FDA Announces New Opioid Strategy: ‘We’re Not Winning The Battle At This Point’
The FDA will now mandate that any new opioid go before an outside committee of experts unless the product has abuse-deterrent properties and require more warnings and safety information on drug labels. In other national news, companies are joining forces to help hold down the cost of providing workers with benefits, Cigna's profits take a hit from proposed Anthem merger and hospitals claim a victory in federal courts.
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Gets Tougher On New Painkillers In Light Of Overdoses
The Food and Drug Administration, hoping to reduce deaths related to the abuse of powerful painkillers, said it would insist that new versions of the drugs get tougher scrutiny and that manufacturers gather evidence about their effects once they are on the market. The changes were announced by Robert Califf, the FDA’s deputy commissioner and the White House’s nominee to become commissioner. (Burton, 2/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
Companies Form New Alliance To Target Health-Care Costs
Twenty major companies—including American Express Co., Macy’s Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.—are banding together to use their collective data and market power in a bid to hold down the cost of providing workers with health-care benefits. The newly formed alliance of companies, which cover about four million people among them, plan to share information about members’ employee health spending and outcomes, with an eye toward using findings to change how they contract for care. (Radnofsky, 2/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
Cigna Profit Falls 8.8%
Cigna Corp. on Thursday said its fourth-quarter profit fell 8.8% as the health-care provider took a hit from charges related to its proposed merger with Anthem Inc., though revenue increased. The company also gave full-year guidance below analysts’ expectations, saying it expects earnings of $8.85 to $9.25 a share, compared with estimates of $9.30 a share, according to Thomson Reuters. (Steele, 2/4)
Reuters:
Hospitals Can Be 'Urban' And 'Rural' At Same Time: U.S. Appeals Court
The federal appeals court in New York struck down a U.S. regulation that made it harder for hospitals to provide better medical care at lower cost by claiming they were "rural" for some purposes and "urban" for others. Thursday's decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a victory for hospitals in urban areas including the acute care Lawrence + Memorial Hospital of New London, Connecticut, which said the Department of Health and Human Services' "reclassification rule" forced it to overpay for drugs that patients needed. (Stempel, 2/4)