By Our Experts
Shepherd MD*, Richards KM, Winegar AL. Prescription drug payment times by Medicare Part D plans: results of a national study. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2007 Nov/Dec; 47(6):695-701.
Abstract. Objective: To determine the average payment time from Medicare Part D plans to
community pharmacies for prescription drugs dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries.
Design: Nonexperimental time series.
Setting: United States in January to December 2006.
Participants: 145 independent pharmacies and 17 regional chain pharmacy firms.
Intervention: Review of 2,944,526 Medicare Part D prescription drug claims
adjudicated in 2006.
Main outcome measures: Median payment time and the number and proportion
of claims paid, controlling for month of claim adjudication, pharmacy type, and Part
D plan.
Results: The median payment time for 2006 claims filed by all pharmacies in this
study was 29.0 days (mean 39.1). The median payment time was greater for independent
pharmacies (median 31.0, mean 49.1) than chain pharmacies (median 29.0, mean
36.5). Payment was slower during the first few months of the Medicare Part D benefit
than later in the year. By December, approximately 40% of the claims were not paid
within 30 days. Within the 12 plans identified as having the greatest number of claims
in the sample, the median payment time ranged from 23.0 days to 36.0 days.
Conclusion: Payment times improved during 2006, but a sizable proportion of
claims were not paid within 30 days. Chain pharmacies received payments sooner than
independent pharmacies. Additionally, a wide variation in median payment times was
observed for Part D plans. The results of this study, based on actual claims data, are
not in agreement with findings from a survey of Part D plans reported by the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Keywords: Medicare Part D, prescription drug plans, payment systems.
Shepherd, M.* Drug Importation and Safety of Drugs Obtained from Canada. Ann Pharmacother. 2007;41:1288-1291.
Drug importation from Canada has been hotly debated for nearly a decade. Many believe that drug importation will bring needed competition and lower US drug prices. Opposition argues that the costs of ensuring product quality and safety, as well as added healthcare costs, will offset savings attained from imported pharmaceuticals. The US needs to become…
[...]Shepherd, M.* Impact of drug importation on community pharmacy and patient care. J Am Pharm Assn. 2007; 47(3):319-327
With the politcal powers shifting in both congressional houses, many pharmaceutical issues have resurfaced in the 110th Congress. One of these is legalization of drug importation. Many Democrats and Republicans have already stated that this is a high-priority item. In the first 60 days of the First Session, two bills were introduced that would legalize…
[...]Shepherd MD.* Impact of Drug Importation on Community Pharmacy and Patient Care. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2007 May-Jun ;47:319-20, 323-4, 327
Abstract. With the political powers shifting in both congressional houses, many pharmaceutical issues have resurfaced in the 110th Congress. One of these is legalization of drug importation. Many Democrats and Republicans have already stated that this is a high-priority item. In the first 60 days of the First Session, two bills were introduced that would…
[...]Kubic TT,* Mollo SJ. Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting Trends: Understanding The Extent of Criminal Activity. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4):51-56.
Pharmaceutical crime is a tremendously challenging and growing facet of international trade. In an effort to understand the scope and nature of the problem, cooperative strategies through the Pharmaceutical Security Institute have been instituted. PSI utilizes a broad range of skills and approaches to detect and provide information on this critical issue for public and…
[...]Liang BA.* Crime, Terrorism, and Counterfeit Drugs: Addressing the International Regime. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4): 36-40.
Producing counterfeit drugs is a lucrative, low risk, high return business. Organized criminal elements and terrorist organizations are exploiting this reality across borders to fund their activities. An interdisciplinary, multi-focal strategy to raise awareness of the issue, establish stakeholder reporting systems, reform penalties to fit the crime, and invest in technology must be engaged to…
[...]Liang BA.* Structurally Sophisticated or Lamentably Limited? Mechanisms to Ensure Safety of the Medicine Supply. Albany Law J Sci Technol. 2006;16(3):483-524
Abstract. The use of medicines is ubiquitous. The benefits of pharmaceuticals are sought by virtually all citizens around the world to assist in sustaining life, treating illness, and preventing disease. As such, they represent a significant tool in promoting the quality of human existence. Because of this extensive demand for drugs for these purposes, there…
[...]Liang BA.* Parallel Trade in Pharmaceuticals: Injecting the Counterfeit Element into the Public Health. NC J Int Law Com Reg. 2006;31(4):847-900
Abstract. Varying prices for medicines create incentives to move products from one market to another in an effort to arbitrage the difference; this is known as parallel trade. Nevertheless, this situation allows nefarious individuals to introduce counterfeits into the drug supply due to weaknesses in detection. Both developed and developing countries around the world experience…
[...]Liang BA.* The Scourge of Counterfeit Drugs: No Easy Answers. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(2):3-7.
Counterfeit drugs are a scourge known throughout the world, and patients have been harmed and killed because of their presence. Regulation and penalties are weak against purveyors of fake medicines, yet entering and profiting from this illicit business is low cost with high returns. The Internet has fueled the sale of these counterfeits, while the…
[...]Liang BA.* Fade to Black: Importation and Counterfeit Drugs. Am J Law Med. 2006 Feb 1;32(2-3):279-323
Abstract. Importation of medicines from Canada and other countries has been proposed to provide relief from high drug prices in the US and greater access for underserved patients. Yet importation necessarily raises the issue of counterfeit drugs. The latter are a worldwide problem that have affected even the US closed regulatory and supply system. Counterfeit…
[...]