Connect with us

Louisiana

Louisiana man working in Georgia found dead at St. Simons Island property, police say

Published

on

Louisiana man working in Georgia found dead at St. Simons Island property, police say


A Louisiana man who disappeared in Glynn County was found dead Monday morning, the Glynn County Police Department said.

Carlos Eduardo Padilla, 24, was in Glynn County on a work assignment, police said. His family reported him as missing to GCPD on Thursday, Dec. 26.

Police said family members told them that Padilla “had been acting erratically,” GCPD said in a news release.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Advertisement

GCPD said it conducted ground searches, reviewed surveillance video and cell phone records, and interviewed his family, friends, and employer to find Padilla.

Padilla’s body was found at a property on Old Demere Road on St. Simons Island “by workers from a pool cleaning service,” the release said.

TRENDING STORIES:

Police said in the release there is “no known connection between Padilla and the residents of the home where he was found.”

Investigators said it is “undetermined” at this time if foul play is involved in Padilla’s death. An autopsy will be performed on his body by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Advertisement

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the GCPD Non-Emergency phone number at (912) 554-3645 or anonymously via Silent Witness at (912) 264-1333.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Louisiana

Inside the battle over prescription drug prices and pharmacies in the Louisiana Legislature

Published

on

Inside the battle over prescription drug prices and pharmacies in the Louisiana Legislature


Independent pharmacies gained the upper hand Wednesday against pharmacy benefit managers following a behind-the-scenes lobbying battle over what has been one of the biggest unsettled policy issues in the final days of the regular legislative session.

The outcome could affect everyone in Louisiana who buys prescription drugs, especially those who purchase specialty drugs that treat such maladies as diabetes, neuropathy and inattention or hyperactivity.

Pharmacy benefit managers are third-party companies that are supposed to negotiate lower drug prices by acting as middlemen between drug manufacturers, insurance companies and pharmacies. Critics say that pharmacy benefit managers pocket too much of the savings.

A measure passed Wednesday by the Senate Insurance Committee, House Bill 264, favored independent pharmacies by prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from steering customers to pharmacies they own and by mandating that discounts negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers go to employers and consumers. HB264 also requires pharmacy benefit managers to report more details of their activities to government regulators to ensure that they are following the law.

Advertisement

“Today the balance has shifted away from large corporations and their profits back to independent pharmacies and the consumers,” Sen. Adam Bass, R-Bossier City, said in an interview following the insurance committee hearing.

Gov. Jeff Landry has sided with the independent pharmacies, saying when he opened the legislative session nearly two months ago that he favors “reining in the PBMs who are driving the cost of prescriptions.” Landry pitched his views to Republican senators Monday night in the Senate basement, according to senators.

Lobbyists for pharmacy benefit managers had lobbied against HB264 but accepted the changes as inevitable, legislative sources said, to try to head off Louisiana from following Arkansas and adopting more far-reaching legislation that would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from also owning and operating pharmacies.

Landry also supports that change, according to his staff.

CVS, the biggest drug store company that owns a pharmacy benefit manager, sued Arkansas a week ago to block the new law there from taking effect. CVS has 23 pharmacies in Arkansas but more than 100 in Louisiana.

Advertisement

The CEO of Caremark, CVS’ pharmacy benefit manager, tried to sway legislators in Louisiana with phone calls, legislators said. The CEO of Optum Rx, another pharmacy benefit manager, came to Baton Rouge to personally lobby lawmakers.

A state website shows that CVS has seven lobbyists working the halls of the State Capitol. They are working in alliance with lobbyists for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

“PBMs secure savings on prescription drugs for Louisiana employers and patients and provide employers with a wide range of choices to offer quality prescription drug coverage,” said Greg Lopes, a spokesperson for the association. “Drug companies set drug prices, and the prices are the problem.”

CVS declined to comment, saying the company is still digesting the last-minute changes to HB264.

The Louisiana Association of Independent Pharmacies and their allies have their own phalanx of lobbyists.

