First Edition: March 20, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Congress Tackles The Opioid Epidemic. But How Much Will It Help?
The nation’s opioid epidemic has been called today’s version of the 1980s AIDS crisis. In a speech Monday, President Donald Trump pushed for a tougher federal response, emphasizing a tough-on-crime approach for drug dealers and more funding for treatment. And Congress is upping the ante, via a series of hearings — including one scheduled to last Wednesday through Thursday — to study legislation that might tackle the unyielding scourge, which has cost an estimated $1 trillion in premature deaths, health care costs and lost wages since 2001. (Luthra, 3/19)
Kaiser Health News:
Women In Medicine Who Experience Sexual Harassment Add Voices To #MeToo Movement
Annette Katz didn’t expect to be part of a major social movement. She didn’t set out to take on a major health organization. But that all began to change when a co-worker saw her fighting back tears and joined Katz to report to her union what amounted to a criminal sexual offense at a Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2012 and 2013. Four years later, Katz, a licensed practical nurse at the hospital, testified in a court deposition that a male nursing assistant had shoved her into a linen closet and groped her and subjected her to an onslaught of lewd comments. (Jewett, 3/20)
Kaiser Health News:
Adults Skipping Vaccines May Miss Out On Effective New Shingles Shot
Federal officials have recommended a new vaccine that is more effective than an earlier version at protecting older adults against the painful rash called shingles. But persuading many adults to get this and other recommended vaccines continues to be an uphill battle, physicians and vaccine experts say. “I’m healthy, I’ll get that when I’m older,” is what adult patients often tell Dr. Michael Munger when he brings up an annual flu shot or a tetanus-diphtheria booster or the new shingles vaccine. Sometimes they put him off by questioning a vaccine’s effectiveness. (Andrews, 3/20)
California Healthline:
The Juul’s So Cool, Kids Smoke It In School
The students wait eagerly for their teachers to turn their backs.That’s their cue to reach quietly for a small, sleek device they can easily conceal in their palms. It resembles a flash drive, but instead of computer files, this device stores nicotine. They take a hit, sucking on the device as they would a cigarette. Then, “they blow into their backpacks … or into their sweater when the teacher isn’t looking,” said Elijah Luna, 16, a sophomore at Vista del Lago High School in Folsom, Calif., about 30 miles east of Sacramento. (Ibarra, 3/19)
The New York Times:
Trump Offers Tough Talk But Few Details In Unveiling Plan To Combat Opioids
President Trump made his first visit to New Hampshire since the 2016 campaign on Monday, unveiling a plan to combat the opioid epidemic that includes a push for the death penalty for drug dealers and a crackdown on illegal immigrants. Mr. Trump spoke in a state with the nation’s third-highest rate of deaths from overdoses and where opioids are a potent political issue. In a speech at a community college here, he offered up more tough talk than he did specifics about his plan, or how he would pay for it. (Haberman, Goodnough and Seelye, 3/19)
Politico:
Trump Talks Up Death Penalty, Border Wall In Opioid Speech
“If we don’t get tougher on drug dealers, we are wasting our time … and that toughness includes the death penalty,” Trump said — one of six times he invoked the death penalty during remarks in New Hampshire, a state hit hard by the addiction crisis. (Diamond and Ehley, 3/19)
Reuters:
As U.S. Opioid Crisis Grows, Trump Calls For Death Penalty For Dealers
Trump said that he was working with Congress to find $6 billion in new funding for 2018 and 2019 to fight the opioid crisis. The plan will also seek to cut opioid prescriptions by a third over three years by changing federal programs, he said. Addiction to opioids - mainly prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl - is a growing U.S. problem, especially in rural areas. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016. (Rampton, 3/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Pledges To ‘Get Very Tough,’ Rein In Opioid Crisis
Mr. Trump’s remarks at a community college here marked the formal unveiling of the next phase of his administration’s plan to attempt to turn the tide of the opioid epidemic, now claiming the lives of more than 100 Americans a day through overdoses of prescription opioid pills, fentanyl and heroin. The plan includes a call for opioid prescriptions to be reduced by one-third within three years, in part by encouraging physicians to change their prescribing behavior. It also calls for guaranteed access to overdose-reversal drug naloxone and for the Justice Department to seek more death-penalty cases against drug traffickers. (Radnofsky, 3/19)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Talks Up Combating Opioids, Yet His Funding Shortfall And Medicaid Cuts Would Blunt His Plans
