The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy in its weekly podcast, Managed Care Cast, posted Feb. 10 highlights some of the recent happenings in health care. The podcast delves into President Donald Trump's second State of the Union address, which included an update on the health care industry, as well as […]
Column: Pharma Execs Would be ‘Foolish’ Not to Testify
Executives representing seven of the world's top pharmaceutical companies have agreed to testify on drug prices before the Senate Finance Committee this month, and STAT senior writer Ed Silverman in a column says not doing so would be "foolish." "Showing up is simply smart politics in the face of […]
Leonard Discusses NPC’s Response to HHS RFI
Dan Leonard, president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), discussed in a recent article published on Specialty Pharmacy Times the council's comments on the Health and Human Service's request for comment on its drug-pricing blueprint. The council, he writes, said drug pricing […]
Article Highlights Health Spending in U.S., Taiwan
In a tribute to the late Uwe Reinhardt, his wife, Princeton University Health Policy Research Analyst Tsung-Mei Cheng, in a blog post published on Health Affairs looks at the sharp contrast between the health care systems of the U.S. and Taiwan. Reinhardt recommended the Taiwanese government to […]
PBMs Defend Against Trump Administration’s Proposal
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is fighting back against claims that pharmacy benefit managers are to blame for rising drug prices, FierceHealthcare reports, and has launched a new initiative aimed at educating consumers. The campaign, #OnYourRxSide, comes on the heels of the […]
Trump on Drug Prices: ‘We Must do More’
President Donald Trump during his second State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 5, pleaded with Congress to pass legislation targeting drug pricing practices of pharmaceutical companies. Some of his calls to lower prescription drug prices received bipartisan support, STAT reports. "It is […]
Trump to Talk Health Costs During SOTU
Health care costs, namely prescription drug prices, are expected to be a key issue discussed during President Donald Trump's second State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 5, STAT reports. The White House in a preview of the speech highlighted health costs, among other things. Trump's SOTU […]
New Paper Spotlights 2018 Trends in Specialty Drugs
A new white paper from Advanced Medical Strategies (AMS), "2018 Specialty Drug Trends," offers a comprehensive analysis of trends from 2018 in the specialty drug landscape. According to the report's key highlights, there were 59 Food and Drug Administration-approved novel drugs in 2018. […]
Azar: Rebates Proposal is Exit From ‘Broken Status Quo’
The Trump administration's proposal to eliminate the current rebate arrangement between pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers is a "departure from a broken status quo," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says. "Every day, Americans — particularly our seniors — pay more […]
Sachs Looks at Possible Implications of Rebates Proposal
The Trump administration's proposal to eliminate rebates paid by pharmaceutical companies to PBMs in Medicare Part D and Medicaid managed care organizations is a significant step in a new direction, but there are a host of concerns about the push to shift savings to consumers' pockets, according to […]
Trump’s Rebate Proposal Receives Mixed Reactions
The Trump administration's proposal to shift rebates paid by pharmaceutical companies from pharmacy benefit managers to consumers could be a significant boon for patients, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tells the New York Times, but there exists some risk for unintended […]
Trump Administration Proposal Would End Pharma Rebates to PBMs
Drugmakers would no longer be allowed to give rebates to pharmacy benefit managers under a new proposal announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar this week, the Washington Post reports. Those rebates, according to the report, would be offered directly to consumers. "It's a […]
Column: Medicare for All Poll Reveals Key Issues
The Kaiser Family Foundation's recent survey on the much-discussed "Medicare for All" idea initially shows solid support, but further analysis suggests there may be some fundamental misunderstandings about what such a plan would entail, according to a column by New York Times Opinion Columnist David […]
Survey: Americans Dissatisfied with Legislative Efforts on Drug Pricing
A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that a clear majority of Americans remain dissatisfied with actions taken by Congress and the Trump administration to curb drug prices, according to an article published in the American Journal of Managed Care. The survey also found that 82 […]
Article Spotlights FDA’s RWE Framework
A recent article by Cato Research Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dieanira Erudaitius offers a brief summary on the Food and Drug Administration's real-world evidence initiative. The agency's program, she writes, would look to allow RWE in the review process of new indications and to support […]
PwC Report: IPI Would Cut Pharma Profits, Boost Competition
