Pharmacy Benefit News | Pro Pharma Pharmaceutical Consultants, Inc.™

Issue # 358 | October 3, 2019

Commentary: PREVENTION IS THE ANSWER, BUT IT IS SO HARD TO DO!
Commentary: CELEBRITY DEATHS EMPHASIZE MORE THAN UNHAPPINESS
Commentary: HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS ARE EXPERIMENTS

Issue # 357 | September 19, 2019

Commentary: Call to Action – Immunizations For 16 Year Old’s
Commentary: Anti-Vaxers – Here Is the Data!
Commentary: Science Tries to Catch Up with Vaping!

Issue # 356 | August 22, 2019

Commentary: Pharmacies Take the Initiative to Lower Cost and Extend Services
Commentary: How to Finance Health Care for All?
Commentary: How Can Patients and Plans Take Advantage of Drugs Cost Below Current Contract Prices?

Issue # 355 | August 18, 2019

Commentary: Medicare for All (M4A) - The Math Argument
Commentary: How Do Countries Achieve Universal Healthcare?
Commentary: Uncertainty and Transparency Drive Health Care

Issue # 354 | July 25, 2019

Commentary: SPECIAL ISSUE – COMMON BELIEFS– TRUE OR FALSE?
Commentary: COMMON BELIEFS – TRUE OR FALSE? (Part 2)
Commentary: COMMON BELIEFS – TRUE OR FALSE? (Part 3)

Issue # 353 | July 11, 2019

Commentary: SPECIAL ISSUE – COMMON REMEDIES – TRUE OR FALSE?
Commentary: COMMON REMEDIES – TRUE OR FALSE? (Part 2)
Commentary: COMMON REMEDIES – TRUE OR FALSE? (Part 3)

Issue # 352 | June 13, 2019

Commentary: Where Can We Expect Healthcare Innovations In 2019?
Commentary: How to Finance Health Care for All? – Ask the Chinese!
Commentary: Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Vs. Humans – Who Wins?

Issue # 351 | May 30, 2019

Commentary: Disaster Spells Non-Compliance
Commentary: Hospitals and Insurers Resist Price Transparency
Commentary: Dental Care Goes Retail!

Issue # 350 | May 16, 2019

Commentary: Blame - From Current News
Commentary: Opiate Overdose Issues
Commentary: Opiate Overdose Responses

Issue # 349 | May 2, 2019

Commentary: Anti-Vaxers – Here Is the Data!
Commentary: Prescription Coupons – The Bane of Health Plans
Commentary: Health Care Stakeholders Use Words and Concepts That Providers and Patients Don’t Understand

Issue # 348 | April 18, 2019

Commentary: Where Can We Expect Healthcare Innovations In 2019?
Commentary: Prices Are Higher in The Us!
Commentary: Who Drives Up Drug Prices?

Issue # 347 | April 4, 2019

Commentary: Control Drug Prices - The Industry Says No!
Commentary: Copays Versus Cost - Who Pays?
Commentary: Certificate of Need (CON) Versus Price Transparency

Issue # 346 | March 21, 2019

Commentary: Wall Street Pursues Employee-Benefit Programs
Commentary: Generic Insulins – Where Are They?
Commentary: The Patent Cliff In 2019

Issue # 345 | March 7, 2019

Commentary: What Is the Transparency Goal?
Commentary: Internationalism Brings Its’ Own Rewards?
Commentary: Measles Kills. Vaccines Do Not.

Issue # 344 | February 21, 2019

Commentary: If Medicare Is Running Out of Money, Then Are Benefit Reductions Next?
Commentary: US Workers Take Bigger Out-Of-Pocket Costs Due to Health Care Deductibles
Commentary: Access, Coverage, & Affordability. What the Patient Wants!

Issue # 343 | February 7, 2019

Commentary: Medicare for All (M4A) - The Math Argument
Commentary: How Do Countries Achieve Universal Healthcare?
Commentary: Uncertainty and Transparency Drive Health Care

Issue # 342 | January 24, 2019

Commentary: Unfounded Myths about Migration and Health Have Become Accepted, and are Used to Justify Policies of Exclusion
Commentary: Pharmacies Take the Initiative to Lower Costs And Extend Services
Commentary: Don’t Stop Statins for Cholesterol Regardless of The Risks!

