First Edition: March 1, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Tens Of Thousands Of Medicaid Recipients Skip Paying New Premiums
When Arkansas lawmakers debated in 2016 whether to renew the state’s Medicaid expansion, many Republican lawmakers were swayed only if some of the 300,000 adults who gained coverage would have to start paying premiums. This “skin-in-the-game” provision — endorsed by conservatives in Washington and in many statehouses — is designed to make Medicaid recipients value their government health insurance more and lead healthier lives. It’s “to encourage more personal responsibility,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters in 2016. “We want to incentivize better, healthy living.” (Galewitz, 3/1)
Kaiser Health News:
Never Too Late To Operate? Surgery Near End Of Life Is Common, Costly
At 87, Maxine Stanich cared more about improving the quality of her life than prolonging it. She suffered from a long list of health problems, including heart failure and chronic lung disease that could leave her gasping for breath.When her time came, she wanted to die a natural death, Stanich told her daughter, and signed a “do not resuscitate” directive, or DNR, ordering doctors not to revive her should her heart stop. (Szabo, 2/28)
Kaiser Health News:
ACA’s Popularity Grows, Even As GOP Lauds Change To Requirement To Have Coverage
Despite President Donald Trump’s boasting that “we have essentially repealed Obamacare,” a new poll shows the Affordable Care Act is more popular than ever. In fact, many people don’t know Congress repealed the ACA’s penalty for not having insurance. The poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 54 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the 2010 health law that expanded health coverage to millions. That was up four points from January, and it’s highest point since the monthly survey began in 2010. (Galewitz, 3/1)
The New York Times:
Trump Stuns Lawmakers With Seeming Embrace Of Gun Control
President Trump stunned Republicans on live television Wednesday by embracing gun control and urging a group of lawmakers at the White House to resurrect gun safety legislation that has been opposed for years by the powerful National Rifle Association and the vast majority of his party. In a remarkable meeting, the president veered wildly from the N.R.A. playbook in front of giddy Democrats and stone-faced Republicans. He called for comprehensive gun control legislation that would expand background checks to weapons purchased at gun shows and on the internet, keep guns from mentally ill people, secure schools and restrict gun sales for some young adults. He even suggested a conversation on an assault weapons ban. (Shear, 2/28)
The Associated Press:
Trump Says Some Lawmakers Too Fearful Of NRA To Take Action
"We can't wait and play games and nothing gets done," Trump said as he opened the session with 17 House and Senate lawmakers. "We want to stop the problems." Trump also raised eyebrows by suggesting that law enforcement officials should be able to confiscate people's firearms without a court order to prevent potential tragedies. (Mascaro, Daly and Lucey, 3/1)
The Washington Post:
Trump Surprises Lawmakers In Backing Some Tougher Gun Controls
Most striking were Trump’s remarks decrying what he called excessive “checks and balances” that limit what can be done to prevent mentally unfit people from buying or keeping guns. “Take the firearms first, and then go to court,” Trump said, cutting off Vice President Pence as Pence articulated a version of the due-process arguments that the NRA and other gun-rights advocates have used to derail past gun-control measures. “You could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” (Gearan, DeBonis and Kim, 2/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Urges Congress To Take Action On Guns
“If this meeting ends up with just sort of vague notions of future compromise, then nothing will happen,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.). “Mr. President, it’s going to have to be you that brings the Republicans to the table on this.” “I like that responsibility,” Mr. Trump replied. (Radnofsky, Peterson and Andrews, 2/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
School Killings Spur Effort To Renew Government Gun-Violence Research
For more than 20 years, federal law has effectively halted the government’s ability to research gun violence. Now, the shooting that killed 17 at a Florida high school in February has prompted a bipartisan group of lawmakers to take another look at the restrictions. As lawmakers tangle over other gun-violence prevention measures, Democrats and some centrist Republicans are pushing to eliminate a provision tucked into spending bills that has restricted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ability to conduct research on the topic. (Peterson, McKay and Armour, 2/28)
The Hill:
Mental Groups Push For Policy Changes After Shooting
Mental health advocates are seizing on the new spotlight on their issue after the Florida shooting, as President Trump and congressional Republicans focus on mental health as a solution to gun violence. Some mental health groups want to use the renewed attention on mental illness to push for more resources to address what they see as major gaps in the country’s mental health system. (Weixel, 3/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
