Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
About health insurance/insurers
5 No Surprises Act updates FYI
About pharma
FDA opens national priority fast track, offering 2-month reviews to onshoring and affordability projects: The FDA has begun accepting applications for a priority pathway designed to slash review times to between one and two months, giving developers of medicines that align with U.S. national health priorities a fast track to market.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., unveiled the program last month. Tuesday, the FDA opened the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) pilot program for applications and fleshed out details of the scheme, including by providing more information on the types of products that may be eligible for the initiative and how the agency plans to accelerate regulatory reviews.
Roche considering direct-to-patient sales in US to bypass intermediaries: Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker said Thursday that the price of drugs in the US could come down "quite quickly" if intermediaries were cut out and a direct-to-patient model was introduced. The executive indicated that the company is in talks with the US government over the issue, following similar recent moves by Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer…
Roche is considering directly selling some of its medicines, including those for multiple sclerosis, eye disease and cancer, directly to patients, although Schinecker suggested that the model could work for all of its drugs. The executive cited the example of multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus, which he said had been hit with surcharges from PBMs that increased its cost even after Roche had priced it below competing therapies.
About healthcare IT
White House unveils AI strategy with healthcare focus The article has a really good 14 point summary.
About healthcare personnel
10 medical schools where graduates incur the most, least debt: 2025 FYI