ZorroCard Round Up (9/26/24)

Hey all,

today’s round up covers many many reasons why we should be ashamed of the US healthcare system. We have the highest drug prices, a health system CEO takes the fifth and refusing to appear before the Senate, and we placed dead last in the developed world in healthcare. USA! USA!

Best,

Jacob

Fierce Pharma (Senator Warren Calls For Generic Ozempic/Wegovy Costs): Ahead of a Senate hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others are calling for “march-in” rights to lower the costs of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. This right was established in the 1980 Bayh - Dole act but has never been used. It will be interesting to see how the unprecedented demand for GLP-1s affects IP protections. Full Article

Becker’s Healthcare and Senate Contempt Vote: The Senate voted unanimously on September 25 to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre, MD, in criminal contempt, the first such ruling since 1971. This action follows a Senate Committee’s September 19 vote to advance contempt charges after Dr. de la Torre failed to comply with a subpoena. The resolution now heads to the Justice Department for possible prosecution, highlighting a significant clash between the Senate and Steward Health Care. Full Article

Healthcare Uncovered (U.S. Health System Is an International Embarrassment): A report from the Commonwealth Fund shows that the US healthcare system is inefficient and expensive compared to other wealthy countries. The US health system is dead last amongst the top ten highest income countries. This is the 20th straight year the US has placed dead last. Full Article