HHS says it doesn’t have time to review itself.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
FTC to Fight Drug Rebates and Fees that Reduce Competition
On June 16, 2022 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement on drug rebates and fees paid by drug makers. The rebates and fee are paid to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) sometimes in return for excluding cheaper alternatives on a drug plan formulary. The way it works is a drug maker will jack up the price of a given drug (like insulin) but give a steep discount to the PBM in return for guarantees that the plan will not include generic versions that cost far lesson the formulary.
Monday Links
- The liberal plantation? Washington, D.C., has the largest gap in racial economic equality, compared to the 50 states. The capital also has the largest median income, homelessness rate, unemployment rate, and labor force participation gaps. Study.
- Why has health care been relatively unimpacted by general inflation?
- Poll: One in ten men would like to be cloned
- Why did Biden agree to let China (and other “developing countries”) steal our intellectual property with respect to Covid vaccines?
- A column by New York Times’ David Leonhardt made a bold claim: “The death rate for white Americans has recently exceeded the rates for Black, Latino and Asian Americans.” The claim is almost assuredly wrong.
HSA-Bashing Study Slammed
32 million people have a Health Savings Account with more than $100 billion in balances. And they love them. They would love them even more if we could dispense with the across-the-board, high deductible requirement and let the account be perfectly flexible with respect to their health insurance.