Premiums for certain Affordable Care Act plans are expected to spike by 34% this year, prompting a $10 billion increase in federal subsidies, the Congressional Budget Office said today.
Between the lines: CBO's estimates strongly suggest that this year’s increases are a response to the repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate, on top of new regulations from the Trump administration.
Novum Pharma, a small drug company that makes specialty skin creams, has hired its first lobbyists in Washington, D.C. — three lawyers at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney — who will advocate for undefined "pricing issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry."
Driving the news: Novum's federal lobbying document was signed just two days before Bloomberg published a profile of the company's top two leaders, who have been known to raise drug prices significantly. Michael Strazzela, one of Novum's lobbyists, said the registration had nothing to do with the Bloomberg story, and the company is interested in ways to "fix the broken pricing system."
Novartis plans on acquiring AveXis, a biotech company with a product that aims to treat a genetic spinal disorder, for $8.7 billion.
The big picture: This buyout comes just a couple weeks after Novartis sold off its stake in its consumer health business, and it reinforces the view that there will be many other pharmaceutical deals in the business-friendly environment created in part through the new tax law.
