Pharmaceuticals

A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Medicare recipients taking Revlimid for cancer could end up paying, on average, $11,538 out of pocket for the drug in 2016, even if the medicine is covered by their Medicare Part D plan.

Specialty Drugs Can Prove Expensive Even With Medicare Coverage

10:21am December 03, 2015

by Alison Kodjak

Medicare insurance plans for drugs vary widely in the medicines they cover. For 2016, some patients who pick the wrong plan could pay nearly $12,000 out of pocket annually for a single drug.

Breast cancer drug Herceptin is one of the medicines that are typically covered by insurers but often at a high out-of-pocket cost for patients.

Health & Safety

Cancer Society Asks Regulators To Limit Insurers' Charges For Key Drugs

3:15pm November 19, 2015

by Julie Appleby

Many covered medicines come with high out-of-pocket costs for patients, the American Cancer Society says in a report that calls for restrictions on the tabs insurers can pass along to patients.

Health & Safety

Brand-Name Drugs Can Raise Costs Without Boosting Patient Satisfaction

2:15pm November 19, 2015

by Charles Ornstein

The website Iodine has collected data about consumers' experience with prescription drugs that show generics scored highest among people who take medicines in three popular categories.

Diane Bigda/Getty Images/Illustration Works

Menopause: A Gold Mine For Marketers, Fewer Payoffs For Women

7:50pm November 09, 2015

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Advertising for products to treat symptoms of menopause is becoming much more upfront about issues like painful sex. But more than a few of the remedies are solutions in search of a problem.

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Maryland pharmacist Narender Dhallan often has to decide whether to fill a prescription and lose money or send a customer to another store.

Health & Safety

How Generic Drugs Can Cost Small Pharmacies Big Bucks

5:35pm October 22, 2015

by Alison Kodjak

Independent pharmacies are getting pinched by reimbursements for generic drugs that aren't keeping up with rising prices. Drugstores blame the middlemen who manage companies' drug benefits.

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It's the time of year when seniors make choices about Medicare coverage that can affect how much they'll pay for medicines.

Health & Safety

The Right Medicare Drug Plan Can Help Control Price Shocks

11:35am October 21, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

Drug plans offered by private insurers under Medicare change from year to year. It pays to check around for the best deal during open enrollment season.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and a Democratic colleague have introduced a bill that would require drugmakers and medical device companies to disclose payments made to physician assistants and nurses who can prescribe their products.

Health & Safety

Bill Would Add Nurses, Physician Assistants To Pharma Disclosure Database

1:29pm October 09, 2015

by Charles Ornstein

Drugmakers disclose their payments to doctors, dentists, even chiropractors. But spending on nurse practitioners and physician assistants is excluded. Legislation in the Senate would change that.

Health & Safety

Pruning Back Prescriptions For Better Health

11:27am September 30, 2015

by John Henning Schumann

There comes a time when a drug that once helped a patient may be unnecessary or even harmful. Figuring out when to cut back is difficult, but the potential benefits are substantial.

A daily pill called Addyi is the first medicine to be approved for the purpose of boosting women's sexual desire.

FDA Approves First Drug To Boost Women's Sexual Desire

4:58pm August 20, 2015

by Rob Stein

The daily pill, called Addyi, modestly increased women's interest in sex in clinical tests. The approval was praised by some women's advocates as a milestone and condemned by others as irresponsible.

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A voucher gets a company's drug reviewed faster by the Food and Drug Administration.

Health & Safety

Price Rises For Ticket To A Quicker Drug Review By FDA

3:35pm August 19, 2015

by Scott Hensley

A voucher that can get a drug through the Food and Drug Administration faster was created to reward companies that develop medicines for neglected diseases. The market for vouchers is heating up.