Issue # 341 | January 10, 2019

Commentary: The US, China and India Have Largest Number of Counterfeit & Fake Meds
Commentary: God and Professionalism
Commentary: "Telehealth" Takes Center Stage

Issue # 340 | December 13, 2018

Commentary: Do Plans, Employers and Patients Pay for Drugs at the Most Current Prices?
Commentary: Do PBMs Confirm that the Correct Basis of Cost is used to Price Claims?
Commentary: How Can Patients and Plans Take Advantage of Drug Costs Below Current Contract Prices?

Issue # 339 | November 27, 2018

Commentary: Are Employers and Plans Paying for Only Their Own Members?
Commentary: Are Plans and Employers Paying for Generics When They Are Available?
Commentary: Are Plans and Employers Paying for Refills When the Prescriber Is No Longer Available or a Covered Network Physician?

Issue # 338 | November 1st, 2018

Commentary: If Doctors Know the Cost, Will They Prescribe Cheaper Drugs?
Commentary: Patients Could Save Big if They Shop Around!
Commentary: Japanese and European Live Longer than Americans. It's Time to Move!

Issue # 337 | October 18th, 2018

Commentary: Free Markets Will Save Healthcare. So, Why Are We Still Not Doing It?
Commentary: If Medicare Is Running Out of Money, Then Are Benefit Reductions Next?
Commentary: Big Data Analytics Is the Solution If It Were Not for The Privacy Problems

Issue # 336 | October 4, 2018

Commentary: One Dose for Aspirin for Primary Prevention Is Not the Optimum!
Commentary: Now Companies Are Moving to Reduce the Prices of Drugs For Their Employees
Commentary: Specialty Trend Up 9.4% While Traditional Drug Trend Down 4%

Issue # 335 | September 20, 2018

Commentary: Ia Amazon the Disruptor?
Commentary: Medicare for All (M4A) – The Math Argument
Commentary: Drug Pricing Controls take Center Stage

Issue # 334 | September 5, 2018

Commentary: Lying In Health Care Leads To Bad Decisions
Commentary: Heartburn Medications Alter The Gut
Commentary: Drug Ads as Education

Issue # 333 | August 23, 2018

Commentary: Diabetic Treatment Plans Are Not Just About Drugs!
Commentary: Healthcare Is Local
Commentary: Blockchain Is Coming!

Issue # 332 | August 9, 2018

Commentary: Some Health Care Predictions for 2018 Were Correct!
Commentary: Millennials Yes, But What About Gen Z?
Commentary: What Can Policy Makers Do to Reduce Drug Prices?

Issue # 331 | July 12, 2018

Commentary: US Workers Take Bigger Out-Of-Pocket Costs Due to Health Care Deductibles
Commentary: Generic Drug Prices Expected to Decrease 7% - 9% Annually
Commentary: Price Competition Comes to Treatments for Hepatitis C

Issue # 330 | June 26th, 2018

Commentary: If Cost Sharing Increases, And Deductibles Rise, Then How Will People Afford Drugs?
Commentary: What Will Be the Sources of Capital In The Future For New Health Care Advances? Where Will Plans Get New Capital? Will It Be Consolidation?
Commentary: What Can Be Done Right Now to Address the Shortage of EpiPen?

Issue # 329 | June 14th, 2018

Commentary: What are the Right Limits on Opioid Prescriptions?
Commentary: Learning from the Kubler-Ross Model Can Assist with Acceptance to Change
How Do You Evaluate Your Heart Risk?

Issue # 328 | May 31st, 2018

Commentary: Commentary: What Is the FDA Approval Process?
Commentary: Access, Coverage, & Affordability. What the Patient Wants!
Commentary: Do Generics Bend the Cost Curve?

