More on Taxing the Sick

This is by Alex Brill (American Enterprise Institute):

Beginning in 2010, the bill would impose a $2.3 billion annual fee on brand name pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers and a $4 billion annual fee on medical device manufacturers… In addition, [there will be] an increase in the Medicaid drug rebate that drug manufacturers must pay to Medicaid.

A brand name pharmaceutical excise tax is expected to result in consumers’ paying higher prices for health care either through higher copays, higher insurance premiums, or both. For the uninsured, the retail price will rise. The increase in the Medicaid rebate will similarly lead the pharmaceutical industry to push up prices on other consumers. In the case of the medical devices fee, the tax will be passed forward to consumers in the form of higher prices as well.

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