First Edition: January 16, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
In Wisconsin, Hopes Rise For Production Of A Lifesaving Radioactive Isotope
In a cornfield here, past the shuttered General Motors plant and the Janesville Terrace trailer home park, a facility not seen in the United States in three decades could soon rise: a manufacturing plant that will make a vital radioactive isotope used to detect cancer and other potentially fatal maladies in millions of people every year. (Varney, 1/16)
Kaiser Health News:
Trump’s Work-For-Medicaid Rule Puts Work On States’ Shoulders
[S]tates considering whether to enact the controversial strategy face major hurdles. They will have to figure out how to define the work requirement and alternative options, such as going to school or volunteering in some organizations; how to enforce the new rules; how to pay for new administrative costs; and how to handle the millions of enrollees likely to seek exemptions. Take Arizona, one of the 10 states that have applied for federal approval for a work requirement. The state must settle basic questions, including whether people would have to meet the new conditions at the time of enrollment, at the annual renewal of their Medicaid coverage or at another time. (Galewitz and Bartolone, 1/12)
Kaiser Health News:
Kentucky Is First State Granted Approval For Medicaid Work Requirements
Surveys show that many Medicaid enrollees who don’t work are in job training, go to school or are taking care of a child or an elderly relative, conditions that would make them exempt from the new mandate, according to the CMS guidelines. (Galewitz, 1/12)
Kaiser Health News:
Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ Should You Work For Your Medicaid Coverage?
The Trump administration this week told states they will be allowed to require some beneficiaries of the Medicaid program to work or perform community service in order to keep their health insurance — a break with long-standing policies of both Democratic and Republican administrations. (1/12)
Kaiser Health News:
When You Need A Breast Screening, Should You Get A 3-D Mammogram?
When I went to the imaging center for my regular mammogram last year, the woman behind the desk asked me if I’d like to get a “3-D” mammogram instead of the standard test I’d had in the past. “It’s more accurate,” she said. What do you say to that? “No, thanks, I’d rather have the test that gets it wrong?” Of course, I agreed. (Andrews, 1/16)
The New York Times:
To Get Medicaid In Kentucky, Many Will Have To Work. Advocates For The Poor Say They Will Sue.
Kentucky will be the first state to require many of its Medicaid recipients to work or face losing their benefits after the Trump administration approved its plan on Friday. Advocates for the poor threatened lawsuits, while Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, celebrated the approval as “the most transformational entitlement reform that has been seen in a quarter of a century.” (Goodnough, 1/12)
The Washington Post:
Kentucky Becomes The First State Allowed To Impose Medicaid Work Requirement
Becoming the first-in-the-nation state to move forward with the profound change to the safety-net health insurance program is a victory for Kentucky’s Republican governor, Matt Bevin, who during his 2015 campaign for office vowed to reverse the strong embrace of the Affordable Care Act by his Democratic predecessor. Bevin first pledged to undo the state’s expansion of Medicaid, which had helped to shrink the ranks of uninsured Kentuckians more than in almost any other state. He then pivoted to the idea of keeping the additional people in the program — with strings attached that the federal government had never permitted in Medicaid’s half-century history. (Goldstein, 1/12)
Politico:
Trump Administration OKs Medicaid Rollback In Kentucky
“Kentucky is leading the nation in this reform," Bevin said at a press conference Friday. “It will soon become the standard and the norm in the United States of America, and America will be better for it.” Conservatives see work requirements as a major victory, while progressive groups have vowed lawsuits to block them from taking effect. As Medicaid expanded to cover millions of low-income adults under Obamacare, Republicans have sought greater restrictions to curb swelling enrollment. That includes tying certain enrollees’ benefits to employment or other job-related activities, including job training or volunteer work. (Pradhan, 1/12)
NPR:
Kentucky Get Approved To Require Work From Medicaid Recipients
Nine other states — Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin — have asked CMS to allow them to add "community engagement" requirements to their Medicaid programs. (Kodjak, 1/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Approves Kentucky Plan Requiring Medicaid Recipients To Work
The approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to face swift legal opposition from consumer groups, who say work requirements violate the guarantee that people who meet certain income criteria will get health coverage. Republicans portray this first-ever work mandate as a way to reduce what they say is a mushrooming dependence on the federal-state program by leading to jobs and self-sufficiency. (Armour, 1/12)
The Hill:
Court Battle Brewing Over Work Rules For Medicaid
A battle is brewing in the courts over the Trump administration's move to let states impose work requirements for recipients of Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. Advocacy groups are gearing up to sue the administration, arguing that it doesn’t have the power to allow work requirements and other rules for Medicaid without action from Congress. (Roubein and Sullivan, 1/15)
The Associated Press:
Medicaid Work Mandate Will Create Uncertainty In Some States
Republicans this past week began to realize their long-held goal of requiring certain adults to work, get job training or perform community service in exchange for getting health coverage through Medicaid. Whether that's a commonsense approach or an added burden that will end up costing many Americans their health insurance will now be debated in states across the country considering the landmark change to the nation's largest health insurance program. (1/14)
