Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Getting Pharma Companies And Insurers To Pick Up Larger Part Of Seniors' Drugs Costs Is Major Tenet In Senate GOP Plan
Stat: Top Republican Outlines A Path Forward For Bipartisan Drug Pricing Bill
A powerful Senate Republican heralded on Wednesday a slate of policies aimed at lowering the price of prescription medicines — and outlined a clear path forward for passing them into law with bipartisan, bicameral support. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said his “good working relationship” with ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with his conversations with other key lawmakers in the House and on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, present a “real opportunity” for a collaborative product — brought by both committees to the Senate floor — by the end of this year. (Hailu, 6/5)
Politico: Liberals Fight Their Own Party Over Drug Prices
House Democratic leaders are facing deep skepticism from their progressive wing over a plan empowering the government to limit prices for some expensive prescription drugs — a rift that could hurt the party on an issue that has also been embraced by President Donald Trump. Liberal lawmakers and like-minded advocacy groups say the preliminary drug pricing plan pitched by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is far too timid a response to spiraling U.S. drug costs, and could fail to leverage the government’s massive purchasing power in demanding cheaper medicines. (Cancryn, 6/6)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Stat: Two More Big States Take Aim At 'the Wild West' Of PBM Pricing
The controversial role that pharmacy benefit managers play in prescription drug pricing is under fresh attack in a pair of new reports issued by two of the largest states by population in the U.S. — New York and Massachusetts — both of which are exploring ways to curtail various business practices used by these little-understood middlemen. The efforts come as a growing number of states are grappling with the rising cost of medicines, a pocketbook issue that is vexing Americans and straining government budgets. In response, state lawmakers are pursuing legislation and regulations targeting not only drug makers, but also PBMs, which occupy an important but perplexing part of the opaque pharmaceutical supply chain. (Silverman, 6/5)
Modern Healthcare: PBMs' Spread Pricing Inflates Healthcare Spending, Commission Finds
Pharmacy benefit managers charge Massachusetts' Medicaid managed-care and commercial plans significantly higher prices for generic drugs than their actual cost, according to a new report. PBM prices for generic drugs in the MassHealth managed-care organization program were higher than the acquisition prices for 95% of the pharmaceuticals analyzed in the fourth quarter of 2018 and exceeded Medicaid fee-for-service prices for 42% of the products, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission found in its analysis. MCO prices exceeded fee-for-service prices by an average of $15.97 per drug, which in many cases is passed onto consumers. (Kacik, 6/5)
Stat: Mallinckrodt To Settle Marketing Probe, But Will Fight Kickback Case
Amid a growing number of probes into the pharmaceutical industry, Mallinckrodt (MNK) tentatively agreed to pay $15.4 million to settle charges of illegal marketing by Questor, a company that it purchased five years ago and was infamous for dramatically raising the price of a treatment for infantile spasms. At the same time, however, the drug maker vowed to fight new claims by the Department of Justice that Questcor illegally used a charity to pay kickbacks aimed at encouraging Medicare patients to use the pricey medicine, which is known as Acthar Gel. (Silverman, 6/6)
