News and Views in Healthcare: This Weekend's Top 3 Reads

Our Top 3 Reads for Today:

1. The Republican-led Congress, under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump to act quickly, made the first move toward scrapping Obamacare on Thursday. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said earlier this month that repealing President Barack Obama's signature health insurance law in its entirety would cost roughly $350 billion over the next decade. Republicans say a good Obamacare replacement strategy would reduce government spending, but they have not agreed on a consensus plan.

2. Mylan gets competition in the form of a generic-version of Epipen from CVS. At one-sixth of the original price. Health insurance giant Cigna announced this week it's dropping coverage for name brand $600 EpiPens, just as drugstore chain CVS nearly halved the price of a rival epinephrine autoinjector, Adrenaclick, to $109.

3. The Biologics Prescribers Collaborative (BPC) has voiced to FDA that they are concerned with "random" suffixes for biosimilars naming guidance. As physicians who routinely prescribe biologic medicines, they believe a memorable suffix is needed; although, it is still considered a win for patients and physicians because distinguishable naming is essential for pharmacovigilance, patient safety and transparency.