The Trump administration now wants to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. The administration’s new position is that the entire law should be invalid now that Congress repealed the individual mandate penalty. The position is vastly different from previous statements by the White House that said only the individual mandate and protections for pre-existing conditions should be struck down. (Associated Press)
Purdue has settled with Oklahoma for $270 million to end an opioid-related lawsuit. It is the first settlement reached in the hundreds of lawsuits filed against Purdue across the country. The company tried to delay the trial, but was denied by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday. (MM&M)
Pfizer CEO Kenneth Frazier has hinted he may step down. Last fall, Merck rescinded its policy of mandatory retirement at age 65 to allow Frazier to stay on past December, when he will turn that age. At an event last week, Frazier reportedly said, “I think there’s a wisdom in term limits, and I have been CEO now for nine years.” (Business Insider)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration are in early talks on drug-price legislation. Drug pricing is one of the few issues that Democrats and Republicans agree on, but Democrats have been reluctant to work with President Donald Trump. One potential solution both parties like is allowing a third party to decide prices for a certain group of high-cost drugs. (Politico)
Gilead and Louisiana have agreed on a Netflix-like payment model for hepatitis C drugs. Asegua Therapeutics, a Gilead unit, will provide the state Medicaid program and Department of Corrections with unlimited access to a generic version of its Epclusa treatment for a fixed amount of money for five years. It is the first subscription-payment model of its kind, and it’s expected to begin in July. (STAT)
