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What We’re Reading: Excess Deaths in Black Communities; FTC Sues to Block Acquisition; Cancer Drug Shortages
Black populations suffered 1.6 million excess deaths in the past 20 years, new studies find; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sues to block Amgen from acquiring Horizon Therapeutics, citing 2 drugs that have no competition; cancer drug shortages are approaching an all-time high.
Black Communities Experienced Excess Deaths in Past 20 Years, Say Studies
America’s Black communities endured an excess 1.6 million deaths compared with the White population during the past 20 years, costing hundreds of billions of dollars, according to 2 new studies that expand on what is known about health disparities and inequity, reported The Washington Post. According to the reports published Tuesday in JAMA, the unequal nature of American society affecting social determinants of health—good schools, safe housing, employment with a living wage, health care, and more—is to blame.
FTC Sues to Prevent Monopolizing Acquisition
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking to stop Amgen Inc. from acquiring Horizon Therapeutics plc, saying the deal would allow Amgen to leverage its drug portfolio to bolster the monopoly positions of Horizon medications teprotumumab and pegloticase, used to treat thyroid eye disease and chronic refractory gout, respectively. The FTC's lawsuit said the deal would allow Amgen to use rebates to pressure insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers into favoring the 2 treatments, which have no competition.
Drug Shortages Approaching All-Time High
Thousands of patients are encountering delays in getting treatments for cancer and other deadly diseases, with drug shortages in the United States nearing record levels, according to The New York Times. The shortages are getting the attention of the White House and Congress, which are studying the underlying causes of the wavering generic drug market, which accounts for about 90% of US prescriptions.
Award-Winning Poster Presentations From AMCP 2024
April 23rd 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, multiple poster presentations concerned with health equity, data collection, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, and more were acknowledged for their originality, relevance, clarity, bias, and quality.
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Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
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Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
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Collecting SDOH Data Can Assess Risk of Medical Nonadherence, Improve HEI and Star Ratings
April 18th 2024At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, a panel of presenters explored changes coming to Medicare that incorporate social determinants of health (SDOH) data to improve patient and health system outcomes.
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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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