Pharmacy

Under a new program targeting rising drug prices, CVS Caremark, the pharmacy benefit management arm of CVS Health, will allow its clients to drop coverage of drugs with extremely high launch prices, according to The Hill.

Ohio's Department of Medicaid immediately cancelled the contracts it has with two pharmacy benefit managers — CVS Caremark and Optum Rx — over pricing practices that cost the state tens of millions of dollars, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Express Scripts Holding, a pharmacy benefit manager and specialty pharmacy, is quietly building a side business aimed at helping drugmakers dispense a new generation of high-priced drugs, according to Reuters.

Medical device and drug recalls, whether voluntary or forced by the FDA, ensure patient safety.

Novartis recruited a new chief ethics officer after being wrapped in controversy when its payments to President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen were exposed earlier this year, Reuters reports.

The average hospital today is operating at a margin less than three percent1. Whether above or below this average, most hospital executives are exploring unique sources of revenues, cost reduction and methods to improve patient outcomes.

Ohio is fighting to release a state-sponsored report on what it paid two pharmacy benefit managers, Optum and CVS Health, to manage its Medicaid beneficiaries' prescription drug plans, according to NPR.

Louisiana is communicating with CMS to explore a subscription-based payment model for hepatitis C treatments, according to a proposal the Louisiana Department of Health released this week. 

CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo pushed back against claims that industry middlemen drive up drug prices, disclosing that its pharmacy benefit arm keeps just 2 percent of the rebates it processes, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The FDA approved or tentatively approved 126 generic drugs in July — more than any other month in history, according to Regulatory Focus.