First Edition: July 11, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
If High Court Reverses Roe V. Wade, 22 States Poised To Ban Abortion
What would the U.S. look like without Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide?That’s the question now that President Donald Trump has chosen conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Rovner, 7/10)
Kaiser Health News:
Democrats Rally Against Threats To The ACA To Block Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee
Democratic senators spent Tuesday trying to connect the dots between potential threats to health care and Trump’s high court pick. “President Trump as a candidate made it very clear that his priority was to put justices on the court who would correct for the fatal flaw of John Roberts,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on the Senate floor Tuesday. Chief Justice Roberts was the decisive fifth vote to uphold the ACA in a key case in 2012. “[Republicans’] new strategy is to use the court system to invalidate the protections in the law for people with preexisting conditions,” Murphy said. (Rovner, 7/10)
Kaiser Health News:
Support Circle: Family Caregivers Share Stories And Tips To Ease Alzheimer’s Toll
Vicki Bartholomew started a support group for wives who are caring for a husband with Alzheimer’s disease because she needed that sort of group herself. They meet every month in a conference room at a new memory-care facility in Nashville called Abe’s Garden, where Bartholomew’s husband was one of the first residents — a Vietnam veteran and prominent attorney in Nashville. “My husband’s still living, and now I’m in an even more difficult situation — I’m married, but I’m a widow,” she tells the group one day. (Farmer, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Trump Officials Slash Grants That Help Consumers Get Obamacare
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it was slashing grants to nonprofit organizations that help people obtain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the latest step in an escalating attack on the law that threatens to destabilize its insurance markets. The cuts are the second round in two years. The government will provide $10 million this fall, down from $36 million last autumn and $63 million in late 2016 — a total reduction of more than 80 percent. (Pear, 7/10)
Reuters:
Trump Administration Cuts Grants To Help People Get Obamacare
Under the latest cuts, so-called navigators who sign up Americans for the ACA, also known as Obamacare, will get $10 million for the year starting in November, down from $36.8 million in the previous year, according to a statement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This follows a reduction announced by the CMS last August from $62.5 million, along with an even bigger cut to advertising for enrollment, and represents the latest in a series of moves to weaken the ACA by the administration of President Donald Trump. (Walsh, 7/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Slashes Funds For ACA Outreach
Groups applying for funds will also be encouraged to provide enrollment assistance for the new plans that don’t comply with the ACA, a further weakening of administration support for the Obama-era health law. The administration argues that organizations getting the funding have often failed to reach enrollment goals. Democrats and advocates of the ACA, however, say the cuts are an attempt by the administration to gut a program that is essential to ensuring robust sign-ups during open enrollment, which begins in November. (Armour, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
Administration Slashes Grants To Help Americans Get Affordable Care Act Coverage
Since Congress was unable to pass such legislation, Trump and his aides have been taking steps to weaken the law through administrative maneuvers. The cuts to grass-roots groups around the country were announced three days after health officials revealed that, because of a pending lawsuit, they were suspending a program created by the law to even out the burden on health insurers whose customers are especially unhealthy or sick. (Goldstein, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Emotions High As Kavanaugh Begins Fight For Confirmation
Conservative Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh plunged into his confirmation battle Tuesday, meeting face-to-face with Senate leaders in what promises to be an intense debate over abortion rights, presidential power and other legal disputes that could reshape the court and roil this fall's elections. (Mascaro, 7/10)
The New York Times:
Who Might The Court Fight Help In The Midterms? Democrats. And Republicans.
