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. judge raises prospect of not approving CVS-Aetna deal

In an unusual move on Thursday, a federal judge raised the prospect of not approving CVS Health Corp’s deal to buy insurer Aetna Inc, which closed earlier this week, during a routine portion of the legal process.

Reuters

Friday, November 30, 2018

Trump to Let States Divert Obamacare Funds to Other Health Plans

The Trump administration plans to allow states to direct billions of dollars of Obamacare subsidies to health plans that don’t meet the law’s requirements.

Bloomberg

Friday, November 30, 2018

HHS finalizes long-awaited 340B drug price rule

HHS on Thursday said it will allow a rule imposing ceiling prices on the 340B drug discount program to go into effect next year, after years of delays. The long-postponed rule will go into effect on Jan. 1, instead of the earlier-announced July 1, 2019 date, according to a finalized rulemaking.

Modern Healthcare

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Big Tech Expands Footprint in Health

Amazon.com Inc. is starting to sell software that mines patient medical records for information doctors and hospitals could use to improve treatment and cut costs. The move is the latest by a big technology company into health care, an industry where it sees opportunities for growth.

Wall Street Journal

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Trump health chief 'looking closely' at thousands who lost Medicaid from work requirements

A top Trump administration health-care official on Tuesday said she is “looking closely” at why thousands of people have lost Medicaid coverage in Arkansas due to the state’s new work requirements, but indicated the administration would not slow down in implementing the new rules.

The Hill

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

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.