The Wall Street Journal: Republican Senator Says Deal On Health Care Unlikely This Year
Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) said that the Senate probably won’t reach a deal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act when it returns from a recess next week, in a stark assessment of the party’s health-care prospects. “It’s unlikely that we will get a health-care deal,” Mr. Burr told WXII 12 News, a North Carolina news station, on Thursday. He said that the House-passed GOP health plan was “dead on arrival,” and that “I don’t see a comprehensive health-care plan this year.” (Hughes, 6/2)

The Wall Street Journal: GOP Senators Weigh Taxing Employer-Health Plans
Senate Republicans set on reworking the Affordable Care Act are considering taxing employer-sponsored health insurance plans, a move that would meet stiff resistance from companies and potentially raise taxes on millions of people who get coverage on the job. The move could raise billions in revenue that could be used to help stabilize the fragile individual insurance market. But it could be politically risky, since it could expand the impact of GOP health proposals from Medicaid recipients and those who buy insurance on their own to the roughly 177 million people who get coverage through their employers. (Armour and Peterson, 6/1)

Politico Pro: GOP Could Be Haunted By Pledge To Lower Health Premiums
Senate Republicans may be all over the map on an Obamacare repeal plan, but on one fundamental point — reducing insurance premiums — they are in danger of overpromising and under-delivering. The reality is they have only a few ways to reduce Americans’ premiums: Offer consumers bigger subsidies. Allow insurers to offer skimpier coverage. Or permit insurers to charge more — usually much more — to those with pre-existing illnesses and who are older and tend to rack up the biggest bills. (Haberkorn, 6/1)

In other news on the American Health Care Act —

The Daytona Beach News Journal: For Floridians With Chronic Conditions, The GOP Healthcare Bill Worries Them — Greatly
For Nancy Nally, the mother of an autistic 14-year-old with rheumatoid arthritis, there are health concerns that can be remedied with therapy or a doctor’s visit. And then there are those that are out of reach. (Finch, 6/1)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Is Stabilizing In Pennsylvania, Unless GOP Disrupts It 
Prices for Obamacare health plans are stabilizing in Pennsylvania and will continue to unless the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress take action that would hurt the program, the state’s insurance regulator said. After a jump of more than 30 percent this year, insurers are raising their rates 8.8 percent on average in the Affordable Care Act’s individual insurance market for 2018, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department said. All five insurers that sold plans this year will again offer health insurance next year in the market, which covers about 500,000 people in the state, according a department statement. (Tracer, 6/1)

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Pa. Insurance Dept. Previews Affordable Care Act Rates
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller said Thursday that five health insurers submitted rate requests with average statewide increases of 8.8 percent for the individual market and 6.6 percent for small-group plans, but warned that the rates could skyrocket if Congress and the Trump administration make significant changes to the Affordable Care Act. ... At this point, all 67 Pennsylvania counties will have at least one insurer selling plans on the ACA exchange, making them eligible for subsidies. About 16 or 17 counties, including the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania, are expected to have just one company on the exchange. (Brubaker, 6/1)

The Hill: Pennsylvania Sounds The Alarm About ObamaCare Payments To Insurers 
Pennsylvania could see double-digit rate increases next year if Congress and the Trump administration don't fund key ObamaCare payments to insurers, a state official said Thursday. Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller said the state's five insurers plan to stay in the market in and have filed aggregate rate increases of 8.8 percent for 2018. But those rates could jump 36 percent if Congress or the Trump administration disrupts the insurance markets. (Hellmann, 6/1)

CQ Roll Call: Insurers Seek Increases For Obamacare Premiums In Early Filings
Insurance companies in about half a dozen states have filed for premium increases ranging from 6 percent to 58 percent for 2018, citing rising medical costs and taxes as well as uncertainty surrounding the new Trump administration's implementation of the health care law. The increases would only affect plans sold on the marketplaces established by the 2010 law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). They are still preliminary. Federal and state insurance review rate requests throughout the summer and fall and often negotiate different increases — sometimes lower, sometimes higher. (Mershon, 6/1)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Health Insurance Companies Guessing At 2018 Prices, As Trump Sows Uncertainty
As Congress struggles to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a different, far less visible problem is playing out in state capitals and in health insurance offices across the country. ... Companies including Medical Mutual of Ohio, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Akron-based Summa and Canton-based AultCare have no firm idea how much to charge -- and it's not because of the healthcare bill stirring up so much dust among the public. Rather, it's because of a political calculation by President Donald Trump over an arcane feature of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. (Koff, 6/1)

Houston Chronicle: Insurance Rates For 2018 Going Up, Cloaked In Secrecy 
The three insurers that offered plans on the Affordable Care Act's exchange in Houston last year appear to be returning in 2018, but only one was willing to reveal how much it could cost customers. Community Health Choice, a Houston area insurer, told the Chronicle on Wednesday it asked the federal government to approve a 16 percent average bump for eight plans. But the insurer added it might still need to ask for much more due to the current political upheaval surrounding health reform. As the deadline for filing rate increase requests came and went Thursday, the other two insurers were less forthcoming. (Deam, 6/1)

