First Edition: November 21, 2019
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
In This Democratic Debate, Health Care Issues Took A Backseat
Biden disputed Booker’s accusation, saying he supports marijuana decriminalization, as well as releasing offenders from jail and expunging their records. “But I do think it makes sense based on data that we should study what the long-term effects are for the use of marijuana,” he added. Research on marijuana has been significantly limited by the federal government’s classification of the drug under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, making it difficult to access for experimental purposes. The surgeon general, Jerome Adams, has said it can “prime your brain for addiction to other substances,” a claim PolitiFact recently rated “Half True” due to a lack of context. (Huetteman, 11/21)
Kaiser Health News:
Do 160 Million Americans Really Like Their Health Plans? Kind Of
Articulating his proposal for health care reform, former Vice President Joe Biden emphasized the number of Americans who, he said, were more than perfectly satisfied with the coverage they have. “160 million people like their private insurance,” Biden said during the November Democratic presidential primary debate. (Luthra, 11/21)
Kaiser Health News:
No Safety Switch: How Lax Oversight Of Electronic Health Records Puts Patients At Risk
In fall 2009, several dozen of the best minds in health information technology huddled at a hotel outside Washington, D.C., to discuss potential dangers of an Obama White House plan to spend billions of tax dollars computerizing medical records. The health data geeks trusted that transitioning from paper to electronic records would cut down on medical errors, help identify new cures for disease and give patients an easy way to track their health care histories. (Schulte and Fry, 11/21)
Kaiser Health News:
Efforts To Move The Needle On Flu Shot Rates Get Stuck
It’s free and available everywhere. Yet most Americans skip the annual flu shot ― with the number of dispensed vaccines barely changed in the past decade, despite government removal of cost and access obstacles. “We are kind of spinning our wheels trying to reach a larger portion of the population,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. (Galewitz, 11/21)
Kaiser Health News:
‘An Arm And A Leg’: A Medical Bill Ninja Shares Her Secrets
Meredith Balogh has spent years learning to navigate the financial side of the health care system. Balogh, who has Type 1 diabetes, has saved herself and her family many thousands of dollars. She has made a habit — even a hobby — of helping others: people with diabetes, co-workers and strangers on the internet. “There’s only three things that you’re fighting,” she said. “Problems with competence, problems with greed and problems with maliciousness. And, luckily, most things are incompetence.” (Weissmann, 11/21)
The Associated Press:
Democrats Spar At Debate Over Health Care, How To Beat Trump
Democratic presidential candidates clashed Wednesday in a debate over the future of health care in America, racial inequality and their ability to build a winning coalition to take on President Donald Trump next year. The faceoff came after hours of testimony in the impeachment inquiry of Trump and at a critical juncture in the Democratic race to run against him in 2020. With less than three months before the first voting contests, big questions hang over the front-runners, time is running out for lower tier candidates to make their move and new Democrats are launching improbable last-minute bids for the nomination. (Barrow, Weissert and Colvin, 11/20)
The New York Times:
5 Takeaways From The November Democratic Debate
The story of the debate was more of punches pulled than landed. A month after her rivals hammered Ms. Warren for a lack of “Medicare for all” specifics, her fresh $20.5 trillion package to remake the health care system received surprisingly little scrutiny. (Goldmacher, Epstein and Lerer, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
Takeaways From The Democratic Presidential Debate
So it was again. Within minutes of the start, Warren found herself on the defensive as she explained she still supports a single-payer government run insurance system — “Medicare for All” — despite her recent modified proposal to get there in phases. Not to be outdone, Sanders reminded people that he’s the original Senate sponsor of the “Medicare for All” bill that animates progressives. “I wrote the damn bill,” he quipped. Again. Biden jumped in to remind his more liberal rivals that their ideas would not pass in Congress. The former vice president touted his commitment to adding a government insurance plan to existing Affordable Care Act exchanges that now sell private insurance policies. (Riccardi and Barrow, 11/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Democratic Debate: Key Takeaways From Atlanta
Wednesday night, she leaned into more popular aspects of her healthcare plan, saying “on day one as president” she would act to bring down the cost of prescription drugs and vowing to “defend the Affordable Care Act from the sabotage of the Trump administration.” She soft-pedaled Medicare for all, which would force millions of Americans off their private insurance plans, by saying she would move in that direction only after people “have had a chance to feel it and taste it and live with it.” (Barabak, 11/20)
The Washington Post:
Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate In Atlanta.
