Author: Jodie Thellin Skyberg

Jodie Thellin Skyberg - November 20, 2020 - 458 views

We have speculated over the last two or three years about when we would see Prime Health emerge from Amazon. The company’s recent announcement of Amazon Pharmacy and PrimeRx only partially fulfills our prediction. On the surface, it doesn’t seem to be a particularly disruptive business model, as many analysts have noted. But – this […]

Jodie Thellin Skyberg - September 18, 2020 - 218 views

The U.S. pharma industry is under attack by executive order, with the latest salvo designed to ensure the Medicare Part B program pays the same price for drugs as similarly developed nations pay. That order joins others issued this summer, all aimed at high U.S. drug prices. These orders – all variants of previous orders and […]

Jodie Thellin Skyberg - February 12, 2019 - 156 views

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is about to publish a proposed rule that – according to the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) – would lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs for patients and increase pricing transparency. The HHS proposal would eliminate a safe harbor for prescription drug rebates that drug […]

Amazon’s march toward what we’ve called “Prime Health” continues with the company’s announcement that it will acquire PillPack, the online full-service pharmacy that sorts its customers’ medications by dose; packages them by date, day and time; and mails them to the consumer’s home. With this acquisition, Amazon gains another tool for making healthcare easier, faster, […]

Jodie Thellin Skyberg - March 13, 2018 - 331 views

Another day, another healthcare intermediary is absorbed by a player intent on building scale to deliver value, control data and power up a patient-centered business model. Cigna’s announcement of its intent to buy Express Scripts is just the latest development in the ongoing compression of the healthcare value chain. We’ve been predicting these types of […]