First Edition: December 17, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Judge Strikes Down ACA Putting Law In Legal Peril — Again
It is all but certain the case will become the third time the Supreme Court decides a constitutional question related to the ACA. In addition to upholding the law in 2012, the court rejected another challenge to the law in 2015. (Rovner, 12/14)
Kaiser Health News:
Assisted Living’s Breakneck Growth Leaves Patient Safety Behind
They found Bonnie Walker’s body floating in a pond behind her assisted living facility in South Carolina. There were puncture wounds on her ear, her temple, her jaw and her cheeks. Her right forearm and her pacemaker were inside one of the alligators that lived in the pond. Like 4 in 10 residents in assisted living facilities, Walker, 90, had dementia. Shortly after midnight one day in July 2016, she slipped out of her facility, Brookdale Charleston, as she had done a few days before. This time, no one noticed her missing for seven hours. (Rau, 12/17)
Kaiser Health News:
Health Suffers Deep In The Troubled Heart Of Texas
The booming $1.8 trillion Texas economy rivals that of many countries and puts the state at the top of a host of rankings for its fast-growing cities, low unemployment and job growth. But the familiar Texas braggadocio disappears when it comes to health care. (Jayson, 12/17)
The New York Times:
Texas Judge Strikes Down Obama’s Affordable Care Act As Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Texas struck down the entire Affordable Care Act on Friday on the grounds that its mandate requiring people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and the rest of the law cannot stand without it. The ruling was over a lawsuit filed this year by a group of Republican governors and state attorneys general. A group of intervening states led by Democrats promised to appeal the decision, which will most likely not have any immediate effect. (Goodnough and Pear, 12/14)
The Associated Press:
Federal Judge Rules Health Care Overhaul Unconstitutional
In a 55-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that last year’s tax cut bill knocked the constitutional foundation from under “Obamacare” by eliminating a penalty for not having coverage. The rest of the law cannot be separated from that provision and is therefore invalid, he wrote. Supporters of the law immediately said they would appeal. “Today’s misguided ruling will not deter us: our coalition will continue to fight in court for the health and wellbeing of all Americans,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is leading a coalition of states defending the ACA. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/14)
Politico:
Judge Rules Obamacare Unconstitutional, Endangering Coverage For 20 Million
“In some ways, the question before the Court involves the intent of both the 2010 and 2017 Congresses,” O’Connor wrote. “The former enacted the ACA. The latter sawed off the last leg it stood on.” (Demko and Cancryn, 12/14)
The New York Times:
Health Law Could Be Hard To Knock Down Despite Judge’s Ruling
Could a federal judge in Texas be the catalyst that finally brings down the Affordable Care Act, a law that has withstood countless assaults from Republicans in Congress and two Supreme Court challenges? On the morning after Judge Reed O’Connor’s startling ruling that struck down the landmark health law, legal scholars were doubtful. Lawyers on both sides of previous A.C.A. battles said the reasoning behind this one was badly flawed, notably in its insistence that the entire 2010 law must fall because one of its provisions may have been rendered invalid by the 2017 tax overhaul legislation. Had Congress meant to take such radical action, they said, it would have said so at the time. (Hoffman, Pear and Liptak, 12/15)
The Washington Post:
Legal Experts Rip Judge’s Rationale For Declaring Obamacare Law Invalid
“There’s really no American that’s not affected by this law,” said Yale law professor Abbe Gluck, who filed an amicus brief with other lawyers in the Texas case. The judge’s ruling, she said, flouts settled legal doctrine and places key acts of Congress in reverse order. By ignoring that Congress specifically declined to strike down the ACA in 2017 when it chose to alter only one portion of the bill, she said, the judge decreed that the 2010 Congress, which first passed the law, has more authority than the same legislative body in 2017. “It’s absolutely ludicrous to hold that we do not know whether the 2017 Congress would have wanted the rest of the ACA to exist without an enforceable mandate, because the 2017 Congress did exactly that when it zeroed out the mandate and left the rest of the ACA standing,” Gluck said. “He effectively repealed the entire Affordable Care Act when the 2017 Congress decided not to do so.” (Barrett, 12/15)
The Hill:
Five Takeaways From The Court Decision Striking Down ObamaCare