California Healthline: Covered California Tells Insurers To Plan For The Worst
Amid growing uncertainty over federal health care funding, Covered California is calling on health insurers to prepare for the worst. The state health insurance exchange Wednesday instructed participating insurers to submit alternate premium hike proposals for 2018 in the event they lose federal payments for subsidies that reduce some consumers’ out-of-pocket medical expenses. (Bazar, 6/2)

The Connecticut Mirror: Connecticut Senate Takes Out Insurance Against ACA’s Repeal
The Connecticut Senate voted unanimously early Friday morning to essentially take out an insurance policy to protect women and children against the possibility President Donald Trump succeeds in repealing or significantly weakening the Affordable Care Act. The bill would mandate continued coverage for childhood immunizations, contraceptives and a wide range of services pertaining to women’s health. The measure now goes to the House of Representatives. (Pazniokas, 6/2)

The Minneapolis Star Tribune: As Health Insurers Drop Out, Medica Gains Unwanted Monopolies
A Minnesota health plan finds itself as potentially the sole survivor in insurance markets in Iowa and Nebraska — a precarious position that highlights the uncertain fate of the federal health law. ... Having a monopoly might be enviable in some businesses, but not when it comes to selling individual market coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Dwindling competition further complicates the decision facing Medica and other health plans in coming weeks about whether to stick with business on the ACA exchanges. (Snowbeck, 6/1)

And a change coming in Virginia —

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia's Insurance Commissioner Is Retiring
Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jacqueline K. Cunningham will retire at the end of the year after serving for a total of 30 years with the State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance. She was appointed by the commission to serve as Virginia’s 13th commissioner of insurance on Jan. 1, 2011. (6/1)

Huffington Post: The Fate Of 16.8 Million Medicaid Enrollees Rests On 20 GOP Senators From 14 States
Whatever happens next with Obamacare repeal and the future of Medicaid will depend in large measure on whether GOP senators choose to fight for the combined 16.8 million of their constituents on Medicaid, including 4.3 million who gained Medicaid coverage because of the Affordable Care Act, according to data from state agencies compiled by HuffPost. ... More than 30 percent of those living in Sen. John Kennedy’s Louisiana, Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton’s Arkansas, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul’s Kentucky are Medicaid beneficiaries. More than one-fifth of those living in eight of the other states with Republicans senators are enrolled in Medicaid. (Young and Scheller, 6/2)

Bloomberg/BNA: States Press Senators On Medicaid Expansion Funds
State officials and their lobbyists are pressing a group of U.S. senators privately crafting a health care bill to save Medicaid expansion funds under the Affordable Care Act. Federal health care legislation is the top issue coming out of Washington for state lawmakers and governors, state officials tell Bloomberg BNA. Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) said he is working with “like-minded” senators and governors to preserve coverage for people “dealing with mental illness, addiction and chronic illness.” In a statement to Bloomberg BNA, he said he was hopeful that senators “will find the right way forward.” (Odom, 5/31)

The Wall Street Journal: How Proposed Spending Caps To Medicaid Are Calculated
In his first full budget proposal, President Donald Trump advocates changing the way the federal government funds Medicaid. The fiscal 2018 budget, released last week, was short on details but endorses a bill passed last month by the U.S. House of Representatives that would restrict Medicaid spending for the first time since the program started in 1965. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health insurance for 77 million poor and low-income people. It cost the federal government $368 billion last year, or about 9% of the national budget. Based on spending, it is the third largest domestic program behind Social Security and Medicare. (McGinty, 6/2)

Also, one paper uncovers problems with a Nevada Medicaid managed care program —

Reno Gazette-Journal: Homeless Frostbite Victim, Covered By Medicaid, Never Received Care
Although [Bill] George, 52, is homeless, he has health insurance through the state Medicaid program for severely low-income individuals. His Medicaid insurance, paid for by state and federal tax dollars, is through Health Plan of Nevada. But George never received his insurance card, despite listing the downtown homeless shelter as his address. Nor did he receive the welcome phone call for new enrollees, nor the packet of information explaining how his managed care organization works. ... For 16 months, however, the state paid Health Plan of Nevada a monthly fee of up to $563 for George's health insurance. ... And, according to a Reno Gazette-Journal investigation, there were 30,817 Nevadans just like George -- enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan but not seeing a doctor -- last year. (Damon, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: Single-Payer Healthcare Plan Advances In California Senate — Without A Way To Pay Its $400-Billion Tab
A proposal to adopt a single-payer healthcare system for California took an initial step forward Thursday when the state Senate approved a bare-bones bill that lacks a method for paying the $400-billion cost of the plan. The proposal was made by legislators led by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) at the same time President Trump and Republican members of Congress are working to repeal and replace the federal Affordable Care Act. (McGreevy, 6/1)

