Journalists Dig in on Delta Variant Risks and Opioid Overdose Deaths
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
Drugs
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Facing Headwinds on New Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug, Biogen Launches Controversial Campaign
The makers of Aduhelm, a drug approved last month despite concerns raised by experts about its effectiveness, have launched a website and ads designed to urge people who are worried about their memory to ask doctors about testing. But some health advocates say it is misleading because some memory loss with aging is normal.
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Analysis: Necessary or Not, Covid Booster Shots Are Probably on the Horizon
In today鈥檚 pharmaceutical universe, a simple 鈥渟afe and effective鈥 determination by the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug can be manipulated to sell products of questionable value. And drugmakers can profit handsomely.
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Sen. Wyden: $3.5T Budget May Have to Trim but It Can Set a Path to 鈥楢mbitious Goals鈥
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who is helping to negotiate the health care spending framework for the Democrats' budget plan, said lawmakers may have to settle for very basic versions of programs deployed in the package. But the key, he added, is to get the "architecture of these changes, bold changes," started and show people what is possible.
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Biden鈥檚 July Executive Order Includes Drug Pricing Provisions. But Will They Do Enough?
The July 9 directive addresses the importation of prescription drugs and broader efforts to reduce the high cost of medicines.
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Journalists’ Topics Range From Rural Pharmacy Deserts to Opioid Overdoses
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Here Comes Reconciliation
Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn鈥檛 expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.
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Senate Democrats鈥 Plan Boosts Spending on Medicare, ACA Subsidies, Long-Term Care
The plan from high-wire negotiations would affect five key areas of health, but there will be further tense negotiations among Democratic lawmakers about specifics of the $3.5 trillion in funding. And all Senate Democrats will need to be behind the plan, because Republicans oppose it.
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Dying Patients With Rare Diseases Struggle to Get Experimental Therapies
When patients with common terminal illnesses such as cancer seek permission for compassionate use of therapies in the testing stage, their requests often are approved. But those with more unusual illnesses say drug companies are rarely willing to provide access.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Becerra Urges Congress to Expand Medicare, Address Rx Prices
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is the special guest for this bonus episode of KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 podcast. He and host Julie Rovner discuss a breadth of topics the secretary oversees, including covid-19, prescription drug prices, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
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As Congress Wrestles With Plans to Expand Medicare, Becerra Says Any One Will Do
In an interview for KHN鈥檚 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 podcast, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says the administration is eager for Congress to make changes to Medicare that will provide more benefits and make more older adults eligible for the program. He also said a priority will be making permanent the enhanced premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
By Julie Rovner -
Commentary
Why We May Never Know Whether the $56,000-a-Year Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug Actually Works
It could take years for follow-up studies to prove Aduhelm slows the disease 鈥 or doesn鈥檛. Meanwhile, its maker will profit.
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Doctors Weigh Pros and Cons of Prescribing Hot-Button Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug
The potential benefits of Aduhelm are small, its effectiveness is not certain, and even the FDA Thursday shifted its guidance on who should get the drug. But physicians are dealing with an onslaught of interest from patients and their families, and figuring out which patients are best positioned to be helped by the drug will be difficult.
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Drugmakers鈥 Spending on Stock, Dividends and Executive Pay Exceeds Research, Democrats Say
The pharmaceutical industry argues that large profits are needed to fund extensive research and innovation. But Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, seeking to bolster their effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, say major drug companies plow more of their billions in earnings back into propping up their stock and enriching executives and shareholders.
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Paying Billions for Controversial Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug? How About Funding This Instead?
Aduhelm, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month despite questions about its efficacy, could be prescribed to at least 1 million patients a year, for a price tag of about $56 billion. Experts suggest there might be better ways to spend that money.
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New Research Finds J&J Vaccine Has Muscle Against Covid鈥檚 Delta Variant
The data is reassuring to people who got this shot.
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California Lawmakers Push Feds to Allow a Therapy That Pays Meth Users to Abstain
The approach, known as contingency management, has helped thousands of veterans kick the methedrine habit, but a federal government ruling has limited its use. California hopes to challenge that and make the treatment a Medi-Cal benefit.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Un-Trumping the ACA
The Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, 鈥淣ever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.鈥
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How One Rural Town Without a Pharmacy Is Crowdsourcing to Get Meds
As more independently owned community pharmacies close, a Colorado town is crowdsourcing ways of getting prescription medicines delivered to those who can鈥檛 travel the long distance to the closest pharmacy. But even those stopgap measures don鈥檛 always work.
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States Step Up Push to Regulate Pharmacy Drug Brokers
In an ongoing effort to control prescription drug costs, states are targeting the companies that mediate deals among drug manufacturers, health insurers and pharmacies. The pharmacy benefit managers say they negotiate lower prices for patients, yet the nitty-gritty occurs largely behind a curtain that lawmakers are trying to pull back.