In Columbine’s School District, Former Students Are Tracked To Prevent Attacks
After a former student shot two eighth-graders in 2010 in the same Colorado school district where the Columbine massacre took place, the district’s security chief John McDonald sought a way to thwart attacks by alumni. Mr. McDonald decided that the Jefferson County school district would treat former students who pose a threat the same way it treats current students. A case manager would be assigned to talk with them regularly, monitor their social media and check in with their therapists—even sometimes for years after they’ve graduated or left the school. (Elinson, 2/28)
Politico:
Why Hardening Schools Hasn't Stopped School Shootings
President Donald Trump has called for “hardened schools” to end the cycle of school massacres. But he was unimpressed last week when told about a Midwestern campus dubbed "the safest school in America." An Indiana state official had suggested he consider Southwestern High in Shelbyville a national prototype because of its state-of-the-art cameras that send real-time footage to a sheriff’s office, smoke cannons in hallways, bulletproof doors and teachers who wear panic buttons. (Emma, 3/1)
The New York Times:
Walmart And Dick’s Raise Minimum Age For Gun Buyers To 21
Two of the nation’s leading gun sellers, Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, took steps on Wednesday to limit their sales of firearms, thrusting themselves into the middle of the polarizing national debate over gun control. Walmart, the biggest gun seller, announced late in the afternoon that it would not sell any gun to anyone under 21 years of age. It also said it would no longer sell items resembling assault-style rifles, including toys and air guns. (Creswell and Corkery, 2/28)
The Washington Post:
Walmart To Raise The Age For Customers Buying Guns And Ammunition
The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, announced a change to its policies Wednesday, saying it would raise the minimum age required to buy a firearm and ammunition and remove any items that resemble assault rifles from its shelves. In a statement, the company said it would raise its age requirement to 21 from 18, a decision it made “in light of recent events” — most notable the national discussion about gun control since the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Florida that left 17 people dead. (Rosenberg, 2/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
Walmart, Dick’s Say They Will Stop Selling Guns To Those Under 21
Dick’s disclosed Wednesday that it had sold a shotgun to accused Parkland, Fla., killer Nikolas Cruz in November, though it wasn’t used in the shooting. The gunman used an AR-15 model rifle, which is a semiautomatic rifle that allows the user to fire rapidly and use high-capacity magazines. Earlier in February, police in Vermont also arrested and charged an 18-year-old who had allegedly bought a shotgun at Dick’s and planned to attack a school. (Nassauer, Hufford and Elinson, 2/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
CEOs Choose Sides On Gun Control At Their Own Risk
It’s the newest question facing CEOs: Should they thrust their businesses into polarizing political debates? In the two weeks since a gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school, many companies have taken a stand on gun control, prompted partly by a movement with the online rallying cry #NRABoycott. But when companies take sides in a charged issue, they often have to grapple with a new set of risks to their reputation and business, not least the risk of offending a sizable portion of consumers on the other side. (Fuhrmans and Feintzeig, 2/28)
The Associated Press:
Lawmakers Around US Take Action On Gun-Control Bills
State lawmakers across the U.S. are considering new laws in the wake of the Florida high school shooting, and legislatures from Maine to Alaska took action on Wednesday. A rundown of what's happening in statehouses. (2/28)
The New York Times:
Even After High School Massacre, Albany Demurs On Gun Control
It was, especially in a restrictive state like New York, a seemingly modest set of gun-control proposals. Prospective gun buyers would undergo longer background checks; an institute would be formed to study gun violence; courts would be allowed to seize or prohibit the sale of guns to potentially violent individuals; and a ban would be enacted on the possession of bump stocks, which can make a semiautomatic rifle shoot nearly as fast as a fully automatic version. (McKinley, 2/28)
The Hill:
GOP Eyes Budget Maneuver To Pay For ObamaCare Funds
Republicans are weighing whether to use a complicated budget maneuver to help pay for additional ObamaCare funding, sources say. The idea being considered by House Republican leaders is controversial because it would help fund key ObamaCare payments, something that many conservatives decry as a "bailout" of the law. Under the possible plan, the Budget Committee would direct the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to take ObamaCare payments known as cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) out of its “baseline” for projecting federal spending. Essentially, the agency would stop assuming that the ObamaCare payments would be made. (Sullivan, 3/1)
