Friday Five: Top 5 healthcare business news items from the MCOL Weekend edition

Every business day, MCOL posts feature stories making news on the business of health care. Here are five we think are particularly important for this week: 

Federal Shutdown Mostly Spares Health Coverage, But Other Issues Loom

As the partial government shutdown drags on, about 800,000 federal employees who work for the shuttered agencies — and their families — are facing the reality of life without a paycheck.

Kaiser Health News

Friday, January 11, 2019

As Congress returns, lawmakers rush to detail drug-pricing agendas

Chuck Grassley wasted little time this week in unveiling his drug-pricing agenda, attaching his name to a trio of bills that, as the new chair of the Senate Finance Committee, he is freshly empowered to advance.

Stat News

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Medicaid ‘Buy-In’ Could Be a New Health Care Option for the Uninsured

Even as calls for “Medicare for All” grow louder among Democrats in Washington, D.C., at least 10 states are exploring whether to allow residents to pay premiums to “buy in” to Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor.

Pew Trust

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Health Care Industry Spends $30B A Year Pushing Its Wares, From Drugs To Stem Cell Treatment

Hoping to earn its share of the $3.5 trillion health care market, the medical industry is pouring more money than ever into advertising its products — from high-priced prescriptions to do-it-yourself genetic tests and unapproved stem cell treatments.

Kaiser Health News

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

At glitzy Vegas tech show, chronic-disease gadgets to take center stage

An exploding array of digital health companies will converge on Las Vegas this week to showcase the latest advances in using data and algorithms to try to solve the world’s toughest health problems.

Stat News

Monday, January 7, 2019 

These and more weekly news items on the business of healthcare are featured in the MCOL Weekend edition, along with the MCOL Tidbits, and more, for MCOL Premium level members.