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US Medicare And Opioids: Inspector General Sees Improvement

 
• By Grace Moser and Cole Werble

HHS is slowly changing its rhetoric on the use of prescription opioids – edging away from crisis to finding positive trends. A new OIG report on opioid use in Medicare Part D emphasizes sustained positive trends in naloxone rescue and medication assisted treatment alternatives to opioid use disorder.

Cloudscape
Medicare Part D data might be showing some rays of hope in the opioid epidemic.

The headline story on opioid use by beneficiaries in the US Medicare Part D program is shifting for the first time in five years from an emphasis on abuse and over-prescribing to positive trends towards a sustained decrease in overall opioid use accompanied by a continued upswing in the medication-assisted treatment drugs.

In a now-annual analysis of the trends for opioids in Part D, the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office...

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More from Medicare

US Pricing Reform: New Products Offer ‘On Ramp’ To Implementation, Lilly’s Ricks Says

 
• By Cathy Kelly

Eli Lilly's CEO argued that pricing reforms aimed at existing drugs would be “hard to sustain or justify,” while other companies suggested a growing interest in direct-to-consumer sales programs.

Pharma Cooperating With Trump On Direct Sale To Consumers, Pfizer CEO Says

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Pfizer is in active discussions with Trump on MFN pricing and collaborating with peers on direct sales as an approach to lower drug prices, CEO Albert Bourla said.

Cuban: Drugmakers Are More Afraid of PBMs Than Trump

 
• By Leslie Small

The billionaire investor said during a recent conference that brand drug manufacturers want to work with his Cost Plus Drug Co., but are afraid the PBMs will retaliate.

Most Favored Nation Pricing: Trump Ups Pressure On Voluntary Action, Clarifies Demands

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

The new 60-day deadline for striking a deal with the drug industry underscores the challenges the Administration may be having in developing non-voluntary policies to achieve MFN pricing in the US.

More from Government Payers

Most Favored Nation Pricing: Trump Ups Pressure On Voluntary Action, Clarifies Demands

 
• By Sarah Karlin-Smith

The new 60-day deadline for striking a deal with the drug industry underscores the challenges the Administration may be having in developing non-voluntary policies to achieve MFN pricing in the US.

340B Rebate Model Gets HRSA Endorsement; Pilot Program Limited To Medicare Negotiated Drugs

 
• By Cathy Kelly

Pilot is harbinger of greater transparency in the 340B program. But rebates may only be denied by manufacturers for overlap with Medicare negotiated prices, not for issues like diversion that have driven recent lawsuits.

UK Approves Biogen’s Qalsody After England Revises Reimbursement Approach

 
• By Eliza Slawther

Biogen has U-turned on its original decision not to file Qalsody for marketing approval in the UK for treating certain patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The move appears to have been triggered by a change in the reimbursement pathway agreed for the product.