Although Trump once again spoke extensively about expanding the federal death penalty for drug dealers, his administration released a three-page list of proposals before his speech that ruled out any change to existing federal law, suggesting instead that the Justice Department would take a more aggressive stance toward those offenders already eligible to be put to death based on other capital offenses, such as drug-related murders. (Bierman and Levey, 3/19)
The Associated Press Fact Check:
Trump Exaggerates Pros Of Anti-Opioid Ideas
President Donald Trump has laid out a new plan for tackling the deadly opioid epidemic that has ravaged communities across the nation. But some of the president's proposals have proven ineffective in the past. From renewing his call for "spending a lot of money" on commercials to scare young people from experimenting with drugs, to pushing for the death penalty for certain drug dealers, Trump's ideas are sometimes driven more by his gut instincts than past success. (3/20)
The Hill:
Trump Says Proposals Targeting High Drug Prices Coming Soon
The administration will unveil a slate of proposals soon to address high prescription drug costs in the U.S., President Trump announced Monday. "You'll be seeing drug prices falling very substantially in the not-so-distant future, and it's going to be beautiful," President Trump said during a press conference on opioids in New Hampshire. (Hellmann, 3/19)
Reuters:
Congress Struggles to Meet Deadline For Government Funding Bill
The U.S. Congress, facing a Friday midnight deadline, toiled on Monday to finish writing a $1.2 trillion bill to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, as several thorny issues lingered, including funding President Donald Trump's border wall. (Cowan, 3/19)
The Associated Press:
Abortion Impasse May Shut Down Effort To Reduce Premiums
The polarizing politics of abortion have burst into the congressional budget debate, overwhelming bipartisan efforts to help millions of consumers who buy their own health insurance policies get relief from soaring premiums. On Monday, Senate and House Republicans released their latest plan to stabilize the Affordable Care Act's insurance markets. It calls for new federal money to offset the cost of treating the sickest patients and restores insurer subsidies that President Donald Trump terminated last year. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Policy Feuds Keep Spending Bill In Flux
A bipartisan congressional effort to shore up the Affordable Care Act was likely to be excluded from the bill, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) told House Republicans Monday evening, although Senate Republicans had been pushing late Monday to get it in the legislation. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Susan Collins (R., Maine) had hoped to include a plan from Mr. Alexander and Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) to restore payments to insurers that offset their costs for providing mandatory subsidies to some low-income consumers on the ACA. Mr. Trump ended those payments last year, and many insurers raised premiums as a result. That meant people who don’t get federal assistance to help with premiums saw their costs rise. (Peterson and Armour, 3/20)
Politico:
Congress Closes In On Massive Spending Bill
A group of GOP senators and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday in a last-minute push to include the Obamacare subsidies, but were not optimistic. “I’m trying to make sure we get stabilization payments because if we don’t, the insurance premiums are going to go up dramatically. And our Democratic friends are not being helpful,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said as he left McConnell’s office. (Ferris, Everett and Bade, 3/19)
The Washington Post:
Congressional Negotiators Work To Finalize Massive Spending Bill
The “omnibus” spending bill spreading billions across all agencies of government was supposed to be released Monday night to allow time for passage through the House and Senate before a government shutdown deadline at midnight Friday. But as evening arrived, bipartisan congressional leaders remained locked in negotiations on several issues, and the eleventh-hour wrangling carried the potential to delay the bill’s release. “We’re trying to get to agreement,” said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Rules Committee. “And this is where it’s really good to measure three times and saw once.” (Werner and DeBonis, 3/19)
Politico:
Key GOP Senator Backs Shulkin As VA Secretary
A key Republican senator told President Donald Trump over the weekend that he had “full confidence” in Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, as Senate Republicans fret that Shulkin’s rumored replacement would be impossible to confirm. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, said he made the case for keeping Shulkin during a discussion with the president about legislation on veterans care. Trump has been mulling firing Shulkin after reports that Shulkin used taxpayer money on a trip to Europe, and potentially replacing him with a Fox News personality, Pete Hegseth, according to The Washington Post. (Everett, 3/19)