The Associated Press: California Senate Backs Longshot Single-Payer Care Bill
The move came even as proponents acknowledged they don't know how to pay its huge $400 billion price tag. The measure would have died if it failed to clear the Senate this week. Democrats said they wanted to keep it alive as the Assembly tries to work out a massive overhaul of the state health care system. "With President Trump's promise to abandon the Affordable Care Act as we know it, it leaves millions without access to care and California is once again tasked to lead," said Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens who wrote the single-payer bill with Sen. Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat. (Cooper, 6/1)

The Sacramento Bee: Government-Run Universal Health Care Wins Vote In California Senate
Under the plan, government would negotiate prices with doctors, hospitals and other providers, acting as the “single payer” for everyone’s health care in the place of insurance companies. All Californians would receive coverage regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. (Luna, 6/1)

The San Jose Mercury News: California Senate Passes Single-Payer Health Care Plan
The California Nurses Association, the bill’s lead sponsor, has pushed the proposal hard, organizing demonstrations at the California Democratic Convention last month and promising to “primary” incumbent Democrats who don’t jump on board. On Wednesday, a study commissioned by the nurses concluded that Californians could save tens of billions of dollars annually under such a system through lowering of drug prices and elimination of administrative overhead. (Murphy, 6/2)

KQED: Single Payer Economics: One Health Plan, Two New Taxes, Three Ways To Save
A new outside analysis claims a “single payer” health system for California would cost $330 billion a year, not $400 billion, the initial price tag announced last week in a legislative report. The financial analysis also proposed two new taxes to pay for the system: an excise tax and a sales tax. That’s in contrast to the 15 percent payroll tax proposed in last week’s report. (Feibel, 6/1)

ProPublica: Tom Price Bought Drug Stocks. Then He Pushed Pharma’s Agenda In Australia.
In the spring before the 2016 presidential election, the Obama administration’s 12-nation trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, was still alive. ... The Australian government was getting in the way of one change demanded by U.S. pharmaceutical companies. Makers of cutting-edge biological drugs wanted to have data from their clinical trials protected from competitors for 12 years, as they are under U.S. law — not the roughly five years permitted under the TPP. ... In Canberra, Price and another Republican, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, pressured senior Australian trade officials to modify their position on the 12-year extension, according to a congressional aide who was on the trip. ... Price’s lobbying abroad, which has not previously been reported, is another example of how his work in Congress could have benefitted his investment portfolio. He traded hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of shares in health-related companies while taking action on legislation and regulations affecting the industry. (Faturechi, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: Health Experts Are Furious With Trump For Pulling Out Of The Paris Climate Agreement
Environmentalists aren’t the only ones outraged over President Trump’s decision to have the U.S. walk away from the Paris accord on global warming. Health experts are pretty dismayed as well. The climate agreement, reached in Paris in 2015 after years of negotiation, aims to keep Earth’s temperature within 2 degrees Celsius (or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of pre-industrial levels. Meeting that goal would have required the U.S. to cut its emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gasses — moves that Trump said would wipe out the jobs of millions of Americans. (Many economists disagree.) (Kaplan, 6/1)

In other administration news, The New York Times offers a closer look at the president's decision to roll back contraception guidelines under the Affordable Care Act —

The New York Times: Trump Rule Could Deny Birth Control Coverage To Hundreds Of Thousands Of Women
The Trump administration has drafted a sweeping revision of the government’s contraception coverage mandate that could deny birth control benefits to hundreds of thousands of women who now receive them at no cost under the Affordable Care Act. The new rule, which could go into effect as soon as it is published in the Federal Register, greatly expands the number of employers and insurers that could qualify for exemptions from the mandate by claiming a moral or religious objection, including for-profit, publicly traded corporations. (Pear, 6/1)

Stateline: Coaching Overdose Survivors To Avoid The Next One
Nationwide, tens of thousands of opioid overdose victims have been saved over the last two decades by first responders, friends, family and bystanders who administered naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote. But the majority of those who are rescued from near death go back to using drugs as soon as they leave the hospital, pushed by the brutal withdrawal symptoms that accompany an opioid overdose reversal. (Vestal, 6/2)

Courier-Journal: The Last Words Of A 'Heroin Junkie': There Seems To Be No Escape
Adam Cooley died mid-sentence.The young man couldn't have known the danger as he reclined in bed at his parents' Pleasure Ridge Park home, writing a thank you note to a family friend. On the eve of what was to be a long rehabilitation stay, and hopefully a final lifeline, the longtime heroin user did what many addicts do — he went on one last bender. But this time, in what would be the 27-year-old's last snort, something more potent and much more dangerous was hidden inside. (Warren, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Ohio's Lieutenant Governor Reveals Sons' Opioid Addictions
Ohio's lieutenant governor revealed Thursday that her two sons have struggled with opioid addiction, adding her family to the thousands affected by the nation's prescription painkiller and heroin epidemic. "Like many Ohioans, my family is struggling with addiction, and the opiate crisis has, you know, it's come in my front door," Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor said in making the revelation to the Dayton Daily News. (Carr Smyth, 6/1)

