Author's posts
Biden Administration’s Methodical Approach To Drug Price Reform
For those looking for inflammatory rhetoric on drug prices or executive orders calling for direct price controls, such actions are unlikely to come from the Biden Administration. Rather, it’s expected that an approach will be adopted that builds on Con…
Biden’s Healthcare Agenda In 2021: Shoring Up The Affordable Care Act
For those hoping for a radical overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system – Medicare for All, for example – there’s not going to be much enthusiasm about the Biden Administration’s proposals. But, instrumental changes to public programs, including the ACA,…
Value Frameworks’ Role In Shaping Sustainable, Patient-Centric Healthcare
Currently, value frameworks appear to be lacking in terms of their ability to move healthcare systems towards both a highly sustainable and patient-centric pathway. In particular, there may be deficiencies in how the patient voice is captured in value …
President Biden’s Plan To Tame Covid-19 Faces Formidable Challenges
Consistent compliance with guidance will be a tall order as many states are opposed to (re)imposing restrictions. Yet, to win the battle against Covid-19, the Biden Administration will need to accelerate vaccine distribution and, equally important, per…
HHS Regulations With Enduring Impact On Pricing And Reimbursement Of Medical Services And Technologies
Under Secretary Azar and Administrator Verma’s stewardship, HHS and CMS have pursued an ambitious policy agenda on transparency, drug pricing, and medical device reimbursement, one the Biden Administration is unlikely to abandon.
New Jersey Congresswoman Contracts Covid-19 After Sheltering In Place During Capitol Siege
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), 75, announced today that she has tested positive for the coronavirus. Coleman is a cancer survivor. She may have contracted Covid-19 while holed up on January 6th in a secure space in the Capitol building, as…
The Grimmest Days Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Coincide With The Most Severe Forms Of Rationing
Hospital administrators and clinicians will be placed in an especially uncomfortable role of being the ones rationing care, effectively granting death sentences to some. Not every patient can be helped, and this will also include non-Covid-19 patients …
Insulin’s Out-Of-Pocket Cost Burden To Diabetic Patients Continues To Rise Despite Reduced Net Costs To PBMs
While net costs of insulin to PBMs and payers have decreased in recent years, owing to steep rebates, these savings have not necessarily been passed through to patients. Patients are either paying the full retail price if uninsured or in the deductible…
Specialty Generics Face A Maze Of Perverse Incentives In Medicare Part D
Specialty generics haven’t gained the kind of traction in Medicare Part D that one would expect. This includes specialty generics such as imatinib mesylate and glatiramer acetate. The current set-up of the Medicare Part D benefit sends the wrong price …
Covid-19 Vaccination’s Bumpy Rollout In The U.S.
Inoculation programs are informed by a carefully planned system for distributing vaccines as effectively and equitably as possible. A lesson to be drawn from the bumpy vaccine rollout is that federal assistance is needed to help states establish and ma…
