51ÊÓƵ

The pharmaceutical industry has followed a brilliant two-pronged strategy to maximize its profits: raise prices and increase consumption of medications. Most of the attention has focused on just one side of the equation — prices. With politicians and advocates on both sides of the aisle vowing to lower drug prices, few people are talking about Americans being overprescribed medications, which not only adds to the cost of drugs but also harms millions of Americans each year. (Shannon Brownlee and Judith Garber, 4/2)

Are we headed for a drugstore apocalypse? CVS Health Inc., America’s biggest pharmacy chain, rang a warning bell in February with a disappointing 2019 forecast that reflected pressure on its prescription-drug business. A month later, Rite Aid Corp., another big pharmacy operator,  jettisoned executives amid continuing struggles as its stock price traded below $1. Then on Tuesday, No. 2 chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. announced dismal second-quarter results and slashed its full-year guidance. Its shares tumbled more than 12 percent as both retail and pharmacy performance fell substantially short of expectations. (Max Nisen, 4/2)

Senator John Cornyn recently said he fears drug companies may be gaming America's patent system. According to the Republican senator from Texas, some firms are making insignificant tweaks to drug 51ÊÓƵs and then filing new patents on the upgraded medicines. The firms then allegedly use these patents to prevent competing treatments from entering the market. (James Edwards, 3/31)

The 2018 General Assembly session was a banner year for health care affordability and access in Maryland, with members of both parties working together on the creation and funding of a reinsurance pool to drive down costs in the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange. The result was that as premiums continued to spike in the rest of the nation, they actually went down in Maryland, staving off what could have been a death spiral for the individual market. This year, the General Assembly has the chance to lead again in the effort to rein in prescription drug prices. (3/27)

What happens when strategic ambition meets financial constraint? The answer is found in AstraZeneca Plc’s $6.9 billion oncology tie-up with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. The U.K. drugmaker is resorting to costly financing to get the deal done. Shareholders will not only have to take the potential upside on trust, they will have to share it. (Chris Hughes, 3/29)

You have insurance, so you assume you’re getting the best price for your prescription drugs. Not necessarily. Sometimes, because of high deductibles or high co-pays, it’s cheaper to skip the insurance and pay the retail price. I know, it sounds crazy, right? But I did that recently and was blown away by how much I saved — $108 on a 90-day refill of the generic drug I’ve been taking for years. By going to another pharmacy a few miles away, one that accepted an online coupon from GoodRx, I paid $12 instead of $120. (Herb Weisbaum, 4/2)