
AMP is WAC (and other thoughts)
Latest posts and updates
Latest posts and updates
ABOUT AMP is WAC
Average Manufacturer Price (AMP) is not equal to Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC), but it is close. And since the whole world of health policy and reimbursement is a bit WAC-y, that’s what we’re calling this update/blog part of the site. All of the opinions and thoughts presented here are our own and not the views of clients or affiliates.
Section 4 of the President’s Executive Order (EO) on drug pricing aims to reduce the high-cost drugs for seniors through the development and implementation of a payment model. It is very light on details; basically a title and one run-on sentence. So wide in scope you could drive a truck through it, but let’s pull…
On April 15, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First.” The EO directly aims to modify drug pricing. Section 3 of the EO, focused on improvement to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), has three components to it – (1) improving the Medicare drug price negotiation…
I had visions of touring college campuses during the day and working on this post in the evenings. It turns out touring two colleges a day is really tiring in a way that working at my desk is not. I hit 22k steps in NYC yesterday (good prep for Asembia.) So what would I have…
Some days I sit down the pottery wheel and I pull 4 bowls or vases in a row that are fantastic. Other days (like, oh, this Sunday and Wednesday) it all collapses. Here is hoping that all of us get better at staying centered and not collapsing. I’d Prefer Not. The 2026 Medicare Advantage and…
Mom and Pop Going Broke. The economics of pharmacies are fascinating. Like did you know they usually lose money on brand-name drugs? A pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) law in Montana would help those pharmacies get closer to at least breaking even and make sure they get dispensing fees. I thought this KFF piece was a…
There are some weeks you get to Friday and it’s just nice. The anticipation of some dopamine, some relaxation over the weekend. There are other weeks where you barrel into Friday and cram everything in so that 5 pm can arrive with a cocktail. Guess which week I’m having… three quick things you should know.…
Smug looks awful on me so it is a good thing I did a terrible job picking my brackets. I need to set a reminder to create 2 brackets next year –one on how I actually think things will go and one on a more whim basis (colors, mascots, which school I think my kids…
With the exception of the ending of demos/models at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), most of the news kind of rolled over me this week. So, instead, here is a capture of what is rattling around my chamber of health policy worries. Who’s on first? What’s on second? I don’t know ……
Tuesday morning, I spent the first half of the day convinced it was Wednesday, and yet, despite that mental setback, the rest of the week has flown by. Feels like a win. Killing me softly. Overall, glad to see the stories recognizing how the uncertainty of federal research dollars is impacting NIH summer internships, graduate…
Tariffic. This week Eli Lilly announced they were investing at least $27 billion in US manufacturing, which is pretty cool. Was it to buy favor with the new Administration? It certainly does not hurt. I get the allure of manufacturing in the United States. If a country wanted to hurt us, they could stop sending…