Robert Popovian

Chief Science Policy Officer at Global Healthy Living Foundation

Pharmacist | Economist | Advocate for Patients, Healthcare Professionals and Employers | Truth Teller! Apple/Spotify Podcast: Healthcare Matters

Articles

Could the Inflation Reduction Act Maximum Fair Price Hurt Patients?

Dec 3, 2024 | jheor.org | Anne Sydor |Esteban Rivera |Robert Popovian

INTRODUCTION As with any complex U.S. federal legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, includes provisions with positive and negative consequences for diverse stakeholders.1 Specific clauses affect health insurance premiums, patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and wholesale medication prices that will impact patients, biopharmaceutical companies, the insurance industry, and policymakers differently, depending on their perspectives and roles within the...
Could the Inflation Reduction Act Maximum Fair Price Hurt Patients?

Dec 3, 2024 | jheor.org | Anne Sydor |Esteban Rivera |Robert Popovian

INTRODUCTION As with any complex U.S. federal legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, includes provisions with positive and negative consequences for diverse stakeholders.1 Specific clauses affect health insurance premiums, patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and wholesale medication prices that will impact patients, biopharmaceutical companies, the insurance industry, and policymakers differently, depending on their perspectives and roles within the...
Smith, Popovian: Federal drug pricing program is costing taxpayers billions

Sep 9, 2024 | detroitnews.com | William Smith |Robert Popovian

William Smith and Robert Popovian | The Detroit NewsThe federal 340B Drug Pricing Program was designed to encourage hospitals and clinics to provide low-income patients with more charity care. Today, the program costs taxpayers billions of dollars. Still, there is far more evidence that hospitals are using the money to subsidize unrelated operations than helping those in need. There is an aphorism that says if you are going to say something deceptive, go big.
Pharmacy price-setting boards help big business, not patients

Sep 5, 2024 | baltimoresun.com | Robert Popovian

Maryland policymakers have touted the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) as their solution to high drug prices. Instead of tackling the root causes, these price-setting boards could exacerbate the dominance of pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) owned pharmacies at the expense of community pharmacies. PBMs are supposed to help lower patient costs but often enrich themselves at the expense of patients and community pharmacies.
The 340B Program is Costing Taxpayers Billions – DC Journal - InsideSources

Sep 5, 2024 | dcjournal.com | William Smith |Robert Popovian

The federal 340B Drug Pricing Program was designed to encourage hospitals and clinics to provide low-income patients with more charity care. Today, the program costs taxpayers billions of dollars. Still, there is far more evidence that hospitals are using the money to subsidize unrelated operations than helping those in need. There is an aphorism that says if you are going to say something deceptive, go big.
Opinion | Health care profiteers skimming funds meant for poor

Aug 8, 2024 | captimes.com | Robert Popovian

Recently, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce reported that Wisconsin patient health care costs are more than 300% higher than the rest of the country. Now health care profiteers in the state are knowingly taking advantage of a federal law to generate bigger profits by skimming dollars from a drug discount program designed to help indigent or uninsured patients.
Could the Inflation Reduction Act Maximum Fair Price Hurt Patients?

Jun 27, 2024 | medrxiv.org | Esteban Rivera |Anne Sydor |Robert Popovian

The Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) relies on the activist philanthropy of our partners: academic partners, advocacy groups, corporate sponsors, foundations, and government agencies. We are grateful for their continued support of our community advocacy, education, and research efforts. A full list of GHLFpartners is available at ghlf.org/partners. Robert Popovian holds stock in multiple pharmaceutical companies and serves as a consultant to pharmaceutical companies.
Could the Inflation Reduction Act Maximum Fair Price Hurt Patients?

Jun 27, 2024 | medrxiv.org | Esteban Rivera |Anne Sydor |Robert Popovian

The Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) relies on the activist philanthropy of our partners: academic partners, advocacy groups, corporate sponsors, foundations, and government agencies. We are grateful for their continued support of our community advocacy, education, and research efforts. A full list of GHLFpartners is available at ghlf.org/partners. Robert Popovian holds stock in multiple pharmaceutical companies and serves as a consultant to pharmaceutical companies.
Misguided Proposals Threaten Innovation, Access to Diabetes Medicines – DC Journal - InsideSources

Jun 11, 2024 | dcjournal.com | Robert Popovian |William Smith |Ray Walker

The recent JAMA Network Open study “Estimated Sustainable Cost-Based Prices for Diabetes Medicines” offers a fascinating yet fundamentally flawed depiction of how drug prices should be set. The authors naively suggest that medicine prices should be based on manufacturing costs plus a residual, ignoring the complex pricing realities of the pharmaceutical industry and the critical role of intellectual property protection.
Arizona opinion: Arizona must prioritize reform of Federal Safety Net Program

Mar 20, 2024 | tucson.com | Robert Popovian

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:The high cost of living, coupled with rising healthcare costs, is dramatically impacting vulnerable Arizona patients living with chronic diseases.