On December 7, 2020, the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy hosted the first of a 2-part virtual forum examining racial equity in the drug development system, including during initial investments and research, patent and regulatory processes, supplier and physician…
Biosimilars play a critical role in lowering drug prices. Kaiser Permanente successfully uses biosimilars to improve affordability for our members. We are eager to share best practices and work with policymakers to help facilitate a more competitive market for biologic…
The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP) requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to issue rebates to Medicaid for covered outpatient drugs. When they offer prescription drug benefits, Medicaid programs must cover nearly all drugs, potentially reducing Medicaid’s leverage to negotiate discounts. Policymakers created…
Patents are in the news as Congress considers legislation to address patent abuses and anticompetitive behavior by the pharmaceutical industry. If you’re tuning into these issues for the first time (or even the second or third) you’ll notice that there…
I want to tell you a story about one of my patients — let’s call her Helen. After months of treatment, Helen just wasn’t getting better despite being prescribed a drug that I have used to successfully treat many of…
On January 23rd, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) held the Affordable Drugs Stakeholder Meeting. This was the third of three meetings for the Ensuring Patient Access to Affordable Drug Therapies committee, an ad hoc committee within…