THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION recently released its budget proposal for one of their most high-profile issues: drug prices in the Medicaid program. To the surprise of many in the biopharmaceutical industry, there are some promising initiatives in the proposal from an administration that is thought to be hostile to the industry on drug prices. By far the most […]
Prescription drugs
Posted inOpinion
Drug costs at pharmacies lack transparency
AS A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN, nearly every time I write a prescription, I have to ask myself: “Will this patient be able to afford this at the beginning of the calendar year when they have not yet met their deductible? Will they be able to afford this medicine in the middle of the calendar year when […]
Posted inOpinion
E-scripts for opioids save lives
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER recently signed into law a bill to mitigate the state-level effects of the ongoing opioid crisis. Like other such legislative efforts at both the federal and state levels, this important legislation requires healthcare providers and pharmacies to switch to electronic prescribing of controlled substances. This most recent legislative success reflects just how […]
Posted inOpinion
Middlemen drive up patient drug costs
AS LEADERS OF organizations dealing with two of the most difficult chronic conditions to treat – hemophilia and HIV/AIDS – we consistently hear stories about how patients living with these diseases are given the run around by insurers to obtain affordable access to the medications they need to manage their diseases. It’s an uphill battle; […]
Posted inOpinion
Cost barriers rise for patients
THERE SEEMS TO be a new story each day about how patients across the country are being treated unfairly by their health insurance company. Chances are, you or someone you love has been through something like this. These are patients who have done the right thing, worked hard, paid their premiums, and expected that when […]
Posted inOpinion
Taxpayers clean up Big Pharma’s mess
LAST YEAR, the United States saw a 13 percent increase in drug overdose deaths, from an estimated 60,147 lives lost in 2016, to an estimated 67,944 in 2017. For perspective, that is enough to completely fill Gillette Stadium, with an overflow of 2,066 individuals. Here in Massachusetts, we experienced a slight decrease in opioid related […]
Posted inOpinion
Electronic opioid scripts save lives
A HEARING EARLIER this month on Beacon Hill underscored the critical need for Massachusetts-specific solutions to the nation’s opioid crisis. As the Legislature prepares next steps to address this critical issue, it would do well to consider a bill recently proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker that would capitalize on technological advances to help address the […]
Posted inOpinion
Insurers’ ‘fail-first’ drug approach increases pain
WHEN YOU LIVE with debilitating pain it becomes a matter of degrees: How bad is it today? Can I get up and walk? Can I get through a day of work? Some days are better than others. Some days it’s simply just hard to get dressed. I’ve been living with pain for roughly 16 years […]