First Edition: May 1, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Telemedicine Opening Doors To Specialty Care For Inmates
When an inmate needs to see a medical specialist, getting that care can be complicated. Prisons are often located in rural areas far from medical centers that have experts in cancer, heart and other disease treatments. Even if the visit just involves a trip to a hospital across town, the inmate must be transported under guard, often in shackles.The whole process is expensive for the correctional facility and time-consuming for the patient. (Andrews, 5/1)
California Healthline:
Boom In Proton Therapy Is A Bust For Some. Blame A Shortage Of Patients.
On March 29, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital opened a proton-therapy cancer unit that is expected to treat about 300 patients a year at premium prices using what its proponents promote as the most advanced radiology for attacking certain tumors. At the facility’s heart is a 15-ton particle accelerator that bombards malignancies with beams of magnet-controlled, positively charged protons designed to stop at tumors rather than shoot through them like standard X-ray waves, mostly sparing healthy tissue. (Hancock, 5/1)
California Healthline:
Family Caregivers Finally Get A Break — And Extra Coaching
For today, there are no doctor’s visits. No long afternoons with nothing to do. No struggles over bathing — or not. At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., a group of older adults — some in wheelchairs, some with Alzheimer’s — and their caregivers sit in a semicircle around a haunting portrait of a woman in white.“Take a deep breath,” said Lorena Bradford, head of accessible programs at the National Gallery, standing before “The Repentant Magdalen” by Georges de La Tour. (Fetterman, 4/30)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. Director’s $375,000 Salary Will Be Cut
The government will lower the $375,000 salary of the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, after reports that he was being paid considerably more than previous directors, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Monday, though it declined to say what his new pay will be. Dr. Redfield, who became the C.D.C. director in March, had been given the higher salary under a provision called Title 42. It was created by Congress to allow federal agencies to offer compensation that is competitive with the private sector in order to attract top-notch scientists with expertise that the departments would not otherwise have. News reports of his earnings sparked complaints from Senate Democrats and watchdog groups. (Belluck, 4/30)
The Associated Press:
CDC Chief Asks For, And Gets, Cut To His Record $375K Pay
On Monday, HHS officials said Redfield has asked for a pay reduction because the topic had become a distraction. They said his compensation will be adjusted accordingly, but did not answer questions about what the new sum is or when it will be announced. Redfield has not been doing media interviews since taking the CDC job, and he didn't immediately comment on the pay cut. A top HIV researcher, Redfield had no experience working in public health or managing a public health agency. (Stobbe, 4/30)
The Washington Post:
CDC Director Asks That His $375,000 Salary Be Cut After Questions Raised
In a letter Friday to Azar, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) asked for the justification for offering Redfield “a salary significantly higher” than that of his predecessors and other leaders at HHS. Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, noted news reports last week that Redfield was being hired under a special salary program. Title 42, as it is known, was established by Congress to attract health scientists with rare and critical skills to government work. It grants federal agencies authority to offer salary and benefit packages that are competitive with those offered in the private sector and academia. (Sun, 4/30)
The Associated Press:
McConnell: Senate Likely To Consider Anti-Opioid Package
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the U.S. Senate is working on crafting a comprehensive package to combat the nation's opioid addiction problems and ease the transition from treatment to the workforce. The Kentucky Republican attended discussions Monday in Louisville that included business representatives and executives on the front lines of treating people battling drug addiction. McConnell emerged to promote his recently introduced measure aimed at helping people make the successful journey from treatment to the workplace. (Schreiner, 4/30)
Stat:
Former Lilly Researcher Will Lead Government Agency Studying Addiction Treatments
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has hired a former drug industry researcher to oversee research into therapeutics, it announced on Monday. Kurt Rasmussen, formerly the head of Eli Lilly’s (LLY) neuroscience division, will lead NIDA’s Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences, overseeing a unit that studies the efficacy and safety of devices and drugs used to treat substance use disorders. (Facher, 4/30)
