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Tag Archives: Prescription Drug Costs
15 things for healthcare leaders to know about Obama’s 2017 budget
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Cartoon – Swallowing the Skyrocketing Costs of Prescription Drugs
Fraud Concerns Emerge As Compounding Drug Sales Skyrocket
Government spending on “compounded” drugs that are handmade by retail pharmacists has skyrocketed, drawing the attention of federal investigators who are raising fraud and overbilling concerns.
Spending on these medications in Medicare’s Part D program, for example, rose 56 percent last year, with some of the costliest products, including topical pain creams, priced at hundreds or thousands of dollars per tube. The federal workers’ compensation program has also seen a recent spike in spending.
The spending jump, along with a sharp increase in the number of patients getting the compounded drugs “may indicate an emerging fraud trend,” said Miriam Anderson, who helped oversee a June report on the Medicare spending by the inspector general’s office at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Some of the prescriptions may not have been medically necessary — or even dispensed at all, notes the report, which also details recent fraud cases brought by U.S. attorneys in several states.
Is High Prescription Drug Spending Becoming Our New Normal?
The Killer Disease on the Rise that Could Explode Health Costs
Hepatitis-C is a serious liver infection caused by an often lethal virus, and it spreads from one person to another through contact with blood, including blood transfusions and shared needles. Gilead Sciences boasts that its two leading biologic medications have a cure rate of as high as 95 percent, in comparison with 40 percent for older, less advanced treatments. But Sovaldi and Harvoni can cost between $83,000 and $95,000 retail for a full course of treatment.
30% of antibiotics inappropriately prescribed in US
Study findings may drive efforts to curb improper prescription practices.
Why an obscure Supreme Court case is a big deal for prescription drugs
Why an obscure Supreme Court case is a big deal for prescription drugs
“Consumers and the health system as a whole benefit from a more competitive prescription drug market,” Marilyn Tavenner, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement. “Protecting monopoly-like pricing schemes threaten[s] consumers’ access to more affordable prescription medications.”
HENRY KOTULA 