This charticle draws on recent KFF poll findings to provide an in-depth look at the public’s attitudes toward prescription drugs and their prices. Results include Americans’ opinions on drug affordability, pharmaceutical companies, and various potential measures that could lower prices.
The question of what would happen when a new, expensive prescription drug comes to market for a disease like Alzheimer’s that afflicts millions of people has loomed large in discussions over drug prices in the U.S. This brief analyzes the cost implications for Medicare and… Read More »FDA’s Approval of Biogen’s New Alzheimer’s Drug Has Huge Cost Implications for Medicare and Beneficiaries
Prescription drug spending in Medicaid and other health programs has returned to the national policy debate. This analysis examines Medicaid outpatient prescription drug utilization and spending before rebates over the 2015 to 2019 period, which is helpful for understanding recent cost drivers and areas for… Read More »Utilization and Spending Trends in Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drugs, 2015-2019
The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans, including stand-alone drug plans and Medicare Advantage drug plans. This analysis provides the latest data about Part D enrollment,… Read More »Key Facts About Medicare Part D Enrollment, Premiums, and Cost Sharing in 2021
With increased attention to the global need for COVID-19 vaccines and the Biden administration’s announcement today about how it plans to distribute the first portion of the 80 million doses it will share by the end of this month, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll… Read More »Two-Thirds of the Public Say the U.S. Should Play a Major Role in Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines Globally, But Not Most Republicans
The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll explores the public’s views on the U.S. role in distributing COVID vaccines to other countries, health care priorities for Congress, prescription drug regulations and price negotiations, and affordability changes in the COVID-19 relief bill.
California Healthline editor Arthur Allen discussed the investigation into the origins of the coronavirus on KPBS’ “Midday Edition” on Wednesday. Click here to hear Allen on KPBS Read Allen’s “To the Bat Cave: In Search of Covid’s Origins, Scientists Reignite Polarizing Debate on Wuhan ‘Lab… Read More »KHN Journalist Combs for Clues on Covid’s Origins
Use Our Content It can be republished for free. The Biden administration said Friday it has no timeline on whether it will allow states to import drugs from Canada, an effort that was approved under President Donald Trump as a key strategy to control costs. Six states have passed laws to start such programs, and Florida, Colorado and New… Read More »Biden Administration Signals It’s in No Rush to Allow Canadian Drug Imports
Nykerrius Williams knows about the close relationship between hip-hop and opioid use. Williams, 27, an independent rapper from Gibsland, Louisiana, who goes by the name Young Nyke, took oxycodone pills for the first time when he was 16 and has continued patterns of misuse of… Read More »Opioids like ‘Lean’ Permeate Hip-Hop Culture, but Dangers Are Downplayed
DENVER — Tired of waiting for federal action to reduce prescription drug costs, Colorado is acting on its own — even if it must do so with one arm tied behind its back. Unable to set prices or change patent protections, the state is exploring… Read More »Colorado Lawmakers Wage Multifront Assault on High Drug Costs
Although attention in current federal actions is largely focused on Medicare and private insurance drug prices, federal legislation also has been recently introduced or enacted that would affect Medicaid prescription drug policy.
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, hormonal contraception became more accessible to many outside of traditional clinical settings through websites or apps that offer contraception via telehealth. To better understand this emerging method of contraceptive access, a new KFF analysis provides a deeper look at… Read More »A New Analysis Takes a Closer Look at Online Contraception Platforms Amid the Pandemic
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. The high cost of prescription drugs is a top health issue for the public and politicians, but concerns raised by a group of moderate Democrats threaten to derail a bill being pushed by House Democratic… Read More »KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug Price Effort Hits a Snag
This brief examines how leading federal and state policy options related to changes in Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP), drug pricing, and payment and management of the Medicaid prescription drug would affect state and federal governments as well as private industry (including drug manufacturers, managed… Read More »Potential Implications of Policy Changes in Medicaid Drug Purchasing
One of the few surprises in President Joe Biden’s social safety-net proposal, the American Families Plan, was something that didn’t make it into the final version: any mention of reining in the price of prescription drugs. Use Our Content It can be republished for free.… Read More »Democrats Disagree About How to Spend Potential Prescription Drug Windfall
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. It’s been a busy 100 days for the Biden administration on health policy. The promise Joe Biden made as president-elect to get 100 million covid vaccinations in arms was doubled, healthcare.gov reopened to those without… Read More »KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: 100 Days of Health Policy