Issue # 327 | May 17th, 2018

Commentary: How Do Countries Achieve Universal Healthcare?
Commentary: Firearm Injuries Cost Lives and Money
Commentary: Unnecessary Opioids and Unnecessary Prescriptions

Issue # 326 | May 3rd, 2018

Commentary: Who Do Physicians Work For?
Commentary: Geography Matters When It Comes to Paying for Health Care
Commentary: What Is an Alternative to Opiates for Acute Pain?

Issue # 325 | April 19th, 2018

Commentary: Hospital Readmissions – An Improvement in Care or In Insurance?
Commentary: Hospital Star Ratings Depend On…
Commentary: How Do We Get People to Comply With Exercise, Food And Prevention?
Maximum Allowable Cost™

Issue # 324 | April 5th, 2018

Commentary: Why are plans buying PBNs??
Commentary: Do prices rise when hospitals merge?
Commentary: Who makes health care policy?
Maximum Allowable Cost™

Issue # 323 | March 21, 2018

What Are the Major Challenges of Health Care Today?
How to Stop Nicotine Addiction – Decrease Nicotine in Cigarettes!
Subcategorizing Health Care Problems Will Not Solve Opiate Overuse
JCode Calculator™

Issue # 322 | March 8, 2018

We Get a Test Result, But What Does it Mean to My Current and Future Health?
How Do I Know If I Have A Health Risk If No One Tells Me?
National Health Spending Growth of 5.5% Annually – What Are Patients to Do?
Forecast & Prediction™

Issue # 321 | February 22, 2018

Commentary: Wearable Healthcare Technology Is the Next Step
Commentary: Wearable Healthcare Technology Is the Next Step
Commentary: Older Americans Are Taking Too Many Unneeded Drugs
Concurrent Audit and Analyses™

Issue # 320 | February 7, 2018

Commentary: The Most Popular Prescription Drugs In The U.S.
Commentary: What Technology Advancements Receive The Most Interest?
Commentary: Inflation In Specialty Drug Prices Is 9%
Specialty Medication Analysis™

Issue # 319 | January 25, 2018

Commentary: More Flu Can Be Prevented
Commentary: How To Budget Rebates?
Commentary: Hospital Closures High In States That Rejected Medicaid Expansio
Biotech Modeling™

Issue # 318 | January 11, 2017

Commentary: Health Care Organizations – The Challenge!
Commentary: Uncertainty and Transparency Drive Health Care
Commentary: The Role of Analytics in Health Care
Biotech Modeling™

Issue # 317 | December 14, 2017

A Ding to Vitamin D Use
Does Genotyping Reduce Adverse Effects from Warfarin?
Control Drug Prices – The Industry Says No!
Forecasting & Predictions™

Issue # 316 | November 30, 2017

E-Prescribing for Opiates – No One Can Hide!
If You Can’t Get a Prescription in One State, Then Try Another
How Do You Tell a Biosimilar from The Reference Product?
Trend Management & Disease Maps™

Issue # 315 | November 2, 2017

The Opiate Epidemic Is Everyone’s Problem, and Must Be Fixed By Us All
Commentary – Necessities To Counter The Opioid Epidemic
Who Prescribes High Dose Opiates? Not The Emergency Department!
Request for Proposal Managment™

Issue # 314 | October 19, 2017

Employer Premiums for Health Care – Regional Differences
What Patients Want and What They Get
CVS Pharmacies and CVS Caremark Are Attacking Opiate Abuse
Clinical Compliance™

Issue # 313 | October 5, 2017

Special Edition
Patient Specific Queries™

Issue # 312 | September 21st, 2017

Three Years Later, Where Are We Now with Accountable Care Organizations?
Who Is a Diabetic?
If Clinical Guidelines Are Not Followed, Then Why Have Them?
Retrospective Audit™

Issue # 311 | September 7th, 2017

What to Do If an Antidepressant Doesn’t Work?
What Does Cholera Have to Do with Opiate s?
Coffee Lowering Death Rate – Truth or Myth?
Prior Authorization™

