Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Renewed Scrutiny Of 340B Program Seems Like Win For Pharma, But Drugmakers Shouldn't Celebrate Yet
Stat: Taking Aim At 340B Drug Program, Lawmakers Target Both Hospitals And Pharma
They don’t agree on the details, but both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are ready to ramp up oversight of a federal drug discount program that hospitals generally support — and drug makers tend to want to rein in. On its face, the increasing congressional scrutiny seems like a win for the pharmaceutical industry, which has bucked against the status quo. But lawmakers at a Tuesday hearing on the program, known as 340B, signaled an interest in taking aim at both industries. (Mershon, 5/15)
Modern Healthcare: Senate Committee Turns 340B Spotlight On Drugmakers
Lawmakers turned their sharp scrutiny of the 340B program on drugmakers Tuesday, questioning why states and providers don't know the ceiling prices within the drug discount program. In a hearing Tuesday, members of the Senate health committee asked government watchdogs why the Trump administration has delayed for the fifth time a rule that would set ceiling prices and why 340B hospitals don't know what they ought to be paying for the discounted drugs. (Luthi, 5/15)
The Hill: GOP Chairman Plans Hearings On Trump Drug Pricing Proposals
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Tuesday that he plans to conduct hearings on some of President Trump’s new proposals to bring down drug prices. Brady said it is too early to tell if the committee will move legislation on the issue, but said he wanted to consider the ideas. ...Brady said he particularly liked items in the proposal to bring drugs to market faster to increase competition, as well as ideas to make sure that savings from insurer negotiations with drug companies make their way to consumers. (Sullivan, 5/15)
The Hill: PhRMA Expresses 'Serious Concerns' With Trump Drug Pricing Proposals
The main drug industry lobbying group on Tuesday said that it had "serious concerns" with major elements of President Trump's new plan to bring down drug prices. In the first extended remarks on the plan since Trump unveiled it last Friday, Lori Reilly, an executive vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), pointed to several proposals she said would harm patient access to drugs. (Sullivan, 5/15)
Bloomberg: $100,000 Drugs Get Targeted For Discounts Under Trump's Plan
The key proposal in President Donald Trump’s plan to lower the price of some of the most expensive drugs would open up those treatments to price negotiation, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. Trump had once pledged, to the chagrin of many Republicans, that the federal government would be doing the negotiating, using its enormous buying power to drive down prices. But the plan his administration announced last week made no mention of that strategy. Instead, the new goal is to shift the coverage of some drugs so that insurers and pharmacy-benefit managers can negotiate better deals. (Edney and Langreth, 5/15)
Bloomberg: Trump’s Attempt To Shame Drugmakers Shows Medicare Costs Soaring
The U.S spent 60 percent more on drugs for Medicare patients in 2016 than it did in four years earlier, according to newly released federal data, countering pharmaceutical industry arguments that prescription medicine represents only a small and stable portion of health-care costs. Among top-selling drugs in the program, the per-unit cost of Sanofi’s Renvela, which is used by dialysis patients, climbed by an average of 21.6 percent between 2012 and 2016, the most recent year for which data are available. Unit costs for AbbVie Inc.’s Humira, a blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, rose at an average pace of 18 percent a year during the same period, according to the figures released Tuesday by the Trump administration. (Langreth and Edney, 5/15)
Politico Pro: CMS Drug Dashboards Reveal Big Price Hikes
Dozens of Medicare and Medicaid drugs more than doubled in price between 2015 and 2016, according to new data CMS released Tuesday. However, the drugs with the biggest percentage increases often were not the ones that accounted for the most program spending. Drugs that accounted for the highest total spending in Medicare Part B and D and Medicaid in 2016 tended to post increases of under 20 percent, with many under 10 percent. (Karlin-Smith, 5/15)
The Wall Street Journal: Investors, Brace Yourselves For More Drug-Price Drama
The next leg of the Trump administration’s plan to lower the cost of drug prices could get ugly for investors. As soon as Thursday the Food and Drug Administration plans to publish a database of complaint letters from generic drug companies to the agency alleging anticompetitive activities from branded pharmaceutical companies. It is likely that some complaints will pertain to high-price blockbuster drugs that investors watch most closely. (Grant, 5/16)
Prescription Drug Watch: For more news on high drug costs, check out our weekly feature, which includes coverage and perspectives of the issue.