Advertisement

“PBMs shouldn’t be allowed to say one thing and do another behind the scenes,” said Randal Johnson, president of the Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association. “HB264 attempts to shine a light on rebate flows, bans hidden fees and ensures that what’s paid and what’s reimbursed can actually be traced and reviewed. That’s good policy, and more importantly, it’s pro-patient.”

The heavy lobbying by both sides caught the attention of legislators.

“Every lobbyist here is hired,” said Rep. Dustin Miller, D-Opelousas. “You have CEOs from these companies flying in. There are meetings happening in every room of this building.”

Pharmacy benefit managers have become in vogue only in the past dozen years but have quickly faced questions for their activities.

The New York Times reported in a three-part series last year that pharmacy benefit managers operate in an opaque fashion and “are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.”

Advertisement

The Trump administration and Congress are moving to adopt less favorable rules for pharmacy benefit managers.

Wednesday’s action is not the final word in the long-running battle in Louisiana between the independent pharmacies and their allies on one side and the pharmacy benefit managers on the other.

The full Senate still needs to approve House Bill 264, and the House would need to agree to the changes made by the Senate before adjournment on June 12.

In the meantime, a separate House measure, House Bill 358 by Miller, could be amended to institute the change that CVS strongly opposes – a prohibition on pharmacy benefit managers from owning or operating pharmacies. House and Senate negotiators are scheduled to meet in the next several days to decide on the final shape of HB358.

“I support any legislation that will stop the anti-competitive practices that I think PBMs do,” Miller said in an interview.

Advertisement

Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe, and the sponsor of HB264, also takes a skeptical view of the pharmacy benefit managers.

“We’re putting money into the hands of consumers, which should lower costs,” he told the Senate Insurance Committee.

Driving HB264 forward has been Bass, a 44-year-old Allstate agent who is the vice chair of the insurance committee. Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-Harahan, the committee chair, deputized Bass to try to fashion a bill that could win legislative approval.

Bass said he concluded that pharmacy benefit managers were using their power to block some drugs from coming to market and that employers and consumers are not receiving enough of the discounts negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers with drug manufacturers.

Bass said he met with lobbyists from all sides and worked until midnight with legislative staff late on Monday and Tuesday night to confect the final language for changes in HB264.

Advertisement

The amendments were not shared with lobbyists and some lawmakers until just before Wednesday’s meeting. Echols was quickly familiarizing himself with the changes to his bill just before he presented it Wednesday.

Once the hearing began, Bass explained the changes. A half hour later, the committee approved the amended bill without objection.

The lobbyists on both sides of the issue got up to depart, leaving behind a nearly empty room as the Senate committee moved onto less controversial measures.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Louisiana

Wetlands redefined? This Louisiana bill makes it easier to build

Published

on




A proposed Louisiana law could dramatically reshape how wetlands are defined and protected—drawing concern from environmental groups, legal experts and floodplain advocates, Louisiana Illuminator reports

Senate Bill 94, recently passed by the Louisiana Senate, aims to align state policy with a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed federal wetland protections. The bill reclassifies some wetlands cut off from navigable waters—such as those behind levees or dams—as “fastlands,” potentially removing them from regulatory oversight.

The change has real-world implications, highlighted by a lawsuit over a small dam built without a permit in Iberville Parish. Environmental groups say the bill’s vague language could open the door for more such developments without federal review, weakening flood protection and threatening habitats.

Advertisement

Critics argue the bill invites legal confusion and undermines flood mitigation efforts. Supporters, including Sen. “Big Mike” Fesi, say it strengthens property rights and streamlines levee construction. “We try calling everything wetlands just because it has a little water in it,” Fesi said. “It’s gotten way out of hand.” But opponents warn that diminishing natural wetlands could raise flood risks and harm wildlife. The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk. 

Read the full story. 

 

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Louisiana

Landry downplays federal agency turmoil at the start of hurricane season 

Published

on

Landry downplays federal agency turmoil at the start of hurricane season 


Despite fears over massive staffing cuts and the threatened dissolution of key agencies that help forecast hurricanes and support storm recovery, Gov. Jeff Landry doubled down Tuesday on his belief that Louisiana is prepared should a natural disaster strike.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending