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Trump Vows Executive Action on Drug Prices
As part of his plan to reduce drug prices, President Donald Trump last week announced his administration would issue an executive order that he said would cap the U.S.'s payments for drugs, STAT reports. "Why should other nations — like Canada — but why should other nations pay much less than us?" […]
Lawmakers Working Toward Bipartisan Solution to Health Costs
U.S. policymakers are reaching across the aisle in an effort to come to a bipartisan solution to lower health care costs, the Associated Press reports. Legislators are looking at a number of issues, including surprise medical bills, high drug prices and prescription copays for Medicare […]
Drugmakers Push Back Against Rule on Drug Prices in TV Ads
Merck, Eli Lilly and Amgen are pushing back against the Trump administration's rule requiring drugmakers include a drug's list price in television ads, Westlaw Practitioners Insights reports. The companies on Monday, July 1, filed a brief in federal court, according to the report, arguing that the […]
FDA to Require Sponsors to Submit Promotional Materials Electronically for Accelerated Programs
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a final guidance says sponsors who submit drugs through accelerated programs must submit promotional materials in advance beginning in 2021, FDAnews reports. The guidance was issued Friday, June 28. To read more on FDAnews, click here. […]
Article Spotlights Value-Based Insurance Design
A recent article published on the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy (JMCP) outlines what impact value-based insurance design (VBID) can have on costs and patient populations. Some stakeholders see VBID as a way to "obtain better value for money," the author writes, but a lack of a clear definition […]
White House: Order Mandates Health Care Price Transparency
The White House says a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump will mandate increased transparency on treatment costs and price negotiations, HealthPayerIntelligence reports. The executive order was issued June 24. According to the report, payers, providers and self-insured health […]
Guide Focuses on HEOR/Market Access Medical Writing
A recently-updated guide posted on First MedComms Job offers writers a free resource for expanding their medical writing abilities into health economics and outcomes research, as well as market access. Freelance HEOR and market access consultant Linda Harrison penned the guide. "In any of these […]
Gottlieb to Deliver Keynote at DPharm
DPharm this week announced it had tapped former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb to deliver the keynote address for its upcoming meeting set to kick off Sept. 17 in Boston, Massachusetts. According to an email, Gottlieb's during his address will outline his views regarding […]
ICER Plans Report on Acute Migraine Treatments
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released a new report outlining a planned review of acute migraine treatments. According to a press release, ICER is planning to assess the following treatments: Biohaven's rimegepant; Allergan's ubrogepant; and Eli Lilly's agonist […]
Gottlieb Joins Pfizer Board After Exiting Government
Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb this week was appointed to Pfizer's board of directors, two months after exiting his government post, pharmaphorum reports. According to the report, Gottlieb was appointed to Pfizer's Regulatory and Compliance Committee and the Science […]
NPC Submits Feedback on AMCP’s Call for Comments
The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) submitted its response to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's (AMCP) call for comments as it looks to update its "Format for Formulary Submissions." "At a time when new and novel treatments are curing diseases and reimbursement is based on quality and […]
NPC, Analysis Group Study Focuses on Care Pathways
The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) and Analysis Group recently partnered for a study on care pathways, and in it offered several recommendations to address key issues. The study, "U.S. Care Pathways: Continued Focus on Oncology and Outstanding Challenges," looked at "changes in development, […]
Newly-Released Emails Shed More Light into Alleged Price-Fixing Scheme
A new batch of emails made public by the Connecticut Attorney General's office this week revealed how a lawyer for Heritage Pharmaceuticals attempted to coordinate with other drugmakers for a response to a Congressional inquiry, The Middletown Press reports. "In early October 2014, Heritage […]
Podcast Spotlights Small Change that Could Have Big Impact on Health System
A recent podcast posted by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania highlights how one change could have a significant impact on the U.S. health care system. Preferred pharmacy networks, according to the post, could be a key tool in helping wrangle health costs. Health insurers have […]
Report: Most Patients Saw $500-plus in Out-of-Pocket Costs in 2018
