On March 8, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), penned a blog which pointed out a harmful and major change to Medicare Part D that will cost pharmaceutical manufacturers far more than anticipated: $4.1 billion over 10 years, a 53 percent increase from the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) original score. Some may think whacking pharmaceutical manufacturers […]
Adieu Paris – One Year Later
One year ago, on June 1, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty, or the Paris Accord. The significance of this wise and correct decision still rings true today. President Trump’s action removed the U.S. from an unrealistic goal of reducing carbon emissions that would have cost […]
President Trump’s Blueprint to Lower Drug Costs: A Lot to Unpack
On Friday, May 11, President Trump released his report on what his administration will do to lower drug costs.
President Trump’s Drug Costs Proposals Coming Soon
The President has already made some good policy decisions and has offered other proposals that will help to lower drug costs.
FDA Study on BPA: Nothing’s Changed Since February
You may recall a March 5, WasteWatcher blog, “New FDA Report on BPA: It is Still Safe,” which discussed a pre-peer review draft study released by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) on bisphenol A (BPA), a compound used to produce plastic products and epoxy resins used in food and beverage can linings. The study, two-years […]
EPA to Implement Transparency Requirements for Scientific Studies: It’s About Time
The rule will “ensure that the regulatory science underlying agency actions is fully transparent, and that underlying scientific information is publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent validation.”
The Fourth Circuit Was Right to Reject Price Controls for Generic Drugs
This prudent decision will send a strong message to other state legislatures across the country not to pursue similar legislation.
Obamacare is Bringing BIG Changes
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is bringing many changes in the healthcare space and few are as subtly transformative as the rapid increase in cross-industry consolidation. A record breaking 115 mergers and acquisitions among hospitals and health systems occurred in 2017, an increase of 13 percent from 2016. These mega-deals can […]
Stealing Patents Won’t Bring Down Drug Costs
On February 15, 2018, 18 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, asking him to use his authority under 28 U.S.C. §1498 to issue a compulsory license on patents for drugs that treat hepatitis C. In other words, they are demanding that the government steal a […]
Any Willing Pharmacy – Not as Good as it Sounds
On November 28, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule that would revise Medicare Part D, the prescription drug program. The proposal dredges up the “any willing pharmacy” issue that would require any Part D plan sponsor, such as an insurer or a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), to allow […]



