First Edition: March 9, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
A Health Plan ‘Down Payment’ Is One Way States Try Retooling Individual Mandate
As President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans tirelessly try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, a number of states are scrambling to enact laws that safeguard its central provisions. The GOP tax plan approved by Congress in the last days of 2017 repealed the ACA penalty for people who fail to carry health insurance, a provision called the “individual mandate.” On Jan. 30, in Trump’s first State of the Union address, he claimed victory in killing off this part of the health law, saying Obamacare was effectively dead without it. (Bluth, 3/9)
Kaiser Health News:
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ HHS Leaders Take To The Stump
Three of the top officials of the Department of Health and Human Services — Secretary Alex Azar, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma — were out in force this week. All made major public appearances in an effort to reset the department’s agenda. In the wake of the failed congressional effort to “repeal and replace” the federal Affordable Care Act, the administration officials said they plan to focus on lowering the costs of health care and giving states and consumers more power. (3/8)
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Blocks Idaho’s Plan To Circumvent Health Law
The Trump administration rejected on Thursday Idaho’s plan to allow the sale of stripped-down, low-cost health insurance that violates the Affordable Care Act. The 2010 statute “remains the law, and we have a duty to enforce and uphold the law,” Seema Verma, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a letter to the governor of Idaho, C. L. Otter. (Pear, 3/8)
The Associated Press:
US To Idaho: 'State-Based' Health Plans Don't Pass Muster
Otter, Cameron and Lt. Gov. Brad Little announced earlier this year that they would begin allowing insurers to offer plans that don't meet all of the act's regulations, such as by charging people more based on their health history, or by not covering some health needs like maternity care. In the letter, Verma said such a move would force the federal agency to enforce the provisions of the Affordable Care Act on behalf of the state. That could include pulling regulatory authority from the Idaho Department of Insurance and fining insurance companies $100 a day for every person they insure on a noncompliant plan. (Boone, 3/8)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Warns Idaho Against Its Rebel Insurance Plans
How the administration would respond to a rebel state’s attempt to create a parallel insurance universe for individual buyers has been widely considered a significant test of HHS Secretary Alex Azar in his initial weeks on the job. The issue calls on him to balance President Trump’s — and his own — eagerness to free states and consumers from the ACA’s dictates with his avowed commitment to adhere to the law. (Goldstein, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Tells Idaho It Will Enforce Affordable Care Act If State Refuses
Idaho’s Department of Insurance said in January it would allow insurers in the state to begin offering products that left out some of the benefits mandated by the ACA for individual coverage. Insurers would be able to consider enrollees’ medical history in setting their premiums, a practice known as underwriting, which isn’t authorized under the ACA. New state-based plans also could include dollar limits on total benefit payouts, which the ACA banned. The eight-page letter from Ms. Verma to Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and Insurance Commissioner Doug Cameron outlines several provisions that the Trump administration sees as falling afoul of the federal law. (Radnofsky, 3/8)
The Washington Post:
Premiums For ACA Health Insurance Plans Could Jump 90 Percent In Three Years
Insurance premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans are likely to jump by 35 to 94 percent around the country within the next three years, according to a new report concluding that recent federal decisions will have a profound effect on prices. The nationwide analysis, issued Thursday by California’s insurance marketplace, finds wide variations state to state, with a broad swath of the South and parts of the Midwest in danger of what the report calls “catastrophic” average rate increases by 2021. (Goldstein, 3/8)
The Hill:
Study: ObamaCare Premiums Could Increase 90 Percent Over Three Years For Some States
Beginning in 2019, premiums increases could range from 12 to 32 percent in the U.S.