Covid survivors are at risk from a possible second pandemic, this time of opioid addiction, given the high rate of painkillers being prescribed to these patients, health experts say. Use Our Content It can be republished for free. A new study in Nature found alarmingly… Read More »Doctors More Likely to Prescribe Opioids to Covid ‘Long Haulers,’ Raising Addiction Fears
A new KFF analysis finds that a relatively small share of drugs, mainly those without generic or biosimilar competitors, accounted for a disproportionate share of prescription drug spending in Medicare in 2019. This finding suggests that recent proposals that focus on prices for a limited… Read More »Analysis Finds That a Relatively Small Number of Drugs Account for the Majority of Medicare Prescription Drug Spending
As policymakers focus attention on proposals to lower prescription drug costs by allowing price negotiation or international reference pricing for a limited number of drugs, this analysis measures the share of total Medicare Part D and Part B prescription drug spending accounted for by top-selling… Read More »Relatively Few Drugs Account for a Large Share of Medicare Prescription Drug Spending
Chuck Peterson of Omaha, Nebraska, recently experienced a swollen, painful knuckle caused by arthritis. He got a prescription for colchicine. Doctors have used the drug for treating gout and other rheumatic conditions for well over two centuries. When Peterson went to the pharmacy, he was… Read More »The FDA Seeks a New Way to Review Old Drugs Without Causing Prices to Soar
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. Congress is out of session, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from planning their next round of health legislation. Together with President Joe Biden, they are looking at a broad array of possibilities, from allowing Medicare… Read More »KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Planning for Round Two
¿Podría un antidepresivo que se usa desde hace décadas ser un arma secreta contra covid? Algunos científicos creen que sí, después de que dos pequeños estudios demostraran que la fluvoxamina, que se suele recetar para el trastorno obsesivo compulsivo (TOC), evitara que los participantes desarrollaran… Read More »Medicamentos ya conocidos, y baratos, podrían ser clave para tratar covid
Could a decades-old antidepressant be a secret weapon against covid? A few scientists think so, after two small studies showed that fluvoxamine, typically prescribed for obsessive-compulsive disorder, prevented serious illness in all participants who took the pills soon after developing symptoms. This story also ran… Read More »Scientists Seek Covid Treatment Answers in Cheap, Older Drugs
KHN has put together an interactive tool of significant health policies implemented by the Trump administration using its own authority — executive orders, agency guidance or formal regulations — and is tracking Biden administration and court actions. We will update this chart as actions are… Read More »The Great Undoing: Which of Trump’s Policies Will Biden Reverse?
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. As questions swirl about the covid vaccine made by AstraZeneca, public health experts are worried the confusion could create more doubts among people already hesitant to get a vaccine. Meanwhile, the first Senate-confirmed officials are… Read More »KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Getting Down to Work at HHS
This brief examines how the CMS Innovation Center (also known as CMMI) and Section 402 demonstration authority could become pathways for the Biden Administration to implement policy changes related to prescription drug costs.
Democrats, newly in control of Congress and the White House, are united behind an idea that Republican lawmakers and major drugmakers fiercely oppose: empowering the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate the prices of brand-name drugs covered by Medicare. This story also ran… Read More »Democrats Eye Medicare Negotiations to Lower Drug Prices
This brief provides a status update on prescription drug final rules advanced by the Trump Administration in its final months related to Medicare, importation, and 340B pricing for insulin and epinephrine, and an overview of key drug pricing proposals related to Medicare and prescription drug… Read More »A Status Report on Prescription Drug Policies and Proposals at the Start of the Biden Administration
As context for understanding the rationale for efforts to limit drug price increases, this analysis compares changes in list prices for drugs covered by Medicare Part D in 2019 to the inflation rate, based on data from the most recent Medicare Part D drug spending… Read More »Price Increases Continue to Outpace Inflation for Many Medicare Part D Drugs
With the inauguration of President Biden and Democrats holding a slim majority in Congress, policymakers are likely to consider whether and how to reverse various health policy regulations issued by the Trump Administration.
ST. LOUIS — The public service announcement showed a mother finding her teenage son lifeless, juxtaposed with the sound of a ukulele and a woman singing, “That’s how, how you OD’d on heroin.” It aired locally during the 2015 Super Bowl but attracted national attention… Read More »Are Public Health Ads Worth the Price? Not if They’re All About Fear
The party split in Congress is so slim that, even with Democrats technically in the majority, passing major health care legislation will be extremely difficult. So speculation about President-elect Joe Biden’s health agenda has focused on the things he can accomplish using executive authority. Although… Read More »Biden’s First Order of Business May Be to Undo Trump’s Policies, but It Won’t Be Easy
In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt explores what President-elect Biden might do to advance his health care vision both through legislation and through executive orders and waivers and demonstrations.
