First Edition: April 17, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Congressional Advisers Urge Medicare Payments To Many Stand-Alone ERs Be Cut
The woman arrived at the emergency department gasping for air, her severe emphysema causing such shortness of breath that the physician who examined her put her on a ventilator immediately to help her breathe. The patient lived across the street from the emergency department in suburban Denver, said Dr. David Friedenson, who cared for her that day a few years ago. The facility wasn’t physically located at a hospital but was affiliated with North Suburban Medical Center several miles away. (Andrews, 4/17)
Kaiser Health News:
Barbara Bush’s End-Of-Life Decision Stirs Debate Over ‘Comfort Care’
As she nears death at age 92, former first lady Barbara Bush’s announcement that she is seeking “comfort care” is shining a light — and stirring debate — on what it means to stop trying to fight terminal illness. Bush, the wife of former President George H.W. Bush, has been suffering from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to family spokesman Jim McGrath.In a public statement Sunday, the family announced she has decided “not to seek additional medical treatment and will focus on comfort care.” (Bailey and Aleccia, 4/16)
California Healthline:
California Lawmakers Seek Reparations For People Sterilized By The State
Rosie Zaballos liked to host playtime tea parties and was sweet to everyone she met. But her older brother worried that the 16-year-old, whom her family described as “a little slow,” might someday become pregnant. In his 30s and married, he had three kids of his own. And their mom was sick and needed help. So he took Rosie to be sterilized at a state-run hospital so she couldn’t have babies who might place an extra burden on the family. (Young, 4/16)
The Associated Press:
Immune Therapy Scores Big Win Against Lung Cancer In Study
For the first time, a treatment that boosts the immune system greatly improved survival in people newly diagnosed with the most common form of lung cancer. It's the biggest win so far for immunotherapy, which has had much of its success until now in less common cancers. In the study, Merck's Keytruda, given with standard chemotherapy, cut in half the risk of dying or having the cancer worsen, compared to chemo alone after nearly one year. The results are expected to quickly set a new standard of care for about 70,000 patients each year in the United States whose lung cancer has already spread by the time it's found. (Marchione, 4/16)
NPR:
Keytruda Plus Chemotherapy More Effective For Lung Cancer
The study estimates that one year after treatment, 69 percent of patients who received the immunotherapy drug in addition to chemotherapy would still be alive, compared with 49 percent of people who received chemotherapy alone. While that's a notable difference, the drug did not stop cancer entirely in most patients. A year and a half after treatment, the disease had returned in three-quarters of patients with the new treatment. (Harris, 4/16)
The New York Times:
Lung Cancer Patients Live Longer With Immune Therapy
“What it suggests is that chemotherapy alone is no longer a standard of care,” said Dr. Leena Gandhi, a leader of the study and director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University Langone Health. Immunotherapy has been making steady gains against a number of cancers. Four such drugs, called checkpoint inhibitors, which unleash the patient’s own immune system to kill malignant cells, have been approved so far. (Grady, 4/16)
USA Today:
New Studies Show Hope For Turning Immune System Against Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more than 150,000 people a year. For cancer that has spread beyond the lungs, the five-year survival rate is historically just 1%. (Weintraub, 4/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Drug Combinations Improve Survival In Lung Cancer
Companies in recent years have introduced new drugs that harness patients’ immune systems to fight tumors, such as Merck’s Keytruda and Bristol’s Opdivo. When used alone, the drugs have been shown to improve patient survival in cancers including melanoma and certain types of lung cancer. Keytruda and Opdivo each cost about $13,500 monthly per patient. They don’t work for every patient, however, so companies have been racing to test whether combining immunotherapies with each other or with older drugs could further improve patient survival. (Loftus and Rockoff, 4/16)
