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House delays Obamacare health insurance tax, expands Health Savings Accounts. The House has passed healthcare bills ahead of the summer recess to delay the health insurance tax in Obamacare and to expand the use of Health Savings Accounts. Though the measures received support from members of both parties, they were largely framed by Republicans during floor debate as a fix to Obamacare while Democrats said they did little to build on the healthcare system or fix the “sabotage” that occurred under the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers. The Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act would allow the HSA funds to be used before a deductible is met, and would allow them to go toward paying for more over-the counter drugs or for gym memberships. It passed 277-142. The other legislation, the Increasing Access to Lower Premium Plans and Expanding Health Savings Accounts Act passed 242-176. It delays the tax on health insurance from taking effect by two years. It also allows people to contribute more money to their HSAs and allows them to be added to bronze or catastrophic Obamacare plans, which have higher deductibles. The legislation also allows people to roll over more leftover funds that they place in Flexible Spending Accounts.

Azar takes several swipes at Obamacare. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar cited Obamacare a few times in a speech this morning at the Heritage Foundation, saying that its exchange program and Medicaid expansion did not align with free-market principles. The exchanges, he said, had faced too many restrictions that made it unattractive to young people, causing them to drop out, and for older people to be left behind paying more. “The only factor keeping the individual markets alive is the tens of billions in subsidies supplied directly to insurers each year,” he said. “The fundamental flaw of the Affordable Care Act is that it narrowed the competition for insurance options and laid down heavy-handed controls on the prices that could be charged.” He next targeted the Medicaid expansion, noting that the expansion population received a larger share of federal dollars than the traditional Medicaid population. “Supporting legislation to undo these perverse incentives is a priority for this administration,” he said. In the meantime, he touted efforts by the administration to obligate certain beneficiaries work or train for work.

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Got alt-milk? Trump administration takes up battle over dairy imitators. The debate over what kinds of businesses should be allowed to call their products “milk,” “yogurt,” or “cheese” is spilling over in Washington. The dairy industry has long pushed for the plant-based industry to come up with its own vocabulary for the foods and beverages it sells under these names. On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration is holding a daylong hearing to explore a range of nutrition topics, including whether the government needs to change its guidance on how companies should label their products. It’s not clear which direction the FDA will go in, and the back and forth will take at least a year to play out. The FDA may broaden the definition of milk to include nuts and other plant-based foods or it may keep the current definition. It may issue guidance making recommendations that plant-based foods specifically note that their products are “dairy free.” Regardless, all sides acknowledged lawsuits are certain. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb blogged about the issue this morning, saying that it was an area that “needs greater clarity.”

Trump administration calls for more cuts to drug discount program. The Trump administration wants to expand cuts to a controversial program that requires drug makers to discount products sold to hospitals that care for a certain number of low-income patients. On Wednesday, the administration proposed expanding the cuts to hospitals under the 340B drug discount program as part of its 2019 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services already installed a 30 percent cut to the program earlier this year, resulting in a loss of $1.5 billion to many hospitals in the program.

CMS pushes reforms to how doctor offices get paid by Medicare. CMS also released a proposed policy as part of its that aims to level the playing field in how doctor offices are paid. The agency proposed implementing site-neutral payments for doctor visits, no matter whether the doctor is in a hospital or a private office. “Currently, CMS often pays more for the same type of clinic visit in the hospital outpatient setting than in the physician office setting,” the agency said in a release on Wednesday. If the policy is enacted, CMS said that patients could save $150 million in lower copayments for clinic visits provided at an off-campus hospital outpatient department, the agency said in a press release. “CMS is also proposing to close a potential loophole through which providers are billing patients more for visits in hospital outpatient departments when they create new service lines.

CMS director delivers broadside at ‘Medicare for All’. President Trump’s Medicare director bashed Democrats’ embrace of expanding Medicare to all Americans, saying it will destroy the entitlement program. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Director Seema Verma said that proponents of universal Medicare do not understand the ramifications of the move. Her comments at a speech in San Francisco before the Commonwealth Club Wednesday comes as the idea of extending government healthcare benefits to everybody is gaining traction among Democrats and progressive candidates ahead of the 2018 midterms. Verma charged that expanding Medicare to everyone would expand the regulatory burden on healthcare providers and divert focus away from seniors who are the intended beneficiaries of the program. “In essence Medicare for all would become Medicare for none,” she said.

Celgene bows to White House pressure after raising prices for cancer drug. After raising the price of its marquee cancer drug, Celgene said Thursday it doesn’t plan further increases this year as the White House presses pharmaceutical companies to lower treatment costs. The Summit, N.J.-based drugmaker said it increased the price of cancer drug Revlimid by 5 percent in 2018. Sales of the treatment grew 21 percent to $2.45 billion in the three months through June, making up 64 percent of Celgene’s total revenue. The company joined several other pharmaceutical manufacturers in pledging to refrain from further price increases for six months as the administration enacts its drug-pricing blueprint. President Trump previously slammed Pfizer for raising prices, and the company reversed course after discussions with the White House. Celgene is one of several companies that the Food and Drug Administration previously identified as using a safety program that some pharmaceutical firms have leveraged to prevent generic competition.

AstraZeneca also decides to freeze drug price increases for second half of 2018. AstraZeneca also said this morning that it plans to freeze any planned drug price hikes for the rest of the year, according to a report in Reuters. The company’s CEO said that the British drug maker raised U.S. list prices by 1 to 3 percent, but net prices after rebates are falling, Reuters said. AstraZeneca joins other major drug makers in delaying drug price hikes for 2018, including Merck and Pfizer.

RUNDOWN

Axios Young people have the most medical debt

Wall Street Journal Gilead Sciences CEO stepping down

New York Times New Alzheimer’s drug shows big promise in early trial results

STAT News Sarepta halts early-stage gene therapy trial for DMD

Associated Press Kentucky drug overdose deaths jump 11.5 percent in 2017

Forbes As Amazon lurks, Walgreens launches digital marketplace listing providers and prices

The Hill Modest premium increases hurt Dems midterm messaging