Drug Pricing at SOTU; House Health Care Hearing — At the State of the Union address, President Trump stated that two of his administration’s health care priorities are to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions and lower drug prices. The address did not specify how to achieve those goals. NCCS commented on several drug pricing proposals released previously by the administration, with a specific focus on what the proposals would mean for patients. [...]

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released recently a proposed rule to change Medicare Part D’s protected classes drug coverage. In response, NCCS joined with other patient and provider groups of the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) to comment on how these proposed changes could impact patients. The proposed rule would give Medicare plans the option to limit coverage of drugs in six categories, including cancer drugs. [...]

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined with 46 other patient and provider organizations to call attention to the impact the government shutdown is having on the work of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “On behalf of patients across this country, we are greatly concerned that the agency is currently not fully funded, and thousands of vital FDA employees are not working or able to operate at full capacity. [...]