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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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…
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Catch as Catch Can
Read more: Catch as Catch CanSection 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…
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Make IRA Better
Read more: Make IRA BetterOn 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…
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Spring break broke me
Read more: Spring break broke meI 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…
Latest news
- Caught my eye — 5/16/25
- Initial Take on MFN Executive Order, Part II
- Caught my eye — 5/09/25
- Don’t Call it a Comeback
- Caught my eye — 5/2/25
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