The Washington Post: The Health Dangers From Hurricane Harvey’s Floods
The flooding from Hurricane Harvey, which has wreaked havoc in Texas, is both catastrophic and historic. The reported death toll rose to at least 16 Tuesday, and officials were projecting that as many as 30,000 people will ultimately be evacuated from flooded homes in Houston and other cities and towns in the state. Though the storm will pass and waters eventually recede, the danger from floodwaters will linger. “I distill it down to short term, long term and big picture,” said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine. (Guarino, 8/29)

NPR: Harvey Evacuees Need Medical Attention And Mental Health Care
As floodwaters continue to rise in parts of Houston, health workers are trying to keep people safe and well, though that challenge is escalating. "The first and foremost thing that everybody's concerned about is just getting folks out of harm's way with the flooded waters," says Dr. Umair Shah, Executive Director of Harris County Public Health, whose own home came under mandatory evacuation Tuesday morning. (Hsu and Penaloza, 8/29)

Stat: Calls For Tetanus Shots Amid Houston Flooding Are Misguided, Experts Say
People caught up in the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey face uncertainty and stress. But one thing most of them don’t have to worry about right now is whether they need a tetanus shot. Scattered social media posts from Texas have invoked the importance of tetanus shots for those who have been wading through floodwaters; a U.S. congressman urged residents to start considering whether they needed to get booster shots. (Branswell, 8/29)

The Washington Post: Houston’s Polluted Superfund Sites Threaten To Contaminate Floodwaters
As rain poured and floodwaters inched toward his house in south Houston, Wes Highfield set out on a risky mission in his Jeep Cherokee. He drove in several directions to reach a nearby creek to collect water samples, but each time he was turned back when water washed against his floorboard. “Yesterday as these large retention ponds filled up, eight feet deep in places, kids were swimming in them, and that’s not good,” said Highfield, a scientist at Texas A&M University’s Galveston campus. The Brio Refining toxic Superfund site, where ethylbenzene, chlorinated hydrocarbons and other chemical compounds were once pooled in pits before the Environmental Protection Agency removed them, sits “just up the road, and it drains into our watershed,” he said. (Fears and Dennis, 8/29)

Politico: Harvey Triggers Spike In Hazardous Chemical Releases
Hobbled oil refineries and damaged fuel facilities along the Gulf Coast of Texas from Tropical storm Harvey have released more than two million pounds of dangerous chemicals into the air this week, adding new health threats to Houston’s already considerable woes. The big spike in releases, which include carcinogenic benzene and nitrogen oxide, will add an environmental and long-term health risk to the region that's struggling with the massive flooding that Harvey has brought to the country’s energy capital, according to environmental watchdogs. (Lefebvre, 8/29)

Reuters: Storm Harvey Could Financially Hurt Already Strained Houston Hospitals
Structural improvements over the last decade to Houston hospitals have helped them so far to avoid devastation like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, but the pounding it is receiving from Tropical Storm Harvey is expected to financially hobble many already strained Texas medical centers. The storm has forced hospitals to cancel surgeries, evacuate patients and contend with food and supply shortages. Even bigger challenges are expected in coming months when people who have lost homes and jobs avoid medical treatment or seek charitable care. (Scheyder and Mincer, 8/29)

Modern Healthcare: Trump's Easing Of Building Regulations Could Backfire During Severe Flooding 
As the unprecedented storm devastates southeast Texas, a new executive order easing infrastructure regulations could jeopardize the safety of providers that must cope with future natural disasters. ... on Aug. 15, Trump signed an executive order that immediately rolled back a previous order aimed at helping flood-prone communities prepare for the impact of climate change and rising sea levels. The Obama-era order required that new critical buildings such as federally funded hospitals or medical facilities be built at least 3 feet above the national 100-year flood elevation standards or to at least the 500-year flood plain. (Kacik, 8/29)

Houston Chronicle: Ben Taub Hospital Abandons Plans To Evacuate Patients 
Ben Taub Hospital, one of the city's largest public safety-net hospitals, called off attempts on Tuesday to evacuate patients after a series of delays hampered efforts, including two ambulances turned back because of high water. Ben Taub officials on Sunday asked regional emergency coordinators to evacuate the hospital after a pipe burst in the basement of the facility in the Medical Center. The rush of water contaminated the hospital's food supply, closed its pharmacy and damaged medical supplies. (Deam, 8/29)