But where legal experts particularly criticize O’Connor is his next step, where he ruled that because the mandate is unconstitutional, the rest of the Affordable Care Act is also invalid. Experts say that violates the established legal standard that Congress’s intent should be the guide, and in this case it is obvious that Congress intended for the rest of the Affordable Care Act to remain when it repealed only the mandate penalty last year. (Sullivan, 12/15)
Reuters:
Trump Hails Judge's Ruling Against Obamacare As 'Great'
President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed a court decision against Obamacare as "a great ruling for our country," while a U.S. government official said the decision by a Texas judge would have no immediate impact on health coverage. (12/15)
The New York Times:
What The Obamacare Court Ruling Means For Open Enrollment
Open enrollment was scheduled to end on Saturday in most states, and every year, a surge of people sign up at the last minute. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent out an email to millions of Americans on Saturday trying to allay concerns, and HealthCare.gov displayed a red banner alerting people that the court’s decision would not affect open enrollment. “Are you covered yet?” HealthCare.gov tweeted on Saturday. “Hurry!” (Mervosh, 12/16)
The Washington Post:
ACA Ruling Creates New Anxieties For Consumers And The Health-Care Industry
The ruling by a federal judge in Texas striking down the Affordable Care Act has injected a powerful wave of uncertainty about recent changes woven into the U.S. health-care system that touch nearly all Americans and the industry that makes up one-sixth of the economy. The opinion, if upheld on appeal, would upend the health insurance industry, the way doctors and hospitals function, and the ability of millions of Americans to access treatments they need to combat serious diseases. (Goldstein, 12/16)
Politico:
Obamacare Ruling Delivers New Shock To Health System
Expanded Medicaid for millions. Penalties for poorly performing hospitals. Even the Trump administration's own plans to lower drug prices. Those and many other initiatives would all be illegal under a federal judge’s sweeping decision that the entire Affordable Care Act must be struck down — the latest shock to the nation’s health system after a decade of upheavals, including two fights over the ACA that reached the Supreme Court. (Diamond, 12/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
What ACA Ruling May Mean For Millions Of Americans’ Health Coverage
Practically speaking, nothing will happen right away. The judge didn’t immediately block enforcement of the ACA, so it remains in effect for now. The White House on Friday night said the law would stay in place during the appeals stage of the case, a process that could take many months. ... It is an open question whether some states may attempt to back away from administering the health law starting next month, once the elimination of the tax penalty goes into effect. If they do, it could spark additional litigation. (Kendall, 12/15)
The Hill:
ObamaCare Signup Period Ends Amid New Uncertainty
ObamaCare's latest open enrollment period ended Saturday with the future of the law facing uncertainty after a federal judge in Texas struck it down. Sign-ups for ObamaCare plans at healthcare.gov, the federal platform used by 39 states, had already lagged behind previous years, putting enrollment on track to drop for the second year in a row under the Trump administration. (Hellmann, 12/17)
The New York Times:
Ruling Striking Down Obamacare Moves Health Debate To Center Stage
The decision by a federal judge in Texas to strike down all of the Affordable Care Act has thrust the volatile debate over health care onto center stage in a newly divided capital, imperiling the insurance coverage of millions of Americans while delivering a possible policy opening to Democrats. After campaigning vigorously on a pledge to protect patients with pre-existing medical conditions — a promise that helped return them to the House majority they had lost in 2010 — Democrats vowed to move swiftly to defend the law and to safeguard its protections. (Stolberg, Pear and Goodnough, 12/15)
The Associated Press:
Judge's Ruling On 'Obamacare' Poses New Problems For GOP
Republicans, still stinging from their loss of the House in the midterm elections, are facing a fresh political quandary after U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor said the entire 2010 health law was invalid. Warnings about the Texas lawsuit were part of the political narrative behind Democrats' electoral gains. Health care was the top issue for about one-fourth of voters in the November election, ahead of immigration and jobs and the economy, according to VoteCast, a nationwide survey for The Associated Press. Those most concerned with health care supported Democrats overwhelmingly. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/14)
The Washington Post:
Health-Care Law Ruling Puts Republicans On The Defensive After Campaign Promises
