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: U.S. appeals court blocks Anthem bid to merge with rival Cigna A U.S. appeals court blocked health insurer Anthem Inc's (ANTM.N) bid to merge with Cigna (CI.N) on Friday, upholding a lower court's decision that the $54 billion deal should not be allowed because it would lead to higher prices for healthcare. Reuters April 28, 2017 4 key questions surrounding Obamacare repeal House Republicans are mounting yet another effort to tear down Obamacare and remake the health care system — but the path to delivering on one of the GOP's longest-standing priorities remains complicated and fraught with uncertainty. Politico April 27, 2017 Amid budget talks, White House says it will continue ACA subsidies The White House on Wednesday pledged to continue payments critical to the success of Affordable Care Act exchanges, Politico reports. The pledge will come as a relief to insurers and providers after the administration’s earlier indication that it might withhold payments as a bargaining chip in this week’s budget negotiations. Stat News April 26, 2017 PBM Express Scripts loses biggest client Anthem Express Scripts said Monday that its biggest client, Anthem, will not renew its contract with the pharmacy benefit manager after the current agreement expires at the end of 2019. Modern Healthcare April 24, 2017 Health Care In America: An Employment Bonanza And A Runaway-Cost Crisis In many ways, the health care industry has been a great friend to the U.S. economy. Its plentiful jobs helped lift the country out of the Great Recession and, partly due to the Affordable Care Act, it now employs 1 in 9 Americans — up from 1 in 12 in 2000. Kaiser Health News April 24, 2017 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.