Friday Five: Top 5 healthcare business news items from the MCOL Weekend edition

Every business day, MCOL posts feature stories making news on the business of health care. Here are five we think are particularly important for this week: Why the Trump administration made it easier for Virginia Republicans to expand Medicaid In becoming the first state in nearly two years to open Medicaid to more of its poor residents, Virginia lawmakers found political buffering and momentum in a recent conservative health policy shift in Washington. The Washington Post, Thursday, May 31, 2018 Number of opioid prescriptions falls for fifth year in a row The number of opioid prescriptions issued nationwide has dropped by 22 percent between 2013 and 2017, which a doctors group touted as progress in fighting the epidemic of opioid addiction. The Hill, Thursday, May 31, 2018 When Scientists Develop Products From Personal Medical Data, Who Gets To Profit? If you go to the hospital for medical treatment and scientists there decide to use your medical information to create a commercial product, are you owed anything as part of the bargain? NPR, Thursday, May 31, 2018 How drugmakers are facing the entrance of consumer giants into healthcare The wave of consumer companies deepening their forays into healthcare, coupled with broader health system change and questions about advertising effectiveness, has spawned a bracing set of conditions for drugmakers. On one hand, they're expanding beyond a traditional reliance on pharmaceuticals as a sole value proposition. MM&M, Tuesday, May 29, 2018 What hospitals, payers, and pharma think about buying generic drugs from Intermountain's startup The overwhelming majority of providers said they'd buy medications from a health-system-led pharma company, and both providers and payers believe other hospitals will follow the lead of Intermountain, SSM Health and Trinity Health in forming their own generic drug companies. Healthcare Finance News, Tuesday, May 29, 2018 These and more weekly news items on the business of healthcare are featured in the MCOL Weekend edition, along with the MCOL Tidbits, and more, for MCOL Premium level members.