The pharmaceutical industry could be in for a loss as the Trump administration considers easing patent protection rules in order to garner support from Democrats for a new trade pact between the U.S., Mexico and Canada­––USMCA, The Wall Street Journal reported.

HHS has announced a new initiative to make a medication taken to prevent HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, available for free to those without prescription drug insurance coverage.

CVS Health is acquiring Centene’s Illinois health plan subsidiary, IlliniCare Health Plan, the companies announced Dec. 2. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Medical care costs are set to rise again in 2020, with a projected increased of 6.8%, according to the 2020 Global Medical Trends Survey Report from Willis Towers Watson.

Hospitals were overpaid by roughly $502 million from 2011 to 2014, according to a report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which blamed the overpayment on CMS limitations on the reconciliation period.

President Trump’s plan to allow the importation of certain drugs from Canada is facing new challenges from the Canadian government, according to The Hill.

Pharmaceutical companies are under fire again for their role in the national opioid abuse epidemic, and this time, it could be criminal. Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal probe to determine if pharmaceutical companies intentionally allowed the flow of opioid drugs, The Wall Street Journal reported.

CMS issued more details and opened up applications for its upcoming direct contracting models that draw lessons from accountable care organizations and aim to promote shared risk.