Republicans are under greater pressure to produce an alternative to the law they have ardently opposed since its passage and a means to ensuring affordable health care coverage to some 52 million people with conditions such as diabetes, asthma and cancer. But they are still riven by the divisions that thwarted previous efforts to overhaul the law. (Sullivan, 12/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Politicians Grapple With Response To Health Law Ruling
Republicans on Sunday said they wanted to maintain the 2010 law’s guarantee of insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. But they also said they continued to oppose most or all of the law, such as its requirement that most people obtain health insurance, the so-called individual mandate. How they might accomplish both goals remained unclear. “There is widespread support for protecting people with pre-existing conditions. There’s also widespread opposition to the individual mandate,’’ said Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine), speaking on CNN. She said the insurance-purchasing requirement, which is intended to ensure enough healthy people buy policies to make the plans economically viable, was particularly burdensome for low- and middle-income families. (Armour and Peterson, 12/16)
Politico:
GOP Feels Heat In Wake Of Obamacare Ruling: 'It's All The Downsides'
The result is likely to be a split GOP caucus that draws flak from both the right and the left. Republicans who survived the midterm elections by vowing to protect people with pre-existing conditions will find themselves in a particularly tough spot, feeling intense pressure to make good on that pledge. “It’s all the downsides,” a House GOP aide said. “Politically, I don’t think that it helps us at all.” (Demoko and Cancryn, 12/15)
The Washington Post:
Obama Hits Out At Republicans After Judge Rules Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional
Obama responded on Saturday by saying in a Facebook post that “Republicans will never stop trying to undo” the health-care law and urging people to continue to get covered under the ACA as the decision makes its way through the courts in what could be a prolonged appeals process. As of early Monday, his Facebook post has received more than 28,000 reactions, and has been liked more than 72,000 times since he also shared it on Twitter. The former president tried to quell any dread that the ruling could ultimately strike down the entirety of his signature health-care law, which is commonly referred to as Obamacare. (Bella, 12/17)
The Washington Post:
Federal Judge In Texas Rules Entire Obama Health-Care Law Is Unconstitutional
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is expected to become speaker next month, issued a statement that said: “When House Democrats take the gavel, the House of Representatives will move swiftly to formally intervene in the appeals process to uphold the life-saving protections for people with pre-existing conditions and reject Republicans’ effort to destroy the Affordable Care Act.” (Goldstein, 12/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
Federal Judge Rules Affordable Care Act Is Unconstitutional Without Insurance-Coverage Penalty
Friday’s decision rattled top Democratic politicians, medical groups and health-industry leaders. Some advocacy groups called on Congress to immediately pass legislation protecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, and the American Medical Association vowed to work with other organizations in seeking an appeal. “This is a five alarm fire—Republicans just blew up our health care system,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said in a statement. “The anti-health care zealots in the Republican Party are intentionally ripping health care away from the working poor, increasing costs on seniors, and making insurance harder to afford for people with preexisting conditions.” (Armour and Kendall, 12/15)
The Hill:
Klobuchar Calls ObamaCare Ruling 'Absurd'
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Sunday called it "absurd" that a Texas judge ruled that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional and called on Republicans to work with Democrats to improve the health-care law. “The ruling was absurd. [Supreme Court] Justice [John] Roberts in a conservative court has already ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional," she said on CBS's "Face the Nation." (Burke, 12/16)
Politico:
Schumer Pushes For Senate Vote On Obamacare Case
The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday said he plans to push for a vote to intervene in a federal court case over Obamacare after a judge in Texas last week ruled that the landmark health care law is unconstitutional. “We’re going to fight this tooth and nail,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And the first thing we’re going to do when we get back there in the Senate is urge, put a vote on the floor, urging an intervention in the case.” (O'Brien and Ollstein, 12/16)
The New York Times:
