New Medicare Act gives high-risk seniors access to pharmacists' medicationtherapy management services

Optum Rx has eliminated reauthorization for almost 70 drugs for chronic diseases, about 10% of its overall pharmacy prior authorizations.

In this week's episode of Tuning Into The C-Suite podcast, MHE's Briana Contreras chatted with David Calabrese, R.Ph, MHP, who is senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer of pharmacy care services company, OptumRx. David is also a member of Managed Healthcare Executives’ Editorial Advisory Board. During the discussion, he shared the OptumRx Quarter 2 Drug Pipeline Insights Report of 2020. Some of the information shared includes the three notable drugs currently being reviewed or those that have been recently approved by the FDA. Also discussed were any interesting industry trends to watch for.

Steqeyma is one of seven Stelara biosimilars that have been approved by the FDA.

Lumicera Health Services, Navitus’ specialty pharmacy, has made a deal with Teva to offer an unbranded biosimilar that they estimate will save $112,000 and $336,000 per patient per year. Navitus will remove Stelara from formulary on July 1, 2025.

The new bill would also require state Medicaid programs to report National Average Drug Acquisition Costs (NADAC) as a way to increase transparency in drug pricing.

Two companies have received approved for a generic of the 2.5 mg tablet of anticoagulant rivaroxaban, which is used to reduce the risk of stroke and deep vein thrombosis.