First Edition: February 29, 2016
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Aetna CEO Answers Burwell’s Call, Vows Support for Exchanges Amid Losses
The head of Aetna Inc., the nation’s third-largest health insurer, said he supports insurance exchanges, even though he questioned their sustainability earlier this month and lost money in the marketplaces last year. Aetna Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell called him Feb. 1 shortly after he made critical remarks during an earnings conference call. Before then, Aetna had struck a more upbeat tone compared to some rival insurers. (Terhune, 2/29)
Kaiser Health News:
Will Healthcare.gov Get A California Makeover?
Experts say the California exchange uses more of its powers as an “active purchaser” than the vast majority of other states. That means it can decide which insurers can join the exchange, what plans and benefits are available and at what price. The federal government — in pending proposed rules for 2017 — has signaled it too wants to have more of a hand in crafting plans. Though there are no plans to go as far as a monthly drug copay cap, healthcare.gov would be forging ahead on a path California already paved, swapping variety for simplicity in plan design. (Bartolone, 2/29)
The New York Times:
Better Care Or Onerous Restrictions? Texas Abortion Law Going Before Supreme Court
For all the furious debate over constitutional rights rekindled by the first Supreme Court abortion case in nearly a decade, the stated goal of the law at issue is a medical one: ensuring patient safety. Proponents say that the Texas law will give women who have abortions better access to emergency treatment should complications arise, while providing greater oversight of their doctors. But many mainstream health care groups, who analyzed the law on its medical merits, say the measures are unnecessary and could even compromise patient well-being. (Hoffman, 2/26)
The Washington Post:
Arguments In Supreme Court Abortion Case Pitched To Audience Of One
Behind double-locked doors, beyond a waiting room named for Michelle Obama, past walls painted in signature purple hues called “Enigma” and “Intuitive,” the women who work at this abortion clinic await word from a man in Washington about whether a Texas law will force it to close. Outside a suburban Starbucks miles away, an administrative assistant would like that same man, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, to know that the law already has so reduced the number of providers in Texas that she took out a payday loan and hopped a plane to California for the abortion she had trouble scheduling in her home state. (Barnes, 2/28)
The New York Times:
Eyes On Kennedy, Women Tell Supreme Court Why Abortion Was Right For Them
Amy Brenneman, an actress, wants Justice Anthony M. Kennedy to know about her abortion. Taking a page from the movement for same-sex marriage, Ms. Brenneman and more than 100 other women have filed several supporting briefs in a major Supreme Court abortion case to be argued on Wednesday. The briefs tell the stories of women who say their abortions allowed them to control their bodies, plan for the future and welcome children into their lives when their careers were established and their personal lives were on solid ground. The briefs are aimed largely at Justice Kennedy, who holds the crucial vote in abortion cases. They use language and concepts from his four major gay rights decisions, notably his invocation of “equal dignity” in June’s ruling establishing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. (Liptak, 2/29)
The Associated Press:
Abortion Returns To Supreme Court Altered By Scalia's Death
The Supreme Court challenge to a Texas law that has dramatically reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state is the justices' most significant case on the hot-button issue in nearly a quarter-century. One of this election-year term's biggest cases is being argued Wednesday before a court altered by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. He was perhaps the most vociferous abortion opponent among the nine justices. The Texas law has been replicated across the South and elsewhere, part of a wave of state abortion restrictions in the past five years. (2/27)
Reuters:
U.S. Court Test On Abortion Reflects Success Of Strategy Shift
When the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday hears a major abortion case for the first time in nearly a decade, the regulations at issue will not involve fetuses or the mother, but rather standards for doctors and facilities where the procedure is performed. That the high court is taking up a case about such arcane regulations reflects the success of a legal strategy that abortion opponents embraced about a decade ago and initially caught some abortion-rights advocates off guard. (2/28)
The Associated Press:
Louisiana Abortion Clinics Ask High Court Help To Stay Open
Abortion clinics in Louisiana want the Supreme Court to allow them to stay open and block a ruling that could leave just one of four clinics providing abortions. The clinics said in an emergency appeal to the high court late Friday that only a clinic in New Orleans would remain open if the state is allowed to enforce a law that requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Clinics in Baton Rouge and Bossier City already have had to stop providing abortions, said the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the clinics at the Supreme Court. A clinic in Shreveport would have to stop providing abortions soon, the group said. (2/26)
Los Angeles Times:
One Of The Last Abortion Clinics In Louisiana: How Long Will It Hold On?