In Weaponized Courts, Judge Who Halted Affordable Care Act Is A Conservative Favorite
The state’s Republican attorney general appears to strategically file key lawsuits in Judge O’Connor’s jurisdiction, the Northern District of Texas, so that he will hear them. And on Friday, the judge handed Republicans another victory by striking down the Affordable Care Act, the signature health law of the Obama era. Judge O’Connor, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, has been at the center of some of the most contentious and partisan cases involving federal power and states’ rights, and has sided with conservative leaders in previous challenges to the health law and against efforts to expand transgender rights. (Fernandez, 12/15)
The Associated Press:
Judge In Health Care Case Had Blocked Other Obama Policies
U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, who ruled the Affordable Care Act "invalid" Friday, is no stranger to the conservative resistance to Obama administration policies. O'Connor, 53, is a former state and federal prosecutor who was nominated to the federal bench in 2007 by President George W. Bush. He has been active in the Federalist Society, which describes itself as "a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order." (12/14)
Reuters:
J&J Knew For Decades That Asbestos Lurked In Its Baby Powder
Facing thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talc caused cancer, J&J insists on the safety and purity of its iconic product. But internal documents examined by Reuters show that the company's powder was sometimes tainted with carcinogenic asbestos and that J&J kept that information from regulators and the public. (Girion, 12/14)
The Washington Post:
Report: Johnson & Johnson Knew Its Talcum Powder Sometimes Had Asbestos Traces
The report said company officials fretted over the test results while keeping the information private and failing to disclose the test results to regulators and the public. Johnson & Johnson called the Reuters article “one-sided, false and inflammatory’’ and a “conspiracy theory.” (Rowland, 12/14)
The Associated Press:
J&J Hammered By Report It Knew Of Asbestos In Baby Powder
In its statement Friday, Johnson & Johnson said “thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world’s leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos.” (12/14)
The New York Times:
Asbestos Opens New Legal Front In Battle Over Johnson’s Baby Powder
The memos were concise and direct. An executive at Johnson & Johnson said the main ingredient in its best-selling baby powder could potentially be contaminated by asbestos, the dangerous mineral that can cause cancer. He recommended to senior staff in 1971 that the company “upgrade” its quality control of talc. Two years later, another executive raised a red flag, saying the company should no longer assume that its talc mines were asbestos-free. The powder, he said, sometimes contained materials that “might be classified as asbestos fiber.” (Rabin and Hsu, 12/14)
The New York Times:
What Is Talc, Where Is It Used And Why Is Asbestos A Concern?
Nearly 12,000 women have sued Johnson & Johnson, with most claiming the talc in its well-known product Johnson’s Baby Powder caused their ovarian cancer. They now have a new potential legal front.In a recent case, a group of plaintiffs argued that the talc was contaminated with asbestos, a carcinogen considered unsafe at any level of exposure. A jury agreed with them, and awarded them $4.69 billion in damages in July. (Rabin, 12/14)
CNN:
Johnson &Amp; Johnson Shares Plunge After Report That Says It Knew About Asbestos In Its Baby Powder
Johnson & Johnson's stock tumbled 10% on Friday — wiping out close to $40 billion of its market value — after a Reuters report said the company knew for decades that asbestos was in its baby powder. The company has been grappling with lawsuits alleging some of its talcum powder products caused cancer. But the Reuters report cites documents and other evidence that indicate company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers knew about the problem and failed to disclose it to regulators or the public. It was J&J's worst day since 2002. (Meyersohn, 12/14)
Reuters:
U.S. Government Watchdog To Probe Child's Death After Border Arrest
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog will investigate the death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan migrant which occurred after she was detained by U.S. border agents, officials said on Friday. The Trump administration defended the treatment of the child, identified as Jakelin Caal by a Guatemalan official, and said there was no indication that she had any medical problems until several hours after she and her father were taken into U.S. custody on Dec. 6. The Guatemalan government had earlier identified the girl as Jackeline Caal. (12/14)
The New York Times:
Migrant Girl’s ‘Horrific, Tragic’ Death Is Not Its Responsibility, White House Says
