Healthcare Policy Pop

Kelly Maynard, President of the Little Hercules Foundation, discusses the growing trend of alternative funding vendors and how their practices are leaving patients to foot the bill; Dr. Mark Lopatin, a rheumatologist, underscores the burdens of prior authorization on both patients and providers; MedPAC has a public meeting to address payments for Part B; and Rachael Novick, a patient from Ohio’s 10th Congressional District, shares how prior authorization and step therpay changed her life for the worse.

Patients Rising Podcast: Have Health Plans Abandoned Rare Disease Patients?

Fierce Healthcare News Article: CMS finalizes changes to Medicare Advantage star ratings, prior authorization reforms

Patients Rising Stories: Psoriasis, Step Therapy, Community, Advocacy

Rachel Derby, Executive Director of Patients Rising Now, analyzes how PBM issues have become front and center in Washington; Dr. William Reynolds, a member of the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees, warns us about a growing trend that could harm the doctor-patient relationship; Dr. Ron Benner, President of the American Optometric Association, says all patients are feeling the increase in prices under vision care plans; and Elisa Comer, Patient Correspondent from Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District, tells us how PBMs complicate every step of her chronic illness journey.

Patients Rising Video: Stop Vision Benefit Manager Abuses

Patients Rising Now Webpage: Patient Impact Report – State of the High Cost of Health Care

Patients Rising Podcast: How PBMs Raise Costs for Patients + Pharmacies

Patients Rising Podcast: The Broken Vision Insurance Market

Legislative Solutions to Overpriced Eyeglasses

Neal Masia, Health Economist and Columbia University Professor of Business and Economics, discusses how the QALY discriminates against rare and chronic disease patients and calls for a more patient-focused health technology assessment; the Jax Act, named after Jax Scott, an Army Special Operations Warrant Officer, helps female veterans who served in cultural support teams in Afghanistan access healthcare through the VA; and MacKay Jimeson, the Executive Director of Patients Rising’s Patient Access and Affordability Project, explains the challenge of getting CMS to cover drugs approved through the FDA’s accelerated approval process. 

Patients Rising Now letter to the House E&C Committee

The Jax Act

Operation Warp Speed 2.0 for Rare Disease

The Cold War at HHS

Rich Brennan, Vice President of Federal Affairs for the ALS Association, explains the approval pathway for Tofersen, a new ALS drug, and what that means for patients; Peter Pitts, President and co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, discusses how this FDA review process evaluates rare disease treatments; the House Health subcommittee discusses copay accumulators and PBMs in hearing; patient correspondent Larry Falivena shares his experience living with ALS and calls for more research funding.

Rich Brennan- Vice President of Federal Affairs for the ALS Association

US FDA panel backs accelerated approval for Biogen's ALS drug

Patients Rising Now Letter FDA Advisory Council

Peter Pitts- President and co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest

Health Hearing: “Lowering Unaffordable Costs: Examining Transparency and Competition in Health Care” - (3:15:50)

Darla S. Bell- Copay Accumulator Adjustment Programs: Anti-Patient Practice

Sarah Page- MS, American v Argentinan health care, and great family support

Larry Falivena (Constituent, NC CD-14) 

Every Tuesday and Thursday, catch the five-minute Healthcare Policy Pop, a news show covering federal and state health policy updates that impact the chronic and rare disease community.

Listen to the first episode on Tuesday, April 4th.

This podcast is a resource of Patients Rising Now, the leading advocacy group for patients and caregivers in the chronic disease community.