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STAT+: Medicare expects to spend $3.5 billion on new Alzheimer’s drug in 2025

STAT

Medicare for the first time has estimated that a new Alzheimer’s treatment could cost the program billions of dollars by next year — well beyond what Wall Street or even the drug’s manufacturer have projected — according to a document obtained by STAT.

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STAT+: As Humira biosimilars take over the market, CVS has created a new ploy: the drug ‘rebate credit’

STAT

CVS Caremark, the PBM owned by CVS Health that oversees the prescription drug benefits of 103 million people, told its employer clients that it anticipated “more lower-cost products (including specialty biosimilars) may become preferred products” on its lists of approved drugs for 2024, according to documents obtained by STAT.

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STAT+: CVS and its PBM agree to pay $45 million to Illinois for failing to pass drug rebates

STAT

CVS Caremark, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country, agreed to pay at least $45 million to the state of Illinois to settle allegations that rebates were not passed through during a recent four-year period, according to a document obtained by STAT.

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Opinion: Diversity statements should not be required for federal STEMM grant funding

STAT

As documented in a recent commentary that I and several colleague published in the journal Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, considerations of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been introduced into federal science funding decisions. Each of the major U.S. Read the rest…

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STAT+: UnitedHealth discontinues a controversial brand amid scrutiny of algorithmic care denials

STAT

Starting in the first quarter of 2024, Optum’s post-acute-care companies will be called Home & Community Care, according to internal documents obtained by STAT. However, Optum advised employees that “Home & Community Care should not be directly next to the Optum logo” in marketing materials.

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STAT+: Class action against UnitedHealth asks about DOJ probe transparency

STAT

A huge amount of those documents were released last week, and the numbers mirror what  we’ve been seeing over the past several months : Not all hospitals are in dire straits, and in fact, many continue to do quite well. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Monday. Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about the FTC vs. PBMs, FDA adcomm voting and more

STAT

antitrust regulators into pharmaceutical industry middlemen has been stymied because the companies have failed to provide many of the documents that, in some cases, were requested as far back as June 2022 , STAT writes. The … A much-anticipated inquiry by U.S.