Good morning, everyone, and how are you today? Steely skies are hovering this morning over the Pharmalot campus, which is exceedingly quiet now that the official mascot has finished his daily jog around the grounds and is happily snoozing in a nearby corner. As for us, we are going about the usual routine, brewing cups of stimulation — our choice today is roasted coconut — and foraging for interesting subject matter. What else can a poor boy do? Meanwhile, here are some items of interest to help you along with your own agenda. Hope your day is meaningful and productive. And do stay in touch. Telegrams and postcards continue to find their way here. …
Pharmacy benefit managers may have gotten themselves a slight reprieve, STAT reports. Senators drafting reforms have delayed their effective date by at least 10 months. The original date that PBM reforms were supposed to take effect was Jan. 1, 2025. But revised legislation prepared for a Tuesday markup by the Senate health committee shows that the changes would now take effect 30 months after the law is passed, no sooner than November 2025. The actual date would likely come much later, as the bill would have to pass the Senate, pass the Republican-led House, and be signed by the president to become law.
A bipartisan group of more than two dozen Democratic and Republican attorneys general across the U.S. are calling on Medicare to provide unrestricted coverage of antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, CNBC tells us. The move adds to mounting pressure on the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to end a controversial policy that severely restricts access to new treatments, such as a drug from Biogen and Eisai that was recently granted accelerated approval. Medicare’s decision to restrict coverage means only wealthy seniors can afford to pay $26,500 per year out of pocket for the drug.
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