Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Erectile Disfunction (ED) drugs, such as Viagra, have become increasingly popular. However, there may be a downside to these drugs. People who use ED drugs generally have higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Are these elevated rates of STDs due to the drugs themselves, the behavior they induce, or are the people who use…
When Alfred Caronia worked for a drug company, he promoted some drug’s off-label use. The Department of Justice did not take kindly to Caronia’s behavior and sued him for violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). He was convicted, but appealed the conviction. Caronia argued that this commercial speech is protected by the first…
How does it do this? Through the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. Medicaid.gov explains: The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program is a partnership between CMS, State Medicaid Agencies, and participating drug manufacturers that helps to offset the Federal and State costs of most outpatient prescription drugs dispensed to Medicaid patients. Approximately 600 drug manufacturers currently participate in…
A few years ago, changing federal laws to lower drug prices was a key political issue. Some proposed allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices from drug manufacturers and others recommended allowing U.S. citizens to import drugs from lower-priced developed countries such as Canada. These policies would certainly reduce drug prices, however, lower prices could also…
Governments in emerging markets want their citizens to have better drugs. The big pharmaceutical firms are keen to sell to them. But they are fighting bitterly over the terms. – The Economist. Should emerging markets compel companies to sell drugs to them? As an economist, I am by nature averse to government coercion. When people…
Antibiotics such as penicillin have helped to fight numerous diseases such as syphilis, and infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. However, overuse of antibiotics is a problem. Physicians sometimes prescribe antibiotics to fight viral infections even though antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections. Because of this overuse, more and more strains of drug-resistant bacteria are appearing.…
Many of Medicare’s value-based purchasing (VBP) initiatives offer a continuum of rewards based on provider performance. Whereas all-or-nothing VBP initiatives only grant bonuses to providers who exceed a single threshold, the Medicare VBP programs–such as its hospital VBP program–reward hospitals based a value-based modifier that is proportional to its quality score. One of the reasons…
Drug-makers have had little success gaining FDA-approval for diet pills. According to The Economist: “It has been 13 years since the FDA approved a prescription diet pill. That drug, Roche’s Xenical, has notorious gastrointestinal side-effects. The FDA rejected Vivus’s Qnexa in 2010 over concerns for the safety of pregnant women and the quickening of patients’…
In many cases, only a handful of suppliers produce vaccines for a given disease. In fact, for several vaccine types the U.S. has fewer suppliers than countries with a smaller market and a higher level of government purchase. One reason for this finding could be strict government regulation. All vaccines must be approved by the…
Is this a spam post? Is the Healthcare Economist working for Pfizer? The answer to these questions are no and no. However, there are two easy ways to get the cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor for a lower price tomorrow: Buy the generic form of Lipitor Buy Lipitor According to Marketplace, on Friday Lipitor will go…