- California Healthline Original Stories 1
- For The Asking, A Check Is In The Mail To Help Pay For Costly Drugs
- Sacramento Watch 1
- Report Stemming From Calif.'s Drug Pricing Transparency Law Does Little To Move Needle In Debate, But Paints Picture Of Spending
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
For The Asking, A Check Is In The Mail To Help Pay For Costly Drugs
It’s a little-known secret that patients can get thousands of dollars directly from a drugmaker. (Sarah Jane Tribble, )
More News From Across The State
The law requires drugmakers to notify insurers and government health plans at least 60 days before increasing list prices of any medicine. Although, the report was greeted with little hoopla, it does offer a broad look at drug spending in the state.
Stat:
California Reports Show Changes In Drug Spending As Makers Sue Over Release
For the first time since California passed a law designed to provide transparency into prescription drug pricing, the state released a pair of reports showing how much was spent on medicines, the costliest drugs, and the treatments that were most frequently prescribed, among other things. The reports generated little hoopla, but represent the latest tangible results of a drawn-out battle between state lawmakers and the pharmaceutical industry over the rising cost of medicines. With Congress failing to take action on a growing pocketbook issue, California pushed to require drug makers to provide alerts and justification for pending price hikes. (Silverman, 1/3)
In other news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
It’s Now Legal To Sell Home-Cooked Food — But There’s A Catch
Jan. 1 was supposed to be the date when, thanks to a new law, California cooks could apply to their local health department for permits to sell food cooked in their home kitchens. But because of the wording in AB626, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in September, Bay Area cooks may have to wait months or years for the opportunity to do so. (Kauffman, 1/2)
Biomedical Researchers Worried They'll Feel The Pain From the Government Shutdown
Scientists are worried that if the shutdown continues for too long, money for their projects could be impeded. However, many health programs are insulated from the battle because Congress had passed funding for certain agencies earlier in the year.
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
For Biomedical Industry, Partial Government Shutdown A New Year's Headache
As a partial government shutdown drags on, biomedical researchers and companies are looking at 2019 with anxiety. Researchers who plan to apply for grants from the National Institutes of Health and companies seeking product approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration worry that the shutdown will progressively hinder their work. ...Likewise, UC San Diego researcher/oncologist Dr. Catriona Jamieson said that while work is currently moving ahead, a prolonged shutdown will increasingly interfere with research. (Fikes, 1/2)
California Healthline:
How The Government Shutdown Affects Health Programs
There seems to be no end in sight for the current partial government shutdown, the third since the beginning of the Trump administration. For the vast majority of the federal government’s public health efforts, though, it’s business as usual.That’s because Congress has already passed five of its major appropriations bills, funding about three-fourths of the federal government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Luthra, 1/3)
The New York Times:
What Is And Isn’t Affected By The Government Shutdown
Fear not, seniors of America: The Social Security checks are still coming. (And the Postal Service will still deliver them.) That’s because the Social Security Administration already received funding for the 2019 fiscal year, in September, according to Mark Hinkle, an agency spokesman. “Social Security services and offices will remain fully operational, and Social Security benefits will be paid on time,” he said in an emailed statement. It is not the only entitlement program spared from the shutdown. Medicare and Medicaid are also unaffected. (Chokshi and Caron, 1/2)
For The Family Of Former Bay Area Football Star, The Toll Football Takes On The Brain Is Personal
The family of Rod Stensrud is part of a group lawsuit against the NCAA over the alleged link between football and degenerative neurological diseases. “Every time I see football it will remind me of my father,” said his son Reid Stensrud.
