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CVS Demands Cost Control for Novel Cholesterol Treatments
Two PCSK9 inhibitors under development-one by Amgen and the other jointly by Sanofi and Regeneron-could eventually cost the US healthcare system $150 billion per year. William Shrank, the chief scientific officer of CVS thinks these costs would be unsustainable for the healthcare industry that is already rattled by the burgeoning cost of specialty medications.
CVS Health on Tuesday warned that costs of a potent new class of cholesterol treatments and other specialty drugs in development could eclipse those of expensive new medicines and overwhelm the healthcare system "if rigid cost control mechanisms are not put in place."
CVS, the second largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager which negotiates drug prices for 65 million people through contracts with employers and health plans, noted that two of the new injectable cholesterol fighters - called PCSK9 inhibitors - could be approved by mid-2015 and likely each cost $7,000 to $12,000 a year.
All told, PCSK9 inhibitors could eventually cost the healthcare system as much as $150 billion a year and become the highest-selling class of drugs in history, CVS said.
"The resilience and ability of our healthcare system to absorb such high costs will be tested if rigid cost control mechanisms are not put in place," William Shrank, chief scientific officer for CVS, said in a statement.
Read the complete article on Reuters:
The high cost of hepatitis C medications and their inclusion on formularies was the topic of discussion during a recent panel discussion held by The American Journal of Managed Care.
Prices for care at hospital trauma centers vary across hospitals; drug shortages reached a record high during the first quarter of 2024; although 3 of the biggest makers of asthma inhalers pledged to cap out-of-pocket costs for some US patients at $35, these do not apply to daily inhalers used by the youngest kids with asthma.
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Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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The Biden administration recently launched the Global Health Security Strategy, a new effort to combat the spread of infectious diseases; lawmakers zeroed in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care during the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack; the FDA recently announced the recall of a pair of heart devices linked to numerous deaths and injuries.
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Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
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