Pharma & tech 042920

Amid Pandemic, FDA Seizes Cheaper Drugs From Canada
By Phil Galewitz
Many Americans order drugs from Canada and other countries because they are cheaper, but U.S. authorities appear to be cracking down on the practice.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: How Will We Reopen The Economy?
The politics of COVID-19 are pretty polarized, but health experts across the ideological spectrum agree: The U.S. will need more robust testing before it’s safe to relax social-distancing requirements. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, Congress and the nation’s governors continue to spar over who should be responsible for what. Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider, Tami Luhby of CNN and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

‘You Pray That You Got The Drug.’ Ailing Couple Gambles On Trial For COVID-19 Cure
By JoNel Aleccia
Josie and George Taylor of Everett, Washington, are two of the first people in the U.S. to recover from novel coronavirus infections after joining a clinical trial for the antiviral drug remdesivir.

As Ventilators Become Crucial In Saving Lives, Repair Roadblocks Remain
By Markian Hawryluk
With hospitals struggling to get more ventilators, they must ensure every ventilator they have is ready for service. But manufacturers limit who can repair them.

N.Y. Leads The Nation In COVID-19 Tests, But Testing Still Doesn’t Meet Demand
By Michelle Andrews
New York City and hospital officials recommend testing only the sickest people and encouraging others to stay home to get well. But other officials say wider tests are needed to ensure that essential workers don’t spread the disease.

Big Brother Wants To Track Your Location And Health Data. And That’s Not All Bad.
By Julie Appleby and Victoria Knight
Big data plays a critical role in the success of current public health efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus. Privacy advocates, though, are watching closely.

Coronavirus Fuels Explosive Growth In Telehealth ― And Concern About Fraud
By Fred Schulte
“Unscrupulous providers” could take advantage of the boom in treatment delivered via voice or video calls.

With Federal Nod, Consumers Could Lose The Boost They Get From Drug ‘Coupons’
By Michelle Andrews
The proposal being weighed by federal officials would allow employers and insurers to decide that drug companies’ assistance doesn’t count toward their members’ deductible or out-of-pocket maximum spending limits. If plans opted for that approach, only payments made by patients themselves would be included in the calculation toward reaching those limits.

Coronavirus Crisis Opens Access To Online Opioid Addiction Treatment
By Phil Galewitz
Under the national emergency, the government has waived a law that required patients to have an in-person visit with a physician before they could be prescribed drugs that help quell withdrawal symptoms, such as Suboxone. Now they can get those prescriptions via a phone call or videoconference with a doctor. That may give video addiction therapy a kick-start.

Abbott’s Fast COVID Test Poses Safety Issues, Lab Workers Say
By Rachana Pradhan
HHS said this test would “save personal protective equipment.” But Abbott’s very design ― devised for mobile testing — means those working with specimens need even more protection, experts warn.

Widely Used Surgical Masks Are Putting Health Care Workers At Serious Risk
By Shefali Luthra and Christina Jewett
Because high-end N95 masks are scarce, medical centers are using surgical masks that have been linked to considerably higher infection rates.

COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They’re Not
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn’t test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle.

Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed.
By Jay Hancock
Politicians pledged to stop providers from charging for video appointments or telephone calls, but some patients are being charged $70 or $80 per virtual visit.

Consumer Beware: Coronavirus Antibody Tests Are Still A Work In Progress
By JoNel Aleccia
Public officials are putting high hopes on new blood tests as a means of determining who has developed antibodies to COVID-19, and with those antibodies, presumed immunity. But experts caution the tests are largely unreliable and the science is still catching up.