First Edition: February 2, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Indiana Medicaid Drops 25K From Coverage For Failing To Pay Premiums
As the Trump administration moves to give states more flexibility in running Medicaid, advocates for the poor are keeping a close eye on Indiana to see whether such conservative ideas improve or harm care. Indiana in 2015 implemented some of the most radical changes seen to the state-federal program that covers nearly 1 in 4 poor Americans — including charging some adults a monthly premium and locking out some of those who don’t pay for six months. (Galewitz, 2/1)
Politico:
Republicans Give Up On Obamacare Repeal
Republicans are giving up on their years-long dream of repealing Obamacare. Though the GOP still controls both chambers of Congress and maintains the ability to jam through a repeal-and-replace bill via a simple majority, there are no discussions of doing so here at House and Senate Republicans’ joint retreat at The Greenbrier resort. Republicans doubt they can even pass a budget providing for the powerful party-line “reconciliation” procedure used to pass tax reform last year, much less take on the politically perilous task of rewriting health care laws in an election year. (Everett, 2/1)
The Hill:
Right To Try Act Gains Momentum After Trump Pitch
Advocates of “right to try” legislation have been given a jolt of momentum by President Trump’s decision to tout the bill during his State of the Union address. The legislation would allow patients with a serious illness to request access to experimental medicines that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t yet approved. (Roubein, 2/1)
Stat:
Physicians, Ethicists Urge Congress Not To Pass 'Right To Try' Legislation
Dozens of doctors, medical ethicists, and lawyers are warning Congress that legislation to allow Americans with life-threatening conditions access to unapproved, experimental drugs risks harming patients’ health. The letter was drafted by Alison Bateman-House, associate professor of medical ethics at NYU Langone Health, along with some of her colleagues. It is addressed to the leaders of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the committee currently considering a so-called “right-to-try” bill. The letter was circulated for online signatures on Thursday, and organizers said they planned to send the letter on Feb. 5. (Swetlitz, 2/1)
The Hill:
Trump's Vows To Take On Drug Prices, Opioids Draw Skepticism
President Trump has pledged to take action to combat the opioid epidemic and reduce drug prices, but one year into his tenure, advocates and industry have grown skeptical of his promises. During his State of the Union speech Tuesday, Trump said one of his top priorities is “fixing the injustice of high drug prices.” (Weixel, 2/1)
The Hill:
New Group Plans Midterm Spending Against High Drug Prices
A new patient group says it plans to spend seven figures this year backing candidates who support policies to lower drug prices in what it hopes will be a counter to the pharmaceutical industry. The group is called Patients for Affordable Drugs NOW, and is founded by a cancer patient named David Mitchell. (Sullivan, 2/1)
The Hill:
Bipartisan Group Of Senators Call On Trump To Boost Alzheimer's Funding
A bipartisan group of senators is calling on President Trump to boost funding for Alzheimer’s research in his fiscal 2019 budget set to be released this month. “At a time when the United States is spending more than $200 billion a year to care for Alzheimer’s patients, we are spending less than two thirds of one percent of that amount on research,” the letter — led by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and signed by a dozen others — states. (Roubein, 2/1)
The New York Times:
Businesses Look At Washington And Say, ‘Never Mind, We’ll Do It’
Can private businesses solve public policy problems better than the government? It’s a question that has persisted for decades and taken on new resonance now that a career businessman is in the White House. There has never been a clear answer. For every sign of success — a smooth privatized toll road or a gleaming charter school — there have been obstacles revealing just how difficult public works can be. But companies haven’t stopped trying. (Gelles, 2/1)
Reuters:
U.S. Government Proposes 1.84 Percent Hike In 2019 Payments To Medicare Insurers
The proposed rate, which affects how much insurers charge for monthly healthcare premiums, plan benefits and ultimately, how much they profit, was near analyst expectations, and insurer shares were largely unchanged in after-hours trading. UnitedHealth Group Inc, Humana Inc, Aetna Inc and WellCare Health Plans Inc are the largest sellers of Medicare Advantage health insurance. Under the program, they are paid a set rate by the government to cover member healthcare costs. (Humer, 2/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Former CEO Of Lab Firm, Two Associates Found Liable For Defrauding Medicare
A federal jury found the former chief executive officer of a Virginia laboratory firm and two associates liable for defrauding Medicare and ordered them to pay more than $51 million in damages to the U.S. At issue in the civil case tried in a federal court in Charleston, S.C., was $126.5 million that defendants Tonya Mallory and her associates, Cal Dent and Brad Johnson, earned from a business arrangement the Justice Department deemed illegal. (Carreyou, 2/1)
The Washington Post:
CDC To Cut By 80 Percent Efforts To Prevent Global Disease Outbreak