The more-moderate candidates onstage also defended their approaches. Buttigieg said that Americans would not like to be told what to do.
“Commanding people” to go into Medicare, he said, “is not the right approach to unify the American people.” Biden used skepticism of Medicare-for-all on the part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bolster his own plan. “Nancy Pelosi is one of those people who doesn’t think it make sense,” he said. “We should build on Obamacare.” (Viser, Linskey and Olorunnipa, 11/21)
The New York Times:
Fact-Checking The November Democratic Debate
What Mr. Biden Said: “The fact is that right now the vast majority of Democrats do not support ‘Medicare for all.’ It couldn’t pass the United States Senate right now with Democrats. It couldn’t pass the House.” This is exaggerated. Depending on how you measure, a majority of Democratic voters do support Medicare for all. Support among Democrats in Congress is weaker than that, but it is hard to find any measure that shows a vast majority who oppose the policy. (11/20)
The Associated Press:
Claims From The Democratic Debate
That statement is at odds with a Kaiser Family Foundation poll out this week. It found that 77% of Democrats support Medicare for All. Even more — 88% — support a “public option” proposal such as the one Biden advocates. It would allow people to buy into a new government insurance plan modeled on Medicare, but it would not completely replace private insurance. Overall, 53% of Americans support Medicare for All, while 43% oppose it, according to the Kaiser poll. (11/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Democratic Candidates Unite Against Trump, Divide On Taxes, Health Care
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker criticized Ms. Warren’s signature proposal for higher taxes on the wealthy, calling it “cumbersome.” Mr. Booker said he agrees with her policies for universal preschool, funding for historically black colleges and universities and raising corporate tax rates, but he disagreed with Ms. Warren’s plan to pay for them. “It’s been tried by other nations. It’s hard to evaluate. We can get the same amount of revenue through just taxation,” he said. Ms. Warren responded that she was “tired of freeloading billionaires.” (Collins, Day and Glazer, 11/21)
The Washington Post Fact Checker:
Fact-Checking The Fifth Democratic Presidential Debate
“Five hundred thousand people go bankrupt because of medically related issues. They come down with cancer, and that’s a reason to go bankrupt?” — Sanders. Sanders often repeats this talking point, asserting that 500,000 people go bankrupt every year from medical issues. That’s approximately two-thirds of the 750,000 total bankruptcies per year. For this debate, however, the senator modified the wording of his claim. Sanders previously said 500,000 people a year go bankrupt from medical debt, but now he says “medically related issues.” This formulation more accurately reflects the study he’s quoting. (Kessler, Rizzo and Kelly, 11/21)
The New York Times:
With Impeachment As Backdrop, Democrats Direct Fire At Trump In Debate
Mr. Biden did not appear to incur new damage to his campaign, which has been durable despite some of his self-inflicted errors. Yet at a moment when a pair of new candidates were entering the race in part because of his perceived weakness, the former vice president appeared tongue-tied on more than one occasion. He drew nervous laughter when, in discussing domestic violence, he said it was important to keep “punching at” the problem. (Burns and Martin, 11/20)
Politico:
‘You Might Have Been High When You Said It’: The Best Zingers On The Debate Stage
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Booker butted heads over their divergent views on whether marijuana should be legalized at the federal level. Booker objected in particular to Biden's assertion at a forum last week that he considers marijuana a "gateway drug" and would like to see more research on it before pushing legalization nationwide. "This week I hear him literally say that I don't think we should legalize marijuana. I thought you might have been high when you said it," Booker said, arguing that "marijuana in our country is already legal for privileged people and ... the war on drugs has been a war on black and brown people." (Oprysko and Marshall, 11/21)
The New York Times:
Which Candidates Got The Most Speaking Time In The Democratic Debate
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., had the most speaking time in the November Democratic presidential debate. Here are the issues that have gotten the most time at the debates before this one. (Cai, Leatherby and Lee, 11/20)
The Washington Post:
Transcript: The November Democratic Debate
Democratic presidential candidates squared off in Atlanta on Wednesday in a debate hosted by The Washington Post and MSNBC. Below is a transcript of the debate. (11/21)
The Washington Post:
Elizabeth Warren Wins Endorsement From Ady Barkan
Ady Barkan, an influential liberal activist who has ALS, endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president Wednesday, giving her a boost in the sometimes contentious Democratic debate over health care and Medicare-for-all. “She has the brains and the brawn and the moral clarity to overcome the challenges that we face,” Barkan said in a video. “I’ve seen up close how she confronts a problem. She listens to the people most affected, she does her homework and then she comes up with a plan. A brilliant, workable plan.” (Wang, 11/20)
Reuters:
Healthcare Battles In Democratic White House Race Could Carry Risk In 2020, Polls Show