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court could very well help Republicans hold or expand their control of the Senate. It could also hurt their efforts to maintain control of the House. That political oddity illustrates the complexities of this midterm election season, which is actually two very different midterms. One is the fight for the Senate, where Democrats are defending the seats of 10 incumbents in states won by President Trump, and the other is the contest for the House, where Republicans are defending a vast and expanding battleground that is every bit as forbidding, with nearly 60 Republican seats in play. (Hulse, 7/10)
The New York Times:
For Midterms, Supreme Court Political Drama Plays To Its Audience
Joe Donnelly knew his audience: Addressing a group of camouflage-clad union mine workers and retirees here last weekend, the Democratic senator trumpeted his efforts to protect their pensions and health care, asked attendees to raise their hands if they knew someone with a pre-existing health condition, and made not a single mention of the upcoming Supreme Court vote that could determine his political fate in November. (Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Senate Democrats Come Out Swinging In Long-Shot Fight To Block Kavanaugh
Senate Democrats, facing an uphill struggle to defeat the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, opened a broad attack on Tuesday, painting him as an archconservative who would roll back abortion rights, undo health care protections, ease gun restrictions and protect President Trump against the threat of indictment. (Stolberg, Landler and Kaplan, 7/10)
The Hill:
Dems Strategy On Trump Pick: Unify Around Health Care
The liberal base is fired up about abortion rights, but Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) will seek to emphasize access to affordable health care as much as Roe v. Wade in the battle over the Supreme Court. In sharp contrast to the Obama era, Schumer thinks health care is the Democrats’ best weapon. By putting the charged issue of women’s reproductive rights within the broader framework of access to health care, the matter is likely to be less polarizing in red states. (Bolton, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Democrats Hope Obamacare Fears Will Derail Kavanaugh As White House Moves To Soften His Image
[T]o hold onto Democrats representing conservative states won by Trump, Democrats are increasingly talking about how Kavanaugh might shift the balance on President Obama’s healthcare law, a unifying issue that tends to poll well. And so far it seems to be working on vulnerable Democrats in red states. Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — who last year voted for Trump’s first Supreme Court selection — immediately picked up on the talking point, saying that he would consider the “nearly 800,000 West Virginians with preexisting conditions” when making his confirmation vote. Though Manchin promised to keep an open mind, the statement suggested a willingness to vote against the nomination, bucking Trump, who is popular in his state. (Wire and Bierman, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Analysis: Dems Meet Supreme Court Pick With Mixed Message
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, says it's all about health care. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., worries about the impact on the special counsel investigation. And Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., sees an assault that could set women's rights back decades. There's so much for Democrats to dislike about Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick. And that may be the problem. (Lerer and Peoples, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Brett Kavanaugh On The Issues: Abortion, Guns, Climate And More
On issues as diverse as abortion and gun rights to disputes over national-security policies and business regulations, Judge Kavanaugh emphasized textual limitations while frequently favoring corporations over regulators, and the government over individuals claiming rights violations. With a few exceptions, his pattern is typically conservative. To be sure, Judge Kavanaugh’s history on the bench is not a perfect guide to the approach he would pursue if confirmed to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom he once clerked. Appeals court judges are bound to obey Supreme Court precedent, but justices are free to vote to overturn past rulings. (Savage, 7/10)
Reuters:
Trump High Court Pick Kavanaugh May Face Contentious Cases Soon
President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee may not have to wait too long for controversial cases if he is confirmed to the job, with disputes involving abortion, immigration, gay rights, voting rights and transgender troops possibly heading toward the justices soon. Republicans are hoping Brett Kavanaugh, the conservative U.S. appeals court judge selected on Monday by Trump to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, will be confirmed by the Senate before the next Supreme Court term opens in October. (Hurley and Chung, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
Pence: I Want Roe V. Wade Overturned, ‘But I Haven’t Been Nominated For The Supreme Court’
Vice President Pence said Tuesday that while he would personally like to see the Supreme Court one day overturn its landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion, neither he nor President Trump has discussed the issue with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh. Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash whether he wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned, Pence replied, “I do, but I haven’t been nominated for the Supreme Court.” “I stand for the sanctity of life,” Pence added. “This administration, this president are pro-life, but what the American people ought to know is that, as the president said today, this is not an issue that he discussed with Judge Kavanaugh.” (Sonmez, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
