First Edition: June 20, 2017
DON’T MISS IT!: KHN has launched a new Facebook group on navigating aging and will hold a live chat today at noon. Judith Graham, our Navigating Aging columnist, will be joined by geriatrician Dr. Lee Ann Lindquist to answer all your questions about the topic. Tune in here.
Kaiser Health News:
Despite A Growing Appetite, Buffet-Style Flat-Fee Clinics Shutter In Seattle
In recent years, a small but growing number of practices embraced a buffet approach to primary care, offering patients unlimited services for a modest flat fee instead of billing them a la carte for every office visit and test. But after a pioneering practice shut its doors earlier this month, some question whether “direct primary care,” as it’s called, can succeed. Many doctors and patients say they like the arrangement. Direct primary care practices typically don’t accept insurance, which frees physicians from treatment preapprovals and claims paperwork. (Andrews, 6/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate GOP Plans Health-Care Vote Next Week
Senate GOP leaders have set a timeline to vote next week on legislation to repeal large chunks of the Affordable Care Act, even though they don’t yet appear to have secured enough support to pass it. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) is intent on keeping pressure on Senate Republicans to move quickly on the bill rolling back and replacing much of the 2010 health law, lawmakers and GOP aides said. The push for a quick vote before the weeklong July 4 recess could backfire, however, as some conservative and centrist Republicans have expressed concern about the emerging shape of the legislation. (Armour and Peterson, 6/19)
Politico:
Sources: Senate GOP Prepares For Obamacare Repeal Vote Next Week
Senate Republicans are preparing to vote on Obamacare repeal next week, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations, potentially leaving rank-and-file lawmakers with no more than a week to review legislation that would affect millions of Americans and one-sixth of the U.S. economy. Senators are expected to see the text of the bill as soon as the end of this week, those sources said, provided this week's work goes smoothly. The timeline could change based on the response from individual senators toward the proposal at party meetings, but Republicans are increasingly optimistic they can hold a vote next week if this week's lunch talks go well. (Everett and Haberkorn, 6/19)
The New York Times:
The Senate Is Close To A Health Care Bill, But Do Republicans Have The Votes?
The 52 Republican senators have been meeting several times a week behind closed doors to develop a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. At least 50 of them must be on board for the bill to pass, and they could try as soon as next week. (Andrews and Park, 6/19)
The New York Times:
Senate Democrats Try To Gum Up Works Over Affordable Care Act Repeal
Democrats vowed on Monday to slow work in the Senate to a crawl to protest the secrecy surrounding the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, as Republican leaders raced to prepare a bill for a vote as soon as next week. Without the votes to stop the majority party from passing a bill, Democrats can only draw attention to the way Republicans are creating their bill — behind closed doors without a single hearing or public bill-drafting session. (Kaplan and Pear, 6/19)
The Associated Press:
Dems' Motions, Speeches Knock GOP Health Bill For Secrecy
They threatened to slow the Senate's work with procedural motions. They forced the chamber's top Republican to swat aside reasonable sounding requests, like holding committee hearings. And they delivered speech after speech after speech. Democrats used all those tools Monday evening to try drawing attention to the Senate GOP's secretive effort to craft a bill scuttling President Barack Obama's health care law and push it through the chamber by next week's end. Their largely symbolic effort was likely to have little or no impact on how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell handles the measure. (Fram, 6/19)
USA Today:
Democrats To Slow-Walk Senate Business Over Health Care Bill
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats will object to requests for “unanimous consent” to set aside rules and expedite proceedings. The procedural move is a tactic the minority party can use to draw out the legislative process for days, forcing Republicans to jump through procedural hurdles to get anything done. The goal, he said, is to refer the GOP health care bill to a committee where it can be debated and amended publicly. Republicans are writing their bill “under the cover of darkness because they’re ashamed of it,” he said. (Gaudiano, 6/19)
