First Edition: June 11, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California Healthline:
California’s Attorney General Vows National Fight To Defend The ACA
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra pledged Friday to redouble his efforts as the Affordable Care Act’s leading defender, saying attacks by the Trump Administration threaten health care for millions of Americans. Becerra’s pledge came in response to an announcement from the administration Thursday that it would not defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act in court. The administration instead called on federal courts to scuttle the health law’s protection for people with preexisting medical conditions and its requirement that people buy health coverage. (Bartolone, 6/11)
Kaiser Health News:
Administration Challenges ACA’s Preexisting Conditions Protection In Court
The Trump administration is refusing to defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, essentially arguing that federal courts should find the health law’s protection for people with preexisting conditions unconstitutional. The federal lawsuit hinges on the ACA’s individual mandate, or the requirement to get health coverage or pay a penalty. The mandate has long been a sticking point for conservatives, who argue that the government should not be telling individuals what coverage they must have. (Rovner and Appleby, 6/8)
Kaiser Health News:
Poison Ivy, A ‘Familiar Stranger’ That Could Ruin Your Summer
It was a close encounter in 2012 that made microbiologist John Jelesko take an interest in poison ivy. The Virginia Tech associate professor was cutting up a downed tree with an electric chainsaw. What he didn’t realize was that his power cable had been dragging through poison ivy. So, at the end of the day, as he coiled the cord around his palm and elbow, he inadvertently launched a career-bending science experiment. (Farmer, 6/11)
The Associated Press:
Justice Department Move On Health Law Has Risks For GOP
The Trump administration's decision to stop defending in court the Obama health law's popular protections for consumers with pre-existing conditions could prove risky for Republicans in the midterm elections — and nudge premiums even higher. The Justice Department said in a court filing late Thursday that it will no longer defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, beginning with the unpopular requirement that people carry health insurance, but also including widely-supported provisions that guarantee access for people with medical problems and limit what insurers can charge older, sicker adults. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/9)
The New York Times:
Trump’s New Plan To Dismantle Obamacare Comes With Political Risks
Democrats swiftly portrayed the surprise move by the Justice Department, outlined Thursday in a brief supporting a court case filed by Texas and 19 other states, as a harsh blow to Americans with fragile health and their families. Already, Democratic candidates in the midterm elections had been playing up their party’s role in blocking last year’s repeal efforts and their recent success in pushing for the expansion of Medicaid in two more states. Now they have a new talking point, and they lost no time testing it. Republicans are divided between conservatives who had vowed to eliminate the law and moderates, some in tough races, who want to preserve the popular protections for people who are sick. (Goodnough, Pear and Savage, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Focus On Health Care Jolts GOP Ahead Of Midterms
Moderate GOP lawmakers said the Justice Department’s brief, which supports much of the states’ position, has created an unwelcome emphasis on health care ahead of the midterms elections. Some said they disagree with the administration’s stance, and most said they would rather talk about tax cuts and other issues on the campaign trail. Republicans in competitive districts, including GOP Reps. Leonard Lance of New Jersey, John Faso of New York and Carlos Curbelo of Florida, stressed on Friday their support for guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions. (Armour and Peterson, 6/8)
Politico:
Trump’s Latest Health Care Move Squeezes Republicans
Few congressional Republicans rushed to defend the administration's move Friday, instead emphasizing their support for preserving pre-existing condition protections. “I’m not going to have to defend anything I don’t agree with — regardless of who says it,” said Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee when asked if he would defend the administration’s request on the campaign trail this fall. He added that rising premiums for Obamacare coverage will force lawmakers to address health care policy next year. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — one of three GOP senators who blocked the Obamacare repeal effort last year — also pushed back, warning the administration's new bid “exacerbates our current challenges” and could undermine key patient protections. (Haberkorn and Cancryn, 6/8)
Reuters:
Insurer Lobby Group Weighs In On Obamacare Individual Mandate Case
Removing certain provisions tied to the Affordable Care Act, former U.S. President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, could strike out important consumer protections and potentially harm millions of Americans, a trade association that represents U.S. health insurers said on Friday. The comments from America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) come a day after the U.S. Justice Department called Obamacare's individual mandate - which requires individuals to have health insurance or pay a penalty - unconstitutional. (Mathias, 6/8)
