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What We're Reading: Mylan Settlement; MS Pricing Probe; Iowa Insurer's Premium Rate Hike
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Mylan Reaches Settlement With Authorities
The Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Mylan over claims that the drug maker overcharged Medicaid for EpiPen products. According to The Wall Street Journal, Mylan will pay federal authorities $465 million. The company does not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The lawsuit stemmed from allegations that Mylan “misclassified EpiPen as a generic product, a move that cut the amount of rebates owed to Medicaid.” If the EpiPen had been classified as a brand name product, Medicaid would have been paid $1.27 billion more from 2006 to 2016.
Democrats Probe MS Drug Prices
House Democrats have launched an investigation into prices of drugs for multiple sclerosis, which have near quintupled since 2004. Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) sent a letter to 7 drug makers requesting information, reported Reuters. Representatives are trying to determine if drug makers are increasing prices alongside their competitors. In 2004 the average annual cost for multiple sclerosis therapy was $16,000, which rose to $78,000 in 2016.
Iowa’s ACA Insurer Requests Steep Price Hike
There is one insurer covering Iowa’s Affordable Care Act insurance market and it has requested to increase premiums by 57%. Medica, like other insurers, has cited the uncertainty around the future of the health law and whether or not the Trump administration will continue making cost-sharing reduction payments, according to The Hill. The rate request from Medica is a revision of its original request, which had been 13 percentage points lower in June.
