First Edition: May 3, 2018

Kaiser Health News: Sprained Your Knee? The Cost Of A Brace Could Sprain Your Wallet.
One July evening, Carol Harnett was in a crosswalk in downtown Portland, Ore., when a driver made an illegal turn and hit her. Transported by ambulance to a hospital, she was diagnosed with a severely sprained right ankle and left wrist, as well as a concussion. At the emergency room, doctors gave her steel-reinforced braces for her wrist and ankle and told her she was free to go. “But I can’t walk,” Harnett, president of the nonprofit Council for Disability Awareness, recalled saying. With a third-degree sprain, the ligaments in her right ankle were completely torn and she couldn’t bear weight on it. (Andrews, 5/3)

California Healthline: Blacks, Latinos, Women Found Less Likely To Get The Mental Health Care They Need
Black Californians are more likely to experience mental health problems than other ethnic groups, and they are less likely to get the care they need, according to a study released Tuesday. The study, by Santa Monica-based Rand Corp., shows a connection between untreated mental health problems and multiple absences from work, which can take an economic toll on individuals and families in the form of lost pay and even lost jobs. That dynamic disproportionately affects communities of color. (Abram, 5/1)

The New York Times: On Anniversary Of House Obamacare Repeal, Democrats Look To Extract A Price
A year ago Friday, Representative Claudia Tenney of New York stood among dozens of enthusiastic colleagues in the Rose Garden to celebrate passage of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. When President Trump made his way onstage, Ms. Tenney clapped and smiled. On this not-so-happy anniversary, a Democratic “super PAC” is on the air with a television commercial reminding her constituents of a repeal vote that Republicans were once convinced would be a political winner. Ms. Tenney’s Democratic challenger, Anthony Brindisi, a state assemblyman, said health care is consistently one of the top issues in a vast district that runs from Lake Ontario through Utica and Rome to the Pennsylvania border. (Kaplan, 5/2)

The Hill: Price Walks Back Warning On ObamaCare Individual Mandate
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on Wednesday walked back comments he made predicting repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate would drive up insurance costs. In a statement, Price said his remarks at Tuesday’s World Health Care Congress were taken out of context. (Weixel, 5/2)

Politico: Tom Price Walks Back Remarks On Mandate Repeal
“Repealing the individual mandate was exactly the right thing to do. Forcing Americans to buy something they don’t want undermines individual liberty as well as free markets,” Price said in a statement through the Job Creators Network, a pro-business group for which he is a health care fellow. “The only fair and effective way to bring down healthcare costs is to allow markets to create more choices for consumers and small businesses.” (Pradhan, 5/2)

The Washington Post: Former Congressman Jeff Miller Emerges As A Leading Contender For Trump’s VA
Former congressman Jeff Miller, who chaired the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs before retiring from Congress last year, is considered a leading candidate to become President Trump’s next nominee for VA secretary, according to people familiar with the matter. The Florida Republican, who spent 16 years in Congress and now works in Washington as a lobbyist, met Wednesday with officials in the White House vetting office. Miller told people close to the White House that he expects to meet with Trump in coming days. (Wax-Thibodeaux and Wagner, 5/2)

The Hill: VA Hospital Cancels Dozens Of Surgeries Due To Insect Infestation: Report 
A Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Los Angeles was forced to close operating rooms for 22 days between 2016 and 2018 due to a persistent infestation of insects. A local CBS News investigation found that the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center has installed at least 200 flytraps to deal with an infestation of Phorid flies in operating rooms that has plagued the building since at least November of 2016. (Bowden, 5/2)

The New York Times: Iowa Lawmakers Pass Abortion Bill With Roe V. Wade In Sights
Six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy is the point at which doctors typically can detect the flicker of a fetal heartbeat on an ultrasound. It’s also the point after which Iowa lawmakers now intend to outlaw abortions. The Iowa Legislature approved what would be the nation’s strictest abortion law in an early-morning vote on Wednesday. The move intended to pose an aggressive challenge to Roe v. Wade and reignite conservative energy before the midterm elections in November. (Bosman and Smith, 5/2)

The Washington Post: Iowa's 'Heartbeat' Bill Bans Abortion After Six Weeks
The “heartbeat” bill, which would ban abortions as early as six weeks — around the time women generally feel early signs of pregnancy and before many even realize they are pregnant — was passed Tuesday by the Iowa House, 51-46. The state Senate passed the bill 29-17 early Wednesday, sending it to Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who has said abortion is “equivalent to murder.” State Rep. Shannon Lundgren (R), while speaking on the House floor Tuesday, called the bill “a courageous step” that sends the message that Iowa “will defend its most vulnerable, those without a voice — our unborn children.” (Phillips, 5/2)

