Here’s a drug project to watch: Louisiana officially unveiled a proposal this week in which the state would pay drug companies fixed prices over several years for “unlimited access” to hepatitis C drugs for Medicaid and prison populations.
The big picture: Louisiana is calling it a “subscription payment model” — kind of like Netflix. Except instead of nonstop streaming, Louisiana gets as many hepatitis C treatments as it needs. Louisiana thinks it can save money and lives, while locking in revenue for drug companies.
The Trump administration has a message for accountable care organizations, a cost-cutting enterprise encouraged by the Affordable Care Act: You're either in or you're out.
The big picture: ACOs are one of the many efforts to get doctors, hospitals and other providers to work together — and get paid together — under the belief that greater collaboration will both save money and improve quality.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo started using an experimental vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus yesterday after identifying it as the virulent Zaire strain. The latest outbreak has spread to a conflict region and is suspected of killing at least 36 people during its first week.
Why it matters: Testing and approving an Ebola vaccine is a priority for global health officials as further outbreaks are expected — and the U.S. hopes to get the Food and Drug Administration to consider approval for a vaccine in 18 months or so.
"As I said before in May [during prior DRC Ebola outbreak], 'It's not over yet, folks, because this is going to come back.'"
— Anthony Fauci, director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The prevalence of opioid abuse among pregnant women more than quadrupled between 1999 and 2014 in the U.S., according to a new Centers for Disease Control report, with the highest rate of opioid use disorder in Vermont at almost 5% of pregnant women.
Why it matters: Not only does this highlight how devastating and far-reaching the opioid crisis has been, but opioid abuse is linked to serious health repercussions for both the mother and the child, including the death of the mother and still births. Studies have also suggested that opioid abuse could lead to developmental problems, according to Buzzfeed News.
CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo used his company’s second-quarter earnings call yesterday to shine some light on rebates, one of the most secretive components of the drug supply chain.
The big picture: Rebates are an important part of the drug pricing debate, and PBMs use them to their advantage. But the political focus on rebates also deflects attention away from pharmaceutical manufacturers — the companies that ultimately still dictate the high list prices of prescription drugs.