The Hill: Ohio Lieutenant Governor Shares Sons' Addiction To Opioids 
Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor (R) revealed how the opioid crisis became personal for her, opening up about her two sons’ addictions in an interview with the Dayton Daily News published on Thursday. “I know people who have lost their kids. I’ve been to a funeral of somebody, a young person, who died of a heroin overdose. It’s not pretty. Until we found the treatment that worked for [our sons], the voice of worry was very loud and it was very scary. Very scary,” Taylor said. The lieutenant governor said one of her sons is currently undergoing treatment, but both are doing well. (Manchester, 6/1)

In other news on the crisis —

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Lawsuit May Yet Include Drug Distributors
Ohio is going after drug manufacturers to help clean up the state’s deadly opioid epidemic, but major drug distributors — including Cardinal Health of Dublin — are not part of Ohio’s current legal action. That hasn’t been the case elsewhere, including West Virginia, which went after Cardinal and other distributors; the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which recently sued Cardinal, two other distributors and three drug store chains; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, which has reached settlements with Cardinal that date back nearly a decade. (Johnson, 6/2)

The Associated Press: 6 Suspected Overdose Deaths In Delaware So Far This Week
Public health officials say there have been six suspected overdose deaths in Delaware this week, bringing the total so far this year to 94. Officials also say paramedics and the Delaware State Police responded to several overdoses in New Castle County in a span of less than eight hours Tuesday. (6/1)

Des Moines Register: Addiction Treatment Agency Admits Suit Against Wellmark Was 'Without Merit'
An addiction treatment agency that treated hundreds of people in the Polk County Jail is dropping a bitter legal fight with the state’s largest health insurer. The treatment agency, St. Gregory’s, and the insurer, Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield, accused each other last year of multimillion-dollar fraud. They announced Thursday in a joint statement that they were ending the dispute. The statement said St. Gregory's admitted its claims of misconduct by the insurer were "without merit." (Leys, 6/1)

Stat: A Controversial Trial To Bring The Dead Back To Life Plans A Restart
For any given medical problem, it seems, there’s a research team trying to use stem cells to find a solution. In clinical trials to treat everything from diabetes to macular degeneration to ALS, researchers are injecting the cells in efforts to cure patients. But in one study expected to launch later this year, scientists hope to use stem cells in a new, highly controversial way — to reverse death. The idea of the trial, run by Philadelphia-based Bioquark, is to inject stem cells into the spinal cords of people who have been declared clinically brain-dead. The subjects will also receive an injected protein blend, electrical nerve stimulation, and laser therapy directed at the brain. (Sheridan, 6/1)

NPR: Using Music And Rhythm To Develop Grammar
Reyna Gordon was an aspiring opera singer fresh out of college when she began contemplating the questions that would eventually define her career. "I moved to Italy when I finished my bachelor of music, and I started to take more linguistic classes and to think about language in the brain, and music in the brain," she says. "What was happening in our brains when we were listening to music, when we were singing? What was happening in my brain when I was singing?" (Siegel and Hsu, 6/1)

USA Today: Researchers: Strokes Striking More Young People
Gary Vanderwall didn’t win the lottery, but friends acted like he hit a million-to-one shot. “They thought it was a crazy one-off thing that happened,” the 35-year-old said after he told them he’d had a stroke. “Everybody was amazed. They said there’s no way.” The episode happened on Memorial Day last year, and Vanderwall was in the hospital for two months. He returned to work in January. He said he still walks with a slight limp. (Singer, 6/1)

The New York Times: New Electrical Brain Stimulation Technique Shows Promise In Mice
Pulses of electricity delivered to the brain can help patients with Parkinson’s disease, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and possibly other conditions. But the available methods all have shortcomings: They either involve the risks of surgery, from implanting electrodes deep within the brain, or they stimulate from the skull’s surface, limiting the ability to target electricity to the right brain areas. (Belluck, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Authorities Holding Off Deployment Of Experimental Ebola Vaccine In Congo
International health authorities and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are holding off on deploying an experimental Ebola vaccine to the site of the country’s latest outbreak of the virus, indicating that it may now not be needed. In a statement Thursday, medical-aid organization Doctors Without Borders said that preparations are under way for vaccination in Congo, but suggested that it will be used only if a new Ebola case arises. (McKay and Bariyo, 6/1)

