First Edition: January 17, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Employers’ Dream Of Controlling Health Costs Turns To Workers’ Sleep
Charlie Blakey had a sense he was sleeping poorly since he often would wake up tired and hear from his wife how loudly he breathed during the night. So he jumped at the chance when his employer, Southern Co., an Atlanta-based electric utility, offered to test him in 2018 for sleep apnea, a potentially serious disorder in which people repeatedly stop breathing while asleep. After he tested positive, the utility arranged for him to have a machine that provides continuous airflow through a mask while he sleeps — at no cost to him. (Galewitz, 1/17)
Kaiser Health News:
With Fate Of Roe V. Wade Unsure, Abortion Fight Shifts To New Territory
Jan. 22 marks the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. Those on both sides of the furious debate say this could be the year when everything changes. In March, the Supreme Court will hear its first abortion case since Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced Anthony Kennedy, who had been the swing vote on abortion cases. A decision is expected by summer. (Rovner, 1/17)
Kaiser Health News:
Listen: How High-Deductible Plans Hurt Rural America
KHN senior correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined Colorado Public Radio’s Avery Lill on “Colorado Matters” to discuss his recent story on how high-deductible health plans are especially hurting rural America. (His segment begins at 11 minutes and 40 seconds in, after you click on the link for the full show.) Such insurance plans are more prevalent in rural areas, where incomes tend to be lower, compared with urban areas, leaving patients with hefty bills they cannot afford when a health care crisis occurs. (1/16)
California Healthline:
Medi-Cal’s Very Big Decade
Medi-Cal had a big decade. The number of Californians enrolled in the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents swelled by 5.5 million from 2010 to 2019. It now covers 1 in 3 Californians and 40% of children. The program’s annual budget — a combination of state and federal money — tops $100 billion, more than the entire state budget of Florida. (Rowan, 1/15)
The Washington Post:
14 States, D.C. And New York City Sue To Stop Trump Plan To Slash Food Stamps For 700,000 Unemployed People
A coalition of 14 states along with Washington, D.C., and New York City sued Thursday to block the Trump administration from cutting off food stamp benefits from nearly 700,000 unemployed people, the first of three such planned measures to restrict the federal food safety net. The Agriculture Department finalized the new rule in December, eliminating states’ discretion to waive work requirements in distressed economic areas — a change that would slash nearly $5.5 billion from food stamp spending over five years. (Hsu, 1/16)
Politico:
14 States Sue Trump Administration Over Food Stamp Rule
"Under well-settled law, the executive branch does not get to go forth with policies that Congress specifically rejected," District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine said in a call with reporters. He and New York State Attorney General Tish James are leading the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. After a bitter partisan fight over the 2018 farm bill, congressional leaders agreed not to include sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that were pushed by a Republican-led House. But last year, the Trump administration began its own effort to rein in the program, arguing that the government should promote self-sufficiency when the U.S. economy is strong. (Boudreau, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Democratic Attorneys General Sue To Block Trump Food Stamp Cuts
The Trump administration finalized a rule last month that would raise the bar for states seeking to waive certain work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents and living in economically distressed areas. The Agriculture Department estimated that the rule could push nearly 700,000 people off food stamps. “Now, in the midst of the strongest economy in a generation, we need everyone who can work, to work,” Mr. Perdue said at the time. (Fadulu, 1/16)
The Hill:
Planned Parenthood Launches $45M Campaign To Back Democrats In 2020
Planned Parenthood will spend $45 million on the 2020 elections, the nonprofit’s biggest electoral expenditure in its history, according to CBS News. The money will go toward the presidential election as well as congressional and state House races, according to Planned Parenthood Votes Executive Director Jenny Lawson, who told CBS, “The stakes have never been higher.” The Trump administration, she told CBS, “has managed to undo so much over the last three years ... the fact that this summer the Supreme Court might gut Roe v. Wade is an indicator of their intention and they've never been so bold." (Budryk, 1/16)
CNBC:
Planned Parenthood To Spend $45 Million In 2020 Elections
“For too long, politicians in power have stood on the wrong side of the people,” said Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, the organization’s super PAC that is behind the push. “From the wave of abortion bans to the gutting of affordable birth control programs to the confirmation of anti-abortion judges, the attacks on our health and rights from Trump and his buddies in Congress have been unprecedented.” (Dzhanova, 1/16)
CBS News:
Planned Parenthood Announces $45 Million Investment In 2020 Elections Today
Planned Parenthood's electoral efforts — which the group has dubbed "We Decide 2020" — hope to reach five million voters in nine battleground states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. A spokesperson for the organization said this week was the "official start" to the strategy. The investment intends to fund large-scale grassroots programs and canvassing, digital, television, and radio and mail programs, according to Planned Parenthood. Just this week, the organization and its affiliated political organizations have hosted over 60 events, according to a Planned Parenthood spokesperson. (Smith, 1/16)
