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: CMS plans Medicaid 'red-tape' rollback for states States could see less administrative burdens in the near future thanks to a proposed regulatory rollback by the Medicaid agency. Fierce Healthcare Friday, March 23, 2018 Graphic: Opioid Painkiller Is Top Prescription In 11 States Americans fill about 4.5 billion prescriptions each year, at a cost of more than $323 billion. But what are we actually buying? Kaiser Health News Thursday, March 22, 2018 Medical Research, Drug Treatment And Mental Health Are Winners In New Budget Bill The big budget deal reached this week in the House doesn't include a long-sought-after provision to stabilize the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. But the $1.3 billion plan, set to fund the government through September, has lots of new money for medical research, addiction treatment and mental health care. NPR Thursday, March 22, 2018 States Extend Medicaid For Birth Control, Cutting Costs — And Future Enrollment The Trump administration is weighing whether to allow Texas to receive millions of federal Medicaid dollars for its family planning program, which bars abortion providers. Kaiser Health News Thursday, March 22, 2018 Highmark Health added $1B in net income in 2017 with a ‘substantial turnaround’ in ACA plans Highmark Health’s Affordable Care Act exchange plans were profitable for the first time in 2017 as the insurer added $1 billion in net income compared to 2016. The Pittsburgh-based Blues plan that covers nearly 5 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware saw significant growth in commercial and government plans, including its Medicare Advantage segment. Fierce Healthcare Tuesday, March 20, 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.