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A Strikingly Simple Proposal for Combatting Prescription Painkiller Abuse
In recent months, the national epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse has generated widespread coverage in the national and local media and stoked great interest among state and federal policymakers. The litany of data points is now familiar to many observers of this crisis: prescription painkiller …
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A National Track and Trace System for Pharmaceuticals May Soon Be In Place
In an earlier post, we discussed the pressing problem of counterfeit drugs in the domestic pharmaceutical market. Counterfeits impose a heavy burden on the already-volatile cost structure of the national healthcare system while significantly reducing patient outcomes. The FDA recognizes supply chain reliability and security …
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Seniors Not Getting Wasted in Part D
Private and public payers seeking value in pharmacy benefits should be heartened by a recent study about medication waste in Medicare Part D. Commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the study found that less than 1 percent of all medications dispensed for Medicare beneficiaries …
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Mississippi, You’re On My Mind
New research by pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts has found that the “U.S. wasted $418 billion in 2012 based on bad medication-related decisions, and the impact was most deeply felt in those states that could least afford it.” The Express Scripts analysis looked at pharmacy-related decisions …
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Health Care Fraud Costs Everyone
Without a doubt, our nation’s health care system faces an array of challenges related to quality, affordability, and access. Given the breadth of our challenges, it makes the prevalence of fraud, waste, and abuse in our system that much more frustrating and galling. Depending on …
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New Report Details Potential Medicaid Savings from Using PBM Tools
In addition to offering significant savings for private health insurers, pharmacy benefit management (PBM) tools could save the Federal government and state governments $74.4 billion in Medicaid costs over ten years according to a new report by the Menges Group prepared for the Pharmaceutical Care …
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Ignore the Fine Print, Just Sign Here Please…
Every so often, we come across an innocuous news article that highlights a divergence between Washington lobbying rhetoric and marketplace practices. Recently, the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page article about Procter & Gamble moving to extend its payment terms with suppliers from an average …
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Pharmaceutical Companies Playing on Safety Rules to Impede Cost-Saving Generics
In a recent post, we talked about how pharmaceutical companies use “evergreen” techniques to work around the expiration of patents and extend profitable exclusivity periods for branded drugs. Now the New York Times has revealed another set of techniques in what pharmaceutical companies euphemistically call …
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Generic Pharmaceutical Association Suggests Alternatives to Medicare Part D Sequestration Cuts
Under the Budget Control Act sequestration spending cuts that went into effect at the beginning of March, federal payments to Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plans and much other Medicare spending will be subject to a 2% haircut. But the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) says …
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Good vs. Bad Regulation
There are times when enhanced government regulation in health care is desperately needed to protect the public and to restore trust and confidence in certain parts of the system. The recent, tragic case of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy effectively acting like a drug manufacturer – …
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