First Edition: October 10, 2019
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
‘We Vape, We Vote’: How Vaping Crackdowns Are Politicizing Vapers
Vapers across the country are swarming Twitter, the White House comment line and statehouse steps with the message “We Vape, We Vote.” They’re speaking out after a slew of attacks on their way of life. President Donald Trump announced his support for a vaping flavor ban in September. Some states temporarily banned the sales of vaping tools or flavors. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned people to stop vaping until public health experts can find the cause of more than a thousand cases of lung injuries nationwide. (Bluth and Weber, 10/10)
Kaiser Health News:
VCU Health Will Halt Patient Lawsuits, Boost Aid In Wake Of KHN Investigation
VCU Health, the major Richmond medical system that includes the state’s largest teaching hospital, said it will no longer file lawsuits against its patients, ending a practice that has affected tens of thousands of people over the years. VCU’s in-house physician group filed more than 56,000 lawsuits against patients for $81 million over the seven years ending in 2018, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of district court data. (Hancock and Lucas, 10/9)
Kaiser Health News:
Drumbeat Builds For A Peace Corps Of Caregivers
Imagine a government program that would mobilize volunteers to help older adults across the nation age in place. One is on the way. The Administration for Community Living, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is taking steps to establish a National Volunteer Care Corps. If it’s successful, healthy retirees and young adults would take seniors to doctor appointments, shop for groceries, shovel snowy sidewalks, make a bed or mop the floor, or simply visit a few times a week. (Graham, 10/10)
The Associated Press:
Overhaul Is Proposed For Decades-Old Medicare Fraud Rules
The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed overhauling decades-old Medicare rules originally meant to deter fraud and abuse but now seen as a roadblock to coordinating better care for patients. The rules under revision were intended to counter self-dealing and financial kickbacks among service providers such as hospitals, clinics and doctors. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/9)
The Hill:
Trump Officials Move To Ease Doctor Anti-Fraud Rules In Modernization Bid
The very technical changes in the new proposed rules would create exceptions that allow for “value-based” payment arrangements, which is where doctors get paid more if their patients get better results. Officials say there would still be rules against actual fraud. Those new payment arrangements are viewed by members of both parties as an important step in modernizing the health system and saving money in the long term by taking away incentives for doctors to simply order many tests and procedures because they get paid for each one. (Sullivan, 10/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Warren Urges Women To Speak Out After Her Firing Story Is Questioned
Sen. Elizabeth Warren brushed aside questions this week surrounding her account of getting fired from a teaching job in the 1970s because she was pregnant and is instead attempting to turn the situation into a larger conversation about women in the workplace. The Massachusetts Democrat’s description of her ouster from a New Jersey public school when she was visibly pregnant in 1971 is a signature part of her speech at campaign events. Reports emerged this week that she had told the story in the past without mentioning she was dismissed, and that local records showed she was offered a job for 1971-72, the school year after her pregnancy. (Jamerson, 10/9)
NBC News:
Women Rally In Support Of Elizabeth Warren By Sharing Their Own Pregnancy Discrimination Stories
Women are sharing their stories on social media of pregnancy discrimination in support of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who came under attack from conservative outlets this week over her claim that she had been fired in 1971 for being pregnant. "[I]f you don't understand what this furor over the Elizabeth Warren pregnancy firing story is about, ask pretty much any woman in your life over 35," culture writer Anne Helen Petersen wrote on Twitter, prompting some to respond with their personal experiences. (Egan, 10/9)
Boston Globe:
Elizabeth Warren Shares Stories Of Other Women Who Experienced Pregnancy Discrimination
The Massachusetts senator read the story of Twitter user Cathy S., who wrote “My mother hid her pregnancy with me in 1964 for as long as she could until it was too obvious and then they fired her. It was pretty standard practice.” Warren read another from Twitter user Emilia Merchen, who said “I was fired the day after notifying of my pregnancy. And was told it was because ‘I wasn’t likeable enough.’ I got a lawyer and a settlement.” (Matheson, 10/9)
Vox:
Elizabeth Warren Says She Lost Her Job When She Got Pregnant. Thousands Of Women Every Year Say The Same.