Issue # 310 | August 24th, 2017

Co-Pays vs. Cost - Who Pays?
Commentary: Identifying Patients at Risk for Opiate Abuse
Commentary: Antibiotics Are Curative, But When to Stop?
Claims Oversight Managment™

Issue # 309 | August 10th, 2017

Commentary: Rx Spending Growth In 2016
Commentary: Financial Pressures Increasing for Hospitals
Commentary: Certificate Of Need (CON) Versus Price Transparency
Market Share Analyses™

Issue # 308 | July 27th, 2017

Commentary: Is Comparison Shopping in Health Care Easy to Do?
Commentary: What Are the Correct Wellness Priorities?
Commentary: Is Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines a Promising Idea?
Treatment Calendar™

Issue # 307 | July 13th, 2017

Increase in American Workers Testing Positive for Drugs
Opioid Addiction in the Hands Of Legislators
Butterflies in Your Stomach? Or Is That Just Called Anxiety
Invoice Screens™

Issue # 306 | June 29th, 2017

Commentary: The Math Must Work
Commentary: Specialty Rx Challenges All Treatment Effectiveness, Risk and Affordability
Commentary: Value-Based Care Seems to Have Legs
Financial, Preformance & Claims Audits™

Issue # 305 | June 15th, 2017

Healthcare Trends Have No Roadblocks
Using Technology for Proactive Health
Communication Increases Compliance to Medical Tests
JCode Calculator™

Issue # 304 | June 1st, 2017

Majority of Cardiologist Depend on PhRMA for Drug Information
Commentary: Poloticians Need to Know
What Were the Top Five Prescription Medications by Revenue in 2016?
Fraud Waste & Abuse™

Issue # 303 | May 18th, 2017

How Does the Medical Community Decide What is High Blood Pressure?
Commentary: Is 5 times higher really 5x higher?
Commentary: How Do We Predict the Progression of Diabetes Severity Over Time?
Maximum Allowble Cost™

Issue # 302 | May 4th, 2017

US Health Care Spend
Declining Drug Prices
Corporate Alliance to Lower Health Care Spend
Quality Managment Program™

Issue # 301 | April 20th, 2017

The Trump Administration & Opiates
Incidence of Dementia Declined Over Three Decades in The Framingham Heart Study
Analytics Works to Identify Undiagnosed Patients
Comprehensive Specialty Analysis™

Issue # 300 | April 6th, 2017

The American Health Care Act & Medical Trusts - A Commentary
Retail Pharmacies Enter the Specialty Market
A New Drug Treatment for Parkinson's Disease - A Commentary
Comprehensive Medication Review™

Issue # 299 | March 23rd, 2017

How Patient Desires Drive Marketing Realities for the Future
Patient Desires Drive Retail Business Changes
Drug Spending - A Commentary
Biotech Modeling™

Issue # 298 | March 9th, 2017

How Do You Identify a Potential Adverse Drug Reaction?
Two Chronic Health Conditions Drive 25% of Treatments
Off Label Uses of Drugs is a Big Problem
Request for Proposal Managment™

Issue # 297 | February 23rd, 2017

“Remnant Cholesterol” is Associated with Increased Cardiovascular Events
Studies Link Presenteeism to Job Demands
3 Drug Classes That Can Cause Raynaud's Disease
Request for Proposal Managment™

Issue # 296 | February 9th, 2017

Specialty Pharmaceuticals:The New Frontier
The Value of Subsidies And Cost-Sharing For Prescription Drugs
What Was the Progress of Healthcare in 2016?
Comprehensive Specialty Analyses™

Issue # 295 | January 26th, 2017

3 Drug Classes That Can Cause Raynaud's Disease
Studies Link Presenteeism to Job Demands
"Remnant Cholesterol" is Associated with Increased Cardiovascular Events in Diabetics
Comprehensive Specialty Analyses™

Issue # 294 | January 12th, 2017

HHS Takes Next Step in Advancing Health Equity Through ACA
Kmart Suing Catamaran (a PBM) For Underpaying Pharmacies Payments for Prescription Drugs
Commentary: Some Clinical Pearls
RFP Review™

