Cathy has covered US regulation and reimbursement policy for the biopharma industry since 2004, starting with the establishment of the Medicare Part D program. Since then, she has written extensively about developments in all major sectors of the US insurance market (Medicare, Medicaid and commercial plans). She has covered key legislation affecting biopharma, including the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act which created Part D, health care reform under President Obama, and the Inflation Reduction Act which establishes a government price negotiation program in Medicare for the first time and redesigns of the Part D benefit. She has closely followed the increasing influence of pharmacy benefit managers and their use of formulary negotiations and rebates to control pricing. Cathy also has covered developments in health technology assessments, including the growing influence of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, and has monitored industry progress on novel drug contracting that reflects value-based pricing. She has worked as a health care reporter and editor while raising three daughters. Cathy lives outside DC in Bethesda, MD, with her husband Sean.
Latest from Cathy Kelly
A Republican think tank suggested variations of the Most Favored Nation and international reference policies in Medicare and Medicaid, as well as tariffs and other trade levers to rebalance drug pricing disparities between US countries and abroad.
Democrats opposed the nomination because they believe Mehmet Oz will not defend Medicaid from spending cuts. His pledge to continue lowering drug costs in Medicare and Medicaid did not offset the concerns.
The development could highlight the power of competitive market forces over government price controls or suggest Medicare price negotiation is enhancing competitive market forces.
The development could highlight the power of competitive market forces over government price controls or suggest Medicare price negotiation is enhancing competitive market forces.
An HHS legal brief argues company lawsuits seeking immediate clearance to use rebates in 340B are premature and that the department has merely used a ‘measured approach’ in weighing the possibility. Past experience suggests otherwise, a pricing expert said.
Physician and TV personality Mehmet Oz, who is President Trump's nominee for CMS administrator, said he was instructed by President Trump to explore “every single way” the agency could lower drug costs.