The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) has issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration's consideration of "Most Favored Nations" policy in the U.S.
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In this week's edition...
-- Data Mine Blog Analyzes a New Study from OHE on International Reference to QALYs. See details below. — Reps. Cammack and Hern Introduce QALY Ban Bill. See details below. -- Opportunity: Sign an Open Letter Rejecting Use of QALYs and Similar Measures. See details below. -- COGI Reiterates Process Concerns for Maryland PDAB, Highlights NAACP Resolution. Click here to view the letter. -- Webinar Series on Newborn Screening: A Vision for Sustaining and Advancing Excellence. Click here to learn more. — PIPC Leads Comment Letter on Third Cycle of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. See details below. — National Minority Quality Forum Issue Brief Details MFN Consequences. Click here to read the issue brief. — Report: Foreign Countries Rely on Flawed and Outdated HTA or Value Assessment Methods. Click here to read the report. — Update on the Texas v. Kennedy Lawsuit. See details below. — CMS References ICER and NICE in Explanations for Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. See details below. — Learn More About Alternative Measures for Value Assessment. Click here to learn more. — Emerging Threats in States for Use of Discriminatory Metrics. See details below. — What Happens in Countries Using QALYs and Cost-Based Thresholds? See details below. — ICER's QALY-Based Study Topics. See details below. — Upcoming Events and Webinars. See details below. — AHRQ Effective Program Updates. See details below. The Color of Gastrointestinal Illnesses (COGI) recently penned a letter to Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) Director Andrew York that outlines concerns with the Board’s ongoing cost review activities.
By Siri Vaeth, MSW
My daughter, Tess, lives with cystic fibrosis (CF). She is twenty-five years old. Not too long ago that would have been unimaginable for a CF patient. I’m so grateful for the medical advances that allow my child to have a full life.
 By: Carole Florman
No one who works with or advocates for patients disagrees that drug prices in this country are too high. At CancerCare, an organization that provides free professional support services and information to people affected by cancer, we disagree with the article’s premise that the answer is either out of control prices or ICER’s fundamentally flawed assessment process that discriminates against patients, people with disabilities, and older people. 
By: Elizabeth Franklin
The use of the quality adjusted life year, or QALY, is widespread in research, health economics, and value assessment. However, the QALY is not without controversy as has been noted many times in the PIPC blog. Health economics and outcomes researchers, policy makers, and advocates have long debated the appropriateness and ethics of the QALY. Governmental agencies, managed care organizations, and healthcare payers routinely utilize the QALY in their decision making. However, one voice that has been glaringly absent from this debate is the most important voice: patients. 
By Rosie Bartel
Nine years ago, I had a routine knee replacement surgery. Instead of recovering and getting back on my feet, however, I contracted a surgical infection which took my right leg, hip, and part of my pelvic bone. My doctors told me I should have died. One said I had just a 30 percent chance of survival. But I’m a fighter. My life changed, and I am now confined to a wheelchair — but my passion for life didn’t change. I began fighting for the rights of people like myself and it has been the most meaningful work of my life. PIPC Patient Blog: Formulary Restrictions Devalue And Endanger The Lives Of Disabled People10/31/2018
This was originally published as an October 29, 2018 post in Health Affairs Blog.
By Ari Ne'eman As policymakers around the world seek to manage rising drug expenditures, people with disabilities find ourselves increasingly concerned by the potential harms that cost-cutting measures may bring. The growing fight between health care purchasers and drug manufacturers offers yet another instance where people with disabilities and chronic conditions may find themselves caught in the cross-fire.  This post was originally published as a July 17, 2018 article in Disabled World.
By: Stephanie Bozarth Should one consider the life of a person with a disability less valuable than the life of a person without a disability? Alarmingly, states are increasingly relying on policies that do just that, in order to determine the value of health care services and treatments. For children suffering from life-threatening and debilitating disorders, like my daughter, reliance on any standard that considers her life less valuable than someone without a disability, is simply unacceptable. |
