Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: High Drug Prices Harm Those Who Need Prescriptions To Survive
New England Journal of Medicine: Perverse Incentives — HIV Prevention And The 340B Drug Pricing Program
July 2022 will mark a decade of availability of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the use of antiretroviral medications to prevent HIV infection, yet less than a quarter of the 1.2 million people in the United States who could benefit from PrEP are taking it (see map). What went wrong? (Julia L. Marcus, Ph.D., M.P.H., Amy Killelea J.D., and Douglas S. Krakower, M.D., 5/28)
Tallahassee Democrat: The Senate Must Act Now On High Drug Prices
One morning last year, I woke up to a slight pain in my left eye. Over the next couple days, my vision blurred, and I lost the ability to see color in that eye. After a whirlwind afternoon of seeing my doctor, being rushed to an ophthalmologist, and then sent to the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare emergency room for an MRI – I learned I have multiple sclerosis (MS). (Samantha Cooksey Strickland, 5/29)
The Washington Post: Four Things Biden Can Do To Improve His Standing
The White House has consistently tried to do too many things at once (e.g., Biden’s overstuffed Build Back Better bill, a “Unity Agenda,” etc.). In the lead-up to the midterms, Biden should limit his agenda to a short list of inflation-fighting measures (including a prescription drug cost-containment bill and energy bill to bring down fuel prices), a crime bill (including popular gun-safety measures) and a populist agenda targeting corporate irresponsibility. (Jennifer Rubin, 5/31)
The Washington Times: Price Controls For Drugs Aren't Conservative Policy
The writer P.J. O’Rourke said, “If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.” Politicians claim we have high health care costs and prescription drug prices, then imply that government price controls would lower costs. Some politicians have hopped on the price controls train. The fact is, that government price controls do far more harm than good. Nor are government price controls conservative ideas. (James Edwards, 5/30)
Charleston Gazette-Mail: Hold China Accountable For Fentanyl
Over the past decade, a superpower has quietly invaded a peaceful country and killed hundreds of thousands of its citizens. The superpower isn’t Russia, and the victims aren’t Ukrainians. The weapons of war aren’t conventional weapons, they’re chemical weapons. The culprit is China, and the death toll is that of our fellow Americans. The United States has been flooded with synthetic fentanyl and other opioids from China. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that 71,200 Americans died of overdoses of these drugs in 2021. (Morgan Ortagus, 5/31)
