Adopting the prices of other countries could potentially have helped save Medicare part D as much as $72.8 billion in 2018, as drug prices in the U.S. averaged 3.2 to 4.1 times higher after rebates compared to the U.K., Japan and Ontario, Canada, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

HHS has finalized a rule that will require drug companies to publish the list prices of drugs in television ads. 

CMS is taking steps to streamline the review process for states that apply for section 1915 waivers and state plan amendments, CMS Administrator Seema Verma announced May 7.  

Tennessee is poised to become the first state of the union to ask for Medicaid block granting from the Trump administration, Politico reported.

CVS Health is still facing challenges from its $69 billion merger with health insurance giant Aetna, which closed in late 2018. While the deal was approved by all necessary state regulators and the Department of Justice, a federal judge is still mulling over the deal and looking at potential antitrust problems.

One of the nation’s largest health insurers, Aetna, will pay $86 million to HCA Healthcare after a lawsuit stemming from 2015 led to an arbitration trial.

The Department of Justice has formally asked an appeals court to throw out the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, a drastic change from the Trump administration’s previous stance that only certain provisions of the healthcare law should be tossed.

While many of the largest healthcare companies have seen rising revenues and record profits at the start of 2019, stock prices aren’t reflecting their successes, Axios reported.