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Medicare to start negotiating prices for 10 drugs in 2024

Dec 29, 2023
But drug companies are trying to stymie the effort with a raft of lawsuits.
Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices will apply to just 10 medications for now, including treatments for heart disease and diabetes.
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Why do pharmaceutical companies give away some expensive drugs for free?

Mar 31, 2023
Some offer patient assistance programs, where people can access drugs for free, or cheaper than they would normally pay.
Patient assistance programs might provide much needed relief for patients on an individual level, but they can end up costing health insurers more money.
PAUL J. RICHARDS / Staff

Biden pressed to support intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines

Nov 26, 2021
Advocates say a waiver is "a moral imperative" to help make vaccines readily available worldwide.
In a letter, more than 15 countries called an emergency intellectual property waiver for COVID vaccines “a moral imperative."
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COVID vaccines are prepared at a clinic on August 04, 2021 in Ferguson, Missouri.
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Trump turns attention to health care with executive orders he says will lower drug prices

The president is expected to meet with pharmaceutical industry executives, who are opposed to the changes, on Tuesday.
Among the orders is allowing the importation of cheaper drugs from other countries, and requiring drug rebates paid to insurers and others to get passed down to patients.
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The relationship between drug companies and jails

Jan 9, 2020
Incarcerated people form a large market for pharmaceutical companies. The ethics of that relationship can be complicated.
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Companies reach $260 million deal to settle opioids lawsuit

Oct 21, 2019
The nation’s three dominant drug distributors and a big drugmaker have reached a $260 million deal to settle an opioid crisis lawsuit just as the first federal trial over the crisis was due to begin.
Pill Man, a skeleton made from Frank Huntley's oxycontin and methadone prescription bottles, is seen on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House August 30, 2019, in Washington, DC.
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Johnson & Johnson hit with $572 million opioid ruling — what happens now?

Johnson & Johnson is appealing the decision, which could be the first of many legal battles.
A judge has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million in connection with the opioid crisis in Oklahoma.
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Another pharma megamerger: AbbVie buys Allergan for $63 billion

Jun 25, 2019
Both companies are under pressure to improve their performance.
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Congress to examine drug price hikes

Jan 29, 2019
Prescription drug prices have been rising over the past few years.
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