Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Both Parties Can Agree We Need More Affordable Drug Pricing
Roll Call: Americans Deserve A Healthy Dose Of Bipartisanship
Our economy remains weak. A pandemic continues to kill thousands of citizens each day. And political tensions seem to have reached an all-time high. While a plan to combat COVID-19 and provide economic relief is of utmost priority for President Joe Biden, congressional leaders in both parties would be wise to start repairing relations across the aisle by working together to pass relatively uncontroversial, overwhelmingly popular measures — such as reforms to make drugs more affordable. (Joseph Crowley and Bill Shuster, 2/5)
Stat: The Biden Administration Should Look Beyond ICER For Evaluating Drugs
As breakthrough drugs stream out of biopharmaceutical laboratories, how much they should cost and who will get access to them remain thorny issues. During his campaign for president, Joe Biden indicated that he plans to set reimbursement for specialty biologic drugs through value assessments conducted by a single independent review board, which could prove to be a problem for patients and vulnerable citizens. Review boards conducting similar value assessments can be rife with conflicts of interests and lean on methodologies that disadvantage certain drugs and the patients who may desperately need them. (William Smith, 2/9)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Pharma Raised Prescription Drug Prices As The Pandemic Threw People Out Of Work And Off Insurance
In the middle of a pandemic where the U.S. death count is approaching 500,000, pharmaceutical firms have substantially raised prices for drugs. They did this in January, at a time when millions of people in the U.S. had already lost their jobs and their health insurance, forcing patients to go without drugs or pay out of pocket. The latter option is a pipe dream for many families because 30% of the American public admit they would have difficulty paying an emergency bill of $400.Massive costs for drugs are common even for people with health insurance. Donna Talla of Springfield, Va. recently told The British Medical Journal that she’s thousands of dollars in debt for the medications she received after contracting COVID-19, despite having private insurance through her employer. “I think I’m going to have to sell my house,” Talla, 56, told The BMJ. (Daniel Hoffman, 2/9)
Grand Forks Herald: Port: Importing Canadian Price Controls Is Not The Answer For Drug Prices
North Dakotans aren't happy about drug prices, and I get it. I'm living it. As I type these words I'm still recovering from the worst health crisis of my life and making many trips to the pharmacist. Sen. Howard Anderson Jr., R-Turtle Lake, has introduced Senate Bill 2170. It would pin our state's drug prices to the prices in four Canadian provinces. (Rob Port, 2/3)