Stat: Harvey Flooding Engulfs MD Anderson Cancer Center, Canceling Treatments
Tropical Storm Harvey has flooded the roads in and around MD Anderson’s primary Houston hospital, leaving one of the world’s foremost cancer centers unable to see patients for appointments or previously scheduled treatments until Thursday at the earliest. The cancer hospital issued a statement Tuesday saying the main building and several MD Anderson satellites around Houston will remain closed to appointments through Wednesday, as emergency crews work to restore operations and wait for the flood waters to recede. (Ross and Sheridan, 8/29)

Politico Pro: Texas Hospitals Improvise To Avoid Harvey Flooding
Harvey has been a lingering natural disaster that’s forcing patients and health systems throughout southeast Texas to respond to fast changing and unpredictable circumstances. Roads have moved from passable to flooded within minutes, leaving ambulances scrambling to reroute and hospitals to quickly change evacuation plans. (Rayasam, 8/29)

Austin American-Statesman: Central Texas Sends 25 Staffers To Houston VA Hospital
The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System is sending a 25 member team to Houston’s VA hospital to provide relief to staff who haven’t been able to leave since Hurricane Harvey hit this weekend. The Central Texas team, made up of nurses, operating room technicians and radiology techs, will leave Wednesday at 7 a.m. (Schwartz, 8/29)

The Associated Press: Sessions: Drug Overdoses 'The Top Lethal Issue' In The US
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday called drug overdose deaths "the top lethal issue" in the U.S. and urged law enforcement and social workers to "create and foster a culture that's hostile to drug use." Sessions spoke to the annual conference of the National Alliance For Drug Endangered Children. He said preliminary data show nearly 60,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016, the highest ever. (Moreno, 8/29)

Politico: Why Hasn’t The White House Declared A State Of Emergency Over The Opioid Crisis?
Speaking from Bedminster, New Jersey, in early August, President Donald Trump vowed to formally dub the U.S. opioid crisis a “national emergency.” But nearly a month later, the president has yet to officially declare a state of emergency — a move that would enable the federal government to pump funds into addressing the drug epidemic. (8/30)

And in news from the states —

NPR: Hepatitis C Epidemic Threatens Alaska's Opioid Addicts
Like many states, Alaska is struggling under the burden of opioid abuse. Prescription painkillers and heroin accounted for 74 percent of Alaska's drug overdose deaths last year. Transmission of blood-born viruses like hepatitis C, which can cause liver scarring, cancer, and death, is exploding, increasing in some rural areas by 490 percent in just the last few years. One calculation estimated that to treat all the Alaskans who contracted hepatitis C from injecting drugs in 2015 would cost $90 million. (Hughes, 8/29)

Politico Pro: West Virginia Enlists Teachers In Opioid Fight
West Virginia is preparing to place schoolteachers on the front lines in the fight against the opioid epidemic. The Mountain State, grappling with the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country, will soon give elementary, middle and high school teachers access to naloxone, the lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drug, on school grounds. (Ehley, 8/29)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Trump White House Reaches Out To Ohio Counties
Invited to the White House to share their local concerns, about 80 county commissioners and county council members from Ohio spent Tuesday talking with President Donald Trump's top aides, including cabinet secretaries and, briefly, Vice President Mike Pence. Jack Schron, a county council member from Cuyahoga County, said it was the first time he is aware of that the White House asked for so much local input. (Koff, 8/29)

Stat: Huge New Study Casts Doubt On Conventional Wisdom About Fat And Carbs
Fat, once a dirty word when it came to diet, has been edging back toward respectability. New results from a huge international study help continue to reshape its image while at the same time casting doubt on the wisdom of eating lots of carbohydrates and questioning the “more is better” recommendations for eating fruits and vegetables. The latest evidence comes from data released Tuesday by the international Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Its research team recorded the eating habits of 135,000 adults in 18 countries — including high-income, medium-income, and low-income nations — and followed the participants’ health for more than seven years on average. (Skerrett, 8/29)

Stat: What The FDA Crackdown On Stem Cell Clinics Means — And What's Next
Paul Knoepfler, a stem cell researcher at the University of California, Davis and author of The Niche blog, has warned for years about the proliferation of unlicensed stem cell clinics and the danger they pose to both patients and legitimate stem cell research. He was pleased this week to see the FDA announce a crackdown — and then back up that rhetoric with action. The FDA sent a stern warning letter to a Florida clinic that left three women legally blind after an unapproved treatment. And federal marshals raided a California clinic and seized dangerous therapies, made in part from smallpox vaccine. (McFarling, 8/29)