The Washington Post: Iowa Lawmakers Send 6-Week Abortion Ban To Governor
Erin Davison-Rippey, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said in a statement Iowa Republicans “do not care how much taxpayer money will be spent on a lawsuit ... or how many families may choose to go elsewhere because Iowa is no longer a state where they are safe to live and work.” (Rodriguez and Stewart, 5/2)

Reuters: President Trump Wants To Go Further On Drug Prices: HHS Secretary
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday said President Donald Trump wants to go further in lowering drug prices, an issue he campaigned on during the 2016 presidential race. "HHS is currently working with the President on a comprehensive strategy to solve these problems," Azar said in a speech at World Health Care Congress. "We'll be building on the proposals in the President’s budget, but he wants to go further." (Banerjee, 5/2)

The Hill: HHS Secretary: Trump Drug Pricing Plan Will Go 'Much Further' Than Budget Proposal
Azar referred to the upcoming plan as a “comprehensive strategy” and briefly laid out the four areas the plan will address at a speech at the annual World Health Care Congress. The list includes tackling high list prices, seniors and government programs paying too much for drugs, rising out-of-pocket costs, and foreign governments “free-riding off of American investment in innovation.” (Roubein, 5/2)

Stat: Maine Becomes The Latest State To Adopt A Law Seeking Transparency On Drug Pricing 
[Unlike] a few states that quickly required drug makers to provide cost and pricing information about their medicines – California, Vermont, Nevada, and Oregon — Maine is taking a two-step approach. Initially, a state agency will collect data on the 25 costliest and most frequently prescribed drugs in the state, along with the medicines that result in the highest year-over-year cost increases based on total state spending. Next year, the legislature will look to expand the law to require cost and pricing information directly from drug makers. (Silverman, 5/2)

The Associated Press: Lawsuits Target Trump Administration Family Planning Policy
Two major organizations that promote birth control filed lawsuits in federal court Wednesday seeking to block the Trump administration from shifting national family planning policy to stress abstinence and potentially limit counseling for adolescents. One of the suits was filed by Planned Parenthood , which serves 41 percent of the 4 million low-income Americans who receive subsidized services through the Title X family-planning program. The other suit was filed by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association , which contends the policy shift would reduce access to the most effective contraceptive methods and result in more unintended pregnancies. (Crary, 5/2)

Reuters: Trump Administration Sued Over Family-Planning Program Shift
Planned Parenthood, whose health centers serve more than 40 percent of patients receiving care subsidized by Title X, in its lawsuit contended that the changes violate the law that created the program and were "arbitrary and capricious." "Planned Parenthood is going to court to stop the Trump-Pence administration from trying to impose its ideology on people," Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. (Raymond, 5/2)

The Associated Press: Trump Medical Record ‘Raid’ Raises Patient Privacy Questions
A doctor’s claim that three men took President Donald Trump’s medical records without a form authorizing their release in what he said felt like a “raid” has raised questions about whether this kind of action is legal. Here are some questions and answers about what happened and the laws surrounding medical records and patients’ rights to obtain them. (Johnson, 5/2)

The Hill: Longtime Obama Doctor Says Trump's Ex-Doctor Should Be Investigated 
A former physician to President Obama said President Trump’s ex-doctor, Harold Bornstein, “disgraced himself” by signing a “fraudulent” medical letter reportedly dictated to him by Trump. Dr. David Scheiner, who treated Obama for more than two decades, called Bornstein's conduct “extraordinarily unethical" and floated the idea of an investigation in an interview with MSNBC News. (Folley, 5/2)

Bloomberg: CVS ‘Moving Forward’ With Aetna Deal, Profit Tops Estimates 
CVS Health Corp. said it’s making “good progress” on getting regulatory approval for its $68 billion deal to buy health insurer Aetna Inc. -- one of two megamergers in the health-care industry that are under antitrust scrutiny. In the meantime, the drug retail giant has suspended its share buyback plan. The company, one of the U.S.’s leading providers of drug-benefits for employers and health plans, also signaled that some employers may be waiting to see how the sector will be reshaped before making major decisions on contracts that typically last three years. (Langreth, 5/2)

Reuters: Nokia Close To A Deal To Sell Its Digital Health Venture
Nokia said it plans to sell its small digital health business, including activity trackers and smartwatches, to a co-founder of the venture. Digital health was one of the areas Nokia had been counting on for future growth opportunities amid a tough market for its mainstay telecom network equipment business. But the business failed to meet growth expectations, an internal memo showed in February after Nokia started a strategic review of it. (Rosendahl, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: New Front On Opioid Litigation: Suits Over Rising Premiums
The opioid epidemic has unfairly increased health insurance costs across the board, not just for those suffering from addiction, plaintiffs allege in five proposed class-action lawsuits filed Wednesday. The suits, brought on behalf of people and businesses who have paid for health insurance in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York since 1996, represent a new front in litigation seeking to hold corporations accountable for the opioid crisis. (Randazzo, 5/2)

