Posts Tagged: Drug

Opinion

Revamping ‘rebate wall’ could save billions in drug costs

Drugs arranged on shelves at a pharmacy. (Photo: SEE_JAY, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California can once again be a national leader in pushing for cost-savings reforms in the healthcare field by being the first in the nation to address the practice of rebate policies that can bring balance and competition back to the pharmaceutical marketplace, which will help drive down drug costs and improve patient care. This policy challenge is called a rebate wall.

News

Santa Clara judge creates ‘gold standard’ for mental health courts

Judge Stephen V. Manley on the bench in Santa Clara County. (Photo: Veteransvoices.net)

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Stephen Manley refers to defendants in his courtroom as “clients” – an indication of the unusually informal and conversational tenor of the Behavioral Health Court he created more than two decades ago. “It tends to break through a barrier,” Manley said.

Opinion

Pharmacy middlemen: Pass your cost savings on to consumers

A pharmacy worker on the the job. (Photo: wavebreakmedia, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In 2018, legislators took positive initial steps to regulate some of the egregious business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) – little-known middlemen in the health care system who have contributed to rising costs. However, more must be done to ensure that Californians are able to access affordable treatment options such as receiving cost savings at point of sale at the pharmacy counter, for example.

Opinion

Bill restricting drug patent pacts could hurt consumers

An array of products on the shelves of a pharmacy. (Photo: Niloo, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Headlines continue to scream about the price of prescription medications skyrocketing. But here is some good news about drug costs: the price of generic medicines is falling. Fast. In California, generic prices decreased on average 15 percent per year over the last several years.  California residents spent $24 billion less on generics than on brand prescriptions in 2018. 

Opinion

California’s crucial first step in drug-pricing transparency

The drug and vitamin section of a big-box store in Folsom, California. (Photo: Cassiohabib, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In signing first-in-the-nation legislation to force greater transparency in drug pricing practices, Gov. Brown has signaled the beginning of a new era on controlling health care costs. But more can and should be done to rein in out-of-control drug prices. Drug costs have been increasing by about 10% per year and there are notorious examples of products that have increased by 500%.  Even when insurance pays for medications, the costs always go back to the consumer.

Opinion

Oversight urged for 340B drug discount program

A woman shops for medications in a pharmacy. (Photo: Tyler Olson, via Shutterstock

OPINION: Mark Twain once proclaimed, “The government of my country snubs honest simplicity, but fondles artistic villainy, and I think I might have developed into a very capable pickpocket if I had remained in the public service a year or two.” These humorous words may elicit a smile, but clearly ring true more than a century later, and most certainly apply to the 340B drug discount program.

News

Brown’s commutations: A journey through violence, redemption

A cell block at Folsom Prison. Photo: Grace2Grow

The stories behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s nine recent sentence commutations reveal tangled lives marked by murder, abuse, addiction and determined efforts by criminals — usually over decades — to turn their lives around. Here are their stories.

Letters

Letter to the Editor: Transparency

Pharmacy transparency is one of the most vital components of healthcare in this country – sadly, California is severely lagging in this transparency department. In July, the California Senate Health Committee heard Assembly Bill 315 (AB 315) – it passed unanimously with support from both sides of the aisle. 

News

In health care, PBMs are crucial — but not regulated

A pharmaceutical worker examines drugs at a dispensary. (Photo: i viewfinder, via Shutterstock)

The PBMs originated in the 1960s to help health plans, self-insured employers and government entities, among others, to negotiate prescription drug prices and efficiently distribute medications. Since then, they have evolved into a money-making industry without regulations, experts say. By one estimate, three major PBM companies had a staggering $270 billion in revenues in 2014.

Opinion

Limiting drug firms’ gifts to doctors impedes education

A senior medical practitioner on the phone with hospital records. (Photo: sirtravelalot, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The California Assembly is currently considering a bill, Senate Bill 790, which would put in place severe restrictions around gifts or other financial benefits that pharmaceutical companies can give to medical professionals as part of marketing activities. Not only will the bill limit physician access to important information about new treatments, but it also insults the integrity of every physician practicing in California and is a threat to the patient-physician relationship.

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