Once teenage drug users reach adulthood are they safely past the likelihood of future drug abuse? No, not according to research. A study followed 5,300 teens all the way to age 50.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Should the FDA Require Proof that High-Priced Drugs Actually Work?
An advisory committee at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently voted against fast-track approval for an experimental drug to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. You can watch the committee meeting, and learn more, in this post.
What Happens When Seniors’ Share of Drug Costs Goes Down?
The change: Under the ACA, the coinsurance rate in the “donut hole” is being reduced from 100% in 2011 to 25% in 2022.
The results: No change in drug use. No change in total spending. But seniors did switch from generic to brand drugs more often.
Click her to view/download the Study
HT: Jason Shafrin
When is an FDA-Approved Drug Not a Drug?
In 2018 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suddenly removed Auryxia (ferric citrate) from the Medicare Part D drug formulary and began to require prior authorization for the few indications it would reimburse. CMS gave little information about the reversal but apparently made the decision because it views ferric citrate at a mineral product, like dietary supplements such as Vitamin C. Dietary supplements are not covered by Medicare except in a few cases.