<p>"The Deficit Reduction Act was enacted with the intention of decreasing taxpayers' burden of Medicaid and Medicare costs while curbing government spending for those programs, according to a White House press release. </p>
<p>A stipulation of the act requires pharmaceutical companies to offer the drug discounts available to college health centers to all pharmacies that serve Medicaid and Medicare patients. As a result, the pharmaceutical companies have cut out discounts all together, MSNBC reports said." </p>
<p>hotpiece101 is right - the gov't getting involved via the DRA is what started it (this statement isn't meant to be politically charged, just a statement of fact)</p>