Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Would Balance Drug Costs; Oregon Model Could Reshape Medicaid
Bloomberg: Fairer Global Drug Prices Could Help Lower Costs For Americans
The price of Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug, is $1,349 a month in the US; in Germany, it’s $328. The US price for Keytruda, a cancer treatment, is $191,000 a year; in Japan, it’s $44,000. The US pays three times more for branded prescription drugs, on average, than other rich countries. It certainly looks as though Americans are getting a bad deal. (5/13)
The Washington Post: For Medicaid, Democrats Should Follow Oregon’s Model
The party needs to come up with a better solution, which would both improve the program and save money. We did it in Oregon. Since 2012, my state has provided Medicaid through community-based coordinated care organizations (CCOs). Faced with rising costs, inefficiencies in care delivery and inequities in outcomes, we looked for ways to focus on health rather than disease, and to reward techniques that worked. (Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, 5/12)
Bloomberg: FDA Appointee Vinay Prasad Is A Drug Critic With A Lot To Prove
The controversial appointment of oncologist Vinay Prasad — an outspoken critic of the pharmaceutical industry and US health agencies — to a key role within the Food and Drug Administration was a shock for drug companies. Biotech stocks immediately fell over fears that the bar for drug approvals suddenly got a lot higher. (Lisa Jarvis, 5/13)
Chicago Tribune: Let's Learn From 'The Last Of Us'
If you watch HBO’s “The Last of Us,” you see how a pandemic didn’t destroy the world — failure to communicate did. Trust collapsed. Institutions froze. And the people paid the price. That’s fiction. But it’s also a warning. In 2025, it’s not a zombie-creating fungus we face — it’s a slow-motion unraveling of America’s public health and civic response systems. Bird flu is spreading through cattle. Measles cases are surging. Misinformation is everywhere. (Justin Angel Knighten, 5/12)
Stat: Former CDC Director On What New Docs, Scientists Need To Know
One of my first tasks even before my tenure began as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was to pen an op-ed for the New York Times. It said, “I will lead with facts, science and integrity.” In retrospect, I would have refined that point and added, “and that science will change.” Why? Because science, by its very nature, is a self-correcting process. (Rochelle Walensky, 5/13)
Stat: Casey Means Might Be The Right Surgeon General Pick
I don’t know Casey Means at all, but I have met and interviewed the previous two surgeon generals, Vivek Murthy and Jerome Adams, on several occasions. I found both doctors to be well suited to be the U.S. surgeon general of their times. The role of surgeon general is to oversee the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps but also to function as a main communicator of health information to the American public. (Marc Siegel, 5/13)
