pharmaceuticals
Celia Rivenbark: The only thing that can save us is…big pharma?!
There’s an old joke that if men were the ones who got pregnant, they’d be able to get an abortion at a 7-Eleven. I’d go a step further and say they’d also demand a Big Gulp and free taquitos from the “hot” bar before they left. Such is the entitlement of those men who talk […]
Experts: Dems’ drug measures are good for seniors. But there are downsides
The sweeping Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats in Congress this past week takes on an issue that Americans have been screaming about for years: the high cost of prescription drugs. But while it will bring immediate relief to millions of seniors, several experts have said it may dampen development of new drugs and new […]
Senate GOP takes shameful vote to block cap on insulin costs
More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, including more than 230,000 Iowans (and more than 880,000 North Carolinians). That means if you don’t have it yourself, someone close to you almost certainly does. I have loved ones and friends with the disease. One particularly special person in my life was diagnosed with Type 1 (juvenile) […]
Lower insulin co-pays, list prices targeted in new bipartisan U.S. Senate bill
WASHINGTON — Two key senators have unveiled the details of a bipartisan plan to lower costs for insulin, a lifesaving drug that some Americans have struggled to afford in recent years as prices have skyrocketed. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, introduced the measure in June, after months […]
Federal regulators launch investigation into drug rebates said to drive up prescription costs
The Federal Trade Commission last week announced what some observers believe could be a game-changer when it comes to the rising cost of prescription drugs. The agency — which is meant to protect fair competition — said it would look into the murky practice by which drugmakers grant rebates and other fees to insurer-owned pharmacy […]
As insulin costs soar, diabetics say a $35 cap on co-pays is not enough
WASHINGTON — Lacy Mason was a 21-year-old graduate student in Atlanta when she started rationing her insulin. As a Type 1 diabetic, she needs to take insulin every day for survival. But when the cost surged to $960 a month, Mason could no longer afford it. She had aged out of Medicaid and her student […]
Insulin price cap approved by U.S. House as Georgia’s Warnock pushes for Senate passage
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill on a bipartisan 232-193 vote that would limit the price of insulin, as congressional Democrats met throughout the day with health care advocates to make their case for the proposal. Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Patty Murray of Washington state held a virtual […]
PW exclusive: DEQ cites Greensboro company for “imminent and substantial endangerment” over handling of hazardous pharmaceutical waste
A financially troubled company stored more than 500 containers of flammable liquids, gases and hazardous pharmaceuticals without a permit, posing an “imminent and substantial endangerment,” according to state regulators. Pharmaceutical Dimensions, which leased a warehouse at 7353-A W. Friendly Ave. in Greensboro, was cited by the NC Department of Environmental Quality in early March after repeatedly failing to comply with hazardous waste rules for nearly a year.
Prescription drug price reform on the line in Biden’s big social spending bill
WASHINGTON — Among the most potentially transformational changes in the Democrats’ massive social and climate bill pending in the Senate are a set of long-sought changes intended to tamp down the fast-rising cost of prescription drugs. The $2 trillion spending package would ensure Americans don’t pay more than $35 when they pick up a new […]
CVS sometimes forces people to use its pharmacies. Now the Supreme Court will weigh in
[Editor’s note: In September, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 257 into law — a measure that will increase state regulation of “pharmacy benefit managers” in hopes of better protecting consumers. As the following story by reporter Marty Schladen of the Ohio Capital-Journal makes clear, however, many PBM practices remain controversial and will […]
Biden administration announces “comprehensive” plan to fix high drug prices
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week issued its plan to address high drug prices as part of President Joe Biden’s push to take on anticompetitive practices across the economy. But while it addressed in detail abusive practices by drugmakers, it was a lot more superficial about the practices of much-larger corporations […]
Reports: Drug manufacturers and middlemen both responsible for rising consumer costs
The world of prescription drug pricing can be bewildering — intentionally so, some critics of the industry claim. Whether that’s true or not, several reports this year show that the supply chain’s alchemy of list prices, rebates and net prices hurts consumers. And a U.S. Senate report says drugmakers and middlemen share the blame. The […]