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Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan are entering the health care field with a new project geared toward lowering overall costs for their employees. The initiative has been called game-changing, but in China big tech companies have been doing this for years.
In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump again brought up high drug costs, but offered no concrete steps forward. "If he had said, 'In this year, I am going to initiate the negotiation of prescription drug prices under Medicare Part D,' that would be a specific move, and I bet you he would have gotten a lot of claps from our side," said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).
“That reflects the political reality that we are not going to be doing some large, sweeping health-care bill in the next year,” said Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.). Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have written to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma urging them to act on Idaho's plan to let insurers offer coverage below the standards set by the health law.
Brenda Fitzgerald offered her letter of resignation as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after news came out that she had bought tobacco stocks while serving as one of the nation's top public health officials. Ethicists were confounded by the decision. It's unclear whether new Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar demanded her resignation, but in recent weeks he's specifically told associates that he'd take a hard line on any ethical problems in the department.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
"After advising Secretary Azar of both the status of the financial interests and the scope of her recusal, Dr. Fitzgerald tendered, and the Secretary accepted, her resignation," the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
Opinion writers express views on remedies to curb future flu epidemics and other health issues:
Editorial pages feature writings on the new initiative between Amazon, JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Ohio, Minnesota, California, Missouri, Georgia, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Louisiana, Wyoming and Wisconsin.
A new, small study looks at late-night binging and how complex hormones can trigger the overeating. In other public health news: hookworms, the flu and an "emotional support" peacock.
The Food and Drug Administration has asked the manufacturers of anti-diarrhea treatment to package the product differently to make it harder for the drug to be abused. The key ingredient in anti-diarrhea medications like Imodium is part of the opioid family. In other news, a pain medication with a checkered past may offer an alternative to opioids, Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the Drug Enforcement Administration is planning on targeting pharmacies as part of its crack down efforts, Congress tries to tackle the issue, and more.
The pharmaceutical giant said it will also hand out one-time bonuses this quarter to non-executive employees.
In a pitched partisan battle, lawmakers took more than three months to fund the Children's Health Insurance Program while families that depend on that insurance waited nervously. In Medicaid news, a Virginia legislative committee moves toward seeking a work requirement for non-disabled adults getting Medicaid benefits. News outlets also report on developments in New Hampshire, Delaware, Montana, New Mexico and Indiana.
One theory for the decrease is that MACRA ended the need for providers to renew opt-out affidavits every two years; now opt-outs can be indefinite, and providers must ask to rejoin the program. Meanwhile, health providers are excited about hints that Medicare may change its policy on medical consultations that start over the phone.
But experts seem to have a common tone: it's going to be pretty hard to "disrupt" the fairly intractable health industry. Media outlets take a deeper look at the partnership between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan, where it could be headed, what may be involved and how it already rattled the stock markets.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) wants information from the Department of Health and Humans Services on the Puerto Rico public health crisis, opioids, Medicare and more.
“You don’t buy tobacco stocks when you are the head of the CDC. It’s ridiculous; it gives a terrible appearance,” said Richard Painter, who served as George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007.
President Donald Trump touted Republicans' steps toward gutting a crucial part of the health law and said efforts to crack down on immigration will help the opioid epidemic. Media outlets fact check these and other statements.
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