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What We're Reading: Can a State Sue Gilead Over the High Price of Its HCV Drugs?
What we're reading, January 28, 2016: Massachusetts' attorney general is threatening to sue Gilead Sciences over the high prices of its hepatitis C drugs; Anthem reports losses on Obamacare health plans; and consumers are satisfied with health coverage and limited networks.
In Massachusetts, the attorney general has warned Gilead Sciences that its high prices for Sovaldi and Harvoni may be illegal and violate the state’s law for fair trade practice. The Attorney general is not looking to sue the drugmaker for larger rebates or discounts, as others have done in the past, but for overpricing its products and violating consumer protection law, according to The Boston Globe.
UnitedHealth is not the only insurer feeling the pain from Affordable Care Act health plans. Now Anthem has announced that exchange plans caused the company to miss analyst expectations for fourth quarter earnings, reported Reuters. Anthem had enrolled 30% fewer beneficiaries than expected, which made the costs of running the business too high. However, Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish said enrollment data for 2016 so far looks a little better.
A new survey from Kaiser Family Foundation found that a majority of consumers don’t mind limited networks of doctors and hospitals to restrain prices and were satisfied with their coverage and the cost. However, people without insurance were less pleased and usually did not have coverage because they found it too expensive. In addition, healthcare is no longer a top priority for voters in the upcoming presidential election.
"The Barriers Are Real": Antoine Keller, MD, on Geography and Cardiovascular Health
April 18th 2025Health care disparities are often driven by where patients live, explained Antoine Keller, MD, as he discussed the complex, systematic hurdles that influence the health of rural communities.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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Empowering Teams Begins With Human Connection: Missy Hopson, PhD
April 16th 2025Missy Hopson, PhD, Ochsner Health, discussed in detail the challenges of strengthening the patient-centered workforce, the power of community reputation for encouraging health care careers, and the influence of empowered workforces on patient outcomes.
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