Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

💊🏛️ @NBCNews Medical Reporter covering FDA, drug pricing and health care

[Drew Altman @DrewAltman]

Nothing was certain when I came to California to start KFF with little more than an idea. Now 37 years later, @KFF is at the height of its effectiveness, and I have the perfect opportunity, thanks to our board, to hand over leadership to Larry Levitt and Molly Brodie next year.

[Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur]

Scoop: Democratic think tank @SearchlightInst is pushing the party to embrace a new idea: Free primary care for all Americans.

The group wants Dems to rethink their approach to health care and break out of the M4A vs ACA rut. They’re unimpressed with CAP’s proposal and warn that Dems need to have a vision beyond opposing Trump and restoring expired subsidies.

“This is still our best issue, but we have not been on offense in a way that’s capturing people’s imaginations and getting them excited,” says @AJentleson. “We don’t need to be on defense or just advocating for incremental reforms.”

Story w/ @BerkeleyJr: https://t.co/9W8X5M43Fk

[NBC News @NBCNews]

Hospital CEOs came under criticism at a House hearing, with lawmakers accusing them of overcharging patients and exploiting the system. https://t.co/P365PC6utT

[Lauren Gardner @Gardner_LM]

New tidbit from @FDA press conference on real-time trials: Mallika Mundkur is now acting chief medical and scientific officer -- two hats previously worn by outgoing CBER Director Vinay Prasad.

[NBC News @NBCNews]

Most Alzheimer’s blood tests work by measuring levels of proteins that build up in the brain and are thought to play key roles in the disease. But it’s still an ongoing debate how well the tests can predict who will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, doctors say. https://t.co/EqEvpb3Z6p

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

NEW - The FDA approved Regeneron’s Otarmeni, the first gene therapy for genetic hearing loss.

The drugmaker said it will offer the drug for **free** to U.S. patients.

https://t.co/hIkWJzRXNR

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Senate hearing Wednesday afternoon, criticizing the secretary over his vaccine policy and abortion medications and debunking a scientific study.

https://t.co/vfAHq7lP9R

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

NEW - New rules approved by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could blunt the impact of a federal judge’s order freezing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee and putting many of its decisions on hold, experts say.

https://t.co/jOqdVuq1Rx

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

@camillerrivera @brendini511 @TopherSpiro Sorry, I was referring to @brendini511 !

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

@brendini511 @camillerrivera @TopherSpiro Hi there. I'm a reporter with NBC News. Would you be open to chatting about this? I'm working on an article about prior authorization. Thanks!

[Dan Diamond @ddiamond]

New: the nation’s top drug lobbyist is stepping down.

STEVE UBL is moving on from PhRMA after a decade-plus, he told The Post in an interview.

Ubl's organization has been battling with Trump on his drug-price plans.

https://t.co/nZkm0PLtwR

[Sarah Karlin-Smith @SarahKarlin]

Abbvie put Humira on TrumpRx even though two biosimilar competitors are already on the site. Humira costs $950 via TrumpRx but the biosimilar competitors start at $207 to $299 via the site and never get to nearly as high a price point as the brand.

How does this help patients?

[Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur]

New: Trump's surgeon general nominee has stalled.

White House is telling the Senate to move on Casey Means, whose hearing was over a month ago.

Will she get a vote? When?

"No comment on Casey," says HELP Chair Bill Cassidy.

@BerkeleyJr @ariabendix & me https://t.co/DZ98E8upYl

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

Exclusive: The White House adds three drugs for diabetes and lung disease to the self-pay platform TrumpRx, as the administration works to expand the site as part of its push to lower drug prices.

https://t.co/vawQPxV2o0

[Erika Edwards @erikaedwardsnbc]

Reliable sources within HHS and the CDC confirm to NBC News that this is inaccurate.

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

NEW: 💊TrumpRx isn't doing much for drug prices. What would it take to change that?

https://t.co/tstjZ5kPY8

[NBC News @NBCNews]

About 1 in 3 U.S. adults say they’ve made trade-offs to afford health care in the past year, including rationing or skipping medications or borrowing money, according to a poll from West Health-Gallup. https://t.co/ALaG8LjqHO

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

NEW: In a phone interview, Dr. Mehmet Oz told me Obamacare enrollment may be “too high” and predicts it could fall to around 19 million, arguing some people in ACA plans shouldn’t be enrolled.

https://t.co/VOkhaWFfum

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

@DeanClancy The large shift to bronze plans (higher deductible), as states have reported, seems notable.

[Berkeley Lovelace Jr. @BerkeleyJr]

NEW: More people appear to be walking away from Obamacare coverage or switching to cheaper plans for 2026 compared to this time last year, according to early enrollment data from several states.

https://t.co/LimMzqcb71

[Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur]

ACA premiums have officially gone up this month with the tax credits expired. Many people are moving toward low-premium plans with high deductibles and less coverage. Overall sign-ups are down more than 800,000 compared to last year. From @BerkeleyJr: https://t.co/ptOuH8EWbY