The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to which GSA has delegatedadministration of the pharmaceutical schedule, raised concerns that drug manufacturers would seek to increase schedule drug prices if a larger group of purchasers was given access to those prices. As a result, GSA proposed that the pharmaceutical schedule the be excluded from the cooperative purchsing program because opening it would have the unintended effect of increasing federal agencies' drug costs. Because of concerns about the potential effects of opening more than 140 federal supply schedules to state and local governments, the Congress directed GSA to delay opening the schedules, including the pharmaceutical schedule, pending completion of our assessment of the possible impact. This report focuses on the factors that can affect negotiations for schedule drug prices and the potential effects of opening the pharmaceutical schedule on schedule prices available to federal, state, and local government purchasers.
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