Tampa General sues Eli Lilly over pulled 340B discounts
Ella Jeffries / beckershospitalreview - Tampa General (Fla.) Hospital has sued Eli Lilly and Lilly USA, alleging the drugmaker’s decision to cut off the hospital’s 340B pricing access violates Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. According to the July 2 complaint, filed in the U.…
AI Summary: Tampa General Hospital has filed suit against Eli Lilly after the company suspended discounts tied to the 340B drug-pricing program, alleging the move harmed hospitals that rely on those savings to fund patient care. The litigation highlights ongoing tensions over manufacturer discount policies and financial pressures on safety-net providers.
Thousands of Medicare Beneficiaries Thought Their Drug Plan Was Free. Then They Lost It.
Susan Jaffe / kffhealthnews - Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year — and didn’t know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can’t get it again …
AI Summary: Investigations reveal that many Medicare beneficiaries who believed their drug coverage was free later discovered they had lost benefits, often because of plan changes or confusing enrollment processes. The situation exposed gaps in consumer communication and program oversight, prompting calls for clearer disclosures and stronger safeguards to prevent future coverage surprises.
Evernorth unveils new AI-powered specialty pharmacy program, Pharmacy Forward
fiercehealthcare - Evernorth has unveiled a new specialty pharmacy program that leans on AI to support a better experience for patients with complex conditions.
AI Summary: Evernorth announced a $100 million investment to roll out an AI‑driven specialty pharmacy program designed to streamline specialty drug management, improve medication access, and optimize operations. The program blends automation and data analytics to cut friction in high‑cost therapies — promising efficiency gains if the tech behaves, which is always the question.
Orca Bio Cell Therapy Gets Landmark FDA Nod for New Kind of Living Medicine
Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - FDA approval of Orca Bio’s Tregzi makes it the first cell therapy based on regulatory T cells, or Tregs. Clinical trial results showed reduced risk of graft-versus-host disease, a common complication of the allogeneic stem cell transplants that are a stan…
AI Summary: Orca Bio’s off‑the‑shelf allogeneic cell therapy received FDA approval, marking a milestone for engineered living medicines. Regulators cleared the product after pivotal efficacy and manufacturing data, offering broader access to cellular therapy but spotlighting cost, supply logistics and the need for robust post‑market safety surveillance.
Cancer drug shortage renews calls for federal action
medicalxpress - Cancer doctors across the United States are running short of essential generic chemotherapy drugs, and some fear the squeeze could force widespread rationing, The New York Times reported.
AI Summary: Hospitals and oncology clinics are facing critical shortages of key chemotherapy agents, forcing clinicians to consider rationing or alternative regimens. The supply squeeze has reignited demands for federal intervention, supply‑chain fixes, and clearer contingency plans to protect patients who can’t exactly wait for bureaucratic miracles.
A Bridge to Nowhere? Medicare’s GLP-1 Coverage Expansion Requires A More Holistic Approach To Weight Management
Sandeep Palakodeti / medcitynews - For seniors, the change in policy will dramatically expand access to a revolutionary medication. But there are also significant risks.The post A Bridge to Nowhere? Medicare’s GLP-1 Coverage Expansion Requires A More Holistic Approach To Weight Management …
AI Summary: Medicare’s planned GLP‑1 coverage “bridge” has kicked off a scramble: policy analysts warn a narrow drug‑centric approach won’t fix weight management, while major retailers are rolling out programs and partnerships to plug access gaps. Expect patchwork solutions, eager pharmacies, and a chorus asking for a more holistic long‑term plan.
- Clinical risks and long-term effectiveness debate (5)
- Medicare Bridge rollout, eligibility and cost questions (5)
- Online prescribing, oversight and soaring GLP‑1 use (4)
- Retailers, pharmacies and manufacturers rush to plug access gaps (4)
- All Other Stories
Clinical risks and long-term effectiveness debate
Medicare Bridge rollout, eligibility and cost questions
Online prescribing, oversight and soaring GLP‑1 use
Retailers, pharmacies and manufacturers rush to plug access gaps
All Other Stories
As PBM industry shifts, LucyRx and Abarca Health merge to build scale
fiercehealthcare - Amid significant shifts in the pharmacy benefit management industry, LucyRx and Abarca Health have revealed plans to merge to build the scale necessary to compete in this changing landscape.
AI Summary: Two independent pharmacy benefit managers, LucyRx and Abarca Health, announced a combination to build scale amid industry consolidation. The deal aims to bolster negotiating leverage, broaden client reach and offer an alternative to dominant PBMs—because apparently one disruptor wasn’t enough to disrupt the disruptors.
