Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Despite Drugmakers' Blame-Game Tactics, They Really Could Control Sky-High Prices
The Hill: When Your Medication Costs More Than Your Mortgage
Prescription drug prices are out of control: The average annual cost for one specialty medication to treat a chronic condition is now more than what most families earn in a year. Big Pharma could solve the problem by committing to more rational and sustainable pricing models. Instead, for the last year, Big Pharma has chosen to point the finger at everyone else, and their decision to engage in a blame game is a tacit admission that drug prices are, in fact, too high. Since this is the road they’ve chosen to go down, let’s lay out some facts about the root causes of outrageous drug prices. (Rick Pollack and Marilyn Tavenner, 12/31)
Bloomberg: Trump FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb Isn't Pharma's BFF After All
Scott Gottlieb seems like the pharmaceutical industry's idea of a dream FDA Commissioner, with pharma ties and an ideological bent toward deregulation. But he has also been the only member of the Trump administration to follow through on the president's fiery rhetoric about rising drug prices. Pharma claims to like the free market. But in the year ahead, Gottlieb is set to prove how the free market can cut both ways for drugmakers. (Max Nisen, 1/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Biotech’s Breakthrough Year
Pay attention only to politics and you might think 2017 was a parade of horribles, yet most Americans saw their living standards rise and business innovations are happening apace. Consider the lifesaving medical breakthroughs greenlighted this year by the Food and Drug Administration. (12/29)
Tampa Bay Times: Let Federal Government Negotiate Prescription Drug Prices
One of the fairest and most effective ways for the nation to reduce its health care costs is for the federal government to use its massive purchasing power to negotiate more affordable prices for prescription drugs. That long-recognized reality is a key finding of a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences that makes practical recommendations for reducing drug costs while protecting the role pharmaceuticals play in the modern health care system. The report, Making Medicines Affordable, is notable for the 32 findings that address the challenge of curbing drug costs in both economic and political terms. To its credit, the academy balanced the debate by drawing attention at the outset to the contribution that the drug industry has made in delivering products that have been "very successful" in improving health and fighting disease. (12/25)
The Santa Fe New Mexican: Controlling Drug Prices — It’s Possible
A great success of modern America is the development of medicines to treat so much of what ails us. The United States knows how to develop and deliver drugs to fight disease and improve health — but success hardly comes cheap. Spending on prescription drugs is rising, with many people unable to purchase the medicines they or relatives need. The country cannot be healthy if people can’t afford prescriptions, especially ones to manage long-term conditions or ones that mean the difference between life and death. The situation has become so bad, in fact, that the prestigious National Academies of Sciences reported late last month that “consumer access to affordable medicines is a public health imperative.” (12/26)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Congress Must Pass Bill Limiting Drug Price Hikes
Imagine this: A patient shows up in the emergency room after suffering a seizure. You discover she had stopped taking her medication because it became too expensive. You switch her to a cheaper medication, but the side effects are more severe, making it harder for her to go to work. This is the reality that doctors in Cleveland see every day. (Malavika Kesavan, 12/28)