Cumulatively, states could see increases ranging from 35 to 90 percent from 2019 to 2021. The report, released by California's insurance marketplace, estimates that states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas could see cumulative increases of 90 percent by 2021. Indiana, Illinois and Iowa could see increases of 50 percent in the same time period. “The challenges to our health care system are threatening to have real consequences for millions of Americans,” said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. (Hellmann, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Abortion Provisions Lead To Tensions Over Spending Bill
A push from the White House and congressional Republicans to add new antiabortion provisions into a sweeping spending bill has divided lawmakers as they work to reach a deal that will fund the government beyond mid-March. Republican lawmakers want to expand restrictions that already prevent federal funding from going to abortions, and they also want to fully cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which has long been a target of conservatives. (Peterson and Armour, 3/8)
The New York Times:
Trump Draws ‘Lively’ Opinions On Video Game Violence But Shrouds His Own
President Trump on Thursday began the next leg of a listening tour he promised after last month’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., eliciting heated opinions at the White House from critics of violent video games and from game makers who reject any connection to mass shootings, but offering no concrete views of his own. In broaching the subject after a mass school shooting, Mr. Trump was traveling a path well worn by his predecessors going back for decades. But his approach was all his own. (Rogers, 3/8)
The Associated Press:
School Shooting Calls Released; Gun Bill On Governor’s Desk
In a newly released recording from the day of a deadly Florida school shooting, the parents of a 17-year-old girl tell a 911 dispatcher their daughter is texting from a classroom where the door’s glass was shot out. Later, the student texts that police have arrived. After getting the rest of the message, the mother raises her voice, “Three shot in her room. Oh my God. Oh my God.” As a gun-control bill sits on the governor’s desk, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office released 12 minutes of radio transmissions from its deputies and a neighboring police agency highlighting the chaos during the Feb. 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That material also included 10 of the 81 recordings of frantic calls by students and parents to a 911 center. (Farrington and Fineout, 3/9)
The Hill:
House Dems Warn Against Medicaid Lifetime Limits
Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee warned the Trump administration not to approve requests from states that want to put a lifetime cap on how long people can be enrolled in the Medicaid program. In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the lawmakers said lifetime limits would harm patients and the agency doesn’t even have the statutory authority to approve them. (Weixel, 3/8)
The Washington Post:
At Impasse Over Medicaid, Virginia’s Legislature To Miss Budget Deadline
A battle over Medicaid will keep Virginia’s House and Senate from passing the two-year state budget on time, legislators acknowledged Thursday, just two days before the General Assembly’s scheduled conclusion. The General Assembly will have to extend the current session or convene for a special session to continue work on the spending plan. Legislators had not settled on either option by day’s end. The state must have a budget in place by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to avoid what would be Virginia’s first government shutdown. (Vozzella and Schneider, 3/8)
The Associated Press:
Virginia Lawmakers At Impasse On Medicaid Expansion
Lawmakers assigned by both chambers to work on a compromise have no future plans to meet, Jones said, because neither side is willing to budge on Medicaid expansion. After years of near-uniform opposition, Republicans are now split on the issue with the GOP-led House supporting Medicaid expansion while the GOP-led Senate opposes it. Without an agreement on Medicaid expansion and a corresponding hospital tax to pay the state’s share, the two sides are far apart on how much money they’ll have to spend. The House version has significantly more money for public education and gives raises to state employees, something the Senate version does not. (Suderman, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
After Addiction Comes Families’ Second Blow: The Crushing Cost Of Rehab
Michelle and Darin Vandecar have spent nearly all their time and energy in recent years trying to help their drug-addicted sons stay clean. They’ve spent nearly all their money, too. The Salt Lake City-area couple amassed $120,000 of credit-card debt, took out a home-equity loan and cleaned out part of their 401(k) to pay for multiple rounds of addiction treatment for their three sons, aged 18, 20 and 23. Their insurance covered some of the costs, but because their out-of-pocket expenses were so steep, they sold motorcycles and other belongings to raise cash. (Whalen, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Opioid Crisis Gets Washington’s Attention
President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders are pressing ahead with an array of opioid-related efforts in coming weeks, teeing up bills and spending measures, while Democrats are calling the GOP actions belated and insufficient. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of governors testified before the Senate Health Committee on opioid addiction in their states. The White House also met with a number of governors last week and held a recent opioid summit to highlight steps it has taken. (Armour, 3/8)
Reuters:
Kentucky Sues Drug Distributor AmerisourceBergen Over Opioid Epidemic
Kentucky's attorney general on Thursday sued AmerisourceBergen Corp, accusing the drug distributor of contributing to opioid abuse in the state by filling suspiciously large or frequent pharmacy orders of prescription painkillers. The lawsuit by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear was his fourth to date seeking to hold a corporation responsible for its role in the national opioid epidemic. Two prior cases targeted AmerisourceBergen's main drug distribution competitors. (Raymond, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Approval Of 23andMe Kit Is Latest Example Of Agency’s Course Reversal
Federal health officials this week allowed a genetic testing firm to sell kits to consumers to test whether they carry gene mutations that put them at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The action, part of a broader regulatory shift, is the first time the Food and Drug Administration has allowed a company—in this case 23andMe Inc.—to market such a cancer-risk test directly to the public. (Burton, 3/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Cigna Deal Shows Being A Health Insurer Isn’t Enough Anymore
Cigna Corp.’s $54 billion deal for Express Scripts Holding Co. is the latest sign that health care’s biggest players believe they can no longer go it alone, and they must branch into other businesses to forge integrated products aimed at curbing costs. The acquisition sets up the combined company, which would bring together Cigna’s insurance assets with Express Scripts’ pharmacy-benefit management, to better compete with peers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. and CVS Health Corp. that already moved toward vertical combination, analysts said. (Wilde Mathews and Walker, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Cigna’s Cure Risks Dangerous Side Effects
