Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced that it has reached an agreement with two Ohio counties to settle claims, with no admission of liability, that the drugmaker contributed to the U.S. opioid epidemic.

CMS' public comment period for the 2020 Hospital Outpatient Perspective Payment System proposed rule ended last week, and the rule's more controversial proposals garnered hundreds of comments from hospital groups, insurers, and other industry stakeholders.

NIH last week announced the agency awarded nearly $1 billion to fund research to address the opioid epidemic by improving chronic pain treatments, reducing opioid use disorders, and helping patients achieve long-term recovery from opioid misuse.

Working Mother this week released its annual list of the "100 Best Companies" for working mothers, and 23 of the companies are in health care.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) this week announced the House is launching a formal impeachment inquiry, which analysts say could jeopardize negotiations between Congress and the White House on a proposal to lower prescription drug prices.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday unveiled a highly anticipated bill that aims to reduce prescription drug prices in the United States by giving the HHS secretary the authority to negotiate Medicare payments for certain drugs and establishing a drug price ceiling for the negotiations based on the prices paid for the drugs in other countries.

David Lazarus, a business columnist for the Los Angeles Times, last week wrote a column detailing his struggles quitting antidepressants, but his article—titled, "Hi, I'm David. I'm a drug addict"—received backlash from some critics for conflating substance use disorders and physical dependence.

An FDA advisory panel this month recommended approval of an experimental treatment for peanut allergies but, writing in The Atlantic, James Hamblin questions whether the product is worth its likely $4,200 price tag—and flags research suggesting it might backfire for some patients.

FDA on Friday announced that it has found low levels of a chemical that could cause cancer in some batches of medications commonly used to treat heartburn, but it has not issued recalls of the drugs at this time.

Purdue Pharma on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a tentative settlement the drugmaker reached with nearly two dozen states and thousands of U.S. cities, counties, and territories that are suing the company for allegedly contributing to the U.S. opioid epidemic.