First Edition: March 7, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Crowded Shelters And The Vicious Flu Brew Perfect Storm For The Homeless
The flu descended on Connie Gabaldon like a fog, she recalled, clouding her mind and compromising her judgment. It progressed to chest and back pain, the aches perhaps made worse by a fall the 66-year-old had while riding the bus in Santa Fe, N.M. Gabaldon is homeless. When she went to the emergency room in late January, doctors told her she also had pneumonia, a sinus infection and the flu. (Heredia Rodriguez, 3/7)
Kaiser Health News:
Oregon Couple’s Final Days Captured In Intimate Aid-In-Dying Video
On the last morning of their lives, Charlie and Francie Emerick held hands. The Portland, Ore., couple, married for 66 years and both terminally ill, died together in their bed on April 20, 2017, after taking lethal doses of medication obtained under the state’s Death With Dignity law. (Aleccia, 3/7)
Kaiser Health News:
Jury’s In: Opioids Are Not Better Than Other Medicines For Chronic Pain
A few years ago, Renea Molden’s doctors told her they wanted to take her off her opioid pills. It did not sound like good idea to her. “I was mad, I’ll be honest. I was mad. I was frustrated,” said Molden, 40, of Kansas City, Mo. She struggles with fibromyalgia, bulging discs and degenerative disc disease. Her doctors were concerned about her potentially taking hydrocodone for the rest of her life, but to her, the three pills she took each day seemed to be the only way she could make it through work, go shopping or even fix dinner. (Smith, 3/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Pushes Conservative Goals In Health-Care Market Changes
The Trump administration wants any congressional plan to shore up the Affordable Care Act markets to include conservative goals, such as letting insurers charge higher premiums to older people, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The memo encourages lawmakers to pass measures including allowing insurers to charge older people five times as much as younger people, expanding access to health savings accounts and increasing the amount of money that people can contribute to them, as well as supporting a permanent congressional appropriation for subsidies to insurance companies who decrease deductibles and copays for lower-income consumers in exchange for explicit exclusions on abortion coverage by those insurers. (Armour and Radnofsky, 3/6)
The Hill:
White House Pushes For Conservative Changes To ObamaCare Fix
“Although congressional efforts to provide taxpayer money to prop up the exchanges is understandable, any such efforts must also provide relief to middle-class families harmed by the law and protect life,” the memo states. “In order to support such efforts, the administration believes these three policies to provide greater choice and control for middle-class families must be included.” (Sullivan, 3/6)
Politico:
White House Pitch To Bolster Obamacare Includes Tough Trade-Offs For Democrats
The document indicates the administration will support congressional efforts to prop up the wobbly marketplaces, in exchange for significantly expanding short-term health plans and loosening other insurance regulations. The document also makes several references to abortion language that will be problematic for Democrats. A potential stumbling block in passing any stabilization package is whether conservatives will insist on including language prohibiting the use of government dollars to pay for abortions. (Demko, 3/6)
The Hill:
Health Groups Push For ObamaCare Funding In Omnibus Package
A coalition of health care providers and insurers on Tuesday called on House and Senate leaders to include additional funding for ObamaCare programs in the upcoming omnibus package to fund the government. “Immediate action is necessary to reduce premiums for individuals and families that purchase coverage on their own,” the groups wrote in the letter. (Weixel, 3/6)
The New York Times:
In Battle Over Future Of Veterans’ Care, Moderation Wins, For Now
In an administration rife with intramural fights, the battle over the Department of Veterans Affairs has stood out, not only for its vitriol but also for its consequences. At stake is the future of the nation’s veterans health care system. For now at least, it appears moderation has prevailed, with the Veterans Affairs secretary, David J. Shulkin, thwarting a pitched conservative push to drive him out. (Fandos and Philipps, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
Dying Vets Cannot Use Life-Ending Drugs At Many State Homes
Suffering from heart problems, Bob Sloan told his children he wants to use California’s new law allowing life-ending drugs for the terminally ill when his disease becomes too advanced to bear. But then the 73-year-old former U.S. Army sergeant learned that because he lives at the Veterans Home of California at Yountville — the nation’s largest retirement home for veterans — he must first move out. (Watson, 3/7)
