Why The U.S. Remains The World’s Most Expensive Market For ‘Biologic’ Drugs
Biologic drugs, made from living organisms, are big moneymakers partly because they have little competition from “biosimilars.” It’s a very different story in Europe.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
141-160 of 213 results
Biologic drugs, made from living organisms, are big moneymakers partly because they have little competition from “biosimilars.” It’s a very different story in Europe.
Diabetics dying because they can’t afford insulin. Organ transplant patients undergoing “wallet biopsies” to get on waiting lists. Are out-of-pocket costs going to dominate the health discussion in the next election? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this as well as new Trump administration rules giving states the ability to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. Also, lame-duck lawmakers in Wisconsin and Michigan try to cement health changes before Democrats take over.
Shereese Hickson’s doctor wanted her to try the infusion drug Ocrevus for her multiple sclerosis. Even though Hickson is trained as a medical billing coder, she was shocked to see two doses of the drug priced at $123,019, with her share set at $3,620.
The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.
Both sides in the contentious and expensive battle over California’s Proposition 8 are cherry-picking the facts ahead of Tuesday’s vote as dialysis companies spend record amounts to persuade voters through ads.
Critics worry the marketing of Vascepa, a purified fish oil product, could prove a fish story.
Dialysis companies have contributed more than $110 million to defeat an initiative on California’s Nov. 6 ballot that would limit their profits — breaking the $109 million record set by the pharmaceutical industry in 2016.
Consumers favor ACA’s safeguards on the promise that patients who have health problems can get insurance. In the heat of the midterm campaigns, politicians in both parties agree, but their arguments don’t always add up.
A ballot initiative in Maine proposes that free home care services be available to all residents who need help with at least “one daily activity.”
The measure, which will appear on the November ballot, seeks to cap industry profits. The SEIU-UHW union has raised almost $17 million, but opponents from the industry have invested more than four times that.
A DaVita subsidiary will pay $270 million over allegations that it cheated the federal government for years.
The controversy over the death toll from Hurricane Maria continues as the president tweets that the official estimate adopted by territory officials is a political ploy.
Alec Raeshawn Smith was 23 when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and 26 when he died. He couldn't afford $1,300 per month for his insulin and other diabetes supplies. So he tried to stretch the doses.
What exactly is sepsis, and why is it so dangerous? Who is most vulnerable? And what are the signs? KHN explains in this video.
No one tracks sepsis cases closely enough to know how often these severe infections turn fatal. But the toll — both human and financial — is enormous, finds an investigation by KHN and the Chicago Tribune.
People living near highways and agricultural and industrial zones get hit with a “double whammy” when smoke blows into their neighborhoods, where the air is often polluted already.
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics.
As more parents turn to medical marijuana to treat their sick children, a handful of states have changed the rules to allow them to administer the drug on campus. California is considering it — at the possible risk of losing federal funding.
More and more older adults, age 60 and older, care for their elderly parents and face physical, emotional and financial stress.
States are passing laws that limit a doctor's ability to prescribe opioids. Doctors and patients alike are wrestling with what that means in cases of chronic pain.
© 2026 KFF