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PBM Issues
Middlemen Running Amok
The Cannon Reduced competition, shortages, and unaffordable options are symptoms of middlemen running amok. Administrators—who rarely...
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Feb 21, 20233 min read
Corporations try to kill Oklahoma rule that aims to keep prescription temperatures safe
A pharmacy rule pending in Oklahoma could be the first in the nation to tighten safety on temperature exposure for mailed medications,...
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Feb 18, 20235 min read
Biden’s SOTU Targets Drug Companies, But Misses Opportunity To Challenge Health Insurers And PBMs
Forbes President Biden’s State of the Union Address hammered home the point that drug prices must come down. He reminded viewers that he...
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Feb 17, 20235 min read
‘We Ain’t Gonna Get It’: Why Bernie Sanders Says His ‘Medicare for All’ Dream Must Wait
KHN After railing at the injustices of U.S. health care for decades, Sen. Bernie Sanders in January became the new chairman of the Senate...
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Feb 16, 20236 min read
Rural Oregon pharmacies fear closure without further health care industry regulation
A trio of bills would create new rules for pharmaceutical middlemen in the state. Oregon Public Broadcasting Less competition has meant...
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Feb 10, 20234 min read
Need a new drug? You may be asked to ‘fail’ an old drug first
New laws target a health insurance practice called “step therapy,” which is used to control costs, but can also delay needed treatment...
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Feb 9, 20235 min read
Mississippi lawmakers propose bill targeting pharmacy benefit managers
Super Talk | Mississippi Media Mississippi hospitals aren’t the only ones in need. According to Robert Dozier of the Mississippi...
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Feb 8, 20232 min read
Oklahoma Pharmacy Board unanimously approves new rules for shipping mail-order medications
Oklahoma KFOR News The Oklahoma Pharmacy Board unanimously approved new rules Wednesday that would regulate how Oklahomans receive...
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Feb 7, 20232 min read
I wrote about high-priced drugs for years. Then my toddler needed one.
As a health and science reporter, I’ve studied the maze of U.S. health care. But when my son got sick, I still got lost. The Washington...
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Feb 4, 202311 min read
With the FTC’s more expansive approach to antitrust, PBMs are in the crosshairs
STAT News The Democrats leading the Federal Trade Commission are hoping to expand the agency’s authority to crack down on unfair business...
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Jan 25, 20236 min read
$189 charged, $15 collected: The life and death of a local independent drugstore
VTDigger Eye all the photos, postcards and news clippings that paper Mary Giamartino’s office, and you’ll see how the Hotel Pharmacy...
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Jan 23, 20234 min read
FTC action on PBMs could be just what the doctor ordered to improve patient outcomes
A primer on prescription drug prices, pharmacy benefit managers, government action, and why physicians need to be heard. Medical...
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Jan 15, 20234 min read
Pharmacy Benefit Managers and the Federal Trade Commission: A Relationship Gone Sour
JAMA Authors: Barak D. Richman, JD, PhD1; Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS2 On June 7, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its...
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Jan 14, 20236 min read
Aspirations 2023: What I Hope To See Happen In Healthcare And Public Health (But Probably Won’t)
Forbes Previously this month, I gave predictions for 2023. Here, I’ll offer some aspirations for the healthcare system in 2023: What I...
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Jan 12, 20236 min read
Everyday High Prices
How discounting led to inflation, shortages, and inequality. Washington Monthly Magazine Author: Phillip Longman For years, the only...
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Jan 10, 202310 min read
Progressive lawmakers call on CMS to cull companies with history of Medicare fraud from ACO REACH
At least 10 organizations with records of healthcare fraud and abuse participated in the direct contracting program last year despite CMS...
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Dec 27, 20223 min read
How Medicare Advantage plans dodged auditors and overcharged taxpayers by millions
NPR In April 2016, government auditors asked a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage health plan in Minnesota to turn over medical records of...
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Dec 22, 20225 min read
To Beat Overbilling Allegations, Cigna Says Everybody Does It
Law360 Cigna has told a Tennessee federal judge that the U.S. Department of Justice's False Claims Act lawsuit accusing it of defrauding...
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Dec 20, 20222 min read
Thousands of Tricare Pharmacy Locations Could Be Lost Due to Kroger-Albertsons Merger
Military.com | Patricia Kime A planned merger of Kroger and Albertsons grocery corporations could slash the number of Tricare network...
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Dec 9, 20224 min read
Lawsuit filed against national insulin manufacturers by Kansas Attorney General
KSNT NBC Kansas The Kansas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against leading national insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers...
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Dec 7, 20222 min read
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