So MN is moving forward with suits against all three insulin manufacturers. The state believes that they will get sued in return if they impose legislation on what can be charged, but they are moving ahead anyway. Its interesting. 1st state to do this. NY, TN considering joining them. Its an antitrust lawsuit.
Insurers have self imposed $25 OTC caps on co payments. Combined Calendar - Minnesota Legislature
Thanks for posting this. I didn’t realize that Keith Ellison is now the Attorney General of Minnesota. I notice that this meeting scheduled for yesterday was cancelled. Any back-story there? I can only hope that efforts like this will punch through and bring this insulin price mania back to levels seen in the rest of the world.
Great that they are doing something! I just fear this will get tied up in the courts for years before their efforts bear fruit.
I think if a bunch of states join the lawsuit or start their own, big pharma might knuckle. It will take them a lot to knuckle though as it is worth big bucks to them.
I honestly think some of the price increases were set with it in mind that now they can claim to lower them and they will still collect what they were years ago. So it’s a win but not the huge win that will be publicized as a win.
It’s kind of like when a store gets in a product for a holiday and puts it out at full price for a week so they can advertise it now on sale at the price they wanted to sell it at all along. But see it’s on sale, come and buy it!
I’m sure with the advent of all the new insulins and all the type 1’s who have to have it, the type 2’s that also need it and the type 2’s it potentially could help, that it is looked at as a future big buck money maker. Some of us have to have it, but you can start an easy big demand by marketing it as a solve. So lots of future money making potential out there.
Oh, woops. It wasn’t actually cancelled, Terry. I was there. It was long. People did crossword puzzles. I took some notes. They brought in the non-profit insurers like Medica. Their groundbreaking data analytics showed that allowing patients access to insulin actually decreases costs due to ER visits. Duh.
The hold up last session was who should pay for the Emergency Insulin Act. They might call a special session on it. They are not in session yet, but somehow got both parties on board with this. They are gonna have the insulin manufacturers pay since they claim that all other parties are playing nice. The manufactures are making them mad. But, that might be due, in part, to the fact that Lori Swanson filed suit against them shortly before leaving office. That was this time last year.
Someone I know is at a conference today with one of the big insurers. Thinks coupons are gonna be a bigger thing. They like coupons more than copays. Think they get paid more reliably that way.
News from the Mayo is this:
The Mayo announced about a year ago that they would start manufacturing their own drugs in Utah. The guy who spoke today is probably the guy from the Governor’s Rx Drug Task Force. He works for the U of MN and Mayo and is a Cancer Doc. His academic special interest is Rx Drug markets.
He says that people with Cancer have the most expensive drugs in the world and that’s what got him interested. Mayo is manufacturing 17 generic drugs. Some include anti-rejection drugs that people take after organ transplants.
They say they have had difficulty getting access to those in particular.
But, also an antibiotic that treats hospital based MRSA infection.
They only just announced this initiative one year ago. They gave their first patients one of their drugs today. They expect it to hit the press soon. Fascinating.
He’s been helping us with the insulin stuff. Rock on with your bad selves, Mayo Clinic!!!
