Analyzing HHS’ 100 Days of Action report

In August, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released a special report highlighting the Trump administration’s progress on lowering drug prices for Americans. The HHS report, which focused on the first 100 days since the administration released its American Patients First blueprint, claimed to have achieved less brand-name drug price increases and more drug price decreases than the same period in 2017. While this is great to hear, we wanted to learn more about what this means for consumers. This 46brooklyn report highlights where the Trump administration seems to be making headway, where things still seem incomplete, and why despite any progress made on list prices, it may not mean that spending on prescription drugs has declined.

Ben LinkSeptember 6, 2018HHS, Trump, drug prices, NADAC, Pfizer

Hydroxychloroquine: What goes up… stays up?

It is well-known that competition in the generic manufacturer marketplace drives drug prices down considerably. Plaquenil, a brand-name drug that has been on the market since 1955, eventually saw generics enter the market almost a quarter of a century ago. By all accounts, generic Plaquenil – known as hydroxychloroquine – had become a very affordable drug at approximately 10 cents per pill. But FDA actions quickly dried up the supply of the drug, causing prices to balloon more than 2,500%. This report examines how state Medicaid programs were impacted by this price spike, and how some states continued paying elevated rates even after the price came crashing back down.

Ben LinkAugust 9, 2018plaquenil, hydroxychloroquine, ranbaxy, FDA, PBM, spread pricing, lupus, Medicaid, arthritis

The cancerous design of the U.S. drug pricing system

Of all the drugs in the marketplace, few have been as much of a topic of conversation as Gleevec, a popular medication for cancer patients. While the brand manufacturer Novartis was frequently criticized for its price increases during its exclusivity period, when the generics entered the market, prices of those versions plummeted. But in analyzing CMS data, we found that even though prices were crashing, some state Medicaid programs were still being charged much higher prices.