President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a rule to require disclosure of negotiated prices of common tests and services and a proposal to require that patients be informed of estimated out-of-pocket costs before treatment. Hospital and insurance industry leaders warned that the requirement could undercut competition and raise prices for care.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on whether the federal government owes private health insurance providers more than $12 billion in risk corridor payments under the Affordable Care Act. The court will hear an appeal of a lower court's decision that Congress had suspended the federal government's payment obligation.

Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., added new provisions to a bipartisan health care legislative package meant to lower health care costs. The Lower Health Care Costs Act would still create a benchmark for health insurer-provider payment disputes, but only for ancillary or emergency services, while it would raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 and prohibit brand-name drug companies from refusing to provide samples of medications to makers of generic drugs.

Legislation that would allow Maine residents to purchase prescription drugs from Canada has been signed by Gov. Janet Mills. Other measures include new disclosure requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, a measure compelling drugmakers to explain annual price increases of 20% or more and creation of the Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board.

AbbVie will purchase rival Allergan, which makes Botox, in a $63 billion deal that will help AbbVie diversify beyond its blockbuster Humira.

An $85 million settlement between Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and the Oklahoma attorney general was approved by a judge. Teva and Johnson & Johnson, which is still fighting the allegations, are accused of fueling the opioid epidemic with marketing efforts that minimized risk of addiction.