Are value-based pricing arrangements more common than we thought?

The answer appears to be ‘yes’ according to a survey by Mahendraratnam et al. (2019). After surveying subject matter experts that were senior representatives from payer organizations and pharmaceutical manufacturers on value-based pricing arrangements (VBA), they found: More than 70% of VBAs implemented between 2014 and 2017 were not publicly disclosed. Furthermore, although consideration of…

The AMA on value-based drug pricing

The American Medical Association released a statement yesterday in support of value-based pricing of pharmaceuticals.  However, AMA claims that value-based pricing should follow the following core principles. Value-based prices of pharmaceuticals should be determined by objective, independent entities. They also should be evidence-based and the result of valid and reliable inputs and data that incorporate…

Will value-based pricing be coming to the U.S.?

The answer may be yes.  One of the big inpediments to value-based pricing of pharmaceuticals was that any discount given to any single organization based on outcomes needed to be reflected in the Medicaid price.  Since outcomes are subject to random noise, there will inevitably be health plans that end up getting a low price due to worse than expected…

The end of dose-based drug pricing?

A Health Affairs post by Dana Goldman and Darius Lakdawalla argues that dose-based pricing for pharmaceuticals is suboptimal.  They make a clear distinction between typical goods, where cost and benefits are roughly proportional to quantity consumed, and pharmaceuticals. Buying two bunches of bananas naturally costs twice as much as one bunch. Twice as many bananas can…