Coulda, woulda, shoulda: How Medicare could have saved $4.4B

There’s an ongoing debate over whether Medicare should begin negotiating the prices the program pays for medications; a new JAMA analysis underscores how significant it could be were negotiations to come to pass. 

According to the study, Medicare might have saved $4.4 billion in 2017 on insulin had it used the same drug pricing negotiation tactics as the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

“Having a strategy of negotiations would really maximize the ability of the federal government to save money,” the study’s co-author told STAT’s Ed Silverman. 

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