The New York Times:
UnitedHealthcare Says It Will Pass On Rebates From Drug Companies To Consumers
In response to growing consumer frustration over drug prices, UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, said on Tuesday that it would stop keeping millions of dollars in discounts it gets from drug companies and share them with its customers. Dan Schumacher, the president of UnitedHealthcare, said the new policy will apply to more than seven million people who are enrolled in the company’s fully insured plans, beginning next year. “The benefit could range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars to over a thousand,” Mr. Schumacher said. (Abelson, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
UnitedHealthcare To Pass Drug Rebates On To Some Customers
UnitedHealthcare said Tuesday it will let people covered by certain employer-sponsored health plans collect rebates when they fill prescriptions or at the point of sale. Those rebates could amount to a few bucks or several hundred dollars, depending on the drug. Drugmakers frequently give rebates for prescription drugs, but those discounts rarely flow directly to the people filling prescriptions. How these rebates are used has become a growing source of debate in recent years as the cost of some treatments has soared. The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute says insurers and employers most often use the money to reduce overall plan costs. (Murphy, 3/6)
The Washington Post:
UnitedHealthcare Will Provide Drug Rebates Directly To Members In Some Plans
UnitedHealthcare said the policy, which would begin next year, would lower out-of-pocket costs for 7 million people enrolled in fully insured commercial group benefit plans. Health-care-policy specialists noted that the effects for individuals covered by those plans would vary, depending on which drugs they take, how big the rebates are and the structure of their health benefit. (Johnson, 3/6)
NPR:
Probe Into Generic Drug Price Fixing Set To Widen
Forty-five states and the Department of Justice are claiming that generic drug prices are fixed, and the alleged collusion may have cost U.S. business and consumers more than $1 billion. In their complaint, prosecutors say that when pharmacies asked drug makers for their lowest price, the manufactures would rig the bidding process. (Lane, 3/7)
The Hill:
McCaskill Accuses Generic Drugmaker Of ‘Stonewalling’
A Democratic senator on Tuesday accused the world’s largest generic drugmaker of “stonewalling” an investigation into the role opioid manufacturers and distributors play in the current drug crisis. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has only provided general information in response to repeated inquiries by her office. (Weixel, 3/6)
Stat:
How The 'Right-To-Try' Movement Muscled Its Way Into Washington
Five years ago, the phrase “right to try” wasn’t yet an inkling in the minds of its staunchest advocates. Today, the pithy shorthand for the campaign to get dying patients access to experimental treatments has been slapped on bumper stickers, emblazoned on T-shirts, and uttered by some of the most powerful figures in Washington. ... But the story of the five-year fight over “right to try” actually starts at a small lunch meeting of Republican health care experts in Phoenix. It then winds through more than three dozen state legislatures and into the stately meeting rooms of Capitol Hill, where pharmaceutical company lobbyists, Food and Drug Administration officials, and libertarian leaders are still pushing to shape or even upend the ultimate package. (Mershon, 3/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
CVS Bets Big With $40 Billion Bond Sale
Pharmacy chain CVS Health sold $40 billion of bonds Tuesday to help pay for its acquisition of health insurer Aetna Inc. months before it needs the money, seeking to get ahead of an expected rise in interest rates and a flood of borrowing across the economy. The sale, the largest in two years, showed there is still eager demand from investors for corporate bonds issued by financially strong borrowers. But investors and companies say they are bracing for a sea change in the markets caused by shifts in U.S. monetary and fiscal policy that could penalize prospective debt issuers for waiting. (Wirz, 3/6)
Politico:
Abstinence Advocate Gets Final Say On Family Planning Dollars
A senior Trump health official who has promoted abstinence will be the final arbiter of which groups receive federal family planning funds — a change from prior years, when a group of officials made the decision, POLITICO has learned. Conservatives have long criticized the $286 million Title X program, which funds family planning services, mostly for low-income women, because it gives money to Planned Parenthood and other groups that provide abortions, even though there is a prohibition on using those dollars for abortions. (Haberkorn, 3/6)
The Hill:
HHS Official To Return To Work After Probe Into Inflammatory Social Media Posts: Report
A top official with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who was placed on leave last month after his history of inflammatory social media posts was revealed, will return to his job this week, according to a new report. Politico reports Jon Cordova, the principal deputy assistant secretary for administration, will return to his position on Wednesday after he was placed on leave last month. (Carter, 3/6)
Politico:
HHS Official Who Spread Conspiracy Theories Allowed Back On Job
“Mr. Cordova has expressed sincere and deep apology for those statements and for any harm or injury he may have caused to readers of any of his social media posts,” an HHS spokesperson told POLITICO. ... Cordova, a former Trump campaign staffer, shared false stories about former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and others, CNN reported last month. (Diamond, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
White House Wants User-Friendly Electronic Health Records
The Trump administration Tuesday launched a new effort under the direction of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner to overcome years of problems with electronic medical records and make them easier for patients to use. Medicare will play a key role, eventually enabling nearly 60 million beneficiaries to securely access claims data and share that information with their doctors. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/6)
Bloomberg:
Trump Administration Wants To Take On Medical-Records Puzzle
The question of how information from medical records can be shared securely with patients and among different health-care providers has long vexed the industry. While many health-care records have been digitized in the past decade, hospitals and doctors haven’t yet realized broad productivity gains from the transformation. That’s partly because even digital records are often limited to one health-care provider’s system, and competing systems don’t communicate with each other. (Tozzi and Tracer, 3/6)
NPR:
Gun Law Proposed In Florida Would Earmark Money For Mental Health Services
A piece of legislation under consideration in Florida this week has received a lot of attention because of a controversial provision that would allow some teachers to have guns in schools. But the proposed law would also designate an influx of cash for mental health services. The state has seen three mass shootings in 20 months — at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the Fort Lauderdale airport and now at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. And the need for more mental health funding has come up twice before — with no cash forthcoming. (Ochoa, 3/6)
The Hill:
Aetna Donates $200K To Gun Protest March
Aetna announced on Tuesday that it will donate $200,000 to the gun reform rally “March for Our Lives.” The health insurer said it wants to support action to stop gun violence, but doesn’t oppose responsible gun owners. “I want to emphasize that our actions are not an indictment of responsible, legal gun owners,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement. “Instead, we are joining others who cannot sit by idly while mass shootings become a part of our everyday life.” (Sanchez, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
Opioid Overdoses In ERs Up 30 Percent As Crisis Worsens
Emergency rooms saw a big jump in overdoses from opioids last year — the latest evidence the nation's drug crisis is getting worse. A government report released Tuesday shows overdoses from opioids increased 30 percent late last summer, compared to the same three-month period in 2016. The biggest jumps were in the Midwest and in cities, but increases occurred nationwide. (Stobbe, 3/6)
The Washington Post:
Emergency Room Data Shows The Opioid Crisis Continues To Accelerate
The 142,557 emergency visits in 45 states marked a nearly 30 percent increase between the third quarter of 2016 and the same period of 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday. In 16 states that have suffered high rates of overdose deaths, the jump was even higher, at 34.5 percent. No region or demographic group was spared, and two states — Wisconsin and Delaware — saw overdose visits to their emergency rooms more than double. (Bernstein, 3/6)
NPR:
CDC: Opioid Overdoses Jump 30 Percent In A Year