Fox News:
Planned Parenthood Launches 2020 Initiative With Endorsements, 5-Figure Ad Buy
The unprecedented spending likely came in response to a wave of state-level laws restricting abortion in addition to what pro-choice advocates say is a serious assault on the organization. Pro-life activists have claimed they are literally trying to save lives by imposing restrictions like the heartbeat bill, which would prohibit abortions after a doctor can detect a heartbeat. (Dorman, 1/16)
Politico:
Trump Gets Huge Boost From Anti-Abortion Group
Before Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, agreed to chair the Donald J. Trump for President Pro-life Coalition in 2016, she requested a list of commitments in writing from the Republican nominee. To ensure that Trump, who described himself as “very pro-choice” not two decades earlier, wouldn’t betray anti-abortion conservatives as president, Dannenfelser asked that he promise to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, codify into law the Hyde Amendment limiting the use of federal money for abortions, enact legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks and strictly nominate anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court. (Orr, 1/17)
The Hill:
Progressives Raise Red Flags Over Health Insurer Donations
The health insurance industry is donating big to Democrats even amid criticism of the industry and growing calls for “Medicare for All” from the progressive wing of the party. Four big insurance companies — Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health and Cigna — and their employees have given about $4.5 million collectively in campaign contributions in the 2020 cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. (Gangitano, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
Trump Has Broken More Promises Than He’s Kept
Contrary to what he tells his fans, Trump has broken more key promises than he has kept. With our latest update, Trump has broken about 43 percent of 60 key promises — and kept about 35 percent. He settled for a compromise on 12 percent. ... Kept: Provide veterans with the ability to receive public Department of Veterans Affairs treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice. In 2018, Trump signed the bipartisan VA Mission Act, which expanded access for veterans to VA-funded care in the private sector. (This built on a law passed under Obama.) Rules established under the law took effect in 2019, with VA paying veterans to see non-VA doctors if they have to wait longer than 20 days or drive more than 30 minutes for primary or mental health care at a VA facility. For specialty care, they can see private doctors at VA expense if they have to wait longer than 28 days or drive more than an hour to see a VA provider. (Kessler, 1/17)
Politico:
Powerful House Committee Is Latest To Take Stab At ‘Surprise’ Billing Fix
The leaders of a powerful House committee are aiming to break through a legislative quagmire as Congress tries to deliver on the stubbornly elusive goal of protecting patients from "surprise" medical bills. A one-page plan from Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and ranking member Kevin Brady (R-Texas) is at odds with a detailed bipartisan deal struck between key House and Senate committees late last year to settle billing disputes that can leave patients on the hook for thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses. (Roubein and Goldberg, 1/16)
The New York Times:
House To Vote On Disaster Aid Package For Puerto Rico After Earthquakes
House lawmakers introduced an emergency aid package on Thursday to help Puerto Rico rebuild after earthquakes devastated the already storm-battered island, challenging President Trump, who has resisted further assistance for the commonwealth. The $3.35 billion package includes $100 million for education, $1.25 billion to rebuild roads and $2 billion in general disaster relief. Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, said the House would take up the legislation after Martin Luther King’s Birthday on Monday. (Cochrane and Walker, 1/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Nebraska Could Pave The Way Forward For Medicaid Work Requirements
Nebraska's two-tiered approach to Medicaid expansion has spawned interest among health wonks because its work requirement could stand up to legal scrutiny. ... Rather than pursue a conventional Medicaid expansion, Nebraska opted to request a Medicaid 1115 or "state innovation" waiver from the CMS last month that would allow it to create two tiers of Medicaid benefits for the newly eligible population. ... The "Prime" tier will allow expansion enrollees to receive the same Medicaid benefits as Nebraska's traditional Medicaid population if they fulfill community engagement, personal responsibility and wellness activities. The "Basic" package would cover basic health services and prescription drugs, but drop coverage for dental, vision and over-the-counter drugs. (Brady, 1/16)
The New York Times:
In California’s War With Trump, Homelessness May Be Urging A Truce
After months of acrimony between California and the Trump administration over the state’s homelessness crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Thursday that he would send an envoy to meet with administration officials and discuss ways to address the issue together. Mr. Newsom spoke of the meeting in an interview after announcing at a news conference that the state was mobilizing 100 camping trailers to shelter some of the state’s more than 150,000 homeless people. (Fuller, 1/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom Sends Trailers To Help House The Homeless In California
