Pharma Dealt A Disappointment Over ‘Doughnut Hole’ Change As Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Opioid Package
Negotiators for the House and Senate smoothed out the differences between their two versions on the massive opioid package that lawmakers are banking on as a winning talking point before the midterms. Not included in the final version of the agreement was pharma's push to use the legislation to roll back a provision that puts them on the hook for covering more drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
The Hill:
Lawmakers Unveil Massive Bipartisan Bill Aimed At Fighting Opioid Crisis
Aside from opioid policy, drug companies also failed in an intense lobbying push to attach a provision to the bill easing their costs in Medicare. The change would have rolled back a provision from February’s budget deal that raised drugmakers costs in Medicare’s coverage gap, known as the donut hole. Drug pricing groups and some Democrats came out strongly against including the provision in the opioids bill, saying it was a “handout” to Pharma. (Sullivan, 9/25)
Politico Pro:
Congress Reaches Final Deal To Address Opioid Crisis
House and Senate negotiators late Tuesday reached a final agreement on a bill addressing the opioid crisis following weeks of talks and a failed bid to include $4 billion worth of unrelated policy changes favorable to the pharmaceutical industry. The bipartisan bill, H.R. 6 (115), attempts to address nearly every aspect of the public health epidemic, from expanding access to addiction treatment and prevention programs to beefing up law enforcement efforts to curtail the trafficking of illegal drugs. (Ehley, Karlin-Smith and Tahir, 9/25)
In other national health care news —
The New York Times:
E.P.A. Places The Head Of Its Office Of Children’s Health On Leave
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday placed the head of its Office of Children’s Health Protection on administrative leave, in an unusual move that several observers said appeared to reflect an effort to minimize the role of the office. Dr. Ruth Etzel, a pediatrician and epidemiologist who has been a leader in children’s environmental health for 30 years, joined the E.P.A. in 2015, after having served as a senior officer for environmental health research at the World Health Organization. (Davenport and Rabin, 9/26)
The New York Times/ProPublica:
Cancer Center Switches Focus On Fund-Raising As Problems Mount
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has abruptly changed the focus of an annual fund-raising campaign amid a widening crisis that has already led to the resignation of its chief medical officer and a sweeping re-examination of its policies. The campaign, initially titled “Harnessing Big Data,” was to have focused on the cancer center’s research into the use of artificial intelligence in cancer treatment, according to a brochure on Memorial Sloan Kettering’s website. (Thomas and Ornstein, 9/25)
US News & World Report:
The Burden Of Race On Community Health In America
A decade and a half ago, a landmark study explored how racial and ethnic minorities face disparities in health care quality, even after accounting for socioeconomic differences. Such trends have persisted for decades, with deadly effects: Another study using 2002 data found there were 229 excess deaths daily that could be avoided by closing the mortality gap between blacks and whites. That's like a Boeing 767 with all black passengers crashing every day, as David Williams of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health points out. (McPhillips, 9/25)
The New York Times:
Shingles Vaccine Shortages Result From High Demand
Shingrix, the vaccine approved last year to prevent shingles, has proved so popular that its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, has not been able to produce it quickly enough to keep up with the demand. The vaccine is recommended for most people over 50. But many are having trouble getting it. The company says there are no manufacturing problems — it just didn’t expect so many consumers to want the vaccine. (Grady, 9/25)