Cathy has covered US regulation and reimbursement policy for the biopharma industry since 2004, starting with the establishment of the Medicare Part D program. Since then, she has written extensively about developments in all major sectors of the US insurance market (Medicare, Medicaid and commercial plans). She has covered key legislation affecting biopharma, including the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act which created Part D, health care reform under President Obama, and the Inflation Reduction Act which establishes a government price negotiation program in Medicare for the first time and redesigns of the Part D benefit. She has closely followed the increasing influence of pharmacy benefit managers and their use of formulary negotiations and rebates to control pricing. Cathy also has covered developments in health technology assessments, including the growing influence of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, and has monitored industry progress on novel drug contracting that reflects value-based pricing. She has worked as a health care reporter and editor while raising three daughters. Cathy lives outside DC in Bethesda, MD, with her husband Sean.
Latest from Cathy Kelly
Wide-ranging executive order to lower drug prices also hints at changes in upcoming guidance on the Medicare price negotiation program but few other potentially impactful near-term actions.
Coverage data from the two programs suggest Medicare beneficiaries may be more disappointed than Medicaid enrollees by the Trump Administration’s decision not to mandate the programs cover obesity drugs.
Jonathan Blum, who was principal deputy administrator during the Biden Administration, explained the agency’s approach to setting up the price negotiation program and said changes likely will be implemented by the Trump Administration.
Eli Lilly is seeking an injunction barring a weight loss clinic from dispensing modified versions of its GLP-1 products.
As CMS administrator, Mehmet Oz will oversee the second cycle of Medicare drug price negotiations and Part D redesign issues, but will have experienced deputies to help.
Calley Means defended reductions in force at the Health and Human Services Department that shocked and outraged federal workers and stakeholders.