The PBMs push back, and we need your help: Legislative update, week 9

Week 9 of Georgia’s legislative session saw limited progress for GPhA’s priority legislation but plenty of activity.

With both our priority bills yet to be heard in their assigned committee, PBMs, insurers, and managed care organizations moving aggressively to try to kill HB 233 — that’s the one that would prohibit pharmacies from profiting off self-dealt prescriptions “steered” from their PBM and insurance affiliates.

Read the details here, and contact Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan. Thank him for his support of HB 323, express your support for HB 233, and ask him to help HB 233 be heard in committee. His phone number is (404) 656-5030.

Big news for Augusta

It’s the 10th fattest city in the country.

It’s worse than a Royal Caribbean cruise

More than 100 kids and 18 staff members at Pine Street Elementary School in Rockdale have come down with norovirus, forcing the school to close.

Making Mama a bit happier

The FDA has approved the first drug specifically for post-partum depression: brexanolone (but its friends will call it Zulresso). The upside is that it works within 48 hours. The downside is that it needs to be delivered by infusion at a medical center … and, of course, it’s expensive (list price is $34,000).

More dangers of e-cigs

The latest study of the effects of electronic cigarettes finds they seem to increase the odds of “cardiovascular events” (e.g., heart attacks), as well as depression and mental illness.

Why are we telling pharmacists about this? Because most teens get their e-cigs from pharmacies, that’s why.

A ketamine story you won’t believe

That’s not clickbait; you really won’t believe this. Scientists have given ketamine (horse tranquilizer, depression miracle drug) to alligators … and then gave them headphones. The goal: to understand the hea— wait, who cares why they did it? They gave ketamine and headphones to alligators. Science, baby!

(Surprisingly, “alligator with headphones” is not an image available from our stock photo library.)

Remain calm

“Frequent stress increases diabetes risk.”

Sleep and Parkinson’s

People with a particular sleep issue — rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, in which normal sleep paralysis is interrupted by violent acting out of dreams — are much more prone to develop Parkinson’s disease. The good news is that there’s a long period between the two, giving plenty of time to hopefully intervene.

Elsewhere: Canada looks to add prescription drug coverage

Canada is unusual among wealthy nations: Its national health insurance doesn’t cover prescription drugs, so people there pay higher prices than most other countries (with — cough cough — one notable exception).

So what do you do when your citizens are having trouble affording meds? Obviously create a national drug agency to negotiate prices en masse, create a national formulary of essential drugs that will be made available to all citizens, and set aside $1 billion to help people afford specialty drugs.

That’s the plan; the upcoming debate will be about how to pay for it. Capping tax deductions for the rich is already on the agenda.

Meanwhile, back down here, a new survey finds that 11.4 percent of U.S. adults are rationing their medication because of cost.