Walmart’s Discount Insulin Could Attract Insured Customers
Walmart Inc. — which like Amazon has been diving deeper and deeper into health care — recently made one of its biggest moves yet in that space by partnering with Novo Nordisk to launch private-label insulin at a...
States Start to Take Advantage of New Authority Over PBMs
State governments have begun to pursue aggressive policies to make PBMs more transparent, accountable to plan sponsors and less expensive to contract with — efforts that are bolstered by Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical...
News Briefs
✦ EmployersRX, a coalition of organizations representing health care purchasers that aims to bring down drug costs, has joined the growing number of groups expressing concern about the cost of a recently approved ...
New Starts of Psychotropic Medications Dropped During COVID-19
New starts of antidepressants declined by 7.5%, anxiolytics by 5.6%, and antipsychotics by 2.6% compared with forecast levels during the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study published...
Moody’s Is Bullish on Pharma Industry for Next 18 Months
The pharmaceutical industry should continue to enjoy strong financial results in the next 12 to 18 months, according to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service. The credit ratings firm projects 4% to 6% growth...
Blues-Funded Startup Aims to Boost Value-Based Drug Pacts
In a move that signals Blue Cross Blue Shield plans are getting increasingly serious about driving down the cost of prescription drugs, five major Blues affiliates on June 22 launched a startup company that aims to ...
News Briefs
✦ HHS said on June 9 that the U.S. government will procure approximately 1.7 million courses of Merck & Co.’s investigational antiviral treatment for COVID-19, molnupiravir (MK-4482), pending emergency use a...
Payers Create CAR-T Approval Systems as Adoption Increases
Spurred by CMS’s decision to cover chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies under Medicare, commercial payers are beginning to systematize approvals for CAR-T treatment as use of these breakthrough cancer therap...
Amazon Plans to Offer 6-Month, Discount Generic Rx Fills
Amazon.com, Inc. launched a long-anticipated expansion of its pharmacy business on June 8, saying it will allow Prime members to purchase up to six-month supplies of generic prescription drugs for $6. Experts say Am...
Small Business Owners Want Big Changes to Lower Drug Costs
Almost 90% of small business owners said the cost of prescription drugs is too high and 63% have an unfavorable view of pharmaceutical companies, according to a recent survey of 1,052 small business owners conducted...