All day, phones rang inside the tiny brick abortion clinic. Women from all over Louisiana, and from as far as Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, called mostly with the same question: Was the center still taking appointments? The clinic’s embattled administrator, Kathaleen Pittman, eyes red from lack of sleep, reassured them she had yet to cancel any consultations or procedures. Yet she could not promise anyone how long the center would remain open. (Jarvie and Hennessy-Fiske, 2/26)
Reuters:
Court Orders Abortion Waiting Period To Be Enforced In Florida
Florida appellate court on Friday ordered the enforcement of a state law that requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, reversing an injunction imposed last year before it was due to take effect. A three-judge panel on Florida's First District Court of Appeal found the temporary injunction, which a lower court imposed in late June, failed to meet legal standards. The law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature last spring required women seeking abortions in Florida to make two visits to a clinic, with a mandatory 24-hour waiting period in between. (2/26)
The New York Times:
Administration Protests Limits On Its Power To Fill Vacancies
A federal appeals court ruling that limits the president’s power to appoint officials to temporarily run federal agencies when high-level government jobs become vacant has prompted growing concerns among Obama administration officials. ... At a budget hearing, [Representative Leonard Lance, Republican of New Jersey] asked Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, how many officials were serving at her department in an acting capacity. Ms. Burwell named two: Mary K. Wakefield, the acting deputy secretary, and Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo, the acting assistant secretary for health. Another top health official, Andrew M. Slavitt, has been nominated by Mr. Obama to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services but has been unable to get a confirmation hearing. (Pear, 2/28)
NPR:
Many Dislike Health Care System But Are Pleased With Their Own Care
The United States has the most advanced health care in the world. There are gleaming medical centers across the country where doctors cure cancers, transplant organs and bring people back from near death. But a poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, shows that only one-third of Americans say the health care they receive is "excellent." Even fewer people are impressed with the system as a whole. (Kodjak, 2/29)
NPR:
Health Quality An Issue For Poor, 2 Years Into Obamacare, Poll Finds
A series of polls in key states by NPR and its partners finds that more than half of adults in the U.S. believe the Affordable Care Act has either helped the people of their state or has had no effect. Those sentiments are common despite all the political wrangling that continues over the law. About a third (35 percent) of adults say the law has directly helped the people of their state, while a quarter (27 percent) say it has directly hurt people. (Neel, 2/29)
The Associated Press:
Insurer Warnings Cast Doubt On ACA Exchange Future
Political uncertainty isn't the only threat to the Affordable Care Act's future. Cracks also are spreading through a major pillar supporting the law Health insurance exchanges created to help millions of people find coverage are turning into money-losing ventures for many insurers. The nation's largest, UnitedHealth Group Inc., could lose as much as $475 million on its exchange business this year and may not participate in 2017. Another major insurer, Aetna, has questioned the viability of the exchanges. And a dozen nonprofit insurance cooperatives created by the law have already closed, forcing around 750,000 people to find new plans. (Murphy, 2/26)
The New York Times:
Trying To Revive H.M.O.s, But Without Those Scarlet Letters
An H.M.O. by any other name is still an H.M.O. Once emblematic of everything wrong with health insurance, the health maintenance organization is making a grudging, if somewhat successful, comeback. ... Insurers are already promoting H.M.O.s on the state exchanges created under the federal health law, and many are trying to persuade more companies and their employees to sign up. ... In October, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois teamed with the state’s largest health system, Advocate Health Care, to offer a new H.M.O, BlueCare Direct, to individuals and small businesses buying coverage on the state exchange. ... But a close look at Blue Cross of Illinois’s experience shows just how complicated a comeback will be. (Abelson, 2/28)
The New York Times:
Top Lobbyist For Drug Makers Threads A Thicket Of Outrage
Few lobbyists have walked into the kind of political inferno that greeted Stephen J. Ubl when he became the top pitchman for the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Ubl, the 47-year-old president and chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, took charge in November, as the Obama administration, presidential candidates, members of Congress, consumer groups, health insurance companies and doctors were criticizing the prescription drug industry for charging prices they saw as exorbitant and excessive. The anger has only grown worse. (Pear, 2/26)
The Wall Street Journal:
European Pharma’s Failure To Launch
European pharmaceutical companies’ U.S. launchpad has lost its bounce. The pharmaceuticals sector’s results have prompted head-scratching over why new, innovative drugs have been slow to generate sales. Novartis’ heart failure drug Entresto, expected to generate peak annual sales of at least $5 billion, sold just $5 million in the final quarter of last year. Sanofi and Regeneron’s Praluent, a biologic to treat high cholesterol, notched up €5 million ($5.5 million) of sales against forecasts of closer to €40 million. This shouldn’t be a surprise, argue some. (Thomas, 2/29)
The Associated Press:
AARP: Price Hikes Doubled Average Drug Price Over 7 Years
The average cost for a year’s supply of a prescription drug doubled in just seven years to more than $11,000 — about three-quarters of the average annual Social Security benefit. That’s according to the latest study of price trends for widely-used drugs conducted by AARP, the senior citizens advocacy group. It finds prices for existing drugs, driven entirely by manufacturer price hikes, have been rising more quickly since 2007 and likely will continue to do so. (Johnson, 2/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Zenefits Says It Is Laying Off 250 Employees
