Latest California Healthline Stories
Denial, Appeal, Approval … An Adult’s Thorny Path To Spinraza Coverage
The FDA granted approval for Spinraza in late December for use on children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy. Insurance coverage is mostly focused on infants and children.
Little-Known Middlemen Save Money On Medicines — But Maybe Not For You
Kaiser Health News examines the role of PBMs in the prescription drug-pricing pipeline.
Drug Puts A $750,000 ‘Price Tag On Life’
The high cost of Spinraza, a new and promising treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, highlights how the cost-benefit analysis insurers use to make drug coverage decisions plays out in human terms.
Follow The Money: Drugmakers Deploy Political Cash As Prices And Anger Mount
Embattled opioid seller Mallinckrodt is one of many pharmaceutical companies boosting political contributions and lobbying on Capitol Hill.
Whichever Way ‘Repeal and Replace’ Blows, Pharma Is Due For Windfall
A little-noticed provision in President Donald Trump’s executive order on drug prices may offer a clue to why Big Pharma hasn’t opposed a bill that could bleed their balance sheets of millions of patients.
Exclusive: White House Task Force Echoes Pharma Proposals
Documents examined by Kaiser Health News shed light on the workings of the Trump administration’s “Drug Pricing and Innovation Working Group.”
Daylight On Diabetes Drugs: Nevada Bill Would Track Insulin Makers’ Profits
With the cost of medications up 300 percent in the past decade, supporters see this as a first step to rein in prices.
Former Pharma Reps’ New Mission: To School Docs On High Drug Costs
One insurer is turning the tables on drugmakers with what may be a new job category: a sales force for cost-effective medicine.
Drug Rebates Reward Industry Players — And Often Hurt Patients
A new JAMA study examines how drug rebates can direct money to middlemen and force Medicare patients to cough up more money.
Louisiana Proposes Tapping A Federal Law To Slash Hepatitis C Drug Prices
Several public health officials endorse using a federal law to slash hepatitis C drug prices in Louisiana and avoid drug bills that could cripple the state budget.