How Congress Encourages Shortages of Cancer Drugs

2011 and 2012 saw a quickening of interest in the deadly problem of acute shortages of injected drugs, especially those targeting cancer. Drugs defined as being in “short supply” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) increased from 61 in 2005 to more than 250 in 2011. Since reforms passed Congress thirteen months ago, the problem has gotten 20 percent worse.

The fundamental reason for Congress' failure is that it increased the power of the FDA, when it should have decreased it.

Read the entire article at Forbes.com The Apothecary.

Medtronic Is Changing Its Business. Will The System Let It?

Earlier this month, Forbes contributor David Shaywitz asked a necessary question: “Are Medical Product Companies Finally Serious About Business Model Evolution?” This was in response to medical-device giant Medtronic MDT -1.16%‘s (NYSE:MDT) friendly acquisition of Cardiocom, a patient-monitoring firm. CEO Omar Ishrak’s comments at last Thursday’s annual meeting suggest that the answer to Mr. Shaywitz’ question is “yes”. In his remarks, Mr. Ishrak noted that “the U.S. is wisely moving to a fee-per-value approach which incentivizes value over volume and outcomes over inputs.”

Read the entire article at Forbes' The Apothecary.

Preparing for 2014: Questions for Obamacare's Opponents

This was not really an article that I wanted to write. Nevertheless, as we continue to successfully oppose Obamacare, I fear that some of the tactics used by its opponents will have unintended consequences.

Read the entire article at John Goodman's Health Policy Blog, here.

GAO Confirms Obamacare Insurance Rating Rules Increase Premiums for Young People

In a recently published (but under-reported) brief, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed that states which prevent actuarially accurate pricing of health-insurance premiums impose higher premiums on young people.

The GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial Obamacare is for young people.

Read the entire article at John Goodman's Health Care Blog.

n an under-reported brief published last week, the Government Accountability Office confirmed that states which prevent accurate underwriting of health-insurance premiums by age impose higher premiums on young people. There has been no shortage of actuarial analysis of ObamaCare’s coming “rate shock” for young adults, but the GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial ObamaCare is for young people. - See more at: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/government-accountability-office-confirms-health-insurance-rating-rules-hike-premiums-for-young-people/#sthash.hP7AI9mf.dpuf

n an under-reported brief published last week, the Government Accountability Office confirmed that states which prevent accurate underwriting of health-insurance premiums by age impose higher premiums on young people. There has been no shortage of actuarial analysis of ObamaCare’s coming “rate shock” for young adults, but the GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial ObamaCare is for young people. - See more at: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/government-accountability-office-confirms-health-insurance-rating-rules-hike-premiums-for-young-people/#sthash.hP7AI9mf.dpuf

n an under-reported brief published last week, the Government Accountability Office confirmed that states which prevent accurate underwriting of health-insurance premiums by age impose higher premiums on young people. There has been no shortage of actuarial analysis of ObamaCare’s coming “rate shock” for young adults, but the GAO has used data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ own website. This is the department which tells us ceaselessly how beneficial ObamaCare is for young people. - See more at: http://healthblog.ncpa.org/government-accountability-office-confirms-health-insurance-rating-rules-hike-premiums-for-young-people/#sthash.hP7AI9mf.dpuf

Executive Nullification: Why Obama Won't Allow Congress to Legalize His Changes to PPACA

Another day, another executive nullification of a painful piece of Obamacare.
This time, it has to do with health benefits for staffers on Capitol Hill. This is the second incident in as many weeks.

The President has a reason for preventing Congress from legalizing his changes to PPACA. Read the entire column at Forbes.com's The Apothecary here.