Officials said the girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, and her father were among 163 migrants who turned themselves in to the Border Patrol in a remote area of desert in New Mexico, shortly after the group crossed into the United States. Her death, which is under investigation, has been widely condemned as a consequence of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration enforcement efforts on the southwest border against caravans of migrants traveling from Central America. (Nixon, 12/14)
The New York Times:
Father Of Migrant Girl Who Died In U.S. Custody Disputes Border Patrol Account
The father of Jakelin Caal Maquin, the 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in United States custody this month, disputed on Saturday the assertion by authorities that his daughter had not eaten or consumed water for several days before being detained by the Border Patrol. Jakelin’s father, Nery Gilberto Caal Cruz, “made sure she was fed and had sufficient water,” Mr. Caal Cruz’s lawyers said in a statement read by Ruben Garcia, the director of a shelter in El Paso that serves recent border crossers. The shelter, Annunciation House, is caring for Mr. Caal Cruz. (Romero, 12/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Family Of Guatemalan Girl Who Died In U.S. Custody Calls For Fair Probe
Customs and Border Protection reported earlier this week that Jakelin hadn’t had any food or water for days before crossing the border. Mr. Caal said in the statement through his lawyers that wasn’t true. Mr. Caal, via his statement, also thanked emergency responders, including Border Patrol agents, who tried to save his daughter. Ruben Garcia, executive director of the El Paso aid group and migrant shelter operator Annunciation House, read the statement to reporters Saturday. Mr. Garcia said Mr. Caal was staying at one of the group’s shelters and wouldn’t be speaking publicly. (Caldwell, 12/15)
The Associated Press:
Child's Death Highlights Communication Barriers On Border
Shortly before a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died in U.S. custody, her father signed a form stating that his daughter was in good health. But it's unclear how much the man understood on the form, which was written in English and read to him in Spanish by Border Patrol agents. (Watson, 12/16)
The Associated Press Fact Check:
Trump Floats Fictions About The Border
President Donald Trump's relationship with the truth tends to be borderline, at best, when it comes to the border. So it was this past week when he made a flurry of false or unsupported statements about immigration. He said, with no evidence, that migrants are plagued with disease. He asserted that Mexico has in effect agreed to pay for his border wall, even as he threatens a partial government shutdown if Congress doesn't approve billions of dollars to build it. He twisted federal statistics to claim the recent arrest of 10 terrorists who don't exist. (Woodward and Yen, 12/15)
The Associated Press:
O'Rourke, Other Dems Don't Want Tent City's Contract Renewed
Rep. Beto O'Rourke and four other Democratic members of Congress toured a remote tent city in West Texas on Saturday where they said that 2,700 immigrant teens are being held at a cost of roughly $1 million per day. The lawmakers urged the nonprofit running the facility not to renew a federal contract that expires Dec. 31, a longshot request that could effectively shutter the camp. (Weissert, 12/15)
The New York Times:
What Can Make A 911 Call A Felony? Fentanyl At The Scene.
Eric Weil, a gregarious 50-year-old painter who lives in a wooded neighborhood hugging the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, never suspected he would face felony charges when he called 911 last August. He had agreed to take in a friend’s son who was struggling with addiction, on the condition that no drugs be brought into his house. When Mr. Weil discovered a packet of white powder in the guest bedroom, he called 911. “Somebody’s messed up in my house,” he recalled saying. “He’s on drugs. I don’t know what he’s on. Can we get somebody here?” (Smith, 12/17)
Stat:
Appeals Court Rules That Secret OxyContin Documents Must Be Released
A Kentucky appeals court on Friday upheld a judge’s ruling ordering the release of secret records about Purdue Pharma’s marketing of the powerful prescription opioid OxyContin, which has been blamed for helping to seed today’s opioid addiction epidemic. The records under seal include a deposition of Richard Sackler, a former president of Purdue and a member of the family that founded and controls the privately held Connecticut company. Other records include marketing strategies and internal emails about them; documents concerning internal analyses of clinical trials; settlement communications from an earlier criminal case regarding the marketing of OxyContin; and information regarding how sales representatives marketed the drug. (Armstrong and Joseph, 12/14)
NPR:
After A Wake-Up Call, A Small Town Struggles To Recover From Addiction
