prescription drugs

Oregon Action Pushes Congress to Negotiate Medicare Drug Prices

Sen. Jeff Merkley to cosponsor a bill advocates say will reduce Medicare spending on drugs
April 9, 2013 – Oregon could save anywhere from $325 to $766 million if Medicare were able to negotiate prescription drug prices similar to governments of other wealthy countries. That's according to a March report released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which was the subject of a press conference hosted by Ron Williams, executive director of Oregon Action, and Dean Baker, co-executive director of the Center and coauthor of the report. Read More >>

Small Pharmacies Getting Squeeze from Goliath PBMs

A bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Jules Bailey and Rep. Greg Smith would regulate pharmacy benefit managers, which local pharmacists say are driving them out of business
March 27, 2013 — Central Drugs Pharmacy has been open for 110 years in downtown Portland, and it specializes in dispensing drugs for those who suffer from HIV. Read More >>

Senate Gives Unanimous Blessing to Expanding Nurse Practitioners' Dispensation

The bill was pushed by Portland clinic chain ZoomCare, which drew criticism on the Senate floor from Sen. Alan Bates
February 8, 2013 -- The Senate passed Senate Bill 8 by a unanimous vote yesterday, sending to the House a measure that would expand nurse practitioners’ power to dispense medication to urban areas. Read More >>

Making Sense Out of Drug Prices

When the author tried to find out why the cost of her blood pressure medication had gone up by 150%, she was left fumbling for an answer
OPINION – DECEMBER 18, 2012 -- I take a generic drug, a little yellow pill that’s been produced for decades, to control blood pressure. I started taking it long before the day I turned 65 that happened to coincide with the beginnings of the great recession that effectively reduced the value of our savings and our house. Read More >>

Member Insists OEBB Overpays for Prescription Drugs

Its policy of mandating that only mail order companies can provide a 90-day supply of drugs is increasing insurance costs, she says
October 30, 2012 -- Tamara Weaver questions why the Oregon Educators Benefit Board (OEBB) is paying more for prescription drugs through its mail order company than at Costco, her local retail pharmacy. OEBB is responsible for selecting the health plans for the majority of Oregon’s public school teachers, community colleges and state universities. Read More >>

Physicians Focus on Curbing Opioid Abuse, Accidental Deaths

Oregon's high rate of prescription abuse and reports of accidental overdoses nationwide have spurred conferences and discussion groups to change treatment protocols
October 8, 2012 -- In the 1990s, prescribing opioid painkillers for any patients besides those in the last stages of a terminal illness was frowned upon and could even result in censure, said Betsy Boyd-Flynn, deputy executive vice president of the Oregon Medical Association. Read More >>

Insurance Spat Leads to Less Rx Coverage for Some

The health reform act will require coverage of all drugs beginning in 2014, but Washington's insurance commissioner and the state's largest insurance companies are facing off over a move to eliminate drug coverage entirely under one plan.
July 3, 2012 A fight between the Washington state insurance commissioner and the state’s largest seller of individual health insurance is spotlighting problems in that increasingly troubled market. The spat arose over insurers’ efforts to curb soaring premiums by restricting or eliminating prescription drug benefits.   Read More >>

Mental Health Carve Out Bill Faced Governor’s Veto

The bill would have required the state to pay for drugs that treat mental illnesses, HIV/AIDS, cancer and immunosuppressant disorders
March 12, 2012—A bill that would have required the state to continue paying for drugs used for mental illnesses, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and immunosuppressant drugs until 2016 died in the last days of the Legislature, blocked by the House and facing a veto threat from Governor Kitzhaber. Read More >>

House Passes Bill Allowing Zoomcare’s Physician Assistants to Dispense Medication

Unlike last year, when both the Oregon Pharmacy Association and the Oregon Pharmacy Coalition opposed the legislation, it sailed through this year
February 24, 2012—A bill that colloquially became known as “the Zoomcare bill” passed the House with 58 votes on Wednesday, paving the way for the clinic chain’s physician assistants to begin prescribing bottled, non-narcotic medication starting in June. Read More >>

ZoomCare to Again Pursue Legislation Allowing Physician Assistants to Dispense Medication

This time around, ZoomCare has the support of the Oregon State Pharmacy Association
January 5, 2012--ZoomCare’s business model of providing same-day appointments for basic preventive and acute care from physician assistants has fascinated many who’ve watched the company’s quick growth in Portland. Read More >>
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