September 5, 2014—Prescription drug spending growth is expected to accelerate from 3.3 percent in 2013 to 6.8 percent this year, primarily due to greater drug utilization by the newly insured and those who have switched to more generous insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act's coverage expansions, according to federal health expenditure projections published this week by … [Read more...]
Nonprofit Hospitals’ Revenue Growth Hits All-Time Low
Median operating margin fell to 2.0% in 2013, Moody's reportsSeptember 3, 2014—Nonprofit hospital expenses outpaced revenues for the second straight year in 2013, forcing their median operating margin down to 2.0 percent, the lowest it's been since the 2008-09 recession, according to a report released by Moody’s Investor Service. … [Read more...]
Judge Closes PhRMA’s 340B Orphan Drug Lawsuit
Says drugmakers can't contest new interpretive rule via their winning case against preceding legislative ruleAugust 27, 2014—Drug manufacturers are free to challenge the new 340B orphan drug exclusion "interpretative" rule, but they cannot do so as part of their successful lawsuit against the orphan drug "legislative" rule that came before, a federal district judge ruled this morning. … [Read more...]
Most Drugmakers Not Following HRSA’s 340B Orphan Drug Interpretive Rule
340B Prime Vendor says it is aware of "at least five" that are offering 340B pricingAugust 22, 2014—Most drugmakers reportedly are not extending 340B pricing on orphan drugs to rural and freestanding cancer hospitals despite the Health Resources and Services Administration's position that they are required by law to do so. … [Read more...]
Medicaid Drug Rebate Dispute Resolution Could Be Improved, OIG Says
CMS and HRSA reportedly are working on guidance regarding 340B-purchased drugsAugust 21, 2014—The Medicaid drug rebate program saved states and the federal government an average of $17.5 billion annually between 2011 and 2013, an amount that will grow as a result of changes made by the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General says in a new report. … [Read more...]
Why 340B Matters: Perspectives from Texas, Kansas, and Tennessee
Hat's off to three Ascension Health hospitals for writing op-eds for their local papers about why 340B is vital to their mission to help vulnerable patients. In the Aug. 18 edition of the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, Seton Healthcare Family CEO Jesús Garza noted that "the 340B law is simple and effective. Allowing Seton and other safety net providers to pay less for … [Read more...]
The 340B Hospitals That Allegedly Live Large Off the Poor? They’re Barely Breaking Even.
Last week in Forbes, Big Pharma propagandist Sally Pipes claimed that 340B enables corruption, by letting hospitals "enhance their bottom lines with hundreds of millions of dollars intended to help the indigent." Someone forgot to tell this to Wall Street. Around the same time that Pipes was fulminating about those devious 340B hospitals, Standard & Poor’s Ratings … [Read more...]