Bloomberg: The Virtual Reality Game Gathering Data For Dementia Researchers
Navigating an ice-walled lake or scouring a swamp for a hidden monster may sound like a fun premise for a virtual-reality video game. But there’s a serious purpose behind the new game Sea Hero Quest VR:  helping neuroscientists design a new test for dementia.London-based game design firm Glitchers worked with researchers from British and Swiss universities, as well as dementia and Alzheimer’s charities, to create Sea Hero Quest VR. ...As people play the game, anonymized data – including what actions they take and exactly where they look and for how long – is collected and stored on Deutsche Telekom’s servers in Germany. Players can also choose to provide the carrier with more detailed demographic data, such as information about their age, gender and location. (Kahn, 8/29)

The New York Times: Can Your ‘Good’ Cholesterol Be Too High?
High levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, are generally considered healthy. But can you have too much of a good thing? Possibly so, a study in the European Heart Journal found. Danish researchers tracked more than 116,508 men and women, average age 57, for an average of six years. There were 10,678 deaths. (Bakalar, 8/29)

Stat: On Instagram, Plastic Surgery Promotions Aren’t Always What They Seem
Instagram is increasingly being used as an advertising platform for people and companies hawking medications, supplements, and even so-called “detox” teas. Occasionally, those advertisements cross the line; in 2015, the FDA warned one company about Kim Kardashian’s Instagram posts promoting its drug to treat morning sickness. But findings in a new paper reveal another potential risk in user-driven photo advertising — a difficulty in discerning quality plastic surgery providers from uncertified or unscrupulous ones. (Sheridan, 8/30)

Stat: The Average Dad In The U.S. Is Getting Older
Anew study finds that the average age of fathers in the U.S. is rising as men take a few extra years to practice their dad jokes before having kids. The typical dad now is nearly 31 years old at his child’s birth. That’s more than three years older than the average dad was in the 1970s. The average age of first-time moms has also been rising, thanks in large part to a dramatic drop in teen pregnancies. The dad research, published Wednesday in the journal Human Reproduction, looked at live birth data from 1972 to 2015 in the U.S.  (Thielking, 8/30)

NPR: How Moldy Hay And Sick Cows Led To A Lifesaving Drug
There is a lifesaving drug that owes its existence to moldy hay, sick cows and rat poison. The drug is called warfarin sodium. It prevents blood clots, and it can be a lifesaver for patients who've had a heart attack or stroke. It's one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. (Palca, 8/29)

Stat: Where Did All The Bare Counties Go? Four Takeaways From Nevada's Fight To Preserve Coverage
In June, Nevada suddenly found itself in quite a jam — 14 of its 17 counties had zero insurers offering plans on the Obamacare exchanges. Insurance officials in the state scrambled, wooing and cajoling insurers to return. Two weeks ago, those efforts paid off. Centene Corp., a Missouri-based insurer, agreed to provide coverage in all the bare counties. A similar relief has played out nationwide: From a high of 49 counties left bare in late June, it was announced last week that every county in the country had at least one insurance carrier for 2018. (Ross, 8/30)

Kaiser Health News: 5 Outside-The-Box Ideas For Fixing The Individual Insurance Market
With Republican efforts to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act stalled, tentative bipartisan initiatives are in the works to shore up the fragile individual insurance market that serves roughly 17 million Americans. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee launches hearings the week Congress returns in September on “stabilizing premiums in the individual insurance market” that will feature state governors and insurance commissioners. A bipartisan group in the House is also working to come up with compromise proposals. (Rovner, 8/30)

And in the states —

The Baltimore Sun: Obamacare Premium Costs In Maryland Set To Jump As State Approves Rates 
The cost of premiums for plans sold on the state’s health exchange will soar for 2018, adding to questions about the stability and affordability of the health insurance program known as Obamacare. State regulators announced Tuesday that they have approved average rate increases of just over 23 percent to nearly 50 percent, depending on the plan and carrier, increases that surely will burden consumers who get no government subsidies but also potentially still leave insurers in the red. (Cohn, 8/29)

