Trending News Today: Aetna to Remain in Healthcare Exchanges

Aetna Inc announced they will not be withdrawing from healthcare exchanges and may even expand their coverage to new states, unlike some other companies who have announced plans to withdraw almost completely. In the first quarter alone, enrollment grew to about 1.2 million as 911,000 people signed up through exchanges. However, The Wall Street Journal reports the binding agreement will not be signed until September and nothing is finalized yet.

Recently, the House passed a bill to improve the care of babies born dependent on opioid drugs, with a similar bill pending in the Senate. According to Reuters, since 2010, at least 110 babies died due to being exposed to, or dependent on opioid drugs and then sent home with parents who were not able to take proper care of the babies. In the last decade, over 130,000 babies were diagnosed with withdrawal, but a majority were not reported to state child-protection officers.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals recently pledged to Congress they would offer hospitals up to 39% off of 2 expensive heart drugs, but large heart hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic have not received any discount thus far. This hospital spent over $5.3 million on the 2 drugs in 2015 alone. Similarly, large hospitals like Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, and New York-Presbyterian have not heard anything in the 2 weeks since the pledge was made, according to the New York Times.