Category: Insurance

How to “Lower Drug Prices” Without Lowering Drug Prices

rachelsachs Leave a comment

Yesterday, Alex Azar was sworn in as the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services. A key question is whether Azar will take action against high drug prices, and if so, what he will do. At his confirmation hearing, Azar stated clearly that “drug prices are too high.” And during Azar’s swearing-in ceremony, the President stated that Azar was “going to get those prescription drug prices way down.” But I’m skeptical that Secretary Azar will do much to address the problem in the near term.

To be clear, I’m skeptical for a host of reasons, none of which are necessarily reflective of Secretary Azar. Much like health care, drug pricing is complicated. HHS should (and will) worry about potential unintended consequences of drug pricing proposals, proceeding cautiously and taking concerns seriously. HHS’ ability to act may be limited without Congressional involvement, and Congress has thus far been unable to act on this issue. Other proposals may take years to develop or implement, leaving patients without relief in the interim.

As a former President of Eli Lilly, Secretary Azar understands the drug pricing system deeply. He’s absolutely right that “there’s not one action that all of a sudden fixes this.” But if Azar is under pressure to deliver drug pricing changes in the short term, I’d expect to see focus in three main areas. Here’s the problem, though: at least two of these would not necessarily lower drug prices individually or drug spending overall. They might well increase overall spending. Importantly, that may not be a bad thing (as I’ll explain). But they won’t hurt the bottom line of the drug companies the President believes are “getting away with murder,” and they may well bolster it. The third area may lower prices – but it wouldn’t be Azar’s accomplishment.

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Graduate Students, ACA Section 2714, and Medical Debt

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

Special guest post by Marissa Lawall 

Arguably the most popular provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), section 2714 (42 U.S.C. § 300gg-14) provides that individuals may stay on their parent’s insurance plan until they are twenty-six years of age. A 2013 Commonwealth Fund survey found 7.8 young adults gained new or better insurance through this ACA provision, and a repeat survey in 2016 found the uninsured rate for young adults, ages 19-34, dropped from 28% to 18%. On its face, it is difficult to find any harm caused by this provision. Healthy young people have insurance, despite continuing education or lack of gainful employment, and are presumably lowering costs by being in the risk pool. However, this provision can lead to unforeseen pitfalls, including medical debt, because of the way it interacts with the growing trend of increased cost sharing and narrow networks.  These trends acutely impact students in higher education, because students who study even a modest distance from their parents’ home are unlikely to have access to nearby “in-network” providers, and because students’ medical needs more often tend to come in the form of unexpected emergencies.  In this post, I will highlight my personal experience with Section 2714, as a graduate student, and explore policy and possibilities for reform.

An Emergency and a Choice: Applying Section 2714

Like many young adults, I remained on my parents’ insurance when I went to college. Specifically, I remained on my mom’s insurance because I was in law school and continue to be an advocate for the ACA program. But when my mom began a new job at a different hospital her insurance changed and so did the medical network. The only “in network” coverage was through the hospital that employed her, and that was hour and forty-five minutes away. I didn’t view this as an issue until the unexpected happened. Read More

Dystopian Memes on ‘The Week in Health Law’ Podcast

Nicolas P. Terry Leave a comment

By Nicolas Terry and Frank Pasquale

Subscribe to TWIHL here!

It’s a stormy healthcare landscape out there, so this show is all lightning round. We cover several areas:

Litigation: Nic provides the Ariadne’s thread through a labyrinthine pharma-tort judgment out of California. The metal on metal hip litigation has resulted in a big judgment, but medical device regulation is still fundamentally broken. Disgruntled Centene enrollees are suing the ACA insurer of last resort for ultra-narrow networks (and Washington state is not happy, either). Washington may lead the way for future narrow network regulation or consent decrees. We followed up on the duodenoscope superbug litigation saga, focusing on duties to translate foreign language emails in discovery.

Regulation: We discussed a crisis in long-term care, following up on last week’s discussion with Paul Osterman. Medicare is not making it any easier for many who qualify for help. We reviewed the new priorities of HHS’s Conscience Rights, er, Civil Rights Division (and potential responses to conscience claims). The rise of Medicaid work requirements is a hot topic, as Kentucky Governor Bevin imposed them last week. Read More

Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs) after Tax-Penalty Repeal

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By Aobo Dong

The passage of the Republican tax reform bill affects the health care industry in ways that might be confusing and unpredictable for tens of millions of Americans. Due to political rhetoric and inaccurate portrayal of the bill, it seems as if the Individual Mandate – an essential element in the ACA – has been fully repealed. Nonetheless, as Health Affairs rightly points out, Section 5000A still remains in the statute to require “minimal essential coverage” for all individuals. Therefore, although the tax bill repealed the tax penalty for not having insurance coverage, the law still technically mandates individuals to acquire health insurance. Moreover, the tax penalty repeal will not take effect until the 2019 tax year, so individuals who are uninsured for more than 2 months in the 2018 tax year may still be liable for paying the tax penalty, unless future laws and regulations, or an executive order from Trump, indicates otherwise.

