May - 2017

The Coalition to

Protect Patient Choice

A Project

of the

Law Offices

of David Balto

Competitive healthcare is healthcare with choices

Advocacy on consumer healthcare competition issues aimed at lowering prescription drug costs

Drug Companies and PBMs Are Attacking Each Other Over Drug Prices. There Is Plenty of Blame To Go Ar

Drug Companies and PBMs Are Attacking Each Other Over Drug Prices. There Is Plenty of Blame To Go Ar

Pharmacists, health insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and pharmaceutical companies are all pointing fingers at one another over drug prices. Each party says they are behaving ethically and that the other actors in the supply chain are the ones responsible for higher costs. Since Congress is considering a number of important bills to control prices, the stakes of this contest are incredibly high. It can be confusing to sort through the mass of accusations

Here's a Quick Rundown of the Major Drug Price Proposals Before Congress

Here's a Quick Rundown of the Major Drug Price Proposals Before Congress

Anger and frustration about high drug prices have been mounting over the last few months, to the point where legislators are rushing to propose solutions, afraid they will be left out. The New York Times wrote up a helpful summary of some of the most important proposals to reduce drug prices that Congress is currently considering. The bills include proposals to steamline the FDA’s approval process for generic drugs, requiring drug companies to give notice and provide reasons

No Secret Price Gouging In Connecticut

No Secret Price Gouging In Connecticut

State lawmakers recognize the problems posed by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and that they are contributing to drug prices, and they have been busy. On Wednesday the Connecticut State Senate unanimously passed S.B. 445, a bill intended to protect consumers from secret price gouging by PBMs, and told Connecticut’s Insurance Commissioner not to weaken the bill. This measure will now be considered by the Connecticut House. In a statement, Senators Martin Looney and Len Fasan

The Ohio Drug Price Relief Act

The Ohio Drug Price Relief Act

This fall Ohio will be voting on a very special ballot measure: the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act. This initiative would require the state and associate programs to pay no more for prescription drugs than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pays, a substantial discount. The Department of Veterans Affairs has the power to negotiate drug prices with companies and normally pays anywhere from 20 to 24% less than other agencies for those drugs. Such a measure could benefit millio

Medicare Rebates: The Beginning of Reform?

Medicare Rebates: The Beginning of Reform?

Increasing prescription drug prices are affecting not just individual consumers but also federal and state governments. Rising costs mean that paying for prescription drugs takes up a larger share of the government’s health care budget, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. To counter this, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney (pictured) is pondering a reform that could hopefully attract bipartisan support, lower the cost of drugs, and open th

A Common Sense Way to Lower Drug Prices

A Common Sense Way to Lower Drug Prices

A number of important bills to reduce drug prices are working their way through Congress. But they are not the only way to ease this crisis and help millions of Americans. This week Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John McCain (R-AZ), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter observing that the Trump administration already has significant authority to bring down prescription drug costs. Executive officials should take advantage of this common sense tool to control drug prices and

Consumer Groups Come Out In Support of Bill to Lower Drug Prices for Seniors

Consumer Groups Come Out In Support of Bill to Lower Drug Prices for Seniors

This afternoon a number of consumer groups sent a letter in support of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s bill S.41, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2017. Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Consumer Action, and U.S. PIRG all declared their support for allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices with drug companies. Senator Klobuchar remarked that “the fact that Medicare can’t negotiate for the best possible price on prescription drugs mak

What the Most Expensive Prescription Drugs in America Tell Us About Our System

What the Most Expensive Prescription Drugs in America Tell Us About Our System

It is a truth universally acknowledged that prescription drug prices in the United States of America are far too high. President Trump promised to take action to reduce drug costs, but he has yet to reveal concrete policy proposals. Legislators have introduced several bills to deal with the problem, from Senator Ron Wyden’s C-THRU bill to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s bill to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. Out of the most expensive drugs in America, the cheap

Solving the Drug Affordability Crisis Will Require More Than Minor Gestures

Solving the Drug Affordability Crisis Will Require More Than Minor Gestures

The prescription drug crisis will only be solved by substantive reforms that reduce drug costs, reform the health care system, and hold companies accountable. Yesterday Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) announced it was unveiling a plan to lower out-of-pocket costs for brand-name drugs for people without insurance or with high deductibles. But while this program may help at the margins, it will take more than tinkering to ensure affordable access to

The Impact of High Drug Prices on Seniors

The Impact of High Drug Prices on Seniors

Over the past two decades, Americans have been paying more and more for prescription drugs, to the point where many people cannot pay for the medicine they need to have a decent quality of life. This week, we look at one example: a man named Tom Pattison from Willoughby Hills, Ohio. Tom just turned 65 and suffers from a severe abdominal condition. Fortunately, there is a new prescription drug that can ease the pain. Unfortunately, the new drug costs $1,800 per month, or $21,6

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