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Christopher Topoleski, Director of Federal Legislative Affairs for ASHP, talks about the ongoing legislative actions aimed at addressing rising medication costs in the drug industry.

The Nevada Senate, after emotional floor debate, approved a bill...allowing terminally ill patients to request life-ending medication from their physicians...Senate Bill 261 passed on an 11-10 vote and now goes to the Assembly...Supporters said it would provide the sick and dying the right to end their suffering at a time of their own choosing...Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, was a sponsor of the bill but voted against it. Kieckhefer said he became "increasingly uncomfortable" with the bill and what he called a "significant lack of clarity."..."I don’t necessarily trust doctors to tell me when I’m going to die,"...He also shared concerns raised by critics that the sick, frail and disabled could be pressured to end their lives by family members or caregivers...Under the measure, mentally competent patients over the age of 18 could request a prescription for life-ending drugs. Two doctors would have to confirm the terminal diagnosis and a life expectancy of six months of less. Doctors, pharmacists and health care facilities would not have to participate...

All-party parliamentary group recommends community pharmacy play a bigger role in the NHS to take pressure off Gps...Giving all community pharmacists the opportunity to become prescribers by 2022 and introducing a minor ailment service throughout England are among a series of recommendations made in a report by the All-Party Pharmacy Group, following an investigation into the impact of government reforms...The APPG, which is made up of a cross section of MPs with an interest in pharmacy, has also called on NHS England to outline their strategy for implementing the recommendations of the Murray Review into "community pharmacy clinical services"…Community pharmacy is a highly valued, but an underutilised resource, the APPG said, and the profession needs to play a more integrated role in both primary care services, and the treatment of patients with long-term health conditions...The health service is facing huge challenges due to patient demand, and by working to develop services, community pharmacy can shoulder some of the burden facing GPs, and other parts of the NHS...

Maryland lawmakers have passed a first-in-the-nation measure that lets the state attorney general sue generic drug makers that sharply raise prices in a move aimed at fighting what legislators call "price-gouging."...The bill overwhelmingly was approved by the Democratic-controlled legislature on Monday and hailed by Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh as a way to check sharply higher prices for crucial generic drugs…Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, has not said whether he would sign the legislation...The bill allows Maryland's state authority on Medicaid...to let the attorney general's office know when it sees patients being charged an "unconscionable increase" for essential generic drugs...The attorney general could then seek an explanation from the manufacturer and sue to protect consumers, with a fine of up to $10,000 for each violation. A judge could order the company to reverse its price increase.

In the works for years, a new medical school is finally going to become a reality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas…The Nevada Legislature gave final approval Monday night to a bill that includes $25 million in state money to build the UNLV School of Medicine…It's been a priority for Gov. Brian Sandoval, who announced earlier Monday he'd received $25 million in matching funds from an anonymous private donor to launch construction…The deal was contingent on the matching funds. Sandoval believes it's the single largest philanthropic contribution in state history…The Senate passed Senate Bill 553 unanimously. Nine Republicans opposed it in the Assembly, where it passed 33-9…Lawmakers also gave final approval to a capital improvements package that includes $43 million for a new engineering building at the University of Nevada, Reno. Sandoval says he'll sign both bills.

A bid in Nevada to force America’s three insulin manufacturers to turn over information on the...prices of...hormone treatment for people with diabetes advanced with bipartisan support...The Democratic (Democrat) proposal has transitioned from a first-of-its-kind price control to a measure focused on pricing transparency...it retains what would be some of the toughest regulations on pharmaceutical companies in the nation...It would require drugmakers to annually publish the list prices they set and profits they make on insulin, as well as the total amount of insulin discounts they give market middlemen — specific data points currently largely kept confidential...Some pharmaceutical companies, including insulin-maker Sanofi SA, have voluntarily released recent data on their price increases...Market experts say transparency alone won’t lower patient costs...

Aiming to rein in soaring prescription drug prices, an unlikely Nevada coalition is trying to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose how they set insulin prices - and issue refunds to diabetics or their insurance companies if annual price hikes surpass inflation...Las Vegas casino owners have banded together with their employees' unions of cooks, servers and other resort workers to support the unprecedented legislation in their effort to control their own medical insurance costs...The bill expected to face its first vote in early May would attempt to cap how much employers, insurers and corporate middle men pay for insulin...Lawmakers also hope the bill would cap what diabetics pay out of their own pockets near their current cost levels - typically between $50 and $600 per month, depending on diabetics' insurance coverage...It remains far from clear that the bill, if passed, would survive legal challenges or have the intended effect. But it would make Nevada the first U.S. state to force detailed release of drugmakers' proprietary information and effectively establish a price control on prescription drugs via the refund plan...

Gov. Brian Sandoval...vetoed a bill that would have required drug manufacturers to notify the state in advance of planned price increases for diabetes-related drugs, among other provisions...Sandoval said that while Senate Bill 265 had well-intentioned provisions related to access to affordable health care, the measure also contained potentially detrimental consequences for Nevadans, “not the least of which is the possibility that access to critical care will become more expensive, more restricted, and less equitable.”...“SB 265 fails to account for market dynamics that are inextricably linked to health care delivery and access to prescription drugs,” Sandoval said. “This failure cannot be overlooked, and it could cause more harm than good for Nevada’s families.”...Sandoval also said there was insufficient evidence to support the notion that the measure would lead to lower drug costs…

Secretary of Health and Human Services...Tom Price is continuing to push the Senate to further increase the industry fees paid to the US Food and Drug Administration...which would upend the agreed-to amounts negotiated by FDA and industry for the next five years, and allow for further cuts to the agency’s congressional appropriations...the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee advanced a bill reauthorizing the user fee programs for prescription drug, medical device, generic drug and biosimilar industries without the additional fees that President Donald Trump requested in his budget blueprint for the next fiscal year...The fees included in the bill were what both sides negotiated for PDUFA VI, MDUFA IV, GDUFA II and BsUFA II...Price wrote in a letter...to Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking member of the HELP committee: "To ensure the FDA has the critical resources needed to keep pace with this field, the President's Budget Blueprint proposes to increase and restructure the medical product user fee programs at FDA to be 100 percent user fee supported programs, with no funding triggers that require budget authority financing."...

Key lawmakers building the state's next budget rejected more than half of the cuts Gov. Brian Sandoval proposed to mental health services in Northern Nevada...The sub-committee in charge of reviewing and altering Sandoval's mental health budget restored nearly $5.5 million when it "closed" the budget for Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services...Sandoval had proposed cutting $10.1 million from the mental health agency, arguing that demand for state services are dropping as more Nevadans obtain coverage through Medicaid that allows them to access private health care providers. Sandoval's budget includes increased funding for Medicaid...lawmakers weren't convinced that those with a mental illness are able to access adequate care in the private market, especially as Congress works to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which provides expanded Medicaid coverage...lawmakers refused to:

• Close the 10-bed rapid stabilization unit at the Dini-Townsend Psychiatric Hospital, restoring $3.7 million to the budget;
• Slash $1.2 million in funding to provide services to severely mentally ill patients who are "treatment resistant";
• Eliminate outpatient counseling services at NNAMHS, restoring $367,217 to the budget;