The Washington Post:
ACA Lawsuit Could Jeopardize 52 Million Americans’ Access To Health Care
An obscure district court lawsuit over the Affordable Care Act became a potent threat to one of the law's most popular provisions late Thursday, when the Justice Department filed a brief arguing that as of Jan. 1, 2019, the protections for people with preexisting conditions should be invalidated. The Justice Department argued the judge should strike down the section of the law that protects people buying insurance from being charged higher premiums because of their health history. (Johnson, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
What Latest Health-Law Case Means For Insurance Markets
In the short term, some health-insurance markets could see fewer options if companies react to renewed uncertainty by leaving the marketplace, said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. “Are some insurers going to cry uncle?” she asked. “Maybe there are some companies that say, ‘Enough already.’” The marketplace experienced similar tumult about a year ago, as insurers were setting rates for the coming year amid questions about whether the White House would end some ACA subsidies—a step the administration in October announced it was taking. (Evans, 6/10)
The Hill:
GOP Embraces Single-Payer Healthcare Attack In California
Republicans are seizing on Democratic demands for a single-payer health system as an attack line in California, arguing that candidates backing the issue spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are out of step with their districts. “My opponent wants socialized medicine and government-run healthcare,” Rep. Mimi Walters (Calif.), a GOP incumbent and top Democratic target, told The Hill. “The district does not support it.” (Sullivan and Hagen, 6/10)
The New York Times:
How Suicide Quietly Morphed Into A Public Health Crisis
The deaths of the designer Kate Spade and the chef Anthony Bourdain, both of whom committed suicide this week, were not simply pop culture tragedies. They were the latest markers of an intractable public health crisis that has been unfolding in slow motion for a generation. Treatment for chronic depression and anxiety — often the precursors to suicide — has never been more available and more widespread. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week reported a steady, stubborn rise in the national suicide rate, up 25 percent since 1999. (Carey, 6/8)
The New York Times:
Can One Suicide Lead To Others?
The death of famed chef Anthony Bourdain, who apparently killed himself in a hotel room in France, caps a week of unnerving news about suicide. Rates are climbing across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday — in some states, by as much as 30 percent since 1999. Prevention remains an elusive goal. Just days earlier, Americans were stunned to learn the designer Kate Spade had hanged herself in her New York apartment. (Carey, 6/8)
The New York Times:
5 Takeaways On America’s Increasing Suicide Rate
In a week when two celebrities, first the designer Kate Spade and then the chef and television host Anthony Bourdain, took their own lives, new federal data was released showing that suicide rates have been increasing for years in almost every state and across demographic lines. The escalating crisis has affected nearly every group and place, but the study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that some parts of the country have been hit especially hard. Here’s a closer look at the study and the stories behind some of the data. (Smith, 6/9)
Reuters:
Rise In U.S. Suicides Highlights Need For New Depression Drugs
A spike in suicide rates in the United States has cast fresh light on the need for more effective treatments for major depression, with researchers saying it is a tricky development area that has largely been abandoned by big pharmaceutical companies. U.S. health authorities said on Thursday that there had been a sharp rise in suicide rates across the country since the beginning of the century and called for a comprehensive approach to addressing depression. The report was issued the same week as the high-profile suicides of celebrities Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade. (Steenhuysen, 6/9)
The Associated Press:
Celebrity Suicides Highlight Troubling Trend In Midlife
The deaths of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade highlight a troubling trend — rising suicides among middle-aged Americans. Mental health problems, often undiagnosed, are usually involved and experts say knowing warning signs and who is at risk can help stop a crisis from becoming a tragedy. (Tanner, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
After Celebrity Deaths, Suicide Hotline Calls Jump 25%
As the world learned the news Friday that renowned chef and food writer Anthony Bourdain had died by apparent suicide, the same phone number flooded the internet. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline—1-800-273-8255—was pinned to the bottom of memorial Instagram posts, shared in tweets and ran alongside news obituaries. Whenever a notable person commits suicide, calls to the hotline spike, said Director John Draper. Just days before Mr. Bourdain’s death, news of another famous person had spread: handbag designer Kate Spade, whose apparent cause of death was also suicide. Calls jumped 25% in the two days after her death, compared with the same period the previous week, Mr. Draper said. (Korte, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
The American Medical Association Has Long Opposed Assisted Suicide. Is That About To Change?