Politico Pro: States Prepare For Zika Funding To Expire
With federal dollars for the Zika response soon drying up, states facing the greatest risk from the virus are preparing contingency plans if Congress doesn't provide new money. Gulf states like Florida and Texas that had locally transmitted cases of Zika last year are already on high alert as mosquito season approaches. They're exhausting what’s left of last year’s $1.1 billion emergency funding from Washington and dipping into state and local funds to guard against potential outbreaks this summer. (Ehley and Griffiths, 6/1)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: The Latest Trend In Dementia Dining: Healthy Finger Food
It’s not easy to get good food into people with advanced dementia.  Their appetites decrease, and weight loss is a big issue.  Some have trouble using a knife and fork.  Some eat a few bites, then wander around.  Many have some trouble chewing or swallowing. Facilities that cater to the elderly have often solved these problems by serving unappealing pureed food or food that can be picked up ­— chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and sweet potato fries — but may be short on nutrition. (Burling, 6/1)

Stat: Just Don't Do It: Compression Tights Fail To Curb Runners' Muscle Fatigue
Jetting off for a jog in snug-fitting compression tights won’t help a runner go farther or faster, according to a new study that’s not doing any favors for its sponsor, Nike. The sports gear giant — which offers compression tights in every color of the rainbow — funded the study, which was conducted by sports medicine researchers at Ohio State University. It was meant to test a long-standing theory that compression tights tamp down on muscle vibrations during exercise and, in turn, reduce fatigue. (Thielking, 6/1)

The New York Times: You Look Familiar. Now Scientists Know Why.
The brain has an amazing capacity for recognizing faces. It can identify a face in a few thousandths of a second, form a first impression of its owner and retain the memory for decades. Central to these abilities is a longstanding puzzle: how the image of a face is encoded by the brain. Two Caltech biologists, Le Chang and Doris Y. Tsao, reported in Thursday’s issue of Cell that they have deciphered the code of how faces are recognized. (Wade, 6/1)

NPR: Primates Recognize Faces Instantly Using Specialized Neurons
In macaque monkeys, which share humans' skill with faces, groups of specialized neurons in the brain called face cells appeared to divide up the task of assessing a face, a team at the California Institute of Technology reports Thursday in the journal Cell. "The cells were coding faces in a very simple way," says Doris Tsao, an author of the study and a professor of biology at Caltech. "Each neuron was coding a different aspect of the face." (Hamilton, 6/1)

Stat: A Taxpayer Gamble On Medical Tourism: Louisiana Subsidizes Proton Therapy To Boost Its Economy
Taxpayers in Louisiana are helping to subsidize construction of two health care centers offering a divisive cancer treatment — even as state lawmakers prepare to cut millions from basic health services. The treatment is called proton therapy, and this spring, the state’s economic development department promised up to $10.6 million to two companies, one to build a center in Baton Rouge and the other in New Orleans. Proton therapy is touted as a procedure with low side effects — a pencil-sized beam of protons is shot directly at tumors, with the goal of sparing the healthy tissue around it. (Blau,6/2)

Kaiser Health News: As Government-Funded Cancer Research Sags, Scientists Fear U.S. Is ‘Losing Its Edge’
Less and less of the research presented at a prominent cancer conference is supported by the National Institutes of Health, a development that some of the country’s top scientists see as a worrisome trend. The number of studies fully funded by the NIH at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) — the world’s largest gathering of cancer researchers — has fallen 75 percent in the past decade, from 575 papers in 2008 to 144 this year, according to the society, which meets Friday through Tuesday in Chicago. (Szabo, 5/2)

Modern Healthcare: For The First Time Ever, Less Than Half Of Physicians Are Independent 
Less than half of practicing physicians in the U.S. owned their medical practice in 2016, marking the first time that the majority of physicians are not practice owners, according to a new study. Only 47.1% of physicians in 2016 had ownership stakes in a medical practice, an American Medical Association study released Wednesday found. That's down from 53.2% in 2012, and research shows that doctors, especially young doctors, have been shifting from owning their own practice to joining larger practices. (Kacik, 5/31)

In other health care personnel news —

Stateline: Why Universities Charge Extra For Engineering, Business And Nursing Degrees
Sixty percent of public research universities now assess tuition based on students’ year of study, major, or both, according to an upcoming study led by Gregory Wolniak, a research director at New York University. ... A survey conducted by Cornell researchers in 2011 found that universities most often charge more for business, engineering and nursing programs. (Quinton, 6/1)

ProPublica: Doctor’s Records In U.S. Doping Investigation Don’t Match Patients’ Copies 
A recently leaked draft report details how USADA, with written permission, obtained copies of athletes’ medical records from Brown. But the report notes that some records, particularly those of 2008 Olympic marathoner Dathan Ritzenhein, appear to have been altered. In an interview with the BBC and ProPublica this week, Magness said that at least one of the records Brown gave to USADA regarding Magness’ own treatments also appears to have been altered and doesn’t match the copy he has from the visit. (Epstein and Daly, 5/30)

Bloomberg: Dirty, Dingy Hospitals: Doctors Blame Debt-Fueled Takeovers 
There are two groups Community Health Systems Inc. can’t push too far: the doctors at its hospitals, and the debtholders it owes billions of dollars. Right now, the creditors are winning, and the doctors aren’t happy. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, the rancor about Community’s neglect of a local health system has gotten so bad that a group of doctors tried to get rid of corporate ownership and buy the company out. And 1,500 miles away on the island of Key West, Florida, doctors say patients are being overcharged so that Community, sometimes called CHS, can rake in cash. (Lauerman and Welch, 6/1)

