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Linda Klonsky usually orders her prescription eye drops from a Canadian pharmacy that charges $250 for a three-month supply. But that came to an abrupt halt late this summer when it came time for her to reorder, as the Trump administration’s latest trade edict prompted dozens of international postal services to suspend shipments to the United States. With little choice, the 75-year-old turned to a CVS near her home in Silver Spring, Maryland, and bought 30 days’ worth of similar drops for $740 — nearly nine times what she usually pays. (Najmabadi, 10/18)

Janet McCaskill was on vacation in Arizona with her husband and best friend when she heard that President Donald Trump had suggested he might be able to bring the cost of popular weight-loss drugs down to $150 a month. “The thought of it going to $150 a month is dramatic,” said McCaskill, a grandmother from North Carolina who’s lost 100 pounds with the help of GLP-1 medicines, a class best known for the diabetes drug Ozempic. “That is most fantastic – if it comes to pass.” (Tirrell, 10/17)

President Donald Trump and his top officials have repeatedly promised to tap the billions of dollars collected from their historic tariff hikes for key priorities like troop pay, nutrition assistance and farmer bailouts. That’s not how it works. The administration has brought in about $200 billion in tariff revenue so far this year, cash the president and members of his Cabinet have boasted is a sign their tariff hikes are succeeding — and have suggested they can now use at their discretion. ... The reality, however, is that the White House has extremely limited power to direct those funds without congressional direction, since revenue generated by the federal government flows into the Treasury and Congress decides how that money gets doled out. (Desrochers and Scholtes, 10/19)

In his keynote address at the HLTH 2025 event in Las Vegas on Sunday evening, Cost Plus Drugs co-founder and entrepreneur Mark Cuban complimented TrumpRx, President Trump’s website for drug discounts. Cuban said he is a fan of the concept, which will help Americans purchase certain prescription drugs directly from participating manufacturers. (Perna and Kacik, 10/19)

How philanthropists are coping with the tariffs —

Health systems are embracing cryptocurrency, real estate and and stock gifts as donors who once wrote checks navigate economic volatility. Tariffs, inflation and the government shutdown have squeezed some philanthropists’ cash reserves, prompting nonprofit health systems’ foundations to get more creative in their funding requests. Many of those requests are seeking support for mental healthcare efforts, patient financial assistance funds, community health initiatives, workforce training, new technology, cancer care and cardiovascular programs, foundation directors said. (Kacik, 10/17)

In other news about the Trump administration —

The Trump administration is making Luigi Mangione “a pawn to further its political agenda” and uttering or posting statements about him that are prejudicing the accused killer’s prospects at a fair trial, his attorneys argued Friday in a new court filing that asked a federal judge to either dismiss the indictment or take the death penalty off the table. Federal prosecutors said President Donald Trump’s social media posts calling Mangione “a pure assassin,” and subsequent reposts by Justice Department officials, did not prejudice Mangione “because the statements were made by persons not associated with this matter.” The defense said the government can't make that claim because of Trump’s unprecedented intervention in Justice Department matters. (Katersky and Hemingway, 10/17)

The Trump administration’s decision to lay off most employees within the U.S. Department of Education’s special education office was described by the president this week as part of cuts to “Democrat programs that we were opposed to.” This was news to many conservative parents of disabled children, as well as disability policy experts. ... “Education for people with disabilities goes hand in hand with conservative ideals,” wrote disabled journalist Eric Garcia in a recent MSNBC column. “While that may seem counterintuitive, having people with disabilities integrated into larger society is a way to reduce the chance that they have to depend on the government.”. (Luterman, 10/17)