"I just think this was such a lost opportunity, And I cannot believe that we have reached the point in Washington where partisan politics, and everyone looking at who's going to lose or gain in the November election, poisoned a chance and prevented us from really helping people. That's the lesson that I took from this."
—Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)

• Inside the Collapse of a Bipartisan Obamacare Deal Politico by Adam Cancryn and Jennifer Haberkorn — Everybody on Capitol Hill agreed: If anyone could break the deep-rooted partisan logjam over Obamacare in Congress, it was that deal-making duo Patty and Lamar. But in the end, it was Obamacare that broke their alliance. Just seven months after Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) heralded the beginning of a new bipartisan era on health care following the collapse of Obamacare repeal efforts, their lofty ambitions ended in much the same way as every Obamacare-related negotiation over the last eight years — with claims of betrayal, warnings of political fallout and no progress toward bridging the deep divide over the nation's health care system. When Congress put its finishing touches on a $1.3 trillion spending bill late last week, there was one glaring omission: a proposal to head off huge premium spikes just before the November midterm elections.

• Medicaid Chief: Work Requirements Assessed 'Case by Case'  Associated Press by Jonathan Mattise —The federal Medicaid leader on Thursday declined to say whether imposing work requirements on certain beneficiaries is better suited for states that expanded Medicaid than those that didn't, saying her agency is assessing state proposals on a case-by-case basis. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma told reporters the program is about helping people rise out of poverty. President Donald Trump's administration has approved work-requirement plans in Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas, all Medicaid expansion states under former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. .."We are always looking at budget neutrality," Verma said. "When a state puts a plan together, it has to be federally budget neutral and it has to also meet the objectives of the Medicaid program."
  
  
• Why Are States So Strapped for Cash? There Are Two Big Reasons  Wall Street Journal by Cezary Podkul & Heather Gillers — As state and local officials prepare their next budgets, many are finding that spending decisions have already been made for them: Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled, and public-employee health and retirement costs. These days, they consume about one out of every five tax dollars collected by state and local governments. That is the highest share since Medicaid was created in 1965. Postretirement health benefits, which are harder to quantify, add to that burden and have cumulatively cost states more than $100 billion since 2008, according to government financial disclosures compiled by Merritt Research Services.

• Prices for Common Medicare Drugs Rose 12 Percent Annually, With a Caveat  Stat by Ed Silverman — The latest report to chronicle the rising cost of prescription medicines comes from a U.S. Senate committee that found prices for the 20 drugs most widely prescribed through Medicare Part D in 2015, on average, increased 12 percent each year between 2012 and 2017. Moreover, a dozen of the medicines saw price hikes of 50 percent of more during that time and six of the drugs experienced price increases of more than 100 percent. In one case, the weighted average wholesale cost for one medicine — Nitrostat, which is used to prevent chest pain — rose by 477 percent.
  
  
• Aetna Will Pass Along Discounts as Drug Price Scrutiny Increases  Bloomberg News by Zachary Tracer — Aetna Inc. will pass on the discounts it negotiates on prescription drugs to about 3 million of its members, the latest move by a health insurer to address Americans' complaints about the cost of medicine. The discounts, which can amount to more than half a drug's list price, will be passed on at the pharmacy counter for many people starting next year, Aetna Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini said in a telephone interview. The move by the No. 3 U.S. health insurer follows a similar decision earlier this month by its larger peer, UnitedHealth Group Inc.
  
  
• Azar Taps Former CVS Executive to Help Lower Drug Prices  The Hill by Nathaniel Weixel — Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar is tapping a former CVS Caremark executive to lead the agency's efforts to lower drug prices. According to HHS, Daniel Best will be Azar's senior adviser for drug pricing reform. Best was most recently a vice president of industry relations for CVS's Medicare Part D business. This included the company's prescription drug plans, Medicare Part D plans and other clients. In a statement, Azar said Best will lead the agency's initiatives aimed at lowering drug prices — a top priority for the Trump administration.

Editor: Peter Van Vranken