Category: Legislative

Rosen Introduces Bill to Boost Nonprofit Drug Makers’ Competitiveness

July 13, 2021 Ron Shinkman Views

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen's (D-Nev.) bill, S. 2257, is aimed at boosting nonprofit drug companies' competitiveness.

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) has introduced legislation to help nonprofit drug companies compete in the market with their for-profit counterparts.

Rosen’s bill S. 2257, the Expanding Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices Act, would make it simpler

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News Alert: Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Protect 340B Providers From Reimbursement Cuts and Address Duplicate Discount Challenge

July 9, 2021 Ted Slafsky, Publisher & CEO Views

Reps. David McKinley (R-WV) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced legislation today to address so called pickpocketing of 340B provider savings and establish a clearinghouse to address duplicate discounts.

Reps. David McKinley (R-WV) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) introduced the PROTECT 340B Act today, which would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other third-party payers from paying 340B providers below-market rates or engaging in other perceived discriminatory contracting practices. While

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In Taking Up 340B Case, Supreme Court Could Reverse Longstanding Legal Doctrine

July 8, 2021 Ron Shinkman Views

340B hospital challenge to Medicare Part B reimbursement could reverse long-standing legal doctrine.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case involving steep Medicare Part B payment cuts to 340B hospital-operated outpatient sites took many legal experts by surprise. However, attorneys that 340B Report conferred with believe the court will be

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Congressman Asks Becerra to Commit to Pause 340B Hospitals’ DSH Percentage Requirement

June 17, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle of New York (left) asked HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra (right) during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing yesterday if he would commit to temporarily waive an eligibility requirement for 340B hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A congressman from New York asked U.S. Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra during a hearing yesterday if he will use his existing authority to protect hospitals from losing eligibility for 340B drug discounts due to changes in patient mix

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Rep. Porter Files Bill to Require Medicare Part B inflation-Based Rebates

June 15, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter's (D-Calif.) Freedom from Price Gouging Act would require drug manufacturers to pay a Medicare Part B rebate for certain drugs if the price of such drugs increases faster than inflation.

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), a California Democrat with a significant national profile, yesterday introduced legislation to require drug manufacturers to pay a Medicare Part B rebate for certain drugs if the price of such drugs increases faster than inflation.

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Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene Myeloma Drugs: Patient-Safety or Profit Motive? Part 6

June 14, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Our six-part investigative series takes an in-depth look into a question often asked by 340B providers: Why can’t they access 340B pricing on one of Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene’s most profitable drug products? We also delve into serious fraud allegations, Congressional oversight, and the possibility of a renewed focus on this contentious area under new leadership at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Throughout the series, we also provide BMS/Celgene's viewpoint, their justification for their drug pricing practices, limited distribution policies and why they believe they are following the law.

Part 6 of 6—What Happens Next For Revlimid, Pomalyst, Thalomid, and 340B?

As we described in Parts 2 and 3 of this series, in 2018, an ex-Celgene vice president responsible for the company’s 340B program compliance alleged in a whistleblower

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Bristol Myers Squibb/Celgene Myeloma Drugs: Patient-Safety or Profit Motive? Part 5

June 11, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Part 5 of 6—Revlimid “didn’t get any better…. You just got better at making money”

Last September, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee released a 45-page report focused on Celgene and Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS’s) nearly two

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In First of Its Kind Legislation, Louisiana Cracks Down on White-Bagging Requirements

June 10, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

Louisiana has just enacted a law stopping insurers or their pharmacy benefit managers from requiring or pressuring in-network providers to accept "white bagging" of physician-administered drugs. | Shutterstock

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has signed legislation stopping insurers or their pharmacy benefit managers from requiring or pressuring in-network providers to obtain physician-administered drugs exclusively from pharmacies in the insurer’s network.

SB 191, which took effect June

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More Than a Third of State Lawmakers Accept Pharma Campaign Contributions, Analysis Shows

June 10, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

More than one-third of all state lawmakers nationwide accepted at least one pharmaceutical industry campaign contribution during the past two years, an analysis of campaign finance records by news organization STAT found.

In the last two years, over one-third of all state lawmakers nationwide accepted at least one pharmaceutical industry campaign contribution, news organization STAT reports.

The industry wrote over 10,000 individual checks totaling more than $9 million to “at least 2,467

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Becerra’s Message to Pharma on 340B: “You Violate the Law, You Pay the Consequences”

June 9, 2021 Tom Mirga, Editor at Large Views

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told a Senate committee this morning his department has sent drug companies "a clear message" that if they violate the 340B statute, they will "pay the consequences."

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra told a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee this morning that his department has sent “a clear message” to six drug manufacturers denying 340B discounts on drugs shipped to contract pharmacies “that we

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