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CMS to try to lower drug prices in Medicare. Insurance companies that sell drug plans through Medicare, known as Part D, are going to be allowed to participate in a new program offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that is aimed at bringing down prices. The program will launch in 2020 and will work by having drug companies take on more of costs that typically get shifted onto patients in what is known as the “catastrophic phase” of Medicare. When this happens, Medicare plans take on 80 percent of drug costs and tend not to negotiate lower costs.  The goal will be to give plans more tools to control drug prices and to help enrollees choose drugs with lower list prices. The program will be run by the agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which tests out different ways of paying for healthcare. CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the models would “ignite greater competition among plans, creating pressure to improve quality and lower costs in order to attract beneficiaries.”

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Trump administration approves Arizona’s Medicaid work requirements. Arizona has become the latest state to receive an approval from the Trump administration to add work requirements to certain people who are enrolled in Medicaid. The decision makes Arizona the eighth state to add such requirements, and roughly 120,000 enrollees of 1.9 million are expected to be impacted after they take effect in 2020. The Arizona requirements include exemptions for pregnant women, people who are medically frail, people who are homeless, for federally recognized tribes, and others. People will be required to work, volunteer, or take classes for 20 hours a month.

What anti-abortion activists at the March for Life think of Trump. Activists at Friday’s March for Life said that they are willing to suspend skepticism about President Trump’s own background and views on abortion policy while he is helping to advance their agenda. Although the activists interviewed by the Washington Examiner declined to speculate whether Trump authentically shares their anti-abortion convictions, they say that actions speak louder than words and that the administration so far has pursued their preferred policies with respect to religious liberty and anti-abortion initiatives. “Most people here are already pro-life, so the administration isn’t going to change anyone’s mind,” said Patrick Senour, a student from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. “We’re more here to raise awareness of the crisis and find an end … This isn’t a religious issue, this is a human rights issue.”

Several attendees at the rally on the National Mall, many of whom travel as part of church groups, said that they are willing to look past Trump’s personal conduct and past support for legalized abortion as long as he keeps his word to advance the movement during his presidency.

Mike, Karen Pence make surprise visit to March for Life. Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence made a surprise visit to the March for Life Friday. There were no administration officials listed as speakers or guests for the 46th annual March for Life, following a historic occasion last year when Pence attended the march and delivered a speech. Jeanne Mancini, the president of the biggest anti-abortion demonstration in the U.S., said that she was even taken aback when the Pences arrived at the rally location on the National Mall, and the second lady said that it was a difficult secret to keep. Trump also delivered a surprise video address, like he did in 2018. In his speech, Pence, an evangelical Christian, assured attendants of the rally that the anti-abortion movement had an “ally” in him and a “champion” in Trump.

HHS says California violated conscience laws. California has violated conscience protections by having pregnancy centers post notices referring patients to abortions or otherwise face a fine, found the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services. This is the first time that OCR has found such a violation since it launched the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division a year ago. Complaints were filed by Sacramento Life Center, LivingWell Medical Clinic, Pregnancy Center of the North Coast, and Confidence Pregnancy Center. The administration found that the law violated the Weldon and Coast-Snowe Amendments, which block states receiving certain federal dollars from discriminating against healthcare facilities that don’t provide or refer for abortions. The Supreme Court ruled on the issue in 2018, finding that the California law violated free speech, and so the law has been permanently blocked and OCR has closed the complaint. “We are pleased that the Supreme Court blocked California’s blatant discrimination against non-profits that give life-affirming options to women facing unplanned pregnancies,” Roger Severino, OCR director, said in a statement. “Our violation finding underscores not only that California must follow the Constitution, but that it also must respect federal conscience protection laws when it accepts federal funds.”  

Refugees have low likelihood of spreading illness in Europe: WHO. Refugees in Europe are unlikely to spread infectious diseases when they arrive to their host country, according to a report out Monday by the World Health Organization. The report found that incidences of infectious diseases among refugees vary, though when people are displaced they can become more vulnerable to getting an illness. For instance, people’s likelihood of having tuberculosis varied based on the prevalence of the illness in the country they came from, and the report found people were more likely to get HIV in the country where they arrived. WHO is urging for better care for refugees, who have a higher risk of receiving a cancer diagnosis later than the rest of the population, are at a higher risk of cervical cancer, and have higher rates of diabetes.  

RUNDOWN

Forbes As shutdown enters second month, public health risks rise

Vox Doctors are frightened by climate change. Their industry is a big part of the problem.

The Hill Grassley to test GOP on lowering drug prices

The Wall Street Journal China takes steps against scientist who engineered gene-edited babies

The Guardian Dutch surgeon wins landmark ‘right to be forgotten’ case