August - 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

Medicaid and CHIP Ensure Children Get Access to Affordable Drugs

Medicaid and CHIP Ensure Children Get Access to Affordable Drugs

One of the overlooked aspects of the prescription drug price debate is that many children use prescription drugs as well. Almost one fourth of American kids use at least one prescription drug per month. The medicines are used to treat a variety of conditions, including infections, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and asthma. In a new report, the Georgetown Unversity Health Policy Institute looks at Medicaid and CHIP, two programs that provide health coverage for a gr

States to the Rescue? An Overview of the State Trend Toward Reducing Drug Prices

States to the Rescue? An Overview of the State Trend Toward Reducing Drug Prices

As we previously observed, on drug prices the Trump administration is tweeting furiously but carrying a very small stick. Meanwhile prescription drug costs continue to rise. In 2014 drug prices increased by 12.4% and in 2015 by 9%, and they have kept going up. Americans now spend $1,370 in out of pocket payments for prescription drugs, on average. State governments, confronted with higher drug costs and strains of their budgets, and irked at federal inaction, are increasingly

Frustrated By Federal Inaction, Michigan Legislators Prepare to Tackle Drug Prices

Frustrated By Federal Inaction, Michigan Legislators Prepare to Tackle Drug Prices

The Trump administration has criticized rising prescription drug prices, but its actions have not matched its rhetoric. Trump and his advisors have proposed no real plans to curb high drug costs, even though they are affecting millions of Americans. Fortunately state governments have not been idle. Frustrated with this administration's inaction, Democratic state legislators in Michigan are urging the creation of a state board that would require drug companies to justify price

Take Notice of PBMs, the Drug Industry's Overlooked Middlemen

Take Notice of PBMs, the Drug Industry's Overlooked Middlemen

The American health care system is famously complex and difficult to describe, but nearly everyone agrees that it needs major reform. One of the most pressing issues is the rising cost of prescription drug prices, which are harming consumers, patients, and businesses, and forcing even people with comprehensive insurance to pay more out-of-pocket costs. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play a major role and contribute to rising drug costs. In a new editorial, Mike Schweitz of

Patients for Affordable Drugs Urges Fair Pricing of Cancer Drug

Patients for Affordable Drugs Urges Fair Pricing of Cancer Drug

Patients for Affordable Drugs is a recently formed nonprofit, but it is already making a substantial impact on the debate around drug prices. The group was founded in early 2017 by David Mitchell, who has 40 years of experience working on health care and public health policy, and is a patient with an incurable but treatable blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Recently the group launched a campaign criticizing the drug company Novartis for unfairly pricing its new cancer dru

Tweeting Loudly and Carrying a Small Stick

Tweeting Loudly and Carrying a Small Stick

President Trump assumed office promising to take action to reduce drug prices and ensure that Americans could get access affordable medicines. On the campaign trail, he said drug companies were “getting away with murder.” And this week he criticized Kenneth Frazier, CEO of the pharmaceutical company Merck, for resigning from his council and for charging high drug prices. But in office, Trump has not worked to curb skyrocketing drug costs or to promote more affordable medicine

FDA Forms Working Group to Look At Wider Generic Drug Issues

FDA Forms Working Group to Look At Wider Generic Drug Issues

Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently announced the formation of a new working group for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The group will focus on modernizing the Hatch-Waxman Act and promoting competition and access to generic drugs, and it will examine many different issues in order to promote that competition. In his announcement, Gottlieb described the goal of the working group as “to think beyond our current policy proposals; find new ideas for greater generic drug

A Helpful State Primer on Reducing Unfair Drug Prices

A Helpful State Primer on Reducing Unfair Drug Prices

High drug prices are a major problem, and Congress should move quickly to reduce them. In the absence of congressional action, state legislatures have stepped in to fill the gap. In 2017 over 80 bills to reduce drug prices have been introduced in over 30 states, and laws have been passed in Maryland, New York, and Nevada. A new policy paper by the Yale Global Health Justice Partnership, the National Physicians Alliance, and the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut

Congress Takes First Step On Reducing Drug Prices

Congress Takes First Step On Reducing Drug Prices

Yesterday, August 3rd, Congress took a first step toward reducing prescription drug prices and ensuring Americans have access to affordable medicines. By a vote of 94-1, the Senate passed S.934, the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017. Passing this bill will improve approval of generic drugs, and it is a sign that Congress is interested in taking action to lower drug prices. The act reauthorizes the Food and Drug Administration to collect and spend fees so it can approve prescrip

An Introduction to How PBMs Aren't Saving Consumers Money

An Introduction to How PBMs Aren't Saving Consumers Money

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play a vital role in our prescription drug system and contribute to rising drug prices. However, they have received relatively little attention, even though they are some of the most problematic and least regulated companies in American healthcare. Kaiser Health News just released a helpful video providing a short introduction to PBMs and the controversies they have sparked. PBMs serve as intermediaries between health plans, drug manufacturers

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Letter from David A. Balto on behalf of Consumer Action and CPPC to the Federal Trade Commission, re

Letter from David A. Balto on behalf of Consumer Action and CPPC to the Federal Trade Commission, re

The Promise of Biosimilars

The Promise of Biosimilars

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