Baucus bill seeks fees on drug, device companies

Sen. Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is proposing fees from the healthcare industry, including $23 billion from pharmaceutical companies and $40 billion from medical device manufacturers over 10 years, to help pay for healthcare reform, according to a summary of draft legislation prepared by Baucus' staff. The bill also proposes $60 billion in fees to be collected from the health insurance sector and $7.5 billion in fees from clinical laboratories.

The summary, released a day before President Obama is slated to address a joint session of Congress on healthcare reform, could be tweaked before it is introduced. The summary includes the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's proposal to discount drug purchases in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, as well as other elements of the PhRMA deal with the White House and Senate Finance Committee, such as increased rebates on sales to the Medicaid program (See BioCentury, June 29, 2009). The bill would mandate individuals to obtain health insurance and would impose fees on employers who do not provide health insurance. Instead of creating a public health insurance option, the bill would establish non-profit insurance co-ops to compete with private insurance companies. ...