drug prices

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, center, and other lawmakers have a plan to overhaul the tax code that includes a provision that would repeal a tax credit for makers of drugs for rare diseases.

Health & Safety

House Republicans Aim To Eliminate Tax Credits For Orphan Drugs

2:55pm November 03, 2017

by Sarah Jane Tribble

For more than three decades, pharmaceutical companies have claimed a 50 percent tax credit for the cost of clinical trials of drugs for rare diseases. The credit is now in jeopardy.

The new law will require pharmaceutical companies to notify the state and health insurers if they plan to raise the price of a medication by 16 percent or more over two years.

California Governor Signs Law To Make Drug Pricing More Transparent

3:25pm October 10, 2017

by April Dembosky

This is the first step in a long game to develop clearer prescription drug pricing laws around the country, health policy experts say.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the agency will close a loophole that lets drug manufacturers skip pediatric testing in some drugs intended for children.

FDA Moves To Rein In Drugmakers' Abuse Of Orphan Drug Law

5:02pm September 13, 2017

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Following an investigation by Kaiser Health News and NPR, the Food and Drug Administration has moved to close a loophole that lets drugmakers skip pediatric testing of drugs to treat rare diseases.

First responders in Washington, D.C., bring naloxone on every emergency call.

First Responders Spending More On Overdose Reversal Drug

5:30pm August 08, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

With price hikes and rising demand, the drug naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose, is taking up an ever-larger share of emergency department budgets.

Juanita Milton, who suffers from COPD, uses her nebulizer with albuterol sulfate at her home in Live Oak, Texas.

Many COPD Patients Struggle To Pay For Each Breath

10:57pm June 02, 2017

by Sarah Jane Tribble

One in 9 Medicare enrollees have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and many of them can't afford the inhalers that keep them out of the emergency room.

Queue Listen Now

An organization campaigning against foreign drug imports has deep connections to the lobbying group PhRMA, which includes Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Bayer.

Nonprofit Working To Block Drug Imports Has Ties To Pharma Lobby

5:00am April 18, 2017

An organization campaigning against foreign drug imports has deep connections to the lobbying group PhRMA, which includes Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Bayer, an analysis by Kaiser Health News reveals.

The Government Accountability Office will investigate potential abuses of the Orphan Drug Act.

GAO Will Investigate Skyrocketing Prices For Orphan Drugs

4:20pm March 22, 2017

by Sarah Jane Tribble

The Orphan Drug Act was created to help patients with rare diseases get life-saving medications. But soaring prices suggest the law is being manipulated to increase profits.

Cancer patient John Krahne has delayed taking a prescribed cancer drug because it was too expensive. He walks near his home in Santa Rosa, Calif.

As Drug Costs Soar, People Delay Or Skip Cancer Treatments

2:46pm March 15, 2017

by Liz Szabo

Cancer patients increasingly delay or skip taking medication because they can't afford it. New drugs that can cost $100,000 or more a year mean more people suffering "financial toxicity."

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is one of three GOP senators seeking an investigation into six-figure annual costs for drugs intended to treat rare diseases.

GOP Senators Ask GAO To Investigate High Prices For Orphan Drugs

9:39am March 07, 2017

Amid an uproar over soaring drug prices, three GOP senators are seeking an investigation into whether the Orphan Drug Act is being manipulated to jack up the cost of medications for rare diseases.

The list price for a year's treatment with Emflaza is $89,000. The drug is available outside the U.S. for about $1,000.

Duchenne Drug Delayed After Outrage Over Price

3:25pm February 14, 2017

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Many Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients in the U.S. have imported a medicine called deflazacort for about $1,200 a year. A brand-name version just approved for sale in America costs $89,000.