Georgia finally considering Medicaid expansion

The state — one of only about a dozen that hasn’t expanded coverage to more low-income people — is spending $1 million to investigate the possibility of a Medicaid “waiver” that would allow it to limit who would be covered. A wide majority of Georgians — 71 percent — support Medicaid expansion.

The end of PBM rebates?

That’s what the administration says it’s considering, at least for Medicare and Medicaid.

HHS’ proposal would eliminate a legal provision that allows drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers to negotiate rebates in exchange for making it easier for patients to get access to certain drugs.

Rebates would still be OK as long as they’re passed on to consumers.

PBMs say that doing so would bring about the End of the World As We Know It, and is also beyond the power of HHS. Drug manufacturers support the proposal.

Don’t do this:

The CDC says kids are using too much toothpaste when they brush. A pea size is enough; too much can mean ingesting extra fluoride.

Some fentanyl off the street

DEA agents (based on a hunch!) seized more than 250 pounds of fentanyl from a hidden compartment in a tractor-trailer. (Oh, and almost 400 pounds of meth.) Almost all illegal drugs come into the U.S. via legal border crossings, with 85 percent coming through San Diego — but now Arizona’s crossings are becoming more of a hotspot.

Well why not?

What do you do when a competitor’s generic drug is recalled? If you’re Alembic, maker of a non-recalled version of valsartan, you raise the price — up to 469 percent.

Speaking of generic-drug price hikes, remember that lawsuit against the “cartel” of 20 generics manufacturers? It’s expanded to 45 states (Georgia isn’t one), D.C., and the Department of Justice — and now may include wholesalers.

Elsewhere: Rocky Mountain edition

Colorado is looking at a wholesale approach to allowing drug imports from Canada. Rather than allowing patients to buy inexpensive Canadian drugs, the state is considering a bill that would allow it to “import prescription drugs from licensed Canadian suppliers and distribute them to Colorado pharmacies and hospitals.”