NPR:
Medicaid Restrictions That Require Recipients To Work Miss The Point, Critics Say
Medicaid's chief federal officer is Seema Verma; her home state of Indiana submitted plans for a work requirement last year, and the approval letter could come any day now. Under the proposal, people would have to average 20 hours a week of work or another qualifying activity — such as volunteering or getting an education — to get Medicaid. The goal is to increase employment among Medicaid recipients. But Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, says there's a problem with that — most people on Medicaid are already working, or looking for work. Or they're caring for a child or family member, or they're sick or disabled. (Harper, 1/12)
The Hill:
Five Things To Know About Medicaid Work Requirements
The Trump administration released landmark guidance this week aimed at allowing states to impose work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, a major shift in the design of the health insurance program for the poor and disabled. Here are five things to know about work requirements. (Weixel, 1/15)
Reuters:
Political Risk Looms Over Republicans' Welfare Tinkering
Political danger signs are flashing, but conservatives in Washington are pushing forward with proposals to change America's social safety net, an agenda even fellow Republican President Donald Trump recently shied away from. Fresh from a tax overhaul victory and keen to act while they retain control of Congress, Republicans are seeking tougher work and job training requirements for those helped by assistance programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. (Cornwell and Abutaleb, 1/12)
The New York Times:
Individual Mandate Now Gone, G.O.P. Targets The One For Employers
Having wiped out the requirement for people to have health insurance, Republicans in Congress are taking aim at a new target: the mandate in the Affordable Care Act that employers offer coverage to employees. And many employers are cheering the effort. (Pear, 1/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Number Of Americans Without Health Insurance Grows In Trump's First Year, New Figures Show
The number of Americans without health coverage, which declined for years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, shot up in President Trump's first year in office, according to data from a new national survey. At the end of 2017, 12.2% of U.S. adults lacked health insurance, up from 10.9% at the end of 2016, as President Obama was completing his final term. (Levey, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Trump Is In ‘Excellent Health,’ Doctor Says After Exam
President Trump is in excellent health, his doctor said on Friday after his first comprehensive physical exam since he was elected. “The president’s physical exam today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well,” Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, a rear admiral in the Navy and the White House physician, said in a statement. “The president is in excellent health.” (Shear and Altman, 1/12)
The Associated Press:
Trump Declared In 'Excellent Health' After First Presidential Physical Exam
Trump spent about three hours at the medical facility in Bethesda, Md., outside Washington, for the Friday afternoon checkup, his first as president, before departing for Florida for the weekend. The fairly routine exam for previous presidents has taken on outsized importance in the age of Trump, given the tone of some of his tweets, comments attributed to some of his close advisors and Trump's recent slurring of words on national TV. (1/12)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. Postpones Session Preparing U.S. For Nuclear War
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to postpone its session on nuclear attack preparedness next week. Much attention had been drawn to the timing of the agency’s session, which was publicized just days after President Trump touted the size of his nuclear button compared with North Korea’s. Late Friday afternoon, the C.D.C. announced that it had changed its mind about next Tuesday’s topic, making a last-minute revision to reflect concerns about cases of severe flu. (Kaplan, 1/12)
The Washington Post:
CDC Postpones Session On 'Preparing For The Unthinkable': A Nuclear Blast
The session was to feature presentations from U.S. experts on public health preparedness and response and radiation, including one titled “Preparing for the Unthinkable.” It was planned months ago as part of a regular series of monthly webinars the CDC called Public Health Grand Rounds, officials said. But media interest in the topic was unusually strong, given the escalating tensions between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and their most recent war of words over which leader has the larger nuclear arsenal and bigger “nuclear button.” About three dozen media outlets had expressed interest in attending the session, which is broadcast from CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta. The initial CDC announcement featured a photograph of the distinctive mushroom cloud from a nuclear blast. (Sun, 1/12)
Stat:
Flu Season Is Shaping Up As One Of The Worst In Years, Officials Say
The entire continental United States is experiencing widespread flu right now, the first time in the 13 years of the current tracking system that that has happened, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials said that this flu season is shaping up to be one of the worst in recent years. The rate of flu hospitalizations — the number of people hospitalized with flu per 100,000 — rose sharply last week compared with the previous week. Last week it was 22.7 per 100,000 people; the week before that rate was 13.7. (Branswell, 1/12)
The Washington Post:
CDC Says, ‘There's Lots Of Flu In Lots Of Places.’ And It's Not Going Away Anytime Soon.