The New York Times: E. Coli Outbreak Turns Deadly With A Fatal Case In California
An E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce has turned deadly, with one person dying in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. It was the first reported death in the outbreak, which began in March and has spread to 25 states. The California Department of Public Health confirmed the death but would not provide more details, citing patient privacy laws. (Astor, 5/2)

The Associated Press: 1st Death Reported In Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak
Health officials have tied the E. coli outbreak to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona, which provides most of the romaine sold in the U.S. during the winter. The growing season in Yuma ended about a month ago, said the University of Arizona's Russell Engel, the director of Yuma County's cooperative extension service. But even if no one is eating tainted lettuce now, case counts may still rise because there's a lag in reporting. The first illnesses occurred in March, and the most recent began on April 21, the CDC said. (5/2)

The Washington Post: First Death Reported From E. Coli-Contaminated Romaine Lettuce As Outbreak Spreads
This strain of E. coli produces a toxin that causes vomiting and diarrhea and potentially other severe symptoms, including in some cases kidney failure. Of the people sickened, 52 have been hospitalized, 14 of them with kidney failure. The bacteria normally live in the intestines of animals, including cows and pigs, and in the 1990s, most E. coli illnesses were associated with contaminated hamburger. Reforms in the livestock industry have sharply reduced the number of outbreaks involving meat, but that has been offset by a surge in E. coli contamination of leafy greens. (Achenbach, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: CDC Eyes Review Of Gynecological Cancer Screens
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to review whether gynecologists should conduct more cancer screening before common procedures such as hysterectomies, according to people familiar with the agency’s plans. The consequences of not knowing range from providing less-effective treatment to accidentally spreading malignancies. (Levitz and McKay, 5/2)

Stat: Francis Collins On Gene Editing And What He'd Change About Science
The 68-year-old physician-geneticist has led the National Institutes of Health for nine years, with zero plans of slowing. The organization is on the verge of launching a massive endeavor — the “All of Us” effort to sequence the genomes of 1 million Americans from all walks of life. STAT sat down for a chat with the ever-avuncular Collins at this week’s Milken Institute Conference in Los Angeles — a Davos-like confab stacked with Wall Street glitterati, Hollywood change agents, industry titans, and academics. (Keshavan, 5/3)

The Associated Press: Schumer To CDC: Unlock Funds To Combat Tick-Borne Diseases
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says New York communities girding for a jump in tick-borne diseases as the weather warms up need federal funding to combat the problem now rather than later. The Senate minority leader, appearing Wednesday on Long Island and in Rockland County, is urging the Centers for Disease Control to unlock millions in additional funding included in the recently passed federal budget. (5/2)

The New York Times: Saunas May Reduce Stroke Risk
Taking saunas may reduce the risk for stroke. Researchers studied 1,628 men and women aged 53 to 74, free of stroke at the start. They had data on body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking, blood pressure, blood lipid levels, and other health and behavioral characteristics that affect cardiovascular health. (Bakalar, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Long Efforts To Stop Hot-Car Deaths
Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicular deaths for children under 15 years old, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Most cases involve a parent or caretaker who unintentionally leaves the child in the car. The number of deaths—an annual average of 37—has remained consistent over the years, despite efforts from child-safety advocacy groups, hospital education programs, product developers and a steady stream of media coverage. The efforts face the same challenge: Many people don’t believe this could ever happen to them. (Byron, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: A Mother Whose Lapse Led To Child’s Death Seeks To Prevent Further Hot-Car Casualties
Karen Osorio was alarmed when her husband called at the end of the day to say their 15-month-old daughter wasn’t at the day-care center when he went to pick her up. Then she considered a horrifying possibility. She sprinted to the parking lot of her office at Procter & Gamble Co. ​“That’s when I saw her, she was in the car,” says Ms. Osorio, a senior scientist at P&G. While she had been working in the office all day, her daughter, Sofia, had remained buckled in her car seat, having never been dropped off at the day-care center. “My baby just died, my baby just died,” Ms. Osorio told a 911 dispatcher between gasps. “I left her in the car, she’s dead.” (Byron, 5/2)

The Associated Press: NY Lawmakers To Hold Hearing On Physician-Assisted Suicide
State lawmakers in New York are taking a closer look at a legislative proposal to give terminally ill people the right to seek life-ending medication from their physician. The Assembly's Health Committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the measure Thursday in Manhattan. It comes after a hearing last month in Albany. (5/3)