“It is unacceptable that Americans pay vastly more than people in other countries for the exact same drugs, often made in the exact same place," President Donald Trump told members of Congress during his State of the Union address on Wednesday. "This is wrong, unfair, and together we will stop it. We will stop it fast," the President warned. During his address, the President also pledged to end the HIV epidemic in the nation.

Both issues will be discussed during this edition of Monitor Mondays, when Maureen Testoni, president and CEO for 340B Health, returns to the broadcast. Testoni is considered to be one of the nation’s leading experts on the 340B drug pricing program and was recently was recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare.

The broadcast rundown also will include:

• Medicare Advantage: Are managed care beneficiaries being deprived of an important benefit? Enrolling in MA plans, beneficiaries expect to receive the same benefits as in traditional Medicare. But as providers move toward DRG payments, MA plans decline authorization for long-term acute care (LTAC) for patients with prolonged respiratory requirements and those with prolonged needs. MA plans feel that these patients should remain in the hospital under the original DRG payment. Reporting on this developing story is Howard Stein, MD, associate director of medical affairs and physician advisor in care management at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, N.J.
  
  
• Anthem Lawsuit: Nationally renowned whistleblower attorney Mary Inman reports on the recent class action lawsuit filed against Anthem Health.
  
  
• Monday Focus: RACmonitor investigative reporter and New York attorney Edward Roche reports on a scientific breakthrough in DNA sequencing.
  
  
• Risky Business: Healthcare attorney David Glaser returns to Monitor Mondays with his popular segment, in which he reports on problematic issues facing providers.
  
  
• Hot Topics: Monitor Mondays senior correspondent Nancy Beckley, president and CEO of Nancy Beckley and Associates, returns to report on all the latest hot topics.
  
  
• Monday Rounds: Juliet Ugarte Hopkins, MD, Juliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD, CHCQM-PHYADV, physician advisor for case management, utilization, and clinical documentation at ProHealth Care, Inc. in Wisconsin makes her Monday rounds while substituting for Dr. Ronald Hirsch.