Drug companies haven't pledged to lower their prices once the Trump administration finalizes a rule to overhaul the rebate system used by pharmacy benefit managers. CVS Health is asking drugmakers to at least not start charging more.
Driving the news: CVS Health has sent letters to 60 pharmaceutical companies asking them not to increase the net cost of their drugs — the price after factoring in rebates — in response to the Trump administration's rule.
Some states are trying to control health care costs by tying hospital payments in their state employee health plans to the amounts Medicare pays, Kaiser Health News reports.
The other side: This is a nightmare scenario for hospitals, which usually charge private insurance plans several times more than they get from Medicare.
Several states are considering new "affordability boards" to rein in prescription drug prices. They're hoping that approach would avoid the legal pitfalls that tripped up earlier state-based policies.
How it works: These new boards would review expensive drugs and, if it deems them too expensive, set a new, lower price that insurance plans would have to pay.
During a radio interview on Tuesday, Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin admitted to intentionally exposing his 9 children to chickenpox in the hope that they would catch the highly contagious infection and become immune.
Why now: As questions surrounding vaccines abound, Bevin's public remarks trailed reports of a chickenpox outbreak at a Kentucky Catholic school this week, wherein some parents, according to the Washington Post, had not vaccinated their kids. The governor — who is seeking a second term in this year’s statewide election — said Kentucky parents can vaccinate their children, but that the government shouldn't mandate. The state requires kindergarteners be vaccinated for chickenpox, but parents can cite religious exemptions or share evidence that their child already had the disease.
