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A new poll reveals enthusiasm for a pricey new generation of weight loss drugs, but interest drops if users potentially have to deal with weekly injections, lack of insurance coverage, or a need to continue the medications indefinitely to avoid regaining weight.
The annual cost of lecanemab treatment quadruples if the expense of brain scans to monitor for bleeds and other associated care is factored in. The full financial toll likely puts it beyond reach for low-income seniors at risk of Alzheimer鈥檚, experts say.
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesn鈥檛 cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies haven鈥檛 thoroughly examined new drugs鈥 impact on older adults.
President Biden made good on a campaign promise this week with a proposal that would limit short-term health insurance plans that boast low premiums but also few benefits. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to outlaw affirmative action programs could set back efforts to diversify the nation鈥檚 medical workforce. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Bram Sable-Smith, who reported the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 about how a hospital couldn鈥檛 track down a patient, but a debt collector could.
Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are companies that negotiate the prices of prescription drugs. Hear about their role in raising drug prices and the ongoing efforts to regulate this complex industry.
At least nine bills introduced in Congress take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, the powerful middlemen that channel prescription drugs to patients.
To drive down costs, insurers are bypassing hospital system pharmacies and delivering high-priced infusion drugs, including some used in chemotherapy, via third-party pharmacies. Smarting from losing out on billing for those drugs, hospitals and clinics are trying to convince states to limit this practice, known as "white bagging."
More than a million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended. The Biden administration is asking states to slow disenrollment, but that does not mean states must listen. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court decision gives Medicaid beneficiaries the right to sue over their care, and a new deal preserves coverage of preventive services nationwide as a Texas court case continues. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner interviews Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health, a new unit of JPMorgan Chase, about employers鈥 role in insurance coverage.
The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government鈥檚 borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program鈥檚 new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊 senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance.
The 鈥淒iabetes Belt,鈥 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, 吃瓜不打烊 and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who鈥檚 opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊 senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.
Colorado鈥檚 new Prescription Drug Affordability Board could cap what health plans and consumers pay for certain medications starting next year. The process will pit patient groups against one another.
Industry analysts are skeptical that Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan can win her first fight against a drug industry merger. It will be reviewed by a judge appointed by then-President Donald Trump.
Sen. Bernie Sanders鈥 broad statement that some U.S. drug prices are 10 times those of other nations doesn鈥檛 paint the full picture. Studies we examined generally found that U.S. prices were two to four times those in other countries, not 10.
Drugmakers, pharmacies, and physicians blame pharmacy benefit managers for high drug prices. Congress is finally on board, too, but will it matter?
House Republicans passed their plan to raise the nation鈥檚 debt ceiling, along with major cuts to health (and other domestic) programs. Unlikely to become law, it calls for new work requirements for adults on Medicaid. Meanwhile, state efforts targeting trans people bear a striking resemblance to the fight against abortion rights. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Renuka Rayasam, who reported the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about a specialist鈥檚 demand to be paid as much as $15,000 before treating a woman鈥檚 serious pregnancy complication.
The Supreme Court is considering the future of the abortion pill mifepristone, after GenBioPro sued the FDA over limitations that effectively block generic production of the drug, a major part of the market. Congress is considering proposals that would impose Medicaid work requirements, crack down on pharmacy benefit managers, and more. And President Joe Biden moved to expand health coverage to young immigrants known as 鈥淒reamers.鈥 Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more.
Online platforms are overflowing with testimonials for GLP-1s. The drugs show promise for inducing weight loss, but many aren鈥檛 FDA-approved for that use.
The legality and availability of the abortion pill mifepristone is in question after a federal judge in Texas canceled the FDA鈥檚 approval of the first drug used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen. A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel overruled that decision in part, saying the pill should remain available, but only under the onerous restrictions in place before 2016. Meanwhile, another federal judge in Washington state issued a ruling in a separate case that conflicts with the Texas decision, ordering the FDA not to roll back any of its restrictions on the drug. Victoria Knight of Axios, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Horizon Therapeutics, which Amgen is acquiring for about $28 billion, grew large by snapping up cheap drugs from other companies, marketing them to perfection, and jacking up prices.
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