The Hill:
Scott Walker Signs Bill Aimed At Stabilizing ObamaCare Market
Gov. Scott Walker (Wis.), a Republican who has been one of ObamaCare's most vocal opponents, signed a bill Tuesday that would shore up the law's insurance markets. The bill would authorize the state to apply for a federal waiver to offer a reinsurance program covering 80 percent of medical claims costing between $50,000 and $250,000. (Hellmann, 2/28)
Bloomberg:
Collective Health Bets Employers Are Fed Up With Health Expenses
Collective Health Inc., a startup offering tech-savvy tools for managing health benefits, has raised a fresh infusion of investor cash as it seeks to win over more employers fed up with a fragmented, costly market. The San Francisco-based company, founded in 2013, is betting that growing dissatisfaction with rising health-care costs will lure more firms to its technology, which lets employers cut through the tangle of different benefits they typically administer. (Tracer, 2/28)
Politico:
Trump's Abortion Policy Sheds Light On Ad Hoc Decision-Making
The Trump administration’s policy of halting abortions among undocumented minors was established by email through an ad hoc process without formal legal vetting, according to new documents released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU, which is suing the administration over the policy, made public the December depositions of the director and the deputy director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the HHS office responsible for the care of undocumented minors who enter the country without their parents. (Rayasam, 2/28)
The Associated Press:
Indiana House Passes Abortion Information Bill
A doctor who treats a woman for complications arising from an abortion would have to report new and more detailed information about the patient to the state, under a bill approved by the Indiana House on Wednesday. Though the bill is not as expansive as abortion laws passed in recent years — some of which have been thrown out in court — the debate unfolded along familiar lines. (Slodysko, 2/28)
Stat:
Pharma And The Patent System: Will Trump's Appointee Bring Change?
The newly installed director of the Patent and Trademark Office, the soft-spoken Andrei Iancu, could rein in drug makers in more direct fashion than perhaps any other individual in Washington. Unlike the others, he holds substantial sway over an intellectual property system that, critics say, has allowed drug makers to extend their monopolies through legal but questionable tactics — by making slight modifications to products and then filing for new patents, for example, or by working to curtail quicker challenges to their patent in favor of longer, drawn-out litigation in the courts. (Mershon, 3/1)
Stat:
Drug Makers Are Seeking More Orphan Designations Than Ever Before
Orphan drugs may target small patient populations, but they continue to rack up big numbers at the Food and Drug Administration. Last year, the agency issued a record-breaking 77 orphan drug approvals, far exceeding the previous annual high of 49 approvals notched in 2014. At the same time, the FDA agreed to award a stunning 476 orphan designations, well above the 355 designations made in 2015, which was the previous record total. And there were 526 designation requests last year, second only to the record of 582 made in 2016. (Silverman, 2/28)
Stat:
Under Trump, The Pace Of FDA Regulations Slowed To A Trickle
As the Trump administration settled in last year, the White House insisted on fewer regulations — and the Food and Drug Administration delivered, according to a new analysis. Last year, regulatory actions taken by the agency were only a fraction of the number of actions taken during the Obama administration and in fact dropped to the lowest level of any time in the past 20 years, according to the Health Research Institute at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the consulting firm. (Silverman, 2/28)
The Associated Press:
‘Pharma Bro’ Asks Judge For Leniency, Saying He Was A Fool
“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli admitted that he was “very far from blameless” in a letter to a judge asking for leniency, according to court filings. “I was wrong, I was a fool. I should have known better,” Shkreli wrote in his letter to Brooklyn federal court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto. “I accept the fact that I made serious mistakes, but I still believe that I am a good person with much potential,” Shkreli said. (2/28)
Reuters:
Doctor Admits Disclosing Patient Info To Drugmaker Aegerion
A Georgia pediatric cardiologist pleaded guilty on Wednesday to wrongfully disclosing information about his young patients to an Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc sales representative seeking to identify potential new users of an expensive cholesterol drug. Dr. Eduardo Montana, 55, entered his plea in federal court in Boston after Aegerion, a unit of Novelion Therapeutics Inc, agreed in September to pay $40.1 million to resolve U.S. investigations related to its marketing of the drug, Juxtapid. (Raymond, 2/28)
