EpiPen RICO Ruling Opens Door for Private AKS Enforcement
Part Two: The MFN Drug Pricing Rule and the Rebate Rule: Where Do We Go From Here?
Part One: Two new Medicare Drug Pricing Rules in One Day: What are the MFN and the Rebate Drug Pricing Rules?
Drug Pricing Initiatives During the Trump Presidency
On November 20, President Trump held a press briefing at which he unveiled two long-awaited actions to reduce prescription drug costs. Both actions had been called for in Executive Orders he issued this summer. Although each...more
The Trump Administration recently announced two final rules that implement policy objectives to lower drug prices by tying certain Medicare Part B payments to prices paid by other countries and by replacing an anti-kickback...more
Before the COVID-19 pandemic derailed even the best-laid plans, the Trump Administration and Congress were focused on a different public health issue: drug pricing. For years, President Trump has targeted “Big Pharma” as...more
On September 13, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order seeking to establish most favored nation ("MFN") pricing for Medicare drug payments. The Trump Administration's Order, 'Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America...more
Prescription drug prices are one of the biggest drivers of rising health care costs. To address this issue, the Trump administration issued its Executive Order on Lowering Prices for Patients by Eliminating Kickbacks to...more
On July 24, 2020, President Trump signed four Executive Orders related to drug pricing that direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take a number of actions aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. These...more
On July 24, 2020, President Trump signed three Executive Orders aimed at lowering prescription drug costs and increasing patients’ access to life-saving medications. A fourth Executive Order was discussed, which could reduce...more
On Friday, President Trump announced four executive orders directed at decreasing prescription drug prices by ordering certain actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). One order – which has received the...more
Drug prices continue to be a hot button issue in American politics. While many of the Trump Administration’s efforts to curb increasing drug prices stalled in 2019, a number of state legislatures have adopted drug price...more
In 2018, the administration published its Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices for U.S. citizens. The Blueprint included 12 proposed actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)....more
Recent months have seen a flurry of activity in Congress on prescription drug pricing and surprise medical bills as lawmakers seek to address rising consumer health care costs. Several House and Senate committees have...more
It takes more than a lot of huffing and puffing to blow down the ever-rising high costs of prescription drugs, the Trump administration has found. Two defeats happened last week: officials were forced to pull a plan to curb...more
In an unexpected turn of events, the Trump administration has apparently reversed course and has withdrawn the proposed rule that would have amended the discount safe harbor under the Anti-Kickback Statute to eliminate...more
This week in Washington: House to hold hearings on PFAS contamination and exposure, the maternal mortality crisis and single-payer issues....more
Congress - Hearings/Markups - Senate Finance Committee: "Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part III" - Tuesday, April 9, 2019: The Senate Finance Committee continued its drug pricing series by...more
Below is the Federal Policy team’s weekly preview, published when Congress is in session. HEADLINES - • Prescription drug costs will be back in the spotlight as the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing focused on...more
FY20 Budget Request Support Continues - Next week, Cabinet secretaries and agency heads will continue to appear before the Appropriations and authorizing committees to support the President’s FY20 budget request....more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - Congress. Senate Republicans are preparing to rev up efforts to confirm hundreds of President Donald Trump’s nominees by muscling through a rules change that would...more
On February 26, 2019, the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony from top executives representing seven high-profile drug manufacturers. This hearing was the second to examine drug pricing in America. The Committee’s...more
On February 6, 2019, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the “OIG”) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) that, if made final in its...more
In a significant step towards implementing its American Patients First blueprint for lowering prescription drug prices and patient out-of-pocket costs, the Trump administration has proposed a series of changes to the...more
The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry recently has come under significant scrutiny by the Trump administration....more
In an effort to respond to prescription drug pricing concerns, on January 31, 2019, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a highly anticipated, 123-page...more
On Jan. 31, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a long-awaited proposed rule that would, if finalized, remove the existing legal "safe harbor" that protects...more
Two pieces of related legislation that would prohibit so called “gag clauses” in contracts between pharmacists and health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBM’s) have been passed by both the Senate and the House....more