Monday's health stories
Two states probe Eli Lilly over high insulin pricing
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is facing civil investigations from attorneys general in New Mexico and Washington into its insulin prices, according to Lilly's latest quarterly filing. Washington's attorney general is also looking into Lilly's relationships with pharmacy benefit mangers — the middlemen who negotiate drug prices for insurance companies and employers.
Why this matters: The filing did not give details about the probes. But Lilly has already been in hot water over the rising prices of its insulin medications. A separate class-action lawsuit from earlier this year accused Lilly and two other insulin makers of colluding to jack up prices together. The lawsuit also alleged that the drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers are exploiting the pricing system to benefit each other. Lilly said it is cooperating with both state investigations.
Trump walks away from CBS interview: "That's enough"
President Trump abruptly ended his Oval Office interview with CBS' John Dickerson, which aired Monday, stating "that's enough" before walking away. Their conversation quickly turned tense when Dickerson asked Trump if his predecessor had given him any advice before taking office. Trump said Obama had been "very nice" at the start, but since there had been "difficulties."
Trump said Dickerson could "take it the way you want" when pressed on whether he still stood by calling Obama "sick and bad" while making those wiretapping claims. When Dickerson pushed on, stating that he wanted Trump's opinions because he's the president and didn't want it to be "fake news", Trump waved his hand and said:
OK, that's enough. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Americans favor Rx imports, despite safety warnings
A new survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that 60% of Americans believe that lowering the cost of prescription drugs should be a "top priority" for Trump and Congress. Meanwhile, 72% said Americans should be allowed to buy prescription drugs imported from Canada, and 64% said they should be able to purchase them from online pharmacies based in Canada.
Why it matters: This is consistent with previous polls showing broad public support for government action on drug prices, but Republicans on Capitol Hill will still be wary of it even as President Trump pushes the issue.
The big conflict: The poll shows most Americans think cheaper drugs can be imported safely from other countries, but four former FDA commissioners have warned that this would pose a big safety risk.