Gov. Gavin Newsom repeatedly promoted a temporary solution to California’s most visible problem this week during a tour on homelessness that began at a shelter in the Sierra foothills and ended in a vacant city-owned lot in the shadow of the Oakland Coliseum: The state would dispatch 100 travel trailers to provide immediate shelter. Newsom and his aides publicized their plan again Thursday, posting a video on social media showcasing a caravan of 15 trailers traveling down the highway toward the Bay Area, where the shelters were on display for a news conference. (Luna, 1/16)
Stat:
Airing Frustrations With Pharma, A Republican FTC Commissioner Just Endorsed Medicare Negotiation
A Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday expressed support for allowing Medicare to directly negotiate the price of prescription medicines, a noteworthy break from GOP orthodoxy from a Trump administration appointee. The remarks from Christine Wilson, a business executive who President Trump appointed to the FTC in 2018, come as Washington remains split on how to tackle high drug prices and whether to allow Medicare to negotiate directly. (Facher, 1/16)
The Hill:
Republican FTC Commissioner Says She Supports Medicare Negotiating Drug Prices
But President Trump and Senate Republicans have rejected that bill, backing more modest alternatives. “The federal government, which accounts for I think a third of pharmaceutical spending, is essentially a price-taker, and that seems like a problem to me,” Wilson added at a conference hosted by the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, a coalition of health care companies and other groups. (Sullivan, 1/16)
Bloomberg Law:
Republican FTC Official Backs Medicare Negotiating Drug Prices
Republicans and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar have strongly opposed Democratic proposals that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. They argue that doing so would essentially allow Medicare to set drug prices and stifle development of innovative new drugs.She referred to H.R. 3 , the Democrats’ signature drug pricing bill, which was the House approved in December. The measure would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate maximum prices for insulin products and at least 25 single-source brand-name names that don’t have generic competition. The CMS is currently prohibited from negotiating drug prices. (Hansard, 1/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
BioMarin Explores Pricing Experimental Gene Therapy At $2 Million To $3 Million
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. BMRN 0.29% is exploring pricing its experimental gene therapy for hemophilia patients between $2 million and $3 million if it is approved, which could make it the most expensive drug in the world. The company hasn’t yet announced a price for the therapy, but Chief Executive Jean-Jacques Bienaimé said in an interview at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that the drugmaker has spoken to insurers, who have indicated they are comfortable with the range. (Hopkins, 1/16)
Reuters:
Eli Lilly Targets Quarterly Deals Of $1 Billion-$5 Billion In 2020: CFO
Eli Lilly and Co aims to announce roughly one $1 billion to $5 billion deal every quarter in 2020, its chief financial officer told Reuters, as the U.S. drugmaker looks to build up its pipeline of future products. It will focus largely on earlier stage opportunities across key therapeutic areas including oncology, pain, immunology, and neurology, CFO John Smiley told Reuters in an interview at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco earlier this week. (1/16)
Stat:
Lilly Exec Says ‘There Are No Villains’ In The High-Priced Insulin Market
Several months ago, Eli Lilly launched LisPro, an authorized generic version of its Humalog insulin at half price, or $137.35 a vial. The move was designed to defuse anger over the rising cost of insulin because LisPro would be more affordable to the uninsured or those with high-deductible insurance plans, whose copays are, typically, tied to list prices. But last month, a pair of U.S. senators issued a report saying the vast majority of pharmacies failed to offer LisPro and the effort was a bust. Lilly chief executive David Ricks called the findings “nonsense,” and argued the real access problem has been with middlemen — the pharmacy benefit managers — that prefer products with higher list prices because these offer higher rebates. (Silverman, 1/16)
Reuters:
Novo Nordisk's Diabetes Pill Rybelsus To Be Covered By Express Scripts
Novo Nordisk's new diabetes pill, Rybelsus, will be covered by Express Scripts Holding Co, one of the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit managers, the Danish drugmaker said on Friday. Pharmacy benefit managers act as middlemen in the drug supply chain, and negotiate discounts on drugs on behalf of health insurers. (1/17)
Stat:
The Public Science Behind The 'Merck' Ebola Vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved an important vaccine against Ebola, five years after an epidemic in West Africa killed 11,310 people and after more than 2,200 have died of it in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 18 months. Alex Azar, who heads the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, quickly congratulated his department’s funding and “American global health leadership” for the vaccine, which is called Ervebo. (Herder, Graham and Gold, 1/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Health Executives Gear Up For Change At J.P. Morgan Conference
