First Edition: December 6, 2017

Kaiser Health News: Seniors Steamed Over Cuts To SilverSneakers Fitness Program
John Garland Graves was taken aback when he walked into his McKinleyville, Calif., gym in October and learned that his SilverSneakers membership was being canceled. Since 2014, Graves, 69, has enjoyed free access to the gym through SilverSneakers, the nation’s best-known fitness program for seniors. He was disturbed by the news, as are many other people who have recently learned they’re losing this benefit. (Graham, 12/6)

CNN: HHS Contradicts Reports On Fetal Tissue Research Contract
Anonymous reporting led to an "inaccurate" story about federal funding of controversial fetal tissue research, the US Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday. HHS's National Institutes of Health has made no decision on whether to extend a University of California, San Francisco contract for controversial research involving fetal tissue, said Caitlin Oakley, a spokeswoman for HHS. Her statement contradicts Washington Post reporting Tuesday that the "Trump administration has thrown into doubt a multimillion-dollar research contract" with UCSF to test new treatments for HIV. (Scutti, 12/5)

The Hill: Manchin Pitched Trump On Reviving Bipartisan ObamaCare Fix 
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) pitched President Trump on reviving a bipartisan fix to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when the two had lunch on Monday. “I said he's the one who can make a difference,” Manchin told reporters on Wednesday, describing his message on health care in his meeting with the president. “We already have a bipartisan agreement. If he signs onto it, it would be great.” (Sullivan, 12/5)

The Associated Press: Democrat Says He'll Appeal To Walker To Veto GOP Power Play
The incoming Democratic governor of Wisconsin says he plans to make a personal appeal to his defeated rival, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, to veto sweeping GOP legislation that would strip the new administration of some powers. If that doesn’t work, Gov.-elect Tony Evers said he might sue. ... The new legislation tries to protect some of the GOP's achievements in recent years, including a work requirement for some people receiving state health care and the state's role in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act. (Bauer and Richmond, 12/6)

CQ: Wisconsin Bill Gives Medicaid Oversight To Legislature
The Wisconsin legislature approved Wednesday morning a measure that would give a legislative committee more control over how Medicaid operates in the state, likely strengthening the controversial work requirements proposed by outgoing Gov. Scott Walker and approved by the federal government. The Medicaid bill was one of three passed early Wednesday that enhanced the Republican legislature’s power at the expense of incoming Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who defeated Walker, the Republican incumbent, last month. (Fischler, 12/5)

Stat: Will A New CVS Pricing Model Lower Drug Costs For Health Plans? 
As criticism of pharmacy benefit managers intensifies, CVS Caremark (CVS) plans to roll out a new prescription-drug pricing model next month for health plans that the company maintains will “simplify” costs and simultaneously add a dose of transparency to a highly opaque system. In short, the PBM will offer so-called guaranteed net pricing for average prescription claims, whether medicines are purchased by mail or from retail or specialty pharmacies. CVS says it will pass through all rebates and administrative fees to its clients while assuming responsibility for manufacturer price hikes and shifts in the mix of brand and generic drugs. (Silverman, 12/5)

Reuters: CVS Offers 'Guaranteed Net Cost' For Pharmacy Benefit Clients
Pharmacy chain and benefits manager CVS Health Corp on Wednesday said as of Jan. 1 it will offer a new prescription benefit option guaranteeing its health plan clients 100 percent of any rebates, discounts or other fees paid by drugmakers. The new plan model is aimed at providing greater drug cost simplicity, predictability and transparency, CVS said. (12/5)

The Washington Post: Kroger And Walgreens Want You To Have A One-Stop Shop For Food And Drugs
A one-stop shop for your grocery and pharmacy needs is what Kroger and Walgreens have in store. Through “Kroger Express,” the grocer will add more 2,300 products at 13 Walgreens locations in Northern Kentucky, selling dairy, meat, produce, frozen foods and more. The first pilot store is already open in Florence, Ky., with the remaining 12 locations debuting early next year. Shoppers can also order Kroger groceries online to be picked up at Walgreens. (Siegel, 12/5)