Until 1978, pregnancy discrimination was legal in America, Gedmark said. If an employer wanted to fire someone for getting pregnant in 1971, the year Warren says she was let go from her teaching job, there would have been nothing to stop it. Seven years later, workers got some protection with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which bars employers from firing or demoting people because they are pregnant. The law also says that employers must treat pregnant workers the same way they would treat others with a similar ability to work. So if the employer would grant light duty to someone with an injury preventing them from lifting heavy objects, that employer is supposed to let a pregnant worker with a similar limitation work light duty as well. (North, 10/9)
CBS News:
Planned Parenthood Announces Record-High Election Spend Today Ahead Of 2020
Planned Parenthood announced on Wednesday it plans to spend at least $45 million ahead of the 2020 elections, the most it has ever spent during an election cycle. The push comes as abortion rights are under assault across the Midwest and South, with state lawmakers passing abortion bans and restrictions aimed at capturing the attention of the Supreme Court. The investment intends to fund large-scale grassroots programs and canvassing, digital, television, radio and mail programs in battleground states across the country, according to a press release. (Smith, 10/9)
NPR:
With Abortion Rights On The Line, Planned Parenthood Announces 2020 Push
The first priority for 2020 is to unseat President Trump. The group also will work to help Democrats take over the U.S. Senate, maintain Democratic control in the House, and promote candidates in state-level races who support abortion rights, Robinson said. The group is targeting 5 million voters nationwide, with a focus on nine key states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. (McCammon, 10/9)
CNN:
Planned Parenthood Launches $45 Million Program To Elect Candidates Backing Reproductive Rights
"Who we elect will determine our access to birth control, cancer screenings, sex education, abortion access and more," said Kelley Robinson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, in a statement. "That's why Planned Parenthood Votes will use every tool at our disposal to hit the pavement, flood the airwaves, and elect reproductive rights champions up and down the ballot," she added. "We know this is a fight we can win." (Kelly, 10/9)
The New York Times:
Scientists Designed A Drug For Just One Patient. Her Name Is Mila.
A new drug, created to treat just one patient, has pushed the bounds of personalized medicine and has raised unexplored regulatory and ethical questions, scientists reported on Wednesday. The drug, described in the New England Journal of Medicine, is believed to be the first “custom” treatment for a genetic disease. It is called milasen, named after the only patient who will ever take it: Mila (mee-lah) Makovec, who lives with her mother, Julia Vitarello, in Longmont, Colo. (Kolata, 10/9)
Stat:
After A Bespoke Therapy Rescues A Young Girl, The FDA Considers Advance Of Individualized Treatments
Back in 2016, a 6-year-old named Mila was diagnosed with Batten disease, a progressive and incurable genetic syndrome that would brutally strip away her sight and her ability to walk, and would cause dozens of seizures each day. The condition is fatal. But her parents, Julia Vitarello and Alek Makovec, refused to lose hope. They contacted Dr. Tim Yu, a neurologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, who discovered the precise genetic mutation that caused her disease — and was able to devise an experimental treatment designed exclusively for Mila. His work is one of the first examples of therapies created for the benefit of a single patient — an “N of 1” study. (Keshavan, 10/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Army Is Treating Two Soldiers For Vaping-Related Lung Illness
The U.S. Army is treating two active-duty soldiers in its medical facilities for vaping-related lung illness, officials said days after most of the military banned e-cigarette sales at base exchanges. The Army is the first branch of the U.S. military to report cases of an ailment that has been linked to at least 24 deaths in the U.S., according to federal and state officials. (Kesling and Maloney, 10/9)
Reuters:
New York City Sues Online E-Cigarette Retailers Over Age Verification
New York City has sued more nearly two dozen online e-cigarette retailers, accusing them of selling their products to underage New Yorkers, the city announced Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday evening in Brooklyn federal court, targets 22 companies including Artison Vapor Franchise LLC, Eliquidstop.com and Vapor 4 Life Holdings Inc. All of them are located outside New York. (Pierson, 10/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Lawsuit Accuses Online E-Cigarette Retailers Of Selling To Minors
