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Drug-pricing reform might fall victim to infrastructure negotiations
By: Marty Schladen - July 21, 2021 12:50 am Ohio U.S. Sen. Rob Portman with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
As lawmakers attempt to salvage a bipartisan infrastructure package, new rules intended to crack down on secretive prescription-drug transactions might fall by the wayside.
The top Republication negotiator of the $579 billion package, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, on Monday told Roll Call that a rule that would ban some drugmaker rebates was likely to be axed as the parties debate how to pay for the infrastructure.
The rebates the rule would prohibit flow to some programs financed by Medicare and Medicaid. They save the government money, but some experts say they’re also a major driver of increasing prices for branded drugs. That can put big dents in the bank accounts of the uninsured as well of those paying coinsurance or meeting deductibles because they typica
Many neighborhoods in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Memphis lack convenient access to a pharmacy, according to research published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs.
By City News Service
May 4, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Black and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities had fewer pharmacies than white or diverse neighborhoods in 2007-2015, a fact that may be an overlooked contributor to persistent racial and ethnic health disparities, according to USC research published this week.
Pharmacies are increasingly vital points of care for essential health services. In addition to filling prescriptions to treat chronic health conditions, pharmacists dispense emergency doses of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses, contraceptives to prevent unplanned pregnancy and COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
But many neighborhoods in major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Memphis lack convenient access to a pharmacy, according to research published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs.