Medicare enrollees could save $500+ per year in out-of-pocket spending if federal lawmakers expand parts of the program to include dental services, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Urban Institute analysis—aided by funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation—examined the implications of expanding Medicare Part B, which covers medically necessary and preventive services, to include dental care. The proposed coverage would be subject to Part B deductibles and 20% cost-sharing, and it could lower out-of-pocket expenses by 80%, or $530 per person annually, the report found.

Katherine Hempstead, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior policy advisor, said the proposed expansion is “an opportunity to increase equity and close long-standing gaps in access to dental services.” Low-income older adults currently “bear the brunt” of Medicare’s lack of dental coverage, she added.

Keep reading here.—SY

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Shannon at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Shannon for her number on Signal.

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Kroger is expected to pay to states and local governments more than $1 billion to settle allegations that the Cincinnati-based supermarket and pharmacy chain helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic by failing to properly monitor painkiller orders.

Under the proposed settlement, which the company and state attorneys general announced on September 8, Kroger agreed to pay up to $1.2 billion over 11 years to states and subdivisions, as well as $36 million to Native American groups to support opioid abatement efforts. The supermarket chain also agreed to pay $177 million to cover attorney fees and other costs over a six-year period.

Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia led the negotiations.

Keep reading here.—SY

On Fridays, we schedule our rounds with Healthcare Brew readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

This week’s Making Rounds spotlights Peter Bonis, chief medical officer at Wolters Kluwer Health, a healthcare information company that creates decision support tools. Its main product is a point-of-care medical resource called UpToDate, which gives providers evidence-based answers to clinical questions. UpToDate covers more than 12,400 topics across 25 different specialties and has more than 2+ million users worldwide, according to the Massachusetts-based company.

Bonis discussed the challenges that come with building a healthcare information service and other health technologies.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?

Building and maintaining state-of-the-art information services for healthcare professionals and patients requires enormous commitment.

Keep reading here.—KW

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Kristine at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Kristine for her number on Signal.

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: Weight loss drugs could bring in $50 billion for Eli Lilly by 2030, analysts said. (Barron’s)

Quote: “Someone in the middle of that transaction is making a lot of money, and they’re doing it at the detriment of the consumers.”—Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who studies drug costs, on insurers jacking up the price of generics (the Wall Street Journal)

Read: Robert Hadden, an ob-gyn who eventually gave up his medical license as part of a plea deal, was accused of sexually assaulting more than 200 patients. Columbia University Irving Medical Center let him continue practicing anyway. (ProPublica)

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