A recent report by PWC's Health Research Institute suggests that an international pricing index for Medicare Part B drugs, as proposed by the Trump administration, would put a significant dent in the revenue of pharmaceutical companies, Becker's Hospital Review reports. PwC's report says the new […]
Former FDA Chief McClellan Says Key Problem Remains in Health Industry
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Mark McClellan said during a recent panel hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center that the health care industry still has a key, fundamental issue that must be resolved before significant strides toward value-based models can be achieved. "We've […]
Opinion: Biotech, Pharma Companies Need to Focus on Real-World Studies
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies must make a more concerted effort toward understanding and implementing real-world studies, an approach recently supported by Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, IQVIA Chief Science Officer Nancy Dreyer writes in a recent opinion piece […]
Gottlieb Touts Potential of RWE, RWD
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Monday at the Bipartisan Policy Center conference touted the potential of real-world evidence, saying the agency will make the integration of real-world data and RWE a "key priority for the FDA." The agency in December released a […]
Congressional Committees Hosting Hearings Today on Drug Prices
The Senate Finance Committee and House Oversight Committee both have hearings slated for today (Jan. 29) on rising drug prices. Laura and John Arnold Foundation Executive Vice President of Health Care Mark Miller and American Diabetes Association advocate Kathy Sego are slated to testify during the […]
Bloomberg Analysis: PBMs Got Major Markup in New York
A recent analysis by Bloomberg suggests pharmacy benefit managers received a 32 percent markup on generic drug prescriptions in New York over what independent pharmacies were paid. "In 2017, PBMs paid independent New York pharmacies in the analysis an average of $10.85 per generic-drug […]
The ‘Netflix Model’ for Drug Pricing
A recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) proposed a new drug pricing model, which the authors dubbed the "Netflix model," as a potential solution to high drug prices. The authors propose a subscription-based model for drug purchases through which a payer […]
APM Warns Against Drug Pricing Proposals
The Alliance to Protect Medical Innovation in a recent article says drug pricing proposals circulating in the government put innovation at risk. APM says the Food and Drug Administration approved 59 drugs last year, 43 of which belonged to a category for "speedy review for either treating an unmet […]
AHRQ Director Outlines Agency’s Efforts to Boost Care Quality, Value
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will keep the momentum generated in 2018 to both identify and solve the health care industry's "most pressing challenges," AHRQ Director Gopal Khanna writes in a recent blog post. Khanna writes that the agency will continue to support key […]
Researchers Uncover Loophole in Proposal to Include Prices in TV Ads for Drugs
A group of researchers in a recent study suggest the Trump administration's proposal to include prescription drug prices in television advertisements contains a significant loophole through which drugmakers can make the on-air prices meaningless via modifiers, CNN reports. According to the report, […]
Leavitt: Focus on Preserving Medicare First
Former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt says policymakers should shift their attention to preserving Medicare before resuming talks of expanding it, FierceHealthcare reports. According to the report, Medicare Part A could be penniless by 2026. "We ought to deal with […]
Report: Cummings Seeks 10 Years of Pricing Data from Pharma
Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings is looking for 10 years worth of pricing and research data from the 12 pharmaceutical companies being investigated by the House Oversight Committee, STAT reports. The first hearing on the investigation is scheduled for Jan. 29. Cummings tells STAT that the probe […]
Despite Much Health Care Data, Obstacles Complicate Their Use
U.S. regulations on health care data are stymieing the potential of data garnered through electronic health records, a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association suggests. The study, according to a FierceHealthcare report, suggests regulations have yet to encompass […]
Opinion: U.S. Shouldn’t Outsource Drug Value Assessments Through an IPI
A recent opinion article published on STAT says the U.S. should conduct in-house value assessments for prescription drugs rather than look to other countries' prices as proposed by President Donald Trump's administration. The administration last year proposed an international pricing index as a way […]
Report: Medicare Part D Could Have Saved $14.4 Billion in 2016 by Negotiating to VA Prices
A recent analysis found that the government could have saved roughly $14 billion on the top 50 drugs covered by Medicare Part D in 2016 if the program negotiated drugmakers down to prices paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, STAT reports. Part D, according to the report, could have saved […]
