Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Drug Rebate Rule Was A Rare Positive From Trump's Presidency
Newsweek: The Drug Rebate Rule Deserves To Stand—Even If It Came From Trump
Congressional Democrats are on the verge of passing a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. They're also moving forward with a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. Both will transform America for the better. The proposals would invest in everything from public transit to green energy to child care. Combined, they're arguably the boldest legislation since the New Deal, and lawmakers—as well as the Biden administration—deserve immense credit. Naturally, lawmakers need to pay for this new spending. Senators have proposed delaying a Trump-era drug rebate rule, which is projected to cost the federal government almost $200 billion over a decade, until 2026 in the bipartisan bill. And my fellow Democrats in the House are considering repealing the rule entirely in the reconciliation bill. (Democratic former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, 8/5)
The Desert Sun: How To Make Drug Prices Cheaper For Californians? Here Are Two Views.
Question of the day, or year: Why would an Assembly committee block legislation that would benefit patients rather than wealthy health care corporations? Legislation that would make prescription medications more affordable and accessible for patients. Legislation that is desperately needed. For decades, patients, advocates and lawmakers have been working hard to pass meaningful health care reform to allow those with chronic illnesses to get the care they need. Yet these reforms continue to be delayed. (Shane Desselle, 8/9)
NorthJersey.com: The Time Is Now For Prescription Drug Reform
Imagine trying to decide which life-saving drug you’ll take — and which one you’ll skip — simply because you can’t afford both. As an emergency room doctor, I have seen how often patients struggle to afford lifesaving medications. As the cost of much-needed medications like insulin skyrocket, far too many of my patients find themselves in an impossible situation as they choose between their medications or between their prescriptions and rents. (Aakash Shah, 8/10)
CalMatters: Piecemeal Solutions Are Not The Answer To Rising Health Care Costs
People who have a chronic disease and a high deductible health care plan need our help. Is Senate Bill 568 the solution? It is well-meaning but would do nothing to address what everyone knows is the real problem — the high cost of prescription drugs and health care in general. Those ever-rising costs make it impossible to provide health care for everyone, which prevents us from diagnosing and treating chronic diseases sooner rather than later, when they become more serious and difficult to treat. (Democratic California Rep. Jim Wood, 8/6)
The Washington Post: Our Patent System Is Broken. And It Could Be Stifling Innovation.
Patents are supposed to incentivize success. Across more than 200 years, they have emerged as an important tool for advancing society by encouraging inventors to create and share successful innovations, in exchange for the right to exclude others from the market for a limited period of time. And yet that’s not how patent law works today. Rather, we are at risk of incentivizing failure. The courts, Congress and boardrooms are advancing a simple logic that turns the patent system on its head. The consequences are on display in the pharmaceutical industry, which uses patents on successful drugs as vehicles to compensate for the losses companies incur when other research doesn’t pan out. Even worse, patents have become a way to gain an extended monopoly in the marketplace, one that reaches far beyond anything related to the drug itself. (Robin Feldman, 8/8)