Reuters:
Supreme Court Mulls California Law On Anti-Abortion Facilities
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday tackles a dispute over whether a California law requiring Christian-based facilities that counsel pregnant women against abortion to post signs disclosing the availability of state-subsidized abortions and birth control violates their right to free speech. The nine justices are set to hear an hour of arguments in an appeal by a group of non-profit facilities called crisis pregnancy centers of a lower court ruling upholding the Democratic-backed 2015 law. (Chung, 3/20)
Politico:
Pregnancy 'Crisis Centers' Take Abortion Case To Supreme Court
The state of California and abortion rights supporters counter that the law in question — the Reproductive FACT Act — is straightforward and doesn’t trample anyone’s rights. It simply requires the centers to display a written notice about abortion access. They don’t have to discuss or counsel women about it. They just have to post it. Unlike other landmark abortion rights cases that have come before the court, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (or NIFLA) v. Becerra, doesn’t address when, where or under what circumstances a woman can terminate a pregnancy. (Colliver, 3/19)
The New York Times:
Mississippi Bans Abortions After 15 Weeks; Opponents Swiftly Sue
Saying that he was “saving the unborn,” Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi signed into law on Monday a measure that would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion rights supporters called it the earliest abortion ban in the country, and said it was an unconstitutional restriction that defied years of federal court precedent over the limits states may impose on abortion providers. The only abortion clinic in the state quickly filed a complaint in federal court to block the law. (Fausset, 3/19)
Reuters:
Mississippi Governor Signs Bill Banning Abortions After 15 Weeks
Republican Governor Phil Bryant said he was proud to sign the bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation with some exceptions, according to a statement from spokesman Knox Graham. "I am committed to making Mississippi the safest place in America for an unborn child, and this bill will help us achieve that goal,” Bryant said. (Simpson, 3/19)
The Hill:
Anti-Abortion Dem’s Political Career On The Line In Illinois
Progressive Democrats will try to topple anti-abortion rights Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) in a primary Tuesday that has highlighted divisions within the party. First-time candidate Marie Newman has landed support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other progressives looking to move the party leftward and end Lipinski’s career. (Hagen, 3/20)
Stat:
As Checkpoint Inhibitors Spread, So Does Risk Of Deadly Heart Condition
Clinicians have seen remarkable progress in cancer patients treated with the class of immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors. In a small number of patients, they have also seen a rare but fatal cardiovascular side effect known as myocarditis. Now, with checkpoint inhibitors likely to be approved for a wider array of cancers, researchers are concerned that it’s only a matter of time before more patients develop the same autoimmune response. They still don’t know why. (Keshavan, 3/20)
Reuters:
Roche Says Tecentriq, Chemo Cut Risk Of Death In Type Of Lung Cancer
Roche's immunotherapy Tecentriq plus chemotherapy cut the risk of disease worsening or death in advanced squamous lung cancer, but it did not yet show an overall survival benefit in this tough-to-treat disease, the Swiss drugmaker said Tuesday. A late-stage study, called IMpower131, demonstrated that Tecentriq combined with carboplatin and Abraxane boosted progression-free survival (PFS), compared with chemotherapy alone, in patients getting initial treatment. (Miller, 3/20)
The New York Times:
Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach Of Racism For Black Boys
Black boys raised in America, even in the wealthiest families and living in some of the most well-to-do neighborhoods, still earn less in adulthood than white boys with similar backgrounds, according to a sweeping new study that traced the lives of millions of children. (Badger, Miller, Pearce and Quealy, 3/19)
NPR:
African-American And Latino Children Often Diagnosed With Autism Later Than Their White Peers
Sherry Alvarez says she knew there was something different about her son since he was about 9 months old. Back then Sherry says his pediatrician told her there was nothing to worry about, " 'Boys are a little slower than girls, so let's just wait until his second birthday.' " We aren't using Sherry's son's name to protect his privacy. By her son's second birthday, Sherry says she was getting desperate. She didn't know why he wasn't talking yet or showing affection like other kids. At 2 1/2, he was referred to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. (Rentz, 3/19)
USA Today:
Teen Suicide Is Soaring. Do Spotty Mental Health And Addiction Treatment Share Blame?
