Obviously the big pharma story that we can’t ignore

Turns out it’s not just a couple of generic drugs that have had some questionable pricing.

Investigators now say that more than 300 generic drugs were covered in a wide-ranging anti-trust scheme involving at least 16 drug makers. This collusion, they say, explains the rapid rise in the prices of generics over the past several years, as well as sudden, coordinated price hikes in “competing” drugs.

One example they cite for how it worked:

During the transatlantic phone call, [Mylan CEO Rajiv] Malik and the Heritage [Pharmaceuticals] executive, Jeff Glazer, agreed to divide up the sandbox, the U.S. market for sales of Doxy DR, according to the lawsuit by states and similar complaints by independent pharmacies and grocery-store chains.

During subsequent conversations, according to the complaints, Mylan agreed not to sell Doxy DR to CVS and the wholesaler McKesson — sales volume worth about 30 percent of the U.S. market for the drug. As part of the alleged deal, Heritage agreed not to set a low price.

Mylan said it investigated itself and found no evidence of wrongdoing. Plaintiffs in the ongoing case include chain pharmacies, independent pharmacies, and 47 states.

Georgia has more cases of AFM

The Georgia Department of Public Health says there’s been a fourth case of acute flaccid myelitis in the state, and there are two more possible cases. The ‘rare polio-like illness’ has been cropping up in children across the country, leaving health officials stumped.

Granny got her bud

Who’s turning to medical marijuana? Seniors. In states that have legalized it (recreationally or medicinally), Baby Boomers are flocking to it.

The most useful quote from the story:

“You might not like it,” Dr. David Casarett, chief of palliative care at Duke University Medical Center, tells fellow physicians. “You might not believe in it. But your patients are using this stuff.”

The most fun quote from the story:

In fact, so many Laguna Woods seniors use medical cannabis — for ailments ranging from arthritis and diabetes nerve pain to back injuries and insomnia — that the local dispensary, Bud and Bloom, charters a free bus to bring residents to its Santa Ana location to stock up on supplies. Along with a catered lunch, the bus riders get a seniors discount.

Fear not the statin

Statins have risks, yes, but the American Heart Association says — in patients who have conditions
or characteristics that increase their risk [of cardiovascular events] — the benefits well outweigh them.

ICYMI

Walgreens is partnering with FedEx to offer next-day prescription delivery. That is all.

AMA joins suit to block minimalist health plans

The American Medical Association is joining with other healthcare organizations* — and at least a dozen state attorneys general — to block the Trump administration’s approval of association health plans — low-coverage, low-price plans that skirt the Affordable Care Act’s rules for what health insurance must cover.

The AMA points out that “AHPs could eliminate things like essential health benefits or pre-existing condition coverage, which would be particularly harmful to women.”

The major concern about AHPs is that they would provide much less coverage than patients expect, leading to nasty surprises at the pharmacy counter or doctor’s office — not to mention that 200,000 people have already been victim of AHP’s “fraudulent or abusive insurance practices.”

*The American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation, Global Healthy Living Foundation, Hemophilia Federation of America, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, March of Dimes, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society

The long read: In the new Congress, the pharma industry loses some clout

The industry’s lobbying group, PhRMA…

“…hasn’t yet landed on a legislative strategy that can win over Democrats who’ve grown frustrated at the group’s negotiating tactics. Democratic staffers aren’t as interested in the group’s job offers anymore, a setback for the group’s efforts to recruit savvy lobbyists to their cause. And it’s hamstrung, too, in its attempts to exert influence through donations, now that some prominent Democrats have made high-profile pledges not to accept money from corporate PACs or the drug industry.”

Read the whole story from Stat News.