During his three decades as an emergency-room doctor, Bob Uslander had never written a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. But then he shifted to geriatric and palliative care, and in 2016, a patient suffering from the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) wanted to use California's new physician-assisted death law. Uslander was apprehensive. Until then, he had always viewed death as a failure. (Bever, 6/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hospitals Address Widespread Doctor Burnout
Doctors who feel stressed or burned out are getting some urgent care. To address what experts view as a national epidemic of physician discontent, hospitals are expanding their c-suites with the new position of chief wellness officer. In recent years hospitals have tried a variety of wellness programs, but there is a sense this approach didn’t treat the causes of physician angst and alienation. (Lagnado, 6/9)
Stat:
FDA Reprimands AbbVie For Failing To Properly Probe Death Complaints
In an unusual rebuke, AbbVie was reprimanded by the Food and Drug Administration for sloppy procedures when reviewing complaints of deaths that were reported in connection with three of its medicines, including the best-selling Humira rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Following an inspection at a North Chicago, Il., facility late last year, FDA examiners found the company failed to “thoroughly investigate” complaints over certain syringe kits for its Lupron medication that were associated with deaths, according to an inspection report that was issued by the agency last Dec. 15, and was obtained by STAT, but is not yet available on the FDA web site. Lupron is used to treat endometriosis and uterine fibroids, among other illnesses. (Silverman, 6/8)
The Associated Press:
Flu Season Was One Of The Deadliest For US Children
The past flu season was the deadliest for U.S. children in nearly a decade, health officials said Friday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said they had received reports of 172 pediatric flu deaths since October. That surpasses the 2012-2013 flu season, when there were 171. An average season sees about 110. There were more deaths in 2009-2010, but that was when a rare flu pandemic occurred involving a new strain. More than 300 children died that season. (Stobbe, 6/8)
The Washington Post:
Flu Killed 172 Children This Season, The Highest Death Toll In Nearly A Decade
About half of this season’s deaths were in otherwise healthy children. They ranged in age from 8 weeks to 17 years. Of those for whom a flu shot is recommended, less than one-fourth of the children who died had been fully vaccinated. That was about the same proportion as in past winter flu seasons. The number of pediatric flu deaths “is a record number since we’ve been keeping track, outside of the pandemic,” said Daniel Jernigan, who heads the CDC’s influenza division. And the number is considered an undercount because it includes only lab-confirmed cases that are listed on death certificates and then reported to the CDC. It could go even higher because of reporting delays. (Sun, 6/8)
The New York Times:
Anheuser-Busch To Pull Funding From Major Alcohol Study
Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, one of five alcohol companies underwriting a $100 million federal trial on the health benefits of a daily drink, is pulling its funding from the project, saying controversy about the sponsorship threatens to undermine the study’s credibility, the company announced Friday. The company announced its decision in a letter to Maria C. Freire, president and executive director of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, a nongovernmental entity that is authorized to raise money from the private sector for N.I.H. initiatives and manages the institutes’ public-private partnerships. (Rabin, 6/8)
The New York Times:
Scientists Can Design ‘Better’ Babies. Should They?
For nine frustrating years, Lesley and John Brown tried to conceive a child but failed because of her blocked fallopian tubes. Then in late 1977, this English couple put their hopes in the hands of two men of science. Thus began their leap into the unknown, and into history. On July 25, 1978, the Browns got what they had long wished for with the arrival of a daughter, Louise, a baby like no other the world had seen. She came into being through a process of in vitro fertilization developed by Robert G. Edwards and Patrick Steptoe. Her father’s sperm was mixed with her mother’s egg in a petri dish, and the resulting embryo was then implanted into the womb for normal development. (Haberman, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
Rapid Sequencing Of Babies’ Genes May Save Lives
The story of Maverick Coltrin’s medical mystery is gripping: Last October, he was just 6 days old when he stopped eating. Then the seizures came. His tiny arms and legs would stiffen for a few seconds as many as 30 times per hour. Doctors at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego tried multiple tests and medications, but nothing revealed what was wrong. When Maverick turned dusty blue, his parents asked, “Do you think he’s going to survive?” The answer: “We’re doing everything we can.” (Richards, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
Human Movement, Sweat, Breath May One Day Replace Batteries In Implantable And Wearable Medical Devices.
