There seems to be differing opinion as to whether there will be major change. One school of thought would push for Medicare to negotiate drug prices, a sticking point with Part D.
Update:
Is Pharma scared? I don’t think so:
Despite the Wall Street jitters, though, the threat to drugmakers is more imagined than real. “It is a headline risk,” explains Loss. “Investors don’t like to feel that the industry is under attack. And while I hesitate to say that it will be under attack, it’s true that they will be scrutinized a lot more than they have been in the last 12 years.”The scrutiny could be intense. In the next Congress, expect hearings””and well-publicized outrage””over the price of drugs like Genentech’s (DNA) cancer treatment Avastin, which can cost more than $50,000 per year. Expect the Pelosi-led House to quickly act on her promise by passing a measure aimed at driving down the cost of drugs in the Medicare program. Expect more talk about importing cheaper drugs from Canada, and more rhetoric about how the FDA may have moved too fast in the past, allowing risky drugs like Merck’s Vioxx on the market.
(via PharmaGossip)
Update 2:
Joe Paduda with more.
