"When TrumpRx launched in February, it joined a chorus of websites claiming to have deals on prescription drugs.
Despite the hype, many of the medicines on TrumpRx include brand-name drugs that patients can find cheaper elsewhere — as generics."
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/29/nx-s1-5724143/prescription-drug-shopping-deals
#healthcare #medications #PrescriptionDrugs #GenericDrugs #DrugPrices #CostsOfCare #insurance
"The Trump administration has signaled a willingness to halt billions of dollars in federal health payments to multiple states, mirroring moves they made against Minnesota.
The specific target is Medicaid, the public health insurance program that pairs state and federal money."
#healthcare #medicaid #disabilities #immigrants #immigration #fraud #CMS #insurance #CostsOfCare
The Trump administration’s unprecedented actions targeting Medicaid funding in Minnesota are part of what could become a playbook as officials turn pressure toward California, Florida, Maine, and New York.
"The blockbuster weight loss drug sold as Ozempic and Wegovy will soon go generic in countries that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population, significantly lowering the price of a costly medicine that had been largely unaffordable to nearly all but the wealthiest people."
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/health/ozempic-wegovy-generic-india-china-canada.html
#healthcare #PrescriptionDrugs #generics #obesity #DrugPrices #CostsOfCare #PhRMA #patents
"...more than a month after its launch, the site, https://TrumpRx.gov, remains small — offering discounts on just 54 prescription drugs. Many of those drugs already have cheaper generic versions or savings programs available elsewhere, and the discounts can’t be used with insurance or count toward a deductible. Awareness of the site remains limited."
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trumprx-isnt-much-drug-prices-take-change-rcna263944
#healthcare #medications #PrescriptionDrugs #DrugPrices #CostsOfCare
"In some ways, EHBs save money because they’ve increased access to preventive care, said Gerard Anderson, a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Services such as cancer screenings and lab tests can lead to earlier detection of serious conditions, when treatment is less costly, and positive outcomes are more likely."
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/obamacare-essential-health-benefits-premium-costs-debate/
#healthcare #ACA #obamacare #insurance #premiums #CostsOfCare #HealthPolicy
The Affordable Care Act put in place a package of benefits that health insurance plans must cover. Critics contend this mandate has jacked up premiums. Evidence supporting that claim is mixed.
New case study from the center left think tank #thirdway about #maine #hospital consolidation and how it's "ripping off patients"
As a Maine doc, the only omission I see is that they fail to discuss Maine's #certificateofneed law which allows hospitals here to block lower cost competitors. That's part of why we send some patients out of state for lower cost tests and surgeries.
https://www.thirdway.org/report/fixing-maines-broken-hospitals-a-case-study
#Capitation involves a lot more than paying #primarycare a monthly fee. It creates perverse incentives for #familymedicine docs and other PCPs to ration care.
#directprimarycare #costsofcare #healthreform
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/compensation-pay-primary-care-shortage-solution/
@petersuber
Much of this is due to #feeforservice billing paradigm and prepaying for routine care via #healthinsurance
For #primarycare, it's simpler to dump both. That makes primary care efficient enough that we can provide it (and free phone calls and messages) for $44 to $99/month when the hospital clinic down the street is charging $173 to $351 per visit.
Save the insurance for big , expensive problems.
Bich Nguyen
Brian Pierce MD