The New York Times: A ‘Sick Joke’: Democrats Attack Health Secretary On Pre-Existing Conditions
Democratic senators blistered President Trump’s health secretary on Tuesday, telling him that the Trump administration’s efforts to undo health insurance protections for people with pre-existing conditions made a mockery of the president’s campaign to rein in prescription drug prices. The secretary of health and human services, Alex M. Azar II, told Congress that he would be glad to work with lawmakers on legislation — “alternatives to the Affordable Care Act, modifications of the Affordable Care Act” — to provide access to insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. (Pear, 6/12)

The Washington Post: Azar Backs Protections For Preexisting Conditions, Skirting Administration’s Legal Stance
Calling it “a constitutional position . . . not a policy position,” Azar sidestepped grilling on whether he agreed with a legal brief filed last week by Justice Department attorneys stating they would not defend the Affordable Care Act in a federal lawsuit by Texas and 19 other Republican-led states. During a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that was mainly about the president’s blueprint to address drug prices, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) told Azar that Justice’s legal position is “like some kind of a sick joke.” The administration argues that the ACA’s individual mandate, requiring most people to carry health insurance, will become unconstitutional next year — and, with it, the law’s insurance protections for consumers. (Goldstein and McGinley, 6/12)

Politico: McConnell: 'Everybody' In Senate Likes Pre-Existing Condition Safeguards
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said “everybody” in the Senate wants to preserve consumer protections for people with pre-existing conditions, an Obamacare provision that the Trump administration last week said is unconstitutional and should be struck down in court. “Everybody I know in the Senate — everybody — is in favor of maintaining coverage for pre-existing conditions,” McConnell told reporters in the Capitol. “There is no difference in opinion about that whatsoever.” (Haberkorn, 6/12)

Bloomberg: McConnell Backs Obamacare Coverage Of Pre-Existing Illness
Republicans did support bills last year prior to the bipartisan agreement that would have eroded Obamacare’s protections, particularly by giving states more flexibility to waive them. GOP leaders weren’t able to muster enough votes to pass such measures to repeal and replace the health law. The state of Texas has sued the federal government, claiming Obamacare is unconstitutional based on Congress repealing the mandate that everyone carry insurance, which will take effect next year. The Justice Department determined last week that it agrees with Texas and said it won’t defend the health law in court. (Edney and Dennis, 6/12)

The Hill: GOP Senator: DOJ's ObamaCare Argument 'As Far-Fetched As Any I've Ever Heard'
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate's health committee, called the Trump administration's argument against ObamaCare in a court case "as far-fetched as any I've ever heard." The Justice Department wrote in a filing Friday that it would not defend ObamaCare's protections for people with pre-existing conditions, siding in large part with a challenge to the law brought by a coalition of Republican-led states. (Hellmann, 6/12)

The Hill: Senior DOJ Official Resigns In Wake Of ObamaCare Decision 
A senior career Department of Justice (DOJ) official has resigned, one week after the Trump administration made a controversial announcement that it would argue key parts of ObamaCare are unconstitutional. A DOJ official confirmed to The Hill that Joel McElvain resigned and his last day is July 6, but declined to comment on whether the resignation was due to last week’s announcement. (Roubein, 5/12)

And a look at the ripple effects the administration's decision could have —

The New York Times: The New Obamacare Lawsuit Could Undo Far More Than Protections For Pre-Existing Conditions
A new Trump administration court challenge is explicitly aiming to remove a central promise of Obamacare — its protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. But it could also make it much harder for any individual to obtain health insurance on the open market. The administration’s brief, filed in Federal District Court in Texas on Thursday, focuses on the core Obamacare provisions that make insurance available to people with prior illnesses. Those protections — which President Trump once praised and Republicans in Congress vowed not to disrupt last year — don’t exist in a vacuum. (Sanger-Katz, 6/12)

Politico: Insurers Spark Blowback By Reducing Emergency Room Coverage
Health plans intent on driving down costs are zeroing in on emergency room visits — one of the biggest drivers of medical inflation but a category of care that's seldom been subject to denials. Anthem, the country’s largest Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, shook the market last year by refusing to pay for some ER visits it deemed unnecessary, triggering heated battles with hospitals and doctors and fueling a broader debate over whether patients can find less expensive settings without putting their health at risk. (Rayasam and Demko, 6/12)