The CT Mirror: Access Health Again Extends Deadline For Insurers To Decide On 2018
The two remaining insurers on Connecticut’s health insurance exchange will have an extra week to decide whether to continue selling plans through the exchange’s individual marketplace next year. The exchange, Access Health CT, announced Tuesday the insurers now will have until Sept. 15. (Constable, 8/29)

Los Angeles Times: GOP Healthcare Vote Inspires Another Challenger For California's Rep. Jeff Denham
It was healthcare that inspired Riverbank small business owner Virginia Madueño to become the newest person to challenge Republican Rep. Jeff Denham in California's Central Valley. Madueño, 52, said she decided to run when Denham voted for the GOP bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act in May after initially saying he’d vote against it. (Wire, 8/29)

In other news —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Grothman Talks Trump, Obamacare And Border Wall At Town Hall Meeting
In a sometimes contentious town hall meeting with his constituents, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R) spoke candidly about President Donald Trump, Obamacare and Trump's proposed wall on the Mexican border. More than 100 people crowded into the Tolzman Community Room at the Frank L. Weyenberg Public Library on Monday, Aug. 28, for a chance to share their priorities with the second-term Republican congressman, whose district stretches as far north as Neenah and as far west as Wisconsin Dells. (Rumage, 8/29)

Roll Call: French Hill Re-Invited To School After Protest Concerns
Arkansas Rep. French Hill was re-invited to an elementary school after the school canceled his visit because parents threatened to protest. Hill was slated to speak at Gibbs Magnet Elementary School as part of its “Do Great Things” theme, according to Arkansas Matters. But Barclay Key, a parent of a student, protested Hill’s appearance. “I’m appalled that a supporter of Donald Trump would be allowed to speak to our children, not to mention someone who voted to take away health insurance from many of the families at our school,” he said. Key said he and other parents planned to pull their kids out of the school for the day. (Garcia, 8/29)

Politico: Mattis Allows Transgender Troops To Serve As Pentagon Studies Trump's Ban
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that transgender troops would continue serving in the military while the Pentagon studied the issue, a decision that delays the implementation of President Donald Trump’s recently signed directive. Mattis said he would establish a “panel of experts serving within the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security” to provide advice and recommendations on putting into effect the president’s order to bar transgender individuals from serving in the armed forces. The presidential guidance, which Trump signed on Friday, gave the defense secretary until Feb. 21 to submit a plan for implementing the new policy. (Hillman, 8/29)

And in veterans' health care news —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: VA Managers Linked To National Health Enrollment Center Reassigned
Four VA managers linked to the veterans national health care enrollment office in Atlanta have been moved from their positions pending the outcome of an internal investigation. ... The move is another sign of deep dysfunction at the Atlanta-based Health Eligibility Center (HEC) that oversees the health care enrollment system for millions of veterans across the country. (Schrade, 8/29)

The Cannabist: VA Roadblock Hinders Study On Cannabis As PTSD Treatment For Veterans, Researcher Says
The first controlled clinical trial of medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in U.S. military veterans is in jeopardy if the Phoenix Veterans Administration Health Care System doesn’t participate with patient recruitment efforts, a lead researcher for the study said. Arizona-based scientists have almost completed research with 22 veterans and now need to screen 6,000 to 8,000 vets to enroll an additional 54 qualifying PTSD patients in order to move the study forward, according to an Aug. 21 letter sent to VA officials by Dr. Sue Sisley, site principal investigator with Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), administrator of the federally approved study. (Kennedy, 8/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Advisory Board Co. To Be Split And Sold For $2.58 Billion, Including Debt
The Advisory Board Co. will be split up and sold in a deal valued at around $2.21 billion, with its health-care business going to UnitedHealth Group Inc. and its education unit to private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners Management LLC. The consulting and software company had announced in February that its board was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. That move came after activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. said it and related entities had bought about 8.3% of the company’s shares, saying at the time they were undervalued and it wanted to engage in a dialogue with the company’s board. (Wilde Mathews and Cooper, 8/29)

Modern Healthcare: Advisory Board Split In $2.6B Deal With UnitedHealth's Optum Buying Healthcare Business 
"We determined that transactions with Optum and Vista Equity Partners allow us to accelerate the success of our healthcare and education businesses while realizing immediate value for stockholders," Robert Musslewhite, chairman and CEO of the Advisory Board, said in a statement. "We believe this is the best course of action for our stockholders, members and employees." (Kacik, 8/29)