In “I Sing the Body Electric,” poet Walt Whitman waxed lyrically about the “action and power” of “beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh.” More than 150 years later, MIT materials scientist and engineer Canan Dagdeviren and colleagues are giving new meaning to Whitman’s poem with a device that can generate electricity from the way it distorts in response to the beating of the heart. Despite tremendous technological advances, a key drawback of most wearable and implantable devices is their batteries, whose limited capacities restrict their long-term use. The last thing you want to do when a pacemaker runs out of power is to open up a patient just for battery replacement. (Choi, 6/9)
Stat:
Testing Ebola Treatments Is Important, But Plagued With Challenges
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may end without the available experimental drugs having been tested, given the way transmission appears to have slowed. And some experts who have watched with frustration the snail’s pace progress of the efforts to study Ebola drugs during outbreaks are beginning to wonder if, with the advent of Ebola vaccines, the window for doing this kind of research may be closing for good. (Branswell 6/11)
NPR:
How To Dial Back Stress For High-Achieving Kids
On New Year's Eve, back in 2012, Savannah Eason retreated into her bedroom and picked up a pair of scissors. "I was holding them up to my palm as if to cut myself," she says. "Clearly what was happening was I needed someone to do something." Her dad managed to wrestle the scissors from her hands, but that night it had become clear she needed help. "It was really scary," she recalls. "I was sobbing the whole time." (Aubrey and Greenhalgh, 6/11)
The Washington Post:
Heart Valve Treatment Has Come A Long Way Since Surgeons Used Only Their Hands
During the 1940s, heart surgeons tried to treat valve disease by sticking a gloved finger into a beating heart to widen the valve. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Treating valve disease has come a long way since its rudimentary beginnings, especially after the introduction in the 1950s of the heart-lung machine, which enables surgeons to stop the heart while they work on it. In the years that followed, surgeons, engineers and other scientists began creating novel valves to replace diseased ones. On March 11, 1960, at the National Institutes of Health, Nina Starr Braunwald performed the first successful mitral valve replacement with an artificial one of her own design, a polyurethane valve with woven Teflon laces she had hand-sewn herself. (Cimons, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
Using Virtual Reality To Distract People From Pain Gains Traction In Hospitals.
Despite being in and out of hospitals since the age of 16, one of Harmon Clarke’s biggest fears is having an intravenous line inserted into his arm. The 34-year-old resident of Los Angeles has had more than 30 surgeries related to his Crohn’s disease, but getting stuck with an IV needle has never gotten less stressful. “Because of my Crohn’s I get really dehydrated, which makes it really challenging to get an IV in,” Clarke said. “One time, literally eight different IV nurses had come into my room trying to get a line in, and I’m in tears. I can’t do my procedure or surgery until we get this done, and it was just like a nightmare.” (Kim, 6/9)
The Washington Post:
EMS Workers Get Their Own Virtual Museum
It’s hard to imagine a world without emergency medical services — the first responders, surgeons and other professionals who can mean the difference between life and death for the people they help. But not that long ago, the field didn’t exist. Such things as ambulances, emergency defibrillators and walkie-talkies are all relatively new creations. Even CPR, one of the most well-known techniques, didn’t exist until 1960. So how did the idea of emergency medical services get its start? The National EMS Museum answers that question. (Blakemore, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
About 16,600 People Go To Hospital Emergency Rooms Each Year Due To Grilling Accidents
That quintessential summer get-together — a barbecue with friends and family — generally generates good-time feelings, but not always. About 16,600 people go to an emergency room each year because of an accident tied to grilling, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. About half of those injuries are thermal burns, caused by fire or contact with something ultrahot. Of the contact injuries, a third are to children younger than 5, hurt when they bump, touch or fall on some part of the grill or hot coals. Each year, fire departments respond to an average of 9,600 fires related to home grilling, reports the National Fire Protection Association. With gas grills, which account for about 80 percent of such fires, a leak or break is most often to blame. Whether gas- or charcoal-fed, grills that are not cleaned often trigger fires because of a buildup of grease and fat from previous cookings. When cleaning a grill, though, be careful with wire-bristle brushes: A bristle left lingering on the grilling surface could stick to a piece of food and be swallowed. (Searing, 6/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist Charles Krauthammer Says He Has Weeks To Live
Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist whose incisive critiques made him an influential voice in Washington for decades, said Friday he is battling an aggressive form of cancer and his doctors have told him he has weeks to live. “This is the final verdict. My fight is over,” the 68-year-old wrote in a farewell note to his readers.” He added, “I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.” (Alpert, 6/8)
