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.
-
Caught my eye, Copay Accumulators, Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare Part D, Pharmacy Benefit ManagersCaught my eye — 3/1/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 3/1/24It took my until 5 pm on Thursday to figure out why there was a frog on the Microsoft tool bar. Leap year. Frog. Leap. Sigh. I prefer not. Congress seems to have hit the pause button (at least temporarily) on pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform. And that sort of felt okay because, realistically, things…
-
Caught my eye — 2/23/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 2/23/24Gross to Net, a Saga. As soon as I saw Adam Fein’s Drug Channels article on Gross to Net in Part D redesign, I knew it would throw off my day. It was just catchy enough to cause a buzz and get the attention of Heads of Market Access at pharmaceutical companies and start the…
-
Save the date: 4 for 1, IRA Arguments
Read more: Save the date: 4 for 1, IRA ArgumentsOn March 7 the District Court of New Jersey will hear oral arguments from 4 pharmaceutical companies against the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in one day – BMS, Janssen, Novartis and Novo Nordisk. When the arguments line up and time is ticking, get it done. All four companies have drugs that are part of the…
-
Caught my eye — 2/16/24
Read more: Caught my eye — 2/16/24Honestly? Not a lot caught my eye this week. Maybe we were all heads down getting stuff done before a long weekend? You say MPPP, I say smoothing. Late yesterday afternoon the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released Draft 2 guidance for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. I’ve heard Michael Ward from Alliance for…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Latest news
- Caught my eye — 1/24/25
- Caught my eye — 1/16/25
- Caught my eye — 1/10/25
- Caught my eye — 12/20/24
- Nurturing the Potential of Biosimilars
Categories
- 340B (31)
- Affordable Care Act (3)
- Alzheimer's (4)
- Biosimilars (19)
- Caught my eye (53)
- Chevron Deference (2)
- CMMI (8)
- Copay Accumulators (6)
- COVID (2)
- Drug Prices (28)
- Drug shortages (7)
- DTC (2)
- Employers (7)
- Generics (4)
- Health Equity (3)
- Healthcare Costs (24)
- ICER (7)
- Importation (2)
- Inflation Reduction Act (42)
- Insulin (4)
- IP (3)
- Long term care (1)
- Medicaid (3)
- Medicare Advantage (13)
- Medicare Negotiation (44)
- Medicare Part D (40)
- Medicare Transaction Facilitator (2)
- Medicare Transaction Facilitator (6)
- Obesity (18)
- On the Horizon (1)
- Orphan Drugs (2)
- Pharmacy Benefit Managers (25)
- Reference Pricing (4)
- State-based Reform (13)
- Uncategorized (4)
- Utilization Management (1)
- Vaccines (2)
- Value (8)