San Antonio Press-Express: No Decision Yet On Whether Second-Trimester Abortion Ban Will Take Effect
A federal judge will decide by Friday whether to temporarily block the state’s ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure. Supporters argue the measure will prevent “dismemberment” of living fetuses, but critics contend it will erode women’s access to abortions. After a hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin said he would release a written order later in the week, before Senate Bill 8 is set to take effect Friday. (Morris, 8/29)

Columbus Dispatch: Most Ohio Death Row Inmates Mentally Disabled, Report Says
Most of the 26 men scheduled for execution in Ohio over three years have intellectual impairments, mental illness and childhood abuse and should not be put to death, a study by Harvard Law School’s Fair Punishment Project concludes. A report released Wednesday looked at all 26 cases of convicted killers set to be executed in Ohio through 2020, beginning with Gary Otte on Sept. 13. It said Ohio is “poised to violate constitutional limits” by executing impaired inmates. (Johnson, 8/29)

Los Angeles Times: Adventist Health Glendale Ranks High In Multiple Areas In Latest ‘Best Hospitals’ List
In a measurement by the U.S. News & World Report, multiple areas of care at Adventist Health Glendale were recently recognized as being among the best in the region and state. The media company released its “Best Hospitals” list for 2017-18 last week and ranked Adventist Health Glendale at No. 16 in the Los Angeles metro area and No. 28 in California. (Landa, 8/29)

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Feds: Fox Rehab Received $30 Million In Improper Medicare Payments
A federal auditor said Tuesday that Fox Rehabilitation, based in Cherry Hill, received at least $29.9 million from Medicare for services that did not meet Medicare requirements. The services were provided to 15,287 Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey between July 2013 and June 2015. The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that 85 of 100 claims in its sample contained services that were not medically necessary. Overall, privately owned Fox submitted 400,221 claims during the audit period, with $39.7 million in total reimbursement. (Brubaker, 8/29)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Number Of N.H. Prisoners Testing Positive For Drugs Shows Decline
The number of prison inmates testing positive for drugs in New Hampshire is going down. Around this time last year, 27 percent of drug tests came back positive. New data from the Department of Corrections says now, that's down to 11 percent. (Sutherland, 8/28)

The Star Tribune: $20M Awarded Over Woman Who Died After Giving Birth At Abbott
The family of a woman who died less than a week after giving birth at Abbott Northwestern Hospital has won a judgment exceeding $20 million in what the plaintiff's attorneys are calling the largest wrongful-death medical malpractice verdict in Minnesota history. The six-person jury's unanimous verdict came Monday afternoon in Hennepin County District Court on behalf of the husband and other relatives of Nicole Bermingham, who died on Aug. 26, 2013. (Walsh, 8/29)

Tampa Bay Times: Opening Of New Autism Center Raises Hopes For Tampa Mom
Some Florida Autism Centers provide schooling as well as therapy. The new Tampa center, which opened in May, specializes in one-on-one therapy based on the principles of applied behavioral analysis — described as a systematic approach for influencing behavior by identifying environmental variables. (Morgan, 8/29)

Stat: Which TV Shows Get Blanketed By Pharma Ads — And Which Don’t? You’d Be Surprised
Depending on which show you’re watching, prescription drug makers are responsible for as many as 38 percent of ads during commercial breaks — or as few as virtually none at all. That’s according to data from the media research firm iSpot.tv covering the valuable 8-10 p.m. primetime slot over the 12 months that concluded at the end of July. Drug advertisers usually don’t target down to the level of specific TV shows when they’re buying ad spots. Though there are exceptions: when drug marketers launched the statin Lipitor in the late ’90s, they narrowed in on the hospital drama “ER” because it was one of the hottest shows on TV and its medical theme sent all the right messages. (Robbins, 8/29)

The Washington Post: Gilead’s $11.9 Billion Purchase Of A Groundbreaking Cancer Therapy Could Drag It Into A New Debate On Prices
Gilead Sciences has ended the long-running suspense about what it would do with some of the billions in cash it has amassed from selling effective, but expensive hepatitis C drugs: Buy a groundbreaking cancer therapy. Gilead, which has come under congressional investigation for the $84,000 price tag it put on its first hepatitis C drug, announced Monday it would shell out $11.9 billion to acquire California-based Kite Pharma. The acquisition could stir a whole new debate on drug prices. (Johnson, 8/29)

