| Welcome to Overnight Health Care, Wednesday edition. While you were focused on the fallout from President Trump's walkback of his walkback, Novartis decided to freeze drug price increases, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services won't give up on Kentucky Medicaid work requirements, and House Democrats launched a Medicare for All caucus. Worry not. We'll get you caught up. We'll start with some drug pricing news: Novartis pulls back on planned drug price increases Taking a cue from Pfizer, Novartis on Wednesday became the second company to announce it won't raise drug prices this year. During a call with investors, CEO Vas Narasimhan said the decision was made because of the uncertainty surrounding the administration's drug pricing blueprint. "We looked in June at the overall situation, the blueprint coming out, and we made the decision prior to some of the recent events that we were going to withdraw any further price increases, and make a commitment internally that we were not going to make any further price increases for the remainder of 2018," Narasimhan said. The fine print: Just like Pfizer, Novartis isn't actually doing anything to LOWER prices, they're just freezing them. For now. President Trump has been complaining about high drug prices since he was on the campaign trail, and Novartis and Pfizer have certainly raised prices on some of their products since then. Advocacy groups are not impressed, saying they want actual price cuts, not just delays of increases. Why it matters: Novartis was already in hot water with the public after emails released by Democrats last week showed the company had a more extensive relationship with ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen than previously revealed. The announcement could be little more than a PR move or a way to curry favor with the administration. What's next: Watch to see if other drug companies follow Pfizer and Novartis on this. Read more here. House Dems launching Medicare for All caucus More evidence that Medicare for All is gaining momentum among Democrats: the formation of a Medicare for All caucus. The caucus will launch Thursday with about 60 members and will be led by Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.) and Keith Ellison (Minn.), with more expected to sign on in the coming weeks. Ellison is the lead sponsor of H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, which has the support of a majority of the House Democratic Caucus. The bill contains only an outline of how it would raise the trillions of dollars needed to establish universal health care, but it has become a focus of Democratic energy. "It's the increasing view of everyone that single-payer is inevitable," said Dan Riffle, spokesman for Ellison. "It's going to pass," he said, and the caucus will attempt to hammer home that message. What to watch: If Democrats win back the House in November, talk of Medicare for All is sure to pick up. There could be hearings and even votes in the House on the idea next year. Read more here. CMS takes new step forward on Medicaid work requirements The Trump administration is not giving up on imposing Medicaid work requirements in Kentucky after a judge blocked the proposal last month. CMS said Wednesday that it is going to reopen a new 30-day comment period on Kentucky's plan. What that means: The move could allow the administration to show that it is giving further time to weigh concerns about the proposal, after the judge ruled that officials did not give adequate consideration to the coverage losses that could result. Bottom line: The move shows how determined the Trump administration is to find a way to press forward with Medicaid work requirements, a key part of its agenda. Read more here. Senate panel will vote next week on banning 'gag clauses.' The Senate health committee will vote next week on a bill that would ban "gag clauses" that prohibit pharmacies from telling customers they can save money on a drug if they pay with cash instead of insurance. Such clauses are sometimes inserted into contracts pharmacies have with insurers or pharmacy benefit managers -- the middlemen that manage pharmacy benefits for insurance companies and employers. The clauses prevent a pharmacist from telling a customer if their $20 co-pay is higher than the pharmacy's cash price for a drug. Why it matters: Some states have already passed these bans, but the bill from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) would establish some uniformity throughout the U.S. Read more here. What we're reading HHS secretary tries to reset agenda amid family-separations furor (The Wall Street Journal) Health-care coverage is increasingly determined by where you live (The Wall Street Journal) Medicaid under the influence: How drugmakers sway medication options for patients (NPR) State by state North Carolina state employees won't have to pay anything extra for health insurance next year (heraldsun.com) Maryland analysts: Single-payer health care, proposed by Dem gubernatorial nominee, could cost state $24 billion a year (The Baltimore Sun) From The Hill's opinion page The judiciary strikes a blow to Medicaid reform | 
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