Your Medicare Costs May Go Up In 2022
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical developments and pricing stories from the past week in KHN's Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
CNBC:
Here's What To Know About Your 2022 Medicare Costs
When the calendar flips to 2022, certain Medicare costs will creep higher. For the program’s 63.6 million beneficiaries — most of whom are 65 or older — annual adjustments can affect premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing aspects of Medicare. While each change doesn’t necessarily involve a huge dollar amount, experts say it’s important to consider how any increases will affect your household budget. (O'Brien, 12/31)
In other news about prescription drug costs —
WBFO:
Hochul Signs New Laws Reducing Prescription Drug Costs
Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a series of new laws aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs and helping struggling, independently-owned pharmacies, but vetoed a third that supporters argue would reduce costs for the state's Medicaid program. Three bills known as the Pharmacy Rescue Package received near unanimous bi-partisan approval in the state legislature. They aim to lower the cost of prescription drugs by regulating so-called pharmacy benefit managers. (Finnerty, 1/4)
Orange County Breeze:
New California State Report Shows Rise In Cost Of Prescription Drugs
The California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) today released the Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Report for Measurement Year 2020. The report looks at the impact of the cost of prescription drugs on health plan premiums and compares this data over four reporting years: 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Among other findings, the report reveals that health plan spending on prescription drugs increased by $1.5 billion since 2017, including an increase of $500 million in 2020. (Henderson, 1/2)
The Oregonian:
Oregon’s New Drug Price Transparency Project Finds Eye-Popping Prescription Costs
Joan Morgan’s father faced a $10,000 a month price tag for a drug to keep him alive after he was found to suffer from a rare genetic mutation, she told Oregon regulators earlier this month. But that figure pales in comparison to other high-cost drugs detailed in a new state report previewed at the hearing, which was held by the state’s Prescription Drug Price Transparency Program. Genetic therapies from the global biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb topped the list of pricey new drugs reported to the program, which was created by the Legislature in 2018 to increase transparency around drug costs. The 2021 report draws from data collected since the program’s last annual report was released in October 2020. (Green, 12/26)
Also —
The Wall Street Journal:
How Biogen Fumbled Aduhelm, Its Once-Promising Alzheimer’s Drug
For more than a decade, Biogen Inc. BIIB -0.99% worked on a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease that seemed to have blockbuster potential. Early results were so impressive that Biogen raced toward regulatory approval—a risky gambit that drove up the stock as investors anticipated sales of the first approved drug in nearly two decades to slow the advancement of a disease affecting six million Americans. (Walker and Pulliam, 1/4)
Bloomberg:
Prescription Weight Loss Drugs For Obesity Work—If Your Doctor Lets You Get Them
Many overweight people and all obese people are candidates for a prescription. Yet no more than 3% of qualifying Americans are taking weight loss medications, and most haven’t even heard of them. The American Board of Obesity Medicine has certified 5,242 obesity medicine doctors in total, up from 587 in 2013. So far, though, most doctors simply aren’t prescribing the medications. (Court, 1/4)
FiercePharma:
2022 Forecast: Will Biopharma's Offices Ever Go Back To 'Normal'? Sanofi, Novartis And More Chime In
Through much of 2021, it seemed as if COVID-19 vaccines were enabling many countries to gently ease back into normalcy. Those hopes hit a rude awakening late in the year when the omicron variant emerged, and now industry leaders are forced—again—to quickly adapt. How is biopharma preparing to work in 2022? In recent weeks, we've asked leaders at a range of companies about their workplace expectations next year, and how they can continue their lifesaving work despite the latest challenges posed by the pandemic. (Sagonowsky, 12/22)