‘All A Little Misdirection’: Inside Trump’s Sometimes Wavering Decision On Kavanaugh
After the two couples — President Trump and his wife and federal judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and his wife — gathered in the residence of the White House for over an hour Sunday night, Trump made Kavanaugh a historic offer: to be his choice to succeed Anthony M. Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Yet just hours later on Monday morning, Trump seemed to waver — making a flurry of calls to friends and allies and asking them what they thought of Kavanaugh and whom he should nominate. (Parker and Costa, 7/10)
Politico:
How The New Face Of The Migrant Crisis Got Stuck With The Job
HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the president’s point man on Obamacare and drug prices, has reluctantly taken on a new role — public explainer and punching bag for the migrant crisis created by Donald Trump’s zero tolerance border policy. Azar — an even-keeled technocrat whom the White House enlisted as the fixer after Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen’s highly criticized press conference last month — has since been attacked by dozens of lawmakers, interrupted by protesters and pilloried on cable TV. Meanwhile, he’s working through a thicket of court orders and red tape to try to reunite thousands of migrant children in his custody with their parents, including 102 under the age of 5. It’s sapped Azar’s time and pulled his agency away from other priorities, such as lowering drug costs and helping solve the opioid epidemic. (Diamond, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
Government Falls Short Of Deadline To Reunite Kids, Parents
Some immigrant toddlers are back in the arms of their parents, but others remained in holding facilities away from relatives as federal officials fell short of meeting a court-ordered deadline to reunite dozens of youngsters forcibly separated from their families at the border. (Spagat and Householder, 7/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Some Migrant Children Are Reunited With Parents As Trump Administration Misses Court Deadline
The Trump administration said only 38 of 102 children younger than 5 had been reunited with their parents by the Tuesday deadline set by a federal judge in San Diego. The same judge has ordered that thousands of older children should be reunited by July 26. (Hennessy-Fiske, Kim and Fawcett, 7/10)
Politico:
Judge Demands Trump Administration Meet Deadline To Reunify Dozens Of Migrant Children
U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw called on the administration to join 59 separated children in that age group with their parents “today or within the immediate proximity of today.” “These are firm deadlines,” Sabraw said during a court hearing in San Diego. “They are not aspirational goals.” (Hesson and Diamond, 7/10)
Los Angeles Times:
San Diego Federal Court Begins Fast-Tracking Border-Crossing Cases. Critics Call It 'Assembly Line Justice'
A separate fast-track court designed to quickly process the steady stream of misdemeanor border-crossing cases under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy rolled out Monday in San Diego in a hearing that was punctuated by moments of confusion, tension and passionate objection. A total of 41 unauthorized immigrants who were arrested over the weekend were seen during the initial hearing. But this was no ordinary arraignment. (Davis, 7/10)
The New York Times:
First Wave Of Migrant Children Reunited With Parents
Chris Meekins, a senior official in the Department of Health and Human Services, pointed to safety concerns to explain the delay in the reunions and insisted that the process could not be rushed. “Our process may not be as quick as some might like but there is no question that it is protecting children,” Mr. Meekins, the chief of staff of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, said in a conference call with reporters. (Dickerson and Fernandez, 7/10)
The New York Times:
As Migrant Families Are Reunited, Some Children Don’t Recognize Their Mothers
One mother had waited four months to wrap her arms around her little boy. Another had waited three months to see her little girl again. When the reunions finally happened Tuesday in Phoenix, the mothers were met with cries of rejection from their children. “He didn’t recognize me,” said Mirce Alba Lopez, 31, of her 3-year-old son, Ederson, her eyes welling up with tears. “My joy turned temporarily to sadness.” (Jordan, Benner, Nixon and Dickerson, 7/10)
Reuters:
'Imagine The Joy:' Father, Four-Year-Old Son Reunite In U.S. Immigration Crisis
With tears and smiles, Salvadoran asylum seeker Walter Armando Jimenez Melendez reunited with his 4-year-old son Jeremy on Tuesday after six weeks of anguished separation. "(I went) without knowing where he was - if he was eating, how they were treating him,” said Jimenez, 29, as he shared a meal with his child for the first time since May. “Imagine the joy I felt.” (7/10)
Los Angeles Times:
'You Don’t Love Me Anymore?': A Son Is Separated From His Father At The Border, Then Comes A Wrenching Call
On the day the government rushed to reunite dozens of families separated at the border, one immigrant father showed up to a federal appointment downtown fearful that he would be deported without his 6-year-old son. Hermelindo Che Coc came from Guatemala in late May to seek asylum with his son, Jefferson Che Pop, his attorneys said. His son was taken from him with little explanation, he said, and sent to a shelter in New York. (Bermudez, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Test DNA Of Migrant Kids Only As Last Resort, Ethicists Say
The Trump administration's use of DNA testing to match migrant children separated from their parents is justifiable as a last resort, medical experts say, but raises a host of ethical problems. That includes the risk of damaging the family fabric by revealing that an adult thought to be the biological parent really is not. (7/10)
Reuters:
Pfizer Delays Drug Price Hikes After Talking With Trump
