Category: prescription drugs

FAQs on Prescription Drug Importation

These FAQs address questions related to prescription drug importation, including the current status of importation proposals, details of Florida’s importation program recently authorized by the FDA, and concerns and challenges with this approach.

The State of the Union Is … Busy

At last, Congress is getting half of its annual spending bills across the finish line, albeit five months after the start of the fiscal year. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden delivers his annual State of the Union address, an over-the-counter birth control pill is (finally) available, and controversy erupts over new public health guidelines for covid-19 isolation. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Neera Tanden, the White House domestic policy adviser, about Biden’s health agenda. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

Biden Is Right. The US Generally Pays Double That of Other Countries for Rx Drugs.

Research has consistently found that, overall, U.S. prescription drug prices are significantly higher, sometimes two to four times as high, compared with prices in other high-income industrialized countries. However, some market factors can obscure actual prices, making comparisons harder.

How a Friend’s Death Turned Colorado Teens Into Anti-Overdose Activists

High school students in Colorado are pushing for a change they say is necessary to combat fentanyl poisoning: ensuring students can’t get in trouble for carrying the overdose reversal drug naloxone wherever they go, including at school.

KFF Health Tracking Poll February 2024: Voters on Two Key Health Care Issues: Affordability and ACA

This poll finds that inflation and health care affordability are the top issues voters want 2024 presidential candidates to discuss, as most rate the economy negatively. Adults worry most about affording unexpected medical bills and health care costs, …

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Economic Views and Experiences of Adults Who Struggle Financially

Half of adults say they have difficulty affording monthly bills or are just able to afford household expenses without having money left over. These groups overwhelmingly rate the economy negatively and are more likely to want 2024 presidential candidat…

Health Care Costs Top the Public’s List of Financial Worries, and Those Who Are Struggling the Most Want to Hear Presidential Candidates Discuss Economic and Health Care Issues

At a time when kitchen table economic problems are on voters’ minds, unexpected medical bills and health care costs top the public’s list of financial concerns, and voters who are struggling to pay their monthly bills are the most eager to hear the pre…

3 Charts: Drug Prices in the United States

This post was updated to clarify that less than 10% of the nation’s total health spending is spent on retail prescription drugs and does not include spending on drugs administrated by physicians or in hospitals.Prescription drug costs are a top c…

3 Charts About Drug Prices in the United States

Prescription drug costs are a top concern for the American public. While prescription drugs represent less than 10% of total U.S. health spending and are not the primary driver of the nation’s high health costs, Americans often pay more for the same pr…

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: The Struggle Over Who Gets the Last Word

As science skepticism pervades politics, the Supreme Court will soon consider two cases that seek to define the power of “experts.” Meanwhile, abortion opponents are laying out plans for how Donald Trump, if reelected as president, could effectively curtail abortion even in states where it remains legal. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a husband and wife who got billed for preventive care that should have been fully covered.