News & Highlights

Insurers eye pharma discounts beyond hepatitis C

Feb 2, 2015

The pricing battle pitting insurers and pharmacy benefit managers against drugmakers over a new breed of high-priced and highly effective treatments for hepatitis C may be a preview of tougher negotiations for coverage of other blockbuster drugs. Read More

White House bemoans ‘rapidly growing’ drug prices

Feb 2, 2015

The White House said Monday that it is "deeply concerned with the rapidly growing prices of specialty and brand name drugs," a victory for critics of pharmaceutical companies. Read More

Abbvie Expects $3B In Hepatitis C Drug Sales And 40% Of Insured Customers

Jan 30, 2015

Abbvie, the maker of one of the costly hepatitis C pills captivating Wall Street and frustrating those who pick up the tab for health care costs, says its sales of its treatment will generate more than $3 billion in annual sales in 2015. Read More

Harvard Pilgrim secures discount on Gilead’s newest hep C drug

Jan 29, 2015

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, one of the largest not-for-profit health insurers in New England, said it will save millions of dollars in hepatitis C drug costs through its negotiated pricing discount from pharmaceutical giant Gilead. Read More

Want To Control Drug Prices? Reject Price Controls

Jan 26, 2015

The past year has seen an epic confrontation pitting insurers and payers against drug companies. Read More

The People Who Brought You Cheaper Hepatitis C Drugs Are Going After Cancer Next

Jan 22, 2015

Express Scripts, which this year forced price concessions from makers of $1,000-a-day hepatitis C medicines, has set its sights on $37 billion in U.S. spending on cancer medications. Read More

High Prices for Cancer Drugs are set at Launch: ‘It’s Where the Action Is’

Jan 21, 2015

There is little question that rising prices for medicines – including many cancer treatments – is a flashpoint in the growing controversy over health care costs. Read More

State could help Fresno-area hepatitis C sufferers afford costly drugs

Jan 20, 2015

Just weeks into a new drug treatment for hepatitis C, Travis Poole felt like Read More

Specialty drugs and health care costs

Jan 6, 2015

As the year came to a close, many employers were reviewing 2014 expenses to help plan spending for the new year. Read More

Drug pricing concerns? Not at Gilead

Jan 5, 2015

After drug pricing concerns weighed on Gilead Sciences' stock toward the end of December, the drugmaker has kicked off 2015 the same way it did the previous two years: by increasing prices on several products. Read More

Gilead’s Dispute With Insurers Leaves Doctors on Sidelines

Dec 22, 2014

Doctors caught in the middle of an escalating battle over U.S. drug prices are losing influence over their patients’ treatment even as they gain an opportunity to treat more people more affordably. Read More

Gilead Drops After Drug Manager Blocks $1,000 Hep C Pill

Dec 22, 2014

Gilead shares sank after the biggest drug-benefit manager in the U.S. chose a pill from AbbVie to be the sole hepatitis C treatment approved for many patients, as insurers seek to rein in the rising cost of medicine. Read More