09/02/2010
A recent USA Today analysis finds that spending by U.S. residents on medical care during the first half of 2010 grew at a rate of 2.7% per person, the slowest annual rate in 50 years. Experts attribute the slower growth rate to the effects of the recession. USA Today.
08/27/2010
Many U.S. residents have been attempting to save money by reducing or completely forgoing taking their prescription drugs, according to a new prescription drug poll released by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Respondents said that some of the common practices they used to reduce costs included taking expired medication, splitting pills, skipping doses and sharing prescriptions with another person. HealthLeaders Media et al.
08/26/2010
Prices for the 217 brand-name drugs most commonly used by elderly U.S. residents increased by 8.3% on average in 2009, according to a report released on Wednesday by AARP. The increase, which is the largest in years, came despite negative inflation. The report found that over the previous five years, retail prices for the most popular brand-name medications rose by 41.5%, compared with an increase in the consumer price index of 13.3%. New York Times.
08/25/2010
As many as 3.7 million beneficiaries could modify their coverage plans under changes meant to ease enrollment in Medicare's prescription drug coverage, according to a new analysis. The changes are designed to decrease duplicate plans offered by the same insurer. AP/Chicago Tribune.
08/24/2010
Last week, San Joaquin County officials launched a prescription drug discount program for county residents. The program allows residents to use the no-cost "Coast2Coast Rx" card to obtain discounts on prescription drugs from participating pharmacies. San Joaquin County is the 13th county in California to offer the Coast2Coast Rx cards, which were developed by Financial Marketing Concepts. McClatchy/Contra Costa Times.
08/20/2010
CMS officials have announced that beneficiaries of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program will pay an average monthly premium of $30 in 2011, up from $29 in 2010. Officials said premiums will rise by only $1 because cost increases were offset by more frequent use of generic medications. The estimate does not represent 2011's base premium of $32.34 but instead assumes that some Part D beneficiaries will switch to less costly plans next year. AP/Boston Globe et al.
08/19/2010
Eli Lilly has halted two late-stage clinical trials for its experimental Alzheimer's treatment semagacestat, after it worsened patients' symptoms and increased their risk for skin cancer. Semagacestat was designed to block an enzyme in the brain that prompts the formation of amyloid plaque, the buildup of which is widely believed to cause Alzheimer's. However, an interim analysis of the trials analyzing the drug's effectiveness in 2,600 patients showed that cognition and ability to execute daily tasks deteriorated more in participants taking the drug than in those taking a placebo. New York Times, Wall Street Journal.
08/19/2010
Prescription drug information provided to patients by pharmacies varies widely in content and can be difficult for patients to read and understand, according to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine. Prescription drug information leaflets provided by pharmacies are not regulated by FDA and are produced through private publishing companies. While longer leaflets contain more of the information recommended by FDA, few leaflets meet all of FDA's standards for the materials. Reuters.
08/18/2010
The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has cost much less than anticipated when the program was enacted five years ago, according to a new Medicare trustees report. Medicare's drug program originally was projected to cost $111.2 billion annually when implemented in 2006, but the report found that the benefit in 2009 cost the federal government $60.8 billion. Experts attribute the lower costs to a slowing demand for prescription drugs, greater use of generics and fewer people signing up for the benefit. Washington Times.
08/03/2010
A provision in the new health reform law provides rebates on brand-name drugs for health care providers who serve low-income patients. Free-standing cancer centers and children's hospitals are among the eligible facilities for the discount program. The Hill's "Healthwatch."
07/30/2010
California should build off of a current program that allows pharmacies to sell over-the-counter needles without a prescription, according to Los Angeles Times and Oakland Tribune editorials. Two bills in the Legislature -- AB 1701, by Assembly member Wesley Chesbro, and SB 1029, by Sen. Leland Yee, -- would extend or alter the program, which will expire at the end of this year. "What's needed is a hybrid of the two bills," the Tribune editorial states. Los Angeles Times, Oakland Tribune.
07/29/2010
The practice of allowing brand-name prescription drugmakers to pay makers of generic drugs to delay market entry of generic products should be stopped, a Washington Post editorial states. The editorial supports legislation before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee that would ban such practice for competitive reasons, concluding that consumers could wind up saving billions of dollars. Washington Post.
07/29/2010
Controller John Chiang and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation are urging Bristol-Myers Squibb to lower the price of its HIV/AIDS drug Reyataz. California's AIDS Drug Assistance Program dispensed 69,709 prescriptions of Reyataz last fiscal year. Payers & Providers, Sacramento Bee.
07/23/2010
A Government Accountability Office report finds that genetic testing kits could provide contradictory and misleading results for consumers. Test makers say their products are sensitive to different genetic markers, which could contribute to different results. CQ HealthBeat et al.
07/23/2010
Medicaid overspent by at least $271 million in 2009 on brand-name drugs when generic alternatives existed, according to a new report by the American Enterprise Institute. AEI researchers examined two-thirds of the $21.8 billion Medicaid spent overall on pharmaceuticals last year and found 20 brand-name drugs that Medicaid commonly bought despite the presence of lower-cost generic alternatives. The Hill's "Healthwatch."