Regulatory/Legislative News

Amgen, Merck, Eli Lilly and the Association of National Advertisers sued the Trump administration last week, seeking to avoid complying with an HHS rule that requires including the list prices of certain prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer television advertisements.

The idea of importing prescription drugs from Canada as a means to lower prices is back under scrutiny with President Donald J. Trump verbally supporting several state laws that would allow such actions, mainstream media reported.

To the Editor:

HHS recently enacted one of the first concrete steps toward President Donald J. Trump’s pledge to lower drug prices in finalizing a federal rule requiring the list prices of certain drugs be included in television ads.

As optometrists gain more scope of practice rights throughout the country and are employed by ophthalmic practices to comanage patient care, ophthalmologists and optometrists have varied opinions on what roles optometrists should play in patients’ lives and exactly what services they should be allowed to perform.

The Justice Department brief filed on May 1 amounts to the Trump administration picking and choosing what parts of the Affordable Care Act should stay in place and also suggests it does not understand the law, experts told Healio Primary Care Today.

Drug companies that make prescription pharmaceuticals covered by Medicare or Medicaid must begin including the list price — also known as the Wholesale Acquisition Cost — in their television ads if that price is $35 or more for a month’s supply or the usual course of therapy under a final rule that HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced today.

In an effort to lobby for better access to care, discuss important issues with lawmakers and increase education, more than 400 ophthalmologists traveled to Washington recently for the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual Capitol Hill visit.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual visit to Capitol Hill included more than 400 eye physicians and surgeons advocating for a change to federal policies that delay access to quality care, the organization announced in a press release.

Legal and political battles have put the fate of the Affordable Care Act, and health care for millions of Americans, back into the spotlight and ensure that that it will play a pivotal role in the 2020 elections.