Politico:
Democrats To Halt Senate Business Over Obamacare Repeal
Holding the floor on Monday evening won’t change the timing of a health care vote. And Democrats are unlikely to be able to force the House bill to committee or delay it. But it will force Republicans to answer for what Democrats say is a rushed process and bad policy. Some Senate Democrats also are preparing to block lengthy committee hearings beginning on Tuesday, although Democratic leaders have not announced or confirmed that decision. Any senator can block a hearing from extending past the first two hours of the Senate's day. But when partisan tensions are high, the hearing requests are sometimes denied to make a point. (Haberkorn, 6/19)
Politico:
Some Dems Reluctant To Shut Down Senate Committees Over Obamacare
Even as Senate Democrats began a Monday night talk-a-thon designed to spotlight the GOP’s still-secret Obamacare repeal plan, some of their own questioned the party's other potential procedural tactic to block committees from meeting this week. The skepticism within the caucus underscores the risk facing Senate Democrats as they launch an all-out battle against a Republican health care bill they have had zero power to influence. (Schor and Kim, 6/19)
The Washington Post:
Senate Democrats Intensify Criticism Of Emerging GOP Health Bill
Senate Democrats ramped up opposition Monday to the emerging Republican health-care bill, launching a series of mostly symbolic moves including speeches that went late into the evening and a push to slow other Senate business to a crawl. The aim, Democrats said, was to draw attention to the secretive process Republican leaders are using to craft their bill and argue that the GOP proposals would hurt Americans. The Democrats lack the power to prevent a vote and they don’t have the numbers to defeat a bill without Republican defections. So they are focusing this week on nonbinding protests. (Sullivan, 6/19)
The Washington Post Fact Checker:
Pelosi’s Claim That An Estimated 1.8 Million Jobs Will Be Lost Through AHCA
Recently attacking the American Health Care Act, the House GOP replacement for Obamacare, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made a new assertion – that it would cost 1.8 million jobs. She seemed to be turning a standard GOP attack line on its head – that the Affordable Care Act was a job killer. In 2010, Pelosi also famously once predicted that Obamacare would “create 4 million jobs, 400,000 jobs almost immediately.” She was citing an optimistic study at the time, and economists will argue forever whether the law spurred employment or was a drag on it. But recent research indicates that, contrary to the spin by both sides, the ACA had minimal effect on employment, hours of work and compensation. (Kessler, 6/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Insurer Reverses ACA Exit Plan In One Of Two Washington State Counties
Washington state will have an insurer offering Affordable Care Act plans next year in one of two counties that earlier appeared poised to have no coverage through the health law’s online marketplace. Separately, Medica, a nonprofit insurer, said Monday it made a regulatory filing signaling that it will offer marketplace plans throughout the state of Iowa next year. Iowa had appeared at risk of having no exchange insurers in most, or even all, of its counties in 2018. Medica, which had earlier said it was considering pulling out of Iowa’s marketplace, said in a statement it was seeking an average rate increase of 43.5%. (Wilde Mathews, 6/19)
The Associated Press:
Medica Weighs Staying In Iowa's Health Exchange Next Year
Iowa's last health care insurer to sell policies to individuals statewide through the federal Affordable Care Act said Monday it needs to know more about how the state's insurance market will function next year before making a final promise to stay. Minnesota-based Medica has preliminary plans to sell insurance in Iowa next year in the individual market and expects to make an announcement soon, spokesman Larry Bussey said. (Pitt, 6/19)
The New York Times:
C.B.O. Head, Who Prizes Nonpartisanship, Finds Work Under G.O.P. Attack
When much of Washington was glued to the testimony of former F.B.I. director James B. Comey this month, Keith Hall, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, was one of the few who averted their eyes from televisions. For Mr. Hall, avoiding political spectacles — anything politically partisan, really — has become second nature. On his commute to Capitol Hill, he tunes out the buzz of partisan chatter on talk radio. At home, cable news is a no-no. And because friends sometimes try to talk to him about politics, he has become a master in the art of the dodge. But the noise may soon be impossible to ignore. (Rappeport, 6/19)