Fifty-nine percent of patients in 2018 on average paid between $500-$1000 in out-of-pocket costs during health care visits, according to a new report from TransUnion Healthcare. The report also found a dip in how many patients faced average out-of-pocket costs of less than $500. While 49 percent of […]
PwC Report Spotlights Cost Trends
PwC's Health Research Institute (HRI) recently released its annual report on cost trends in the health care industry, "Medical cost trend: Behind the numbers 2020." The report also highlights how employers are responding to ever-rising health care costs. "Employer activism is on the rise," a […]
Analysis Suggests Ohio’s Efforts to Curb PBMs ‘Mostly Futile’
A recent analysis conducted by The Columbus Dispatch suggests that Ohio will continue to struggle with pharmacy benefit managers so long as they remain so deeply rooted in drug pricing for the state's Medicaid system. The analysis looked at 400,000-plus prescriptions from roughly 36 pharmacies in […]
ICER: Novartis, J&J Treatments Not Cost-Effective
Janssen's Spravato, a depression treatment, and Novartis' secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) drug Mayzent are not cost-effective, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) suggested in two separate assessments on the therapies. A Novartis spokesperson tells FiercePharma the […]
PhRMA Offers Recommendations for ICER’s Value Assessment Framework
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) recommended five changes the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) should make as the drug-pricing watchdog looks to update its value assessment framework. PhRMA in its comments suggested ICER consider alternatives to the […]
ICER’s Pearson: ‘We’re the Mouse That Roared’
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review's (ICER) founder Steven Pearson during an interview with the Boston Globe described the drug-pricing watchdog as the "mouse that roared," adding that it refuses to back down against "huge companies, huge resources, huge everything." Pearson tells the […]
Article: Shift Focus on Drug Pricing Discussion
Policymakers and organizations should focus more on developing alternative payment models to broaden access to drugs without risking the funds necessary to fuel drug development, Forward Ventures Founding Managing Member Standish Fleming writes in a recent article on Forbes. "Drug development is […]
ICER Releases Final Report on Siponimod for SPMS
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) suggested in its latest report on Novartis' siponimod for the treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) that the drug "does not merit a unique role in therapy." According to a press release, the Midwest Comparative […]
Connecticut Comptroller Touts New Deal with CVS Caremark
Connecticut State Comptroller Kevin Lembo says a new contract agreement with CVS Caremark "establishes one of the most innovative and transparent pharmacy benefits contracts in the nation." Lembo's office announced a deal had been reached on Wednesday, June 19. The arrangement, he says, is poised […]
FTC OKs UnitedHealth’s Acquisition of DaVita
UnitedHealth's $4.3 billion acquisition of DaVita Medical Group can move forward after the Federal Trade Commission gave the green light Wednesday, June 19, Healthcare Dive reports. The deal, which was announced in December 2017, is part of UnitedHealth and Optum's vertical integration […]
Going Below the Surface Spotlights Wasteful Spending
Going Below the Surface's latest newsletter highlights two studies focused on wasteful spending in the health care system. According to the newsletter, spending on wasteful care accounted for more than $1 trillion in spending annually. "Health care waste is often viewed as an intractable systemic […]
Report: Only a Modest Reduction in Spending on Low-Value Care
A recent report from the Research Consortium for Health Care Value Assessment found that annual spending on five low-value services under private plans hit $3 billion in 2015, the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) reports. "Our findings suggest that even though there has been significant […]
Can Germany’s Model for Prescription Drugs Work in the U.S.?
An international survey by The Commonwealth Fund found that only 7 percent of Germans reported issues concerning health care costs since 2018, according to a Los Angeles Times report, whereas one-third of Americans reported cost-related woes. "There is a lot we could learn," AARP's Leigh Purvis […]
McKinsey Details ‘Bold’ Vision for Medical Affairs
Organizations looking to bolster their medical affairs arm must "embrace the power of technology," McKinsey writes in a new report outlining its vision for the medical-affairs function in 2025. " ... McKinsey has been working closely with industry executives to create a bold vision for the […]
The Price of Innovation: The Role of Drug Pricing in Financing Pharmaceutical Innovation
The debate on drug prices has reached new heights with the controversy around the role of prices in promoting innovation. Critics claim that prices of innovative drugs are excessive and argue that lowering prices will not harm the flourishing innovation. On the opposite end, the pharmaceutical […]