The city’s suit, filed in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, demands that the 22 online retailers stop selling e-cigarettes to New York City residents under the age of 21 and to cease operating without adequate age-verification systems. The 22 companies named in the lawsuit are based outside New York state. Several companies named in the lawsuit, including E-cigarette Empire LLC in Las Vegas, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. (West, 10/9)
CBS News:
Vaping: CBS News Investigates The Vaping Industry's Booming Black Market
To find out how dangerous and potentially deadly THC vaping products end up on the streets, CBS News took hidden cameras to a warehouse 75 miles east of Los Angeles, where the marijuana black market feels more like a house party. The THC oil inside these cartridges is unregulated, so there's no way to know exactly what's inside or how it could impact a user's health, even though every seller claimed to have a pure product. With flavors like "strawberry bubble gum" and "dirty Sprite," people come to underground warehouses like the one in Los Angeles to buy hundreds of vapes at a time, just to resell them nationwide. (10/9)
NPR:
How Vaping Nicotine Can Affect A Teenage Brain
The link between vaping and severe lung problems is getting a lot of attention. But scientists say they're also worried about vaping's effect on teenage brains. "Unfortunately, the brain problems and challenges may be things that we see later on down the road," says Nii Addy, associate professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular physiology at Yale School of Medicine. (Hamilton, 10/10)
NPR:
She Survived The ICU. Now, She Has A Message: Quit Vaping!
Piper Johnson was all packed and ready to drive across country with her mom to start college when the 18-year-old noticed a pain in her chest. She took an Advil and hoped the pain would go away. It didn't. During the drive from her hometown of New Lenox, Ill., near Chicago, to the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., she realized something was very wrong. "I kept feeling worse and worse," Johnson says. She developed a high fever, felt extremely lethargic, and noticed a rapid heart beat. (Aubrey, 10/9)
The Associated Press:
Opioid Makers' Latest Legal Woe: West Virginia Handyman
A small home-improvement company in West Virginia is taking on the nation's opioid giants in a lawsuit blaming the drugmakers for a rise in insurance costs. The handymen at Al Marino Inc. filed the federal class-action suit last week in U.S. District Court against Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and a host of other companies. The case claims the drug businesses created a public health crisis that increased the need for expensive medical treatments, leading to skyrocketing health insurance costs in West Virginia. It seeks unspecified damages. (10/9)
Stat:
‘Sesame Street’ Launches Initiative To Help Explain Parental Addiction To Kids
Parents and kids who are fans of “Sesame Street” will now see a new storyline for one the show’s muppets: one of parental addiction. Videos launched Wednesday feature the muppet Karli, whose mother is struggling with addiction, and show how she copes with the situation with support from Elmo and other friends. (Chakradhar, 10/10)
The Associated Press:
Alaska Doctor, Nurse Charged With Vast Opioid Distribution
An Alaska doctor and nurse practitioner face federal charges of illegally distributing millions of opioid doses to patients that resulted in addiction, overdoses and deaths, officials said. The Alaska U.S. attorney announced Wednesday that 48-year-old Jessica Joyce Spayd and 74-year-old Lavern Davidhizar were arrested and charge separately with providing opioids to patients who did not medically require them. (10/9)
Politico:
In Parkland And Santa Fe, No Escape For School Shooting Survivors
Substance abuse and mental health problems surged following last year’s deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., while test scores tanked. ... The devastating turn in mental health, academic performance and substance abuse is revealed in a series of federal aid applications from these school districts. The documents paint the most detailed picture of what really happens to a school after a mass shooting. Once the funerals are over, the TV cameras leave and students attempt to return to normalcy, there have been dramatic turns for the worse in academic performance, behavior and mental wellness. "Personally, I hate the word closure, because I don't think there ever is closure to anything like this," said Melissa Reeves, past president of the National Association of School Psychologists and an associate professor at Winthrop University in South Carolina. (Gaudiano, 10/10)
Stat:
Racial Disparity In NIH Funding Partly Driven By Research Topic
Ever since a landmark 2011 study supported the long-held notion that African American scientists were significantly less likely than white researchers to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health, researchers have sought to better understand what’s behind the gap. A new paper builds on that previous work to find that research topic choice is partially driving the disparity, accounting for 20% of the funding gulf. (Chakradhar, 10/10)
The New York Times:
Is This The Shape Of Things To Come?
