CER Daily Newsfeed

Pharma's Wins and Losses in the Budget Bill

(6/11, Amy Baxter, PharmaVoice) reports “...Currently, the [Medicare drug price negotiation program] exempts orphan drugs from price negotiations if they only have one indication for rare disease. The law made it less likely for pharma companies to pursue more rare disease indications, according to industry groups such as the National Pharmaceutical Council. A brief by the council found that the percentage of orphan drugs that received a second indication dropped 48% after passage of the IRA. The budget bill proposes adjusting this rule to extend the exemption to orphan drugs that treat ‘one or more rare diseases or conditions.’” Full

Strategic Evidence Planning in the IRA: Insights from Year 1 Drug Price Negotiations

(6/11, The Evidence Base) reports “...Catch up on the session in this Deep Dive, with sections covering: The evidence foundations of Year 1 negotiations and implications for MFPs; Drivers of pricing decisions and Year 1 negotiation trends; Manufacturer strategies: evidence planning amid uncertainty; How MFPs are reshaping the drug marketplace; Assessing which evidence makes the greatest impact in MFP decisions; Importance around selecting therapeutic alternatives; Balancing evidence generation with resource constraints in IRA planning; Cost-effectiveness: working within the constraints.” Full

Johnson & Johnson Launches the Center for U.S. Healthcare Policy Research

(6/10, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, LinkedIn) comments “Today, we’re proud to launch the Center for U.S. Healthcare Policy Research by Johnson & Johnson. A central hub for conducting, publishing and promoting rigorous innovative medicine policy research, the Center will provide policymakers, healthcare providers and issue experts with credible insights, novel J&J research and evidence-based policy solutions. Strengthening our commitment to shaping the future of health policy with evidence, the Center enables us to accelerate medical innovation and enhance patient value, access and affordability.” Full

'Most Favored Nation' Drug Pricing Wouldn't Actually Save Medicaid Money

(6/10, Dan Crippen, The Well News) comments "...While MFN pricing might reduce Medicaid's direct spending, it would increase federal spending elsewhere and significantly reduce tax revenues. In fact, the policy would likely result in little to no net reduction in overall federal spending, due to its interaction with a lesser known but much larger program: 340B." Full

Video: Building Capacity for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research in Health Care for the Homeless Settings

(6/10, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, YouTube) “...Over a two-year period, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program engaged consumers and their care teams in capacity building activities to enhance our ability to partner with stakeholders in conducting patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR). Staff and patient learners participated in monthly learning sessions on research-related topics and provided feedback on the program’s research priorities and best practices for partnering with stakeholders in research. In this webinar, we will share highlights of our PCOR curriculum and the lessons we learned in delivering it.” View Video

AMA Votes To Create Prior Auth Database, Punts Lawsuit Proposal

(6/11, Jalen Brown, Inside Health Policy) reports “...The first resolution directs the AMA to ‘actively and urgently’ establish a national prior authorization database to track key metrics, including denial rates, care delays, impacts on patient outcomes, and the financial burdens imposed on both patients and physicians...The second resolution instructs the AMA to oppose health insurance policies that require prior authorization for in-person visits with a physician...The third resolution calls on the AMA to advocate for federal and state legislation that lessens the impact of prior authorization and formulary tiering requirements...” Subscription Required