
Feeling Owl Right? No? As I look at my calendar, I’m feeling a little antsy about the week ahead. Everything is positive, even great, but it feels like a gauntlet. The other significant factor is the upcoming September 29th Most Favored Nation (MFN) deadline. This date marks 60 days since the seventeen letters went out…

Some weeks it feels like this newsletter writes itself. This is not one of those weeks. Onward. Caught my Eye Medicaid Math. Kaiser Family Foundation has a terrific visual of how the One Big Beautiful Bill will impact the uninsured rate by state. Employer Math. Employers are expecting a big jump in premiums (9%, 7.6%…

If you’re off this week, excellent timing. I feel like things were sort of quiet. Or maybe that is just compared to last week. Caught my Eye Work It. I had a long post I was starting to write about health insurance in America and then I saw this NYT article and just stopped; Sarah…

Rumor has it that the weather will be cooler in the DC-area this weekend and I am giddy. Outside time sounds great – a hike, a cocktail on the patio, maybe getting the friend group together to start planning the next ski trip… hope you get a chance to dream big too. Caught my…

Last Saturday I was in the customs line in Amsterdam and the agent smirked and said, “Big Beautiful Bill, huh?” I wanted to say something, but I was mostly impressed that he was following U.S. news more closely than a lot of Americans. Caught my Eye 340No. IQVIA released a study looking at the use…

I 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,…
This 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…

Let’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…
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…

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…