Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Starting Next Year, California Will Cap Annual Health Care Cost Increases
AP: New California Rule Aims To Limit Health Care Cost Increases To 3% Annually
Doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies in California will be limited to annual price increases of 3% starting in 2029 under a new rule state regulators approved Wednesday in the latest attempt to corral the ever-increasing costs of medical care in the United States. The 3% cap, approved Wednesday by the Health Care Affordability Board, would be phased in over five years, starting with 3.5% in 2025. Board members said the cap likely won’t be enforced until the end of the decade. (Beam, 4/24)
USA Today: High Costs Of Cancer: Survivors Struggle With Job Demands, Finances
Working adults often face a second major worry when they're living with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis ‒ financial hardship. A new study reports nearly 3 in 5 working-age adults with cancer face at least one financial challenge, including taking unpaid leave or losing a job or health insurance, according to an American Cancer Society study published Tuesday. (Alltucker, 4/23)
Also —
CNN: Ozempic, Wegovy: Sanders Launches Senate Investigation Into ‘Outrageously High’ Pricing Of Drugs
Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the high prices of the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The Vermont senator, an independent who has long called out drug manufacturers for their costly products, is launching an investigation into the “outrageously high prices” Novo Nordisk charges for the drugs. (Luhby and Dillinger, 4/24)
NBC News: How One State Is Trying To Make Weight Loss Drugs Cheaper
Novo Nordisk charges a monthly list price of around $1,350 each for Wegovy and Saxenda, while Lilly charges about $1,060 a month for Zepbound. North Carolina gets a rebate from the drugmakers that lowers those prices by a few hundred dollars; even so, the state says the drugs are too expensive for it to afford. “The cost of this drug can be anywhere from $10 to $70 to manufacture it, and it’s being sold for retail for well over $1,000,” North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell said. “I don’t know what word in the Webster’s Dictionary would best describe it other than being gouged.” (Lovelace Jr., McLaughlin and Kane, 4/24)
Stat: Health Care Spending Will Be Boosted By Ozempic-Like Drugs, Reports Find
Spending on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy ballooned last year and they’re set to cost the U.S. health care system and the federal government still more this year and beyond, two new reports released Wednesday show. One study from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists found that GLP-1 treatments were a main driver of the increase in overall drug spending by health entities such as pharmacies and hospitals last year. In particular, expenditures on Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide — sold as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity — doubled to $38.6 billion, making the drug the top-selling medicine in 2023. (Chen, 4/24)
