First Edition: January 3, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Pharmacists Slow To Dispense Lifesaving Overdose Drug
Gale Dunham, a pharmacist in Calistoga, Calif., knows the devastation the opioid epidemic has wrought, and she is glad the anti-overdose drug naloxone is becoming more accessible. But so far, Dunham said, she has not taken advantage of a California law that allows pharmacists to dispense the medication to patients without a doctor’s prescription. She said she plans to take the training required at some point but has not yet seen much demand for the drug. (Gorman, 1/3)
California Healthline:
State Gives Medi-Cal Enrollees Something To Smile About
Susan Inglett’s dental coverage changed just after she got a root canal on one of her top teeth. It was 2009, and California was in the midst of a budget crisis. To cut costs, Medi-Cal, the state health insurance program for low-income residents, eliminated non-emergency dental benefits for adults. Inglett, 63, of San Diego, needed a crown for that vulnerable tooth, but the state no longer paid for them. (Bazar, 1/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
Congress Faces Long To-Do List, Short Deadlines
At the end of 2017, Congress punted the long-term resolution of a number of thorny issues into this year. Here’s a rundown of what lawmakers will need to hammer out in early 2018. ... While lawmakers broadly support a five-year reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, they have yet to decide how to pay for it. In its latest short-term spending bill, Congress made $2.85 billion available to shore up states’ funding for the program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have indicated that should be enough to get states through the end of January or early February, a House GOP aide said. But states have signaled they need more certainty. (Peterson, 1/3)
The Hill:
Clinton: Short-Term CHIP Extension 'Doesn't Cut It'
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday called on Senate Republicans to bring a full extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program to the floor for a vote. “This alleged extension until March doesn’t cut it as states freeze enrollment & send out letters warning that coverage will end,” the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee tweeted. (Weixel, 1/2)
The Hill:
House GOP Whip: Entitlement Reform, ObamaCare Repeal On 2018 Agenda
ObamaCare repeal and entitlement reform are at the top of the agenda for House Republicans in 2018, Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Tuesday. "The next big thing you're going to see is a need for workers, and I think the next thing we can do is to go and reform those welfare programs that are trapping people in a failed welfare state," Scalise said on "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning. (Hellmann, 1/2)
The Hill:
Conservative Groups Push For 2018 Repeal Of ObamaCare
Conservative groups are pushing President Trump to make ObamaCare repeal a priority in 2018, even as some Republicans signal a desire to move on from the issue. A letter to Trump signed by 43 right-leaning groups calls for health-care reform to be the focus of the fast-track process known as reconciliation this year. Using that process would allow Republicans to repeal ObamaCare in the Senate without Democratic votes, but it would also preclude them from using the tool for other priorities like welfare reform. (Sullivan, 1/3)
CQ:
Hatch's Exit Will Influence Health Policy Debates
The news that Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah would retire after this year resonated in health policy circles Tuesday. Hatch’s decades-long influence over health issues is hard to overstate. In the near term, Hatch will oversee a long-term renewal of financing for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which he and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., created in 1997. The politically popular program extended coverage to the children of poor families who didn’t qualify for Medicaid, the program for the poor. CHIP was reauthorized multiple times over the last two decades, and Hatch is currently trying to extend the program’s financing for another five years. (Siddons, 1/2)
Stat:
In Orrin Hatch's Retirement, Pharma Loses Chief Congressional Ally
Drug makers are about to lose a key ally in Washington. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a longtime advocate for the drug industry, announced Tuesday he will retire at the end of his term this year. Across a four-decades-long career in the Senate, Hatch used influential positions atop the Finance Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Judiciary Committee to advance the industry’s major policy priorities. (Mershon, 1/2)
The Hill:
Confirmation Hearing For Trump's Health Secretary Pick Scheduled For Next Week
President Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will face his confirmation hearing next week, Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced Tuesday. Alex Azar, a former HHS official and pharmaceutical executive, will go before the Finance Committee 10 a.m. Jan. 9. (Hellmann, 1/2)
Stat:
Scott Gottlieb Issues A Whole Lot Of Statements. We Tallied His Word Count