The Washington Post:
For Advanced Lung Cancer, Immune Therapy Plus Chemo Prolongs Survival
Scientists who weren't involved in the study agreed that it was highly significant. H. Jack West, an oncologist at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, said, “It is literally practice-changing — immediately.” Roy Herbst, an oncologist at Yale Cancer Center said that most lung cancer patients now will be offered immunotherapy in some form much earlier than before. Still, he said, the approach was not a cure and there is a lot of room for improvement. The estimated proportion of patients in the combination therapy group who were alive and whose disease had not gotten worse at a year was about 34 percent, about double the proportion for the chemo-only group. (McGinley, 4/16)
The Washington Post:
These Are The Top Priorities For The Nation’s Top Cancer Doctor
Norman “Ned” Sharpless still remembers one of his favorite patients — a 40-ish woman with breast cancer whose chemotherapy treatment stopped working. During one visit, she told him she knew she wouldn’t be cured but hoped to live just six more years, long enough to see her 11-year-old daughter graduate from high school. “It did not seem like too much to ask,” he recalled in a speech to the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Chicago. “But I knew that wasn’t going to happen, not given the limited options for therapy we had.” (McGinley, 4/16)
The Associated Press:
What Is Known About Former First Lady Barbara Bush’s Health
Former first lady Barbara Bush is receiving “comfort care” at her family’s home in Houston after deciding she wanted no further medical treatment for unspecified health problems. The 92-year-old has suffered from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in recent years, and had surgery in 2009 for severe narrowing of her main heart valve. She also has been treated for decades for a thyroid condition called Graves’ disease, and had surgery on a perforated ulcer in 2008. A family spokesman did not elaborate on whether there were other health problems. (4/16)
The Associated Press:
Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Abortion Pastor's Appeal On Noise
The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a pastor who challenged a state law's noise limit that was used to restrict his anti-abortion protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Portland, Maine. The justices offered no comment Monday in rejecting the appeal from the Rev. Andrew March, who sued after he said Portland police officers repeatedly told him to lower his voice while he was protesting outside the clinic in Maine's largest city. (4/16)
The Associated Press:
Pennsylvania House Votes To Ban Abortions For Down Syndrome
A proposal to prohibit abortions in Pennsylvania when the sole reason is that the fetus has or may have Down syndrome is headed to the state Senate after passing the House by a comfortable margin. The Republican-majority House voted Monday 139 to 56 for a bill that supporters say would protect a vulnerable population. Opponents argue it would violate the right of women to make their own decisions about abortion. (Scolforo, 4/16)
Politico:
Trump Plans First Major Speech On Drug Prices Next Week
President Donald Trump is set to deliver his first major speech on drug prices on April 26, revisiting an issue he campaigned on but that is unlikely to yield major legislative changes. The strategy is unlikely to call for actions of the sort Trump touted on the campaign trail like allowing the government to negotiate the cost of drugs for Medicare, but based on the president’s fiscal 2019 budget request could advocate for Medicare and Medicaid demonstrations to test new ways of paying for drugs on a smaller scale, like allowing some states to try negotiating drug costs in Medicaid. (Karlin-Smith and Cancryn, 4/16)
The Hill:
Trump To Give Speech On Lowering Drug Prices This Month
However, the White House indicated that no new policy proposals will be unveiled at the speech, other than a request for information on “various drug pricing ideas,” according to deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley. Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a speech last month that the administration would soon be rolling out new drug pricing proposals. (Sullivan, 4/16)
Stat:
Does An FDA About-Face On An Alkermes Drug Signal A Wider Policy Shift?
