Updates

Doctors Object to High Cancer-Drug Prices

Jul 23, 2015

Amid the growing clamor, cancer medication has drawn particular ire. The average price of new cancer drugs in the U.S. increased five- to tenfold over 15 years, to more than $100,000 a year in 2012, according to the Mayo Clinic journal editorial. Read More

Drug Companies Pushed From Far and Wide to Explain High Prices

Jul 23, 2015

As complaints grow about exorbitant drug prices, pharmaceutical companies are coming under pressure to disclose the development costs and profits of those medicines and the rationale for charging what they do. Read More

PRESS STATEMENT: New Report Shows Medicare Spending Increase Driven By Specialty Drug Prices

Jul 22, 2015

PRESS STATEMENT: New Report Shows Medicare Spending Increase Driven By Specialty Drug Prices Read More

$1,000-per-pill drug overtaken by pricier successor

Jul 11, 2015

The $1,000 pill for a liver-wasting viral infection that made headlines last year is no longer the favorite of patients and doctors. The new leading pill for hepatitis C is more expensive, and the number of patients seeking a cure has surged. Read More

PRESS STATEMENT: New Report Shows Hepatitis C Drugs Have Costly Impact on California

Jul 1, 2015

Exorbitant price tags for specialty medications are taking a serious financial toll on state budgets. A new analysis released yesterday from the California Association of Health Plans (CAHP) shows that treating only 10 percent of 175,000 patients in state-funded health care programs with just three hepatitis C medications would cost California roughly $1-2 billion. Read More

How new drugs helping millions of Americans live longer are also making them go broke

Jun 30, 2015

Around the U.S., people with serious diseases are falling through the cracks, unable to afford the medication they need. Patients with HIV, cancer, lupus, leukemia, hepatitis C and other serious conditions are paying huge out-of-pocket sums for necessary medication. These costs are putting heavy mental and financial stress on some of America’s most vulnerable people. Read More

PwC Infographic: Costs from specialty drugs skyrocketing

Jun 29, 2015

A new PricewaterhouseCoopers report on medical cost trends highlights how specialty drugs are outpacing traditional drugs in a major way. Read More

Skyrocketing specialty drug cost hurts wallets

Jun 25, 2015

The rising cost of specialty drugs to treat complex, chronic or life-threatening conditions has the potential to break the pocket books of businesses, consumers, insurance companies and the state, according to Milam Ford of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. Read More

PRESS STATEMENT: Survey Finds Early Primary State Voters Looking for Action on Prescription Drug Prices

Jun 23, 2015

A recent study of over 2,500 voters in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire found that prescription drug prices are becoming a hot political issue in these early primary states. The study was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. Read More

How to Lower Specialty Drug Prices

Jun 22, 2015

We need to make clear that monopoly grants come with responsibility and accountability, and that competition is more important to the public than a blank check for innovation we cannot afford. Read More

CalPERS approves 7.2% increase in HMO rates as drug costs climb

Jun 18, 2015

CalPERS said it spent nearly $40 million for Sovaldi on plans run by Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente and CVS Health. Read More

Skyrocketing drug prices leave cures out of reach for some patients

Jun 16, 2015

Sophisticated drugs are opening the door, scientists say, to an era of "precision medicine." They're also ushering in an age of astronomical prices. Read More