Week Ahead: VA's $10 billion contract with Cerner to get oversight committee's attention
The House Veteran's Affairs Committee begins what is likely to be a long oversight process of Cerner's hefty contract to modernize the VA's electronic health record system.
MACPAC proposes changes to Medicaid drug rebate program
A panel that advises Congress and HHS on Medicaid policy recommended tweaking the Medicaid drug rebate program to reduce spending on drugs by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Senate panel considers giving HHS office authority to beef up 340B requirements
A key Senate panel is eyeing a change to 340B law to let HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration add new reporting requirements for covered hospitals and clinics.
Former pharma executives sue over firings
Two former executives of a biopharmaceutical company have filed a lawsuit against board members of their former employer, alleging violations of SEC rules and Michigan whistleblower laws that they contend led to their firings late last month.
Generic competition not a cure-all for high drug prices
Although more generic drugs are coming through the pipeline, generic competition won't affect 46% of the estimated sales revenue of the top 100 drugs through 2023, according to a new report.
Rural hospitals take aim at root causes of opioid crisis
Urban populations had higher rates of opioid abuse in the past 12 months than rural communities, but more rural people died as a result of opioid-induced overdose.
Week Ahead: Physicians gear up for week of policymaking
Thousands of physicians have descended on Chicago for the American Medical Association's annual meeting. Medicaid and drug prices are also hot topics for this week.
Insurer denials for hepatitis C treatment remain high
Despite the availability of hepatitis C drugs capable of curing most patients, public and private health insurers denied treatment for more than a third of patients whose doctors prescribed the drugs between 2016 and April 2017, according to a study.
Medicare Part D spending rose despite prescriptions going down, watchdog says
The federal government's payments for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D soared by more than $40 billion despite declining use of the medications.
Oncologists sue HHS over Medicare Part B sequester cuts
The trade group for independent oncologists sued the federal government over the Medicare sequester cut to Part B drugs, arguing that Congress never gave HHS authority to change the reimbursement formula.
All about medicine Points: Providers scramble as drug shortages persist
Drug shortages continue to keep providers across the nation scrambling to find options for patient care. A new survey from the American College of Emergency Physicians found that 9 in 10 doctors are taking time away from patients as they search for alternative therapies.
Worsening drug shortages leave providers scrambling for alternatives
Ninety-one percent of nearly 250 emergency physicians surveyed in a new ACEP poll said they had experienced a shortage or absence of critical medicine in their emergency department in the past month. That increases costs and compromises care.
