Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Entire Health Care System Shouldering The Burden Of Ivermectin
Los Angeles Times: A New Study Calculates The Incredible Cost Of Ivermectin Stupidity
A couple of things are known about ivermectin, the anti-parasitic treatment being promoted by a clutch of conspiracy-mongering mountebanks as a COVID-19 treatment. First, it doesn’t work on COVID. Second, despite that fact, prescriptions for the drug have rocketed higher — from 3,600 a week pre-pandemic to 88,000 in one sample week in mid-August, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Michael Hiltzik, 1/14)
New York Daily News: The FDA’s Harmful Restrictions On Two New COVID Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration recently granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Paxlovid and molnupiravir, two lifesaving, direct-acting antiviral drugs that are effective in preventing both hospitalization and death of people who have contracted COVID-19. They are effective against all variants so far, including omicron, which is capable of infecting people regardless of whether they are non-vaccinated or fully vaccinated. Unfortunately, two requirements that the agency put in place in authorizing these drugs will all but guarantee that most people who need them will not be able to get them in time. And time is of the essence since the drugs are only effective when taken within five days of initial symptoms. (Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer and Josh Bloom, 1/13)
The Colorado Sun: Hospitals Aren’t Passing Some Drug-Price Reductions To Patients
For a real New Year’s resolution, we are calling on Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper to help us account for billions spent on a healthcare program that leaves struggling families holding the tab. The Federal 340B program is becoming the poster child for federal programs run amok, allowing billions designated for affordable prescriptions to be lost within the system and leaving underserved families without the discounts they need. Ultimately, the 340B program is failing to deliver on its promise of affordable prescription medicines. (Jennifer Churchfield, 1/18)
The Mercury News: Build Back Better's Medicare Drug-Payment Cap Worth Saving
Senate Democrats have restarted negotiations over their Build Back Better Act. The $1.75 trillion bill contains a laundry list of bad ideas, especially when it comes to health care policy. But there’s one reform in the legislation that makes sense — a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. The proposal would save not just money but lives by helping ensure that patients take their medications in the right quantities at the right time. (Sally C. Pipes, 1/15)
