Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
One In Five Americans Can't Afford Prescriptions With Gender Gap Getting Increasingly Worse
Stat: More Americans Can't Afford Prescriptions; Most Think Trump Isn't Helping
As President Trump looks toward the next election, a new poll finds that a growing percentage of adults did not have enough money to pay for prescription medicines over the past year and only a fraction of Americans believe he is doing enough to lower drug costs, which is a key campaign issue for him. To wit, 22.9% reported they lacked the funds this past September to pay for a prescription during the previous 12 months, up from 18.9% in January. All totaled, about 58 million adults experienced “medication insecurity,” according to the latest Gallup Poll. (Silverman, 11/12)
The Hill: Poll: 1 In 5 US Adults Report Trouble Affording Prescription Drugs
About 1 in 5 U.S. adults say that they or someone in their household has been unable to afford drugs that were prescribed to them in the past 12 months, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey found that 22.9 percent of U.S. adults said there had been a time in the past year when their household was unable to pay for drugs they were prescribed, up from 18.9 percent in January. (Sullivan, 11/12)
CNN: 13% Of Americans Say They Know Someone Who Died After They Couldn't Afford Health Care
More than 13% of Americans -- about 34 million people -- say a friend or family member recently passed away in the last five years after being unable to afford treatment for a condition, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey, conducted in September among nearly 1,100 people in 50 states, doesn't confirm that a lack of care directly caused the deaths. But its findings suggest the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs and necessary care are keeping US adults from addressing health issues. (Andrews, 11/12)
Kaiser Health News: Voters Say Congress Needs To Curb Drug Prices, But Are Lawmakers Listening?
House Democrats are poised to pass sweeping legislation to lower drug prices using strategies President Donald Trump has endorsed. A Trump aide urged the Republican-controlled Senate to vote on a different package curbing drug prices that was drafted by a senior Republican. But at least right now, neither measure appears likely to attract enough bipartisan support to become law. (Huetteman, 11/11)
The New York Times: Even A Modest Co-Payment Can Cause People To Skip Drug Doses
There’s a logic to out-of-pocket medical payments. They’re supposed to make patients think twice before spending money on unnecessary health care. When it comes to drugs, however, they’re often preventing people from getting necessary care. A recent data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics said about a quarter of adults who had diagnosed diabetes asked their physician if there was a lower-cost medication they could try, even if things were working for them. (Carroll, 11/11)
Stat: It’s Tiny Biotechs — Not Big Drug Makers — That Fear ‘Nuclear Winter’ From Pelosi’s Drug Pricing Bill
They and other leaders of small biotech companies — most of whom stick to science, not politics — are speaking up now because they are uniquely worried that the policies included in Democrats’ marquee bill will dry up the venture capital funding that drives their industry and, in turn, make it impossible for the similarly small startups that turn basic research into new medicines to get off the ground. ...Theirs is an important perspective — and one that, until now, has been virtually erased from the debate over the landmark legislation. That conversation has focused almost entirely on large pharmaceutical companies — enterprises that, at least as many supporters of the legislation argue, would be able to withstand diminished investments or other financial changes. (Florko, 11/12)
The Wall Street Journal: China’s Drug Market Is Opening Up
China’s plan to make its health-care system better and more affordable is throwing up opportunities for global drugmakers. There has been a tectonic shift in China’s drug policy in the past couple of years. The government is approving innovative foreign drugs at a record pace, while trying to push down sky-high prices. Fifty-one innovative drugs, 80% of them from global pharmaceutical companies, were approved last year, up from just five in 2016, according to Deloitte. (Wong, 11/11)
MPR: HealthPartners Decision Illustrates A Trend For Pharmacies: Fewer Of Them
When HealthPartners closes 30 retail pharmacies and its mail-order pharmacy business early next year, about 300 people will lose their jobs, including 100 pharmacists. The insurer, which also runs clinics and hospitals, declined to discuss the closures. The retail pharmacy industry has been shrinking for more than a decade, starting with the closing of many independent pharmacies in rural areas.That trend is likely to accelerate, said Sarah Derr, executive director of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association. (Gunderson, 11/8)
Stat: Pharma Copay Cards Are Raising Costs For Private Canadian Insurers
Amid ongoing criticism of discount cards for prescription medicines, a new study finds these marketing tools increased costs for private insurers in Canada by 46% because patients were not motivated to pursue lower-cost generics. The analysis examined 2.8 million prescriptions for 89 different drugs for which brand-name discount cards were available between September 2014 and September 2017. Of nearly 940,000 claims filed with private insurers, $69.4 million was paid out compared with roughly $47.7 million for a mix of equivalent generics, a difference of $21.7 million, or 46%. For each prescription, this amounted to an extra $23.09. (Silverman, 11/11)
Bloomberg: Allergan CEO Saunders On Deals, Drug Pricing And What's Next
Allergan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brent Saunders talks about how he built up the pharmaceutical giant, the pending sale of Allergan to Abbvie, why he took a huge pay cut to come to Allergan, and the controversial subject of drug pricing. He talks to Bloomberg's Caroline Hyde in New York. (11/11)
WBUR: When Countries Get Wealthier, Kids Can Lose Out On Vaccines
Each of those countries meets the World Bank's definition of a middle-income country: an average annual income (known as the gross national income, or GNI, per capita) between $1,026 and $12,375. In Nigeria alone, 3 million kids are undervaccinated. That's 15% of the world's total of children who lack key vaccinations. By contrast, vaccination rates can be high in poor countries, according to global health researchers, who say that Gavi has boosted the numbers. (Huang, 11/12)
WBUR: Mass. Uses Fear Of Public Scrutiny To Secure Deeper Medicaid Discounts From Drug Makers
Gov. Charlie Baker's administration was ready. Thirty letters requesting meetings to discuss deeper drug discounts arrived in the inbox of major pharmaceutical executives just weeks after Baker gained leverage that would compel many of those executives to respond. The Massachusetts Medicaid program had already asked some of these same drug makers to talk about taking less for new, high-priced medications, and the companies had refused. (Bebinger, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Teva Pharmaceutical Is In Recovery
For Teva Pharmaceutical Industries shareholders, a little improvement goes quite a long way. The beleaguered generic drugmaker’s third-quarter earnings, while mixed, gave investors some reason for optimism. Sales of $4.3 billion fell by 6% from a year earlier, while the net loss widened to 29 cents a share from 27 cents a year ago. However, the positives were strong enough to send shares 11.6% higher Thursday morning: Teva generated $551 million of free cash flow in the quarter and raised the low end of its profit and cash flow guidance. (Grant, 11/7)