Under the new regulatory landscape, what could be some potential repercussions for Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs)? These ministries, largely run by evangelical Christians who believe in the merit of private cost sharing, have been benefiting from the Individual Mandate since the inception of the ACA. Under Section 5000A, HCSM members are exempt from paying the tax penalty. The dearth of legal exemptions available and the widespread dislike of Obamacare among white evangelical communities in America likely fueled the rapid growth of HCSMs in recent years. Members pay their monthly “shares” to each other to cover health insurance expanses, without going through a central insurance or governmental agency for redistribution. Read More

Slightly Hazy: An Insurer’s Emergency Room Policy Draws Congressional Scrutiny

Oliver Kim Leave a comment

By Oliver Kim

Last year, I had the good fortune to present at the Petrie-Flom Center’s conference on transparency and I started with an anecdote about a congressman who decided to wait rather than take his son immediately to the emergency room after he injured himself. The congressman assumed his son only had a sprain, but he had actually broken his arm. So why the wait? Because of a difference in his co-pay. In an interview, the congressman argued for policies to push consumers to understand—and be exposed to— healthcare costs in order to make better decisions about their care: “Way too often, people pull out their insurance card and they say ‘I don’t know the difference or cost between an X-ray or an MRI or CT Scan.’ I might make a little different decision if I did know (what) some of those costs were and those costs came back to me.”

The congressman’s policy prescription is becoming reality: last year, the largest Blue Cross Blue Shield plan Anthem announced a new policy where it would deny coverage for care provided in an emergency room that was later deemed non-emergent (except in certain circumstances). It seems a far cry from simply charging an ER co-pay, but Anthem argues it has seen a rise in non-emergency care being provided in emergency rooms. How are patients supposed to know if the ache or pain they are experiencing is not an emergency? Apparently there is a spreadsheet of over 1,900 ailments that Anthem considers non-emergent.

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REGISTER NOW! Will Value-based Care Save the Health Care System?

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

Will Value-based Care Save the Health Care System?
March 2, 2018 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East ABC (2036)
Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA

Value-based health care is one of the most pressing topics in health care finance and policy today. Value-based payment structures are widely touted as critical to controlling runaway health care costs, but are often difficult for health care entities to incorporate into their existing infrastructures. Because value-based health care initiatives have bipartisan support, it is likely that these programs will continue to play a major role in both the public and private health insurance systems. As such, there is a pressing need to evaluate the implementation of these initiatives thus far and to discuss the direction that American health care financing will take in the coming years.

To explore this important issue, the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics is collaborating with Ropes & Gray LLP to host a one-day conference on value-based health care. This event will bring together scholars, health law practitioners, and health care entities to evaluate the impact of value-based health care on the American health care system.

This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and registration is required. Register now!

Sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund and Ropes & Gray LLP.

Limited Seats Still Available, Register Now! 12/12: Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

AGENDA NOW AVAILABLE: Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review imageHealth Law Year in P/Review
December 12, 2017 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East AB
Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA
Register for this event

The Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review symposium will feature leading experts discussing major developments during 2017 and what to watch out for in 2018. The discussion at this day-long event will cover hot topics in such areas as health policy under the new administration, regulatory issues in clinical research, law at the end-of-life, patient rights and advocacy, pharmaceutical policy, reproductive health, and public health law.

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REGISTER NOW (12/12)! Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

AGENDA NOW AVAILABLE: Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review imageHealth Law Year in P/Review
December 12, 2017 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East AB
Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA
Register for this event

The Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review symposium will feature leading experts discussing major developments during 2017 and what to watch out for in 2018. The discussion at this day-long event will cover hot topics in such areas as health policy under the new administration, regulatory issues in clinical research, law at the end-of-life, patient rights and advocacy, pharmaceutical policy, reproductive health, and public health law.

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REGISTER NOW (12/12)! Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

AGENDA NOW AVAILABLE: Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review imageHealth Law Year in P/Review
December 12, 2017 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East AB
Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA
Register for this event

The Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review symposium will feature leading experts discussing major developments during 2017 and what to watch out for in 2018. The discussion at this day-long event will cover hot topics in such areas as health policy under the new administration, regulatory issues in clinical research, law at the end-of-life, patient rights and advocacy, pharmaceutical policy, reproductive health, and public health law.

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The Cost of Medications: Current Realities and the Future of Pharmaceutical Pricing Regulations in the United States

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

The Cost of Medications: Current Realities and the Future of Pharmaceutical Pricing Regulations in the United States
October 4, 2017 12:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East B (2036)
Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA

From “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli to huge price jumps for the EpiPen to the Hepatitis C treatment that costs $1000 per pill, pharmaceutical pricing is a major issue in the news and in Washington. The regular introduction of new, often expensive therapeutics as well as controversial price increases for familiar drugs attract bipartisan attention and ensure that drug costs will remain an important topic of public policy debate.

This panel of experts will discuss current laws and regulations governing pharmaceutical pricing in the United States, the impact of breakthrough therapeutics on drug pricing, and the future of drug pricing policy in the United States.

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