November 5, 2014—U.S. Senate committees with responsibility for the 340B drug discount program will have new leaders starting early next year following the GOP's strong showing in yesterday's midterm elections. … [Read more...]
OIG Assessing Risk of Medicaid MCO Rebates on 340B-Purchased Drugs
Also, study about 340B and Medicare Part B is still on trackNovember 4, 2014—The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is assessing the risk of manufacturer discounts and rebates both being paid on 340B-purchased drugs dispensed to Medicaid managed care beneficiaries, the OIG said in its fiscal year 2015 work plan. … [Read more...]
Orphan Drugs to Be Almost 20% of Global Drug Sales by 2020
Industry's "rush into orphan indications" shows no signs of stoppingOctober 31, 2014—Orphan drugs will account for almost 20 percent of total worldwide drug sales (excluding generics) by the end of the decade, with year-to-year sales growth more than double that of the overall prescription drug market, the market intelligence firm EvaluatePharma says in a new report. … [Read more...]
Hospitals Protest Genentech’s Deeming Cancer Drugs as Specialty Meds
State Medicaid chiefs, meanwhile, say Sovaldi might need federal price controlsOctober 30, 2014—Hospital groups are protesting Genentech's decision to make them buy three very expensive and much-used cancer drugs exclusively through specialty distributors, saying the change is raising their costs and potentially compromising patient care without enhancing patient safety or supply-chain security. … [Read more...]
Superb Critique of a Flawed 340B Study and its Unfounded Conclusions
Madeline Carpinelli Wallack's response to the recent study in Health Affairs on hospitals' alleged misuse of 340B drug discounts scores a direct hit on a highly flawed piece of research. We wrote about SNHPA's and AHA's reactions to the Health Affairs study earlier this month. Researchers Rena Conti and Peter Bach said they found that "that hospital-affiliated clinics that … [Read more...]
Infographic: 340B DSH Hospitals Have Huge Low-Income Patient Loads and Uncompensated Care Costs
Pass it along. … [Read more...]
Hospitals Applaud HRSA for Telling Drugmakers to Repay 340B Orphan Drug Overcharges
No word yet on how manufacturers are responding to agency's recent lettersOctober 21, 2014—Hospital groups are applauding federal health officials for telling drugmakers they owe rural and freestanding cancer hospitals refunds for overcharges on orphan drugs. … [Read more...]