If it feels like you’ve been hearing from the head of the Food and Drug Administration a lot lately, you’re not imagining it. It’s a rare day here at STAT when we don’t receive in our inboxes a “Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D.” — or at least find him prominently quoted in another new FDA press release. Then there are all his blog posts. His speeches. His congressional testimony. And, of course, his tweets. (Robbins, 1/3)
Stateline:
Aging, Undocumented And Uninsured Immigrants Challenge Cities And States
For decades, the United States has struggled to deal with the health care needs of its undocumented immigrants — now an estimated 11 million — mainly through emergency room care and community health centers. But in the coming years, that struggle will evolve. As with the rest of America, the population of people living here illegally is aging and beginning to develop the same health problems that plague senior citizens generally and are a lot more expensive to treat: chronic diseases, cognitive disorders and physical injuries. Many undocumented adults lack health insurance, and even though they’re guaranteed emergency care for acute problems such as heart attacks, senior citizens without documentation don’t have access to care for chronic issues such as kidney disease and high blood pressure. (Wiltz, 1/3)
The Hill:
Hospital Groups Dig In After Cuts To Discount Drug Program
Hospital groups are vowing to push forward with a fight against the Trump administration over changes to a federal drug discount program following a setback last week. The American Hospital Association (AHA), America's Essential Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges last year sued to block a rule from going into effect that would result in $1.6 billion in cuts to hospitals participating in the 340B Medicare drug discount program. (Hellmann, 1/2)
The New York Times:
Made In China: New And Potentially Lifesaving Drugs
One new drug promises to stop cancer from spreading to other organs. Another would treat blood cancer. A third would use the body’s immune system to kill tumors. All three show encouraging results, and need just one more step to be approved for use in the United States. The drugs have something else in common: They were created in China. (Wee, 1/3)
The New York Times:
The Giant, Under Attack
On the last day of his life, Gary Benefield expressed hope for the future. He was finally about to “get right,” he said. A Harley-riding tough guy and retired utility worker, Mr. Benefield had let addiction get the better of him. He was downing a dozen Budweisers a day and smoking nonstop, despite needing an oxygen tank to breathe. But that July day in 2010, he was headed to A Better Tomorrow, a California treatment center promising 24-hour care while he got sober. (Corkery and Silver-Greenberg, 12/27)
The Washington Post:
New Cancer Treatments Have Perplexing Side Effects
When Diane Legg began seeing black specks in her right eye, she went to an ophthalmologist near her home in Amesbury, Mass. He said she had a torn retina and needed laser surgery. Legg’s oncologist was skeptical. He was worried that Legg had eye inflammation, called uveitis, that was caused by an immunotherapy drug she had been on for advanced lung cancer. If so, Legg needed to get a far different treatment — and quickly — to avoid vision problems or blindness. (McGinley, 1/2)
NPR:
'Much Better Treatment' For Alzheimer's Is 10 Years Away, Scientist Predicts
British neuroscientist Joseph Jebelli first set out to study Alzheimer's because of his grandfather, who developed the disease when Jebelli was 12. In the years that followed, Jebelli watched as his grandfather's memory started to disappear. But Jebelli points out that although a certain amount of memory loss is a natural part of aging, what happened to his grandfather and to other Alzheimer's patients is different. (Gross, 1/2)
NPR:
Retired Doctor Rejoins The Fight To Cure Hepatitis C
When a hepatitis C treatment called Harvoni was released in 2014, Dr. Ronald Cirillo knew it was big. "It's the reason that dragged me out of retirement!" he says. Cirillo specialized in treating hepatitis C for more than 30 years in Stamford, Conn., before retiring to Bradenton, Fla. During his time in Connecticut, the only available treatment for hepatitis C had terrible side effects and it didn't work very well. It cured the viral infection less than half the time. But the newer drugs Harvoni and Solvaldi cure almost everybody, with few adverse reactions. (Ochoa, 1/2)
The New York Times:
Obesity Is The Main Contributor To Diabetes In Blacks And Whites
Type 2 diabetes is almost twice as common in African-Americans as it is in whites. Obesity, rather than racial factors, is to blame, a new study in JAMA reports. Researchers began with 4,251 black and white men and women ages 18 to 30 who were not diabetic. They then followed up with periodic interviews and health examinations over an average of 25 years. Compared to whites, black men were 67 percent more likely, and black women almost three times as likely, to develop diabetes. (Bakalar, 1/2)
NPR:
Diabetes And Baby Formula: Study Finds No Link With Cow's Milk As Ingredient