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it was deferring drug price increases for no more than six months after the company's chief executive officer had an extensive conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. The rollback came a day after Trump took aim at Pfizer and other U.S. drugmakers for raising prices on some of their medicines, saying in a tweet that they "should be ashamed" and that his administration would respond. (Abutaleb and Erman, 7/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer To Roll Back Price Increases After Trump Criticism
“The company will return these prices to their pre-July 1 levels as soon as technically possible,” Pfizer said in a statement. It said the restored levels will remain in effect until the president had a chance to put his plan to curb high drug prices or the end of the year, whichever is earlier. The statement quoted Mr. Read offering support for Mr. Trump. “Pfizer shares the President’s concern for patients and commitment to providing affordable access to the medicines they need,” he said. (Rockoff, 7/10)
Politico:
Pfizer Will Roll Back Drug Prices After Discussion With Trump
HHS Secretary Alex Azar said on CNN that Pfizer's move shows "a constructive, professional [and] appropriate approach by Pfizer in interacting with the government and the president to be part of the solution here and not part of the problem." The HHS secretary later issued a statement that he looks forward to working with companies that "want to work with us to lower list prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs." (Diamond, 7/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Drug Supply Chain Feels The Trump Effect
Pfizer’s move is likely to have a modest direct impact on its profits. Middlemen like drug wholesalers and pharmacy-benefit managers will feel a bigger effect. The medicines in question comprise only a small fraction of Pfizer’s total revenue, which reached nearly $13 billion in the first quarter. And any impact is likely to be temporary. Pfizer said the deferred price increases will still take effect by Jan. 1 or earlier if Mr. Trump implements his plan to reform prescription drug prices. (Grant, 7/11)
Stat:
Drug Maker Paid Kim Kardashian $500K For Social Media Posts
Three years ago, Kim Kardashian caused a ruckus when she touted a morning-sickness pill to her millions of followers on social media. Her posts failed to include any risk information, prompting regulators in the U.S. and Canada to issue stern warnings. Nonetheless, the gambit paid off handsomely. The faux pas, which was subsequently corrected, generated even more publicity for the Diclegis pill, and by the fall of 2015, sales jumped 21 percent to nearly $41.7 million, according to data from IQVIA, a market research firm. (Silverman, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Senate Panel OKs Trump's Pick To Lead Troubled VA
A Senate panel voted Tuesday to approve President Donald Trump's nominee to lead Veterans Affairs, a department beset by political infighting and turmoil over providing health care. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee agreed on voice vote to back Robert Wilkie, currently serving as a Pentagon undersecretary. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont cast a "no" vote. (Yen, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
Robert Wilkie, Trump’s Pick For Veterans Affairs Secretary, Clears Key Senate Hurdle
The senators approved sending Wilkie’s nomination to the Senate floor in a voice vote, with only Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) being recorded as a no, according to a committee spokeswoman. Sanders’s vote was not a reflection on Wilkie personally but as a result of his concern that the Trump administration plans to privatize veterans’ health care, a spokesman for the senator said. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), issued a statement after Tuesday’s vote calling Wilkie a respected and talented nominee and urging the Senate to approve his nomination to run the embattled federal agency. (Rein and Sonne, 7/10)
The Hill:
FDA Approves Freeze-Dried Blood Plasma For Troops In Combat
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday approved freeze-dried blood plasma for use to treat combat injuries from U.S. troops, after a dispute over whether access would be allowed. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) last year tried to go around the FDA by granting the Department of Defense the ability to allow the freeze-dried plasma use. (Sullivan, 7/10)
The Hill:
Dem Presses HHS On Kentucky Cutting Dental, Vision Coverage For Medicaid
Rep. John Yarmuth, the only Democrat in Kentucky’s congressional delegation, is pressing the Trump administration after his state’s Republican governor abruptly cut off dental and vision coverage for thousands of Medicaid enrollees. Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration announced earlier this month that it was canceling dental and vision coverage for almost 500,000 enrollees in the state’s Medicaid expansion. Kentucky officials said the move was in response to a federal judge striking down the Medicaid work requirements that Bevin has touted. (Sullivan, 7/10)
Los Angeles Times:
A Plan To Prevent More Than 1 In 5 Cancer Deaths, Without Having To Invent Any New Treatments
The nation’s cancer experts say it is possible to eliminate more than one in five cancer deaths in the U.S. even if researchers never invent another test or treatment. For this plan to work, every single American would have to take full advantage of the best medical care the country has to offer. If they were to do so, the country’s cancer mortality rate would fall by 22%, according to researchers from the American Cancer Society. (Kaplan, 7/10)
NPR:
American Cancer Society's Blueprint For Cancer Control
There has been a lot of progress in the fight against cancer. Cancer death rates have dropped, but the gains haven't been experienced equally. Cancer death rates remain high for some minorities, including African-Americans. There are geographic differences, too. Death rates for breast and colorectal cancers have declined faster in New England than in other parts of the country. Cancer is also more likely to be fatal for people living in poverty or those without a college degree. (Chisholm, 7/10)
