STAT+: Pharmalittle: Amazon Pharmacy offers insulin discounts; DOJ blasts industry attempt to delay Medicare drug-price talks
Amazon Pharmacy will begin automatically applying manufacturer coupons to more than 14 insulin products.
Hello, everyone, and how are you today? A steely gray sky is hovering this morning over the Pharmalot campus, where the short person has departed for an institution of higher learning and the official mascots have begun their hours-long snoozing. As for us, we are foraging for interesting stories and quaffing cups of stimulation, as you might have guessed. Our choice today is maple bourbon. And you? Is your schedule filled with meetings and deadlines and what-not? To help you along, here are some tidbits. Hope you conquer the world, and do keep us in mind when you see something fascinating. …
Amazon Pharmacy will begin automatically applying manufacturer coupons to more than 14 commonly used insulin products to ease consumer purchases, and if insurance plans provide additional discounts, the company says consumers will pay even less, USA Today says. In March, three dominant insulin makers — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi — announced they would slash prices by 70% or more on their products after facing consumer and political pressure. But a report from three Democratic senators found consumers had trouble getting discounted insulin from pharmacies nationwide and were often charged more than what the drug manufacturers promised.
The U.S. Department of Justice lambasted a request by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for an injunction to block the Medicare drug price negotiation program, arguing in court filings that the organization had no standing to file the lawsuit and that pausing the program would harm the public, The Hill notes. The rebuttal comes weeks before the federal government is expected to choose the first 10 drugs for negotiation. The Chamber claims the negotiation program would inflict “irreparable harm” on U.S. businesses and patients. The DOJ pushed back, pointing out companies will not feel the impact of negotiated prices until at least 2026 and saying the case could be “fully litigated” by then.
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