Morning Headlines 12/29/15

At Theranos, Many Strategies and Snags

Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist John Carreyrou recaps the fast paced rise and fall of Theranos in a year-end Wall Street Journal article.

Why Preventing Cancer Is Not the Priority in Drug Development

The New York Times investigates how the FDA and US patent system work together to inadvertently discourage preventative and early-stage cancer treatment research, while encouraging late-stage treatment research. The article builds a case arguing that “There’s more money to be made investing in drugs that will extend cancer patients’ lives by a few months than in drugs that would prevent cancer in the first place.”

Obama administration’s proposed insurance reforms incite industry backlash

Several consumer protection provisions included in proposed rules governing 2017 ACA insurance plans have drawn criticism from insurance companies, including minimum provider network standards, and the introduction of “standardized options.”