Prescription Drug Affordability Boards Gain Steam Across The Country
Stateline reports on the growth of these watchdogs while noting that consumers have yet to see significant savings. Also in the news: Outlets report on the impact of corporate landlords on tenants' health and on whether a sleep apnea cure would lead more insurers to cover weight-loss drugs.
Stateline:
Angry Patients Spur New State Watchdogs To Bring Down Drug Prices
Spurred by fed-up consumers, states are trying to curb spiraling prescription drug costs by assembling special public boards to investigate and regulate pricing. The idea is similar to a local utility board: a public group that sets rules or makes recommendations to ensure that what they’re regulating — in this case, prescription medications — is affordable. (Vollers, 7/16)
NBC News:
Corporate Landlords’ Actions Affect Tenants’ Health, Report Says
Miriam de Santiago says she worries about the rent on her home every day, doing the math to make sure she can meet her obligations without compromising the health of her son, who has epilepsy. “Epilepsy medication costs between $780 and $1,000 [a month], and we have to have it at home and at school. With the rent increases, I have to decide which medicine to request first, see which one is more urgent and find a balance,” De Santiago said in an interview. (Linares, 7/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Why Curing Sleep Apnea Would Push Insurers To Pay For Weight-Loss Drugs
Whether millions of people will be able to afford one of the hot new weight-loss drugs could hinge on whether they cure the sleep apnea of people like Damon Sedgwick. Sedgwick, a technology business analyst in Sydney, enrolled in a clinical trial in 2022 to test whether taking weekly injections of Eli Lilly’s anti-obesity drug Zepbound would alleviate the sleep apnea that had plagued his nights for years. (Loftus, 7/15)