Bloomberg: New Drug Price Questions Loom After Gilead's Cancer Purchase
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s acquisition of Kite Pharma Inc. has brought it back to a familiar -- and contentious -- dilemma: How much should a drugmaker charge for a novel drug that has the potential to cure a disease? Back in 2013, Gilead was battered by public outrage when it priced its hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi at $84,000, or $1,000 a pill. The drug, which promised to rid patients of the viral disease in three months, also faced pushback from insurers and government plans that were expected to cover most of the cost. (Chen, 8/29)

Stat: AIDS Activists Urge N.Y. Attorney General To Probe Gilead For Antitrust Violations
Agroup of prominent AIDS activists is urging the New York attorney general to investigate Gilead Sciences (GILD) for potential antitrust violations in connection with deals the drug maker struck with rivals that sought to sell generic versions of a best-selling HIV treatment. The activists are concerned Gilead may have reached agreements with the companies that allow it to improperly forestall competition to its Truvada HIV prevention pill, according to an Aug. 4 letter they wrote to Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. Those deals were reached three years ago to settle patent litigation and generic versions are not expected to appear before 2021. (Silverman, 8/29)

Kaiser Health News: Facebook Live: The Prescription Drug Pricing Pipeline
Who contributes to what you pay at the pharmacy? Why are prescription drugs so expensive in the United States? In this Facebook Live, KHN’s Julie Appleby talks with Stephanie Stapleton and answers readers’ questions about the prescription drug pricing pipeline and the industry stakeholders who have a role in what you pay. (8/29)

The Fiscal Times: Why The US Spends More Per Person On Prescription Drugs Than Other Countries
The U.S. spends more per capita on prescription drugs than any other high-income country — and that spending has grown much faster than in comparable countries over the last two decades, lifting the annual cost per person to between 30 percent and 190 percent higher than in countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. (Rosenberg, 8/29)

Denver Post: EpiPen's Maker Will Pay $5.5 Million To Colorado As Part Of A Settlement
Mylan, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the popular EpiPen device to treat allergic reactions, will pay the state of Colorado $5.5 million as part of a settlement over claims that it shorted money owed to Medicaid. Nationally, Mylan agreed to pay $465 million to the federal government and individual states as part of the settlement. The claims allege that Mylan misclassified EpiPen as a generic drug, even as it marketed EpiPen as a brand-name drug and raised the prices for the device 400 percent between 2010 and 2016. The generic classification allowed Mylan to avoid paying rebates to state Medicaid programs, according to the claims. (Ingold, 8/29)

Morning Consult: Health Insurers Enter Fray In Drug Price Fight
Health insurers are pushing back against a recent report that accuses them of denying some patients coverage for medical products and procedures, alleging it is part of a campaign by the pharmaceutical industry to distract the public from rising drug prices. America’s Health Insurance Plans, the nation’s largest trade group for medical insurers, reacted quickly to a study released last week that stated that as many as 24 percent of insured patients with chronic illnesses have been denied coverage for prescribed treatments. (Reid, 8/24)

Bloomberg: Valeant’s Latest Litigation Threat Could Be Especially Costly
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has been selling assets, paying down debt and riding a recovery of its shares from their lowest point last spring. But one big uncertainty -- its potential legal costs -- just got bigger. Lord Abbett & Co., the mutual fund company, filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Valeant on Wednesday alleging that it bought shares in the drug giant at an artificially high price because of misinformation provided by Valeant. (Farrell and Weinberg, 8/25)

The Associated Press: How To Tell If The Price Is Right On Your Next Prescription
With drug prices rising and insurance coverage shrinking, it pays to ask questions and do a little research before handing over your insurance card at the pharmacy counter. Having coverage offers no guarantee that you're getting the best price for your medicine. Customers of CVS and Walgreens brought that concern to light earlier this month when they sued the drugstore chains over prices paid for generic prescriptions. ... Before you fill your next prescription, consider these steps to help find the best possible price. (Murphy, 8/23)