"We have an emergency on our hands," says acting CDC Director Anne Schuchat. "The fast-moving opioid overdose epidemic continues and is accelerating." The largest regional increase occurred in the Midwest, which saw a 69.7 percent jump in opioid overdoses, according to the report. The jump was driven in part by a 109 percent increase in Wisconsin. Overdoses increased 40.3 percent in the West, 21.3 percent in the Northeast, 20.2 percent in the Southwest and 14 percent in the Southeast. (Stein, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
Prescription Opioids Fail Rigorous New Test For Chronic Pain
A yearlong study offers rigorous new evidence against using prescription opioids for chronic pain. In patients with stubborn back aches or hip or knee arthritis, opioids worked no better than over-the-counter drugs or other nonopioids at reducing problems with walking or sleeping. And they provided slightly less pain relief. (Tanner, 3/6)
Los Angeles Times:
For All Their Risks, Opioids Had No Pain-Relieving Advantage In A Yearlong Clinical Trial
By some measures, the people using non-opioid drugs such as Tylenol, ibuprofen and lidocaine experienced more pain relief than people using medications like morphine, Vicodin and oxycodone — though the differences weren't large enough to be considered statistically significant. Patients in both groups saw similar improvements in their quality of life. The findings cast doubt on the medical community's "standard approach" of using opioids to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain, the researchers found. (Kaplan, 3/6)
Stateline:
One State Forces Opioid Abusers To Get Help. Will Others Follow?
But here in Tampa, police, health care professionals and families have a powerful legal tool not available in many other places: the 1993 Marchman Act. Families and health care professionals can use the state law to “marchman,” or involuntarily commit people into substance abuse treatment when they are deemed a danger to themselves or others. Although the statute applies to all jurisdictions in the state, court records show that it has been employed in Tampa and surrounding Hillsborough County far more than anywhere else. Hillsborough County accounts for less than 7 percent of the state’s population and more than 40 percent of its Marchman commitments. (Vestal, 3/7)
The Associated Press:
City Of Chicago Sues 3 Opioid Distributors
Chicago officials have filed a federal lawsuit against three distributors of opioids, citing "unlawful and unfettered" distribution of the drugs in the city. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the lawsuit Tuesday. It follows litigation the city filed in 2014 against opioid manufacturers. The new lawsuit was filed against AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corporation. (3/6)
USA Today:
Former Cleveland Clinic Doctor's Grand Jury Raises Questions
The grand jury that declined to indict a former Cleveland Clinic surgeon accused of anal rape was given the results of a polygraph the doctor passed, which is so rare that it could justify releasing the proceeding's transcripts, according to Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Donnelly. The Ohio Supreme Court adopted a new rule to promote transparency where transcripts can be obtained when the public's interest to know outweighs grand jury secrecy. Donnelly says he's never heard of polygraph evidence being introduced by a defendant in a grand jury proceeding in his 25 years in the legal profession. (O'Donnell, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
FDA Clears DNA Test To Spot Cancer Genes, But With Warnings
U.S. regulators have approved the first direct-to-consumer breast cancer gene test. But the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it will require warnings about the limitations of the genetic information from California-based 23andMe. The test, which analyzes DNA from saliva, can only detect three out of more than 1,000 known inherited BRCA gene mutations. It cannot determine a person's overall risk of developing cancer. (3/6)
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Approves First Home Testing For 3 Breast Cancer Mutations, With Caveats
The agency’s action on Tuesday permits the testing company, 23andMe, to report results as part of its $199 Health and Ancestry product, which uses DNA from saliva samples to inform customers about their families’ countries of origin, along with information on genetic health risks. There will be no extra charge for the additional reports, which should be available in a few weeks to customers who actively opt in and request to see them, company officials said. (Rabin, 3/6)
The Washington Post:
23andMe Gets FDA Approval To Report Breast Cancer Risk Without A Doctor
The Food and Drug Administration decision is a step forward for the evolving world of consumer genomics. The company can report back the three mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that are the most common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Those mutations are not the most common BRCA mutations in the broader population. (Johnson, 3/6)
