Around the U.S., people with serious diseases are falling through the cracks, unable to afford the medication they need. Patients with HIV, cancer, lupus, leukemia, hepatitis C and other serious conditions are paying huge out-of-pocket sums for necessary medication. These costs are putting heavy mental and financial stress on some of America’s most vulnerable people. Read More
A new PricewaterhouseCoopers report on medical cost trends highlights how specialty drugs are outpacing traditional drugs in a major way. Read More
The rising cost of specialty drugs to treat complex, chronic or life-threatening conditions has the potential to break the pocket books of businesses, consumers, insurance companies and the state, according to Milam Ford of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. Read More
We need to make clear that monopoly grants come with responsibility and accountability, and that competition is more important to the public than a blank check for innovation we cannot afford. Read More
CalPERS said it spent nearly $40 million for Sovaldi on plans run by Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente and CVS Health. Read More
Sophisticated drugs are opening the door, scientists say, to an era of "precision medicine." They're also ushering in an age of astronomical prices. Read More
Originally published on AmericanPharmacyNews.com. Read More
Are Skyrocketing Drug Prices Really Needed for Innovation? Amgen’s… Read More
Sky-high drug prices have been causing their fair share of consternation among payers lately, and industry watchers have suspected for a while now that Vertex ($VRTX) will stir the pot when its new cystic fibrosis combo--expected to win FDA approval later this year--hits the market. But just how much will payers need to shell out for the new med over time? Prime Therapeutics has some ideas. Read More
Drug retail giant CVS Health Corp. is girding to do battle with pharmaceutical companies over a coming class of cholesterol drugs that CVS says could cost the nation’s health-care system $150 billion a year. Read More
Ever since Obamacare took effect, Republicans have warned of mission creep: that a law bringing more government regulation to health care would eventually morph into single-payer. Read More
A national group of more than 140,000 physicians on Tuesday joined a coalition dedicated to reversing the growing trend of high-cost specialty drugs, which are being blamed for straining the finances of patients, insurance plans and public health coverage programs. Read More