Published on RealClearHealth.com | Medicare-for-All enthusiasts gaze wistfully at government-run health care systems abroad and see much to admire. When it comes to drug prices, the Trump administration seems to share that admiration. The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to launch a massive demonstration program that would link Medicare reimbursement for … [Read more...] about Trump Blames the Wrong Government for High Drug Prices
Prescription Drugs
A Closer Look At The Drug Rebate Proposal
Last fall, I wrote in Forbes about U.S. based biotechnology manufacturer Amgen announcing it was slashing the list price of its breakthrough cholesterol-lowering drug Repatha by 60% in an effort to improve access and affordability for patients. Too many patients who had been prescribed the drug were walking away from the pharmacy empty handed because of sticker shock over … [Read more...] about A Closer Look At The Drug Rebate Proposal
Rebates And Drug Costs: What The New Proposal Would Mean
The Trump administration is trying in myriad ways to answer demands from consumers for lower prescription drug prices—a topic that got serious attention before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday where top executives of seven major drug companies testified. The president announced his “American Patients First” agenda in May, offering nearly 30 policy recommendations to … [Read more...] about Rebates And Drug Costs: What The New Proposal Would Mean
Trump’s Misguided Solution to Drug Prices
The Trump administration has made important progress in loosening the federal government’s grip on private health insurance, freeing up more options for affordable health insurance. But the administration has veered off this free-market track with its recent proposal to, among other things, slap a form of imported price controls on a specific class of prescription drugs in Medicare. To its … [Read more...] about Trump’s Misguided Solution to Drug Prices
Amgen Announces Major Price Cut For Its Breakthrough Cholesterol Drug
By Grace-Marie Turner— The Trump administration continues to work overtime to lower prescription drug costs for consumers. In response, some pharmaceutical companies have announced rollbacks of price increases, cuts in prices, price freezes, or other ways to improve affordability for patients. In the latest example, Amgen, a leading biologics company, is stepping forward to bring down prices … [Read more...] about Amgen Announces Major Price Cut For Its Breakthrough Cholesterol Drug
Save The Safety Net Drug Program For Patients Who Need Help
A poster on the side of a bus stop in downtown Washington D.C. read: “Let 340B,” clearly a sign of an organized campaign asking Congress not to interfere with the gravy train for some hospital systems that this obscure provision has become. The safety net drug program, usually referred to as 340B for the section authorizing it in the Public Health Service Act, was created by Congress in 1992 to … [Read more...] about Save The Safety Net Drug Program For Patients Who Need Help
A Surgical Approach To High Prescription Drug Prices
President Trump’s plan to lower prescription drug costs uses a surgeon’s scalpel to address a range of issues, offering nearly 30 policy recommendations to modernize payment policies, weed out counter-productive regulations, improve price transparency, and expand competitive price negotiations. The plan reflects the complexity of the industry and the regulatory system that governs government … [Read more...] about A Surgical Approach To High Prescription Drug Prices
Drug Companies Need To Do Their Jobs
President Trump emphasized during his State of the Union address his determination to fulfill a campaign promise to lower prescription drug prices. His administration already is making progress: Food and Drugs Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is leading his agency to dramatically accelerate approval of generic drugs. Competition in generic drugs – which make up 87% of drug consumption in the U.S. … [Read more...] about Drug Companies Need To Do Their Jobs