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Criticism of prescription drug middlemen has intensified recently in the wake of a federal agency鈥檚 actions and legislative reform attempts. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, though, vetoed a related bill that would have helped independent pharmacies, citing the unfunded cost of the move.
Every year, Medicare officials encourage beneficiaries to shop around for their drug coverage. Few take the time. This year, it might be more important than ever.
As part of her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has rolled out a plan for Medicare to provide in-home long-term care services. The proposal would fill a longtime need for families trying to simultaneously care for young children and older parents, but its enormous price tag makes it a promise unlikely to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, a growing number of Republican candidates up and down the ballot facing voter backlash over their support for abortion restrictions are trying to reinvent their positions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with 鈥淪hark Tank鈥 panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris campaign about health care issues.
The Big Three pharmacy benefit managers say they return nearly all the rebates they get from drugmakers to the employers and insurers who hire them. But most employers seem to doubt that.
The 2024 presidential race is taking on a familiar tone 鈥 with Democrats accusing Republicans of wanting to ban abortion and repeal the Affordable Care Act and Republicans insisting they have no such plans. Voters will determine whom they believe. Meanwhile, for the second time in a month, a state judge overturned an abortion ban, but few expect the decision to settle the matter. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Lauren Sausser, who reported and wrote the latest 吃瓜不打烊-Washington Post 鈥淏ill of the Month,鈥 about a teenage athlete whose needed surgery lacked a billing code.
The former president instead favored a temporary model that could鈥檝e brought down prices of some prescription drugs, but it was blocked by the courts.
Congress left Washington for the campaign trail this week, but not before approving a spending bill that expires shortly before Christmas. Lawmakers will be busy after the election working on not just the legislation needed to keep the government running, but also several health programs set to expire. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to downplay abortion as Democrats press it as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Dreaming of a Trump victory, Republicans have a wish list of health policy changes 鈥 including loosening Affordable Care Act regulations to make cheaper coverage available and ending Medicare drug price negotiations. Meanwhile, after a publicly reported death stemming from a state abortion ban, Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing the consequences of Trump鈥檚 work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University join 吃瓜不打烊 senior editor Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.
California lawmakers are moving to rein in the pharmaceutical middlemen they say drive up costs and limit consumers鈥 choices. The bill sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom would require pharmacy benefit managers to be licensed in California and would ban some business practices. Newsom vetoed a previous effort three years ago.
The pharmaceutical industry has invented a new art form: finding ways to make their wares seem like joyous must-have treatments, while often minimizing lackluster efficacy and risks.
Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.
While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.
As Congress pushes for Medicare to cover payment for anti-obesity drugs, Denmark 鈥 Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk鈥檚 home 鈥 has limited coverage of the drug after cost overruns 鈥渆mptied all the money boxes in the entire public health system.鈥
Although Novo Nordisk and Lilly lump together the pharmacies that compound semaglutide and tirzepatide with internet cowboys selling fake drugs, there is a distinction. The FDA has offered Americans little clarity about the vast gray and black markets for the drugs.
If she grabs the baton from President Joe Biden to become the new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access 鈥 hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory.
After an assassination attempt last weekend sent former President Donald Trump to the hospital with minor injuries, the Republican National Convention went off with little mention of health care issues. And Trump鈥檚 newly nominated vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, has barely staked out a record on health during his 18 months in office 鈥 aside from being strongly opposed to abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Renuka Rayasam, who wrote June鈥檚 installment of 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month,鈥 about a patient who walked into what he thought was an urgent care center and walked out with an emergency room bill.鈥
Though the Trump administration established a voluntary, temporary program lowering insulin costs for some older Americans on Medicare, the mandatory price caps implemented through Biden鈥檚 Inflation Reduction Act go significantly further.
A debate marked by President Joe Biden鈥檚 faltering performance featured clashes over insulin costs, inflation, abortion, immigration, and Jan. 6.
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