Kennedy And Oz At Odds On GLP-1s
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator-nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz are at odds over support for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
Oz has opined that the drugs could have a positive effect on weight loss and reducing disease prevalence. Kennedy sees them as a scam and insists that the American public simply needs to eat better.
The Biden administration has proposed in a draft rule to provide Medicare Part D coverage for obesity alone. Trump will need to finalize the rule or remove the provision. This will be the first test of who will win the GLP-1 coverage war.
The drugs are expensive at $1,000 or greater per month at list price.
#glp1s #weightlossdrugs #drugpricing #branddrugmakers
Employers And PBMs Under Attack
A good article on the rise of lawsuits against ERISA self-funded plans and their role in driving up costs for employees. In one case, an employee argues her employer abandoned its fiduciary obligations by cutting a bad deal with a pharmacy benefits manager. These ERISA-fiduciary suits could remake employer healthcare.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#employercoverage #erisa #pbms #drugpricing
Public Citizen Wants AI Standards
Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen says that artificial intelligence technologies in healthcare may not be patient-centered and prioritize profits over patient safety. It says standards and regulations need to occur.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#ai #regulations #healthcare
Important Initiative Would Reform GME
With medical education in crisis and a looming doctor shortage, a bipartisan group of senators are laying the groundwork to reform the Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. Draft legislation would add 5,000 new residency slots and create a governing council, among other reforms.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#physicianshortage #gme #healthcare
Public Citizen Wants Patent-Buster Invoked To Lower Drug Prices
Public Citizen is calling on Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy of the new DOGE council to invoke a rarely used patent-busting tool to slash costs for weight-loss drugs and secure Medicare drug price deals in line with other wealthy nations. President-elect Trump recently backed away from one of his drug price reduction proposals from his first term. But he is sympathetic on reducing high drug costs and could adopt other solutions, including direct trade talks with drug makers.
(Article may require a subscription.)
#drugpricing #branddrugmakers #trump
Major Drug Price Hikes Coming
Reuters reports that several major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi, are set to raise prices on more than 250 branded medications on Jan. 1. Most of the price hikes are below 10%, with the median increase across affected drugs at 4.5%.
#drugpricing #branddrugmakers
Becker’s Recounts Top 10 Health Insurance Stories of 2024
Quick read from Becker’s on the top ten health insurance stories of 2024. My year in review for healthcare is here: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/the-healthcare-labyrinth-2024-year-in-review-blog/
#healthcare #healthplans #2024
https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/top-10-health-insurance-stories-of-2024.html
Ransomware Having Huge Impact On Industry
A new assessment says ransomware downtime costs U.S. healthcare entities $1.9M daily. This has meant an estimated $21.9 billion in downtime losses over the past six years. Healthcare entities experience 17 days of downtime per incident.
#cyberattacks #healthcare #providers #healthplans
— Marc S. Ryan
