Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
I have written about the 340b program a number of times on this blog in the past (e.g., “The 340B Program: An Overview“, “340B Facts and Figures“). A new commentary by Thomas and Schulman (2020) in Health Services Research provides some additional information. For instance, why was 340B originally enacted? Blame the Medicaid Drug Rebate…
As for other “moneyed interests,” no fewer than 30 Big Pharma and small biotech firms are racing for treatments and vaccines. Moderna turned around a vaccine batch in just 42 days. Gilead Sciences is already in Phase 3 trials for its remdesivir treatment for Covid-19. Straight off President Trump’s announcement of FDA approval for antimalarial…
A paper by Hernandez et al. (2020) in JAMA examines trends in branded drug prices using data from SSR Health between 2007 and 2018. The authors find the following: From 2007 to 2018, list prices increased by 159% (95% CI, 137%-181%), or 9.1% per year, while net prices increased by 60% (95% CI, 36%-84%), or…
Kaiser Family Foundation has a nice overview of how Medicaid pays for prescription drugs. Below, I except from this helpful piece, but do check out the full article here. One point that many may not realize is that State Medicaid Agencies do not actually buy pharmaceuticals directly from manufacturers. Rather, they reimburse retail pharmacies that…
While at the national level, there has been much press about President Trump’s aim of compelling pharmaceutical companies to disclose prices on TV ads (since blocked in the Judiciary), at the state level changes are also afoot. A number of states are making moves to compel pharmaceutical companies to disclose drug prices. Others are compelling…
This month, RADAR on Specialty Pharmacy, wrote an article on drug importation titled “HHS Importation Efforts Move Ahead, but Questions Remain”. As part of the article, I was interviewed. Below is an excerpt. High drug prices have been in the news for a few years, catching “the ire of public opinion and politicians,” observes Jason…
Not a surprising finding but an important one nonetheless. Using data from the 2013–17 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) a paper by Gaffney et al. (2020) finds: Although people with VHA [Veterans Health Administration] coverage were older and in worse health and had lower incomes than those with other coverage, VHA patients had lower rates…
Consider the case of two drugs, Drug A and Drug B. Both drugs treat patients with the same disease. Further, assume they are close substitutes. When Drug A loses it’s patent and generics can enter the market, one would expect Drug A’s market share (brand + generic) to rise. In fact, Drug A’s market share…
Today, the Trump administration laid out a plan to allow states, drug wholesalers and pharmacies to import some cheaper drugs from Canada. While at first glance many may believe that this approach would lead to large decreases in drug prices, in practice the impact on prices is likely to be modest. In a Washington Times…
FDA is encouraging the development of abuse-deterrent formulations of opioids. What are abuse-deterrent formulations (ADF)? FDA explains: Abuse-deterrent formulations target the known or expected routes of abuse, such as crushing in order to snort or dissolving in order to inject, for the specific opioid drug substance. The good news is that ADF opioids reduce the…