NPR:
State Opioid Efforts Falter Without Federal Funding Support
Opioids are on the White House agenda Thursday — President Trump plans to talk with members of his administration about the crisis. Meanwhile, all around the United States, state legislators, treatment providers, families and many others will be listening. The administration's other opioid efforts have, so far, yielded no new money. Congress authorized funds in its recent budget deal — but those dollars aren't flowing yet, and states say they are struggling. (Daley and Fortier, 3/1)
The Hill:
Dem Urges DEA To Release Data On Opioid Distributors
A Democratic lawmaker is urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release data on the distribution of opioids across the country to those involved in hundreds of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. “I would just encourage the DEA to be as responsive as possible,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) told a DEA official during a House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee hearing Wednesday. (Roubein, 2/28)
CQ:
House Panel Debates Opioid Bills
The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee kicked off debate Wednesday on eight bills addressing opioid abuse that were focused on the enforcement of controlled substances and patient safety. While five of the bills were bipartisan, a few bills generated hot debates. Earlier this month, Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., called addressing the epidemic a top legislative priority for the year. He noted during the hearing that opioid overdose deaths were five times higher than in 1999. (Raman, 2/28)
The Washington Post:
Transgender Surgeries Are On The Rise, Says First Study Of Its Kind
In the first broad demographic study of trends in gender-affirming surgeries in the United States, researchers found that the number of operations increased fourfold from 2000 to 2014. Some of the significant rise, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery, may be related to an increase in insurance coverage for the procedures. “Early on we recognized there’s been a lot of work on health disparities having to do with age, race and so on that get collected in health-care settings,” said Brandyn Lau, an assistant professor of surgery and health sciences informatics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “One of the things we need to know is whether [lesbian, gay and transgender] patients are getting the same care.” (Nutt, 2/28)
The Associated Press:
TV Ad Aims To Pressure Trump On Transgender Military Service
Activist groups are turning to television ads — including on President Donald Trump's go-to station, Fox News — to pressure the White House into allowing transgender people to keep serving in the military. Trump has vowed to ban transgender troops from serving. He'll be able to see the 30-second commercial as of Friday, when it starts airing on Fox, CNN and MSNBC morning shows. It uses a series of quotes from Trump, a former senior military leader and several Congress members who were in the armed forces to argue that all qualified Americans should be able to serve. (Baldor, 3/1)
The New York Times:
C-Sections And Gut Bacteria May Contribute To Overweight Kids
Overweight mothers are more likely to have overweight babies, and the gut bacteria the babies inherit may in part be to blame. Researchers report that overweight mothers are more likely to have a cesarean section, and that babies born by cesarean to those mothers have species of gut bacteria different from those in babies born to normal weight women. And that difference in the gut microbiome — specifically an abundance of bacteria of the family Lachnospiraceae in infants of overweight mothers — may contribute to an increased risk for obesity. (Bakalar, 2/28)
The New York Times:
‘Obesity Paradox’ Fails To Hold Up In Study
Some experts have suggested that there is an “obesity paradox,” the idea that obese people live longer than those of normal weight. But a new study found that obesity was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and a two- to three-year shorter life span. The study, in JAMA Cardiology, pooled data from 10 studies of 190,672 people followed from 1964 to 2015. Compared with those of normal weight, overweight men (body mass index of 25 to 29.9) had a 21 percent higher lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease and women a 32 percent higher risk. (Bakalar, 2/28)
Reuters:
Coca-Cola Defeats U.S. Lawsuit Over Diet Coke Ads
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Coca-Cola Co's advertising for Diet Coke misleads people into thinking that consuming the soft drink assists in weight loss, and that it actually causes weight gain. The plaintiff, Shana Becerra, claimed that she and others would not have bought Diet Coke, which was launched in 1982, but for the word "diet" and ads such as one showing the soft drink being poured by a bare-chested man with a well-muscled torso. (Stempel, 2/28)
The New York Times:
You Get Thirsty And Drink. How Does Your Brain Signal You’ve Had Enough?