The New York Times:
Salmonella Outbreak That Sickened 60 Is Linked To Pre-Cut Melons
A salmonella outbreak that sickened dozens of people last month has been linked to pre-cut melons from a food distributor in Indianapolis, spurring a recall of products in eight states. Packages of fresh-cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and mixed fruit have been recalled in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. An investigation is underway to see if other products or states were affected. (Fortin, 6/9)
The Washington Post:
Salmonella Outbreak: Pre-Cut Melons At Krogers, Others Tainted, CDC Says
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced the outbreak to a Caito Foods facility in Indiana. The company has since issued a recall notice in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio — removing clear plastic containers of watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and mixed melons from the shelves. The recall affected at least 10 large grocery chains, including Whole Foods, which is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, whose chief executive, Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns The Washington Post. “The investigation is ongoing to determine if products went to additional stores or states,” the CDC wrote Friday. (Selk, 6/9)
The Washington Post:
Controversy Surrounds Research On State Department Employees Sickened In ‘Attacks'
Something mysterious and disturbing has happened to State Department personnel, first in Cuba and now in China. Strange high-pitched sounds — “buzzing,” “piercing squeals,” “grinding metal,” as the Cuba staffers later told doctors — preceded an eruption of health problems, including headaches, dizziness, confusion, ear pain, hearing loss, insomnia and fatigue. Last year, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson referred to what happened in Havana as “attacks.” Numerous news stories and opinion columns speculated about “sonic attacks” using some kind of unknown acoustic weapon. The mystery spread this spring to China: A staffer in Guangzhou experienced “subtle and vague, but abnormal sensations of sound and pressure,” in the words of the State Department. (Achenbach, 6/8)
Reuters:
Cuba Says Cause Of Illness In U.S. Diplomats Remains Mystery
Cuba said on Sunday it remained baffled by health issues affecting U.S. diplomats, after the U.S. State Department reported two Cuba-based functionaries had symptoms similar to previous cases that began in late 2016. The State Department said on Friday the cases were similar to those of 24 diplomats and family members taken ill through 2017, leading to a drawdown of personnel in Havana to a skeleton staff and the expulsion of 17 Cuban diplomats from Washington. (Frank, 6/10)
The Associated Press:
Cuba Releases Details Of Incident Involving US Official
Cuba released details Sunday on the latest mysterious health incident involving a U.S. diplomat in the country, saying that Cuban officials learned of the episode late last month when the U.S. said that an embassy official felt ill after hearing "undefined sounds" in her home in Havana. Cuba said in a statement released by its Foreign Ministry that U.S. officials reported on May 29 that a female embassy official had reported experiencing "health symptoms" after hearing the sounds in her home two days earlier. (Weissenstein, 6/10)
The Associated Press:
US Pulls 2 More From Cuba Amid New Potential Health Cases
The United States has pulled out two more of its workers from its embassy in Cuba and is testing them for possible brain injury, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday, amid concerns they may have been affected by mysterious health incidents harming U.S. diplomats in Cuba and China. (Lederman and Lee, 6/8)
The Associated Press:
Judge Asked To Again Halt Arkansas Abortion Pills Law
Planned Parenthood asked a federal judge on Friday to again block an Arkansas law that restricts how abortion pills are administered, saying the restriction makes the state the first in the U.S. to effectively ban that form of abortion. Attorneys for Planned Parenthood and the state appeared before U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker, a little more than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the state to enforce the restriction. The law says doctors who provide abortion pills must hold a contract with a physician with admitting privileges at a hospital that agrees to treat any complications. (DeMillo, 6/8)
The Hill:
GOP New Hampshire Governor Signs Law Banning Gay Conversion Therapy
New Hampshire’s Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law on Friday a ban on gay conversion therapy for minors. Medical and mental health professionals — including the American Medical Association — say attempting to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity is proven to be ineffective and can cause psychological harm to LGBTQ youth. (Gstalter, 6/8)
The Associated Press:
New Hampshire's Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill Signed
Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, signed bills Friday to protect transgender people from discrimination and ban therapies that seek to change the sexual orientation of minors. The anti-discrimination law, which takes effect July 8, bans discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations, in addition to the protections that already exist based on race, sex, religion and sexual orientation. (6/8)