The annual J.P. Morgan health care conference is taking place this week in San Francisco. Here are some of the hot topics under discussion at the four-day event, which wraps up Thursday. (Wilde Mathews and Loftus, 1/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Opioid-Maker Insys Wins Court Approval Of Bankruptcy Plan
Insys Therapeutics Inc., the first drugmaker driven to bankruptcy by fallout from the opioid crisis, won court approval of a bankruptcy plan that pays less than a dime for each dollar it owes to the people, cities, states and tribes claiming damage from the drug epidemic. Shareholders of the once-thriving company will be wiped out under the chapter 11 plan approved Thursday by Judge Kevin Gross in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. (Brickley, 1/16)
Reuters:
China Says Second Person Dies In Wuhan Pneumonia Outbreak
A second person has died from pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan following an outbreak believed to be caused by a new coronavirus strain, local health authorities said. The 69-year-old man had been admitted to hospital with abnormal renal function and severe damage to multiple organs, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website late on Thursday. He died on Jan. 15. (1/17)
Stat:
Novel Virus Tied To Chinese Outbreak Found In Japan, As 2nd Death Reported
So far, health authorities have not concluded that the virus can be spread among people, but they have been racing to learn more since the pneumonia cases started appearing in Wuhan, a city 700 miles south of Beijing, last month. They say, however, that if human transmission is possible, it appears to be rare. In Wuhan, where 41 cases have been confirmed, health authorities have been tracking 763 close contacts of the patients, including more than 400 health workers, and have not identified any related cases of the infection. (Joseph, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Ayanna Pressley Opens Up About Living With Alopecia And Hair Loss
Representative Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts, revealed in a video released on Thursday that she has a condition called alopecia and is now bald. “This is about acceptance,” Ms. Pressley said of her decision to publicly discuss her baldness. “I hope this starts a conversation about the personal struggles we navigate, and I hope that it creates awareness about how many people are impacted by alopecia.” (Garcia and Rabin, 1/16)
The Associated Press:
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Goes Public With Alopecia And Baldness
The freshman Massachusetts Democrat made a touching video for The Root, the African American-focused website, in which she revealed her bald head and said she felt compelled to go public due to the impact her Senegalese twists had on supporters. Senegalese twists are a protective hairstyle worn by black women, much like braided hairstyles. Her style was noteworthy in how Afrocentric it was. In many corporations, black women are expected to wear their hair straightened (though their hair tends to be more coily) and the legacy of black women wearing their hair close to or in its natural state is fraught and intertwined with the legacy of racism. (Italie, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Reveals She Has Alopecia And Lost Her Hair In Root Interview
“In the fall, when I was getting my hair retwisted, is the first time that I was made aware that I had some patches,” Pressley recalled. “From there, it accelerated very quickly. Soon enough, Pressley said, she began “waking up every morning to sinkfuls of hair. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, the condition develops when the body’s immune system attacks healthy follicles, creating issues in hair production. While it affects 6.8 million people in the United States of all ages, genders and ethnic groups, according to the foundation, scientists have not yet determined what exactly triggers the disease. (Brice-Saddler, 1/16)
Stat:
New Heart Transplant Method Being Tested For The First Time In The U.S.
More than 250,000 people in the U.S. are currently at the end stages of heart failure, up to 15% of whom are in desperate need of a transplant. A new method of “reanimating” donor hearts from those who have died from cardiac failure is currently being tested in the U.S., and may soon ease that burden. As part of the new procedure, known as “donation after cardiac death,” or DCD, transplants, organs are retrieved from those who have died because their heart stopped — either naturally or because physicians discontinued life support. (Chakradhar, 1/16)
Stat:
15% Of U.S. Adults Are Physically Inactive, New CDC Data Show
More than 1 in 7 adults across all U.S. states and territories are physically inactive, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. The findings were compiled from 2015-2018 data collected as part of the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which is a telephone-based survey of people’s health activities, chronic conditions, and use of preventive health services. (Chakradhar, 1/16)
The Hill:
61 Percent Of Millennials Familiar With Anti-Vaccination Movement Agree With Some Beliefs: Survey
Sixty-one percent of millennials familiar with the anti-vaccination movement said they agreed with at least some of its beliefs, according to NBC News, citing a survey released Thursday by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The survey, which polled 1,000 adults, also found that 55 percent of respondents in their 20s and 30s did not receive the flu vaccine this year, although the majority cited lack of time or forgetting as the reason rather than opposition to vaccination. (Budryk, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Blood Pressure Patterns Are Different For Women
