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COPYRIGHT 2004 International Medical News Group
WASHINGTON -- Medicare-approved discount drug cards are on the market, but there's still disagreement on whether the cards are a good deal for beneficiaries.
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say that the cards offer discounts of 11%-17% below the national average drugstore retail prices for brand-name drugs and 30%-60% below the retail prices for generics. And they expect that competition could cause prices to go even lower.
But some consumer advocates say that beneficiaries still can get a better deal through online pharmacies or getting drugs from Canada.
Recently, the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC), a coalition of CEOs from drug and device manufacturers, insurers, and health systems, released a preliminary analysis showing savings to be on average more than 20%...
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