More women are headed to Washington. Women are disproportionately impacted by high drug prices, so increased representation is a good thing!
1. Patients won. Drug prices won.
Healthcare — and prescription drug prices in particular — moved voters to the polls. — (The Washington Post)
2. What’s Next? Getting Results.
Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Nancy Pelosi all mentioned drug prices as an area of focus for the 116th Congress. — (STAT)
3. Big Pharma Campaign Cash –– Rejected
“This year, 72 percent of Red to Blue candidates — from all ideological factions — have made the same commitment [to reject corporate PAC money].” — (CQ Roll Call)
4. Respect your elders, PhRMA
The drug lobby wants seniors to pay more so drug companies can juice their record profits. Good luck explaining that one to Grandma at Thanksgiving. — (Bloomberg)
5. Duck Tales
Want to know our lame duck focus? Read about it here. — (STAT)
“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” –– How Americans feel when reacting to the price of prescription drugs.
1. We have been saying this all along
Drug pricing is important. Voters care. — (Forbes)
2. MEMO: Investigate the insulin cartel
Physicians asked the FTC to investigate insulin price hikes. Three companies hold a oligopoly over insulin, which has tripled in price. — (The Hill)
3. Outgunned, Outmanned, Outnumbered, (but not) Outplanned
There are more pharmaceutical lobbyists than lawmakers on Capitol Hill. This year, lobbyists are on track to break their own spending record, with more than $21 million spent. –– (NYT)
4. States take matters into own hands
Instead of waiting for Big Brother to get the job done, state lawmakers have taken matters into their own hands –– turning drug prices into a signature local campaign issue. — (STAT)
5. Worse for women
Women use therapeutic drugs at a higher rate than men and are more likely to be single parents, so they’re most impacted by the high costs of prescription drugs. — (Ms. Magazine)
Straight to pumpkin carving after this.
Welcome to the week in review in prescription drug pricing.
1. Par-tAy around Part B reforms
The Trump administration took aim at lowering the cost of the most expensive drugs in Medicare Part B. Drug makers pushed back, but we’ve heard their tired arguments before. Let’s do this. — (AP)
2. Pharma’s worst nightmare
The drug lobby contemplates a strange future in which the left aligns with Trump to bring down drug prices. — (NYT)
3. Pharma’s sworn enemy?
Claire McCaskill has made prescription drug affordability central to her campaign as she fights for re-election. — (STAT)
4. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again
Only pharmaceutical companies set drug prices. Middlemen must be more transparent, but Pharma’s ploy to blame them is played out. — (Forbes)
5. Precision medicine raises tough questions
“Modern medicine gives us many gifts. But for many of us, those gifts are out of reach.” — (MIT Technology Review)
Direct-to-consumer drug ads: Trick or Treat?
1. That’s On Point
2. Minnesota, leading the way
3. The list price is not right
4. This plan sounds wicked awesome
5. This is why she should stay in the U.S. Senate
Kanye and two drug pricing bills made a trip to the president’s office this week. Guess which made more news?
Welcome to the Week in Review in Drug Pricing.
1. Gag clauses — ✌️out
2. THIS IS NOT OK
3. Fingers crossed, cheaper insulin
4. Kickbacks make a comeback
5. Evers coming up with a plan
Pumpkin spice lattes flowed. Oprah covered her own magazine. A presidential text lit up our phones. Meanwhile, in the world of drug pricing…
1. Get your popcorn
2. XOXO, Gossip Girl…
3. It’s cheaper for this patient to go to the ER than to buy an EpiPen
4. Hello, Texas. Hello, Florida
5. The drug industry loves a good hurdle to generic entry
Does anyone have space in their brains this week for drug pricing news? If so, we’ve got you covered:
1. Big Pharma bailout?
2. We’ll take it!
3. Undercover nurses
4. “His words underpin the mentality of an entire industry.”
5. Who’s going to tell him?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The fight to lower drug prices can feel lopsided –– a recent poll found Americans believe drug corporations have the most influence in Washington. Yet, late last night, patients scored an important win in the fight against Big Pharma. Congress rejected Big Pharma’s attempt to use the opioid bill to give themselves a $4 billion bailout.
“Big Pharma lobbied aggressively –– and spent a lot of money –– in this brazen cash grab,” said Ben Wakana, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW. “But patients and their allies stood up and said ‘enough.’ And Congress listened.”
Patients For Affordable Drugs NOW is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with groups like the AARP, the American Hospital Association, and others who worked together to block the bailout. American patients will remain vigilant; we’re just getting started.”
Big Pharma tried to secure a $4 billion bailout….
“‘PhRMA is begging’ lawmakers to reverse that decision in unrelated opioids legislation, a GOP congressional aide said.” [Axios, 9/20/18]
“Pharmaceutical industry lobbyists were ‘livid’ when the February policy passed.” [STAT News, 3/8/18]
“The powerful pharmaceutical industry has been pushing for months to roll back a provision from February’s budget deal that shifted more costs onto drug companies. [The Hill, 9/20/18]
“Big Pharma is making a major push to reclaim $4 billion in Medicare Part D funds that Congress took away in the 2018 budget deal.” [Modern Healthcare, 9/20/18]
“Drugmakers had been aggressively lobbying lawmakers to reverse that policy as part of the opioids bill.” [Axios, 9/25/18]
“PhRMA has been trying to undo the provision since it passed. Now, the group has latched on to a multi-part bill to fight the opioid epidemic—which advocates say the industry created in the place—to roll back the discount to 63%.” [AJMC, 9/21/18]
Big Pharma lost…
“A concerted effort by patient-advocate groups successfully blocked the last-minute add that would have given drug companies a $4 billion windfall.” [The Washington Post, 9/26/18]
“Aside from opioid policy, drug companies also failed in an intense lobbying push to attach a provision to the bill easing their costs in Medicare.” [The Hill, 9/25/18]
“The brand drug industry came up empty-handed, failing to get a reduction in how much it pays for drugs in Medicare Part D’s coverage gap into the final bill.” [Politico, 9/26/18]
“…pharma lobbyists set to work after Congress increased the industry’s share of responsibility in the Medicare Part D coverage gap earlier this year. But the industry was rebuffed again when its effort to include a partial reversal in an opioid bill was rejected.” [FiercePharma, 9/26/18]
“patient advocates…persuaded Congress to reject attempts by PhRMA to use opioids legislation to reduce the drug industry’s costs for subsidizing the Part D Medicare program.” [BioCentury, 9/26/18]
###