| Pelosi's drug pricing plan saves Medicare $345 billion over decade | | |  | FRI, OCT 18, 2019 | | | | Think a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up.
Five major companies are narrowing in on a settlement just days ahead of what would be the first federal opioid trial. Juul is suspending sales of most of its flavors, but the embattled e-cigarette giant is keeping what critics say is one of its most kid-appealing flavors on the market. Medicare open enrollment is underway. And a preliminary analysis of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing plan suggests it could bring big savings for Medicare.
(Are there any stories we should be chasing? Email tips, ideas, suggestions to CNBC Health Editor Dawn Kopecki at dawn.kopecki@nbcuni.com.)
| | Juul suspends sales of fruity flavors amid teen vaping epidemic | Goodbye, mango, creme, fruit and cucumber. E-cigarette giant Juul is suspending sales of these sweet flavors as the Trump administration signals it will remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market. Juul will keep selling mint, menthol and tobacco, for now at least. Public health groups swiftly criticized Juul's decision to leave mint on the market, a flavor they say is just as kid-appealing as the others.
-Angelica LaVito | | | | Pelosi's drug pricing plan saves Medicare $345 billion over decade | The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a preliminary analysis late over the weekend that showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing plan would save Medicare $345 billion over 10 years. Those savings wouldn't begin until 2023, and the greatest savings would come in 2028 at $93 billion, the agency said. The CBO score is positive news for Pelosi's bill, which has been met with skepticism from Republicans who say the plan is too aggressive and could stifle innovation of new medicines. The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday held a markup on the bill, a crucial step in getting the legislation to the full House floor for a vote later this year.
-Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | | | | Five companies are close to major opioid settlement | As jury selection got underway Wednesday for the first federal trial seeking to hold industry accountable for the opioid epidemic, five major companies were hard at work trying to reach a settlement worth billions of dollars. The three major drug distributors – AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health – are in talks to pay $18 billion in cash, while Johnson & Johnson is in discussions for $4 billion. Teva, loaded with debt and without the deep pockets of the others, has offered $15 billion in medicines. The New York Times reported a total figure closer to $50 billion – a person familiar with the discussions says that difference comes down to a $14 billion valuation Teva is putting on distribution of the drugs it's proposed to supply. If successful, the settlements would put to rest the thousands of lawsuits from state and local governments that claim these companies contributed to the opioid epidemic, just before Monday's opening arguments.
-Meg Tirrell | | | | Game On: Medicare open enrollment is underway | With apologies to the Beatles, when you're 64 health insurers not only need you, they start beating a path to your door. For one boomer in Sacramento, facing his first Medicare enrollment, all of the marketing and all of the choices to be had are overwhelming. The major carriers are betting big on Medicare expansion for 2020, adding new plans and new markets. Meantime, venture-backed start-ups are hot on their heels to try to capture market share. With 10,000 people a day aging into Medicare, it's the nation's hottest health insurance market.
-Bertha Coombs | | | | "That'll be the last time I use that calculator…" | Johnson & Johnson got a reprieve on the $572 million it was ordered to pay after losing an opioid trial in Oklahoma in August – all due to what was essentially a $107 million typo. J&J's attorneys argued the court had accidentally added three zeroes to part of its order to abate the opioid crisis; what should have been $107,683 was recorded as $107,683,000. The company also argued its judgement should be reduced to reflect the $270 million and $85 million paid in settlements by Purdue Pharma and Teva, while the state argued J&J should have to replenish the account beyond the $572 million over the years to fully abate the crisis. Judge Thad Balkman hasn't yet ruled on the latter two issues, but on the first, he admitted his $107 million mistake, saying "that'll be the last time I use that calculator."
-Meg Tirrell | | @Work People + Machines
Technology, Talent and the Future of Work
In the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, CIOs and CTOs hold the key roles managing corporate digital transformation and leveraging new, game-changing technologies. This edition of CNBC's @Work series examines the human-machine interface, how to balance the needs of today with the possibilities of tomorrow, and the winning strategies of best-in-class companies.
| | @Work People + Machines November 4, 2019
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