Four years after the United States pledged to help the world fight infectious-disease epidemics such as Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is dramatically downsizing its epidemic prevention activities in 39 out of 49 countries because money is running out, U.S. government officials said. The CDC programs, part of a global health security initiative, train front-line workers in outbreak detection and work to strengthen laboratory and emergency response systems in countries where disease risks are greatest. The goal is to stop future outbreaks at their source. (Sun, 2/1)
The Washington Post:
CDC Employees Are Delighted That Their Acting Director Is Back In Charge
It took several hours Wednesday before employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention heard who was going to run the nation’s leading public health agency. Brenda Fitzgerald had just resigned after barely six months in the job because of conflicts over financial interests. When the notice finally went out on the CDC’s internal announcement board that the principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, 58, with nearly three decades of CDC experience, would be taking over (again) as acting director, employees were very happy to hear the news. (Sun, 2/1)
The New York Times:
Director Of Veterans Hospital Accused Of Manipulating Ratings Is Replaced
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Thursday it would replace the director of its medical center in Roseburg, Ore., Douglas Paxton. He had come under fire in recent weeks for limiting the number of patients the center admitted in an effort to improve its dismal performance rating, according to doctors at the hospital. “There are times that facility leadership needs to change in order to usher in a new approach that will demonstrate we are committed to delivering results for veterans,” Dr. Carolyn Clancy, executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration, said in a statement. (Philipps, 2/1)
The Washington Post:
Wisconsin Expected To Set Up ‘Green Alerts’ For Missing At-Risk Veterans
Wisconsin is expected to become the first state to set up a “Green Alert” system to help families and law enforcement officials locate missing at-risk veterans. Advocates say they hope other states soon adopt Green Alerts, which are similar to the Amber and Silver alerts for missing children and older adults. The legislation unanimously passed the Wisconsin state Senate and is likely to pass the state Assembly in February, as first reported by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 2/1)
Bloomberg:
Purdue’s Oxycontin Targeted At Judge’s Opioid Summit
Local governments pressing lawsuits to hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic told a judge that taking the strongest version of Purdue Pharma Inc.’s Oxycontin painkiller off the market would have immediate results in addressing the crisis, according to people at the meeting. Purdue’s 80-milligram version of Oxycontin is snorted by thousands of abusers, so removing it would be a good first step, experts for cities and counties and state attorneys general told U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, according to three people in attendance at the Wednesday meeting. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the closed-door summit. (Feeley, 2/2)
Reuters:
New York Accuses Insys Of Deceptively Marketing Opioid
Insys Therapeutics Inc's legal woes deepened on Thursday as New York's attorney general filed a lawsuit seeking at least $75 million from the company, which he said deceptively promoted a fentanyl-based cancer pain medicine for unsafe uses. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman alleged that the Chandler, Arizona-based drugmaker recklessly marketed its product Subsys for wider uses than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and bribed doctors to prescribe it. (2/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Orange County’s Only Needle Exchange Shuts Down After Santa Ana Denies Permit
Orange County's first and only needle exchange program has shut down after Santa Ana city officials denied its permit application, a move some local advocacy groups and the state's leading public health agency say could negatively affect public welfare. However, the city contends the move was necessary because of an increased number of discarded syringes in the Santa Ana Civic Center, for which it says the needle exchange was at fault. (Brazil, 2/1)
Stat:
Flu Vaccine Provided Low Protection Against This Winter's Virus, Data Suggest
As the country battles an especially fierce flu season, experts have struggled to explain why one family of virus — the influenza A virus H3N2 — that has infected a lot of people in recent years is causing so much damage again this winter. Now, new data from north of the border sheds some light on the question. Canadian influenza researchers reported Thursday in the online journal Eurosurveillance that the first reckoning of how well the flu vaccine is protecting against H3N2 viruses this year in North America has a dismal answer: not very. (Branswell, 2/1)
The Hill:
New York Governor: Flu Season Worsens Each Week
New York's historic flu season is continuing to worsen every week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Thursday. Cuomo said the state confirmed more than 11,600 cases of influenza reported to the health department over the past week, with more than 2,200 people hospitalized. (Weixel, 2/1)
The Washington Post:
When Brett Favre Sees Little Kids Playing Football, ‘I Cringe.’