In other hospital news —

Chicago Tribune: Crowd Expresses Reservations At Possible Hospital Merger 
The Service Employee International Union and the NAACP's Gary chapter held a town hall meeting at Ivy Tech Wednesday night to discuss how Methodist employees would be affected by a potential merger with Franciscan Health. Methodist CEO Raymond Grady told the nearly 100-person audience that 37 potential buyers had expressed some interest in acquiring its hospitals. He said Methodist chose Franciscan because it was the only one that pledged to keep equitable health services in Gary. If merger plans would advance and win approval, Franciscan would take over Methodist's assets and liabilities, he said. (Colias, 6/1)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Mercy Finalizes Acquisition Of St. Anthony's Medical Center 
St. Anthony's Medical Center is now owned and operated by Chesterfield-based Mercy, one of the country's largest Catholic health care providers. Mercy, the third largest medical provider in the region, announced it was entering into an agreement to operate the south St. Louis County facility earlier this year. Mike McCurry, Mercy executive vice president and chief operating officer, is expanding his responsibilities and taking on the role of president at St. Anthony’s. (Liss, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Measles Outbreak In Minnesota Surpasses Last Year’s Total For The Entire Country
Minnesota’s measles outbreak has exceeded the total number of cases reported in the entire United States last year, with no sign of slowing. Health officials worry that the holy month of Ramadan, which began Friday night and brings Muslims together in prayer and festivities, will accelerate the spread of the highly infectious and potentially deadly disease, which is plaguing the close-knit Somali American community. (Sun, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Kansas Lawmakers Pass Concealed Gun Bill In Defeat For NRA
Kansas legislators approved a bill Thursday to keep concealed guns out of public hospitals and mental health centers, and handed the National Rifle Association and its state allies their first big political defeat in years. The House vote Thursday evening was 91-33, coming hours after the Senate approved the measure, 24-16. It goes next to conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, a strong gun-rights supporter. (6/1)

KCUR: Kansas Legislators OK Gun Law Exemption For Public Hospitals, But Will Brownback Veto?
The Kansas Senate and House voted Thursday to allow public health care facilities to continue banning concealed weapons. The 24-16 Senate vote and 91-33 House vote send the bill to Gov. Sam Brownback for consideration. A state law taking effect July 1 will allow people to carry concealed guns into any public building that is not secured by armed guards and metal detectors...The bill also would exempt public hospitals and the University of Kansas Health System. (Koranda, 6/2)

The Associated Press: As NYPD Trained On Mental Illness, A Call Ended In Shooting
A year before a police sergeant shot and killed a bat-wielding woman with schizophrenia, the New York Police Department began giving officers specialized training on how to handle the mentally ill. But the sergeant, who was charged this week with murder, hadn't received it. The October shooting of Deborah Danner became a searing illustration of the argument for the training, which so far has reached about 5,800 of the department's 35,000 officers. The NYPD says it's trying to extend it as widely and quickly as possible. (6/2)

The Associated Press: Missouri Health Chief Pledges Crackdown On Abortion Law
Missouri's only licensed abortion provider said Thursday it was unaware until recently that it had to report any complications from the procedures under a 38-year-old state law that Missouri's new health chief is pledging to enforce more rigorously. (6/1)

News Service of Florida: Verdict Overturned In ‘Concierge’ Medicine Case
A South Florida appeals court Wednesday overturned a verdict against a “concierge” medicine firm in a case involving alleged malpractice that forced the amputation of a woman's leg. The defendant in the case, MDVIP, Inc., operates a program in which patients pay an annual fee and receive benefits such as greater access to physicians. (6/1)

The Cincinnati Enquirer: Amid Rising Suicide Rates, Cincinnati Schools Worried About Cuts To Mental Health Services
As Cincinnati Public Schools look for ways to improve mental health resources for students, administrators are worried about potential cuts to psychological counseling services, which are part of school-based Medicaid programs. (Korte, 6/1)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Marijuana Decriminalization Set To Become Law In N.H.
A bill decriminalizing three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana in New Hampshire is headed to Governor Chris Sununu, who says he’ll sign it. (Sutherland, 6/1)

JAMA: Association Between Teaching Status And Mortality In US Hospitals
[Researchers used] national Medicare data to compare mortality rates in US teaching and nonteaching hospitals for all hospitalizations and for common medical and surgical conditions among Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older. ... The sample consisted of 21 451 824 total hospitalizations at 4483 hospitals, of which 250 (5.6%) were major teaching, 894 (19.9%) were minor teaching, and 3339 (74.3%) were nonteaching hospitals. Unadjusted 30-day mortality was 8.1% at major teaching hospitals, 9.2% at minor teaching hospitals, and 9.6% at nonteaching hospitals .... After adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics, the same pattern persisted. (Burke et al., 5/23)

