Washington University
Professor at Washington University and Co-Director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at its Institute for Public Health
PROFILE
Timothy McBride
Guest
FROM Timothy McBride
To the Point
Can politics cure the high cost of drugs? EpiPens are the poster child for vast increases in the price of familiar medications. Many people carry them for emergency treatment of allergic reactions that can be life threatening. So, when the Mylan Company raised the price of two EpiPens from $100 $614 it made big news. Turns out, it's the tip of the iceberg. Drug prices are on the rise and desperately ill people are often those hit by bills they never expected. Other countries have established price controls for life-or-death medications, but America's system is so complex it defies understanding. Drug and insurance companies, hospitals and doctors engage in secret negotiations, while various middlemen get cuts of the action. And, who's paying for those expensive ads on TV? Patients. Are the presidential campaigns offering any realistic solutions?
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To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.