September 19, 2016—In our last post, we covered new research about the growing epidemic of underinsurance in America. Today, we're covering a new video that puts a human face on those cold facts. The 340B drug discount program "allows us to provide for patients who are underinsured," explains Sherrie Dixon Williams, M.D., Medical Staff President of The MetroHealth System in … [Read more...]
340B and the Underinsurance Epidemic
September 15, 2016—America's uninsured rate is down and premium increases for employer-sponsored family coverage have moderated. But another related problem is gaining much-needed attention: Employers are making workers assume a greater share of healthcare coverage costs. … [Read more...]
GAO Calls Attention to “Extraordinary” Generic Drug Price Hikes
September 14, 2016—More than 300 older generic drugs covered by Medicare Part D had one or more "extraordinary" price increases of 100 percent or more between 2010 and 2015, a government watchdog agency says in a new report. … [Read more...]
House Republicans Want to Know How EpiPen Scandal Affects 340B
September 13, 2016—House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Republicans want to know how the 340B drug discount program has been affected by the EpiPen allergic emergency drug's apparent misclassification as a generic rather than brand name product for Medicaid rebate purposes. The GOP lawmakers raised the 340B matter among other questions in a Sept. 12 letter to the … [Read more...]
The 340B Drug Discount Program Explained
September 12, 2016—There's a lot of misinformation about The 340B program's purpose What it was designed to do Whether it's working as designed Whether it helps vulnerable patients Whether hospitals do enough to deserve drug discounts This great animated video by 340B Health answers all those questions and more in under two minutes. If you care about the … [Read more...]
Is Big Pharma Gaming the Orphan Drug System?
September 9, 2016—A new insurance industry study shows that almost half of the time orphan drugs are used for non-orphan indications. Not only that, it found that orphan drugs with the highest rates of non-orphan use are seeing the largest price increases. Such findings raise the question whether drug companies are gaming the orphan drug system to maximize its benefits while at … [Read more...]
How 340B Helped a Patient Get EpiPens She Couldn’t Afford
September 8, 2016—The EpiPen scandal is America's top healthcare story. Fortunately, hospitals in the 340B drug discount program are helping patients get EpiPens and other lifesaving medicines they otherwise couldn't afford. Here's a case in point from Wisconsin. … [Read more...]