Jan. 13-16: More than 9,000 people will descend on San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the banking giant boasts on its website. As Modern Healthcare finance reporter Tara Bannow writes, the annual ritual has come under heat in recent years for being costly to attend. Healthcare executives still claim attending is worth the price of admission (although many have dialed back the size of their entourages). Bannow will be there, so be sure to look for her daily reports online and in our newsletters.
Jan. 13: A federal appeals court will hear arguments in a lawsuit drugmakers filed to kill a Trump administration plan that would require disclosure of a drug’s list price in television ads. A lower court judge stopped the rule from going into effect in July because he said Congress did not give HHS authority to require such disclosures in direct-to-consumer ads. The disclosure requirements likely wouldn’t have much bottom-line impact on the pharmaceutical industry, but another ruling against the proposal would be a blow to the President Donald Trump’s healthcare record in an election year. Watch for coverage of the hearing from Modern Healthcare policy reporter Rachel Cohrs.
Jan. 14: A House Energy & Commerce subcommittee plans to “examine state efforts and successes in addressing the opioid epidemic, as well as opportunities for future federal support.” Witnesses include state health officials from Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.
Jan. 16-17: The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has a jam-packed agenda for its monthly meeting. The congressional panel will review the “adequacy” of a number of payment updates, for hospital inpatient and outpatient services, skilled-nursing facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and more. The commissioners will also get a status report on Medicare Part D and hear from staff on ideas for retooling the Medicare Advantage quality bonus. Modern Healthcare rules and regulations reporter Michael Brady will be there to bring you breaking news.