To Laura Salter, a fashion and lifestyle blogger, it seemed that no amount of diet and exercise would shrink her love handles or inner thighs. She thought that what she called the “obvious bulges” in her clothing were affecting her self-confidence and thus her work, but liposuction wasn’t an option. She has three children and no time for recovery. So in February 2018, Ms. Salter, 42, decided to have her fat frozen off, paying $2,400 — yes, a blogger who paid — for a roughly two-hour cryolipolysis, or fat freezing, session. (Rubin, 10/9)
NPR:
Can CRISPR Help Patients With Sickle Cell Disease?
Victoria Gray slides open a closet door, pulls out a suitcase and starts packing piles of clothes. "My goodness," says Gray. "Did I really bring all this?" Gray, who has sickle cell disease, is the first patient with a genetic disorder who doctors in the United States have tried to treat using the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR. (Stein, 10/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
The $64,000 Question: Why Didn’t Restaurant Allow A Service Dog?
A Manhattan restaurant owner has been ordered to pay $64,000 in fines and damages after his employees were accused of refusing to seat a customer with a service dog. A New York City administrative judge levied the penalty in a ruling last month in which he said the restaurant violated the city’s human rights law. The ruling followed a trial in the spring after the city’s Commission on Human Rights brought a complaint against Besim Kukaj, a restaurateur who owns multiple eateries in Manhattan. (Honan, 10/9)
The New York Times:
PG&E Outage Darkens Northern California Amid Wildfire Threat
The lights went off in stages in Northern California on Wednesday, from the forests near the Oregon border, down the spine of the Sierra Nevada and finally through the dense hillside communities across the Bay from San Francisco. Hundreds of thousands of households lost power when California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, shut down a vast web of electrical lines as a precaution against wildfires. Not knowing how long the outage would last, residents hurried to gas stations and supermarkets, stocking up on essentials as if a hurricane were bearing down. (Fuller, 10/9)
The Washington Post:
Northern California Faces Massive Power Outage As PG&E Hedges Wildfire Risk
Before dawn, Pacific Gas & Electric flipped the electricity switch off across 20 counties, most of them north of San Francisco, an intentional and highly disruptive hedge against wildfire risk. As California experiences intensifying weather extremes and confronts the sharpening consequences of a changing climate, the power company responsible for starting the deadliest wildfire in state history has undertaken the most extensive planned power outage ever employed. (Wilson, 10/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
Power Outage In California Affects Millions As PG&E Tries To Avoid Wildfire
Ronald Johnigan said he and his wife awoke in the predawn hours Wednesday when the machines they use for severe sleep apnea shut down. He spent the day searching for a hotel with power to stay in that night because the couple can’t sleep without working medical equipment, he said. Despite assurances from the power company, Mr. Johnigan was skeptical that the outage was necessary. During the firestorms two years ago that destroyed thousands of homes in the area, he still had access to power when he came back home. “This is their decision,” he said. “They arbitrarily decided to do this, and it sucks, it actually sucks.” (Lazo and Carlton, 10/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Californians Fume Over PG&E Power Outage: 'A Humongous Inconvenience'
The power shut-offs have generated backlash, with some residents saying they create a whole new set of dangers as they try to watch for news about fires. There is also concern about those with health issues who rely on electrically powered medical equipment to stay alive. Critics worry that communications and evacuations will be hampered if the power is out, especially if traffic signals don’t work and cellphone service is affected. “I think this is a tacit admission that they recognize their liability for huge wildfires we’ve had and that their grid has a lot of deficiencies,” James Moore, an attorney from Auburn in Placer County, said of the widespread outages. (Fry, McGreevy, Luna, LaGanga and Cosgrove, 10/9)