Stat:
Experts Urge Researchers To Share Test Results With Study Participants
Study participants share their blood and spit in the name of biomedical research. Now, a national group of experts says these volunteers should be told what scientists learn about their health from those samples. In a report published Tuesday, an expert committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded that scientists and their institutions should routinely — and carefully — consider whether to return study results to participants. The report, which was sponsored by three of the leading federal health agencies, also recommends revising a federal regulation that’s caused confusion about when it’s permissible to share research findings with a participant. (Thielking, 7/10)
The New York Times:
45-Hour Workweek Increases Diabetes Risk In Women
Women who work long hours may be at increased risk for diabetes, a new study has found. Canadian researchers studied 7,065 workers, following their working hours and health over an average of 12 years. They recorded diabetes diagnoses beginning two years after the subjects enrolled in the study. (Bakalar, 7/10)
NPR:
'Fresh Air': Alisa Roth On 'America's Criminal Treatment Of Mental Illness'
By some accounts, nearly half of America's incarcerated population is mentally ill — and journalist Alisa Roth argues that most aren't getting the treatment they need. Roth has visited jails in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta and a rural women's prison in Oklahoma to assess the condition of mentally ill prisoners. She says correctional officers are on the "front lines" of mental health treatment — despite the fact that they lack clinical training. (Davies, 7/10)
The New York Times:
As Cuomo Rallies For Abortion Rights, Nixon Questions His Bona Fides
Ever since Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has held rallies, issued statements and signed an executive order, all in the interest, he said, of protecting access to reproductive rights that could be at risk under a Supreme Court poised to lean further to the right. In doing so, Mr. Cuomo, who faces a re-election primary battle in September, continues to position himself as a liberal bulwark to the Trump administration. (McKinley, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood Closes Indiana Center, Citing Harassment
Planned Parenthood has closed its health center in Indiana's second-largest city, blaming what it called years of growing intimidation and harassment of the center's staff by supporters of anti-abortion groups. The Fort Wayne health center did not perform abortion procedures. It provided birth control options, sexually transmitted disease testing and early diagnosis of cervical, testicular and breast cancer, said Christie Gillespie, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. (7/10)
The New York Times:
New York Has World-Class Hospitals. Why Is It So Bad For People In Need Of Transplants?
Kehinde Majekodumi does not look desperately ill. A vibrant 24-year-old, she bears little outward sign except a scar beneath her collarbone where a catheter was once inserted. But three times a week she deviates from her regular commute between the apartment she shares with her twin sister and her job in a university admissions office to a dialysis center in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. (Alcorn, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
Lawsuits Alleging Roundup Caused Cancer Can Move Forward
Hundreds of lawsuits alleging Roundup weed killer caused cancer cleared a big hurdle Tuesday when a U.S. judge ruled that cancer victims and their families could present expert testimony linking the herbicide to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said evidence that the active ingredient in Roundup — glyphosate — can cause the disease seemed "rather weak." Still, the opinions of three experts linking glyphosate and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were not "junk science" that should be excluded from a trial, the judge ruled. (7/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Hate Crimes Rise In California For Third Straight Year, State Report Says
Hate crimes increased across California for the third straight year in 2017, an uptick experts have blamed on President Trump’s vitriolic rhetoric toward minorities and the resurgence of hate groups in the state. There were 1,093 reported hate crimes in California in 2017, a 17.4% increase, according to a report released Monday by the California attorney general’s office. Hate crimes have increased annually since 2014, jumping roughly 44% in that three-year span, records show. (Queally, 7/10)
Politico:
Jordan Steps Up Defense Amid Sex Abuse Firestorm
Embattled conservative Rep. Jim Jordan is stepping up his efforts to fight accusations that he ignored sexual abuse decades ago, allegations that threaten to tarnish his reputation and undermine his standing in Congress. The Ohio Republican’s allies — from lawmakers on Capitol Hill to former wrestlers at Ohio State University — have released statements of support or gone on TV defending Jordan’s character. He has also hired a conservative-leaning public relations firm to help him deal with the media furor, Shirley & Banister Public Affairs. (Bade and Bresnahan, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
Angel Perez Went Crabbing And Contracted Flesh-Eating Vibrio Bacteria
Angel Perez arrived at the river before sunrise, beating the other crabbers on the hunt at Matt's Landing in New Jersey, a popular spot to find crustaceans near where the Maurice River meets the Delaware Bay. It was still morning on July 2 when he returned home with a haul of freshly snagged crabs and, unknown to him at the time, something much worse. By July 3, his right leg was swollen. Then it turned red and broke out in blisters. (Wootson, 7/10)