Stat: Dueling Data: Amgen Fires Back Over Cost Effectiveness For Its Cholesterol Drug
On the defensive about the value of its pricey cholesterol medicine, Amgen (AMGN) released a new study that argues its treatment is cost effective at about $9,700 a year, which is closely in line with the existing price tag — after discounts and rebates are subtracted from the $14,000 list price. This contrasts, however, with the $4,500 price point that a group of academics suggested in their own analysis, which was released earlier this week. In their view, the drug — an injectable medicine known as Repatha — should be marked down by roughly two-thirds off the list price to be seen as a good value. Their analysis was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Silverman, 8/23)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Strikes $400 Million Parkinson's Drug Deal With Takeda
AstraZeneca is to receive up to $400 million from Takeda Pharmaceutical after striking a deal for the Japanese company to co-develop an early-stage medicine for Parkinson's disease. The drug, MEDI1341, is an antibody treatment discovered by the British company that is due to enter Phase I clinical trials later this year. (Hirschler, 8/29)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Group Supporting Drug-Pricing Issue Goofs Up Endorsement Announcement
Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices, also called Yes on Issue 2, said Councilmen Kerry McCormack and Brian Kazy were endorsing the Drug Price Relief Act. But both said they haven't decided whether to support it. (Hancock, 8/24)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Who Is The Controversial Man Behind Ohio's Drug Price Ballot Initiative?
Supporters and opponents of the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act - a ballot issue Ohioans will decide this November -- have waged an aggressive, multimillion-dollar offensive against one another. ... If the ballot initiative is a war in Ohio, the general for the pro-side - known as Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices - is Michael Weinstein, the polarizing and controversial president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, or AHF, which occupies the 21st floor of an office building near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood. (Richardson, 8/24)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland City Council Members Endorse Ohio's Prescription Drug Issue 2: See Who Else Is On Board
The campaign behind Issue 2, a November ballot measure it says would save the state millions of dollars on prescription drugs, announced new supporters, including six members of Cleveland City Council and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. ... The proposed law would require Ohio to buy medicine for state health care recipients such prisoners, Medicaid recipients or state employees at the same prices obtained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which under federal law gets a 24 percent discount on drug costs. (Hancock, 8/23)

Stat: Michigan Will Be The Next State To Try To Legislate A Fix To High Drug Prices
You can add Michigan to the list of states where lawmakers hope to legislate a fix for high drug prices. A group of House and Senate Democrats plan to introduce a bill to create a Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Board for reviewing price hikes and to empower the state attorney general to investigate any drug maker that takes “grossly excessive” price increases. Companies would be required to submit documents justifying price increases above 10 percent in one year, or 30 percent in five years. And drug makers would be fined $100,000 for failing to justify those increases. (Silverman, 8/23)

Bloomberg: Teva Women's Health Unit Attracts Interest Of Church & Dwight, Cooper 
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s women’s health unit is drawing interest from Church & Dwight Co. and Cooper Cos., people familiar with the matter said, as the troubled Israeli drugmaker sells assets to pare debt. Teva may sell the business as a whole or split the U.S. and European operations after bidders showed interest in separate parts, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Church & Dwight and Cooper are considering bids for the U.S. treatments, the people said. The deadline for final bids is as soon as this week and the entire portfolio may fetch about $2 billion, they said. (Baigorri, 8/22)

U.S. News & World Report: Bernie Sanders' Drug Savings Bill Could Cost American Lives
The Senate is considering a bill that would allow individuals and pharmacies to purchase medicines from Canada. The Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act could save the federal government more than $6 billion over the next decade, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. But these savings could come at the cost of Americans' lives. Legalizing drug importation would make it far easier for harmful counterfeit and contaminated medicines to enter the U.S. drug supply. At a time when illegal, counterfeit drugs already cause hundreds of American deaths every year, importation represents a reckless way to cut health care costs. (Kenneth Thorpe, 8/23)

Morning Consult: Curbing Prescription Drug Prices Through The PBM Model
Congress and the White House continue to focus on addressing challenges to the U.S. health care system, one of which is the impact of rising prescription drug prices on the financial health of working Americans, state budgets and our economy. Many policymakers are looking for answers, and one such solution is the use of pharmacy benefit managers. This is confirmed by a recent study from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs and the actuarial firm Oliver Wyman, based on actual Medicare Part D bid information, which finds the current PBM model is already working — and is expected to produce significant cost savings for the Part D program over the next decade. (Meghan Scott, 8/24)

