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James Gelfand, the president of ERIC, said draft guidance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted Wednesday could create new competition for "biologic" medications.

More than a dozen states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland, New York, and most of New England, have enacted laws in recent years to keep medical debt from affecting consumers’ credit.

"Health care inflation is still front and center for a lot of organizations due to the higher cost driven by things like increased utilization, technological advances, prescription drug cost increases, and the list goes on," said Julie Gebauer, president of Health, Wealth & Career at Willis Towers Watson.

The new ACA enrollment period is set to run from Nov. 1 through Jan. 15 in states that use HealthCare.gov.

The U.S. federal government shutdown has been ongoing since October 1.

"By tackling branded pharmas and equitable pricing strategies that have left Americans carrying the financial weight of global drug innovation, the government is helping to relieve a long-standing burden on U.S. consumers and businesses," David Joyner, the CVS chief executive officer, said.