The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute board approved $83 million in grants to fund 26 patient-centered, comparative clinical effectiveness research studies. Two awards totaling $29.5 million will fund research on caring for patients with hepatitis C virus, and more than $7 million will go toward studies on rare conditions. Additional grants will be directed to studying multiple sclerosis and long-term use of opioids for chronic pain.

Democratic members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are seeking a subpoena compelling Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. to turn over documents relating to massive price increases for two heart drugs. Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had requested the documents earlier in September, but Valeant refused to turn them over, saying they were "highly proprietary and confidential."

In a voice vote the House passed S. 139, the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act, sending it on to the president to be signed into law. The bill, which was passed by the Senate in July, permanently excludes compensation for participating in clinical trials for rare diseases from the Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid programs.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) plans to roll out an enhanced medication therapy management (MTM) model to test strategies to improve Part D medication use among Medicare beneficiaries. The five-year test will begin Jan. 1, 2017, in five Part D regions. The enhanced MTM model will assess whether providing selected Medicare prescription drug plans with additional incentives and flexibilities to create innovative programs can improve patient drug compliance, reduce medication-related problems, increase patients' knowledge about their drugs and improve communication among prescribers, pharmacists, caregivers and patients.