Lower Drug Prices Get an Assist From a Big Player

Express Scripts Holding Co. and other pharmacy-benefit managers make money by negotiating drug prices on behalf of health-plan providers. The list prices that pharmaceutical companies set for their drugs diverge wildly from their real cost, and PBMs widen and feast on the gap, which helps make them some of the principal beneficiaries of America’s byzantine pricing system.

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Buyers Of Short-Term Health Plans: Wise Or Shortsighted?

Supporters of the nation’s health law condemn them. A few states, including California and New York, have banned them. Other states limit them.

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From Rising Drug Prices to Mobile Clinics, 8 Key Healthcare Trends to Watch

Access to high-quality healthcare was a recurring theme last week at the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ annual conference in Washington, D.C. 

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Lack of Competition Leads to Higher ACA Plan Premiums in Rural Areas

The lower premiums in urban areas were partially connected to more competition among plans and providers. Having more plans also means they can spread the financial risk rather than having one or two payers shoulder all of it, leading to lower premiums.

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Playing On Fear And Fun, Hospitals Follow Pharma In Direct-To-Consumer Advertising

The scene is shadowy, and the background music foreboding. On the TV screen, a stream of beleaguered humans stand in an unending line.

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Primary Care Physician Visits Drop Among Patients with Employer Plans

NPs and PAs have recently taken on a larger role in primary care. Health experts say those roles will help fill primary care gaps in the coming years with physician shortages expected.

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Waiting on 2 States, CVS Delays Aetna Deal Closing Until After Thanksgiving

CVS expects to close its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna after the Thanksgiving holiday. 

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Gov.Elect Gavin Newsom Names Former Clinton Advisor His Chief of Staff

Moving swiftly to fill the highest-ranking member of his nascent administration, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom tapped Ann O’Leary, a longtime policy advisor to Hillary Clinton, to serve as his chief of staff and a leader of the transition team this fall.

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Dems Get Full Supermajority

Melissa Hurtado was confident she could unseat State Sen. Andy Vidak, R-Hanford.

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Democrats Won a Mandate on Health Care. How Will They Use It?

After House Democrats’ election triumph, Nancy Pelosi’s appraisal was clear: “Health care was on the ballot, and health care won.”

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