Major deals in the health-care supply chain may be better news for sellers than for buyers. Health-insurance giant Cigna announced Thursday morning that it plans to buy the pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Holding for about $54 billion in cash and stock. Cigna shares dove sharply Thursday morning, and for good reason. (Grant, 3/8)
The Hill:
GOP Lawmaker Meets With Ryan To Push For Drug Pricing Bill
Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) says he met with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday to push for the inclusion of a measure to fight high drug prices in a coming government funding bill. The bill, called the Creates Act, has support from members of both parties but has faced strong lobbying in opposition from the powerful pharmaceutical industry. (Sullivan, 3/8)
The Associated Press:
‘Pharma Bro’ Faces High Stakes Sentencing In Fraud Case
Is “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli a master manipulator who conned wealthy investors or a misunderstood eccentric who used unconventional means to make those same investors even wealthier? A federal judge in Brooklyn will have to weigh the conflicting portrayals of the former pharmaceutical company CEO on Friday at his sentencing on a securities fraud conviction. The stakes are high: The defense wants U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to give Shkreli a sentence of 18 months or less because, in the end, his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back and more from stock he gave them in a successful drug company. (Hays, 3/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Johnson & Johnson Says Discounts Cut The Prices For Its Drugs, Though Revenue Rose
Johnson & Johnson said Thursday the average price paid for its medicines in the U.S. fell by 4.6% last year due to the company’s discounts, and the company’s pharmaceuticals chief expects the pricing pressures on drugmakers will continue this year. J&J, one of the biggest sellers of prescription drugs in the U.S., said it raised the list prices for its medicines by an average 8.1%, but they wound up as a whole costing far less because the manufacturer handed out $15 billion in discounts and rebates. (Rockoff, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Police Have A New Tool In Their Arsenal: Mental-Health Professionals
Police departments nationwide have started teaming up officers with therapists in situations involving the mentally ill, largely in the hope of avoiding the type of incident that recently landed a New York Police Department sergeant on trial for murder. The move to create what some departments call “co-response teams” of officers and clinicians has been adopted or expanded in recent years in Salt Lake City, Houston, Los Angeles and elsewhere. Officials in these cities say clinicians can bring meaningful insight to delicate situations, and can help prevent mentally ill people from harming themselves or others. (Kanno-Youngs, 3/9)
The New York Times:
How One Child’s Sickle Cell Mutation Helped Protect The World From Malaria
Thousands of years ago, a special child was born in the Sahara. At the time, this was not a desert; it was a green belt of savannas, woodlands, lakes and rivers. Bands of hunter-gatherers thrived there, catching fish and spearing hippos. A genetic mutation had altered the child’s hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that ferries oxygen through the body. It was not harmful; there are two copies of every gene, and the child’s other hemoglobin gene was normal. The child survived, had a family and passed down the mutation to future generations. (Zimmer, 3/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Do Cellphones Really Cause Brain Cancer? We Have Answers.
Does talking on a cellphone increase your risk of getting a brain tumor? Many health experts say it’s unlikely, and if it is possible, the increase is probably small. Yet there has been just enough research over the years to keep the debate alive. Last month, the U.S. government released results from the largest government study to date on the question. And the findings, from the National Toxicology Program, were…. a mixed bag. (Knutson, 3/8)
NPR:
Recent Breakthroughs In Cancer Research: The RAS Gene Has Eluded For Decades
Michael Robertson was on his summer vacation a few years ago and had just proposed to the woman who would become his wife when he decided he needed to see a doctor. "I'd been having symptoms for a few months but it was during an intense work period, drinking too much coffee, not getting enough sleep, so I kind of chalked it up to that," Robertson says. Unfortunately, the doctor had a more dire diagnosis: stage 4 rectal cancer. Robertson was only 35 at the time — unusually young for this diagnosis. (Harris, 3/9)
NPR:
Tattoo You: Immune System Cells Help Keep Ink In Its Place
Last Saturday, while I was visiting Fatty's Tattoos and Piercings, a college-aged woman in a hoodie walked in and asked for a tattoo, her first, right on the spot."I want a red-tailed hawk feather," she told the artist on duty at the Washington, D.C., tattoo parlor. He peppered her with questions: How big? What style? She alternated between a blank stare and a furrowed brow: "I ... have a photo on my phone of the feather that I like, I could show you that?" (Wilhelm, 3/8)
Politico:
California's Nurses Union Loses Longtime Leader, But Not Agenda
Don’t expect the retirement of the head of California’s politically powerful nurses union after 32 years to distract the labor organization from its long-standing focus on single-payer health care — or its efforts to push the state Democratic Party further to the left. RoseAnn DeMoro, who stepped down over the weekend, has long been grooming her second-in-command, Bonnie Castillo, to take the helm. The union’s supporters — as well as some detractors — say DeMoro has embedded her colorful antics and firebrand, rabble-rousing style in the DNA of the California Nurses Association. (Colliver, 3/8)
The Associated Press:
5 Infants Injured In Hospital Newborn Unit; Nurse Suspended
Five infants suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull, rib and arm in the newborn unit of a Wisconsin hospital and the nurse who cared for them has been suspended, a federal agency said in a report after it inspected the hospital. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that UnityPoint Health-Meriter hospital in Madison didn't respond to the suspected abuse until early last month, when staff noticed two babies with bruises. An internal investigation revealed two similar cases last year and one from January. The identity of the suspended nurse has not been released. (3/8)
The Hill:
Mississippi Lawmakers Pass Nation's Most Restrictive Abortion Law
Mississippi lawmakers have passed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a measure the governor is expected to sign. The Mississippi House on Thursday approved the measure in a 75-34 vote, according to The Associated Press. The bill, which if signed into law would be the nation's most restrictive abortion law, changes the state’s current law prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy to 15 weeks. (Roubein, 3/8)