PHARMACEUTICALS
California’s 2020-2021 Budget Proposal Aims at Consolidation and Drug Pricing
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher January 13, 2020
On January 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom released his 2020-2021 State Budget proposal. While the state budget process will not begin in earnest until after the Governor’s May Revise, the state budget provides a glimpse of likely California health care reforms. The Governor’s January Budget Proposal proposes the following: Proposal Goals Office of Health Care Affordability Increase price and quality transparency Develop cost targets for health care industry Address hospital cost trends by region, with focus on cost increases driven by delivery system consolidation Establish standards for advance evidence-based and …
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Federal and State Price Transparency Efforts Face Legal Challenges from Industry Groups
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor December 16, 2019
Price transparency in healthcare is a hot topic that has captured the attention of many policymakers. While both federal and state governments have made efforts to promote price transparency in recent years, the path to achieving it is expected to be a bumpy one, as powerful industry groups that resist such change, including hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, are quick to seek legal challenges to block such efforts. In this edition of Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we examine the latest lawsuits that challenge legislation to promote price transparency in healthcare and …
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House Passes the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3)
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher December 13, 2019
On Thursday, December 12, 2019, the House passed H.R. 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, with unanimous support of House Democrats, but only 2 Republican votes. While the primary provisions of the bill and the conclusions drawn in our original blog post remain unchanged, we highlight two changes made to the bill as described in our post before it was passed. First, the original bill required drug manufacturers that increase the price of a drug faster than the rate of inflation (benchmarked to prices in 2016) to …
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Would House and Senate Bills to Lower Drugs Costs Achieve Savings or Affect Innovation?
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher December 9, 2019
*See 12/13/19 Update: House Passes the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) Increasing the affordability of prescription drugs is of primary importance to Congress and to the nation. In this post, we review two of the federal bills receiving substantial press coverage – the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, introduced in the House by Speaker Pelosi and the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, introduced in the Senate by Senator Grassley. While the current bills may have a bumpy road to approval, we analyze the proposals in …
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Legal Challenges Against State PBM Laws May Culminate in Supreme Court Review
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 15, 2019
As states step up their efforts to control prescription drug prices, many state legislatures have targeted pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their role in rising prices by introducing legislation to bring greater transparency to the inner workings of PBMs. As a result of these efforts, however, states increasingly face challenges from the pharmaceutical industry, specifically the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), a trade association representing PBMs. Over the years, PCMA has brought a number of lawsuits challenging state legislation regulating PBMs, claiming that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) …
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The Source Roundup: November 2019 Edition
Ada Shao, Student Fellow November 1, 2019
Happy November! If you’re wondering what to do with that extra hour as Daylight Savings ends, why not peruse the latest in healthcare news? In this month’s Source Roundup, we look at articles that analyze 1) the role of waste and prescription drug prices in increasing healthcare costs, 2) the impact of market concentration and competition in healthcare pricing, and 3) the projected impact of healthcare reform proposals. Healthcare Spending Increases Due to Waste and Rising Prescription Drug Costs As Americans dig deeper into their pockets to pay for …
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The Source Roundup: October 2019 Edition
Source Fellow October 1, 2019
By: Mary Breffle, Student Fellow The autumnal season is upon us! This month, we pull no tricks, and treat you to a review of articles and reports about 1) the impact of healthcare market concentration, 2) the potential use for price transparency, and 3) government efforts to influence pharmaceutical pricing. Conflicting Views on How Market Concentration Impacts Healthcare Prices Two recent reports point to an increase in healthcare market concentration and discuss the effects on price and competition. The American Medical Association (AMA) just published the 2019 edition of the …
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Just Published: The Source Research Brief on Legal Challenges to State Efforts to Control Drug Prices
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor September 24, 2019
As states increase legislative efforts to rein in prescription drug prices, an increased number of laws have been passed to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, price gouging, and price transparency in the pharmaceutical industry. However, industry groups have also stepped up legal challenges against these laws, using specifically the Dormant Commerce Clause, ERISA, and federal patent and trade secret laws. With support from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), The Source’s Katie Gudiksen, Sammy Chang, and Jaime King examine these state laws and ensuing legal challenges in the newly …
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California Budget Watch (Part 4 of 4): The Legislature Implements Major Healthcare Reforms in Trailer Bills SB 78 and SB 104
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher August 30, 2019
Last month, we recapped the appropriations allocated to healthcare reform in the 2019 California Budget. These budget allocations, however, do not provide much guidance on how the money should be spent. Trailer bills provide the statutory language to implement the budget. With the enacted 2019 budget, the Governor signed two healthcare trailer bills passed by the Legislature, SB 78 and SB 104. In this post, we dissect these trailers bills which create and implement various programs impacting healthcare access and costs. What are Trailer Bills? SB 78 and SB …
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The Source Roundup: August 2019 Edition
Source Fellow August 1, 2019
By: Hayden Soria, Student Fellow Happy August! Even as the summer winds down, there is no waning of health policy literature. In this month’s Source Roundup, we take a look at academic articles and studies that analyze 1) potential prescription drug savings from generics and biosimilars, 2) the need for price transparency, and 4) a multitude of efforts in health system reform. Potential Prescription Drug Savings from Generics and Biosimilars As prescription drug pricing continue to capture the nation’s attention, Stacie B. Dusetzina et al. take a dive into cost …
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