PBGH Announcements
PACIFIC BUSINESS GROUP ON HEALTH CHANGES NAME
Now Purchaser Business Group on Health, PBGH has changed its name to reflect its national presence and purchaser-only membership.
Trump Administration Announces Executive Orders to Reduce Drug Prices
On Friday, July 24, the President signed four executive orders aimed at reducing prescription drug prices. While executive orders do not need congressional approval, each of these orders requires further rulemaking and are thus not immediately enforceable. In addition, all four orders will be fought in the courts by affected stakeholders and the orders could be withdrawn by a future administration. Nevertheless, if ever finalized, the orders could have a significant impact on drug costs in the future.
HHS Secretary Azar calls on CQC to host roundtable on COVID’s impact primary care
PBGH’s California Quality Collaborative hosted leading voices in health reform to address enhanced access to health care beyond the pandemic.
Read the statement.
EmployersRx calls on Congress and industry to ensure fair and reasonable pricing for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutic drugs.
As the COVID-19 crisis will only end when people have access to effective vaccines and therapeutic drugs, EmployersRx urges legislators, manufacturers and providers to ensure fair and reasonable pricing of these shortly anticipated treatments.
Senate Republicans Introduce “Phase 4” Coronavirus Response Bill
On Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced introduction of the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, a roughly $1 trillion package responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Introduction of the bill came after difficult negotiations between Senate Republicans and the White House, which delayed introduction by roughly one week. In May, the House passed the competing $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act along party lines. Now the two sides will begin what are expected to be tough and protracted negotiations to reach a final agreement.
PBGH joins others to offer Congress policy recommendations
PBGH joined 30 other organizations representing many of the nation’s leading private and public sector employers to offer Congress specific recommendations for health coverage-related policies to be included in the forthcoming legislation
PBGH urges Congress to fund robust COVID-19 testing
PBGH, along with other organizations representing many of the nation’s leading employers, is urging Congress to support the efforts of employers to return their employees to work safely by investing additional federal resources in the robust testing needed to accomplish both the public health and economic goals, and to ensure that employers and taxpayers are not subject to opaque and exorbitant prices for COVID-19 tests and associated services.
PBGH signs on to Congressional letter requesting more COVID contact tracing
PBGH has joined USofCare by signing onto a letter to congressional leadership in calling for more funding for contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill. Read the letter here.
PBGH urges Congress to protect consumers against surprise billing
PBGH joined 48 diverse business groups in signing onto a letter sent to Congressional Leadership urging Congress to include protections against surprise medical billing in the next COVID-19 package. Read the letter here.
PBGH Issues statement on Gilead announcement on the price of Remdesivir
The Pacific Business Group on Health has serious concerns with the price that Gilead has announced for remdesivir, a drug that reduces COVID-19 patients’ recovery time. Read the statement here.
