- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said the agency would “continue to explore every option we have” with regard to lowering drug prices. According to Becerra, even utilizing so-called march-in rights — power granted under a 1980 law permitting the government to take over a drug patent and license it to other manufacturers in an effort to curb costs — would not be “off the table.” Progressive advocates and lawmakers have pushed for march-in rights in recent years, though former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins wrote in 2016 that the power should only be reserved in cases where medicines are in short supply. (Article here)