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: Trump Plans to Declare Opioid Epidemic a National Emergency President Trump said on Thursday that he was preparing to officially declare the United States’ worsening epidemic of opioid overdoses as a national emergency, accepting an urgent recommendation from a national commission that he appointed. The New York Times Thursday, August 10, 2017 Early 2018 marketplace rates vary widely across states Health insurers selling individual plans next year on the federally operated marketplace, HealthCare.gov, have until Wednesday to finalize their rates. But early filings provide a good look at how the ACA marketplace is shaping up for 2018. Modern Healthcare Thursday, August 10, 2017 Bipartisan health policy coalition urges Congress to strengthen the ACA An unlikely coalition of liberal and conservative health-policy leaders is calling on Congress to strengthen the existing health-care law in a variety of ways to help Americans get and keep insurance. The Washington Post Wednesday, August 9, 2017 Taking A U-Turn On Benefits, Big Employers Vow To Continue Offering Health Insurance The shrinking unemployment rate has been a healthy turn for people with job-based benefits. Eager to attract help in a tight labor market and unsure of Obamacare’s future, large employers are newly committed to maintaining coverage for workers and often their families, according to new research and interviews with analysts. Kaiser Health News Tuesday, August 8, 2017 Large employers increasingly leaning on value-based contracts Instead of looking to reduce demand by shifting costs to employees, large employers are increasingly hoping to constrain health insurance cost growth through value-based contracts with providers, according to a survey released Tuesday by the National Business Group on Health. Modern Healthcare Tuesday, August 8, 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.