AMP is WAC (and other thoughts)
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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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Yays and Nays
Read more: Yays and NaysThis afternoon I’m giving a talk to a group of patient advocates on the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D). As I prepared, I was struck by the fact that this is one of the few times that I feel that I’m (mostly) giving out good policy news. Are there downsides to the Medicare Part…
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Biosimilars, Caught my eye, Drug Prices, Healthcare Costs, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, ValueCaught my eye — 2/9/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 2/9/24A whirlwind of a week. I regrouped on Wednesday and got a run in and some pottery wheel time and then it all fell apart again (in a good way) on Thursday where I forgot to leave my desk for hours and hours. One of those “I love working” and forget time exists. So much…
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PBM Reform: A Different Bite at the Apple
Read more: PBM Reform: A Different Bite at the AppleYesterday afternoon, I caught the story that Johnson & Johnson was being sued by an employee who claims that the company (as an employer) was overpaying its pharmacy benefit manager (Express Scripts) and that these overpayments result in higher premiums, higher out-of-pocket expenses and limited increase in wages. The lawsuit uses an example of a…
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Caught my eye, CMMI, Drug Prices, Inflation Reduction Act, Insulin, Medicare Negotiation, State-based ReformCaught my eye — 2/2/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 2/2/24It is a dumb bucket list thing but one day I will go experience the Groundhog Day festivities. Dream big, I know. Cell and Gene Update. This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) released the Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access model which will initially focus on sickle cell disease. It is…
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Required Reading: Come on Down
Read more: Required Reading: Come on DownIt is rare for me to print things anymore; limited access to a giant corporate printer cuts down on the urge. But today I got the printer going, grabbed the highlighter and dug in. The paper? “Is the price right? Paying for value today to get more value tomorrow.” If I were a health policy…
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340B, Alzheimer’s, Caught my eye, Drug Prices, Drug shortages, Medicare Advantage, State-based ReformCaught my eye — 1/26/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 1/26/24It has been fun to see the year really start to kick off this week with a bunch of policy releases. Shortages. Generic shortages are caused by a myriad of factors, but a big piece is the race to the bottom for prices. A fraction of a penny less and a contract shifts to another…
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When a case about fish oversight makes a stink
Read more: When a case about fish oversight makes a stinkLast week, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments appealing the Chevron doctrine; coined from a 1984 case – Chevron vs. National Resources Defense Council. The doctrine essentially says that the courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of federal law. But here’s the thing…Legislation inherently has gaps that that are left…
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Caught my eye — 1/19/23
Read more: Caught my eye — 1/19/23A thoughtful piece on price hikes. Price hikes are the routine story of January. Look price hikes! But because net price hides behind discounts and rebates, the full story is seldom in media. Here is a story that is (finally) a little more balanced on price hikes (and decreases). It even talks about the new…
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Another bite at the apple
Read more: Another bite at the appleIt used to be that pharmaceutical manufacturers had to worry (mostly) about federal health policy. Every few years manage through a big piece of legislation from Congress and then the regulation on Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and any regulation that came out of the legislation. But over the past few years, the drug…
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Caught my eye — 1/12/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 1/12/24Aye-n’t going to happen. Last week I covered how Florida had their importation plan approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It all seems so unlikely to happen or, if it does, it has a lot to go through before it happens. And already the Canadians are saying no thank you. International Math. The Commonwealth…
Latest news
- AMP is WAC — 04/24/26
- AMP is WAC — 04/10/26
- AMP is WAC — 03/27/26
- AMP is WAC — 03/20/26
- AMP is WAC — 03/13/26
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