If Medicare Was Allowed To Negotiate Drug Prices Like Other Agencies, It Could Save $2.8 Billion In A Single Year
Medicare currently isn't allowed to negotiate drug prices, but analysts looked at agencies that can -- like the Department of Veterans Affairs -- and crunched some numbers. As drug prices continue to rise, officials scramble to find ways to curb the cost hikes. Meanwhile, Medicare beneficiaries will pay lower premiums on their prescription drug plans next year.
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Medicare Could Save $2.8 Billion In A Single Year If Prices Could Be Negotiated
By allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug makers, Medicare and its beneficiaries could save an estimated $2.8 billion in a single year for the top 20 most commonly prescribed medicines, according to a new analysis by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In crunching the numbers, the committee staff found that other government agencies that are permitted to negotiate with drug companies — such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense — were able to secure pricing that rose at “significantly lower rates” than wholesale prices for the most widely prescribed brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D. (Silverman, 8/1)
In other national health care news —
Bloomberg:
Facing Wave Of Opioid Lawsuits, Drug Companies Sprinkle Charity On Hard-Hit Areas
The drug industry is dishing out millions in grants and donations to organizations in cities, counties and states that have sued the companies over the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. The efforts could help makers and distributors of prescription painkillers, who face hundreds of lawsuits by communities across the country, reduce their tax bills and build goodwill ahead of a potential multibillion-dollar settlement over their role in a crisis that kills more than 100 Americans a day. (Hopkins, 8/2)
Stat:
Hundreds Claim Abilify Triggered Uncontrollable Urges To Gamble
[Denise] Miley, 41, filed a lawsuit in January 2016 against the drug makers Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka, alleging the drug — one of the best-selling in the world — caused compulsive behavior. The suit contends that the companies knew or should have known it could create such urges, and didn’t adequately warn the thousands of people in the U.S. who use the medication each year. Hundreds more people have since sued the companies, claiming that the drug caused them to gamble, eat, or have sex compulsively. And the Food and Drug Administration signaled its own concern in a 2016 safety warning, saying that uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat, shop, and have sex had been reported with use of the antipsychotic. (Thielking, 8/2)
The Washington Post:
Childhood Cancer Survivors Face ‘Financial Toxicity’
Kristi Lowery was 13 when physicians found a grapefruit-size tumor in her back — a rare cancer called Ewing sarcoma — and treated her with an aggressive regimen of radiation and chemotherapy. Years later, she developed breast and thyroid cancer, as well as heart and lung problems, probably as a result of the radiation. Today, Lowery undergoes a daunting number of regular cancer screenings to detect additional “late effects” — secondary cancers and other health problems caused by the powerful but toxic earlier treatment. (McGinley, 8/1)
USA Today:
3D-Printed Guns: Are They Are A Serious Threat To U.S. Communities?
If gun rights activist Cody Wilson gets his way in his legal battle, soon anybody – including convicted felons and the mentally ill – with a few raw materials and access to an industrial 3D printer could build a plastic firearm, gun control advocates say. But will people, particularly a criminal or someone else intent on carrying out violence, bother to make the effort? Tech experts and stakeholders in the gun control debate are divided on whether the emergence of 3D-printed plastic guns presents an immediate safety threat to U.S communities. (Madhani and Wolfson, 8/1)
Los Angeles Times:
When Hong Kong Commuters Take The Subway, Their Microbes Mix – And Spread
Humans aren’t the only commuters making use of the metro. A new study that examined the microbiome of the Hong Kong subway system found distinct bacterial “fingerprints” in each line during the morning – distinctions that blurred over the course of the afternoon. The findings, published in the journal Cell Reports, are part of a growing body of work that could have implications for a host of efforts, from managing the spread of disease to designing city infrastructure. (Khan, 8/1)