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Generic Drug Price Escalation Debate Reaches the Senate
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill that would require generic drugmakers to pay rebates to the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs when prices of their medications outpace inflation.
Some low-cost generic drugs that have helped restrain health care costs for decades are seeing unexpected price spikes of up to 8,000 percent, prompting a backlash from patients, pharmacists and now Washington lawmakers.
A Senate panel met Thursday to scrutinize the recent, unexpected trend among generic medicines, which usually cost 30 to 80 percent less than their branded counterparts.
Experts said there are multiple, often unrelated, forces behind the price hikes, including drug ingredient shortages, industry consolidation and production slowdowns due to manufacturing problems. But the lawmakers convening Thursday's hearing said the federal government needs to play a bigger role in restraining prices.
"If generic drug prices continue to rise then we are going to have people all over this country who are sick and need medicine and who simply will not be able to buy the medicine they need," Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging. Sanders is a political independent who usually votes with the liberal wing of the Democratic party.
Link to the article on MedicalXpress: http://bit.ly/1AsUaLt
Exploring Racial, Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Care Prior Authorization Decisions
October 24th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the author of a study published in the October 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® that explored prior authorization decisions in cancer care by race and ethnicity for commercially insured patients.
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Texas Oncology to Roll Out Canopy for ePROs After Head-to-Head Pilot
March 18th 2025Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Public Policy and Strategy for Texas Oncology, said the practice received positive feedback from nurses and patients during a pilot that concluded in February.
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Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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