Health Care Rounds

In today’s Our Take read-in, here’s the lead: “A judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to Oklahoma for creating a ‘public nuisance.’ The state had sought $17.5 billion in a lawsuit against J&J, contending that the company had engaged in misleading marketing and contributed to the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of more than 6,000 Oklahomans. J&J plans to appeal, and the company’s shares rose in after-hours trading on the day of the ruling, suggesting that investors believed the outcome could have been much worse.” To sign up for the weekly email brief, click here. Other briefs include: Capital Rx, a startup pharmacy benefit manager, launches its Clearinghouse Model. A federal judge officially approves the merger between CVS Health and Aetna. Michigan-based insurers Priority Health and Total Health Care will merge. Amgen will buy Celgene’s Otezla (apremilast), a psoriasis drug, for $13.4 billion. CMS rejects Idaho’s request for a waiver for Medicaid expansion. Blue Cross