In September 2016, the town of East Liverpool, Ohio, captured national attention when a photo of a local couple's overdose went viral. It showed a woman and her boyfriend sprawled comatose in the front seats of a car, while the woman's 4-year-old grandson sat in the back. The image was originally posted by the local police department. Overnight, East Liverpool, a town of just over 11,000 people, became the face of the opioid crisis enveloping parts of the country. (Brown, 12/15)
NPR:
Pennsylvania Holds Naloxone Giveaway
David Braithwaite was standing next to his pickup truck Thursday in a parking lot outside the Cumberland County health center in Carlisle, Pa. He's a chaplain for Carlisle Truck Stop Ministry. His hat even says it. Braithwaite said he and another chaplain minister to truck drivers, homeless people and anyone else who needs help at the truck stop seven days a week. (Sholtis, 12/14)
The New York Times:
Tracking The Opioid Epidemic Through The Books That Warned Us
Medical knowledge is evolving at warp speed, spinning out reams of new information into sound bites, articles and more and more new health books to overload your sagging shelves. But if you’re tempted to toss out all the old stuff, better think twice — despite the changes in medical science, some constants endure. The human body still sickens and recovers much the way it always has; our dogged, heartfelt efforts to prevent and relieve pain and suffering are no different than they ever were. Even books published decades or in some cases centuries in the past may still speak clearly to today’s medical issues. (Zuger, 12/17)
The New York Times:
Authorities Uncover $8 Million-A-Week Drug Operation In Pennsylvania
It was a typical, single-family house with a landscaped yard and Christmas decorations in a quiet neighborhood in eastern Pennsylvania. But this week investigators, acting on a tip, uncovered a secret in the basement — a drug operation worth an estimated $8 million a week. On Wednesday, prosecutors announced that 11 people were charged with felony drug offenses in the bust, which was believed to be one of the largest in the county. (Hauser, 12/14)
The Associated Press:
Most Teen Drug Use Is Down, But Officials Fret Vaping Boom
Twice as many high school students used nicotine-tinged electronic cigarettes this year compared with last year, an unprecedented jump in a large annual survey of teen smoking, drinking and drug use. It was the largest single-year increase in the survey's 44-year history, far surpassing a mid-1970s surge in marijuana smoking. (12/17)
Los Angeles Times:
More Than 1.3 Million High School Students Started Vaping Nicotine In The Past Year, Study Says
The proportion of U.S. high school seniors who are vaping tobacco products nearly doubled in the past year, with more than 1 in 5 now saying they have vaped to get a hit of nicotine in the past 30 days, according to a new study. The prevalence of nicotine vaping nearly doubled among 10th-graders as well, with nearly 1 in 6 using the electronic devices, researchers reported Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Kaplan, 12/17)
NPR:
1 In 5 High School Seniors Is Vaping
"It is very worrisome," says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funds the survey. "We are very concerned about the increase in vaping." The proportion of high school seniors who reported vaping nicotine in the last month rose to 20.9 percent in 2018, a nearly 10-percentage-point increase from 11 percent in 2017, according to results released Monday. (Stein, 12/17)
Stat:
Flu Vaccinations Rise Sharply In Both Children And Adults
Last winter’s dreadful flu season may have had a silver lining: Flu vaccine uptake rose sharply this fall in both children and adults, according to newly released data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that the number of children and teens vaccinated as of mid-November was up nearly 7 percentage points over last year at that time and coverage among adults was up 6.4 percentage points. (Branswell, 12 /14)
The Washington Post:
Flu Shot Choices Explained
My kids and I tried something different for our flu shots this year. Instead of making separate visits to my doctor and their pediatrician, we all went to the same place: our local Target, where the in-store clinic offered us each a $5 gift card for getting vaccinated. The visit was convenient: We walked right in without an appointment on a Saturday morning. For the first time, my 5-year old didn’t scream as the needle went in. And the boys were thrilled to shop for new toys after their shots. (Sohn, 12/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
To Expand Access To Emergency Contraception, Some Colleges Try Vending Machines
