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The Biden administration on Wednesday will release a preliminary list of generic drugs that would be made available to Medicare recipients under a pilot program for no more than $2 out of pocket. The initiative — which covers common drugs for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions — aims to test whether offering low-cost generics can boost seniors' medication adherence and health outcomes, while giving them more certainty on out-of-pocket costs. (Goldman, 10/9)

A slate of popular policies commonly bandied about to help reduce drug costs would each cut average prices by only a handful of percentage points, according to a recent Congressional Budget Office report. But even small percentage savings could be consequential: By 2031, the retail drug market is slated to grow to more than $690 billion, according to the CBO. That includes both public and private buyers. (Lim and Gardner, 10/8)

The U.S. health regulator has declined to approve Zealand Pharma's (ZELA.CO) drug to prevent and treat low blood sugar in children with a genetic disorder, the Danish biotech firm said on Tuesday, marking the second rejection for the treatment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its so-called "complete response letter" cited the timing of a third-party manufacturing facility reinspection for the decision, the company said. The letter, however, did not mention any concerns about the clinical data package or safety of the drug, dasiglucagon. (10/9)

Federal authorities are warning of a new ransomware gang that has already claimed at least one healthcare victim in the U.S. Trinity ransomware, which was first detected around May, uses tactics such as phishing emails, malicious websites and software vulnerabilities to hack organizations then employs "double extortion," according to an Oct. 4 notice from HHS' Office of Information Security and Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center. (Bruce, 10/8)

Providers, health IT groups and reproductive health care advocates largely support a proposed HHS rule to make health data, including public health information, easier to share while protecting patient privacy. But they disagree on the specific wording needed to protect reproductive health care data. Background: The rule, proposed in July, would standardize how public health departments transmit data among each other and to the CDC via certified protocols. (Cirruzzo and Leonard, 10/8)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: Poppy Seed Brew Triggers Morphine Overdose, Drawing Attention Of Lawmakers

It sounds like a joke: poppy seeds infused with opioids. Indeed, it was a plotline on the sitcom Seinfeld. But for some it has been a tragedy. People have died after drinking tea brewed from unwashed poppy seeds. And after eating lemon poppy seed bread or an everything bagel, mothers reportedly have been separated from newborns because the women failed drug tests. Poppy seeds come from the plant that produces opium and from which narcotics such as morphine and codeine are derived. (Hilzenrath, 10/9)