February 25 , 2010 - The agreement the drug industry believed it had reached with the Obama administration to limit its total contributions to health care reform seems to have been forsaken in the White House proposal released this week. At the same time, provisions of the Senate legislation that extend 340B discounts to the hospital inpatient setting appear, at least for … [Read more...]
Access our quarterly print newsletter!
February 16 , 2010 - The Drug Discount Monitor is now producing an enhanced print edition four times a year. It's replaced our old monthly newsletter and gives you a compilation of our best recent online articles. Click here to view a pdf-version of our February 2010 issue. And let us know if you want to receive the quarterly print edition by mail for a small additional … [Read more...]
Obama’s Budget Boosts OPA Funding to $5 Million
If all stars align, the Office of Pharmacy Affairs could get its largest budget in 340B history next fiscal year. Continued database improvements are on top of OPA's to-do list.February 12, 2010 - Much can happen to the federal budget between now and when congressional appropriations committees decide this fall how much each agency will receive. This may be especially true at a time when Congress is taking a hard look at the nation's soaring deficit. But if President Obama has his way, the chronically underfunded Office of Pharmacy Affairs will … [Read more...]
PhRMA CEO Steps Down Over Health Care Reform, Reports Say
Billy Tauzin stepped out on a limb when he clinched a deal to commit $80 billion from the drug industry toward health care reform. Some say his pact with the White House eroded his standing at PhRMA.February 12, 2010 - The drug industry's chief lobbyist and spokesman, former Louisiana Congressman Billy Tauzin, is resigning from his post as president and chief executive of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). "In January 2005, after a full year successfully battling a killer cancer, I was given a second chance at life, and appropriately chose to … [Read more...]
CMS Tweaks Medicare Part D for Patients and Plans
CMS is tweaking Medicare Part D for patients and plans. The government wants lower costs and improved access for beneficiaries of the large drug discount program.By Stuart Gordon As a new Medicare drug benefit year begins, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued final regulations that will directly affect such critical program aspects as patient costsharing, renewal policies, and eligibility for Medicare Advantage Special Needs plans which serve some of the nation’s sickest and poorest patients. In regulations … [Read more...]
Santa Clara Victory at Risk as Drug Makers Seek New Appeal
Santa Clara's legal challenge against 12 manufacturers continues to bounce between the courts. The drug makers filed another appeal to bar discovery of their proprietary pricing data.January 29, 2010 - The high-stakes 340B drug pricing case in California's Santa Clara County has taken several new turns. The dozen drug manufacturers the county sued in 2005 to recover alleged overcharges on 340B drugs have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for a rehearing on a revised decision the appeals court issued Dec. 9. The revised opinion allowed the plaintiffs to … [Read more...]
340B Head Jimmy Mitchell Retiring This Year
After more than a decade at the Office of Pharmacy Affairs, Jimmy Mitchell is leaving his job as the 340B program's main caretaker. At 68, Mitchell plans to address health issues and to spend more time with his growing family.January 29, 2010 - Jimmy Mitchell is not leaving the post he's held at the Office of Pharmacy Affairs for the past decade easily. His agency and the rapidly growing drug discount program it oversees is, in this public health veteran's own words, "the most exciting place to work anywhere." But late this month, Mitchell announced in an e-mail addressed to "friends, colleagues … [Read more...]