What We're Reading: Taking an Opioid Off Market; Steadying Insurance Markets; Short-Term Insurance Plans

FDA Seeks to Remove Opioid From Market

The FDA has asked Endo International to stop selling its opioid, Opana ER. According to Bloomberg, the drug has become a favorite among addicts even after the company reformulated it to try to prevent abuse. The FDA usually does not order drugs off the market—the agency asks a company to pull a drug voluntarily, which the company typically does. The move marks a shift in how the FDA will review drugs on the market under new commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD.

Republican Calls to Keep Paying Cost-Sharing Subsidies

Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, is calling for the government to help stabilize insurance markets. Brady said that the government should keep paying the cost-sharing subsidies that help low-income Americans afford insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reported the Associated Press. As of now, there has been a lot of uncertainty regarding those payments and whether or not the Trump administration will continue to pay them. This uncertainty has led to some insurers leaving ACA markets.

GOP Senators Push for Short-Term Insurance Plans

A group of senators have asked HHS to allow short-term insurance plans to be sold. The Hill reported that such a change would reverse a rule set in place by the Obama administration. Short-term insurance plans are generally less comprehensive in their coverage, but they typically cost less, as a result. The 14 senators are pushing to allow these plans since some counties are now slated to have zero ACA plans available in 2018.