On December 6, ATAP Chair Dr. Robert Levin testified before the Florida House Health and Innovation Subcommittee on the impact deceptive PBM practices have on patient care. “I went to medical school… I know what the patient has and what’s best for my patient. Unfortunately, the decision-making of what prescriptions are available for our patients has been taken out of my hands,” he said. “The patients are expecting that I’m looking out for them…and [I’m] not having some third-party looking over my shoulder telling me what to do.”
Read MoreIn a letter submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP) urged the agency to address the increasingly harmful role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the prescription drug delivery system.
Read MoreWe urge Congress to encourage CMS to adopt a policy requiring sponsors to include price concessions at the point of sale for Medicare beneficiaries.
Read MoreToday, the North Carolina Rheumatology Association (NCRA) and the U.S. Pain Foundation became the newest members of the Alliance for Transparent & Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP), a coalition of provider and patient groups concerned about the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) driving up drug costs.
Read MoreBy Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP
With 5 rheumatology biosimilars already approved by the FDA, and dozens more in the pipeline, the landscape of the rheumatology drug market is on the cusp of a major shift. Biosimilars were created to bring notoriously expensive biologic drugs to patients at lower prices. In theory, they increase access to life-changing, even life-saving, treatments. As a practicing rheumatologist in downtown Washington, DC, I observe firsthand the power of biologics to bring relief to patients suffering from crippling diseases of the joints.
Among one of the most pressing issues in American politics is prescription drug costs, and for good reason. Even patients with insurance are being forced to pay more out of pocket for their prescriptions. As the American health care system gets more complex and convoluted, solving this problem is becoming more difficult. One reason for this is the drug industry’s hidden middlemen — pharmacy benefit managers.
Read MoreThe Association of Women in Rheumatology (AWIR), National Organization of Rheumatology Managers (NORM), and Rheumatology Nurses Society (RNS) announced today that they have joined the Alliance for Transparent & Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP), a coalition of provider and patient groups concerned about the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in driving up drug costs.
Read MoreThe Florida Society of Rheumatology, New York State Rheumatology Society, and California Rheumatology Alliance today became the newest members of the Alliance for Transparent & Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP), a new coalition of provider and patient groups concerned about the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in driving up drug costs.
Read MoreHealth leaders today announced the launch of the Alliance for Transparent & Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP), a coalition of provider and patient groups concerned about the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) driving up drug costs.
Read MoreBy Dr. Robert Levin, President of the Florida Society of Rheumatology
Over my 28 years as a practicing rheumatologist, I have progressively been denied my authority to prescribe the best medicines for my patients.The problem is a process called “step therapy,” which allows insurance plans to force physicians to prescribe less effective – and cheaper – drugs before they can use the medications they had in mind all along. This is a bad idea, and the Florida Legislature should correct it immediately.