TV drug ads will direct consumers to company websites that include information on drug prices, including list prices and estimated out-of-pocket costs, as part of a voluntary program that all 33 companies in the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America have agreed to.

Brand drug makers are warning against relying on 340B hospitals to execute Louisiana’s plan to pay a subscription for an unlimited supply of hepatitis C drugs over a fixed period.

The Trump administration’s final rule providing conscience protections and religious exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate is pending at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

A second health plan that sued the government for ending reimbursements for cost-sharing reductions in October 2017 has been awarded money from the U.S. Federal Court of Claims: Sanford Health Plans is set to receive just over $360,000 that the government determined the plan would have been owed for the fourth quarter of that year.

A bipartisan group of 32 senators is asking CMS to extend its proposal to apply higher pay rates for durable medical equipment suppliers in rural areas, and Alaska and Hawaii, to also include suppliers in all non-bid areas, and more than 130 House lawmakers also sent a letter to the agency Oct. 12 with a similar request.

The standard monthly premium for Part B beneficiaries will increase slightly for 2019, but about 2 million beneficiaries will pay less than the full premium due to the statutory hold-harmless provision, according to CMS.

Pew Charitable Trusts says states could use a subscription-based model to buy hepatitis C drugs without triggering the Medicaid best price law by routing the medications through 340B hospitals.

Merck is discontinuing its insulin biosimilar Lusduna, the company announced Thursday (Oct. 11), but, unlike most biologics, insulin is covered by Medicare Part D instead of Part B where biosimilar makers can make a bigger profit, so the Lusduna discontinuation is not seen as a bellwether of biosimilar market erosion, brand drug and analyst sources said.