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:

Centrist Democrats Turn to Pragmatism, Seek Bipartisan ACA Fixes

While some progressives campaigned this week for “Medicare for all,” a group of moderate House Democrats aligned themselves with a more modest push to stabilize the Affordable Care Act, arguing that it could spur broader health care reforms in the future.

Morning Consult

Friday, September 15, 2017

CBO: ObamaCare uncertainty will lead to 15 percent hike in premiums

Premiums for ObamaCare's benchmark silver plans will increase by an average of 15 percent in 2018, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in a new report released Thursday.

The Hill

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Sanders Offers Medicare-for-All Plan Backed by 16 Senate Democrats

Sixteen Senate Democrats are flirting with a single-payer health-care system, marking a shift within the party on what was once viewed as a politically treacherous issue that attracted little support from lawmakers.

Bloomberg

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Stanford study: Three-quarters of opioid prescriptions written for 10 percent of patients

A new Stanford University study reveals a startling fact about the nation’s opioid crisis: A small minority of Americans account for the large majority of drug abusers.

Mercury News

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Uninsured Rate Falls to Record Low Of 8.8%

Three years after the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion took effect, the number of Americans without health insurance fell to 28.1 million in 2016, down from 29 million in 2015, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

Kaiser Health News

Tuesday, September 12, 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.