Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
High Drug Prices To Be Targeted At Obama Administration Forum
Trying to turn up the political heat on the pharmaceutical industry, the Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it would hold a forum this month on the high prices of some prescription drugs. The move came amid reports of price manipulation and opinion polls that identify drug prices as a top concern for many consumers and voters. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democrats have called for efforts to stop what they call price gouging by drug makers. Senior House Democrats are forming a panel to explore possible legislation on drug pricing. (Pear, 11/3)
U.S. firms of all sizes are racing to find a way to keep handling foreign data after a European court struck down the international Safe Harbor legal framework over privacy worries. U.S. leaders are busy negotiating a pact, dubbed Safe Harbor 2.0, in response to the European Court of Justice鈥檚 October ruling. But experts say there is no reason for companies to believe that the new agreement won鈥檛 be struck down as summarily as the old one. Absent new, stricter data security laws in the U.S., policy specialists warn a new Safe Harbor pact will immediately come under fire. (Ferris, 11/4)
GlaxoSmithKline could seek regulatory approval for up to 20 new medicines before 2020 and some could hit the market by then, enabling it to boost revenue rather than just compensate for declining sales of its older drugs. The British drugmaker said it could start late-stage patient testing in the next two years on about 20 new drugs or new uses for existing ones. And it could start mid-stage patient testing on about 30 others. (Johnson, 11/3)
With rare exceptions, Medicare doesn't cover prescription drugs at all unless you're in the hospital. There are two ways to fill the gap if you don't have retiree health insurance. You can either get a Medicare Part D prescription-drug plan (paired with a Medigap plan for your other out-of-pocket costs) or buy a Medicare Advantage plan that includes both medical and drug coverage. Either way, you need to follow a similar process when shopping. Don't just look at premiums when comparing plans. Find out whether your drugs are on the plan's formulary (its list of covered drugs) and how the drugs are covered. Some plans have you pay 40 percent to 50 percent of the cost of certain brand-name drugs, which could be hundreds of dollars, even if your drugs are covered. (Lankford, 11/4)