In other news on hospitals —

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Star-Ratings Release Delayed By CMS 
The CMS will not update the hospital quality star ratings on Hospital Compare next month as it continues to evaluate concerns from stakeholders on methodology changes, the agency told hospitals on Tuesday. The agency had posted proposed changes to the methodology in late May for hospitals to preview before the July release. Now, the CMS said it needed additional time to analyze "the impact of changes to some of the measures on the star ratings and to address stakeholder concerns." (Castellucci, 6/12)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota's Hospital Germ Fighters Report Making Progress 
Hospitals are reporting progress in their fight against infection-causing germs — from fungus in the bedsheets to bacteria on whiteboard markers — and against one another in their competitive race to avoid federal penalties for infecting their patients. They gained motivation to clean up their acts in 2014, when the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started tracking rates of hospital-acquired conditions and financially penalizing those with the worst rates. (Olson, 6/12)

Stat: Can Major Opioids Legislation Make A Dent In A National Epidemic?
By the end of next week, the House will have considered more than 50 bills aimed at staunching the opioid crisis. The volume “may well be a record for legislating on a single issue,” Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Tuesday on the House floor. The House’s work touches on most aspects of the crisis, aiming to better monitor opioid prescriptions, increase treatment funding, improve drug enforcement efforts, and provide additional support to families affected by the epidemic. But does quantity equal quality? (Facher, 6/13)

The Associated Press: House Aims At Campaign-Season Bills Battling Opioid Abuse
The House dove Tuesday into a two-week vote-a-thon on dozens of bills aimed at opioid abuse, as lawmakers try to tackle a crisis that's killing tens of thousands a year and to score a popular win they can tout for the midterm elections. A handful of the measures are contentious, including one Republican bill that would create new criminal penalties for making or trafficking certain synthetic drugs containing fentanyl. That powerful opioid can be made illegally and is taking a growing toll. Democrats complain that the legislation would give the government unfettered power to decide which drugs would be banned, without scientific input. (Fram, 6/12)

Stat: NIH Spells Out $500 Million Plan To Improve Addiction, Pain Treatment
The National Institutes of Health, thanks to Congress, will soon have an extra $500 million to spend each year on research into opioids and pain treatment. And on Tuesday, the research agency published a scientific outline showing how the increase in funding will be put to use. An opinion piece published in the Journal of the American Medical Association adds detail to a previously announced initiative called Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL), a combination of new and existing initiatives the NIH announced in April. Agency leaders wrote that the research will be split into two broad categories: improving addiction treatments and improving pain management. (Facher, 6/12)

The Hill: NIH Outlines Plans For $500M To Combat Opioid Epidemic
The effort will be conducted through the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative. “Like most other pioneering scientific initiatives, HEAL will focus on a range of objectives, from short-term goals to research priorities that will take longer to bear fruit,” the trio wrote. “Yet, all will be aimed at the same ultimate vision: a nation of people with far less disabling pain and opioid addiction.” (Roubein, 6/12)

And in other news —

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Insurance Companies, With Mike DeWine, Unveil Recommendations To Fight Opioids
Eight of the state's largest health insurers unveiled 15 recommendations Thursday for the industry to fight Ohio's opioid epidemic - such as identifying addicts who are pregnant and ensuring they get into treatment. Attorney General Mike DeWine, who is running for governor as a Republican, organized the group last year. (Hancock, 6/12)

The CT Mirror: As Opioid Deaths Soar, Esty Backs Bill That Pays For More Medical Examiners
As the number of Connecticut residents dying from opioid overdoses soared, the state’s medical examiners were inundated with bodies that needed autopsies. In 2016, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported 917 accidental drug deaths. During that same year, office staff performed 2,384 autopsies. (Rigg, 6/12)

The Associated Press: Massachusetts Sues Opioid Maker, Executives Over Drug Crisis
Massachusetts sued the maker of prescription opioid painkiller OxyContin and its executives on Tuesday, accusing the company of spinning a “web of illegal deceit” to fuel the deadly drug abuse crisis while boosting profits. Purdue Pharma is already defending lawsuits from several states and local governments, but Massachusetts is the first state to personally name the company’s executives in a complaint, Attorney General Maura Healey said. It names 16 current and former executives and board members, including CEO Craig Landau and members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue. (Richer, 6/12)

