November 13, 2014—The Health Resources and Services Administration is withdrawing its planned comprehensive 340B program regulation tomorrow morning and instead will issue guidance early next year revising policies for key program elements.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] HRSA sent its proposed "mega-reg" to the White House Office of Management and Budget last April for … [Read more...]
Ex-U.S. Rep. Gutknecht: Stop Big Pharma From Gutting 340B
Bravo to former Congressman Gil Gutknecht for his Veteran's Day op-ed in Tucker Carlson's The Daily Caller news site urging "policy makers in general and conservatives in particular [to] fight to defend and preserve" 340B. Read it here and spread the word about it on Twitter and other social media. Gutknecht, a Minnesota Republican, served six terms in the U.S. House starting … [Read more...]
MedPAC Briefed About 340B Paper Requested by Lawmakers
Commission will not vote on findings or make recommendations to CongressNovember 10, 2014—Medicare Payments Advisory Commission staff members briefed the panel last week about a commission paper on the 340B program requested by congressional Medicare oversight committees. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] The commission is making no recommendations about 340B to Congress, MedPAC Chairman Glen Hackbarth explained during the panel's monthly meeting. … [Read more...]
In Elections’ Wake, New Senate Leadership and a New GAO Study on 340B
Report is due to be issued in mid-2015November 5, 2014—U.S. Senate committees with responsibility for the 340B drug discount program will have new leaders starting early next year following the GOP's strong showing in yesterday's midterm elections. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] Even before the elections, the current top Republicans on the Senate health, finance, and judiciary panels (plus a fourth GOP senator … [Read more...]
OIG Assessing Risk of Medicaid MCO Rebates on 340B-Purchased Drugs
Also, study about 340B and Medicare Part B is still on trackNovember 4, 2014—The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is assessing the risk of manufacturer discounts and rebates both being paid on 340B-purchased drugs dispensed to Medicaid managed care beneficiaries, the OIG said in its fiscal year 2015 work plan. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] The Affordable Care Act required states for the first time … [Read more...]
Orphan Drugs to Be Almost 20% of Global Drug Sales by 2020
Industry's "rush into orphan indications" shows no signs of stoppingOctober 31, 2014—Orphan drugs will account for almost 20 percent of total worldwide drug sales (excluding generics) by the end of the decade, with year-to-year sales growth more than double that of the overall prescription drug market, the market intelligence firm EvaluatePharma says in a new report.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] In the U.S., the average per-patient annual … [Read more...]
Hospitals Protest Genentech’s Deeming Cancer Drugs as Specialty Meds
State Medicaid chiefs, meanwhile, say Sovaldi might need federal price controlsOctober 30, 2014—Hospital groups are protesting Genentech's decision to make them buy three very expensive and much-used cancer drugs exclusively through specialty distributors, saying the change is raising their costs and potentially compromising patient care without enhancing patient safety or supply-chain security. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] State Medicaid directors, … [Read more...]