AMP is WAC (and other thoughts)
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.
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AMP is WAC — 06/06/25
Read more: AMP is WAC — 06/06/25I love this time of year, it feels nostalgic. All sorts of changes are going on with students graduating or changing schools with the hum of music and the whiff of sunscreen ever present in the background. Or maybe I just long for simpler times? Caught my Eye Waiting Game. This week the Department of…
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340B, Caught my eye, COVID, Drug Prices, Medicaid, Medicare Negotiation, Medicare Part D, Medicare Transaction Facilitator, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Reference Pricing, State-based Reform, VaccinesAMP is WAC — 05/30/25
Read more: AMP is WAC — 05/30/25I do love a Monday off. It somehow feels like an a double-treat – you get the Monday off and the week flies by. Yes we had to cram more meetings and work into the shorter week but totally worth it. Caught my Eye Processed Over. This week the Secretary of Health and Human Services,…
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340B, Alzheimer’s, Biosimilars, Caught my eye, Drug Prices, Generics, Healthcare Costs, Importation, Medicaid, State-based ReformAMP is WAC — 05/23/25
Read more: AMP is WAC — 05/23/25It’s the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, let’s blow this pop (pup?) stand. I’m playing with the format of these posts so let me know what you think. The aim is to be more of a newsletter than a blog, but still give you everything you need to know in just a few minutes a…
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340B, Affordable Care Act, Caught my eye, CMMI, Drug Prices, Drug shortages, Employers, Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare Negotiation, Medicare Transaction Facilitator, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Preventative, Reference Pricing
Caught my eye — 5/16/25
Read more: Caught my eye — 5/16/25This week I’ve repeatedly spoken to groups about the President’s Executive Order (EO) on Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing and I feel a little vulnerable. I am often “authentic” in my explanations. I recognize that to many people I seem biased on a lot of issues but, in my defense, I find most politics maddening…
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Initial Take on MFN Executive Order, Part II
Read more: Initial Take on MFN Executive Order, Part IIInitial take at 3:30 today … which could change as I learn more… The foundational premise of the President’s new Executive Order (EO) is that the United States should pay less for drug and other countries should pay more; there should be an equalization. The Administration will take steps to work with foreign countries and…
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Caught my eye — 5/09/25
Read more: Caught my eye — 5/09/25Direct Cost. I’ve written about the cuts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but I’m not sure I was clear on the impact on pharmaceutical manufacturers. Pharma relies on basic research for its drugs, and they also rely on scientists that have been trained in graduate schools and post-doctoral fellowships to develop and advance…
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340B, Biosimilars, CMMI, Drug Prices, Generics, Healthcare Costs, Importation, Insulin, Medicaid, Pharmacy Benefit ManagersDon’t Call it a Comeback
Read more: Don’t Call it a ComebackLet’s wrap up my musings on the President’s Executive Order (EO). Medicaid. Section 6 of the EO directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to…
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Caught my eye — 5/2/25
Read more: Caught my eye — 5/2/25It has been a week that has rushed by and yet Monday feels like very long time ago. You know these kinds of weeks. So, let’s do a quick roundup of what made me pause between the stimulation overload of Vegas. And So it Begins? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suffered huge staffing…
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340B, Caught my eye, Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare Negotiation, Medicare Part D, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, State-based ReformCaught my eye — 4/25/25
Read more: Caught my eye — 4/25/25Let’s Get Horizontal. Arkansas just passed a law banning pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning pharmacies in the state. Other states like Vermont and New York are considering it. This also includes mail order and specialty pharmacy. Lately the economics of independent pharmacies are getting covered in the media showcasing how they often lose money…
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Butting Heads
Read more: Butting Heads340B is not a topic that pulls people together. If I post about it on LinkedIn, I immediately get comments from covered entities saying that they do help patients. And I know they do — some entities are amazing and do so much for patients because of their 340B status but others don’t. And they…
Latest news
- AMP is WAC — 06/06/25
- AMP is WAC — 05/30/25
- AMP is WAC — 05/23/25
- Caught my eye — 5/16/25
- Initial Take on MFN Executive Order, Part II
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