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Federal Drug Prices: Effects of Opening the Pharmaceutical Schedule Are Uncertain

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date July 10, 1997
Report No. T-HEHS-97-171
Subject
Summary:

During fiscal year 1996, the federal government bought almost $1.3 billion worth of pharmaceuticals from the federal supply schedule. Schedule prices are often substantially lower than retail prices and are available primarily to federal purchasers. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) used this catalog of drug prices to purchase $922 million in pharmaceuticals--about 71 percent of the government's total purchases from the schedule. This testimony discusses GAO's recent report (GAO/HEHS-97-60, June 1997) on the potential implications for VA and other government purchasers of opening the federal supply schedule for pharmaceuticals to state and local governments.

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