Mallinckrodt is suing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services for changing the way Medicaid rebates are calculated for its pricey H.P. Acthar Gel medication, a move that would require Mallinckrodt to pay back large sums of money to the federal government.
Why it matters: The drug company expects the change will eliminate 10% of its Acthar sales, and that it will have to pay up to $600 million in retroactive rebates — news that sent the company's stock plunging by 24% Tuesday to a record-low $9.87 per share.
Gene therapies and other new treatments that have the potential to cure debilitating diseases could also end up widening the gap between the rich and the poor, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb writes for CNBC.
The bottom line: That's because the expected price tag for some of these new medicines are expected to be in the millions. Insurers — which are used to pay for treatment over time — are struggling to figure out how to pay this kind of sum all at once.
Of the 2.1 million people who reported using heroin or abusing painkillers in 2017, only 680,000 sought treatment at reporting treatment facilities, according to a new USAFacts report.
Where it stands: That translates to only about 32% receiving treatment.
Here is how fast America is changing: By the time today’s teenagers hit their 30s, there will be — for the first time ever — more minorities than whites, more old people than children, and more people practicing Islam than Judaism.
The big picture: The slow demographic shifts we've watched over decades will finally reach a tipping point in the 2040s. They'll transform what America looks like, where we live and what we fear.
Amid the hullabaloo over purported immigrant hordes, alleged Chinese perfidy on trade and a Green New Deal, Americans — crossing lines of age, party and gender — are united in what they really care about, according to a new poll: Health care.
Details: Eighteen months before the presidential election, the finding suggests potential peril for President Trump should he be seen as insensitive on the issue, says John Della Volpe, polling director for RealClear Opinion Research, which conducted the survey.
The Trump administration's proposal to shake up how money moves through the prescription drug supply chain in Medicare works best if it's also extended to the commercial market, supporters say.
Yes, but: The politics of the proposal will almost certainly prevent this from happening. Opponents say the change is a handout to pharmaceutical companies and would increase premiums, and analyses of the proposal — including the government's — support this argument.