Urban Institute: Premium Tax Credits Tied To Age Versus Income And Available Premiums: Differences By Age, Income, And Geography 
This paper compares tax credits offered through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with those in the American Health Care Act (AHCA). They examined the premium levels in 10 cities, five of which have relatively low premiums and five of which have relatively high premiums. The authors find that younger people typically receive larger insurance premium tax credits under the AHCA, while older adults typically receive larger premium tax credits under the ACA. The analysis also shows that lower-income older adults currently receive higher tax credits under the ACA than they would under the AHCA regardless of where they live. (Holahan, Blumberg and Wengle, 5/17)

Urban Institute: Medicaid Coverage Of Effective Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder 
Increased receipt of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) under Medicaid could improve outcomes for those with OUD in Medicaid expansion states residents for relapse, retention in OUD treatment, involvement in the justice system, health, and mortality. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many low-income adults with OUD in the 32 states (including DC) that expanded Medicaid gained access to buprenorphine, which is covered in all state Medicaid programs. In contrast, many low-income uninsured adults with OUD in nonexpansion states still lack access to affordable treatment. (Clemans-Cope et. al, 5/22)

Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicaid’s Role In Providing Access To Preventive Care For Adults
This Data Note focuses on Medicaid’s role in providing access to preventive care for low-income adults. Why is preventive care for adult Medicaid enrollees important? Adults in Medicaid have high rates of preventable and controllable conditions. Nearly one-third (30%) of non-elderly adult Medicaid beneficiaries report that they are in only fair or poor health – roughly double the percentage of low-income privately insured and uninsured adults who report fair or poor health. (Ku, Paradise and Thompson, 5/17)

Stat: The High Cost Of Childhood Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Untreated or mistreated, disruptive behavior disorders may spiral into worsening symptoms; unintended side effects such as problems with sleeping, anxiety, and mood swings; and serious unresolved behavioral problems. Unfortunately, these usually lead to punishment from authority figures or from the juvenile justice system instead of treatment. The cost to society of untreated disruptive behavior disorders is enormous. For one thing, these disorders place significant strain on parental mental health. ... Aside from the emotional burden placed on families, there is a significant financial burden created for schools, for public health agencies, and for society. (Andres De Los Reyes and Steve S. Lee, 6/1)

The Des Moines Register: My Life With Alzheimer’s: Remember, You Are Not Alone
The first inkling I had was in the late 1980s. I was in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., starting to go to a reception. I stopped at the door and needed to check if I had all my stuff, i.e. wallet, hotel key, name badge. The experience seemed a bit weird but I quickly put it out of my mind. That was the beginning of a lengthy road which has recently put me in the same category as one in 10 Americans over 65 who have Alzheimer’s. (Dick Goodson, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Rollback Of Birth Control Rights Will Run Into A Legal Buzzsaw
The Trump administration’s long-telegraphed attack on women’s contraceptive rights acquired tangible form Wednesday with the leak to Vox of the text of the proposed rule change. As expected, the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the departments of Labor and the Treasury, are planning to expand exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive care mandate so they apply to any employers expressing “religious beliefs and moral convictions” against birth control. The rule essentially would allow any employer to drop birth control coverage in employee health plans virtually at whim. (Michael Hiltzik, 6/1)

The Columbus Dispatch: Coroner’s Office Under Microscope
The administration of the office of Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz appears to have slid off the rails and her relationship with key county allies has publicly frayed. She needs to stay out of political fights and attend to her office. No one doubts Ortiz is a compassionate physician with a genuine desire to help our community, or that as an experienced pediatrician she has the requisite qualifications for a difficult job. But the problems in this office are reason for concern. It is important to public health, to prosecution of criminals, and to grieving families who deserve the truth. (6/2)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Moving In The Wrong Direction — Health Care Under The AHCA
On May 4, the U.S. House of Representatives resurrected Republican efforts to enact major health care legislation by narrowly passing the American Health Care Act (AHCA). A growing body of analytic work, including a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessment delivered on May 24,1 paints a dismal picture of how the AHCA would affect the health care system. The CBO analysis shows that the legislation would reduce the number of people with insurance coverage by 23 million, while narrowing coverage or increasing its cost for millions more. The resulting budgetary savings would finance tax cuts that would accrue disproportionately to high-income families. These effects contrast starkly with President Donald Trump’s promises that health care legislation would cover more people while lowering costs for families. (Matthew Fiedler, Henry J. Aaron, Loren Adler and Paul B. Ginsburg, 5/31)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: The First Hundred Days For Health Care
Like my predictions about what a Republican win in the 2016 election would mean for U.S. health policy, my expectations about the ease and speed of passing an Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement bill during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have not exactly come to fruition. But given the Republican focus over the past 7 years on “repealing and replacing” the ACA and Trump’s promise to make health care reform an early focus of his administration (at one point, he suggested having Congress meet even before his inauguration), Congress’s attention to the issue has not been surprising — even if it’s not directly in line with Trump’s dominant campaign theme of “making America great again.” Indeed, it’s been argued that the economy and jobs would have been a politically easier first target than health care — an argument that was made retrospectively for the Obama administration as well. (Gail R. Wilensky, 5/31)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Prospects For Health Care Reform In The U.S. Senate
The acid test of any nation’s health care reform happens with a change in national administration. Only when a president or minister who instigated reform departs and a new regime assumes power can we judge the durability of any reform law or program. Like it or not, now is that moment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the era of President Donald Trump. Over the coming months, U.S. society will decide, through the Congress, which of President Barack Obama’s reforms will survive and which will not. (John E. McDonough, 5/31)

