Swarming Capitol Hill on reimbursement

With the end of the war in Iraq within sight, the Bush administration is turning its attention to the domestic arena, where enacting Medicare prescription drug legislation is among its top two or three agenda items. Congress held three Medicare hearings last week and members were briefed privately on the topic from innumerable constituents and interested parties, including 175 CEOs from the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

A key goal of the BIO fly-in was to link any new drug benefit to reform of Medicare's policies for coverage of outpatient prescription drugs administered by hospitals...