NLARx Blog

State PBM Regulations Get New Life

2012-03-05T05:42:00.004-08:00

We're not sure if it's the federal attention being paid to the proposed Medco-Express Scripts merger, state budget pressure, or the advocacy of pharmacists -- probably all three -- but states are taking a second look at PBM laws and there is more attention being paid to these middlemen than we've see in years. For instance, here's an editorial in the Houston Chronicle opposing the

Specialty Drug Costs Drive Legislation Capping Out of Pocket Insurance Costs

2012-03-01T07:14:00.003-08:00

States across the country are considering legislation that would limit out of pocket costs for super-expensive specialty drugs for chronic diseases such as hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, and Crone's disease. These drugs can cost as much as $20,000 - $100,000 or more per year, and some insurance plans have started charging co-insurance of 50%. The experiences of patients can be very persuasive to

Your Medicaid Program Can Save Money Without Hurting Patient Health

2011-12-14T04:38:00.000-08:00

Tip of the Month: You Can Cut Medicaid Costs Without Harming Patients - Follow Alabama & Oregon's Lead Consider using an Average Acquisition Cost (AAC) model for drugpricing, which uses actual pharmacy invoices in determining average acquisitioncosts to pharmacies. This approach enables states to get a better handle on the"spread" and is more reflective of acquisition and dispensing costsand also

Will the Drug Industry Get its Heart's Desire and Soon be Able to Market Off-Label and Every Other Way?

2011-11-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

The pharmaceutical industry is getting ready to bootstrap from the Supreme Court's IMS v. Sorrell decision overturning New Hampshire's privacy rules on datamining to get rid of the pesky FDA rules limiting their marketing activities to approved uses of drugs. As the Wall St. Journal reported recently, industry attorneys are gearing up to challenge longstanding FDA regulations that have been the

Is anyone listening? Will the Feds Finally Do Something about Antitrust Problems in the PBM Industry?

2011-11-08T06:19:00.000-08:00

There's plenty of attention being paid -finally!- to the super-concentration of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) marketplace, and the latest merger. The federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in the middle of an investigation of the proposed Express Scripts-Medco merger, which would create the nation's largest administrator of drug benefits if federal regulators sign off. The FTC investigation

Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks in Lima, Peru Focus Attention on Access to Medicines Issues Disclosed in Leaked Text on Pricing and Patent Policies

2011-11-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

NLARx Executive Director Sharon Treat attended the TPPA stakeholder events in Lima, Peru last month and presented on medicines issues at the official forum October 25. The talks include nine Pacific Rim nations, including the US, but could expand to include as many at 22 nations before the ink is dry on a final deal, with Canada, Japan and the Philipines poised to get involved soon, according to

Why is U.S. Trade Policy Reducing Access to Pharmaceuticals?

2011-09-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

Pharmaceutical pricing and intellectual property issues have been front-and-center in the debate over the Korea-US free trade agreement under consideration by Congress, as well as in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) still under negotiation. In past years, NLARx and member legislators raised concerns about both the Australia and the Korea trade agreements, which included

Will Supreme Court Tie States' Hands in Medical Records Privacy Efforts?

2011-06-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court struck down a Vermont law that limited the sale of physician-identifiable prescription data for marketing purposes. In a 6-3 decision in Sorrell v. IMS Health, the Court held that the law was a violation of the First Amendment's free speech protections. The decision is a huge disappointment to legislators who have sought to protect the confidentiality of

"Marketing Juggernaut" Collides with Children's Safety

2011-05-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

"Marketing Juggernaut" Collides with Concerns About Safety and Appropriate Treatment as Legislators in Several States Review Policies Governing Children and Psych DrugsMonday May 23rd, 2011Sharon Treat, Executive Director, National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug PricesAt a time when sales and marketing of these drugs is growing exponentially, there is an increasing interest in

Data Mining: Could Furnace Info Really be More Protected Than Health Records?

2011-04-28T04:16:00.000-07:00

Prescription Records Data Mining Case Could Have Broad & Counterintuitive Implicationsby Sharon Treat, NLARx Executive DirectorIs it possible that the U.S. Supreme Court could give greater deference to privacy, and greater protection from marketing uses, for records about who has gas furnaces in their homes, than for sensitive prescription records maintained by pharmacies pursuant to government

Supreme Court Hears Case on State Prescription Record Privacy Laws

2011-04-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT TUESDAY IN FIRST AMENDMENT CASE ON MARKETING USES OF MEDICAL RECORDSLegislators, Seniors, Consumers, and Doctors Among Those Filing Friend-of-Court Briefs in Sorrell v. IMS HealthFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:April 25, 2011CONTACT:Maine Rep. Sharon TreatNLARx Executive Director (207) 242-8558streat@reducedrugprices.orgMeredith Jacob, Esq.Prof. Sean Flynn, Esq.NLARx CounselProgram

2011-03-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Roundup of Legislation in the States Legislatures Consider Variety of Measures Going in Different Directions MISSOURI PBM BILL FACES STIFF OPPOSITION FROM EXPRESS SCRIPTS AND OTHER PBMS Pharmacy firms fight proposed legislation (Fort Scott Tribune, March 6, 2011) "Power politics have come to the foreground in the 96th General Assembly's review of proposed legislation to change the way

States Respond to Planned Drug Price Database

2011-02-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Secretary Sebelius Outlines Medicaid Pharmacy Options Including National Drug Price Database At the January NLARx meeting, we heard from Mike Winkelman and Nell Geiser about several options for reducing Medicaid prescription drug prices, including moving to rebates based on aquisition costs rather than the widely used current standard AWP, or Average Wholesale Price. Last week, Health

Free Trade Shouldn't Increase the Cost of Medicine

2011-01-31T04:20:00.001-08:00

The National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices (NLARx) endorsed a resolution calling on the U.S. to halt the use of trade agreements to enact international disciplines on pharmaceutical pricing programs. The resolution was passed at the Association's winter meeting in Washington, D.C. NLARx is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of state legislators who work on health

2010-10-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Drug Makers Continue to Flout "Best Price" Law, and Predictions are Compliance is About to Get WorseBy Sharon Treat, NLARx Executive DirectorYesterday New York Times reporter Robert Pear reported on drug makers' noncompliance with the federal law that requires reporting of pricing data and giving medicaid programs the "best price." the story, "Drug makers accused of ignoring price law," is here.

2010-07-01T13:06:00.000-07:00