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.
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.
Amount Of Opioids Prescribed In U.S. Has Been Falling Since 2010
Report by CDC researchers finds a steady fall in opioid use in recent years, but the rates are still three times higher than in 1999.
New On The Streets: Drug For Nerve Pain Boosts High For Opioid Abusers
Gabapentin, prescribed for epilepsy and nerve damage, is touted by federal health officials as an alternative to opioids for patients. But some are now abusing the drug.
Promises Made To Protect Preexisting Conditions Prove Hollow
Experts say the loopholes would allow states to bypass some protections for people with preexisting conditions.
Huecos en las promesas de proteger la cobertura de condiciones preexistentes
Expertos en políticas de salud que han analizado el texto del proyecto de salud del Senado, aseguran que la legislación no siempre garantizaría la atención de personas con condiciones preexistentes.
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.