US: The American Medical Association wants FTC and DOJ to monitor price-fixing of insulin

With insulin prices spiking, the American Medical Association (AMA) urged the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department to monitor insulin pricing and market competition and take enforcement actions as appropriate.

The health care system is feeling the reverberations of the ongoing price increases and delegates at the AMA Annual Meeting supported a call to action. From individual patients to the Medicaid and Medicare programs, the pricing poses financial burdens that can’t continue unchecked.

“It is shocking and unconscionable that our patients struggle to secure a basic medicine like insulin,” said AMA Board Member William A. McDade, M.D., PhD. “The federal government needs to step in and help make sure patients aren’t being exploited with exorbitant costs. The AMA also plans to educate physicians and policymakers on ways to tackle this problem, and transparency from manufacturers and PBMs is a good place to start.”

The impact of insulin expenditures on Medicare and Medicaid has been notable. For example, expenditures for just one long-acting insulin analogue, glargine, were the second largest of all Medicare expenditures in 2015.

Full Content: AMA

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