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September 7, 2021 Coronavirus

This crisis was avoidable. By showing no sense of urgency to approve COVID-19 shots for children under 12, the Food and Drug Administration has left children vulnerable — not just to the virus but to the emotional and social harm caused by missing in-person interactions with their teachers and peers. The shots could have been approved by now if not for the FDA's decision last month to require six months of clinical trial data on the effect of Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's COVID-19 shots...

September 2, 2021 Coronavirus

The United States is not coping well with the current surge of COVID-19 infections. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations nationwide surpassed 100,000 last week for only the second time in the pandemic, overwhelming caregiver capacity in several states. The worst situation is in intensive care units , which care for the sickest patients with highly specialized medical staff who are in short supply and are becoming progressively burned out as the pandemic drags on. The result is that in many parts of the country, patients needing to be...

September 2, 2021 Industry Trends

The Congressional Budget Office just released an analysis of House Democrats' effort to impose price controls on prescription drugs, H.R. 3 -- the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. The CBO's chief finding is grim. By drastically limiting pharmaceutical revenue, H.R. 3 would starve scientists of the funding they need to research and develop new medicines. The result is that dozens of treatments and cures -- therapies that could save and enhance people's lives -- would never be invented. In other words, Democrats are...

August 24, 2021 Issues, Multimedia, Value

Watch Dr. Wayne Winegarden, director of PRI’s Center for Medical Economics and Innovation, discuss his recent study showing how a two-part drug pricing system would ensure prices more accurately reflect how patients value drugs with Scripps National News. The report aired on 60 television stations in 42 markets across the country reaching 31% of U.S. TV households. https://youtu.be/AK1CIGa-w5c...

August 20, 2021 Innovation, Issues

The study of genetics has always been an attempt to understand our biologically determined fate. Many of us know of families with a predisposition to maladies like heart disease or breast cancer. There are many kinds of interventions that can modulate the effects of our genetic endowment, whether directly (as in highly sophisticated gene therapy for genetic diseases) or pharmaceutical treatments, such as human growth hormone for growth hormone deficiency. But even when such targeted interventions aren't possible, we can modulate...

August 19, 2021 Price and Costs

"Everyday low prices" are coming to health care. Walmart recently launched its own private-label analog insulin, a synthetic form of the hormone that's been genetically modified to be released rapidly or slowly, depending on a per- son's needs. It will be manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk – but costs 75% less than brand-name analog insulin. The deal is obviously good for people with diabetes, who have long clamored for more affordable insulin. And Wal- mart and Novo Nordisk wouldn't have...

August 19, 2021 Industry Trends

President Joe Biden has finally figured out how to get Americans onto the Obamacare exchanges — by paying them. The administration recently congratulated itself after 2.5 million Americans signed up for plans through the government-run marketplaces during a newly created Special Enrollment Period that closed August 15. But these figures don't reflect newfound enthusiasm for Obamacare. The numbers are the result of more generous federal subsidies enacted in April as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Through next year, those who make more than 400% of the poverty level, or...

August 19, 2021 Coronavirus, Issues

By Henry I. Miller, M.S., M.D. and Sheeva Azma, MS In spite of the wide availability of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines, only about half of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated. Partly as a result of that "vaccine hesitancy," the United States is experiencing a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, with over 160,000 on August 18th, more than an order of magnitude higher than in mid-June. Deaths, a lagging indicator, have more than doubled since mid-July. Hospitals and healthcare providers in the...

August 16, 2021 Industry Trends

Medical devices are something of an orphan sister to the glamour of drugs, but they include some of the genuine miracles of modern medicine, particularly for seniors: Pacemakers, artificial joints, insulin pumps, and CT, MRI, and radiotherapy machines are just a few examples. The United States is currently the global leader in medical device innovation, and it is one of the few major industries that both boasts a net trade surplus and is a job creator. The sector employs 400,000...

August 16, 2021 Coronavirus

On September 14, the people of California will have the chance—in a recall election—to oust Governor Gavin Newsom. His record over his more than two and a half years in power is checkered. Nowhere is that clearer than on health policy. Early in the pandemic, Newsom instituted some of America's most draconian policies: shutting down schools, shuttering business, and essentially locking people in their homes. What good did that do the people of California? The state has experienced over 4 million cases of COVID-19 and...

August 16, 2021 Price and Costs

Imagine you’re in the market for a new car. You go to the dealership, take a few models out for a test drive, and ultimately choose the one that has the features and driving experience you’re looking for. But now imagine that there’s no sticker price. You just tell the salesperson you’ll take it — and silently pray that it’s not too expensive. You’ll find out how much you owe in a few weeks, when the bill comes in the mail. Of...

August 13, 2021 Coronavirus-Alternate2

Demonstrators in 50 cities across the country took the streets last month to demand a government takeover of America's health system. The Democrats who control Washington are trying to give those activists what they're asking for, albeit in piecemeal fashion. In recent weeks, they've proposed lowering Medicare's eligibility age and adding dental, vision and hearing benefits to the entitlement. Democrats in Congress have also offered a plan to provide federally funded health coverage to low-income people in the 12 states that have yet to adopt Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. This drive to...

August 10, 2021 Industry Trends

The Senate is poised, on Tuesday, to pass a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. According to the latest estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, the new spending will increase the deficit by over $250 billion. The 2,700-page bill appropriates an avalanche of funding for everything from electric vehicle charging stations to public transit systems. It also includes a "Buy American" provision that requires government agencies to purchase masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment from domestic companies. Such protectionist policies are...

August 10, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

Dr. Henry Miller joins the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show to discuss the "swiss cheese" approach to testing, screening, and treating COVID-19 and the impact to civil liberties. Miller and Larson debate the balance needed to react to COVID-19 and the moving target by public health officials. Lars Larson National Podcast · Lars Larson National Podcast 08-03-21...

August 9, 2021 Coronavirus

America’s vaccination campaign has stalled, even as COVID-19 infections soar due to the delta variant. As of Aug. 2, only 49.7% of the population is fully vaccinated, barely up from the 46.7% in late June. Providers are now administering about 650,000 shots a day, on average, compared to 3.3 million a day during mid-April. The Biden administration, desperate to pick up the pace, is now mandating shots for federal employees and getting behind mask mandates once again. Curiously absent from the administration’s...

August 5, 2021 Industry Trends

Demonstrators in 50 cities across the country took the streets last month to demand a government takeover of America's health system. The Democrats who control Washington are trying to give those activists what they're asking for, albeit in piecemeal fashion. In recent weeks, they've proposed lowering Medicare's eligibility age and adding dental, vision and hearing benefits to the entitlement. Democrats in Congress have also offered a plan to provide federally funded health coverage to low-income people in the 12 states that have yet to adopt Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. This drive to...

August 3, 2021 Briefs, Price and Costs, Studies, Value

Establishing a two-part drug pricing system quantifying separate values for a drug’s innovation and production would create an efficient market and a more accurate reflection of how patients value a drug compared to those produced by centralized organizations, argues a new report released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the Pacific Research Institute. Click to download “Establishing a Two-Part Drug Pricing System to Promote Value-Based Pricing and Innovation” “Some policymakers assume that only a centralized agency can determine...

July 30, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

Each of the measures shown in the figure here--the "Swiss cheese model of prevention"--lowers the probability that an infectious dose of virus will find its way to your respiratory tract and, if it does, will actually cause an infection. Also, depending on the effectiveness and extent of vaccine administration, vaccination could make some of the other interventions superfluous. Such strategies are the essence of preventive medicine. Many of us take drugs to lower our cholesterol levels or blood pressure to reduce the...