J.C. Ruf, 16, was a Cincinnati-area pitcher who died by suicide in the laundry room of his house. Tayler Schmid, 17, was an avid pilot and hiker who chose the family garage in upstate New York. Josh Anderson, 17, of Vienna, Va., was a football player who killed himself the day before a school disciplinary hearing. The young men were as different as the areas of the country where they lived. But they shared one thing in common: A despair so deep they thought suicide was the only way out. (O'Donnell and Saker, 3/19)
The Associated Press:
Want To Avoid The Flu While Flying? Try A Window Seat
Worried about catching a cold or the flu on an airplane? Get a window seat, and don't leave it until the flight is over. That's what some experts have been saying for years, and it's perhaps the best advice coming out of a new attempt to determine the risks of catching germs on an airplane. (Stobbe, 3/19)
Los Angeles Times:
To Avoid Germs On An Airplane, Consider Booking A Window Seat
What you really need to watch out for is a flight attendant with a cough or runny nose. A single one of them can infect 4.6 passengers during a transcontinental flight. A group that dubbed itself the FlyHealthy Research Team came to these conclusions after flying back and forth from Atlanta to the West Coast on 10 flights and paying extremely close attention to the movements in the economy-class portion of the cabin. (Kaplan, 3/19)
The Associated Press:
For Menopause Sex Discomfort, Gel Worked As Well As Hormone
In a study of women with menopause-related sexual discomfort, gels worked as well as prescription hormone tablets at reducing symptoms. The researchers say the results suggest low-cost, over-the-counter moisturizers might be the best option. Most women in the study reported some relief from their most bothersome symptoms — painful intercourse, vaginal dryness or itching — regardless of treatment. Still, not quite half the women experienced what researchers considered a meaningful decline in symptom severity. (3/19)
The New York Times:
When the Death Of A Family Farm Leads To Suicide
Fred Morgan was already deep in debt from rebuilding his milking barn after a fire when milk prices plunged in 2015, setting off an economic drought that is now entering its fourth year — the worst in recent memory for dairy farmers in New York State. Mr. Morgan, 50, saw no way to save the dairy farm in central New York State that he took over as a teenager from his ailing father and ran with his wife, Judy, and their son, Cody. (Kilgannon, 3/19)
Reuters:
U.S. Judge Dismisses Tennessee Refugee Resettlement Lawsuit
A judge on Monday dismissed the state of Tennessee's lawsuit accusing the U.S. government of unconstitutionally coercing it into subsidizing the federal refugee resettlement program. Tennessee accused the government of invading its sovereignty by requiring it to provide Medicaid benefits to refugees, or else risk losing nearly $7 billion of Medicaid funds annually, equal to about 20 percent of its state budget, if it refused. (Stempel, 3/19)
The Associated Press:
Johns Hopkins Nurses Eye Unionizing Over Staffing, Benefits
Organizers say nurses at Johns Hopkins Hospital are overworked and underpaid compared with counterparts elsewhere and could form a union. The National Nurses United collective bargaining director for the mid-Atlantic region, Corey Lanham, tells The Baltimore Sun that nurse turnover at the hospital is high because of short staffing and declining benefits. (3/19)