“Flu is everywhere in the United States right now. There’s lots of flu in lots of places,” said Daniel Jernigan, director of CDC’s influenza division. Of particular concern, he said, is the “very rapid increase” in the number of people hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed cases. The overall hospitalization rate for the week ending Jan. 6 — 22.7 per 100,000 — is almost double that of the previous week. Seven children died in the first week of January, bringing the total number of pediatric deaths to 20. Nearly 6,500 people were hospitalized since the season started Oct. 1. (Sun, 1/12)
NPR:
Flu Season Is Shaping Up To Be Nasty, CDC Says
But the most recent data show that the proportion of people rushing to their doctors to get treated for the flu has already hit 5.8 percent, which is as high as that number gets during the peak of a really bad flu season, the CDC says. In addition, the rate at which Americans are being hospitalized for the flu almost doubled in the last week, to 22.7 for every 100,000 hospitalizations, according to the CDC. (Stein, 1/12)
Bloomberg:
Think Flu Season Is Bad? It Might Get Even Worse
The most optimistic assumption among government experts is that the season peaked a few weeks ago, marking the apex of what was already an early and severe outbreak. However, such an outlook requires observers to ignore that outpatient doctor visits have continued to climb (albeit more slowly) in the first week of 2018, yielding the most flu cases ever for this time of the year. (Cortez, 1/16)
Stat:
A Severe Flu Season Is Stretching Hospitals Thin. That Is A Very Bad Omen
A tsunami of sick people has swamped hospitals in many parts of the country in recent weeks as a severe flu season has taken hold. In Rhode Island, hospitals diverted ambulances for a period because they were overcome with patients. In San Diego, a hospital erected a tent outside its emergency room to manage an influx of people with flu symptoms. Wait times at scores of hospitals have gotten longer. But if something as foreseeable as a flu season — albeit one that is pretty severe — is stretching health care to its limits, what does that tell us about the ability of hospitals to handle the next flu pandemic? (Branswell, 1/15)
The New York Times:
‘Smart Thermometers’ Track Flu Season In Real Time
A company making “smart thermometers” that upload body temperatures to its website claims to be tracking this year’s flu season faster and in greater geographic detail than public health authorities can. This year’s flu season — which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers “moderately severe” — has left Missouri and Iowa the “sickest states in the country,” said Inder Singh, the founder of Kinsahealth.com. (McNeil, 1/16)
The New York Times:
In The Flu Battle, Hydration And Elevation May Be Your Best Weapons
According to the misery map of influenza activity in the United States, there’s a good chance that you or someone you know has experienced, or will experience, the agony of this year’s strain, H3N2. The map, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that it is a particularly wicked and widespread virus. And the current flu vaccine seems to be mismatched to the virus — in Australia, where flu season comes earlier, it was estimated to be only 10 percent effective. (Murphy, 1/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Flu Death Toll Rises In California
The number of Californians under 65 who've died of the flu has jumped to 42, compared with nine at the same time last year, state officials said Friday. The flu season, which runs from October through May, typically peaks in February. Public health officials say they don't yet know whether the flu season is peaking earlier than normal, or if this year will be a particularly tough one for the flu. (Karlamangla, 1/12)
NPR:
Mapping How The Opioid Epidemic Sparked An HIV Outbreak
When people started to show up to Dr. William Cooke's primary care office in Austin, Ind., in 2014 with HIV, Cooke knew it was probably related to the region's opioid epidemic. But what he and the rest of the public health community didn't know was who they were missing or how long the HIV outbreak had been going on. Now they've got a clearer picture — literally. In visualizations published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, dots and lines define the constellations of Indiana's HIV outbreak. (Boerner, 1/14)
The Washington Post:
Ohio Opioid Woes One Reason Drug Lawsuits Brought To State
The role that drugmakers and drug distributors played in contributing to the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic is now front and center in a federal courtroom in Cleveland. Judge Dan Polster is overseeing more than 200 lawsuits against drug companies brought by local communities across the country, including those in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. The lawsuits have been consolidated into what is known as “multidistrict litigation,” an approach taken when lawsuits of a similar nature are filed around the country. (Welsh-Huggins, 1/14)
The Washington Post:
First Treatment Approved For Breast Cancer With BRCA Genetic Mutation