The Washington Post: House Democrats Want More Aggressive Scrutiny Of Health-Care Mergers
Add “hospital consolidation” to the list of health-care problems on which Democrats want to pressure the Trump administration once they take control of the House in January. High drug prices have recently captured much attention in Washington, and will probably be the subject of multiple oversight hearings in Congress next year. But the rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions in the health-care industry is also looming large as health systems consolidate, pushing prices upward and potentially reducing quality of care. (Cunningham, 12/5)

Stat: Memorial Sloan Kettering Business Deals Created A Web Of Conflicts 
In forging partnerships with a New Jersey hospital and a data analytics startup, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has created a web of interlocking financial interests and conflicts that, ethics experts told STAT, raise doubts about whether the prominent New York City hospital can always put its patients’ interests first while using information in their medical records to make money. In late 2016, Memorial Sloan Kettering signed a deal with Hackensack Meridian Health, one of New Jersey’s largest hospital systems, giving the cancer center access to a larger pool of patients and a bulwark against encroaching competition from other national players in cancer care. (Ross and Swetlitz, 12/6)

The Wall Street Journal: Bayer Lays Out Plans In Hopes Of Easing Investor Headaches
Germany’s Bayer AG Wednesday laid out ambitious sales and profit targets in its latest effort to convince the market it is serious about boosting profits, reducing debt and stopping a downward spiral in its stock price that has put management under heavy pressure. (Bender, 12/5)

Reuters: Takeda Clears Key Hurdle As Investors Back $59 Billion Shire Deal
Takeda Pharmaceutical has won shareholder approval for its $59 billion takeover of London-listed Shire, creating a global powerhouse that has a stronger drugs pipeline but is also saddled with massive debt. Takeda will be joining the ranks of the world's top 10 drugmakers and gaining expertise in rare diseases through the deal, the biggest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company. (12/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Senior Care Centers Files For Bankruptcy
Senior Care Centers LLC, which operates about 110 facilities in Texas and Louisiana, filed for bankruptcy, blaming “ballooning” rents and “significant cuts” in reimbursements from government agencies and private insurers. (Yerak, 12/5)

NPR: Infections May Raise The Risk Of Mental Illness In Children
Researchers have traced a connection between some infections and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. New research from Denmark bolsters that connection. The study, published Thursday in JAMA Psychiatry, shows that a wide variety of infections, even common ones like bronchitis, are linked to a higher risk of many mental illnesses in children and adolescents. (Chatterjee, 12/5)

NPR: Is America Ready For Prescription Heroin?
The U.S. drug crisis does not appear to be letting up. The nation experienced a shattering 47,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2017. Driving the surge are potent, cheap synthetics like fentanyl. They've spread into the illicit drug supply, and in response communities have been trying a range of interventions, from increasing naloxone trainings to upping treatment resources. (Gordon, 12/6)

Stat: Investor Activists Win Again And Persuade Endo To Catalog Opioid Risks 
Amid complaints from shareholder activists, Endo International (ENDP) has issued a report about the risks of selling opioid painkillers and agreed to expand a so-called clawback policy for executive compensation when negligence occurs. The company will also beef up disclosure of its lobbying efforts. The move is the latest victory for Investors for Opioid Accountability, a coalition of institutional investors that has been pushing drug makers, wholesalers, and pharmacies to take steps to rein in the opioid crisis by changing business practices. Previously, Assertio Therapeutics (ASRT) agreed to monitor opioid risks, but Endo is the first large drug maker to take a more comprehensive step. (Silverman, 12/5)

NPR: More Raw Beef Recalled After Nationwide Salmonella Outbreak
More than 2,500 tons of raw beef are being added to a recall in connection with a salmonella outbreak that federal officials say has sickened hundreds of people across 25 states. The Arizona-based JBS Tolleson processing plant initially recalled about 3,500 tons of potentially contaminated beef in October. JBS, the top global meatpacker that owns the plant, still maintains the move ensured all of the affected product had already been removed from store shelves. (Held, 12//5)

The Washington Post: To Lower Prison Health-Care Costs, Maryland Is Trying Something New: Serving Healthier Food
Not long after taking over as warden of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Margaret M. Chippendale noticed a sizable problem: Women were leaving the system a lot heavier than when they arrived. (Cohn, 12/5)