White House kills rebate rule, likely to advance pricing index for Part B

A White House decision to withdraw a rule that would have eliminated rebates in Medicare Part D is the result of an internecine battle within the Trump administration over how to tackle drug pricing. It likely foreshadows a turn to more explicit price control measures such as the administration-proposed international reference price index (IPI) for Medicare Part B.

The White House announcement that it was pulling the plug on the rule said the decision was based on “careful analysis and thorough consideration,” but it did not provide any explanation of the analysis...