States want to lasso drug costs. Voters are basically screaming for Congress to lower drug prices — will anyone listen? And a top-10 list you want to avoid.
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug pricing!
1. Make good choices
Most of us developed a sense of right and wrong by the age of 5. Drug corporations? Nah. That’s probably why Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a report this week outlining the causes and consequences of high drug prices in Medicare. — (Report)
2. Drugmaker defies state efforts to rein in costs
New York’s Medicaid program says Orkambi, a new Vertex drug to treat cystic fibrosis, is not worth the price. State officials identified 30 drugs that were priced too high and said those products’ manufacturers agreed to deeper discounts for a cool $60 million in taxpayer savings. Vertex was the only company that refused. The piece featured P4AD patient advocate Lora Moser, 40, who can’t afford Orkambi. — (The New York Times)
3. The problem is the price
Check out the top 10 most expensive drugs in the U.S. according to GoodRx’s 2018 rankings. — (Forbes)
4. Move over, pharma shills
Voters don’t like you much. — (KFF)
5. The Achthar scam
Medicare spent nearly $2 billion on H.P. Acthar Gel in five years during an aggressive marketing push from drugmakers to get the infant seizure medicine into the hands of America’s seniors. — (CNN)
See you next week!