a spokesman said. California's system isn't yet offering the treatments but is revising its policies to incorporate them, said a spokeswoman for the court-appointed federal receiver that oversees health care in the system. Elsewhere, Utah hasn't yet begun using the drugs in its prisons, the Illinois Department of Corrections recently approved their use, and Washington state and Wisconsin are dispensing them in a limited number of cases.......http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140424-718145.html
 
 
 
 
 
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