The Washington Post:
Trump ‘Simply Does Not Care’ About HIV/AIDS, Say 6 Experts Who Just Quit His Advisory Council
The first hints of an uncertain future for the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS came last year, when Donald Trump's presidential campaign refused to meet with advocates for people living with HIV, said Scott Schoettes, a member of the council since 2014. That unease was magnified on Inauguration Day in January, when an official White House website for the Office of National AIDS Policy vanished, Schoettes said. “I started to think, was it going to be useful or wise or would it be possible to work with this administration?” Schoettes told The Washington Post. “Still, I made a decision to stick it out and see what we could do.” (Wang, 6/19)
The Associated Press:
High Court Sides With Drugmaker In Plavix Lawsuit
The Supreme Court says hundreds of out-state-residents can’t sue drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in California state court over adverse reactions to the blood thinner Plavix. The justices ruled 8-1 Monday that there was not a strong enough connection between the claims against the drugmaker and the company’s ties to the state. The ruling is a win for Bristol-Myers Squibb and other companies that want to avoid lawsuits in state courts seen as more favorable to plaintiffs. (6/19)
Politico:
Supreme Court Ruling In Drug Case Could Have Big Implications For Product Liability
A Supreme Court decision Monday could make it harder for large groups of plaintiffs to sue corporations in state courts for damages caused by manufacturers' products. Bristol-Myers Squibb prevailed in its effort to get the Supreme Court to limit where patients can seek compensation for harm caused by drugs. But the ruling will echo beyond the pharmaceutical industry to potentially affect any liability case in which consumers allege harm caused by a deficient product, including automobiles, tobacco, food and other mass litigation like consumer claims of financial fraud by a company. It could also affect lawsuits against companies being accused of environmental wrongdoing. (Karlin-Smith, 6/19)
The New York Times:
A Dire Weekly Total For The U.S.: 25 Children Killed By Guns
Gunshots are the second leading cause of injury-related death in children, exceeded only by car accidents. In a typical week in the United States, 25 children die from bullet wounds. Between 2012 and 2014, an average of 1,297 children under age 18 died each year from firearm injuries. Aside from deaths in the course of law enforcement and other circumstances, there were an average of 693 homicides, 493 suicides and 82 unintentional deaths annually. (Bakalar, 6/19)
Los Angeles Times:
Guns Kill Nearly 1,300 Children In The U.S. Each Year And Send Thousands More To Hospitals
The number of child fatalities related to guns is far higher in the U.S. than in any other high-income country. Another study has reckoned that the U.S. accounts for 91% of all the firearms-related deaths of children under 14 in the world’s 23 richest countries. (Healy, 6/19)
The New York Times:
From Opioid Epidemic’s Front Lines, Filling In The Brutal Back Story
As a county coroner here, Frank Whitelaw has an unusual perspective to share with local students on the opioid crisis. He is the one who examines the bodies. But it is the families of the victims who get to him. “That is the most heart-wrenching part of this job,” he said. “I can deal with bodies all day and all night, to a degree, but when you are talking to the family, you feel that raw anguish. It’s horrible.” (Foderaro, 6/19)
The Associated Press:
Few Opioid-Addicted Youth Get Standard Treatment Medication
Only 1 in 4 teens and young adults with opioid addiction receive recommended treatment medication despite having good health insurance, according to a study that suggests doctors are not keeping up with the needs of youth caught up in the worst addiction crisis in U.S. history. "Young people may be dying because they are not getting the treatment they need," said Brendan Saloner, an addiction researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who wrote an editorial published with the study Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. (6/19)
The Washington Post:
Baltimore City Running Low On Opioid Overdose Remedy
