Generic Drugs Should Be Cheap, but Insurers Are Charging Thousands of Dollars for Them
The cancer drug Gleevec went generic in 2016 and can be bought today for as little as $55 a month. But many patients’ insurance plans are...
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News
Sep 8, 2023
Miller-Meeks, Ross, Carter, Peters Introduce the Share the Savings with Seniors Act
U.S. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-01) and Scott Peters (CA-50)...
Sep 1, 2023
Disadvantaging Rivals: Vertical Integration in the Pharmaceutical Market
The pharmaceutical market has experienced a massive wave of vertical integration between pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health...
Aug 24, 2023
Mid-Year Updates on PBM Legislation
The Senate Finance Committee recently passed a pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) reform package, one of the most significant steps towards...
Aug 15, 2023
Upcoming DIR Fee Changes Still Causing Concern for Pharmacists
By this point, pharmacists are well aware of the direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fee changes that will be implemented at the start...
Aug 11, 2023
Fitting the bill: Pharmacy legislation tackles important issues
President Roosevelt’s signing of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act let the Food and Drug Administration establish category...
Aug 3, 2023
Health Care’s Intertwined Colossus
“Do I enjoy being king? Yes, that’s fun,” said Richard Burke in 1987. He had spent over ten years running a health care nonprofit in...
Jul 29, 2023
How the prescription drug supply chain is killing local pharmacies
The supply chain that brings pharmaceutical drugs from the factory to the pharmacy is long, complex and unclear. Congress and several...
Jul 28, 2023
Senate Finance Committee votes to impose drug pricing standards on PBMs
In a largely harmonious Senate Committee on Finance markup hearing, members supported bipartisan efforts to rein in pharmacy benefit...
Jul 14, 2023
Nearly 2,000 Organizations Urge Congress to Pass PBM Reform
The pressure continues to build against pharmacy benefit managers and their practices that critics say raise drug prices. This time, it’s...
Jul 13, 2023
Financing the healthcare of tomorrow playlist: Tracks for consumers and policymakers
My husband has advanced Lewy Body Dementia and one of the few things we can still enjoy together is listening to music. We used to curate...
Jul 11, 2023
How To Lower Insulin Prices? Focus on the Middleman.
Millions of Americans depend on insulin. And due to price hikes, over 1 million of them have had to ration the drug. That's an outrage....
Jul 5, 2023
Sen. Bill Cassidy: Smart, practical ways to lower drug prices
In the 1952 Oscar-winning movie “High Noon,” Gary Cooper’s face was tense and pained as he single-handedly faced a gang of killers. The...
Jun 22, 2023
Sen. Grassley calls on GOP leaders to rally support for PBM reforms
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley wants to see his party’s leadership turn up the pressure on pharmacy benefit managers. “They talk in such...
Jun 22, 2023
CAPITO, COLLEAGUES INTRODUCE BILL TO LOWER DRUG COSTS, HOLD MASSIVE PBM CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE
Senators’ Protect Patient Access to Pharmacies Act brings accountability to PBMs, protect patients and small businesses In an effort to...
Jun 21, 2023
Drug middlemen catch flak at another congressional hearing
Drug middlemen once again were on the hot seat at a congressional hearing on Wednesday. The hearing by the House Education and Workforce...
Jun 21, 2023
To Reign in Healthcare Costs, Congress Needs to Keep the Heat on PBMs
The 118th Congress is off to a great start in shining a light on the harmful practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and the...
Jun 15, 2023
Titans for PBM Reform: Loretta Boesing & Antonio Ciaccia | PBM Reform
House Energy and Commerce Committee cleared a PBM bill that seems to contain more transparency loopholes and makes more limited policy...
Jun 15, 2023
Marshall, Menendez, Blackburn, Wyden, Crapo, & Tester Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Reform PBM
Today, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Senate Finance Chairman Ron...
Jun 8, 2023
FTC Further Expands Inquiry Into Prescription Drug Middlemen Industry Practices
Agency issues order to additional GPO as it examines the impact of vertically integrated PBMs on prescription drug prices and access As...
Jun 6, 2023
Even Mark Cuban Can’t Fix This Broken Drug System
After starting with generic drugs, Mark Cuban is coming for a blockbuster. Starting in July, a biosimilar version of the world’s...
May 31, 2023
State Insurance Commissioners Seek Meeting With FTC On PBMs
The group representing state insurance commissioners is seeking information from the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission...
May 24, 2023
Five (or Maybe Six?) Reasons that the Largest PBMs Operate Group Purchasing Organizations
In The Top Pharmacy Benefit Managers of 2022: Market Share and Trends for the Biggest Companies, I shared Drug Channels Institute's...
May 23, 2023
US Officials Probe a New Layer in Opaque Drug Pricing, Supply System
US authorities are looking into new groups that were formed to negotiate drug discounts but may actually be further obscuring how much...
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