Drug Prices
Blog
Read about Biden drug price control plan
The Damage from Price Controls on Pharmaceuticals Begins
The federal government has announced the long-awaited results from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) drug price negotiations.[1] The Biden Administration has been crowing that they have achieved “a historic moment that will help lower prescription drug prices for millions of people across America.” Nothing could be further from the ...
Sally Pipes and Wayne Winegarden
August 15, 2024
Biosimilars
NEW ISSUE BRIEF: Biosimilar Competition Lowers Patient Drug Costs, New Competition Will Bring Even More Savings
A new brief released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute provides the latest evidence that biosimilar competition is saving patients billions – and additional competition would increase savings even more. Click to download the brief From 2019-2023, patients saved $15 billion ...
Wayne Winegarden
June 11, 2024
Blog
Read how Biden plan would hurt medical innovation
The Biden Administration Abuses Inflation to Attack Medical Innovation
It is theoretically bankrupt because price changes for individual goods and services reflect unique market factors in addition to broad-based inflation trends. There is no reason to expect any good’s price changes to always equal the average of all price changes (e.g., measured inflation). For instance, a deep frost that ...
Wayne Winegarden
December 19, 2023
Commentary
Read latest about push for drug price controls
U.S. consumers shouldn’t be seduced by drug importation dreams and promises
Republicans, meanwhile, are embracing the price controls that foreign countries impose on prescription drugs. Texas recently enacted a law seeking approval from the Biden administration to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, my native land. Texas now joins Republican-led Florida and New Hampshire in pressing for a way to import ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 8, 2023
Commentary
Seniors are disappointed with efforts to lower Medicare costs — and rightly so
But wait, the law’s proponents may say: The federal government hasn’t yet exercised its power to “negotiate” — or more accurately, cap — the prices of drugs in Medicare. Those price controls may save the federal government money. But patients won’t see much of the savings. The federal government has ...
Sally C. Pipes
November 2, 2023
Commentary
Read about problems with 340B program
Incompetence, Abuse Comprise 340B Health Program
There’s a paradox at the center of American healthcare policy. The government will spend just shy of $2 trillion subsidizing healthcare this year — including over $500 billion on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But low-income Americans still struggle to afford care. According to one recent poll by the ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 25, 2023
Commentary
Read latest about problems with PBMs
Decoupling PBM Fees Enhances Patient Outcomes
The three largest PBMs—Caremark (CVS Health/Aetna AET 0.0%), Express Scripts ESRX 0.0% (Cigna CI +0.7%), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth Group UNH +0.2%)—control 80% of the market and are integrated into large health insurance conglomerates. PBMs negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of insurers and manage their drug formularies. Read ...
Pacific Research Institute
October 18, 2023
Commentary
Read about problems with drug price controls
Inflation Reduction Act kills incentives for medical innovation
The Biden administration recently announced the first 10 drugs that will be subject to price controls under Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The president celebrated the occasion, saying, “We took on Big Pharma and special interests, overcoming opposition from every Republican in Congress, and the American people ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 5, 2023
Commentary
Read about the importance of drug price transparency
Transparency Is The Cure For What Ails American Health Care
A government shutdown has been averted—for now. Congress approved a continuing resolution this weekend that funds the government through mid-November. But the weeks-long fight put other important legislative work on hold. Take the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.” Late last month, lawmakers pulled it from the floor ahead of an ...
Sally C. Pipes
October 2, 2023
Commentary
Read about problems with drug price controls
Let’s Hope Drug Companies Win Price Controls War
The IRA gives federal officials the authority to dictate what Medicare pays for certain medicines — a scheme intended to reduce the government’s drug bill. Late last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the first 10 drugs subject to the law’s price controls, which include the blood thinners ...
Sally C. Pipes
September 26, 2023
Read about Biden drug price control plan
The Damage from Price Controls on Pharmaceuticals Begins
The federal government has announced the long-awaited results from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) drug price negotiations.[1] The Biden Administration has been crowing that they have achieved “a historic moment that will help lower prescription drug prices for millions of people across America.” Nothing could be further from the ...
NEW ISSUE BRIEF: Biosimilar Competition Lowers Patient Drug Costs, New Competition Will Bring Even More Savings
A new brief released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute provides the latest evidence that biosimilar competition is saving patients billions – and additional competition would increase savings even more. Click to download the brief From 2019-2023, patients saved $15 billion ...
Read how Biden plan would hurt medical innovation
The Biden Administration Abuses Inflation to Attack Medical Innovation
It is theoretically bankrupt because price changes for individual goods and services reflect unique market factors in addition to broad-based inflation trends. There is no reason to expect any good’s price changes to always equal the average of all price changes (e.g., measured inflation). For instance, a deep frost that ...
Read latest about push for drug price controls
U.S. consumers shouldn’t be seduced by drug importation dreams and promises
Republicans, meanwhile, are embracing the price controls that foreign countries impose on prescription drugs. Texas recently enacted a law seeking approval from the Biden administration to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, my native land. Texas now joins Republican-led Florida and New Hampshire in pressing for a way to import ...
Seniors are disappointed with efforts to lower Medicare costs — and rightly so
But wait, the law’s proponents may say: The federal government hasn’t yet exercised its power to “negotiate” — or more accurately, cap — the prices of drugs in Medicare. Those price controls may save the federal government money. But patients won’t see much of the savings. The federal government has ...
Read about problems with 340B program
Incompetence, Abuse Comprise 340B Health Program
There’s a paradox at the center of American healthcare policy. The government will spend just shy of $2 trillion subsidizing healthcare this year — including over $500 billion on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But low-income Americans still struggle to afford care. According to one recent poll by the ...
Read latest about problems with PBMs
Decoupling PBM Fees Enhances Patient Outcomes
The three largest PBMs—Caremark (CVS Health/Aetna AET 0.0%), Express Scripts ESRX 0.0% (Cigna CI +0.7%), and OptumRx (UnitedHealth Group UNH +0.2%)—control 80% of the market and are integrated into large health insurance conglomerates. PBMs negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of insurers and manage their drug formularies. Read ...
Read about problems with drug price controls
Inflation Reduction Act kills incentives for medical innovation
The Biden administration recently announced the first 10 drugs that will be subject to price controls under Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The president celebrated the occasion, saying, “We took on Big Pharma and special interests, overcoming opposition from every Republican in Congress, and the American people ...
Read about the importance of drug price transparency
Transparency Is The Cure For What Ails American Health Care
A government shutdown has been averted—for now. Congress approved a continuing resolution this weekend that funds the government through mid-November. But the weeks-long fight put other important legislative work on hold. Take the “Lower Costs, More Transparency Act.” Late last month, lawmakers pulled it from the floor ahead of an ...
Read about problems with drug price controls
Let’s Hope Drug Companies Win Price Controls War
The IRA gives federal officials the authority to dictate what Medicare pays for certain medicines — a scheme intended to reduce the government’s drug bill. Late last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the first 10 drugs subject to the law’s price controls, which include the blood thinners ...