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• Specialists Get Help From GOP Lawmakers In Quest To Exclude Rx Costs From Doctor Pay
  Specialists are getting help from House Republican lawmakers in their quest to exclude the cost of drugs they administer from the calculation of their Medicare bonuses and penalties. A letter being circulated by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) urges CMS to change the policy administratively, but lobbyists say the law likely needs to be changed.
  
  
• Advocates Hope WV Substance Use Disorder 1115 Waiver Could Start A Trend
  West Virginia's substance use disorder 1115 waiver removes a statutory hurdle that keeps Medicaid funds from going to institutions of mental disease (IMD) for substance abuse treatments, and advocates are hopeful that the administration's approval of the waiver could lead to similar waivers in other states. However, one mental health advocate raised concerns that allowing only for substance abuse treatment in IMDs rather than treating all of a beneficiaries' mental health problems could be problematic.
  
  
• HHS OIG: ACOs Saved Medicare Nearly $1B In First Three Years
  The HHS Office of Inspector General reported Tuesday (Aug. 29) that Medicare accountable care organizations saved the program nearly $1 billion over the first three years of the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The report was published as the Trump administration rethinks the role of the innovation center that developed ACOs.
  
  
• Woodcock: Throwing Out International Clinical Trial Standards Not An Option
  Coming as FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb pushes to reform the clinical trial process, drug center chief Janet Woodcock rebuffed arguments by some that regulators should eliminate existing global consensus regulations on trial practices because they increase drug development costs. Woodcock contended that while more flexibility is important, guidelines are necessary to protect against those seeking to abuse the system. The discussion was part of a recent real-world evidence public workshop held at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.