In a notable win for the pharmaceutical industry, a federal court judge tossed a rule that would have required drugmakers to pay higher rebates to Medicaid for providing financial assistance to patients.
At issue are widely used promotional tools such as copay coupons and discount cards, and whether these should be included when calculating the so-called best price that drugmakers must offer the government to participate in the Medicaid program.
For many years, drugmakers have offered these forms of financial assistance to patients with commercial health insurance in a bid to help them defray copay and out-of-pocket costs. Historically, though, cards and coupons have not been included when setting best prices — and the resulting rebates — that pharmaceutical companies pay to Medicaid.
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