Beleaguered drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals has agreed to sell one of its subsidiaries, iNova Pharmaceuticals, to private-equity firms Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group for $930 million. The Australian-based iNova makes a slew of over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
Between the lines: Valeant is slimming down its drug operations, and this sale represents another attempt by CEO Joseph Papa to reduce the company's huge debt burden, which ballooned after the company acquired many other drug makers and controversially raised prices under ousted CEO Michael Pearson.
The Republican health care bill would slash Medicaid funding by $834 billion over the next decade, and hospitals have not taken kindly to that proposal. One hospital subgroup would be especially hurt by those cuts — children's hospitals.
Roughly half of the money a children's hospital collects, on average, comes from Medicaid. More than 30 million kids are on Medicaid, and another 6 million are on the Children's Health Insurance Program. Mark Wietecha, CEO of the Children's Hospital Association, has been pounding those messages to legislators on behalf of the country's 220 children's hospitals.
Wietecha spoke with me about the Republican bill (teaser: he believes it has nothing to do with health care anymore) and why the Medicaid cuts deserve more attention. Read on for an edited and condensed version of our conversation.
President Trump kicked off his infrastructure speech in Cincinnati, Ohio Wednesday with a reminder that the state helped him win big in the November election. The crowd erupted in applause, and Trump fed off the energy like he would at a campaign rally, taking the opportunity to boast about his accomplishments since taking office.
Split screen: This speech was a welcome break from Washington for Trump. In Ohio, Trump was able to reconnect with his key supporters on an issue that he hopes to make a hallmark of his presidency. Meanwhile, back in D.C., James Comey was about to drop another bombshell.
