Health Headlines for Friday, June 1

Trump says drug companies to announce ‘massive’ price cuts soon

Reuters

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he expects major drug companies to slash prices on their products in two weeks, but did not provide details on which companies would do so or how such reductions would be made.

Read more


Insurers: Increased price transparency leads to better, more affordable care

Buffalo Business First

Independent Health employee Jean Kihl, left, teaches member Jane Orlowski how to use online tools to track pharmacy costs.

Read more


Inside this summer’s Obamacare repeal push

Washington Examiner

A group crafting a new blueprint to overhaul Obamacare wants Congress to act on its recommendation this summer to avoid Republican blame for high premiums.

Read more


Voters want cheap healthcare, so axe Obamacare’s mandates

Washington Examiner

Healthcare affordability is a top concern for voters in this fall’s midterm elections, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Read more


Health Insurers Await 400K Virginians About To Gain Medicaid Coverage

Forbes

The vote by the Virginia state Senate Wednesday to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act will soon put in play one of the biggest remaining prizes for health insurers likely to be involved in managing benefits for the newly insured.

Read more


Bill would pit medical marijuana against opioids

Daily Gazette

Sen. George Amedore introduced legislation Thursday that would allow medical marijuana to be used instead of opiates to treat chronic and episodic pain.

Read more


Clean Bill of Health for Insurance Deals

Wall Street Journal

Small health insurers have every incentive to get bigger.

Read more


CHIP, CHIMPs and Trump’s budget-rescission request: a guide to the debate

Washington Post

We became interested in this statement by Hoyer after the White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, in a May 22 opinion column for The Washington Post, cited an excerpt as an example of “hypocrisy in its purest form” on the part of Democrats.

Read more