A trio of polls released ahead of Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate showed a majority of Americans support Medicare for All, but offered conflicting signals about whether the proposed healthcare overhaul could hurt the party in the November 2020 general election. As with the previous four debates, Wednesday's televised clash in Atlanta is likely to be dominated by the intra-party battle over how best to expand healthcare coverage to millions of Americans. (Ax and Becker, 11/20)
The New York Times:
Trump’s F.D.A. Nominee Sidesteps Questions About Banning Flavored Vaping Products
President Trump’s nominee for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, declined to answer questions from senators in both parties about whether he would push for a ban on flavored vaping products at a confirmation hearing Wednesday. The questions placed Dr. Hahn, a cancer executive without any Washington or governing experience, at the center of a political battle over the surge in teen vaping and the emergence of mysterious vaping-related illnesses that have killed at least 44 people and sickened more than 2,000. (Thomas, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
FDA Nominee Ducks Questions On Trump E-Cigarette Flavor Ban
Hahn also told members of the Senate’s health committee that he had not discussed the issue with the president. The full Senate must vote on whether to confirm him to the position. Senators from both parties pressed Hahn on reports that the Trump administration is backing away from the September announcement that it would remove most vaping flavors, which are popular among underage users. Federal law bans sales to those under 18. (11/20)
The Washington Post:
Senators Grill Stephen Hahn, Nominee To Head The FDA, On Vaping Policy
On e-cigarettes, anger about the delay in implementing the flavor ban came from both parties during the Hahn hearing. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called youth vaping “the canary in the coal mine, or better, the child in the vaping room,” and asked Hahn whether the FDA could take action to protect teens if the White House were opposed. Hahn responded that while he was “completely alarmed” by federal data showing that almost 28 percent of high schoolers are vaping, he didn’t want to “prejudge” the administration’s vaping policy and “I don’t have all the facts.” (McGinley, 11/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate Panel Presses FDA Nominee On Vaping Flavors Ban
Asked by Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah) whether he would act to ban flavors, Dr. Hahn said that “final compliance policy is under consideration” at the White House. Later, Sen. Doug Jones (D., Ala.), said he was impressed by Dr. Hahn overall but was “less than happy with the answers you gave to members of the committee on vaping.” “I’m concerned that the administration has…given you an out to dodge and bob and weave a little bit,” Mr. Jones said. (Burton, 11/20)
Politico:
Trump FDA Pick Stops Short Of Committing To Flavor Ban
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) asked Hahn to commit FDA to disclose any meetings with Juul, saying the popular e-cigarette brand had told her it had multiple meetings with the agency despite publicly promising to suspend lobbying. The company told her that the meetings were not about policy. Hahn said that he was not familiar with the rules around disclosures of meetings but would familiarize himself with it and follow the law. (Owermohle, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
Trump To Meet On Teen Vaping As Plans For Flavor Ban Fade
President Donald Trump will meet with medical experts, health advocates and industry representatives on the problem of underage vaping later this week, White House officials said Wednesday. Electronic cigarette use by teenagers has surged, but federal authorities have not yet finalized a plan for regulating e-cigarettes. At the White House meeting set for Friday, administration officials said Trump will hear from representatives from “all sides” of the vaping issue as he weighs “responsible guidelines.” (Perrone, 11/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump To Convene Meeting On Vaping
Friday’s meeting “will allow the president and other administration officials an opportunity to hear from a large group, representing all sides as we continue to develop responsible guidelines that protect the public health and the American people,” according to the statement. (Leary, 11/20)
Reuters:
White House: Vaping Rules Not Stalled, Trump Plans Friday Meeting
"The policy making process is not stalled," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. Trump on Nov. 11 said he would be meeting with industry representatives after previously saying his administration would release its position on vaping last week, though it never was. The Trump administration in September announced a sweeping plan to ban all e-cigarette and vaping flavors aside from tobacco flavors. Trump earlier this month said he would raise the age to buy such products to 21. (11/20)
The New York Times:
A.M.A. Urges Ban On Vaping Products As Juul Is Sued By More States
Lawsuits filed against Juul this week by the attorneys general of New York and California claim that the embattled company deliberately marketed and sold vaping products to young people — and helped create a public health crisis. On Tuesday, the American Medical Association echoed those concerns and called for a sweeping ban on vaping products. (Zraick, 11/19)
The Hill:
Congress Feels Heat To Act On Youth Vaping
