Gregg's Top Three Health Policy Articles

If you can only read three things about health policy this week, I suggest...

The Top Three...

The Hill: New Medicare Drug Price Cap Kicks In Jan. 1 A key cost-saving provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) goes into effect in the new year, limiting annual out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs to $2,000 for Medicare beneficiaries. Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, an estimated 19 million Medicare beneficiaries will see their out-of-pocket Medicare Part D spending capped at $2,000 for the year. This annual cap will be indexed to the rate of inflation every year going forward. An interim spending cap of roughly $3,500 was put in place in 2024. (Choi, 12/31)

Reuters: Drugmakers To Raise US Prices On Over 250 Medicines Starting Jan. 1
Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 250 branded medications including Pfizer COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer cell therapies and vaccines from France's Sanofi, opens new tab at the start of 2025, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. Nearly all of the drug price increases are below 10% - most well below. The median price increase of the drugs being hiked Jan. 1 is 4.5%, which is in line with the median for all price increases last year. (Erman, 12/31)

Newsweek: Bird Flu Warning Over New Virus Risk: 'Significant Public Health Concern' Combined infection with bird flu and human flu could lead to mutations of new viruses that could have dangerous public health consequences, agencies have warned. ... The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises on their website that Americans, particularly those at high risk of bird flu such as farmworkers, should get the flu vaccine this season, even though it only prevents seasonal flu. (Willmoth, 1/2)

For a Deeper Dive...

Modern Healthcare: Meet the healthcare leaders of the new GOP Congress President-elect Donald Trump will be the new sheriff in town when he's sworn in Jan. 20, and he has a cadre of Republican deputies on Capitol Hill ready to lead legislative efforts on healthcare. The 119th Congress, which commences Friday, will be quite different from the previous Congress. In addition to occupying the White House, the GOP now controls the legislative branch after retaining the House and snatching the Senate majority from Democrats on Election Day.  Democrats are mostly relegated to "loyal opposition" status but still hold some sway because the Republican majorities are slim. Republicans and Democrats have already chosen the House and Senate committee chairs and ranking minority members for the next two years. These leaders traditionally are ratified by unanimous consent shortly after a new Congress convenes. The Republican chairs of key committees that will take the lead on healthcare are mostly familiar to the healthcare sector. (McAuliff, 1/3)

The Wall Street Journal: What RFK Jr.’s Dislike For Drug TV Commercials Could Mean For The Ad Industry Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s stated desire to ban drug commercials from TV seems unlikely to become reality, according to advertising experts, but even pressure from Washington that falls short of an outright ban could lead to changes in the multibillion-dollar advertising sector. Absent new rules or a ban, drugmakers could update their own voluntary guidelines on advertising to address government scrutiny, as they have in the past. Feeling the heat, they could also shift some of their budgets toward digital advertising or marketing directly to healthcare providers. (Graham, 1/2)

Politico: At EPA, Trump’s Second Term Is Already Having Consequences President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is just weeks away, and many of the staff at the Environmental Protection Agency are eyeing the exits rather than trying to hunker down to withstand the coming onslaught. Now, ahead of a second term that Trump and his advisers have said will be more aggressive in targeting the “deep state,” many EPA employees are considering whether now is the time to leave. (Snider and Guillén, 1/2)

The New York Times: Surgeon General Calls For Cancer Warnings On Alcohol
Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday. It is the latest salvo in a fierce debate about the risks and benefits of moderate drinking as the influential U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans are about to be updated. For decades, moderate drinking was said to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. (Caryn Rabin, 2/3)

The Washington Post: Health Care Start-Ups Are Trying To Open. An Old Law Stands In Their Way N’da is part of a wave of litigants pressing to dismantle regulations that plaintiff lawyers say have fomented health care “cartels” in more than 30 states — limiting, for example, the number of methadone clinics in West Virginia, youth mental health beds in Arkansas and MRI centers in North Carolina. These certificate-of-need (CON) laws require certain health care and transportation businesses to demonstrate community need for their services before they can operate. The prerequisite is meant to contain costs and prevent oversaturation of the market, but it often comes with a catch: Would-be competitors can challenge applicants whose services could cut into their sales. (Najmabadi, 1/2)

Reuters: Lilly Asks To Join Lawsuit Over Compounded Versions Of Its Weight-Loss Drugs Eli Lilly has asked to join in opposing a lawsuit brought by compounding pharmacies against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the agency's decision that Lilly's blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs are no longer in short supply. In a motion filed in Fort Worth, Texas federal court late on Wednesday, Lilly said it could not rely on the FDA to fully defend its interests in the case, which will determine whether compounding pharmacies and facilities can keep selling cheaper versions of the company's weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes medicine Mounjaro, which have the same active ingredient, tirzepatide. (Pierson, 1/2)

For the Visual Among Us...

A few years ago I started a weekly e-mail for friends and colleagues who want to keep up on major federal health policy developments but did not have time to plod through all the minutiae--they were busy doing important things like running organizations and taking care of patients! Much to my surprise, it became pretty popular. I have now converted to a weekly newsletter format so you can manage your own subscription preferences and forward to others that might be interested.

These summaries represent my judgement on health policy issues that may not on the front pages, but are relevant to clinicians, administrators, and educators. I monitor many news sources and clipping services to identify content for this newsletter and I try hard to be as factual, balanced, and non-partisan as possible. While the articles are written by others (with credit attributed), the choice of what to include is entirely mine. If you are interested in receiving a daily summary of health policy news, you might consider signing up for the KHN Morning Briefing. If you enjoy podcasts, I suggest What the Health? and Tradeoffs.

-Gregg S. Margolis, PhD