lobbying
Industry prepares for Democrats
A potential power shift also is on the mind of the drug industry.
Industry consultants are mapping out how they might respond to requests about the secret pricing deals they made with the Trump administration, three people familiar with the efforts tell Daniel. There’s not yet consensus on the best course of action.
The possibility of increased oversight pressure is the latest challenge for pharma, and it’s happening as the industry’s top trade group is looking for new leadership and a fresh approach to lobbying. Drug prices are a top affordability issue for President Trump, and Democrats are plotting their next moves on drug pricing, too.
generic drugs
Senate panel passes pro-generic bills
The Senate health committee on Wednesday passed two bipartisan bills aimed at lowering drug prices and set up a third for potential passage this summer.
The two bills that passed: The Biosimilar Red Tape Elimination Act (S. 1954) is designed to make it easier for makers of biosimilars to prove their products are interchangeable with the more expensive biopharmaceuticals that they copy. A House committee has yet to take up its version of the bill. The goal of the Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act (S. 2658) is to stop drugmakers from extending monopolies with secondary patents long after a drug’s original approval. There is no House version of this bill.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America opposes S. 2658, which it said would risk compromising confidential information in ways that benefit competitors like China.
The committee also worked on the Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act (S. 3014) but did not hold a vote on it. Patients for Affordable Drugs Now said the committee might take it up again next month. The legislation would provide more oversight of "citizen petitions," part of a process by which supporters of the bill say brand drugmakers exploit to delay generic competition. There is no equivalent House bill.
hospitals
Divining the impact of OhioHealth’s swift settlement
The speed of the Justice Department’s proposed antitrust settlement with OhioHealth should put other hospitals on notice, legal experts tell Tara Bannow.
The DOJ and Ohio attorney general’s proposed settlement would require nonprofit OhioHealth to quit using certain contracting practices that the agencies say prevented health insurers from selling cheaper policies.
Read more for why other health systems might want to examine their contracting practices in light of the settlement.
administration lawsuits
FTC sues over gender-affirming care
The Federal Trade Commission and four state attorneys general are suing the main professional organization for gender-affirming care clinicians, Theresa Gaffney and Bob Herman report.
The lawsuit alleges the World Professional Association for Transgender Health made false claims to sell medical services to kids.
The organization has blocked similar lawsuits, but this time the administration filed suit in the Northern District of Texas, a federal court with a conservative reputation that has become central to the administration’s legal challenges to gender-affirming care.
addiction
What’s old is new
The Trump administration on Wednesday said it was announcing $700 million in “new funding” for mental health and addiction programs.
But behavioral health experts instantly cast doubt on the claim, identifying the $700 million not as new funding but as the long-awaited release of existing grants that Congress had previously authorized and that the federal government already planned to spend, Lev Facher reports.
Read more.
dei
NIH diversity programs worked
Two diversity-oriented programs supported by the National Institutes of Health doubled the odds that an undergraduate student would earn a Ph.D.
That’s according to a 20-year study, writes Anil Oza.
The Trump administration terminated funding for both initiatives last year. Read more.