Issue # 293 | December 15th, 2016

Characteristics Associated With Hospital Readmissions
CVS Touts the Benefits of Tobacco Bans
Medicare Recipients Dive Faster Into the 'Donut Hole'
ProData Analytics™

Issue # 292 | November 30th, 2016

340b - Who is Eligible? Who Can Prescribe?
Oxycodone for Kids?
Heart Attacks and Stroke May be Dependent on Cardiac Age, Not Chronological Age
JCode Calculator™

Issue # 291 | November 3rd, 2016

Commentary: Diagnostic Errors in Primary Care -- An Underappreciated Problem
Commentary: Medi-Cal and Medicaid - A Shared Accountability Program
Commentary: Drug Pricing Analyses Add to the Growing Controversery
Fraud, Waste and Abuse™

Issue # 290 | October 20th, 2016

Commentary: Insurance Cooperatives Launched With ACA Funding
Commentary: Some Problems with Interpreting Big Data
Immunization Registries Attempt to Coordinate Information From Different Sources
Fraud, Waste and Abuse™

Issue # 289 | October 6th, 2016

Commentary: Financing Policy vs. Healthcare Policy
Prediction
Aetna Contacting Physicians Who May Be Over-Prescribing Opioids
Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC)™

Issue # 288 | September 22nd, 2016

FDA Panel Says No to Abuse Deterrent Opiate/li>
Insurers’ Mergers Exposes Healthcare Industry Divide
PBMs Lose Iowa Lawsuit Against Drug Pricing Transparency
JCode Calculator™

Issue # 287 | September 8th, 2016

Demand for Generics Fuels Growth in Market Share
2016 Pharmacy Trends
Commentary: Increases In Medical Cost Are Driven By More Than Price
Comprehensive Specialty Analyses™

Issue # 286 | August 11th, 2016

If Patients Don't Comply With Their ADHD Meds, Then Does This Mean There Is An Increased Risk for Illicit Drug Use?
PhRMA Tries Again to Get Patients to Comply
Pharmacists Prescribe Birth Control Pills in Missouri?
Custom Maximum Allowable Cost (MAC) List™

Issue # 285 | August 11th, 2016

How To Reduce Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions? Try Behavior Modification
FDA Rejects Expanded Use of Ivacaftor in Patients With Specific Mutations!
The FDA Takes a New Approach to Opiates
Trend Management™

Issue # 284 | July 26th, 2016

Xerostomia: Not as Dry a Topic as You’d Think
Prostate Cancer: Actively Forgoing Treatment
ADHD: A Disorder of the Brain or the Diagnosis?
Operational Strategy and Strategic Implementation™

Issue # 283 | June 14th, 2016

Does a Family History of Mental Illness Impact Their Children?
Does the FDA Have a Role in the Affordability of Generic Pharmaceuticals?
Prescription Drug Prices Increased 9.4% in 2013
Data Analytics™

Issue # 282 | June 30th, 2016

Opioid Dangers – Do Doctors and Patients Care?
Opiate Addiction – Are Pharmacists the Last Line of Defense?
Commentary Piece
Allergan & Perrigo Launch Store-Brand Expectorant and Nasal Decongestant™

Issue # 281 | June 16th, 2016

How To Afford High Priced Drugs
Long Tern Statin Use Leads to Kidney Disease
Commentary Piece
Fraud, Waste and Abuse™

Issue # 280 | June 2nd, 2016

Drug Discontinuation Is Dependent on Follow Up
Anthem Sues Express Scripts for $3B
FDA Wants Clinical Data To Make Biosimilars Substitutable?
Maximum Allowable Cost MAC™

Issue # 279 | May 19th, 2016

Commentary:Prior Authorizations for MedicationsUnder the Medical Benefit
Pro Pharma Announces New Medical Specialty Analytical Report™

Issue # 278 | May 5th, 2016

Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors Linked to Increased Dementia Risk?
Why is the Risk of Dementia Decreasing?
Interferon-Free Therapy for Hepatitis C?
Pro Pharma Introduces Information Exchange Hub: RxInfoX™

