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Health Care Roundup: Trump Drug Pricing Plan; HHS Cuts ACA Navigator Funding; CAR-T Therapy Coverage Issues; Biosimilar News; and More

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Comment Period Closed for Trump Drug Pricing Plan — Comments for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) drug pricing proposal were due this week. The plan, introduced by the Trump administration, outlined proposals seeking to increase competition, reduce out-of-pocket costs and incentivize better negotiations for lower drug prices. NCCS joined with other organizations of the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) to provide comments […]

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NCCS Joins Cancer Leadership Council Comment Letter Regarding the Drug Pricing Blueprint “American Patients First”

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The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined with other organizations of the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) to provide comments regarding the Trump administration’s drug pricing blueprint, “American Patients First.” Sent to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the letter outlines the groups’ concerns and asks questions of HHS about the plan’s […]

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Health Care Roundup: CMS Halts ACA Risk Payments, Slashes Navigator Funding; Long-Term Outcomes for Young Survivors; Drug Pricing; More

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CMS Halts ACA Risk-Adjustment Payments and Cuts Funding for Health Coverage Navigators — This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced two new actions that could harm the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces and enrollment. Last Saturday, CMS announced that it would halt the risk-adjustment program, including $10 billion in payments due to insurers for costs incurred last year. […]

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Health Care Roundup: DOJ Won’t Defend ACA Provisions in Court, Health Care’s Role in 2018 Midterms, and More

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Administration Action Threatens Coverage for People with Pre-existing Conditions — In a court filing yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that it would not defend key provisions of the Affordable Care Act in a lawsuit brought by Texas and several other states. One provision is the individual mandate, which was repealed in the tax bill passed by Congress and signed into law last December. Also at issue in the case is coverage and […]

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Health Care Roundup: Virginia to Expand Medicaid, Colorectal Screening Guidelines, How the ‘Bewildering’ Health Insurance Industry Works, and More

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Virginia Votes to Expand Medicaid — Both chambers of the Virginia Legislature moved a budget bill Wednesday that would expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bill would make Virginia the 33rd state to expand Medicaid under Obamacare and could lead to as many as 400,000 people being newly covered. “As a doctor, I’m so proud of the significant step we’ve taken together to help Virginians get quality, affordable […]

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Health Care Roundup: Drug Pricing Plan, 2019 Premium Increases, Short-Term Plans, Medicare Mulls Covering Gene Therapies, and More

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Trump Administration Promotes a Drug Pricing Plan – On Friday, May 11, 2018, President Trump announced a drug pricing blueprint to address prescription drug prices. Initial media coverage of the plan suggested that the blueprint failed to honor the President’s campaign commitment to negotiation of drug prices. Overall, the press and policymaker reaction to the plan was muted, with some suggesting that the plan would have limited impact. […]

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WCOE: Health Care Access and Affordability; FDA’s Plans to Better Incorporate Patient Voice in Drug Development; Patient Portal Pitfalls; and More

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What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. — “Why Some Americans Are Risking It and Skipping Health Insurance” — In tiny Marion, North Carolina, the Buchanans decided that $1,800 a month was too much to pay for health insurance, and are going without it for the first time in their lives. […]

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Patient Assistance Programs: Do They Help or Hurt?

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By Rishi Sachdev and Yousuf Zafar, MD — New cancer drugs have improved prognoses for patients, but that improvement in effectiveness has come at a steep cost. The price tag of new anticancer drugs has been increasing at a significant pace, with the latest—Kymriah by Novartis—priced at $475,000 per treatment. These ever-increasing costs result in higher out-of-pocket costs for patients, which have been shown to worsen outcomes. […]

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WCOE: No Action on ACA Stabilization Bill; ‘Black Cancer Matters’; Risks of At-Home Genetic Testing; Hospital Payment Reform; and More

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What Caught Our Eye (WCOE), is our week-in-review blog series. “Health insurers say the GOP-led Congress’ inaction on ACA stabilization legislation is sure to hurt consumers” Bruce Japsen, Forbes.com — After months of negotiating around an ACA stabilization package that was set to be included in this week’s spending bill, no agreement was made and the stabilization provisions were left out of the spending package all together. […]

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WCOE: HHS Hints at Lax ACA Regulation; Burden of High Drug Costs; FDA’s Gottlieb Blasts ‘Rigged Payment Scheme’; Home BRCA Testing; More

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What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. – “Trump Administration Blocks Idaho’s Plan to Circumvent Health Law” –
While rejecting Idaho’s plan in its current form, Ms. Verma encouraged the state to keep trying, and she suggested that, “with certain modifications,” its proposal might be accepted. […]

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