Latest news with #OPPA
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Former federal regulator leading new HPC pharma office
BOSTON (SHNS) – A pair of new state health care oversight offices have 'hit the ground running' since being established in a January law, and one is led by a former federal regulator with experience investigating pharmacy benefit managers, officials said Thursday. The Health Policy Commission is now home to an Office of Pharmaceutical Policy and Analysis, which officials shorten as OPPA, and an Office of Health Resource Planning, or OHRP. Lawmakers tasked the pharmaceutical office with examining spending data and crafting recommendations on how Massachusetts should handle the prescription drug industry, which policymakers have targeted for reforms over its status as a major driver of rising health care costs. Matthew Frank started as OPPA's director Monday after five years working for the Federal Trade Commission. He also previously worked in the antitrust division at the Massachusetts attorney general's office. 'He did extraordinary and deeply relevant work at the FTC,' HPC Deputy Executive Director Coleen Elstermeyer said a meeting Thursday. 'In that role, he led some investigations into [pharmacy benefit managers], their market practices, their behaviors that were concerning and anti-competitive. He led a group of attorneys and economists on an industry study of PBMs as well, and he's also done some work looking at manufacturers who were allegedly, I would say, manipulating patent law to avoid having their drugs become eligible for generics.' The HPC also promoted internally to fill the other new office, tapping Kara Vidal — who previously led the agency's work on cost-controlling performance improvement plans — as director of OHRP. 'This office is charged with developing a state health plan, looking at the supply of services — where do we have too much? Where do we have too little? How does it align with patient need, community need?' Elstermeyer said. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Express
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Express
Full house for anti-scam movie OPPA
Published on: Saturday, May 03, 2025 Published on: Sat, May 03, 2025 By: David Thien Text Size: OPPA filmmaker Denil (right) with some of the police cadets and VIPs after the movie premiere. Kota Kinabalu: Malaysia's first anti-scam campaign awareness movie OPPA which won various awards was screened on May 1 to a packed audience at the Sutera Marina Club's cinema, courtesy of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) Luyang Division's public outreach led by its head Eliza Leong to educate Sabahans on the dangers of various scams. Daily Express was awarded an appreciation plaque for media coverage from guest-of-honour Datuk Kenny Chua, who represented party President Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan. Real policemen and officers acted in the movie. 'The OPPA premiere at Sutera Marina Club was a huge success. It shows how much people care about protecting their kids from love scams,' said project consultant Peter Chua. Kenny told the audience he was also a Bitcoin cryptocurrency scam victim and urged all Malaysians to be wary of the various scams by Internet-savvy scammers within and outside the country. The Royal Malaysian Police sent 50 cadets to watch and learn from the first anti-scam award-winning film by Malaysian filmmaker Denil Choong Lin Loong, with the support of State Police Commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun. Scams continue to wreak financial and emotional havoc across Malaysia, with the recent State of Scam Report 2024 revealing staggering losses of RM54.02 billion (US$12.8 billion) over the past year. This figure, equivalent to 3 per cent of the nation's GDP, underscores the pressing need for stronger countermeasures against fraud, as the film is campaigning for with the Royal Malaysian Police. Scam attempts primarily through phone calls, instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, and social media sites like Facebook are on the increase. SMS and text scams have surged by 8 per cent last year compared to 2023. The emotional toll on victims is profound, with 57 per cent reporting a significant emotional impact due to their experiences. The film shows a suicide attempt by the main actress. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