The Associated Press:
Kentucky Seeks Relief As Autopsy Requests Surge
As the opioid epidemic rages across Appalachia, one grim consequence has played out in Kentucky's medical examiner's office: A staggering increase in autopsy requests. Autopsy requests for overdose deaths have jumped more than 26 percent since 2013. The increase has overwhelmed the State Medical Examiner's Office, which consists of nine doctors for the entire state. And it comes amid a national shortage of forensic pathologists. (Beam, 4/30)
The Washington Post:
Viral Photos Of Utah VA Clinic Leads To Apology And Investigation
When American soldiers bathe in Iraq, where a grimy film coats every surface, they are reminded by bathroom signs not to ingest anything that comes from the tap. So when Christopher Wilson left the Army after two tours in Iraq and sought medical care for his service-related injury at the Department of Veterans Affairs, he expected a cleaner environment than what he encountered April 5 at a VA clinic in Salt Lake City. Wilson was shocked by what he found inside a clinic room during his appointment, he told local media: an overflowing trash can, medical instruments strewn about on the counter and a filthy sink. He snapped photos of what he saw. (Horton, 4/30)
The Associated Press:
VA Hospital Investigating After Tweets Of ‘Unsanitary’ Room
A Veterans Affairs clinic in Salt Lake City is investigating why an Army veteran was put in a room with an overflowing trash can and medical supplies strewn about after the man’s father tweeted images of the unclean space. Stephen Wilson, the father of Christopher Wilson who spent six years in the Army and was deployed to Iraq twice, posted the photos to Twitter on Friday, calling the sight “very unprofessional, unsanitary and disrespectful,” the Deseret News reported. (5/1)
The Associated Press:
Father Of Army Vet Shot At Oregon VA Clinic Feels Betrayed
The father of a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who was shot at a government clinic in Oregon blames Veterans Affairs for letting down his son. Gilbert "Matt" Negrete, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in jail in the former timber town of Medford, charged with attempted assault and other crimes after he allegedly displayed a knife during a confrontation at the VA clinic in nearby White City on Jan. 25. A VA guard shot him in the chest. (Selsky, 4/30)
Politico:
Maine Governor Sued For Defying Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure
Obamacare supporters are suing Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s administration to force him to expand Medicaid, accusing the Republican of ignoring a ballot initiative that ordered the state to join the coverage program. LePage has refused to expand Medicaid nearly six months after 59 percent of the state’s voters approved it in a first-of-its-kind ballot measure. He has insisted he won’t adopt Medicaid expansion unless state lawmakers meet his conditions for funding the program. (Pradhan, 4/30)
The Hill:
Medicaid Expansion Advocates Announce Lawsuit In Maine
Maine Equal Justice Partners led the effort to put the expansion to a vote last year, and announced Monday it was filing a lawsuit in conjunction with other individuals and groups. “The governor has continued to drag his feet," Robyn Merrill, the group’s executive director, said at a press conference at Maine's state courthouse. “We don’t know what’s going to happen with the legislature. They still have the opportunity to act on Medicaid expansion, but that hasn’t happened yet. And so with the goal of getting health care to people as soon as possible, we decided we couldn’t wait any longer.” (Roubein, 4/30)
The Associated Press:
Transgender Residents Sue Over Wisconsin's Medicaid Rule
Two Wisconsin residents who want gender reassignment surgeries paid by Medicaid filed a lawsuit Monday against the state, contending their denials of service are discriminatory and violate the federal health care law. The federal lawsuit from Cody Flack, a 30-year-old transgender man, and Sara Ann Makenzie, a 41-year-old transgender woman, challenges a 1997 state regulation that deems "transsexual surgery" as medically unnecessary and therefore not eligible for Medicaid coverage. (Moreno, 4/30)
The Hill:
Idaho Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure Moving Forward
Idaho is poised to allow a vote on Medicaid expansion after an activist group said it has collected enough signatures to put it on the November ballot. Reclaim Idaho said it has collected the required 56,192 signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot. The deadline to turn in the signatures is Monday. (Weixel, 4/30)
Reuters:
U.S. Appellate Judges Seem Divided On Gene Editing Patents Decision