Los Angeles Times:
LAPD Will Clear Homeless Camps In Fire Danger Zones As Santa Ana Winds Hit
With Santa Ana winds bringing red-flag fire danger to Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department plans to remove some homeless people from camps in high-risk areas. LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said the removals will take place Wednesday night and Thursday. Officials did not release specific locations. The city earlier this year passed an ordinance that makes it easier to clear homeless camps during fire danger periods. (Winton, 10/9)
The Associated Press:
California Bans Pesticide Linked To Brain Damage In Children
A widely used agricultural pesticide that California environmental officials have said has been linked to brain damage in children will be banned after next year under an agreement reached with the manufacturer, state officials announced Wednesday. Under the deal, all California sales of chlorpyrifos will end on Feb. 6, 2020, and farmers will have until the end of 2020 to exhaust their supplies. (10/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Chemical Companies Agree To End Fight Over Pesticide Ban
“For years, environmental justice advocates have fought to get the harmful pesticide chlorpyrifos out of our communities,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “Thanks to their tenacity and the work of countless others, this will now occur faster than originally envisioned. This is a big win for children, workers and public health in California.” California EPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld said the agreement “avoids a protracted legal process while providing a clear timeline for California farmers as we look toward developing alternative pest management practices.” (Mohan, 10/9)
The Associated Press:
A Year After Michael, Florida Community Still In Crisis
A year after Hurricane Michael , the Florida county hardest hit by the Category 5 storm is still in crisis: Thousands in Bay County are homeless, medical care and housing are at a premium, domestic violence has become a problem and severely diminished mental health services are overwhelmed with backlogs. (10/9)
The Associated Press:
California Hospital Chain Going To Court Over High Prices
One of California's largest hospital systems is facing a trial over accusations that it has used its market dominance to snuff out competition and overcharge patients for medical bills. Opening arguments begin Thursday in the antitrust case against Sutter Health, which operates 24 hospitals with 5,500 doctors across Northern California. It was first brought by employers and unions amid growing frustration over the rising cost of health care in 2014; California's attorney general, Xavier Becerra, filed a similar suit last year following a six-year DOJ investigation. (Gecker, 10/10)
The Associated Press:
Virginia County Without Any Hospital May Get 1 Next Year
A health care system official says work is under way to reopen a southwest Virginia county’s only hospital. The Roanoke Times reports Ballad Health Chief Administrative Officer Marvin Eichorn said earlier this week that the Lee County hospital will reopen next fall. Eichorn says renovations are continuing to bring the building in Pennington Gap up to code. He also says paperwork will be filed soon to gain billing approval. (10/10)
The Associated Press:
DC Psychiatric Hospital To Go Another Week Without Water
Officials say a public psychiatric hospital in the nation’s capital may go another week without drinking water. The district’s deputy mayor for health and human services, Wayne Turnage, tells The Washington Post that St. Elizabeths Hospital’s water service may not be restored until late next week. Repairs were expected to finish this Friday. (10/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Amid Safety Concerns In Civic Center Area, LAPD Beefs Up Patrols
As the homelessness crisis grows in downtown Los Angeles, government employees have told authorities they don’t feel safe entering and leaving buildings and retail shops in the Civic Center area, officials said. Now, the Los Angeles Police Department has shifted assignments for some officers each morning and late afternoon for several hours to the 20-square-block area to ease concerns about the increased homeless population near office buildings and the L.A. Mall. (Puente and Smith, 10/9)