In an unprecedented move, the Food and Drug Administration rescinded a recent decision that an Alkermes (ALKS) drug being developed for treating depression would not be reviewed. And the sudden reversal is raising questions about the extent to which the agency is willing to become more flexible about drug approvals in an overheated political climate focused on access to medicines. ...This is fourth time in the past year the agency has made a U-turn on an application, although this was the first to involve a refuse-to-file letter. (Silverman, 4/16)
Bloomberg:
Sanofi To Sell Generics For $2.4 Billion To Focus On Biotech
Sanofi plans to sell its European generic-drug unit to buyout firm Advent International Corp. for 1.9 billion euros ($2.4 billion) as part of a broader move by Chief Executive Officer Olivier Brandicourt to focus resources on biotechnology and new medicines. Advent has made a binding and fully financed offer, and the companies are in exclusive negotiations, Paris-based Sanofi said in a statement Tuesday. The deal should close by the end of the year, it said. (Serafino and Baigorri, 4/17)
The Associated Press:
Maryland Health Exchange Board Votes For Reinsurance Program
The board of trustees for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange has voted to move forward with a federal application for a reinsurance program. The board voted Monday to proceed with the program that Gov. Larry Hogan and state lawmakers approved to hold down consumer costs to Maryland’s individual market for health insurance for 2019 and 2020. The vote creates the parameters for a reinsurance program. It also authorizes the exchange to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to request federal approval for a waiver to create the program. (4/16)
The Hill:
Medicaid Expansion Initiative Set For Utah Ballot
Utah voters are poised to vote on Medicaid expansion after an advocacy group raised enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November. More than 165,000 signatures will be submitted Monday to place a Medicaid expansion initiative on the ballot. Organizers from the group Utah Decides Healthcare needed more than 113,000 signatures from registered voters to earn a ballot spot. (Weixel, 4/16)
The Associated Press:
AP Investigation: #MeToo Has Little Impact On Medical World
In recent months, Hollywood moguls, elite journalists and top politicians have been pushed out of their jobs or resigned their posts in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct. In contrast, the world of medicine is often more forgiving, according to an AP investigation. When the doctors are disciplined, the punishment often consists of a short suspension paired with mandatory therapy that treats sexually abusive behavior as a symptom of an illness or addiction, the AP found. (Horwitz and Linderman, 4/16)
Reuters:
Drug Suppliers' Shares Rise As Looming Amazon Threat Appears To Ease
Shares of U.S. drug suppliers rose on Monday after a report that Amazon.com Inc had dropped plans to sell drugs to hospitals, in a boost to a pharmaceutical supply chain rattled by the looming threat of competition from the online retailer. Stocks of drug distributors McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health rose 2 to 3 percent, while drugstore chains Walgreens Boots Alliance and CVS Health each advanced about 5 percent. (Mishra, 4/16)
Bloomberg:
CVS Rallies After Amazon Report
CVS Health Corp., along with rival drugstores and drug distributors, rallied after a report that Amazon.com Inc. had shelved plans to sell drugs to hospitals and other businesses. ... CVS rose as much as 8.7 percent, the biggest intraday gain since December 2011. Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. was up as much as 6.8 percent. Neither company’s main business is selling directly to hospitals or doctors. (Langreth and Soper, 4/16)
Stat:
Nursing Homes Routinely Refuse People On Addiction Treatment
Nursing facilities routinely turn away patients seeking post-hospital care if they are taking medicine to treat opioid addiction, a practice that legal experts say violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. After discharge from the hospital, many patients require further nursing care, whether for a short course of intravenous antibiotics, or for a longer stay, such as to rehabilitate after a stroke. But STAT has found that many nursing facilities around the country refuse to accept such patients, often because of stigma, gaps in staff training, and the widespread misconception that abstinence is superior to medications for treating addiction. (Bond, 4/17)
The Associated Press:
Organs From Drug Overdoses Could Help Transplant Shortage
Fatal drug overdoses are increasing organ donations, and researchers reported Monday that people who receive those transplants generally fare as well as patients given organs from more traditional donors. The findings could encourage more use of organs from overdose victims. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University found those transplants have jumped nearly 24-fold since 2000. That was before overdoses were making headlines or most transplant centers considered accepting such organs. (Neergaard, 4/16)
The Hill:
Opioid Crisis Takes Personal Toll On Washington
