‘Broken’ System Drives Insulin Price Spikes, Senate Committee Report Shows
Insulin prices have soared in the past decade due to a “broken” drug pricing system, according to a recent report from the offices of Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The wholesale acquisiti...
News Briefs
✦ Moderna, Inc. and Pfizer Inc./ BioNTech said on Jan. 25 that their vaccines are effective against new variants of the virus discovered in South Africa and the United Kingdom, the New York Times reported. However...
2021 Outlook: Chaotic Transition Complicates Regulatory Landscape for PBMs
In the year ahead, Trump administration drug pricing policies are likely to be changed or revoked by the incoming Biden administration and court challenges, although which policies will be affected — and to what e...
CMS Greenlights Tennessee’s Closed Medicaid Formulary Demo
When CMS on Jan. 8 approved Tennessee’s Section 1115 Medicaid waiver — making it the first state to try an “aggregate cap” approach to Medicaid financing — the agency also took the unprecedented step of au...
Centene Expands Further Into Pharmacy With Magellan Deal
In addition to creating “one of the nation’s largest behavioral health platforms,” Centene Corp. will add another pharmacy-related asset to its portfolio with its recently announced $2.2 billion proposed purch...
Prices for COVID-19 Vaccines, Drugs Could Consider Value
Payers shouldn’t write off the idea of value-based pricing for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, even though the ongoing coronavirus pandemic makes it imperative to develop and release those products as quickly ...
Hike in Drug List Prices Has Downstream Effect on Patient, Payer Costs
Even though drug manufacturer discounts and rebates have been rising, when wholesale list prices for prescription drugs more than doubled over a period of seven years, that still triggered large increases in patient...
News Briefs
✦ The Trump administration is shifting gears with its COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy amid increasing frustration over the slow pace of vaccine distribution, multiple news outlets reported. HHS Secretary Alex Az...
Supreme Court Deals Surprise Blow to PBMs in Rutledge Ruling
In a unanimous, earlier-than-expected decision that surprised some observers, the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 10 unanimously rejected a trade group’s challenge to a 2015 Arkansas law regulating PBMs. The rule paves...
2020 Year in Review: PBMs Integrated, Expanded Offerings in ’20 Amid Uncertainty
In 2020, the PBM industry continued to deepen its integration with other industry players, a trend that experts say is likely to continue in coming years. Meanwhile, PBMs faced rising regulatory scrutiny and saw the...