Issue # 277 | April 21st, 2016

Factor Xa Inhibitor Antidote?
Narcan Nasal Spray
FDA Approves New Gout Medication
Comprehensive Specialty Analyses™

Issue # 276 | April 7th, 2016

Naloxone For Opiate Overdose
Invoice Screens™

Issue # 275 | March 24th, 2016

Commentary: When Opiates Create Pain
Mapping Disease Outbreaks
Commentary: Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) Prevention
Clinical Compliance™

Issue # 274 | March 10th, 2016

FDA Drug Review Processes Are Changing to Meet the Influx of New Generics from National & International Manufacturers
Look for Seven $1 Billion-Plus Drugs Reaching the Market in 2016
Community Pharmacies are Counting on Federal Legislation to Force PBMs to Reimburse at Cost or Cost +
Benefit Management & Oversight™

Issue # 273 | February 23rd, 2016

Pharmacists Want Supreme Court to Hear Religious Objections Case
The Law of Large Numbers and The Affordable Care Act (ACA) - Commentary
New Report Calls for Increased Focus on Diagnostic Errors
Trend Management™

Issue # 272 | February 11th, 2016

Financiers Buying Urgent Care Centers
Seattle Pharmacy Makes House Calls
New Jersey Permits Pharmacy-Level Substitution of Biosimilars
Operational Strategy and Strategic Implementation™

Issue # 271 | January 26th, 2016

Sandoz Biosimilar Takes Aim at Amgen's Pegfilgrastim
Brand-Name Dugs Increase Cost but Not Patient Satisfaction
Medicaid Denial for HCV Drugs Nearing 50% In Some States
Data Analytics™

Issue # 270 | January 14th, 2016

Response to Precision Medicine
Mid-Levels Providing Chronic Care Management (CCM)
Quality Is Not Illusory
Who is ProData Analytics™?

Issue # 269 | December 17th, 2015

Pioneer ACO Models Versus Home Grown Models
Are Doctors Mrore Price-Conscious When Prices Are Displayed When They Prescribe?
AMA Recommends Synchronized Prescription Renewals
Pro Pharma Launches Newly Redesigned Mobile and Use Friendly Website

Issue # 268 | November 12th, 2015

The Movement Towards Value-Based Care
Sizzurp - The Cough Drink of Choice
Drug Transparency Laws and Possible Outcomes
To Our Veterans and Troops

Issue # 267 | October 29th, 2015

Stop Hormone Therapy After a Heart Attack?
California Laying Down the Law on Vaccinations
Hepatitis C: Still Untreatable to Some
Halloween is fast approaching...Are you scared of increasing Drug Spend yet?

Issue # 266 | October 15th, 2015

Wide Variance in the Cost of Procedures
A Communication Problem – Nurses vs. Doctors?
Heart Disease Linked to Psoriasis
Pro Pharma JCode Calculator™

Issue # 265 | October 1st, 2015

Population Health vs. Precision Medicine
Evaluating Another FDA Approval: Repatha
Omega-3 and Cognitive Health - The Fishy Reality
Pro Pharma JCode Calculator™

Issue # 264 | September 3rd, 2015

Is Precision Medicine Linked to a Perfect DNA Model?
New Treatments for Cholesterol –Expense Is The Only Discussion
Nationwide E-prescribing of Controlled Substances
Pro Pharma's Invoice Screening™

Issue # 263 | September 3rd, 2015

FDA Targets Severe Joint Pain Due to Specific Class of Diabetes Drugs
Is Psoriasis linked to Abnormal Heart Rhythms?
Distance from Oncology Providers Can Affect Treatment
Pro Pharma's Comprehensive Specialty Analysis™

Issue # 262 | August 19th, 2015

State MAC Lists Available to Everyone!
What Are Information Technology(IT) Priorities for Hospitals?
Waht is the Best Strategy for Lowering Blood Pressure for Patients with Diabetes or Kidney Disease?
Pro Pharma's JCode Calculator™