Sometime on Saturday morning, Brett Favre will do a small favor for an old friend and former backup, stepping up to deliver a pep talk to Doug Pederson’s Eagles before Super Bowl LII. But it’s the dangerous side of football that preoccupies Favre the most these days. “I cringe,” he said, “when I see video, or I’m driving and I see little kids out playing, and they’re all decked out in their football gear and the helmet looks like it’s three times bigger than they are. It’s kind of funny, but it’s not as funny now as it was years ago, because of what we know now. I just cringe seeing a fragile little boy get tackled and the people ooh and ahh and they just don’t know. Or they don’t care. It’s just so scary.” (Boren, 2/1)
The New York Times:
Gut Microbes Combine To Cause Colon Cancer, Study Suggests
Two types of bacteria commonly found in the gut work together to fuel the growth of colon tumors, researchers reported on Thursday. Their study, published in the journal Science, describes what may be a hidden cause of colon cancer, the third most common cancer in the United States. The research also adds to growing evidence that gut bacteria modify the body’s immune system in unexpected and sometimes deadly ways. (Kolata, 2/1)
NPR:
Her Seizures Looked Like Epilepsy, But Her Brain Looked Fine
When Sarah Jay had her first seizure, she was in her mid-20s and working a high-stress job at a call center in Springfield, Mo. "I was going to go on break," she says. "I was heading towards the bathroom and then I fell and passed out." An ambulance took Jay to the hospital but doctors there couldn't find anything wrong. Jay figured it was a one-time thing. Then a week later, she had another seizure. And that kept happening once or twice a week. "So I was put on short-term disability for my work to try to figure out what was going on," says Jay, who's now 29. (Hamilton, 2/1)
The New York Times:
‘My Baby Almost Died’: Formula Scandal Sends Shudders Through France
When the French dairy giant Lactalis began recalling baby formula, Ségolène Noviant thought she was safe. The milk she had been feeding her 5-month-old son wasn’t on the list. Then her son, Noan, was rushed to the emergency room with a fever, diarrhea and internal bleeding. His formula was tainted with salmonella — and a broad range of other Lactalis powdered milk products still on the shelves were at risk, too. (Alderman, 2/1)
Los Angeles Times:
California's Mentally Ill Inmate Population Keeps Growing. And State Money Isn't Enough To Meet Needs, Lawmaker Says
Gov. Jerry Brown has earmarked $117 million in his new state budget to expand the number of treatment beds and mental health programs for more than 800 mentally ill inmates found incompetent to stand trial. State officials said they have struggled to keep up with the needs of a population that has jumped in size by 33% over the last three years, as judges are increasingly referring defendants to treatment. But one state lawmaker says additional funds are not enough. (Ulloa, 2/2)
The Associated Press:
Feds To Pay $42M To Parents Of Boy Hurt By Forceps Delivery
The federal government has withdrawn its appeal and agreed to pay $42 million to the parents of a young Pennsylvania boy left disabled from brain injuries apparently caused by the use of forceps during his birth, the parents' lawyers and the government announced Thursday. "The government recognized that their issues on appeal were without merit and that the verdict was just and appropriate," said Regan Safier, of Kline & Specter, a Philadelphia law firm. "The judge recognized the catastrophic injuries suffered by this child and awarded the money necessary to care for him over his lifetime." (2/1)
The Associated Press:
Nurses With A Mission: Send Older ER Patients Home With Help
When 86-year-old Carol Wittwer took a taxi to the emergency room, she expected to be admitted to the hospital. She didn't anticipate being asked if she cooks for herself. If she has friends in her high-rise. Or if she could spell lunch backward. "H-C-N-U-L," she said, ruling out a type of confusion called delirium for the geriatrics-trained nurse who was posing the questions in a special wing of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's emergency department. Wittwer's care is part of a new approach to older patients as U.S. emergency rooms adapt to serve the complex needs of a graying population. (2/2)
The Washington Post:
Virginia General Assembly Likely To Legalize Broad Medical Use Of Cannabis Oil
A bill that would allow physicians to broadly prescribe a form of medical marijuana received preliminary approval in the Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday and seems likely to become law, its sponsors say, after years of failed attempts. The legislation, HB 1251, would permit the use of non-hallucinogenic marijuana or cannabis extracts known as cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil to treat any diagnosed condition or disease. Scientific studies indicate that the oils can reduce nausea and alleviate pain, and also may slow the growth of and kill some cancer cells. (Sullivan, 2/1)
The Associated Press:
UAE Gives Johns Hopkins $50M For New Stroke Care Institute
The United Arab Emirates says it’s making a $50 million gift to Johns Hopkins University for a new institute for stroke research in Baltimore and in Abu Dhabi. The UAE ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba, released a statement in partnership with Johns Hopkins on Thursday ahead of a planned announcement in New York. The statement says the Sheikh Khalifa Stroke Institute in Baltimore and Abu Dhabi will focus efforts by Johns Hopkins’ to develop new tools for stroke diagnosis, treatment and patient recovery. (2/1)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A.'s Homelessness Surged 75% In Six Years. Here's Why The Crisis Has Been Decades In The Making
Some of the poorest people in the city spend their days in the shadow of Los Angeles City Hall, napping on flattened cardboard boxes. On any given day, as many as 20 people take to the City Hall lawn, across the street from LAPD headquarters. They're there to "escape the madness" in downtown streets, a 53-year-old homeless man named Lazarus said last week. At night, they fan out to doorways or deserted plazas to wait for daybreak. (Holland, 2/1)