Some universities are installing vending machines where students can purchase emergency contraception, an effort to remove barriers to and anxiety surrounding products like Plan B. Barnard College in New York said it would soon install a vending machine, months after Columbia University did. Stanford University, Dartmouth College and a few University of California campuses have added vending machines with Plan B or its generic alternative in recent years. Yale University students have pushed for one, and the student council at Miami University in Ohio voted last month in support of selling emergency contraception in campus markets as well. (Korn and West, 12/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Homelessness Edges Higher Again After Seven Years Of Declines
Homelessness nudged higher in 2018 for the second consecutive year, as cities struggled to get people off the streets even as many ramped up building and poured millions of dollars into potential solutions. The increase was slight—just 0.3%, according to an annual report to Congress by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be released Monday. But after seven years of declines, the small rises over the past two years are a troubling reversal at a time when unemployment is at a near 50-year-low and wages are rising. (Kusisto and Malas, 12/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hotel-Style Hospitality Comes To Hospitals
The friendly touches at a luxury hotel aren’t normally expected at a busy Bronx hospital. But that is exactly what Marcello Khattar of Montefiore Health System is trying to do—put a little of the hotel experience into the health-care setting. Mr. Khattar, 36 years old, is a director of patient experience and customer service at Montefiore, a new role. His charge is to make the hospital experience feel a little warmer, easier and more personal. It is not enough for a patient or family member just to have medical needs met, he says. (West, 12/16)
The New York Times:
Scant Evidence Behind The Advice About Salt
Despite a number of studies questioning the usefulness of very low-salt diets in the last few years, most major medical organizations continue to recommend them. We would assume that they do so from a strong base of evidence. But with respect to heart failure, there is a shockingly small amount of evidence. (Carroll, 12/17)
The Washington Post:
Palliative Care May Save Money And Ease Suffering
Gordon Surber and Mark Hailey have the same terminal lung disease. Brothers-in-law, they live next door to one another on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in rural Northern California. But they live in different worlds when it comes to health care. Not so long ago, Surber, 57, was a robust man who loved fishing on the Trinity River, racing motocross and feeling his strength return each season when he went back to work in the woods as a logger. Now he can’t lift his baby granddaughter or walk more than a few steps without his oxygen tank. (Underwood, 12/15)
The Washington Post:
These Bats Carry The Lethal Marburg Virus, And Scientists Are Tracking Them To Try To Stop Its Spread
By day, some of the most dangerous animals in the world lurk deep inside this cave. Come night, the tiny fruit bats whoosh out, tens of thousands of them at a time, filling the air with their high-pitched chirping before disappearing into the black sky. The bats carry the deadly Marburg virus, as fearsome and mysterious as its cousin Ebola. Scientists know that the virus starts in these animals, and they know that when it spreads to humans it is lethal — Marburg kills up to 9 in 10 of its victims, sometimes within a week. But they don’t know much about what happens in between. (Sun, 12/13)
The Associated Press:
Congo Says Baby Girl Is Youngest Survivor Of Ebola Outbreak
Congo’s Health Ministry says a newborn baby called Benedicte is the youngest survivor of what is now the world’s second-deadliest Ebola outbreak. The ministry posted a photograph of the infant on Twitter this past week showing her surrounded by caregivers who had watched over her 24 hours a day for weeks. (12/16)
The Washington Post:
A Human Heart Was Left On A Plane, Revealing How Organs Move Around The Country
A human heart left on a commercial airliner provides a glimpse into the nation’s transplant system, which relies on an obscure network of nonprofit organizations to collect and transport human organs and tissue. The heart traveled in the cargo compartment of a Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to Seattle on Sunday. It was supposed to be picked up in Seattle but remained on the plane when the aircraft left for Dallas. There are conflicting accounts of what went wrong, and an investigation is underway. (Kindy and Bernstein, 12/14)
The Washington Post:
A Fitness Fanatic Runs Into An Alarming Ailment That Was Caught In The Nick Of Time
Barry Goldsmith went to great lengths to stay out of the doctor’s office. His belief in the power of exercise — particularly running — to keep him fit and healthy had long been an article of faith. If he wasn’t feeling well Goldsmith would lace up his shoes and “run it off.” The Maryland patent lawyer routinely racked up about 30 miles per week — more when he was training for a marathon or triathlon — interspersed with swimming, cycling and weight training. (Boodman, 12/15)