Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pharma Pumps Near Record-Breaking Amounts Of Money Into Lobbying As Pressure Over Prices Ramps Up
Stat: PBMs, Under Fire From Trump, Spend A Record Sum On Lobbying
Lobbying disclosures filed on Monday revealed a flurry of pharmaceutical industry activity, including the largest-ever expenditure for the trade group representing pharmacy benefit managers. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association spent a record-breaking $1.49 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2019, the most it has ever spent in a three-month span, according to a STAT analysis of the latest lobbying disclosures. The all-time record comes as the lobbying organization is vocally opposing a Trump administration proposal to ban certain rebates from drug companies to PBMs that could fundamentally threaten the industry’s business model. (Facher, 4/23)
Bloomberg: Pharma Lobby Nears Spending Records With Drug Prices Under Fire
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group, which represents 37 drug companies, spent $9.91 million in the first quarter, up from $6.03 million during the last quarter of 2018, and just shy of its record a year earlier, according to disclosures filed with Congress before a Monday deadline. Drug companies are facing an unprecedented threat to their pricing practices as the president and lawmakers from both parties have targeted the high costs of drugs. That has become one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement in an otherwise divisive political climate. (Brody, 4/22)
The Hill: Some Drug Companies Boost Lobbying Efforts Amid Scrutiny From Congress
AstraZeneca spent more than $1 million on lobbying in the first three months of 2019, compared to the $600,000 it spent during the same time last year. Bristol-Myers Squibb spent $1.2 million between January and March of this year, up from last year's $800,000. Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly both slightly increased their spending on lobbying this year to about $1.4 million each. (Hellmann, 4/22)