The New York Times:
Spooked By Trump Proposals, Immigrants Abandon Public Nutrition Services
Immigrants hoping for permanent residence are dropping out of public nutrition programs even before prominent elements of the Trump administration’s proposed policy changes are enacted, fearful that participating could threaten their citizenship eligibility or put them at risk for deportation, according to program administrators. Statistics on participation in state and local efforts show fewer people are using an array of food programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (called WIC) as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) and food banks. (Baumgaertner, 3/6)
The New York Times:
Frail, Old And Dying, But Their Only Way Out Of Prison Is A Coffin
Kevin Zeich had three and a half years to go on his prison sentence, but his doctors told him he had less than half that long to live. Nearly blind, battling cancer and virtually unable to eat, he requested “compassionate release,” a special provision for inmates who are very sick or old. His warden approved the request, but officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons turned him down, saying his “life expectancy is currently indeterminate.” (Thompson, 3/7)
The New York Times:
The Best Way To Monitor Your Blood Pressure? Do It Yourself
The most effective way to monitor blood pressure may be to do it yourself. British researchers randomly assigned 1,003 patients with hypertension to one of three groups. The first took their own readings daily for one week every month over the course of a year and mailed them to a doctor. A second used a phone app, sending their readings to the doctor through a web-based system. A control group was assigned to “usual care,” in which patients had their blood pressure checked at their doctor’s office. The data gathered was used to adjust medication. (Bakalar, 3/6)
The New York Times:
How The Shape Of Your Ears Affects What You Hear
Ears are a peculiarly individual piece of anatomy. Those little fleshy seashells, whether they stick out or hang low, can be instantly recognizable in family portraits. And they aren’t just for show. Researchers have discovered that filling in an external part of the ear with a small piece of silicone drastically changes people’s ability to tell whether a sound came from above or below. But given time, the scientists show in a paper published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience, the brain adjusts to the new shape, regaining the ability to pinpoint sounds with almost the same accuracy as before. (Greenwood, 3/6)
The Washington Post:
Hate Your Selfie? There May Be A Good Reason, Says New Study.
How many times have you taken a selfie, only to hate how you looked? You aren’t the only one. It’s common problem, but not everyone is picking a new Instagram filter as a quick-fix. Some people are resorting to expensive surgery in hopes of snapping a better picture, according to a recent survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. (Andrews, 3/7)
The Washington Post:
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Is Hoping His Many Friendships In The Legislature Will Result In Legislative Victory.
Democrats determined to expand Medicaid cooked up a plan to flip a Republican in Virginia’s closely divided state Senate. They’d take one of Sen. William M. Stanley Jr.’s bills, aimed at reviving a shuttered hospital in his struggling rural district, and hold it hostage until the Republican got on board. But one Democrat, a longtime friend of Stanley’s, was so bothered by the hardball tactic that he tipped him off and then persuaded fellow Democrats to approve the bill. To top it off, Stanley’s pal whisked him from Richmond to the North Carolina border, and there, on grounds of defunct Patrick County Hospital, signed the Republican’s bill into law. (Vozzella, 3/6)
The Associated Press:
Mississippi Governor Says He Supports 15-Week Abortion Ban
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is indicating he will sign a bill that would set the earliest abortion ban in the United States. Senators voted 35-14 Tuesday to pass House Bill 1510. If the House agrees with changes made by the Senate, the bill would go to the Republican governor. "As I have repeatedly said, I want Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child," Bryant said Tuesday on Twitter. "House Bill 1510 will help us achieve that goal." (3/6)
NPR:
EPA Releases Chloroprene Data, Residents Sue Chemical Maker
Robert Taylor isn't sure why he's alive. "My mother succumbed to bone cancer. My brother had lung cancer," he ticks them off on his fingers. "My sister, I think it was cervical cancer. My nephew lung cancer." A favorite cousin. That cousin's son. Both neighbors on one side, one neighbor on the other. "And here I am. I don't understand how it decides who to take." (Hersher, 3/6)