drug prices

The House voted to pass Speaker Nancy Pelosi's prescription drug bill. The plan proposes, among other things, allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with drugmakers for some drugs.

Health & Safety

The House Just Passed Its Prescription Drug Plan — Here's What's In It

4:36pm December 12, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Lawmakers Thursday passed a bill to rein in drug costs. President Trump has vowed to veto it. But the plan shares a lot with other bipartisan efforts. Here's how it would work.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar announced his agency is dropping a proposal intended to lower drug prices.

As Its Drug Pricing Plans Fall Through, Trump Administration Turns To Congress To Act

4:35pm July 11, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

It was a tough week for the agency in charge of implementing Trump's ambitious plans to reduce drug costs. The administration rolled back one plan and had another shot down in court.

Health & Safety

Louisiana's Novel 'Subscription' Model For Pricey Hepatitis C Drugs Gains Approval

5:28pm June 26, 2019

Certain high-cost drugs are straining state budgets. A new deal approved Wednesday allows Louisiana to spend a fixed amount for unlimited access to a costly cure. Other states may try to follow suit.

The black mamba is a large venomous snake found in Africa. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 138,000 people die from a snakebite each year.

Snakebites And Kissing Bugs Among Surprise Items On World Health Agenda

3:01pm May 28, 2019

by Brian Simpson

Unpredictable moments involved the cost of drugs, the fight against snakebites and kissing bugs ... and reproductive rights.

Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, announced a new rule requiring drugmakers to publish drug list prices in TV ads.

Health & Safety

Will Displaying Drug List Prices In Ads Help Lower Costs?

5:48pm May 08, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The government wants consumers to have sticker shock about drug prices. A new rule requires list prices be displayed in TV ads. Patients advocates are not sure it will do much to lower prices.

Immunizations are one of the most cost-effective health interventions. Yet some vaccines are too expensive to be distributed in low- and middle-income countries.

Why Astronomical Drug Prices Are Bad For Health — And Profits

8:23pm April 12, 2019

by Jason Beaubien

Fatima Suleman, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, hopes that WHO's Fair Pricing Forum can help lower drug costs — and benefit drug manufacturers.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will lead the Senate Finance Committee's questioning Tuesday of executives from pharmacy benefit managers about drug costs.

Health & Safety

Drug Industry Middlemen To Be Questioned By Senate Committee

8:11pm April 08, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

The Senate Finance Committee will hear Tuesday from executives from the biggest pharmacy benefit managers. Confidential rebates paid to the PBMs are expected to draw scrutiny.

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A medical assistant administers insulin to an adolescent patient who has Type 1 diabetes. Cigna's pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, says it covers 1.4 million people who take insulin.

Express Scripts Takes Steps To Cut Insulin's Price To Patients

2:46pm April 03, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

As congressional lawmakers continue to turn up the heat on drugmakers, insurers and middlemen over the price of many medicines, one player says it will limit patients' share of the cost of insulin.

One of the Trump administration's proposals would change the prices Medicare pays for certain prescription drugs by factoring in the average prices Europeans pay for the same medicines.

It Will Take More Than Transparency To Reduce Drug Prices, Economists Say

1:59pm March 22, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

The Trump administration wants to increase transparency in prescription drug pricing. But health economists say the administration's call to tie prices to what other nations pay might work better.

Eli Lilly and Company, based in Indianapolis, is rolling out a half-price version of its insulin Humalog that will be sold as a generic.

Health & Safety

How Much Difference Will Eli Lilly's Half-Price Insulin Make?

11:44am March 10, 2019

by Bram Sable-Smith

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker said Monday that it would offer a generic version of Humalog insulin, one of its best-selling medicines. The move could help blunt criticism about high prices.

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