TGIF

The Hill uses a recent Food and Drug Commissioner speech among other resources to read the tea leaves about the President's upcoming speech on drug prices.  The FDA Commissioner suggests that the Administration wants to plow manufacturer rebates into lower prices for consumers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that

The opioid epidemic has unfairly increased health insurance costs across the board, not just for those suffering from addiction, plaintiffs allege in five proposed class-action lawsuits filed Wednesday. 

The suits, brought on behalf of people and businesses who have paid for health insurance in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York since 1996, represent a new front in litigation seeking to hold corporations accountable for the opioid crisis. 

Already, drug makers and distributors collectively face more than 600 civil lawsuits brought by local and state municipalities trying to recoup costs borne from opioid abuse.

When will the federal government join these lawsuits?

Recent surveys --

•  Becker's Hospital Review lists 100 "great" U.S. hospitals. 
• The Commonwealth Fund has issued its annual state health scorecard, and the results aren't pretty. 
• Health Payer Intelligence reports on an interesting employer health care survey. "Sixty-four percent of employees that participated in a new survey said financial incentives helped connect them to necessary healthcare resources and equip them for improved member engagement." What's more, "Eighty-two percent of employees said that participating in a high-deductible health plan helped enforce better healthcare decision making."