U.S. appeals court judges appear divided over whether to allow a research center affiliated with MIT and Harvard to keep patents potentially worth billions of dollars on a groundbreaking gene editing technology known as CRISPR. Patents on the technology that could revolutionize treatment of genetic diseases and crop engineering are held by the Broad Institute, which was challenged in court by a rival team associated with the University of California at Berkeley and University of Vienna in Austria. Their lawyers argued at a hearing on Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington that the Broad Institute’s contributions were obvious and that an administrative court decision allowing Broad’s patents to stand should be reversed. (Wolfe, 4/30)
Stat:
UC Berkeley Struggles To Find Sympathetic Court In CRISPR Patent Appeal
The university clearly failed to win over at least one of the three judges and, at best, did not lose too much ground with a second (while the third asked almost no questions and so did not tip his hand). “UC came into this argument from a tough spot, and I doubt that oral arguments from either side moved the needle much,” said patent attorney Michael Stramiello of Paul Hastings, who attended the arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where attorneys for the University of California fought to get a patent win by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard reversed. (Begley, 4/30)
The Washington Post:
Ocular Melanoma: Three Friends Among At Least 18 Diagnosed With Rare Eye Cancer
At least a dozen and a half people have been diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer in two locations in North Carolina and Alabama, leaving medical experts mystified about the cause. Ocular melanoma occurs in about 6 out of every 1 million people, according to CBS News, and at least 18 people who have been diagnosed with the eye cancer have connections to Huntersville, N.C., Auburn, Ala., or both locations. Marlana Orloff, an oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, is studying the cases with her colleagues, according to CBS. (Rosenberg, 4/30)
Los Angeles Times:
These Five Healthy Habits Could Extend Your Life By A Dozen Years Or More, Study Says
You know that getting exercise, eating vegetables and quitting smoking are good for you. A new study shows just how good they are, in terms of the number of years they can add to your life. American women who followed five "healthy lifestyle factors" lived about 14 years longer than women who followed none of them, according to a report published Monday in the journal Circulation. For men, the difference was about 12 years. The five healthy lifestyle factors identified in the study should come as no surprise to anyone: eating a nutritious diet, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and drinking in moderation. (Kaplan, 4/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Does Exposure To Animals During Childhood Buffer The Body's Response To Stress As Adults?
New research offers evidence for a claim made regularly by country music singers: Growing up with a little dirt under his nails may make a country boy a little shy. But compared to a born-and-bred city slicker, that country boy will grow up to be a stronger, healthier and more laid-back man. In ways large and small, farm kids and city kids grow up worlds apart from each other. A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores the possible consequences of that divergence for the health of modern men. (Healy, 5/1)
NPR:
Young People Are Lonelier Than Their Elders
Loneliness isn't just a fleeting feeling, leaving us sad for a few hours to a few days. Research in recent years suggests that for many people loneliness is more like a chronic ache, affecting their daily lives and sense of well-being. Now a nationwide survey by the health insurer Cigna underscores that. It finds that loneliness is widespread in America, with nearly 50 percent of respondents reporting that they feel alone or left out always or sometimes. (Chatterjee, 5/1)
The Washington Post:
Assisted Suicide: 104-Year-Old Australian Scientist David Goodall Wants To Die
Champagne bubbles danced in fancy glasses and birthday candles burned atop a cheesecake marking 104 years of a long and accomplished life.David Goodall listened quietly as his loved ones started to sing. Then he took a breath, made a wish and blew out the flames. But Goodall was not wholeheartedly celebrating the milestone this month in Perth, Australia. The botanist and ecologist, who is thought to be the country’s oldest scientist, said that he has lived too long. And now, he said, he is ready to die. (Bever, 4/30)
The Washington Post:
Dr. Marian Antoinette Patterson Flew Into A Sudden Rage And Threatened To Decapitate, Disembowel Employees And Patients
A few months ago, a patient left a glowing, exclamation-point-heavy review on her doctor's Facebook page: “My primary care physician is truly the most incredible woman that I have ever met in my life!!!!!!!” Marian Antoinette Patterson “takes the time to listen to me, converse with me, figures out a solution to every problem that arises,” the patient said. The physician was sensitive to her financial situation, too, giving her free samples of a vital medication and even consulting by phone to save the patient money. Patterson, the patient said, “is truly an angel and the meaning of what a doctor should be.” (Wootson, 4/30)