Morning Consult: As Senate Debates Ending Obamacare, Latino Lives Hang In The Balance
When President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law in 2010 he enacted a piece of legislation that fundamentally changed and improved the lives of millions of Latinos throughout the United States. Families that had been priced out of health insurance could now afford coverage. Latinos denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, now could get the care they needed. Latinas who couldn’t afford important prenatal care, could now have a safe and successful pregnancy and, just as important, have contraception fully covered under preventative care. For a community besieged by high rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and low birth weight, the ACA has been, quite literally, a lifesaver. (José Calderón, 6/2)

Bloomberg: The 'Right' To Health Care Is The Wrong Question 
Is there a right to health care? Our arguments about health policy frequently highlight the question. The liberals at Slate magazine have answered yes, and the conservatives at the American Spectator have said no. Actress Laura Dern has affirmed such a right, and Republican Representative Raul Labrador denied it. Miss USA has been on both sides of the question. And all of this was just in May. As much as people argue about it, it’s not a very good question -- not, at least, in our society, in which nearly everyone agrees that all people must have access to some basic level of health care. Because of that consensus, conservatives who deny a right to health care don’t really mean it, and liberals who affirm it can’t use it to clinch the case for their favored policies. (Ramesh Ponnuru, 6/1)

Axios: What's Really At Stake In The Medicaid Spending Debate
The $834 billion cut in federal Medicaid spending in the American Health Care Act would kick off budget battles in the states that go way beyond Medicaid. We could see cuts to higher education, school funding, corrections, environmental protection or other state priorities — or new taxes, depending on the state. ... A new analysis from long time state Medicaid expert Vern Smith at HMA suggests why. To offset the $834 billion in reductions in federal Medicaid spending in the AHCA, states would need to increase their own general fund spending by an average of one third beginning in 2022, and 37% in 2026. (Drew Altman, 6/2)

Bloomberg: Americans Sure Seem To Like Universal Health Care
Americans, in general, support government-provided universal health care. A Pew Research Center survey taken in January found that 60 percent say that it’s the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that all Americans have health coverage. A Morning Consult/Politico poll in April found that support for a single-payer health system outweighs opposition, by 44 percent to 36 percent (with 19 percent unsure). A Gallup poll turned up similar results. In fact, support for universal health care isn’t a recent phenomenon; it was high before the bruising political battles over the Affordable Care Act. (Noah Smith, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: California’s ‘Free’ Health Care Won’t Come Cheap
Democrats in California’s state Senate spent Thursday hemming and hawing over Senate Bill 562, the Healthy California Act. When this column went to print, the Democratic caucus was still debating whether to bring the bill to a vote. The legislation would create a single-payer health-care system to cover all Golden State residents. This proposal would kneecap California’s economy and saddle millions with the life-threatening wait times, rationed care and out-of-control costs that plague all single-payer systems. (Sally C. Pipes, 6/1)

The Sacramento Bee: Californians Like Universal Care, Unless They’re Taxed
A new poll indicates that most Californians support changing the state’s immense, insurance-based medical care system to one in which the state provides universal coverage. (Dan Walters, 6/2)

The Des Moines Register: Who Needs Insurance They Can't Afford?
In a sense, Iowa’s high-risk insurance pool could be a safety net for individuals who might otherwise have no health coverage. But it’s a safety net that may not be accessible to those who need it most. As reported by the Register's Tony Leys, only three carriers sell individual policies in many Iowa counties right now: Aetna, Medica and Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield. All three have said that in 2018 they’ll probably stop selling those policies. They cite market instability related to the Affordable Care Act and the GOP’s repeated efforts to not only weaken the law but also replace it with something that is as yet undefined. (6/1)

Forbes: Americans Are Baffled By Long-Term Care Financing, But Want Medicare To Pay For It
Americans age 40 and older continued to be flummoxed by the challenges of long-term care financing, but increasingly believe that Medicare ought to provide such supports and services. According to a new poll by the Associated Press-University of Chicago NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC), support for a Medicare long-term care benefit has grown significantly over the past five years. And for the first time since the survey began, a majority of Republicans favor Medicare long-term care. (Howard Gleckman, 5/30)