Radar on Drug Benefits

With abortion banned or on the verge of a ban in a growing number of states following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, medication abortion has become more important than ever for women and pregnant people seeking abortion care. Abortifacients, the class of prescription drug used to terminate pregnancies, can be used more discreetly than surgical abortions: they don’t require an in-person consultation and, since the start of the pandemic, have been dispensed online without medical risk to patients. 

However, experts say that the legal status of medication abortion is far from settled in states where abortion has been banned. Many patients haven’t heard that medication abortion is available, and women and pregnant people who do use abortifacients — or suffer a miscarriage — could face prosecution in states where abortion has been banned. It’s not clear what sort of criminal or civil risk providers, purchasers and carriers will bear if their patients and plan members use abortifacients prescribed across state lines. 

UnitedHealth Group announced on July 15 that it would eliminate out-of-pocket costs for insulin and a few other medications for beneficiaries enrolled in fully insured plans. The managed care organization expects to implement the changes starting as early as Jan. 1, 2023, pending regulatory approval. 

Health and drug policy experts who spoke with AIS Health, a division of MMIT, applauded UnitedHealth’s decision, and noted it would benefit patients who struggle to pay for medications and increase adherence. They also said the move could help United financially, as members are more likely to stay out of the hospital and have better long-term health, but they said it could lead to higher premiums for employers and employees. UnitedHealth did not respond to AIS Health’s request for comment on how the company would foot the bill for implementing the zero cost-share policy. 

Pharmacists and other non-physician care managers can improve the quality of diabetes care in the primary care setting, but structural issues make it difficult to fully leverage their potential, according to research published in the July issue of the journal Health Affairs.  

“We need to have a different way of taking care of people with a chronic illness,” said Thomas Bodenheimer, a professor emeritus of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who spoke at a Health Affairs briefing on July 19. The briefing convened several researchers who published diabetes-focused articles in the journal’s July issue. 

Spending in the U.S. on medicines increased by 12% in 2021, primarily because of COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, according to the IQVIA Institute’s annual report on drug trends. The report also found that “Despite an increase in overall spending, costs per prescription on average are flat or slightly declining. Prescription drug use reached a record 194Bn daily doses in 2021 as new prescription starts for both chronic and acute care recovered from the slowdown recorded in 2020…[but] spending on medicines is expected to return to pre-pandemic growth trend lines by 2023.” 

A federal appeals court on July 25 held that a Pfizer Inc. coupon program violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Pfizer offering copay assistance to Medicare beneficiaries was illegal under the statue. AHIP applauded the ruling, arguing that “By upholding these protections, the courts have taken an important step to protect Americans from what would otherwise be an unchecked multi-billion-dollar price tag that would make coverage and care less affordable for everyone.”