Stat: New Drug From Adamas Reformulates A Cheap Generic. Should It Cost $30K?
Adamas Pharmaceuticals (ADMS) had five minutes on Thursday night to feel good about its first U.S. drug approval before sniping over pricing kicked in. The FDA approved the new Adamas product, to be marketed under the brand name Gocovri, to reduce dyskinesia (involuntary movements) experienced by some Parkinson’s disease patients on levodopa therapy. Adamas noted Thursday that Gocovri is the first and only FDA-approved medicine for this indication, but the claim comes with an asterisk. (Adam Feuerstein, 8/25)

Bloomberg: Gilead Overspends To Quiet Deal Clamor
There's a price tag on everything, possibly even happiness. For Gilead Sciences Inc. shareholders irate over the company's multi-year case of the deal yips as its growth stagnates, happiness apparently costs about $12 billion. That's what Gilead is paying for Kite Pharma Inc., which is developing a therapy that modifies immune cells to fight blood cancer. Gilead's shares rose more than two percent on the news Monday, as investors cheered the end of its inaction. (Max Nisen, 8/28)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Lifesaving 340B Discount Drug Program Under Attack
I met Hope (not her real name) at the MetroHealth Cancer Center a year and a half ago - a happily married young woman who had a great job and was eagerly awaiting to be a firsttime mom. She came to me because there was a black spot on her skin, and it was bleeding every now and then. It was melanoma. And like that, her life changed in the blink of an eye. (Benjamin D. Li, 8/30)

Sacramento Bee: Don't Sacrifice Cures For Drug Price Transparency
Cancer is frightening in the abstract, and even more so when it becomes your reality. Three years ago, I was diagnosed at a relatively young age with late-stage colon cancer and have since gone through extensive treatments. The love of my husband and three children, the dedication of health care professionals who treated me and the support of patient communities such as Colontown have helped me stay strong. (Deborah Goldberg, 8/25)

USA Today: Cutting Nicotine In Cigarettes Is An Intriguing Idea
Five decades of warnings about the deadly consequences of smoking have helped cut smoking rates in half, but more than 36 million people are still puffing away in America. And if history is any guide, about half of them will die premature deaths, plagued by everything from heart disease to lung cancer. Now Scott Gottlieb, a physician and commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, has proposed a radical and intriguing plan to help the remaining smokers kick the habit and prevent more teenagers from getting hooked: Reduce the nicotine in cigarettes to minimally addictive levels. (8/29)

USA Today: Don't Cut Nicotine Levels In Cigarettes
Reducing deaths from smoking is a goal everyone shares, and while lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes sounds like a reasonable idea, it carries huge risks for potentially little reward. Smokers are drawn to cigarettes for the nicotine, but it’s the smoke that kills them. Nicotine doesn’t cause lung cancer, and no real-world evidence suggests that reducing nicotine will lower smoking-related deaths. (Guy Bentley, 8/29)

RealClear Health: Democrats Should Negotiate With The GOP On Health Care
Congressional Democrats may be tempted to think they shouldn’t negotiate with Republicans on health care because, so far, the GOP has shown itself incapable of fulfilling its commitment to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Why rescue Republicans from their failure?” the thinking goes. (James Capretta, 8/30)

WBUR: The Opioid Epidemic Needs A Strategy For Teens
Any forward-thinking national overdose strategy needs to invest heavily early in the life course -- that is, in children and adolescents. To be successful, the strategy must prevent teens from initiating problematic opioid use in the first place, and expand access to evidence-based treatment for teens. (Scott Hadland and Sarah Bagley, 8/29)

Health Affairs Blog: Improving Older Adults’ Health: Creating Solutions With—Not For—Them
With the best of intentions, foundations and nonprofit organizations often design and support programs based on what they think the people they serve need and want. But in the end, they discover they have designed solutions that miss the mark—their programs aren’t used, and they don’t get the outcomes that they expected. So at the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, we wanted to find out what was possible when we created solutions with people, rather than for them. (Katherine McLaughlin and Diane Oyler, 8/29)

Stat: Cancer Is 'Natural.' The Best Treatments For It Aren't
It is human nature to believe that anything that is “all natural” is intrinsically good. That line of thought can lead people astray. The truth is, cancer is all natural. While some are caused by smoking or chemical exposures, most of them are sporadic, meaning they aren’t caused by any lifestyle factor, food, or chemical exposure. Cholesterol, a major cause of heart attacks and strokes, is natural and even necessary — the body requires it to build cell membranes and the protective covering around nerves. HIV, Ebola, and Zika are all caused by naturally occurring viruses. (Suneel D. Kamath, 8/29)