Pressure is building on Congress to act on rising youth vaping rates amid inaction from President Trump. House Democrats plan to pass a bill by year’s end that would ban flavored e-cigarette products they say helped to spark a teen vaping epidemic. Democrats found themselves in rare agreement with Trump when he vowed to clear the market of those products two months ago, but he has since backed off after facing a backlash from vapers, conservative groups and the industry. (Hellmann, 11/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Massachusetts Lawmakers Pass Bill To Ban Flavored Tobacco, Menthol Cigarettes
Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill in the early morning hours Thursday to enact the country’s most stringent state ban on flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes, in an effort to combat youth tobacco use. The Democratic-led legislature sent the bill to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker after a final preholiday session at the state capital stretched beyond midnight. The House passed the flavor ban last week, but needed to clear it again after the Senate added some amendments following a long floor debate. (Kamp, 11/21)
The Washington Post:
Critics Say ‘Junk Plans’ Are Being Pushed On ACA Exchanges
The Trump administration is encouraging consumers on the Obamacare individual market to seek help from private brokers, who are permitted to sell short-term health plans that critics deride as “junk” because they don’t protect people with preexisting conditions, or cover costly services such as hospital care, in many cases. Consumers looking at their health insurance options on the website for the federal marketplace, called healthcare.gov, may be redirected to other enrollment sites, some of which allow consumers to click a tab entitled “short-term plans” and see a list of those plans, often with significantly cheaper premiums. (Abutaleb, 11/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Hospitals Push Back On Price-Disclosure Rule
Hospitals are pushing back against the Trump administration’s new health-pricing disclosure rule, with the industry planning a legal challenge to block it. The final rule, released Friday along with a proposed rule aimed at insurers, would require hospitals to disclose the secret rates they negotiate with insurers for all services, including supplies and care provided by doctors who work for the facility. (Wilde Mathews, 11/20)
Reuters:
U.S. Lawmakers Question Google About Collection Of Health Records
U.S. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren along with fellow Senators Richard Blumenthal and Bill Cassidy wrote a letter to Alphabet's Google on Wednesday to raise questions about its access to the health records of tens of millions of Americans. Warren and Blumenthal, who are Democrats, along with Cassidy, a Republican, were focused on a business partnership that Google formed with Ascension Health. (11/20)
The Associated Press:
Some Family Doctors Ditch Insurance For Simpler Approach
Dr. Emilie Scott was only a few months into her first job when she started hearing the complaint: She was spending too much time with each patient. Like many primary care doctors working in large medical systems, Scott was encouraged to see a new patient every 20 minutes. But that was barely enough time to talk and do a physical. (11/20)
The New York Times:
Scientists Are Just Beginning To Understand Mysterious DNA Circles Common In Cancer Cells
There’s no image in biology more iconic than our chromosomes — all 23 pairs of DNA bundles arrayed in a genetic lineup. But in a surprising number of cases, this picture leaves out something very important. In some cells, extra circles of DNA float alongside the regular chromosomes. Scientists first noticed this so-called extrachromosomal DNA five decades ago. But for years they weren’t exactly sure what to make of it. (Zimmer, 11/20)
The Washington Post:
Shooting Victims Have Increased Risk Of Mental Harm Long After Physical Injuries Have Healed, Study Finds
Years after being shot, a large proportion of gun victims continue to suffer from increased unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder, a new study shows, and the effects persist even when the injuries were minor. The authors point out that treatment for gun injuries may need to change: Currently, patients may be discharged quickly from the hospital, often with no checks on their mental health or follow-up care. And they say growing evidence suggests that gunshot trauma is harder to recover from than other types of injuries. (Wan, 11/20)
The New York Times:
Sleeping Fewer Than 5 Hours A Night Tied To Bone Problems
Sleeping too little may increase the risk for osteoporosis. A study of menopausal women has found that sleeping less than five hours a night is associated with significantly increased low bone mineral density. The report, in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, compared 1,080 women who slept less than five hours with 4,025 who slept the recommended seven hours. (Bakalar, 11/20)
NPR:
Brain Uses Loudness Of Vowels To Process Speech Into Syllables
When we hear a sentence, or a line of poetry, our brains automatically transform the stream of sound into a sequence of syllables. But scientists haven't been sure exactly how the brain does this. Now, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, think they've figured it out. The key is detecting a rapid increase in volume that occurs at the beginning of a vowel sound, they report Wednesday in Science Advances. (Hamilton, 11/20)
The New York Times:
Catherine Pugh, Former Baltimore Mayor, Indicted On Fraud Charges Over Book Scandal
Catherine Pugh, the former mayor of Baltimore, has been indicted on corruption charges connected to money she received for a series of children’s books she wrote, prosecutors made public on Wednesday. Ms. Pugh, who resigned as mayor in May amid state and federal investigations over the sale of her “Healthy Holly” books to companies that had business ties to the city, faces multiple charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States government and tax evasion. (Williams and Goldman, 11/20)
The Washington Post:
Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh Charged With Wire Fraud And Tax Evasion Over Financial Deals For Her Healthy Holly Books
Prosecutors accuse Pugh of running a sham business dating to 2011, when she was a state senator and before her days overseeing Maryland’s largest city. She is accused of ripping off nonprofit organizations and taxpayers by accepting payments for tens of thousands of books she never intended to deliver. Pugh used the money, according to court papers, to fund her mayoral bid and to buy and renovate a house in Baltimore. (Marimow, Bui and Hermann, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
Ex-Baltimore Mayor Charged In ‘Healthy Holly’ Book Scandal
“There are many victims in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Hur in announcing the indictment. “The victims are all of us, the taxpayers and the people of Baltimore, who expect and deserve integrity from their public officials.” Federal authorities say Pugh and two city employees double-sold the books or failed to deliver them to institutions they were purchased for, including the Baltimore City Public Schools. Pugh then allegedly used the proceeds to fund straw donations to her mayoral campaign and to renovate a house. (11/20)
Reuters:
Former Baltimore Mayor Charged With Wire Fraud Over 'Healthy Holly' Book Sales
Pugh's former legislative aide Gary Brown, who helped her promote and distribute the books, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the indictment said. The former mayor faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years for wire fraud if convicted. (11/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
As New York Faces Big Medicaid Cost Overruns, Cuomo Stays Mum
New York’s Medicaid program expenses are running at least $3 billion over budget, but the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo has so far said little about its plans to deal with the issue. Administration officials are three weeks past their legal deadline to release a midyear budget report, which will include details about the overruns. The delay in disclosure has left advocates and lawmakers wondering about Mr. Cuomo’s plans for the Medicaid program—the state’s largest expenditure—and the possibility of immediate service cuts. (Vielkind, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
California Agency Predicts $7 Billion State Budget Surplus
California is expected to have a $7 billion budget surplus next year, but lawmakers were urged Wednesday not to spend all of it because a sizable chunk depends on an upcoming decision by the Trump administration as it feuds with state Democratic leaders. ... However, nearly $2 billion of the initial $7 billion projected surplus depends on whether the Trump administration lets California tax organizations that manage the state’s Medicaid plans. (Beam, 11/20)
Los Angeles Times:
California's Extra Budget Cash Could Soon Top $26 Billion, Analysts Say
The $7-billion surplus would be in addition to an expected $18.3 billion in “rainy day” reserves that must be set aside for an economic downturn and another $900 million that will be earmarked to assist social services programs in the event that recession pressures mount. The LAO report assumes the first signs of a recession appear in early 2021. Any acceleration or delay of that economic weakening could substantially change the size of the projected cash reserves. (Myers, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
Officials: Multistate Hepatitis A Cases Traced To Berries
A hepatitis A outbreak in Nebraska, Indiana and Wisconsin has been traced to blackberries sold in Fresh Thyme grocery stores and federal authorities on Wednesday warned consumers in 11 states against eating some berries bought from that chain. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that the outbreak began several weeks ago in Nebraska. (11/20)
Reuters:
Charity To Pay $4 Million To Resolve U.S. Pharma Kickback Probe
A Florida-based charity will pay $4 million to resolve claims that it acted as a conduit for companies including Biogen Inc and Novartis AG to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients using their high-priced multiple sclerosis drugs, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. The settlement with the patient assistance charity The Assistance Fund marked the third so far with a foundation linked to an industry-wide probe that has resulted in $850 million in settlements with drugmakers and charities. (Raymond, 11/20)
The Associated Press:
Minnesota Violence Project Aims To Understand Mass Shootings
Minnesota researchers have created a new database that seeks to help understand circumstances that contribute to mass shootings in the United States. The nonpartisan Violence Project’s database went online Tuesday, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. The project’s researchers chronicled traits related to 171 people who committed mass shootings, which are defined as shooting and killing four or more people in a public space. (11/20)