Welcome to the Healthcare Policy Pop

Episodes

Oct. 5, 2023

ICER’s Faux Updates

John O’Brien, President and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council, weighs in on ICER’s latest update that we are calling a “faux update”; The American Enterprise Institute has released its perspective on last year’s Inf…
Guest: John O'Brien
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Oct. 3, 2023

Hospital Price Transparency Noncompliance

Jonathan Weiss, Founder and CEO of HealthEngine, discusses why The No Surprise Act so far isn’t serving its intended purpose; a new secret shopper study found that hospitals are failing at price transparency for imaging serv…
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Sept. 28, 2023

QALY Update

Bill Smith, Director of the Life Sciences Initiative at the Pioneer Institute, dives into the so-called update to ICER’s value assessment framework; Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers explained earlier this year why she wa…
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Sept. 26, 2023

CMS Drug Price Negotiations

Kirsten Axelsen, Senior Policy Advisor at DLA Piper, says some of the fallout from CMS announcing price controls is already happening; the E&C Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on the IRA’s price-setti…
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Sept. 21, 2023

Drug Supply Shortages

Gavin Clingham, Public Policy Director for the Alliance for Patient Access, discusses reasons behind drug supply shortages and some possible solutions; Patients Rising Now submitted questions to the E&C Oversight and Investi…
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Sept. 19, 2023

The Value of New Medicines + Protecting Health Care for All

Peter Kolchinsky, Managing Partner at RA Capital Management, breaks down a new white paper with Entity rRisk that aims to get the math correct when measuring the value of new medicines; a new report says the HHS Office for C…
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Sept. 14, 2023

Accelerated Approval Misconceptions + IRA Investing Impacts

Joseph Hammang, Ph.D., Partner at Vital Transformation Healthcare Consultancy, says some of the backlash against accelerated approval comes from those not informed on the process; Hammang also says impacts from the Inflation…
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Sept. 12, 2023

IRA’s Impact on Drug Development

John Stanford with Incubate explains how the Inflation Reduction Act has already begun to deter investments in drug research and development; Patients Rising issues a statement calling for progress on several key healthcare …
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Sept. 7, 2023

CMS Price Negotiations + Patient-Centered Outcomes

In the wake of Medicare’s announcement of the first 10 drugs subject to price negotiations, Patients Rising CEO Terry Wilcox outlines the need for greater patient involvement in this process; Taylor Schwartz of Avalere expla…
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July 27, 2023

Biosimilars Reshape the Market

Avalere releases a study focused on ICER assessments and whether or not they take into account the patient experience when creating their reports; Wayne Winegarden, a Senior Fellow with the Pacific Research Institute explain…
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July 25, 2023

Prior Authorization Consequences + Fast-Tracked FDA Approvals

MacKay Jimeson, Acting Executive Director of Patients Rising Now, wants lawmakers to stand behind the accelerated approval program; Jody Quinn, a patient from Massachusetts’ 13th congressional district who lives with psoriat…
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July 20, 2023

Accelerated Approval on the Hill

MacKay Jimeson, Acting Executive Director of Patients Rising Now, previews Monday’s accelerated approval hill briefing, which is open for staff to attend; Mel Mann, the longest-living Gleevec patient, discusses how accelerat…
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July 18, 2023

340B Fallout + Cancer Drug Shortages

Bill Smith, Senior Fellow at the Pioneer Institute, explains a ruling from the Supreme Court regarding the 340B program; Patients Rising Now’s briefing on Accelerated Approval will be held Monday, July 24th; Ted Okon, Execut…
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July 13, 2023

AI Privacy Concerns + Accelerated Approval Benefits

Brett Meeks, Executive Director of the Health Innovation Alliance, is working to make sure everyone gets on the same page on the issue of health privacy and AI; The Pioneer Institute on Public Policy Research will host a web…
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July 11, 2023

Alzheimer’s Breakthrough + Biosimilar Landscape

Sue Peschin, President and CEO of the Alliance for Aging Research, says Medicare coverage for Alzheimer’s drugs is something millions across the country truly care about as an election year nears; the Biden Administration is…
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July 6, 2023

Home Health Hiccup + Rare Disease Priorities

Joanne Cunningham, CEO of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare, discusses the robust support for home health even as CMS aims to cut funding; Jeffrey Oldham, Director of State Government Relations and Advocacy for the…
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June 29, 2023

Drug Supply Shortage Emergency + PASTEUR Act

Dr. Marion Mass, a pediatrician, has seen up close and personal what supply chain shortages can do; a news article from says that the proportion of oral cancer drugs that needed prior authorization increased from 53 percent…
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June 27, 2023

RSV Vaccines + Patient Experience Data

Ronda Miller-Ernest, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for more than 30 years, discusses the importance of RSV vaccines and the Vaccines for Children Program in the wake of an ACIP meeting; the FDA has opened up its public comm…
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June 22, 2023

Health Policies that Hurt Community Pharmacists

Anne Cassity, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Association, says community pharmacists are concerned about several PBM tactics that make delivering care more costly to them an…
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June 15, 2023

Patients Call for PBM Reforms

Terry Wilcox, CEO of Patients Rising Now, outlines the top priorities for this year’s We the Patients Fly-In, including PBM reform; and Dorothea Lantz, a caregiver from Florida’s 27th Congressional District, says its importa…
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June 13, 2023

Patients on Capitol Hill

Michael Riotto, a patient advocate from PA-01, says the QALY is top of mind for him as he attends the 2023 Patients Rising Now ‘We The Patients’ Fly-In; Tomiyo Williams, a patient advocate from GA-6, shares how step therapy …
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June 8, 2023

CMS' New Power

The Patient Access and Affordability Project, a program of Patients Rising, releases principles for CMS to harness the power of patients as the agency implements the Inflation Reduction Act; CMS is foregoing some of the norm…
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June 6, 2023

CMS Alzheimer's Decisions + No Data

Russ Paulsen, Chief Operating Officer for UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, explains how some recent coverage decisions from CMS are affecting thousands of patients a day; ACIP’s public comment period RSV vaccines is officially open; To…
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June 1, 2023

UHC Prior Authorization Changes

Dr. Bruce Hennessy, a gastroenterologist with the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, discusses UnitedHealthcare’s decision to require new prior authorization for 61 procedures, including colonoscopies. The Med…
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