Previouly . . . As Dr. Perry Wilson explains; “Different chronic diseases have different patterns of price increases. The biggest increase was seen in diabetes care (1993 – 2013) and driven largely by the rising prices of pharmaceuticals” of which the cost of manufacturing did not increase. Now Secretary of HHS, Alex Azar as the CEO of Eli Lilly raised the price of the century old drug Humalog used to treat diabetes by 345% taking it from...
Read More »Oklahoma Attorney General Suing Pharma Mfgrs and PBMs
Bit of an Introduction ; The above chart shows the extent of the consolidation of PBMs which also portays the growing lack of competition. The chart comes from the Oklahoma petition filed in the Cleveland County District Court. Cleveland County is the fifth fastest-growing county, encompassing vibrant communities such as the southern part of Oklahoma City, Moore, Norman, Noble, Lexington, Slaughterville, Little Axe, as...
Read More »Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are Hiking the Price of Drugs
A follow-up to the much longer report on Insulin (test on this later) and how PBMs impact pricing on other drugs. “Insulin A Drug Pricing Analysis,” Angry Bear. “Drug manufacturers alone set and raise drug prices, and PBMs are holding drug companies accountable by negotiating the lowest possible cost for drugs, including insulins, on behalf of patients.“ According to 46brooklyn, this is an overly simplistic view on drug pricing. It should be...
Read More »The Middlemen of Healthcare Pharma Especially
I copied the two paragraphs below (actually I took one and split it) from Matt Stoller’s Big News Letter. Matt is talking about the same issues I have been talking about for years. The Pharmaceutical Industry and their rip off pricing. It is a good read if you wonder over there. The YouTube is also from his site. I can not lay claim to posting such before. Doctor Glaucomflecken makes a valid point. United Healthcare Group is one of the top PBMs....
Read More »Generic drugs reimbursement is an issue identified by the Senate Finance Committee
AB: This brief article gets right down to the basics in where costs are added and impacting the prices to the consumer. It is simple and straight to the point of how PBMs impact the prices to the consumer. Very little or nothing was contributed by myself to this article by the authors Inmaculada Hernandez; Nico Gabriel; Anna Kaltenboeck. The table and figure are products of JAMA. Why is it on Angry Bear? Because of its simplistic approach to...
Read More »PBMs diverting copay cash meant for the needy
Patients already paying price for PBMs diverting copay cash meant for needy, WSYX, Part 3, Darrel Rowland Part 3 of a 3-part investigation adding the detail of what is occurring with the PBMs. In a nut shell, Patients are told that they can avoid huge out-of-pocket spending for their drug and obtain their prescription for free. Yet what may not be clear to patients is that their deductible, coinsurance, and other out-of-pocket obligations are...
Read More »$Billions meant to help patients afford drugs are being diverted
This is the second part of the ABC 6 On Your Side web series on hidden reasons for high drug costs, we’ll show you why you may never see that aid. If you had time, you may have read Part One. It covered how Ohio HB 135 lingered till it died by not taking the bill up in the Senate Health Committee. A bill designed to cut drug prices for many Ohioans HB 135 won unanimous approval in the House last year. The bipartisan passed measure with 60...
Read More »FTC and Congress Put PBMs on Notice
FTC and Congress Put PBMs on Notice – AAF (americanactionforum.org) The conclusion of the Congressional Plan Much of this post in a copy and past. However, the conclusion is mostly mine. I am starting out with the conclusions and actions of Congress to which the author claims could result in fewer PBMs and increasing prices. If you look at Figure Two, it becomes rather obvious where the fallout is going to be. The smaller PBMs will not be...
Read More »SCOTUS: States Can Regulate Insurance Plan Contractors
While briefly discussing (accessible link below for addition information) this decision, keep in mind this is a big deal in lowering the costs of pharmaceuticals as it goes right to the source of some of the excess takings involved in the distribution of drugs from manufacturer to drug stores. December 10, 2020: the Supreme Court handed a win to states and broadened the path for state health care cost control efforts. In Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical...
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