
I chuckled during the E&C hearing when members were questioning the panelists about the pharmaceutical deals with the Administration. As if these are the people they should be asking. Make a left, make right, go down about a mile – there’s a big white house. Maybe they can help you there. Parallels Between 340B and…

No, I do not think that a groundhog is a meteorologist. But, one year I am determined to make it to see Punxsutawney Phil. I expect it to be silly and cold and over quickly. I will likely have to go solo because my family thinks getting a bus from a Wal-mart parking lot in…

Let’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…

Late Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Rate Announcement for Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D) as well as the CY25 Part D Redesign Program Instructions. I was about to get on an airplane and instead of watching a movie, I figured what sounds like a…

It 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…

Patients driving change. I love this story because it involves Carl Schmid, patient groups and copay accumulators. Copay accumulators are when insurance does not allow pharmaceutical manufacturer contributions to count towards patient out-of-pocket spending calculations. Thanks to the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, the Diabetes Leadership Council and the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition and their suit against…

Yesterday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the list of drugs that they have selected as part of the initial year of Medicare drug price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These drugs will be negotiated over the next year with implementation of the prices to begin in 2026. And there…