October 31, 2013—Final regulations setting next year's Medicare reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient services and specified high-cost drugs will be held up for about a month due to the recent partial government shutdown.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the delay in an Oct. 23 memo to providers. CMS … [Read more...]
Judge Agrees to Speed Up 340B Orphan Drug Lawsuit
All filings in advance of hearing are due by Jan. 17October 31, 2013—A federal district judge has approved the federal government's and drug manufacturers' joint motion to speed up the industry’s lawsuit challenging the legality of the 340B orphan drug exclusion regulation.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] In an Oct. 25 order, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras agreed to consolidate hearings on Pharmaceutical Research and … [Read more...]
PhRMA and HHS Want to Resolve 340B Orphan Drug Suit Quickly
If judge agrees, ruling on the merits of industry's arguments could come as soon as JanuaryOctober 24, 2013—The federal government and drug manufacturers have agreed to fast-track the industry's lawsuit challenging the legality of the 340B orphan drug exclusion regulation. [ms-protect-content id="2799"] In an Oct. 22 joint motion, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Department of Health and Human Services asked U.S. District Judge … [Read more...]
Investor’s Business Daily Publishes Our Defense of 340B
Investor's Business Daily (IBD) recently published a diatribe against 340B hospitals and the 340B program by Sally C. Pipes, who heads the "think tank" Pacific Research Institute. Among other fulminations, Pipes said 340B is an "ungainly operation fattening the bottom lines of pharmacies and hospitals," "fails to actually help vulnerable patients," and "represents an … [Read more...]
RAND Corp. Launches 340B Research Project
Leaders say they aim to provide objective, nonpartisan analysisOctober 22, 2013—The RAND Corp. announced yesterday that it is launching a project to study and make recommendations for improving the 340B program. Organizers said one of their first tasks will be to submit comments on forthcoming 340B regulations due to be published in the coming months.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] "Working with all groups that have an interest in the … [Read more...]
Uncompensated Care Will Remain a Major Issue After ACA
Studies' findings on the uninsured have implications for 340B programOctober 18, 2013—A flurry of new reports by leading health care think tanks shed more light on the fact that uncompensated care will remain a major challenge even after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented, especially in the 26 states that are not expanding Medicaid under the law.[ms-protect-content id="2799"] One of the studies, a joint project by the Urban … [Read more...]
JAMA Publishes Letters Disputing Opinion Piece on 340B
Last May, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article in its Viewpoint section by two academics (one of whom receives speaking fees from Genentech) stating that the 340B program raises costs for patients, particularly those with cancer. We're pleased to report that JAMA's Oct. 16 edition includes a letter to the editor from SNHPA pointing out … [Read more...]