Ted Howard started taking Truvada a few years ago because he wanted to protect himself against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. But the daily pill was so pricey he was seriously thinking about giving it up. Under his insurance plan, the former flight attendant… Read More »Many Health Plans Now Must Cover Full Cost of Expensive HIV Prevention Drugs
This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free. Sharon Clark is able to get her life-sustaining cancer drug, Pomalyst — priced at more than $18,000 for a 28-day supply — only because of the generosity of patient assistance foundations. Clark, 57,… Read More »Seniors Face Crushing Drug Costs as Congress Stalls on Capping Medicare Out-Of-Pockets
As the U.S. prepares for nationwide distribution of vaccines to combat COVID-19, some are asking whether people who get the first of two doses will return to complete the series in order to be fully immunized. This analysis draws on Medicare Part D prescription drug… Read More »Who Didn’t Get a Second Shingrix Shot? Implications for Multidose COVID-19 Vaccines
This brief outlines the potential health policy actions that President Biden could take using executive authority, based on campaign pledges, and actions that would reverse or modify regulations or guidance issued by the Trump Administration.
People buying their own health insurance have even more to think about this year, particularly those post-COVID-19 patients with lingering health concerns, the “long haulers,” who join the club of Americans with preexisting conditions. What type of plan is best for someone with an unpredictable,… Read More »During ACA Open Enrollment, Picking a Plan Invites New COVID Complications
The post Pregnant women warned to avoid some pain-relief drugs appeared first on Healthy Debate.
Health insurance companies will have to give their customers estimated out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and disclose to the public the negotiated prices they pay for drugs, under an unexpected new Trump administration rule. The administration said those requirements, part of a broader rule issued… Read More »Surprise Federal Drug Rule Directs Insurers to Reveal What They Pay for Prescription Drugs
This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit plan landscape for 2021, with a focus on stand-alone drug plans. It includes national and state-level data on plan availability, premiums, benefit design, cost sharing, information about premium-free plans for low-income… Read More »Medicare Part D: A First Look at Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2021
The repeal of the ACA could mean loss of Medicaid coverage for up to 15 million that were enrolled in the ACA Medicaid expansion group prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, repeal could also mean significant changes to Medicaid prescription drug policy with implications for… Read More »What Happens to Medicaid Drug Policy if the ACA is Overturned?
In an Axios column, Drew Altman discusses how this election year health isn’t a single issue — but several — and Joe Biden has the edge over President Trump on all of them, even as opposition to the ACA remains popular with Trump’s base.
During the first presidential debate of 2020, President Donald Trump touted his efforts to curb skyrocketing drug prices and declared that insulin is now “so cheap, it’s like water.” The response on social media was swift, and divided, with some people sharing pharmacy… Read More »Progressive Group Highlights Trump, Tillis Weakness on Insulin Price Tags
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $21,342 this year, up 4% from last year, with… Read More »2020 Employer Health Benefits Survey
This slideshow explains the similarities and differences among major proposals to lower prescription drug costs introduced by the Trump Administration, members of Congress, and the Biden campaign.
This side-by-side comparison examines President Trump’s record and former Vice President Biden’s positions across a wide range of key health issues, including the response to the pandemic, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, drug prices, reproductive health, mental health and opioids, immigration and health… Read More »Health Care and the 2020 Presidential Election
DENVER — D.j. Mattern had her Type 1 diabetes under control until COVID’s economic upheaval cost her husband his hotel maintenance job and their health coverage. The 42-year-old Denver woman suddenly faced insulin’s exorbitant list price — anywhere from $125 to $450 per vial —… Read More »Not Pandemic-Proof: Insulin Copay Caps Fall Short, Fueling Underground Exchanges
This policy watch examines the likely impact of an executive order signed by President Trump in July 2020 related to prescription drugs, which would use lower international drug prices to set prices for a limited set of drugs in the U.S.
President Donald Trump has long considered lowering the high cost of prescription drugs to be one of his signature issues, and it is likely to be a talking point he relies on throughout the upcoming campaign. During his afternoon speech Monday ― delivered on the… Read More »Trump Again Claims He’s Bringing Down Drug Prices, But Details of How Are Skimpy
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. Democrats have shown a remarkably united front, including on health care, in their socially distant, made-for-TV convention this week. That’s likely due, at least in part, to the physical separation of party members who disagree… Read More »KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Democrats in Array (For Now)
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. California Sen. Kamala Harris, the newly named running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, doesn’t have a lot of background in health policy. But that’s unlikely to prevent Republicans from using her on-again,… Read More »KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kamala Harris on Health
These state fact sheets offer a snapshot of the administration and delivery of Medicaid pharmacy benefits in each state.
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. President Donald Trump’s pivot to a more serious view of the coronavirus pandemic didn’t last long. This week, he was again touting hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug that has not been shown to work against the… Read More »KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Republicans in COVID Disarray