Congressional Democrats finalizing a health overhaul have asked drug companies to contribute an additional $10 billion and possibly more over a decade to help cover the cost. Pharmaceutical companies have already agreed to contribute $80 billion to the federal overhaul, in part by discounting the cost of drugs sold to Medicare beneficiaries caught in a gap in the government health plan's prescription-drug coverage. But lawmakers trying to eliminate that so-called doughnut hole have pushed the pharmaceutical industry to up their contribution, the Wall Street Journal reports.
