Welcome to The Week in Review in Prescription Drug Pricing — Labor Day edition.
1. The $6 Million Claim
Pharma is siphoning hourly wages from the pockets of hard-working Americans. Read and watch: — (The New York Times & FX)
2. MS Mess
People living with multiple sclerosis face drug costs that quadrupled in a decade. — (Reuters)
3. Golden State Grapple
California patients are using their voices to tackle abusive pay-for-delay tactics and get the affordable drugs they need. — (@AGBecerra)
4. Congressional Cash Flow
Pharma is showering vulnerable Congressional members with cash to maintain influence as drug pricing scrutiny intensifies. — (USA Today)
5. No Info
The secrecy surrounding prescription drug prices has left prescribing doctors baffled. — (AP)
1. Slowing Down for the Speed Cameras
Under increasing scrutiny and pressure from patients and lawmakers alike, drug makers are still raising prices, just at slower rates than before. — (AP)
2. Clear as Day
Oregon wants drug price hikes OreGONE. A new transparency law means drug corporations don’t get to keep hikes in the dark any more. — (Biz Journals)
3. A choice no one should have to make
According to a new study, a significant number of working age adults with diabetes are rationing or skipping their medication due to sky-high costs.— (Huffington Post)
4. In His Own Words
P4AD’s David Mitchell shared his thoughts on the broken prescription drug market and the impact it has on patients. — (Washington Examiner)
5. Oh yeah?
A judge said HHS can’t make Big Pharma put its list prices in TV ads. HHS is pushing back. — (Reuters)
30-50 feral hogs couldn’t drag us away from bringing you all the news in drug pricing!
1. They Lied
Novartis lied to the FDA, then brought forth the world’s most expensive drug. Classic. — (CNN)
2. We (Already) PAID
The public needs more protection from Big Pharma profiteering off of billions in taxpayer funded drug research. — (Vox)
3. Authorized Scam
Brand drug manufacturers make “authorized” generics, products that only serve to maximize the monopoly drug makers’ profits and stifle realcompetition. — (Kaiser Health News)
4. “How many more young type 1 diabetes patients have to die…?”
Another young man lost his life due to outrageously high insulin costs, which doubled between 2012 and 2016. — (The Washington Post)
5. Boo, Hiss
Lifesaving antivenins face very little competition — so prices continue to rise. — (NPR)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Now that you’re done binging the new season of Queer Eye and the Senate Finance markup, it’s time to catch up on your drug pricing news.
Welcome to the Week in Review in prescription drug pricing!
1. Wicked Big Win
A bipartisan budget deal will grant the Massachusetts Secretary of Health the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs in the state’s Medicaid program. — (Boston Globe)
2. Aging Out
Young adults living with diabetes are rationing insulin and dying when they age out of their parents’ insurance plans. — (Buzzfeed)
The Senate Finance Committee unveiled a long-awaited package of drug pricing reforms that cap seniors’ out-of-pocket drug expenses at $3,100 and discourage Big Pharma from increasing the prices of prescription drugs at multiple times the rate of inflation each year. Patients will battle Big Pharma influence to see it through. — (Politico)
4. Patients Take the Stand
Patient advocates testified this week before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, illuminating for Congress the harm high drug prices inflict on American families. — (CSPAN)
5. Celgene Slammed
The drug maker has to pay $55 million to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged attempts to block generic competition, providing some restitution to those hit by Celgene’s sky-high monopoly prices for cancer medications. — (New Jersey Globe)
What’s hotter in D.C. right now — drug prices or the heat index?
AbbVie’s abusive tactics to maintain its monopoly on its $20 billion blockbuster, Humira, thoroughly dissected. — (Fortune)
Ugh, drug pricing. Water we going to do about it? We’re floating some ideas.
1. Don’t Sell Out Sickle Cell Patients
Taxpayers invested hundreds of millions of dollars into a cure for sickle cell disease. Now a drug company could make billions from the drug. — (FierceHealthcare)
2. Program Canceled ?
Americans wanted to list drug price ads on TV. Big Pharma and a federal judge said no. — (The New York Times)
3. Tea Leaves
Could a closed-door meeting with Trump aides and GOP senators hint at a path forward to slow the roll of Part D price hikes? — (The Hill)
4. Negotiation. The American Way!
The president said the U.S. should pay what other nations pay for drugs. Now the focus turns to the administration’s International Pricing Index.— (STAT & Yahoo Finance)
5. California is Not Dreamin’
AB824, legislation that would end shady, collusive pay-for-delay deals, is movin’ in real life. — (Twitter)
If this country can produce a Cheetos chicken sandwich, it can lower drug prices.
1. Biosimilar Warfare
Biosimilar drugs were posed to change the lives of patients and save the country billions. But patients like Charles Pope feel their health ‘disintegrating’ waiting for less-expensive biologics. — (Associated Press)
2. ‘Evil’
Sneaky pharma tactics are keeping lifesaving generic drugs out of reach for patients who need them most. California is taking a stand. — (Los Angeles Times)
3. The Price We’ll Pay
As we enter a period of rapid medical breakthroughs, prices are becoming totally unsustainable. — (The Hill)
4. Dirigo!
Maine is the latest state to tackle drug pricing head on. The state overwhelmingly passed a package of bills aimed at lowering costs for patients. Go Maine! — (Press Herald)
5. ? Issue Alert
Running for president? Lower drug prices. — (STAT)
What do Navy UFO sightings and drugs prices have in common? They are both out of this world!
1. Get the Job Done
So many bipartisan drug pricing proposals, so little time. Congress, get something done. And make it big. — (The New York Times)
2. Couldn’t Have Said It Better Ourselves
Whiny pharma sued to keep its high drug prices off the tele. To which HHS replied: “If the drug companies are embarrassed by their prices… they should lower them.” — (Bloomberg)
3. How Do You Fight Something You Can’t See?
By standing up to share your drug pricing story! Check out this patient video by the California Attorney General’s office, in support of legislation that would force Big Pharma’s shadowy, collusive pay-for-delay deals into the light. — (Twitter)
4. Forced to Buy Expired Insulin
This hardworking Texan living with type 1 diabetes is self-employed and forced to buy expired insulin, putting his health at grave risk. Others are caravanning to Canada to buy a drug as vital to their lives as water. — (P4AD & The Washington Post)
5. Drug Pricing Hurts Women More
And women are working to solve that issue. Listen to this podcast to learn about the efforts of I-MAK’s Priti Krishtel and Jessica Grossman of Medicines360. — (The Commonwealth Fund)
