Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will spend $100 million to develop low-cost insulin and build an in-state manufacturing facility.
Category: Health Economics & Costs
How to Market an OTC Breathalyzer (that doesn’t work)
Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban is in the news lately for his drug company startup, Cost Plus Drugs. Over the years Cuban was also on a show called Shark Tank, where would-be inventors and small business owners pitched their business ideas, competing for an investment.
While being interviewed for the “Full Send” podcast Mr. Cuban revealed his “worst” investment that he made on Shark Tank. An entrepreneur named Charles Yim appeared on the show to demonstrate his Breathometer, a smartphone breathalyzer app he claimed could test blood alcohol levels accurately.
Friday Links
- AMA encourages doctors to learn health economics. They even have their own online course. Haven’t checked it out, but I suspect it is more sociology than economics.
- Amazon wants to be your doctor.
- Déjà vu: Monkeypox testing looks like the Covid testing fiasco all over again.
- “probably half of all Covid infections have happened this calendar year — and it’s only July.”
- Insulin bill in the Senate looks like a done deal.
Medicare Unlikely to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices than PBMs
Senate Democrats are looking to lower Medicare drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays for a limited number of drugs. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 expressly forbid the government from interfering with negotiations between private payers and drug makers. However, allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug makers has long been a goal of Democrats and the idea is popular with voters.