• Lawmakers leading key congressional committees with health jurisdiction have come to a compromise on sweeping health care legislation that would end surprise billing, fund community health centers for five years and raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21, among other things. The surprise billing measure proposes including arbitration when payers and providers cannot reach consensus, and while the legislation still faces an uncertain future, its best bet is passing alongside the full funding package Congress must pass on or before Dec. 20, when the current continuing resolution expires. (The New York Times)

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma filed a claim for $47,000 worth of jewelry, clothing, headphones and other personal items, seeking taxpayer dollars for reimbursement after her baggage was stolen while traveling for work, according to documents obtained by a media organization. The agency, which says its policy is to repay staffers at a discounted rate for lost items, gave Verma a partial reimbursement of $2,852.40, but the news comes as the Medicare chief is under fire for her relationship with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and being investigated for using federal dollars to hire public relations consultants focused on enhancing her personal brand. (Politico)

• House Republicans are teeing up their own drug pricing bill as their Democratic colleagues prepare to vote on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) legislation this week. Instead of allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and setting rates based on prices abroad, the GOP bill takes a page from the Senate and proposes capping seniors’ out-of-pocket expenses at $3,100 and establishing a “chief pharmaceutical negotiator” to represent American interests in international trade negotiations. (Stat News)

Top Trump officials’ feud prompts sex discrimination probe
Jonathan Swan and Caitlin Owens, Axios

The Department of Health and Human Services took the extraordinary step of bringing in outside counsel earlier this year to investigate allegations of sex discrimination, Axios has learned — a sign of how badly the working relationship had deteriorated between Secretary Alex Azar and Medicare chief Seema Verma.

Democrats open door to repealing ObamaCare tax in spending talks
Jordain Carney, The Hill

Senate Democrats are offering to repeal a controversial ObamaCare tax as part of a government funding deal as negotiations go on through the weekend. 

Black Voters Back Medicare for All, Not So Much the Candidates Pushing It
Joshua Jamerson, The Wall Street Journal

African-American voters back Medicare for All more than other groups, polls show, but the policy’s two chief proponents in the 2020 Democratic presidential race haven’t been able to translate that into widespread black support.

Lawmakers ask HHS for greater oversight of patient assistance programs
Ed Silverman, Stat News

Amid ongoing concern about the use of patient assistance programs by the pharmaceutical industry, two lawmakers want the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to update its oversight and require more disclosure from the foundations about their operations.

When a DNA Test Says You’re a Younger Man, Who Lives 5,000 Miles Away
Heather Murphy, The New York Times

After a bone marrow transplant, a man with leukemia found that his donor’s DNA traveled to unexpected parts of his body. A crime lab is now studying the case.

House progressives may try to block vote on Pelosi drug bill
Peter Sullivan, The Hill

House progressives are considering voting against a procedural motion to proceed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) signature bill to lower drug prices next week unless they get changes to the measure, effectively threatening to stop the bill in its tracks. 

Fight against flavored e-cigarettes goes local
Jessie Hellmann, The Hill

State and local governments are moving to ban flavored e-cigarette products in response to the Trump administration’s lack of action on rising youth vaping rates.

Obamacare Back At The High Court — With Billions For Insurers On The Line
Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

More than $12 billion is at stake for the nation’s health insurers Tuesday when the Supreme Court hears another Affordable Care Act case.

Senate drug-pricing bill would halt DSH cuts for two years
Rachel Cohrs, Modern Healthcare

Senate Finance Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon on Friday added several measures to their drug-pricing package and plan to use the bill’s savings to cancel two years of cuts to disproportionate share hospital payments, as well as fund healthcare extenders.

More hospital drug spending is going toward cancer immunotherapies
Ed Silverman, Stat News

Amid intense scrutiny over prescription drug costs, a new analysis finds some hospitals are spending a larger share of their budgets for new cancer and migraine treatments, as well as for a biosimilar version of a brand-name drug that is used to prevent white-cell depletion in patients given chemotherapy.

Two New Drugs Help Relieve Sickle-Cell Disease. But Who Will Pay?
Gina Kolata, The New York Times

Adakveo and Oxbryta could be revolutionary treatments, but each costs about $100,000 per year and must be taken for life.

Senators urge Medicare to allow seniors a drug plan do-over
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press AP 

Leading senators are urging Medicare to allow seniors concerned about their drug plan pick for next year to switch if they received inaccurate information due to changes the agency made this sign-up season.

New data show Bluebird, Bristol CAR-T drug could be pioneering myeloma therapy. Competitors may be close behind
Adam Feuerstein, Stat News

On the eve of a major blood disease research meeting here, Bluebird Bio and Bristol-Myers Squibb have released results from a pivotal clinical trial of their CAR-T therapy targeting multiple myeloma.

Half of lymphoma patients alive three years after Gilead cell therapy treatment: study
Manas Mishra, Reuters

Nearly half of lymphoma patients treated with Gilead Sciences Inc’s Yescarta were alive at least three years after a one-time infusion of the CAR-T cell therapy, according to data presented on Saturday.

When Drug Side Effects Pose Real Dangers
Jane E. Brody, The New York Times

The rule of thumb in medicine — first, do no harm — has as its corollary that the expected benefits of treatment should outweigh its potential risks.

Vindicated. New J&J CAR-T myeloma data confirm strong efficacy, ease doubts raised by Chinese version
Adam Feuerstein, Stat News

One year ago, a Chinese scientist stepped up to a podium at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting and presented early results from a Chinese-developed CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma. 

VA dives into artificial intelligence R&D
Jessica Kim Cohen, Modern Healthcare

The Department of Veterans Affairs has opened a new artificial intelligence institute to pursue research and inform national strategy.

Congress Must Protect Charitable Assistance Safety Net for American Patients
Arthur Wood, Morning Consult

As American families continue to struggle to afford their health care, Congress has rightly begun to consider a broad range of policy proposals to help ease the financial burden on patients.

Computational Markers of Risky Decision-making for Identification of Temporal Windows of Vulnerability to Opioid Use in a Real-world Clinical Setting
Anna B. Konova et al., JAMA

This longitudinal study serially examined computational markers of risky decision-making in individuals who use opioids, studied over 7 months of treatment. An increase in an individual marker of tolerance to ambiguity (a context in which there is limited information about environmental risk) was significantly tied to imminent opioid use (within 1-4 weeks) in a manner statistically independent of standard clinical factors associated with opioid use.