Stephen j ubl

The Trump administration’s announcement that Americans will be able to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada was met in Minnesota with praise, questions and concern. State Sen. Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, who chairs the Senate health and human services committee, called so-called “reimportation” from Canada a key tool for lowering prescription drug prices. “Reimportation was and is my focus since session ended,” Benson said. “This is a major opportunity for us to fundamentally improve the lives of every Minnesotan whose life depends on prescription drugs.” Benson added that removing federal red tape would “lead to innovation” and urged Gov. Tim Walz to back the GOP-led Senate’s efforts to make drug reimportation a reality. “If we can work together, Minnesotans won’t need to caravan to Canada for their drugs. They will be able to visit their local pharmacy and get lower prices,” Benson said. Her … [Read more...] about Minnesotans applaud Canadian drug plan but want more from Trump

In a strong signal that physician-owned distributors (PODs) may be in the line of enforcement fire, on June 9, five senators, representing the Committees on Finance, Aging, and Judiciary (Committees), signed joint letters to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) directing them to analyze and address concerns regarding troubling trends in the medical device and hospital industries related to PODs, medical device distributors or purchasing organizations with physician owners or investors.[1] Both letters establish response deadlines within the next 60 days, requesting an OIG report by August 12, 2011 and a CMS staff briefing by July 15, 2011.The requests to OIG and CMS were preceded by an investigation and a report of the Minority Staff of the Senate Finance Committee into PODs (Report or Hatch Report) that was released simultaneously with the joint letters.[2] In a press release … [Read more...] about Physician-Owned Distributors in the Crosshairs: Senate Committees Call on OIG and CMS to Take Action

The federal government said Monday that it wants to force drugmakers to disclose prices for prescription medicines in their TV commercials. The drug industry's main trade group said drug companies are only willing to disclose the prices on their websites, not in commercials, and they'll start doing that next spring. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar unveiled a proposal that would apply to all brand-name drugs covered by the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which is most medicines. "Patients deserve to know what a given drug could cost when they're being told about the benefits and risks it may have," Azar said in prepared remarks. "They deserve to know if the drug company has pushed their prices to abusive levels. And they deserve to know this every time they see a drug advertised to them on TV." A leopard was saved from drowning after local rescuers managed to pull it out of a 30-foot well in Maharashtra, India. (Published Monday, Oct. 15, 2018) Most Americans don't pay … [Read more...] about ‘Patients Deserve to Know’: US Wants Drug Prices in TV Ads