Zenefits is dismissing 250 employees, or roughly 17% of its workforce, in a major retrenchment for a health-benefits-brokerage company that less than a year ago was touted as one of Silicon Valley’s most promising startups. The cutbacks were concentrated in sales, the company said. Zenefits eliminated a team responsible for selling health-insurance policies to corporate customers and narrow its focus to small businesses, which it sees as a more natural fit. (Winkler, 2/26)
The New York Times:
Zenefits To Lay Off 17% Of Work Force
Zenefits, a San Francisco health insurance start-up facing regulatory scrutiny, plans to lay off 250 people starting Friday, David Sacks, the chief executive, says. The cuts will mostly affect the company’s sales teams and represent about 17 percent of employees. (Benner, 2/26)
NPR:
Puerto Rico Races To Stop Zika's Mosquitoes Before Rains Begin
The Zika virus is a health threat not just to Latin America, but also to parts of the U.S. It's already a problem in Puerto Rico where there are nearly 120 cases so far, including five pregnant women. That's a concern because Zika may be involved in causing birth defects. The U.S. territory has declared a public health emergency and is working to protect residents from Zika and from the primary mosquito that carries the disease, Aedes aegypti. The species is largely responsible for the spread of Zika and many other tropical diseases, including yellow fever and dengue. It can breed anywhere it finds as little as a teaspoonful of standing water. (Allen and Arrieta, 2/29)
NPR:
With CDC Help, Puerto Rico Aims To Get Ahead Of Zika
The Zika virus now has a foothold in a U.S. territory. Puerto Rico is reporting at least 117 Zika cases, including at least five pregnant women. That's of special concern because of Zika's possible link to birth defects. In Bayamon, a San Juan suburb, Monica Figueroa is waiting in line at a lunch truck. She's a nurse who works at a nearby clinic and she is pregnant — "about five months and a few weeks, something like that," she says in Spanish. Figueroa knows about Zika. She says she's wearing mosquito repellent but is not especially worried. "No one seems to be paying much attention to it," she says. (Allen and Arrieta, 2/26)
NPR:
Colombian Scientists Study Serious Zika-Related Conditions
Scientists don't know all the conditions linked to the Zika virus. In one lab in Cali, Colombia, researchers are trying to connect Zika and the neurological condition Guillain Barre. (Aizenman, 2/28)
The New York Times:
The Everything-In-One Promise Of A Continuing Care Community
Is it possible to have it all in retirement? That’s what so-called continuing care retirement communities promise.These hybrids offer independent living apartments (and sometimes free-standing cottages) along with assisted-living support, home care, a nursing home and often specialized memory care, all within one complex. The idea is for a resident to “age in place” and obtain additional services as that person becomes more frail and dependent, without having to move. (Wasik, 2/26)
USA Today:
Communities Strive To Be 'Dementia-Friendly' As Alzheimer's Numbers Grow
"People often don’t know how they are supposed to respond to me, how they are supposed to act with me,” says [Ron Grant, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s]. That’s a common problem as an aging population swells the ranks of those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia — disorders that impair memory and reasoning. While people with dementia may eventually end up home-bound or in care facilities, most first spend years living in their communities, going to places of worship, stores, banks and restaurants and encountering law enforcement and medical workers. Better preparing everyone from waiters to police officers to support them and their caregivers is the goal of a growing movement for “dementia-friendly communities.” Grant is a spokesman for the largest effort, a coalition called Dementia Friendly America (DFA). (Painter, 2/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Los Angeles County Health Department Targeted In Ransomware Attack
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services computers have been targeted in a "ransomware" cyberattack, officials said Friday. Ransomware is a type of malware that takes control of computers and cuts off users' access to files or threatens to destroy them unless a ransom is paid. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center officials said earlier this month that they had paid a $17,000 ransom in bitcoin to a hacker who seized control of the hospital's computer systems. The attack on the Los Angeles County health department was on a smaller scale. (Sewell, 2/26)
The Associated Press:
Battle Rages Over Florida Law Limiting Doctors' Gun Speech
As a pediatrician, Dr. Judith Schaechter can ask parents of her patients all sorts of questions regarding their safety and well-being: what the child eats, whether there's a backyard pool and whether the child gets enough sleep. Yet the question of whether there is a gun in the home is generally off limits. A Florida law bans routine gun questions even though eight children or teenagers are killed every day in the U.S. with guns, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2/27)
NPR:
Cleveland Clinic Performs First Successful Uterus Transplant In The U.S.
The Cleveland Clinic says it has performed the first uterus transplant in the United States. This opens up another possible path to parenthood besides surrogacy or adoption for U.S. women who do not have a uterus, or who have a uterus that does not function. The transplant happened during a nine-hour-long surgery on a 26-year-old patient, who the clinic did not identify. The clinic says the patient is in stable condition and that the transplanted uterus came from a deceased donor. (Kennedy, 2/26)
The Associated Press:
Authorities Charge West Virginia Couple In Cancer Scam
Authorities have arrested a West Virginia woman and her husband after officials say they scammed more than $82,000 from another couple by pretending the woman needed money for cancer treatments. The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown reports that 27-year-old Lee Anne McCauley has been arrested on charges including theft scheme and theft scheme conspiracy of $10,000 to $100,000. (2/29)