At JPM, how much health policy talk should we expect?

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JPM in SF: STAT’s got you covered

Next week, tens of thousands of people will descend on San Francisco’s Financial District for J.P. Morgan’s annual health care investor conference, and you can bet politics will be on the menu.

We’ll be watching to see how Washington’s latest policies — like that recent eyebrow-raising FTC decision or Medicare’s latest drug price negotiation plans — play into the pharma and biotech updates that make up so much of the fun. Execs from sixteen nonprofit health systems will also share updates on their operations, so expect to hear about Medicare Advantage denials, the coming funding cuts to safety net hospitals, and the government’s increased scrutiny around health care mergers. Also presenting are a smattering of health insurers, senior-focused provider groups, and vendors that serve hospitals. Renee Wergzyn, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, will divulge what they’re working on this year, while BIO chairman Ted Love is due to speak on a panel about restoring trust in the industry. But as you well know, the most interesting developments could happen at the afterparties.

STAT will have a whole team of reporters on the ground at the conference and at our event, which’ll include a sit-down with the FDA’s Peter Marks. In the meantime, check out our burning questions ahead of JPM 2024.

Florida around and find out

Tomorrow might be the day that Florida Gov. and flagging GOP presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis finds out whether his state is allowed to import Canadian drugs for HIV, cancer, mental health and other illnesses. Florida was the first state to propose a plan after former President Trump permitted drug imports, so other states that would like to do likewise are closely watching the FDA’s decision.

“We expect that the FDA will give us an up or down decision on Canadian drug importation, which has been pending for a number of years, on Jan. 5th,” Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida told Florida state lawmakers last month.

HHS said likewise in a recent briefing filed in a lawsuit that Florida filed against the Biden administration for allegedly delaying approval, my colleague John Wilkerson reports. However, this isn’t the first time the federal government has said a decision is nigh — so stay tuned.

Still on trend in 2024: Insulin price caps

Long-expected insulin price cuts from two major manufacturers went into effect this week, but that doesn’t mean the fight in Washington is over. Both Sanofi and Novo Nordisk slashed insulin list prices starting Jan. 1, 2024 — cuts they announced last year. Those changes don’t include rebates and discounts applied behind the scenes, but they could mean significant savings for people with commercial insurance.

Democratic senators including Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both from Virginia, were quick to applaud the new changes and point to a catalyst – 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, which installed a $35 price cap for insulin in Medicare. Of course, that didn’t help the millions of Americans with other insurance or none at all, a gap several senators have been pushing to fill, to no avail so far.

The two bipartisan bills aimed at lowering prices for every American are still stalled in negotiations, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer still showing no indication of which he prefers. One, authored by Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) would set up a straightforward cap but would cost the government millions in covering costs for the uninsured. Another, by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), would lower prices by capping costs for at least one brand and require PBMs to pass pharmaceutical rebates through to insurers. (Rachel’s broken it down).

Both Warner and Kaine said in a statement that they’d made drug pricing legislation a priority in their respective committees (Warner on Finance, Kaine on HELP).

Correction: An earlier version of D.C. Diagnosis referenced insulin legislation from Sens. Shaheen and Collins that has since been updated. 

Experts: Courts won’t let drug price negotiation fall

Yes, there’s another amicus brief in the handful of lawsuits filed to stop the Biden administration’s Medicare price negotiation plan. This one was filed this week by nine experts who count credentials in MedPAC, the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare advocacy, and health care payments.

The group, represented by Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, argues that “prescription drugs are the only major component of Medicare that has not been subject to meaningful cost controls.” That means not just skyrocketing costs but a threat to Medicare’s solvency, they write. The price negotiation plan “is essential to the financial stability of the Medicare program.”

This particular brief was filed in Boehringer Ingelheim in a Connecticut district court. Other pharmaceutical companies and the industry lobby have filed in New Jersey and Washington D.C., where both the plaintiffs and the government are pressing for quick decisions.

What we’re reading

Here’s who’s profiting the most in health care, STAT

Why Democrats can’t rely on abortion ballot initiatives to help them win, Politico

How opioid overdoses in public restrooms led an electrician to invent ‘safe bathrooms’, STAT

Colorado legislators push to increase regulation of eating disorder clinics amid patient complaints, state probe, The Denver Post