Could babies be at higher risk of developing Type 1 diabetes from drinking formula made from cow's milk? That idea has been circulating for some time but the evidence has been scant and contradictory. A study published Tuesday makes it seem less likely. There are two types of diabetes, and both are on the rise. It's clear that a major driving force behind the increase of Type 2 diabetes, which mainly affects adults, is the eating habits that are also driving the rise of obesity. (Harris, 1/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Autism Spectrum Disorders Appear To Have Stabilized Among U.S. Kids And Teens
Researchers have a new reason to believe that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in the U.S. has reached a plateau. The evidence comes from the National Health Interview Survey, which polls American households about a variety of conditions. When a participating family includes children, one of those kids is selected at random to be included in the interview. (Kaplan, 1/2)
The Washington Post:
These Subtle Cues Are What Make Sick People Look Sick
The next time a friend tells you that you look sick, hear the person out. We are better than chance at detecting illness in others simply by looking at their faces, according to new research led by a Swedish psychologist. “We can detect subtle cues related to the skin, eyes and mouth,” said John Axelsson of the Karolinska Institute, who co-wrote the study published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “And we judge people as sick by those cues.” (Guarino, 1/2)
Stat:
Humans May Be Able To Pick Out Sick People Just By Looking At Their Faces
But the judgements were far from perfect — 30 percent of photos of healthy people were deemed sick. The findings matter because past studies have shown that people might avoid others who appear to be sick. “How we perceive other people’s faces is really, really important,” John Axelsson, a neuroscientist at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the study’s lead author, told STAT. “People who are attractive always get favored. People who are sick are being stigmatized in a sense.” (Blau, 1/2)
NPR:
High-Intensity Interval Training And Group Classes Top Fitness Trends
Enough already with the activity trackers and fitness apps. They're so 2017. If you're tired of tech and of exercising solo and are ready to simplify your routine — maybe even join a group exercise class — you'll be in good company this new year. The latest annual survey of fitness professionals suggests 2018 will find more of us ditching the gadgets and getting back to basics in the way we work out: more resistance training, yoga and jump-ropes; fewer earbuds and iWatches. (Neighmond, 1/1)
The Associated Press:
Lawsuit: Duke, UNC Agreed To Not Hire Each Other's Doctors
The basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina battle is legendary, but a federal lawsuit says the two elite institutions have agreed not to compete in another prestigious area: the market for highly skilled medical workers. The anti-trust complaint by a former Duke radiologist accuses the schools just 10 miles (16 kilometers) apart of secretly conspiring to avoid poaching each other's professors. If her lawyers succeed in persuading a judge to make it a class action, thousands of faculty, physicians, nurses and other professionals could be affected. (Dalesio, 1/2)
The Associated Press:
Doctor Who Stole $100M From Medicare Could Get 30-Plus Years
A politically prominent Florida eye doctor could get more than 30 years in prison for stealing $100 million in one of history’s largest Medicare frauds. A sentencing hearing for Dr. Salomon Melgen resumes Wednesday after a four-week hiatus. Melgen was convicted last April of 67 crimes including health care fraud, submitting false claims and falsifying records. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra could give the 63-year-old Melgen a life sentence. Prosecutors are asking for 30 years. ... In a separate case, Melgen is accused of bribing New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. (Spencer, 1/3)
San Diego Union-Times:
As Hepatitis A Outbreak Wanes, San Diego County Turns Focus To The Flu
San Diego County supervisors voted Tuesday to continue the hepatitis A emergency declared in September, although there were just six new cases added to the outbreak total in the last two weeks and the death total has held at 20 for more than two months. But they were much more interested in what's going on with the flu, which is nearing epidemic levels throughout the region. (Sisson, 1/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Recreational Marijuana Is Legal. But Smoking In Public And Driving Stoned Are Not, LAPD Warns
As Los Angeles moves toward allowing the sale of recreational marijuana, joining cities across the state in the newly legal enterprise, police here offered a stern word of caution. Yes, recreational pot will be legal to sell (and buy, and consume, and cultivate). But there are limits. And the Los Angeles Police Department will help enforce them. "Let me be clear," Assistant Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. "The use of marijuana needs to be done in a responsible manner that's consistent with the law." (Mather, 1/2)