Texas insurers defend role of pharmacy benefit managers

The Texas Association of Health Plans, which represents health insurers in the Lone Star State, says pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, should not be blamed for skyrocketing drug prices.
AARP has released a new report indicating that retail price increases for brand name pharmaceuticals have outpaced overall inflation rates. The National [...]

Battle royal over health care repeal if GOP wins

WASHINGTON — If you thought passing the health care overhaul was messy, wait until Republicans try to repeal it if they regain power in Washington this fall.
It could come down to who blinks first.
Even if Republicans succeed beyond any current predictions and capture both the Senate and the House, they wouldn’t [...]

Surprise! Independents Not Vanishing

Time to test yourself at Adam’s College of Pharmacy Industry Knowledge!
Q: According to the new 2010-11 NACDS Chain Pharmacy Industry Profile, which of the following pharmacy formats had the biggest growth in number of locations in 2009?

Chain Drug Stores
Independent Drug Stores
Supermarkets
Mass Merchants

Believe it or not, the answer is … Independent Drug Stores! In fact, [...]

Dems run away from health care

A handful of House Democrats are making health care reform an election year issue — by running against it.
At least five of the 34 House Democrats who voted against their party’s health care reform bill are highlighting their “no” votes in ads back home. By contrast, party officials in Washington can’t identify a single House [...]

Scribes are doctors’ tech support

Melissa Genove has dreamed of becoming a physician since childhood. To help her prepare, she spends as many as 35 hours each week shadowing emergency room doctors at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The 23-year-old listens intently as they examine patients, records their treatment plans in a [...]

Pharmacy lobby cheers White House move to revise Medicaid ‘AMP’ rule

A new White House proposal to revamp Medicaid’s drug rebate formula is drawing applause from the nation’s pharmacists, who have long argued the current equation — though largely delayed by a court ruling — would underpay them for generic drugs.
The new proposal, issued Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [...]

Part D Discount Liability Coming Into Focus: CMS Releases Drug Cost Data

Newly released Medicare Part D data sheds light on the sales hit that branded pharmaceutical manufacturers will face when the coverage gap discount program gets under way in 2011.
Manufacturer-level brand drug spending data for 2009 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicate the discounts could reduce annual sales for individual leading biopharmaceutical firms [...]

Employers shifting health-care costs to workers, survey shows

Amid high unemployment and a weak economy, employers have been shifting health care costs to workers, according to a study released Thursday.
The premiums that employees pay for employer-sponsored family coverage rose an average of 13.7 percent this year, while the amount that employers contribute fell by 0.9 [...]

Study: Employers pass higher health costs to workers

WASHINGTON — Strained by rising health care costs and the sour economy, U.S. employers are pressing workers to shoulder the added burden alone as employees pay higher insurance premiums and more out-of-pocket expenses for their medical care.
The average employer-provided family health plan now costs workers nearly $4,000 [...]

Wyden Defects on ObamaCare

Most Democrats have come to understand that they can’t run on ObamaCare, but few have the temerity of Ron Wyden. The Oregon Senator is the first to break with the policy underpinnings of the bill he voted for.
Last week Mr. Wyden sent a letter to Oregon health authority [...]

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