| Welcome to Wednesday's Overnight Health Care. Congress is (still) out of session, but we have our eyes on new opioid legislation in the Senate and a brewing confirmation battle at the VA. Just released: New opioid legislation The Senate Health Committee has held six hearings on the opioid epidemic over the last six months. Its leaders released the result of that effort early Wednesday evening -- a discussion draft of a bill to combat the crisis which is killing thousands of people each year. The draft includes measures attempting to make it easier to prescribe smaller packs of opioids for limited durations, spur the development of non-addictive painkillers and bolster the detection of illegal drugs at the border. Also of note: The draft bill updates how certain opioid grants are doled out, boosting the allotments for states that the epidemic has hit the hardest. It also would let states use the dollars they get until they run out, rather than requiring they be spent during that year. The takeaway: Lawmakers hope to move quickly. - The panel will be holding a hearing on the draft legislation next week.
- And Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) has said he'd like to see opioid legislation marked up this spring.
Read a summary of the draft here. Read our story here. New tariffs could raise drug prices There's a health-care angle on the new tariffs announced by the Trump administration: They could make drugs more expensive. The Trump administration's list of Chinese-manufactured products that could be slapped with a 25 percent tariff includes many ingredients used to manufacture drugs such as insulin, antidepressants and the anti-allergic-reaction drug epinephrine. China, according to the Food and Drug Administration, is one of the largest suppliers of ingredients used to make U.S.-consumed prescription drugs. Advocates and drugmakers worry that the tariffs would make generic products more expensive as the nation continues to struggle with already high drug prices. "We are concerned that the proposed tariffs may lead to increased costs of manufacturing for generics and biosimilars and thus higher prescription drug prices for patients in the U.S.," said a statement from the Association for Accessible Medicines, an organization that represents prescription drug manufacturers. Why this could be trouble for the president: Advocates point out that tariffs on ingredients in drugs could undercut Trump's promise to lower drug prices. Read more here. FDA chief turns to social media companies to fight opioids As part of the administration's effort to step up anti-opioid abuse measures, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called on social media companies and internet providers to do more during a speech in Atlanta on Wednesday. "I'm concerned that social media companies, internet service providers (ISP) firms that host websites, and others in the internet ecosystem haven't been proactive enough in rooting out these illegal offers to distribute opioids from their respective platforms," Gottlieb will say Wednesday evening at the annual National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, according to his prepared remarks. "I think we can work with them to do much more to address this public health danger," Gottlieb will add. The bottom line: Opioids are the latest issue that has the tech industry under scrutiny from Washington. Read more here. AMA: "No medically valid reason" for transgender troop ban The American Medical Association on Wednesday issued a harsh rebuke of the Trump administration's new policy banning most transgender people from serving in the military. The AMA sent a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis, saying that "there is no medically valid reason--including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria--to exclude transgender individuals from military service." The transgender ban is based on recommendations from Mattis that there is a "substantial risk" to allowing service of those diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which is the condition of someone's biological sex being in conflict with their gender identity. Mattis said that people diagnosed with gender dysphoria suffer from high rates of suicide, anxiety, depression and substance abuse and that treatment such as hormone therapy and surgery has not proven effective. But the AMA argued that the White House and Defense Department "mischaracterized and rejected" the wide body of scientific evidence. "Transgender individuals have served, and continue to serve, our country with honor, and we believe they should be allowed to continue doing so," the AMA said. Read more here. What we're reading Iowa's found a new, likely legal way to ignore ObamaCare (Vox) McKesson accused of skimming profit, harming patients (Modern Healthcare) Sen. Susan Collins says she's not giving up on future Affordable Care Act fixes (Portland Press Herald) State by state Medicaid expansion uncertain as Maine's deadline to fund it passes (Governing) Ohio groups, officials oppose Medicaid work requirements, as state prepares to submit waiver to federal government (Cleveland.com) From The Hill's opinion pages Tackling smoking in the black community -- a step toward eliminating health disparities | 
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