Deaths involving opioids have been rising since 1999. They increased nearly 28 percent from 2015 to 2016, an increase largely driven by a synthetic opioid packing up to 50 times more power than heroin. An estimated 115 people are dying of an opioid-related overdose every day. When members of Congress return to their districts, they say they hear first-hand how painkillers, heroin and fentanyl are wrecking lives — and that’s resulted in a sea change in attitudes about drug abuse. (Roubein, 4/16)
The Hill:
West Virginia Reaches $550k Settlement In Opioid Case
West Virginia has reached a $550,000 settlement with a pharmacy it accused of dispensing nearly 10 million doses of painkillers in 11 years to a county of fewer than 25,000 people, the state attorney general's office announced Monday. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey had alleged that Larry’s Drive-in Pharmacy didn’t identify suspicious prescriptions or determine if it was dispensing a suspicious volume of opioids, according to a press release. (Roubein, 4/16)
The Washington Post:
Scientists Study Brains Of People Whose Memory Stays Strong Into Old Age
It’s pretty extraordinary for people in their 80s and 90s to keep the same sharp memory as someone several decades younger, so scientists are peeking into the brains of “superagers” who do to uncover their secret. The work is the flip side of the disappointing hunt for new drugs to fight or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of tackling that problem, “why don’t we figure out what it is we might need to do to maximize our memory?” said neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, who leads the SuperAging study at Northwestern University in Chicago. (Neergaard, 4/16)
The Associated Press:
Plan To Curb Older Adults From Falling Announced In City
Baltimore officials say a plan to curb hospitalizations and emergency department visits related to older adults falling has been announced. A Baltimore City Health Department news release says Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen announced the new strategy Monday. The strategy will focus on multiple components including educating the public that falls are preventable and that resources are available. (4/17)
Stat:
Miniature Human Brains Grow For Months When Implanted In Mice Skulls
The mice behaved just like others of their kind, as far as scientists could tell, and they also looked the same — except for the human mini brain that had been implanted into each rodent’s own cortex, made visible by a little clear cover replacing part of their skull. The report on Monday by scientists at the Salk Institute is the first publication describing the successful implant of human cerebral organoids into the brains of another species, with the host brain supplying the lentil-sized mini cerebrums with enough blood and nutrients to keep them alive and developing for months. It won’t be the last, as scientists use the approach to understand human brain development and test whether the tiny entities might one day serve as cortical repair kits, replacing regions of the brain that have been injured or failed to develop normally. (Begley, 4/16)
The Washington Post:
Teenagers And College-Age People Drink Less While This Group Pours Another Round
Experts on alcohol abuse have found one demographic group that’s drinking at an alarming rate. Not teenagers. Not college-age people. It’s baby boomers. For reasons not well understood, teenage and college-age Americans today are consuming alcohol at lower rates than young people 10 years ago, according to the Monitoring the Future study at the University of Michigan. The most widely discussed hypothesis is that young people have changed the way they organize their social lives today, said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University professor of epidemiology who has tracked drinking trends. (Achenbach, 4/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Coffee Brands Fight California Ruling On Cancer Warnings
The coffee industry is fighting the suggestion its products could cause cancer. A Los Angeles judge’s recent ruling in a lawsuit over cancer labels has galvanized coffee brands and retailers, including Starbucks Corp., to push harder to avoid carrying the labels. The companies say that trace amounts of the chemical acrylamide in their brew doesn’t justify a warning to consumers in California—an important market for food and beverage brands. (Randazzo and Gasparro, 4/16)
The Associated Press:
Medical Marijuana Push Spreads To Utah, Oklahoma
The push for legalized marijuana has moved into Utah and Oklahoma, two of the most conservative states in the country, further underscoring how quickly feelings about marijuana are changing in the United States. If the two measures pass, Utah and Oklahoma will join 30 other states that have legalized some form of medical marijuana, according to the pro-pot National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws. Nine of those states and Washington, D.C. also have broad legalization where adults 21 and older can use pot for any reason. Michigan could become the 10th state with its ballot initiative this year. (McCombs, 4/17)
The Associated Press:
Los Angeles Plans To Double Spending On Homeless Crisis
Just steps from City Hall’s main door, a homeless woman sprawls on a cardboard box spread across the lawn, her belongings stuffed into a battered shopping cart beside her. Within a short walk, rows of tents line the streets, creating makeshift encampments edged by piles of trash. The smell of urine is unmistakable. (Blood, 4/16)