Exorbitant price tags for specialty medications are taking a serious financial toll on state budgets. A new analysis released yesterday from the California Association of Health Plans (CAHP) shows that treating only 10 percent of 175,000 patients in state-funded health care programs with just three hepatitis C medications would cost California roughly $1-2 billion.
John Rother, President of the National Coalition on Health Care and Chair of the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing issued the following statement in response to a recent health tracking poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation that found that an overwhelming 76% of Americans blame pharmaceutical companies for the rising cost of medicines.
May 21, 2015 Morning Consult: “New Cures, Old Problems: Poll Shows Drug Affordability Addles Americans” “The House Energy and Commerce Committee is slated to vote today on legislation that offers incentives to the pharmaceutical industry to develop new drugs and devices. But the bill does little immediately to address what a new Morning Consult poll found […]
May 20, 2015 “Prescription drug prices climb into the stratosphere” by Trudy Lieberman, Rural Health News Service Note: Article originally printed in Sterling Journal-Advocate. There’s no getting around it. Americans are using more medications and spending more for them. The latest evidence just came from Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefit manager, which acts as a middleman […]
ICYMI – May 15, 2015 ***** The New England Journal of Medicine: “The $2.6 Billion Pill — Methodologic and Policy Considerations” “Of course, it is extremely expensive and risky to develop a new medication…but as risky as drug development is, the pharmaceutical and biotech industries remain among the most profitable sectors of the U.S. economy and actually […]
May 14, 2015 The House Energy and Commerce Committee released an updated draft of the 21st Century Cures bill last night in a last minute effort to address concerns over drug exclusivity, interoperability and tele health before today’s markup. However, many organizations are still concerned about Congress’ lack of legislation to address high drug costs. Pew Charitable Trusts […]
May 13, 2015 The New York Times: “Cystic Fibrosis Drug Wins Approval of F.D.A. Advisory Panel” “If the drug is approved, Vertex could still face challenges getting insurers to pay for it, given the somewhat questionable efficacy. Kalydeco costs more than $300,000 a year, although Orkambi is expected to be a little less expensive, because it […]
May 12, 2015 InsideHealthPolicy.com Health Reform Insider: “As E&C Prepares Cures Bill Markup, Negative Press On Drug Prices On The Increase” Note: subscription required to view full article on InsideHealthPolicy.com “The House Energy & Commerce Committee will begin marking up 21st Century Cures legislation Thursday (April 14), but those paying for drugs worry that speeding drug and […]
May 11, 2015 The Wall Street Journal: “Vertex’s Cystic-Fibrosis Drug Faces Big Test” The FDA meeting, to be held in Gaithersburg, Md., will be closely watched by health insurers and pharmacy-benefit managers who are concerned that Orkambi will be the latest high-priced blockbuster to strain their budgets. Vertex hasn’t announced a price yet, but J.P. Morgan […]
Weekly Update – 5/8/2015 We learned this week that worldwide spending on cancer medicines reached $100 billion in 2014, an increase of 10.3 percent from 2013. And let’s not forget about last week’s multiple sclerosis study noting that there has been an “alarming rise” in the cost of these drugs, coming in between $50,000 and […]