• President Trump announces his administration will ban certain flavors of e-cigarettes, leaving only the tobacco flavor unregulated, due to child health risks.

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• An Oklahoma judge orders Johnson & Johnson, a company that manufactured opioids, pay the state $572 million for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic – Quick Read

• Weeks later, Purdue Pharma, another opioid manufacturer, also "tentatively" reaches a settlement for contributing to the opioid epidemic – Quick Read

A Washington Post report shows how U.S. drug companies fueled the opioid epidemic, flooding towns around the country with 76 billion pain pills from 2006 through 2012. Just six companies are responsible for 75 percent of opioid distribution during this period. At the same time, a new report shows a silver lining: the amount of overdose deaths in the U.S. dropped last year, the first decrease since 1990

Two of Trump’s plans to try and lower drug costs are shot down – one by a court and the other by his own administration. Trump’s rule requiring drug companies to include drug prices in T.V. ads is blocked by a federal court. The president also backs away from a plan to try and lower drug prices by banning drug companies from giving rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and insurers

President Trump signs an executive order that aims to modernize the U.S.’s kidney transplant/treatment system. The initiative seeks to speed up the matching process for kidney transplants, streamline access to more effective treatments, enhance preventive care, and raise awareness about kidney disease. Kidney issues currently affect over 37 million people, according to Axios

President Trump signs an executive order that directs the Department of Health to develop a policy surrounding price transparency in medication. The order seeks to lower healthcare costs by allowing patients to see the price of their medicine. Industry groups are generally against the measure as it might “take the wrong course, [undercutting] the way insurers pay for hospital services resulting in higher spending," Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, said

Former “Daily Show” Host Jon Stewart testifies in front of Congress urging lawmakers to fully finance the 9/11 victims fund for the foreseeable future. The fund is set to expire in 2020 but following Stewart’s and others’ testimonies, the House passes the bill. McConnell promises the Senate will vote on the bill 

Seeking to fulfill a 2018 campaign promise, House Democrats push several healthcare bills across the finish line. The bills, which pass almost entirely by party line, have almost no chance of surviving the Republican-controlled Senate, and are aimed at bolstering the Affordable Care Act and lowering drug prices

In a court brief, the Justice Department petitions a federal appeals court to strike down Obamacare in its entirety. Its the first formal argument by the Trump administration to end the Affordable Care Act. The filing is a departure from a previous Trump administration stance that some portions of the law, such as allowing states to expand Medicare programs, should remain

President Trump states in a tweet that he will not be pursuing a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act before the 2020 election

Centene, one of U.S.’s largest insurance providers, announces it will merge with WellCare, another insurance giant for around $15 billion. While the merger will help the company dominate Medicare/ Medicaid coverage, the company is taking a risk as the Trump administration makes a new push to slash federal healthcare law

The Council of Economic Advisers releases a report that suggests the Trump administration changes to the ACA do not devalue the law

Trump discusses healthcare in his State of the Union address, including lowering prescription drug prices and fighting the HIV epidemic