This could be a very merry Christmas for Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Texas. The Obama administration wants to stuff its stocking with $257,172,917.34 – at your expense – to compensate the company for losing scads of money last year selling Obamacare policies in the Lone Star State. That would bring that single company’s total corporate welfare haul for the 2014 plan year to $843.3 … [Read more...] about Congress Must Stop the Flow of Corporate Welfare to Insurers
Using Better Data to Produce Better Patient Outcomes
The next big challenge in the pharmaceutical sector is not going to be producing breakthrough treatments for once-deadly illnesses. The industry is on track to accomplish that with 3,400 medicines in development today in the United States alone, an increase of 40% since 2005.[1] Forty-one new drugs were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2014, the most in 18 years.[2] Instead, the … [Read more...] about Using Better Data to Produce Better Patient Outcomes
Ruling Will Thwart Biosimilar Drug Market
By , 11/30/15 The Europeanization of U.S. drug pricing that Scott Gottlieb warns about in his op-ed (“The Coming Government Takeover of Drug Pricing,” Nov. 23) already has begun. He warns of “reference pricing,” in which the government lumps together drugs that “bureaucrats feel are similar enough that they can be used in place of one another—even if a newer but also more expensive treatment … [Read more...] about Ruling Will Thwart Biosimilar Drug Market
Congress Should Say No to Cutting Drug Subsidies for Low-Income Seniors
President Barack Obama and congressional appropriators are looking for savings to offset new federal spending programs. One proposal on the table – drawn from the president's budget plan – would disproportionately impact low-income seniors who rely on prescription medications for serious medical conditions. The measure, estimated to save $8.9 billion over ten years, would increase copayments … [Read more...] about Congress Should Say No to Cutting Drug Subsidies for Low-Income Seniors
CMS Rule On Biosimilar Payment Could Have Serious Side Effects
The Obama administration and leading members of Congress are clashing over a new Medicare payment rule that could compromise patient care, impede development of a fledgling part of the biologics industry, and make it more difficult to track patient safety issues. At issue is government payment policy for a new class of drugs called “biosimilars”—drugs that are similar but not identical to the … [Read more...] about CMS Rule On Biosimilar Payment Could Have Serious Side Effects
No, Zeke, You’re Not Paying For My Medicine
Zeke Emanuel is tired of paying for your expensive medicine. Dr. Emanuel, who served in a senior position at the Office of Management and Budget where he contributed to the recurring nightmare known as ObamaCare, recently complained in the New York Times [“I Am Paying For Your Expensive Medicine”] that his insurance rates are high because the medicines you’re taking cost too much. “We all … [Read more...] about No, Zeke, You’re Not Paying For My Medicine
How About A Debate Over America’s Future Prosperity?
If journalists would like to ask actual substantive questions for a change at the GOP debate in Milwaukee, they could start by asking about the biggest threat to our nation’s future security–the burgeoning entitlement monster. Fox Business is the ideal sponsor for such a debate. There are huge business and economic implications of the unrestrained growth of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social … [Read more...] about How About A Debate Over America’s Future Prosperity?
Lift The Ban On Physician-Owned Hospitals
As Congress considers year-end legislative options, one small change in the Affordable Care Act could make a big difference in access to quality health care for millions of Americans: Lifting the ban on creation and expansion of physician-owned hospitals. Physicians have an ownership stake in approximately 250 hospitals operating in 34 states, and they have a strong track record of providing … [Read more...] about Lift The Ban On Physician-Owned Hospitals