Congressional Calls Grow To Rein In PBM Business Tactics
During a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday, Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, spoke out in favor of breaking up PBMs. On the other end of Capitol Hill, Sen. Bernie Sanders pushes NIH to reinstate a measure that requires reasonable drug pricing when a pharmaceutical company licenses NIH inventions.
Stat:
Key House Republican Suggests Breaking Up PBMs
A key House Republican ramped up his criticism of pharmacy benefit managers Tuesday, calling for the government to dismantle companies that have consolidated drug supply chain operations. (Wilkerson, 6/13)
Stat:
Sanders Pushes NIH On Pricing Language For Drugs It Helps Develop
In another bid to lower prescription drug prices, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued a report showing that medicines developed with help from the National Institutes of Health have often cost Americans more than what is paid in other countries. And he called on the agency to reinstate a provision in federal law that would require companies to set reasonable prices when they license NIH inventions. (Silverman, 6/13)
On artificial intelligence in health care —
Roll Call:
Congress Ponders Whether AI Should Have The Power Of The Patent
Lawmakers are beginning to consider ways in which artificial intelligence systems are involved in inventive processes like discovery of new drugs, and how the use of such technologies affects what is, and is not, patentable. (Ratnam, 6/13)
Modern Healthcare:
AI In Healthcare Needs More Oversight, AMA Delegates Say
Delegates voted Monday to study the benefits and unforeseen circumstances of A.I., including large language models such as GPTs and other intelligence-generated medical content, and propose appropriate state and federal regulations, according to AMA documents. In those documents, A.I. is defined as augmented intelligence, a type of technology that still requires human involvement. (Hudson, 6/13)
On the federal and state push for gun control —
The Hill:
Raskin Defends Pistol Brace Rule: ‘We Want Them To Read The 2nd Amendment’
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) defended the Biden administration’s restriction on pistol braces and rejected arguments from Republicans who claim it violates the Second Amendment, saying, “We don’t want them to repeal the Second Amendment. We want them to read the Second Amendment.” Raskin argued that his Republican colleagues repeatedly invoke the second half of the Second Amendment, describing the right to keep and bear arms, but gloss over the first half that says, “a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state.” (Fortinsky, 6/13)
Bangor Daily News:
Maine Democrats Fail In Initial Try To Push Gun Control Through House
The Maine House of Representatives defeated a measure Tuesday to enshrine a 72-hour waiting period before gun purchases. Maine sticks out nationally as a Democratic-controlled state with a strong hunting culture that combines loose gun laws and high levels of gun ownership with lower levels of gun mortality, although federal data from 2021 showed the latter was the highest in New England. Voters in 2016 rejected a referendum on mandatory background checks on private gun sales. (Kobin, 6/13)