Blood pressure begins to increase at younger ages in women than in men, and it goes up at a faster rate, a new study reports. On average, women who develop heart disease are about 10 years older than men who develop it. But this report, published in JAMA cardiology, suggests that high blood pressure, one of the most important controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, begins at a younger age in women than men, and rises faster. (Bakalar, 1/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
98.6 Degrees Fahrenheit Isn’t The Average Any More
Nearly 150 years ago, a German physician analyzed a million temperatures from 25,000 patients and concluded that normal human-body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That standard has been published in numerous medical texts and helped generations of parents judge the gravity of a child’s illness. (McGinty, 1/17)
NPR:
Mighty Mice In Space May Help Disabled People On Earth
In early December at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two anxious scientists were about to send 20 years of research into orbit. "I feel like our heart and soul is going up in that thing," Dr. Emily Germain-Lee told her husband, Dr. Se-Jin Lee, as they waited arm-in-arm for a SpaceX rocket to launch.A few seconds later the spacecraft took off, transporting some very unusual mice to the International Space Station, where they would spend more than a month in near zero gravity. (Hamilton, 1/16)
NPR:
Sepsis Deaths May Be Twice Previous Estimates
A medical condition that often escapes public notice may be involved in 20% of deaths worldwide, according to a new study. The disease is sepsis — sometimes called blood poisoning. It arises when the body overreacts to an infection. Blood vessels throughout the body become leaky, triggering multiple-organ failure. (Harris, 1/16)
The New York Times:
This Strange Microbe May Mark One Of Life’s Great Leaps
A bizarre tentacled microbe discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean may help explain the origins of complex life on this planet and solve one of the deepest mysteries in biology, scientists reported on Wednesday. Two billion years ago, simple cells gave rise to far more complex cells. Biologists have struggled for decades to learn how it happened. (Zimmer, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Virginia Capital On Edge As F.B.I. Arrests Suspected Neo-Nazis Before Gun Rally
Alarming calls online for a race war. The arrest of three suspected neo-Nazis. Memories of the explosive clashes in Charlottesville, Va., three years ago. A sense of crisis enveloped the capital of Virginia on Thursday, with the police on heightened alert and Richmond bracing for possible violence ahead of a gun rally next week that is expected to draw white supremacists and other anti-government extremists. (Williams, Goldman and MacFarquhar, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
FBI Arrests 3 Alleged Members Of White Supremacist Group Ahead Of Virginia Gun Rally
Monday is the state’s traditional citizen lobbying day, and gun rights groups are organizing a large demonstration to oppose the proposed legislation. The rally has drawn interest from militias and extremist groups across the country, raising security concerns in Richmond. Northam has asked “nonessential” state employees not to come to work Monday, a state holiday during which legislative staffers would normally be on duty, since the legislature is in session. (Harris and Barrett, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
Virginia Gun Ban: Judge Upholds Northam's Executive Order Banning Weapons On Capitol Square
A Circuit Court judge upheld Gov. Ralph Northam's temporary ban on firearms in Capitol Square ahead of Monday's gun rights rally, which is expected to draw thousands of armed activists from across the country. From Friday night until Tuesday, weapons of any kind will be prohibited on the grounds of the Capitol under a state of emergency. Northam (D) said the precaution was necessary because of “credible intelligence” that militias and gun rights advocates are threatening violence at the rally. (Schneider, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Yosemite National Park Says 170 People Ill In Possible Norovirus Outbreak
Some 170 people who have spent time in Yosemite National Park in recent weeks have suffered from a gastrointestinal ailment "consistent with norovirus" and two have been diagnosed with the illness, park officials said on Thursday. Most of those who became ill spent time in Yosemite Valley during or around the first week in January, park spokesman Scott Gediman said in a written statement, while the number of new cases reported has declined in the past several days. (1/16)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Clears Longtime Homeless Encampment Near Union Station
As the wind picked up Thursday morning, the District government had a message for those living in tents beneath a railroad underpass near Union Station: Whatever had brought them there and wherever they were headed, it was time to go. As 10 a.m. approached — the hour set for the closure of a homeless encampment in the 100 block of K Street NE — city officials, police and sanitation workers gathered while advocates checked tents and residents tried to secure their possessions. (Moyer, 1/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
De Blasio Unveils $95.3 Billion Preliminary Budget With Eye On State Deficit
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday introduced a $95.3 billion preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year, nearly $1 billion more than the current year’s funds, even as officials expected tax revenues to grow at a slower pace and a state budget shortfall imperils the city’s health-care programs. The growth in the budget was lower than in previous years, with the increase in spending stemming from labor settlements, debt service and education and criminal justice mandates, including bail reform, city officials said. (Honan, 1/16)