MICROSOFT REQUIRING KEY PARTNER TO OFFER PAID FAMILY LEAVE Microsoft has announced that it will start requiring key business partners and suppliers to offer paid family leave for new parents. Microsoft’s paid leave requirement applies only to key U.S. suppliers with more than 50 employees “who perform sub- stantial work for Microsoft” being offered a minimum of 12 weeks of paid parental leave at up to $1,000 per week. Microsoft said it will assist its partners in complying with the new policy and realizes “that this may ultimately result in increased costs for Microsoft.” “We have long recognized that the health, well-being and diversity of our employees helps Microsoft succeed,” said Dev Stahlkopf, general counsel at Microsoft, in the post. This is very similar to an announcement made by Micro- soft back in 2015 when the company released a policy that would require key business partners and suppliers to offer their employees paid time off.
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE HEALTH PLANS GETS NEW TOOLS TO NEGOTIATE FOR LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES
U.S. President Donald Trump has made lowering prescription drug costs for U.S. consumers a top priority. Announcing a blueprint for lower healthcare costs in May and his administration commitment to announce new initiatives in the months to come. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Medicare Advantage plans will be allowed to require that patients first try certain lower-cost drugs before moving to a more expensive alternative if the first treatment is not effec- tive. Until now, such requirements could not be made on drugs covered by Medicare Part B, which are administered in a hospital or doctor’s office and Medicare Part D drugs that patients get at the pharmacy. The Medicare Advantage plans would be allowed to require patients try alternatives before moving on to physician administered drugs, that are typically much more expensive. These types of changes in the private market have generally resulted in savings of about 15 percent to 20 percent, accord- ing to the Department of Health and Human Services. More than half of the savings will be required to be passed on to patients, CMS said.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018
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