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday cleared the first treatment for patients with advanced breast cancer caused by BRCA mutations, which are genetic defects that raise the risk of malignancies. The drug, called Lynparza, already is approved for certain patients with advanced ovarian cancer associated with the same mutations. Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence, said in a statement that expanding the approval to breast-cancer patients “demonstrates the current paradigm of developing drugs that target the underlying genetic causes of a cancer, often across cancer types.” (McGinley, 1/12)
NPR:
DNA Sequencing Holds Some Promise For Treating Tumors
People diagnosed with cancer understandably reach for the very best that medical science has to offer. That motivation is increasingly driving people to ask to have the DNA of their tumors sequenced. And while that's useful for some malignancies, the hype of precision medicine for cancer is getting far ahead of the facts. It's easy to understand why that's the case. When you hear stories about the use of DNA sequencing to create individualized cancer treatment, chances are they are uplifting stories. Like that of Ben Stern. (Harris, 1/15)
Stat:
A Health Advocate's Crusade Brings Skin Lightening Out Of The Dark
[Amira Adawe's] visits are more than social, however. The public health advocate scans market shelves for skin lightening creams that may contain harmful toxins — tubes and jars sold under names such as Fair & Lovely, Prime White, and Miss Beauty 7 Days White. Some women use the creams in hopes of erasing dark spots, but many rub them over their entire bodies multiple times a day in hopes of whitening their brown skin. The practice pervades many cultures in Africa, Asia, the Middle East — and many immigrant communities in the U.S. — and Adawe has made it her mission to end it. (Eldred, 1/16)
The New York Times:
After Surgery In The Womb, A Baby Kicks Up Hope
For a small person who had surgery before he was even born, and who’d just spent an hour and a half squeezing through a tight space that clamped down on his head every few minutes, Baby Boy Royer was showing a feisty spirit. He arrived pink and screaming on Friday at 5:35 a.m., two days before his official due date, weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces, and almost 20 inches long. (Grady, 1/15)
The New York Times:
After A Debacle, How California Became A Role Model On Measles
In December 2014 something unusual happened at Disneyland. People came to visit Mickey Mouse, and some of them left with measles. At least 159 people contracted the disease during an outbreak lasting several months. This is more than the typical number in a whole year in the United States. The leading theory is that measles was introduced in Disneyland by a foreign tourist. That could happen anywhere. Medical experts generally agree that the fact that it took off was probably a result of California’s low vaccination rates, which in turn was a result of an inability to persuade a significant share of Californians that vaccines were important. (Emily Oster and Geoffrey Kocks, 1/6)
The New York Times:
Music Therapy Offers An End-Of-Life Grace Note
At 90, Beverly Herzog is writing songs for the first time. Once a week, a music therapist helps Mrs. Herzog transform her thoughts into lyrics, then sings them back to her mellifluously over the strums of her guitar. The result can be transformative. When Mrs. Herzog listened during a session in December, she marveled at how magically the music reflected her views on love and life. (Otterman, 1/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Even Without Nudging Blood Pressure Up, High-Salt Diet Hobbles The Brain
A high-salt diet may spell trouble for the brain — and for mental performance — even if it doesn't push blood pressure into dangerous territory, new research has found. A new study has shown that in mice fed a very high-salt diet, blood flow to the brain declined, the integrity of blood vessels in the brain suffered, and performance on tests of cognitive function plummeted. (Healy, 1/15)
The New York Times:
He Helped Ex-Players Get Benefits. His Family Is Still Waiting.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers begin their march to a potential seventh Super Bowl championship on Sunday afternoon, Garrett Webster will be delivering pizza from his 14-year-old Honda Pilot. This might surprise fans and his customers, but Mr. Webster, the 33-year-old son of Mike Webster, the stalwart center of the Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s, has to make ends meet. Playoff game days are especially busy. (Belson, 1/13)
The Washington Post:
Why It's So Hard To Understand What A Doctor Says
Few simple questions are as difficult to answer as the perennial “What did the doctor say?” The words are so natural as to be virtually automatic. They spring from our lips, almost of their own accord, whenever a loved one returns from a doctor’s visit. Whether we recognize it or not, the answer has the potential to make us face our own mortality. (Klasco and Glinert, 1/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Too Much Business Travel Can Lead To Depression, Anxiety And Trouble Sleeping, Study Says