If you think about being thirsty at all, it seems like a fairly simple thought process: Find water. Drink it. Move on. But in fact there is something rather profound going on as you take that long, refreshing drink after a run or a hot day in the garden. As you become dehydrated, there is less water in your blood, and neurons in your brain send out the word that it’s time to look for water. (Greenwood, 2/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Cosmetics Industry May Get A Regulatory Makeover
At a time when Washington is pushing to deregulate industry, a congressional effort is under way to intensify federal regulation over cosmetics and personal-care products for the first time in 80 years. Senate staffers from both parties have reached a tentative agreement to stiffen oversight of safety standards for beauty products including skin creams, deodorants, hair dyes, shampoo and mascara, which until now have only been lightly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. (Burton, 3/1)
NPR:
Many Rural Hospitals Must Adapt Or Close, Economics Suggest
Heidi Schultz grew up traveling from one end of South Dakota to the other, tagging along as her sister saw doctors and specialists in the "big cities" to treat her diabetes. Schultz thought she knew rural America well when she took a position as a rural health care program officer for the Helmsley Charitable Trust in Wyoming and Montana. But even she has been surprised by how she can drive hours on country highways seeing few cars and just "a handful of gravel driveways going somewhere you can't see." (St. Clair, 2/28)
The Washington Post:
Timothy Cunningham: Missing CDC Epidemiologist Passed Over For Promotion Before Disappearance
Police investigators are bewildered as they work through the “extremely unusual” circumstances surrounding the missing-person case of Timothy Cunningham, a researcher who vanished Feb. 12, shortly after hearing why he had been passed over for a promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cunningham, 35, told colleagues he was not feeling well and left work at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, not long after speaking with his supervisor about why he had not been promoted, Atlanta Police Maj. Michael O'Connor told reporters. (Horton, 3/1)
The Associated Press:
State Worked To Shape Coverage Of Legionnaires' Outbreak
Email messages show Illinois officials worked to put a positive spin on news coverage as a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak first unfolded at a state veterans' home. Chicago's WBEZ obtained emails between state and local public health officials and the state agency that oversees the Illinois Veterans' Home in Quincy, where Legionnaires' has contributed to 13 deaths since 2015. Dozens more residents have been sickened, including several this year. (2/28)
The Associated Press:
Ted Kennedy Jr. Says He's Not Running For Connecticut Senate
Ted Kennedy Jr., son of the late Massachusetts senator, said Wednesday he will not seek a third term in the Connecticut Senate because he wants to focus on protecting disability rights, which he said are under "an enormous threat" at the federal level. The 56-year-old Democrat with the famous last name, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for offices from governor to U.S. senator, said he feels compelled to play a bigger role in the disability rights community. (2/28)
The Associated Press:
Hearing-Impaired Teen Inspires Virginia Sign Language Bill
Virginia high school students would be able to count American Sign Language as a foreign language credit beginning this fall under a bill that won approval from the General Assembly this week.House Bill 84, introduced by Del. Dickie Bell, R-Staunton, unanimously passed the Senate on Monday. Now it will go to Gov. Ralph Northam to be signed into law. Teenager Emma Chupp, who was selected to work as a Senate page — or legislator’s helper — this General Assembly session, suggested the idea for the bill. Chupp said she is enrolled in a high school Spanish class but finds the language challenging to learn because she is hard of hearing. (Spraggs, 2/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Pedestrian Deaths In L.A. Rise Sharply But Officials Remain Committed To Traffic Safety Program
Pedestrian deaths rose sharply in Los Angeles in 2017, but the disappointing figures do not mean the city should change course on an ambitious program to eliminate traffic fatalities, transportation officials said Wednesday. During the second full year of the Vision Zero initiative, aimed at eliminating traffic deaths on city streets by 2025, the number of pedestrians killed on city streets rose 17% over the previous year, and 82% since 2015. (Nelson, 2/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Two Weight-Loss Surgeons Falsified Records, Defrauded Patients, Insurers Out Of $250 Million, Prosecutors Allege
For years, it was hard to miss the billboards and radio jingles for a weight-loss surgery center that promised, "Let your new life begin, call 1-800-GET-THIN. "But on Wednesday, federal prosecutors charged that the Lap-Band surgery operation was at the center of a massive fraud scheme that forced patients to undergo unnecessary tests, falsified medical tests to justify surgeries and cheated insurers and patients out of $250 million. (Winton, 2/28)