The Mercury News:
‘Something Is Wrong With My Brain’: Life After Football For One-Time Bay Area Star
The situation highlighted a long, soul-sapping mental decline that physicians diagnosed a year later as early onset Alzheimer’s, a disease the family attributes to the years Stensrud played high school and college football. On the eve of Monday night’s national championship at Levi’s Stadium, the Stensruds are one of four families suing the NCAA in wrongful death complaints that underscore the potentially high costs of the game. (Almond, 1/2)
In other public health news —
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Community Group Educates Poor Sonoma County Communities About Vital Oral Health Care
[Karissa Moreno’s] team is focused on a new effort to improve oral health care through dental health education in the lower-income neighborhoods in Sonoma County. During the first two years, Moreno expects to help over 2,000 people across the county through the Dental Wellbeing Collaborative. The program is being supported by a $100,000 donation from Dr. John Duffy, a retired Sonoma County periodontist who developed a technique for preventing gum disease while doing volunteer dental work with poor communities in the United States and Latin America. The dental collaborative plans to use a combined approach of community outreach and teaching people self-care skills to implement in households that may not have easy access to health care. (Bordas, 1/2)
The House Democrats are set to vote next week on formally intervening in the suit against the health law that's currently working its way through the courts. The measure puts pressure on Republicans, who campaigned on protecting preexisting condition coverage and other popular provisions in the ACA.
The Hill:
House To Vote Next Week On Intervening To Defend ObamaCare In Court
The House will hold a vote next week on intervening to defend ObamaCare in court against a GOP-led lawsuit, which Democrats hope will be a tough vote for many Republicans. A spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the vote on having the House formally intervene in court to defend ObamaCare will come next week, in addition to a vote on Thursday on intervening in the lawsuit as part of the larger package of rules for the new session of Congress. (Sullivan, 1/2)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
Expect 2019 To Be Quiet In Congress For Small Business
Lawmakers were expected to introduce health care bills even before the federal court ruling last month that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. Since that ruling, which is expected to be appealed and could reach the Supreme Court, House Democrats have said they plan to intervene in the defense of the law. Democrats expect to introduce bills to limit the use of low-cost short-term health plans that have limited coverage and bolster the ACA's coverage of people with pre-existing conditions. Republican opposition to Democratic efforts is likely, although many GOP lawmakers voiced support for pre-existing condition coverage during their election campaigns. (1/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump And Congressional Leaders Dig In Over Government Shutdown
The shuttered parts of the federal government were no closer to being reopened Wednesday after President Trump and congressional leaders met for the first time since the shutdown began nearly two weeks ago. “I don’t think any particular progress was made today, but we talked,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters. “We’re hopeful that somehow in the coming days and weeks we’ll be able to reach an agreement.” (Wire, 1/2)
Stat:
Trump Gets A Permanent Drug Czar — And His First Science Adviser
The Senate also confirmed James Carroll to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, giving the White House a top drug policy adviser amid a national epidemic in which 70,000 Americans die each year from drug overdoses. Carroll has filled the role in an acting position since February. The Trump administration has identified the opioid crisis as a top priority, but lost its first ONDCP nominee to scandal and has in many cases sidelined the office while devoting much of its portfolio to Kellyanne Conway, one of the president’s top political advisers. (Facher, 1/2)
Reuters:
Trump Says He Expects To See Lower Drug Prices
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he expects to see a tremendous decrease in drug prices even as drugmakers have taken steps to raise the prices of their medicines starting this month. Trump made the comments during a meeting of his Cabinet at the White House that included U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar. According to documents seen by Reuters, nearly 30 pharmaceutical companies have taken steps to end their self-declared halt to price increases this year. (1/2)
Bloomberg:
Drugmakers May Be Delaying Price Hikes To Avoid Spotlight
With drugmakers under the microscope, price hikes on branded medicines are off to a slow start in 2019. According to a Goldman Sachs analysis, prices were raised on about 27 percent of the top 500 branded drugs, down from 47 percent last year. The average list price increase was only 4 percent, half what it was in 2018. “The lower magnitude of brand price increases could present modest downside risk to wholesaler earnings,” health-care services analyst Robert Jones wrote in a note to clients. (Flanagan and Griffin, 1/2)
Stat:
A Shattering Breach Of Trust: The Doctor Who Was Not Who He Claimed To Be
More than 200 of his former patients, including [Yvette] Hansberry, have joined a class-action suit against Dimensions Health Corp., which now operates the hospital where they were treated. The suit claims that the hospital was negligent in its hiring and credentialing of the man they knew as [Dr. Charles] Akoda — and that they had suffered “humiliation, shame, mortification and other injuries” under his care. The suit charges that he conducted unplanned emergency cesarean section surgeries that were “not medically necessary” and that, because his patients did not know his real identity, they were incapable of providing authorization or consent for any medical procedures. (McKinney, 1/3)