Health Headlines for Friday, October 5
Trump Administration to Step Up Oversight of Hospital Watchdogs
Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration on Thursday announced increased oversight of organizations that accredit and inspect most U.S. hospitals, following a report last year in The Wall Street Journal focusing on problem-plagued facilities that kept their accreditation status.
In The Battle To Control Drug Costs, Old Patent Laws Get New Life
Kaiser Health News
In the drug pricing battle, progressive lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and patients’ rights activists rarely find themselves in step with the health industry’s big players.
Congress Targets Misuse Of Hospice Drugs
Kaiser Health News
Hospice workers would be allowed to destroy patients’ unneeded opioids, reducing the risk that families misuse them, according to one little-noticed provision in the bipartisan opioids bill headed to President Donald Trump’s desk for his likely signature.
‘We Don’t All Hate Each Other’: Senate’s Bipartisanship Obscured by Kavanaugh Fight
Wall Street Journal
The intense partisanship engulfing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has diverted attention from a raft of recent bipartisanship in the Senate during the past few weeks, drowning out issues that could appeal to voters in the midterms.