Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Before Roe Falls, Make Abortion Pills OTC; Ideas To Make Prescriptions More Affordable
The Boston Globe: Make Abortion Pills Available Over The Counter
If the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, as a leaked draft opinion suggests it will, about half the states are expected to ban abortion immediately. That will leave many women desperate for a workaround. And “medication abortion” will be their best option. Decades of research show the two-drug combination of mifepristone, which blocks a hormone crucial to the progress of a pregnancy, and misoprostol, which causes contractions and empties the uterus, is safe and effective. And it already accounts for more than half of American abortions. (5/15)
Reno Gazette Journal: Lowering Prescription Drug Costs For Nevadans
No one should have to ration lifesaving medicine. I vividly remember how my grandmother struggled to afford her prescriptions. When I was in college, I’d sit with her at her kitchen table and help her with her bills. Too often, we’d worry that there wouldn’t be enough left for prescriptions after she paid for bills and groceries. She should never have had to choose between her medicine and putting food on the table. I’m working in the Senate so other Nevadans don’t have to make that same wrenching choice for themselves or their family. (Catherine Cortez Masto, 5/17)
The Salt Lake Tribune: University Of Utah Health Plan Fails Sick Graduate Students
It is no secret that prescription drugs cost an absurd amount of money, according to a 2019 NPR article, the price of prescription drugs has been steadily on the rise since at least 2008. Injectables like mine rose 15% on average a year. (Ashleigh McDonald, 5/13)
Stat: Mick Kolassa Wrote Drug Pricing Playbook, Then Stepped Away
When Biogen announced the price for Aduhelm, its controversial Alzheimer’s drug, the explanation the company gave — it represented the “overall value this treatment brings to patients, caregivers and society” — came right out of Mick Kolassa’s playbook. For many years, Kolassa was the man drug companies turned to when they wanted advice on how to price a drug. While Biogen earlier this year had to take the unusual step of cutting the price of a new medication, halving the cost of Aduhelm in the U.S. market, there has been only one direction of travel for drug prices — up. (Billy Kenber, 5/13)