Baltimore health officials are running low on naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug used hundreds of times by bystanders in the past couple of years to save lives. Leana Wen, the city health commissioner, said demand has jumped significantly amid the drug epidemic, and the health department needs funding for more supplies. “We are rationing,” she said. “We’re deciding who is at the highest risk and giving it to them.” (Cohn, 6/19)
The New York Times:
Inspired By War Zones, Balloon Device May Save Civilians From Fatal Blood Loss
A high school senior mowed down by a car with other pedestrians in last month’s Times Square attack was hemorrhaging internally and transfusions could not keep up with the blood loss. Doctors and nurses at NYC Health & Hospitals/Bellevue raced to save the student, Jessica Williams of Dunellen, N.J., who suffered severe injuries to her legs, abdomen and pelvis. But her pulse skyrocketed to 150. Her blood pressure dropped to 40/30. “She was about to go into cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Marko Bukur, a trauma surgeon. (Grady, 6/19)
NPR:
Back Pain Got You Down? Yoga Is A Good Alternative To Physical Therapy
If you're tired of popping pain medicine for your lower back pain, yoga may be a good alternative. New research finds that a yoga class designed specifically for back pain can be as safe and effective as physical therapy in easing pain. The yoga protocol was developed by researchers at Boston Medical Center with input from yoga teachers, doctors and physical therapists. (Aubrey, 6/20)
NPR:
'Scientist-Patient' And Her Husband Race To Find A Cure For Her Rare Brain Disease
In 2010, Sonia Vallabh watched her mom, Kamni Vallabh, die in a really horrible way. First, her mom's memory started to go, then she lost the ability to reason. Sonia says it was like watching someone get unplugged from the world. By the end, it was as if she was stuck between being awake and asleep. She was confused and uncomfortable all the time. "Even when awake, was she fully or was she really? And when asleep, was she really asleep?" says Sonia. The smart, warm, artistic Kamni – just 51 years old — was disappearing into profound dementia. (Bichell, 6/19)
The New York Times:
The High-Tech Device That’s Like A Bouncer For Mosquitoes
Dotted around Houston, hidden in overgrown backyards and piles of old tires, are what look like 10 tiny models of Hollywood’s iconic Capitol Records building. They are full of recording gear, but not to capture the vocals of Frank Sinatra or the Beastie Boys. These high-tech devices catch mosquitoes — though not in big batches, like typical traps. They catch them one by one, each in its own compartment, after inspecting each mosquito’s wing beats to be sure it’s a species that researchers want. (McNeil, 6/19)
NPR:
Half Of People Surveyed Don't Know Where To Find The Defibrillator At Work
Do you know where your workplace's automated external defibrillator is located? About half of all U.S. employees don't, according to the results of an American Heart Association survey. The survey also found that workers in the hospitality and service industry, which includes hotels and restaurants, were less likely to know the location of their workplace's AED. About 66 percent of them didn't know where it was. Workers in schools and other education facilities were the most likely to be able to find it: About 61 percent said they knew the AED's location. (Columbus, 6/19)
Reuters:
Illinois Medicaid Payment Boost Talks To Continue: Attorney
Talks over boosting Illinois' lagging payments to Medicaid providers amid the state's budget impasse will continue past a Tuesday deadline initially set by a federal judge, an attorney said on Monday. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow directed both sides to file motions on Tuesday if they failed to reach a negotiated solution that would put Illinois in substantial compliance with federal consent decrees on Medicaid, the healthcare program for the poor and disabled. (Pierog, 6/19)
The Associated Press:
Georgia High Court: State Can't Be Sued Without Its Consent
A challenge to a Georgia law banning most abortions after 20 weeks has led the state's highest court to reaffirm that the state can't be sued without its consent. But the court also said Monday that state officials can be sued as individuals to prevent them from enforcing laws alleged to violate the state Constitution. The ruling came as the Georgia Supreme Court rejected the challenge to a 2012 law that bans doctors from performing abortions five months after an egg is fertilized, except when a fetus has a defect so severe it is unlikely to live. (6/19)