 Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | | |
| | | | | BY MEG WINGERTER On Friday, Colorado became the first state to put a price ceiling on a prescription drug, limiting insurers and patients in the state to paying no more than $600 for a weekly dose of Enbrel. The drugmaker, Amgen, hasn't said if it will sue to overturn the upper payment limit, but it looks likely, since the company previously sued the state when it first designated Enbrel as unaffordable. Assuming that a court doesn't toss out the limit, the next question will be whether Amgen (via the middlemen in the transaction) will truly refuse to sell at that price. That's ultimately what concerns about access boil down to. Doing so would send a strong message to other states considering price ceilings, but also invite public blowback. We'll see what happens. | | | | Last year, the board voted to deem Enbrel “unaffordable,” setting up a months-long process of determining whether it should set a price ceiling. | | | | | The vast majority of Colorado has a shortage of prenatal care providers, requiring families in some rural areas to drive an hour or longer for routine pregnancy visits. | | | | | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 19 people needed hospital care and four died after eating foods linked to the nationwide listeria outbreak. | | | | | The state estimated that one of its Medicaid cuts, requiring prior authorization for applied behavior analysis and opening up the possibility of reclaiming improper payments, would save about $7 million. | | | | | Scientific studies have tied ultraprocessed foods to poor health. | | | | | Pfizer agreed to lower drug costs and invest $70 billion in U.S. manufacturing. | | | |
