Congress' final opioids bill takes shape

• The bill will include Sen. Rob Portman's relatively expansive proposal, lifting the exclusion not just for opioid abuse but for all forms of addiction.

The pharmaceutical industry lost its push to include changes to the Medicare program, perhaps as part of a compromise on drug prices.

• Earlier this year, Congress voted to put the pharmaceutical industry on the hook for more of the costs seniors incur when they fall into Medicare's "donut hole." Drugmakers had been aggressively lobbying lawmakers to reverse that policy as part of the opioids bill.
• Democrats blocked the measure, Modern Healthcare reports, but it will likely come back up as a standalone bill later this year.