Pharma scams far and wide (Do Not Resuscitate #365 Oct 11 2024)

Drug prices are a major contributor to runaway health costs. On “Do Not Resuscitate we look at the mainstream and specialty news media about how we make intermediaries rich instead of making ourselves healthier. This week I focus on pharmaceuticals, including Pharma revenues and pricing, Medicare drug negotiations, the FTC lawsuit against PBMs, and the steady march of concentration all over the healthcare universe (PBMs being the worst example). Additional notes on the noises from Harris & Co. on whether she’ll back up/reappoint Lina Khan at the FTC (probably not—although agitation from us might affect that).

This podcast is a version my written digest, which you can get direct for free by writing me at tfrasca@yahoo.com

Below are all the links to the articles mentioned. You can also view the entire archive going back 6 years at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news-archive

Matt Stoller, “Inside the mafia of Pharma pricing,” BIG, Jul 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/4dCbse4

Julia Rock, “How Big Pharma actually spends its massive profits,” The Lever, Jan 6, 2023 https://bit.ly/4fjcAVl

Megan Henney, “Prescription drug prices have surged almost 40% over the past decade,” FOX Business, Jul 2, 2024 https://fxn.ws/3SszUXz

Reed Abelson & Rebecca Robbins, “FTC slams middlemen for high drug prices, reversing hands-off approach,” New York Times, Jul 9, 2024 https://nyti.ms/4d378oK

Juliana Kim & Sydney Lupkin, “FTC sues insulin middlemen, saying they pocket billions while patients face high costs,” NPR, Sep 22, 2024 https://n.pr/4eWfLC0

Rebecca Robbins & Reed Abelson, “The opaque industry secretly inflating prices for prescription drugs,” New York Times, Jun 21, 2024 https://nyti.ms/3ylmaak

Lecia Bushak, “City of Baltimore sues Biogen over allegedly paying PBMs to stave off Tecfidera generic competition,” Medical Marketing & Media, Sep 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/3NGAqyx

Noah Tong, “Texas sues PBMs, manufacturers over insulin ‘conspiracy,’” Fierce Healthcare, Oct 3, 2024 https://bit.ly/4eGurpg

Stephen Kent, “Harris promised to be ‘pragmatic’—that means dropping Lina Khan at the FTC,” The Hill, Oct 6, 2024 https://bit.ly/485JtSN

Matt Stoller, “Monopoly round-up: The 2024 CNBC shadow campaign to fire Lina Khan,” BIG, Aug 12, 2024 https://bit.ly/4f0JHg7

Ken Alltucker, “Senate panel questions Novo Nordisk CEO over decision to discontinue this popular insulin,” USA Today, Sep 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Bz3WTO

Robert King, David Lim & Lauren Gardner, “In a first, Medicare has set prices for 10 drugs, saving billions,” Politico, Aug 15, 2024 https://politi.co/3BEMKMV

Nathaniel Weixel & Joseph Choi, “5 takeaways from first Medicare drug price negotiations,” The Hill, Aug 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YlnkNf

Deena Beasley, “US will still pay at least twice as much after negotiating drug prices,” Reuters, Sep 3, 2024 https://reut.rs/3YhFXl0

Mark Siedner & Rochelle Walensky, “Tested in Africa, used in America: How can we end the practice of HIV wonder drug experimentation in Africa?” STAT, Sep 18, 2024 https://bit.ly/4gZI4kU

Shalina Chatlani, “To lower prescription drug costs, states head to the courthouse,” Stateline, Aug 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/4dJQMAX

Anna Claire Volleres, “Angry patients spur new state watchdogs to bring down drug prices,” Stateline, Jul 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YohFWU

Grace Hills, “Kansas AG Kris Kobach accuses Pfizer of misleading vaccine marketing in lawsuit,” Kansas Reflector, Jun 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/4dIwKGM

Jakob Emerson, “27 health systems dropping Medicare Advantage plans,” Becker’s Hospital CFO Report, Oct 1, 2024 https://bit.ly/4eWgenK

Heather Landi, “AHA calls on feds to boost supply of IV solutions as some hospitals cancel elective procedures to conserve stock,” Fierce Healthcare, Oct 8, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Yi70Nh

Melissa Barber, Joseph S. Ross, and Reshma Ramachandran, “One way to pay for weight loss drugs: CMS could buy Novo Nordisk,” STAT, Jul 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/3yafFHk

Oliver Whang, “In states that won’t pay for obesity drugs, ‘They may as well have never been created,’” New York Times, Jun 25, 2024 https://nyti.ms/46uA5Hq

Charles Piller, “All the Alzheimer’s research we didn’t do,” New York Times, Jul 7, 2024 https://nyti.ms/3YjFGhY

Juliet Ferguson, Eurydice Bersi & Maxence Peigné, “How Big Pharma preys on poor countries—and patients pay the price,” Open Democracy, Jul 17, 2024 https://bit.ly/4f1pG9i