Hospitals Cry Foul After Eli Lilly Withholds 340B Discounts
Katie Adams / medcitynews - Eli Lilly made good on its threat to withhold 340B drug discounts from hospitals that refused to submit claims data. Hospital groups are calling the policy unlawful, arguing that the company has no legal authority to create its own compliance requirements…
AI Summary: Eli Lilly has begun denying 340B program discounts to participating hospitals after issuing an ultimatum, prompting sharp criticism from safety-net providers. Hospitals say the move will squeeze margins and threaten patient access to affordable medicines. The dispute centers on manufacturer discount eligibility and contract terms as providers scramble to quantify the financial hit.
- Federal 340B reforms and CMS payment proposals (3)
- Hospitals protest Lilly denying 340B discounts (4)
- Legal rulings and stakeholder reactions to 340B fight (3)
Federal 340B reforms and CMS payment proposals
Hospitals protest Lilly denying 340B discounts
Legal rulings and stakeholder reactions to 340B fight
UnitedHealth, FTC reach proposed settlement in insulin case
Emily Olsen / healthcaredive - The tentative deal comes months after CVS Health reached a proposed settlement in the lawsuit alleging major pharmacy benefit managers are inflating insulin costs.
AI Summary: UnitedHealth/Optum Rx reached a proposed settlement with the FTC over alleged anti-competitive insulin rebate and pricing practices, including terms to resolve claims that rebates harmed competition and patients. The agreement would curb disputed pharmacy benefit manager conduct and could reshape how insulin discounts are negotiated and passed through to consumers.
Healthcare costs poised to jump 9% in 2027 as health plans blame AI adoption, drug prices
fiercehealthcare - Health plans are projecting the highest medical cost trend in nearly two decades in 2027 with commercial health costs expected to rise 9%, according to a new analysis from PwC.
AI Summary: Health plans are sounding the alarm that next year's healthcare bills will spike about 9%, blaming rapid AI adoption and rising drug prices for the squeeze. Insurers argue technology-driven utilization and expensive therapies are colliding with fragile margins, pushing premiums and plan costs higher unless payers and providers curb spending or demand price relief.
Eli Lilly's ultimatum to hospitals: Send 340B claims data by June 1 or lose discounts
fiercehealthcare - The drugmaker has issued a June 1 ultimatum to an unspecified number of hospitals that have resisted a data submission policy it implemented in February. Furious hospital industry groups are pushing back, calling the decision unlawful and urging the admin…
AI Summary: Eli Lilly has given hospitals an ultimatum: submit 340B claims data within a tight deadline or lose drug discounts. The move pressures health systems to comply quickly, raising questions about administrative burden, data-sharing logistics and potential financial strain for safety-net providers that rely on the program’s savings.
CVS sues to challenge new Tennessee PBM-pharmacy breakup law
Rebecca Pifer Parduhn / healthcaredive - The law, which would prohibit PBM conglomerates from owning or operating pharmacies, illegally boots out-of-state companies from Tennessee’s pharmacy market, CVS argued in suit filed Friday.
AI Summary: CVS Health has filed suit challenging Tennessee's new law that bars pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies, arguing the measure unlawfully disrupts established business models and harms patient access. The company seeks to block enforcement while the legal fight plays out, setting up a clash between state regulators and a major healthcare middleman.
BeOne’s next-gen BCL2 inhibitor wins FDA approval, taking aim at Venclexta
Ayisha Sharma / endpoints - BeOne Medicines has clinched US accelerated approval for its drug sonrotoclax in a rare but aggressive form of blood cancer, where AbbVie and Genentech’s Venclexta is used off-label. The FDA greenlit ...
AI Summary: BeOne Medicines secured FDA approval for a next-generation BCL2 inhibitor, positioning the drug as a direct challenge to AbbVie/Roche’s Venclexta franchise. The move reshuffles competitive dynamics in hematology, potentially offering clinicians an alternative and setting the stage for market share battles and payer negotiations. Expect aggressive positioning and head-to-head data requests.
Optum Rx unveils new transparent PBM model
fiercehealthcare - UnitedHealth Group's pharmacy benefit manager, Optum Rx, is making the shift to a more transparent model, the company announced Monday.
AI Summary: Optum Rx unveiled a new pharmacy benefit model that separates drug list prices from PBM fees and adopts clearer pass‑through pricing. Aimed at employers and payers fed up with opaque pharmacy economics, the proposal promises simpler contracts and fee clarity — an attempt to make PBMs boringly accountable and maybe slightly less profitable.