If you are a business traveler who has to be away from home more than two weeks a month, no one has to tell you that this much travel can wear you down. But a study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health confirms that people who travel for business two weeks or more a month are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression and trouble sleeping than those who travel less than one week a month. (Martin, 1/13)
The Washington Post:
Back Pain Turned Into Terrifying Paralysis For 20-Year-Old
The 200-mile drive from Chicago to his home in Springfield, Ill., seemed longer than usual as James Weitzel tried, with little success, to relieve the dull pain near his right shoulder blade that had dogged him for months. His family doctor had told the 20-year-old he had probably pulled a muscle or injured a disk in his back while hoisting cases of beer at the pizza shop where he worked. Over-the-counter painkillers hadn’t helped, and Weitzel discovered that sitting on his hand while piloting his blue Cadillac down Interstate 55 made the pain less bothersome. (Boodman, 1/13)
The Washington Post:
Toilet Training Age Varies So Much Parents Should Forget Anxiety
Are 2-year-olds too young to start toilet training? For many children, yes. Especially boys. At least, that’s what American pediatricians would probably say. Only about half of the children in the United States are fully toilet-trained by age 3. Chinese grandmothers would be appalled. They would probably point out that with “split pants,” most kids are trained by age 2. (Gottlieb, 1/15)
The Washington Post:
Brain Timing May Trick You Into Delusional Thoughts
Have you ever felt as though you predicted exactly when the light was going to turn green or sensed that the doorbell was about to ring? Imagine the possibility that these moments of clairvoyance occur simply because of a glitch in your mind’s time logs. What happened first — your thought about the doorbell or its actual ringing? It may have felt as if the thought came first, but when two events (ringing of doorbell, thought about doorbell) occur close together, we can mistake their order. This leads to the sense that we accurately predicted the future when, in fact, all we did is notice the past. (Bear, Fortgang and Bronstein, 1/13)
The Washington Post:
Tide Pod Challenge: What Is It, And Why Is The Viral Video Dare Dangerous?
First, it was the “gallon challenge” and the “cinnamon challenge.” Then some teenagers started playing the “bath-salt challenge.” They have dared each other to pour salt in their hands and hold ice till it burns, douse themselves in rubbing alcohol and set themselves ablaze, and throw boiling water on unsuspecting peers. Now videos circulating on social media are showing kids biting into brightly colored liquid laundry detergent packets. Or cooking them in frying pans, then chewing them up before spewing the soap from their mouths. (Bever, 1/13)
NPR:
Teens' Self-Esteem Grows When Volunteering To Help Strangers
At the start of the new year, parents may encourage their teens to detox from social media, increase exercise, or begin a volunteer project. While kids may bristle at the thought of posting fewer selfies, surveys indicate 55 percent of adolescents enjoy volunteering. And according to a recent study, when it comes to helping others, teens may benefit psychologically from spending time helping strangers. (Fraga, 1/13)
Reuters:
Illinois Nursing Homes Sue State Over Low Medicaid Rates
A handful of Illinois-based nursing homes sued the state's Department of Healthcare and Family Services on Friday, saying low Medicaid rates are jeopardizing their ability to provide adequate quality of care. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, five groups that jointly operate more than 100 skilled nursing facilities across the state said Illinois' reimbursement rates and methodologies violated certain requirements under the Medicaid Act. (Rucinski, 1/12)
The Associated Press:
Army Vet Sues VA Over Scalpel Left In Body After Surgery
An Army veteran who says someone left a scalpel inside him after surgery is suing a veterans affairs hospital. Bridgeport resident Glenford Turner says the scalpel was only discovered years later, after he suffered from long-term abdominal pain. He sued the VA in U.S. District Court last week, seeking unspecified compensatory damages. (1/15)
The Washington Post:
What Does Someone With Mental Illness Look Like? A Museum Tries To Answer
What does someone with mental illness look like? That’s a trick question. There is no one face of mental illness, and it crosses boundaries of age, sex, race and economic status. Often, it’s invisible — and it’s common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 25 percent of adults in the United States have a mental illness. (Blakemore, 1/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Residents Call On Candidates For Governor To Shut Down Aliso Canyon Gas Facility
A mysterious disease is spreading through Kyoko Hibino's neighborhood, but you'd never know it by glancing at her sunny, tree-lined Southern California community, she says. The Porter Ranch resident has suffered bronchitis, heart palpitations, headaches and nosebleeds, none of which amount to a diagnosis by doctors. Hibino said her cat also started getting nosebleeds, and now has cancer. (Lau, 1/13)