Summer vibes are real in the DC area this week with schools letting out and pool time kicking in. College wood bat baseball league games are on, and the summer night hang out is in full swing. I don’t know if it is my mood or the season or both, but things seem a little slower.
Why, Just Why. Late last week, the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) voted that Stelara was unaffordable. Here’s the thing, by the time they do anything about it, there will be an approved biosimilar on the market (likely next summer). I was going to say I don’t mean to be a pain in the butt about this but, who are we kidding. Even ignoring the biosimilar part, Stelara is a highly rebated drug, so someone is likely getting the discounts and rebates, just not the patient. But that should be the focus.
There are real problems out there in healthcare and is this how people should be spending their time? Like the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) doing a report on price increases but including drug that went up < 4%. We have super smart people working on these things and it isn’t contributing in a way that makes a difference. And that is unaffordable to us all.
Bring out the Noise. Senator Bernie Sanders is asking the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) to vote on issuing a subpoena for the head of Novo Nordisk to appear before the committee. Novo says they have been responsive and tried offering times. Either way, this all just feels like spotlight grab for Sanders. Are drugs less expensive in other countries? Yes. Do we need a head of a pharmaceutical company to tell us that? Nope.
Up, Up and Away. The National Health Expenditures report came out this week. Health spending is going up because of an aging population and more insured patients. The Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D) out-of-pocket cap ($2,000 in 2025) drives down beneficiary spending, but no surprise, drives up Medicare spending overall.
Scoring. This week the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed regulations that would prevent medical debt from being counted against credit scores. Which is great but how amazing would it be if Americans didn’t go into debt at all for health spending?
Ties the room together. There is a lot out there about the GLP-1s but this article about nutritional considerations pulled together the health aspect and how these products work for obesity in an accessible way. If you don’t have time/energy/desire to dig in, the graphic on page 5 is a nice quick info piece.
Minding the gap. Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug unanimously passed a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on its way to (hopefully) an approval. This has been such a long road for Alzheimer’s to get even close to something that works and step by step, there is a little more hope.