- Industry responses to rising drug costs and PBM models (4)
- Lawmakers and states press PBM vertical-integration reform (4)
- Optum Rx unveils transparent PBM model (4)
- All Other Stories
Industry responses to rising drug costs and PBM models
Lawmakers and states press PBM vertical-integration reform
Optum Rx unveils transparent PBM model
All Other Stories
A new Medicare option for weight loss drugs is coming: Here's what to know
Jackie Fortiér / npr - Millions of people with Medicare will soon be eligible to get discounted GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Here's how it will work.
AI Summary: Medicare is introducing a new option to expand access to weight‑loss medications for older Americans, outlining eligibility, coverage mechanics and likely impacts on beneficiaries and budgets. The guidance aims to help clinicians and patients navigate coverage decisions and prepares stakeholders for shifts in prescribing patterns and costs as demand for GLP‑1 class drugs remains high.
- Competition, dosing and long-term weight strategies (4)
- Efficacy and safety of GLP‑1s in older adults (3)
- Medicare expansion and coverage landscape (3)
- All Other Stories
Competition, dosing and long-term weight strategies
Efficacy and safety of GLP‑1s in older adults
Medicare expansion and coverage landscape
All Other Stories
FDA approves 1st 2-drug HIV treatment
Ella Jeffries / beckershospitalreview - The FDA has approved Merck’s once-daily, two-drug regimen for adults with virologically suppressed HIV-1. The treatment combines 100 mg doravirine and 0.25 mg islatravir and is indicated for patients with no history of virologic treatment failure and no k…
AI Summary: The FDA has approved Merck’s once‑daily two‑drug antiretroviral regimen, marking a notable market entrant poised to compete with established single‑pill therapies. Regulators cleared the novel combination on efficacy and safety data, setting up potential shifts in prescribing, pricing and competition — and giving Gilead something new to grumble about.
CMS delays Part D GLP-1 model amid skepticism from insurers
fiercehealthcare - The Trump administration is delaying a voluntary model that aimed to expand access to GLP-1s in Part D after pushback from insurers.
AI Summary: Federal regulators have paused a Medicare Part D pilot to expand coverage for GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs amid payer skepticism and implementation concerns. The delay reflects worries about cost, program design and insurer buy‑in, forcing policymakers to revisit the model while patients and providers wait for clarity on whether Medicare will shoulder these high‑price therapies.
- CMS pauses Medicare GLP‑1 BALANCE pilot amid insurer pushback (4)
- Researchers chase GLP‑1 benefits, from gene therapy to Alzheimer’s (6)
- Telehealth and clinics scale GLP‑1 access, delivery and monitoring (3)
- All Other Stories
CMS pauses Medicare GLP‑1 BALANCE pilot amid insurer pushback
Researchers chase GLP‑1 benefits, from gene therapy to Alzheimer’s
Telehealth and clinics scale GLP‑1 access, delivery and monitoring
All Other Stories
340B drug discounts are drifting from patients to profit, and reform is now on the table
medicalxpress - The 340B Drug Pricing Program must be reformed to better patient health and disincentivize institutional profit-seeking behaviors, says the American College of Physicians (ACP). In a new policy, "Reforming 340B to Promote Program Integrity and Better Serv…
AI Summary: The 340B drug-discount program is under renewed scrutiny after analyses and advocacy groups argue discounts intended to help patients are instead boosting institutional margins. Hospitals, provider groups and the AHA are contesting HRSA proposals and court rulings, sparking policy debates and potential regulatory fixes to curb markups and steer savings back to vulnerable patients.
FDA approves Travere's Filspari as first drug for the kidney disease called FSGS
Nicole DeFeudis / endpoints - The FDA expanded the label for Filspari on Monday to add another kidney condition. The drug is now the first therapy approved in the US for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The pill may be taken ...
AI Summary: The FDA approved Filspari for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), delivering the first specifically authorized treatment for this rare kidney disease. The approval provides a targeted therapeutic option for patients and marks a commercial milestone for Travere, raising hopes for better outcomes while spotlighting questions about access, pricing, and long‑term real‑world effectiveness.
New Bill Seeks to Lower Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs
Marissa Plescia / medcitynews - Rep. Greg Murphy introduced a bill that would require out-of-pocket prescription drug spending to count toward patients’ deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums regardless of where the drugs are purchased.The post New Bill Seeks to Lower Out-of-Pocket Drug…
AI Summary: Lawmakers introduced legislation to reduce out‑of‑pocket drug costs by allowing patients' direct drug purchases to count toward their insurance deductibles. The proposal aims to ease financial strain for people buying costly medications out‑of‑pocket, but would require insurers and pharmacy systems to change longstanding accounting and benefits practices.