Boston Globe: AG Sues Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma
“We found that Purdue misled doctors, patients, and the public about the real risks of their dangerous opioids, including OxyContin,” [Attorney General Maura] Healey said at a news conference, standing next to officials including Governor Charlie Baker as well as families who have lost loved ones to overdoses. “Their strategy was simple: The more drugs they sold, the more money they made — and the more people died." (Miller, 6/12)

WBUR: Mass. Sues Purdue Pharma Over 670 Residents Who Fatally Overdosed On Opioids
The 80-page complaint filed Tuesday in state court says the pharmaceutical company violated the state’s consumer protection law. Sixteen current and former Purdue directors and executives are also named in the lawsuit. Healey says Purdue and its leaders misled doctors and patients when they called OxyContin “the gold standard” in pain relief, and that they dismissed warnings about patients getting addicted to the drug. Healey said Purdue targeted veterans, seniors and other vulnerable populations, and that the company’s actions fueled the opioid epidemic. (Bebinger, 6/12)

The Hill: Massachusetts Sues Executives From Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma
Healey’s allegations are not new. Multiple states have filed suits against Purdue and other opioid distributors. However, none have personally named a company’s executives. Many of the suits claim companies aggressively marketed opioids while downplaying the risk of addiction and shipped suspiciously large quantities of painkillers without alerting authorities. (Weixel, 6/12)

Meanwhile, KHN takes a look at how Purdue Pharma pushed OxyContin despite risks of addiction and fatalities —

Kaiser Health News: How America Got Hooked On A Deadly Drug
Purdue Pharma left almost nothing to chance in its whirlwind marketing of its new painkiller OxyContin. From 1996 to 2002, Purdue pursued nearly every avenue in the drug supply and prescription sales chain — a strategy now cast as reckless and illegal in more than 1,500 federal civil lawsuits from communities in Florida to Wisconsin to California that allege the drug has fueled a national epidemic of addiction. (Schulte, 6/13)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: St. Francis Nursing Home Made Sky-High Profits. Then It Was Sanctioned For Neglect
St. Francis Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare went from roughly break-even in the two full years before Gros bought it to being the second-most profitable nursing home in the Philadelphia region last year. Then, its quality of care tanked. Last September, inspectors found rampant neglect at the Darby facility and revoked its license, a step taken only in extreme cases. (Brubaker, 6/12)

Miami Herald: Florida Judge Rules For Nursing Home Where 12 Died After Irma
The state cannot substantially redact or charge substantial fees for death certificates requested by a Broward County nursing home where several died after Hurricane Irma, a Leon County circuit judge ruled Tuesday. The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, which has been embroiled in legal disputes since a dozen residents died there after the storm knocked out power to its air conditioning, had requested death records across the state for Sept. 9 through Sept. 16 — a weeklong period that included Irma. (Koh, 6/12)

And in other news —

Kaiser Health News: Medicare Takes Aim At Boomerang Hospitalizations Of Nursing Home Patients
“Oh my God, we dropped her!” Sandra Snipes said she heard the nursing home aides yell as she fell to the floor. She landed on her right side where her hip had recently been replaced. She cried out in pain. A hospital clinician later discovered her hip was dislocated. That was not the only injury Snipes, then 61, said she suffered in 2011 at Richmond Pines Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in Hamlet, N.C. Nurses allegedly had been injecting her twice a day with a potent blood thinner despite written instructions to stop. (Rau, 6/13)

Search For A Nursing Home: Look up state and facility rehospitalization ratings

The Associated Press: Judge Allows Missouri Medical Abortion Rules To Stand
A federal judge has denied a Planned Parenthood request to block new Missouri regulations on abortion that have so far prevented the organization from offering medication-induced abortions at two of its clinics. U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips wrote in a ruling Monday that the regulations "have virtually no benefit" but do not impose enough of a burden on women to be considered unconstitutional, The Columbia Tribune reported. (6/12)

KCUR: Missouri's Restriction On Medication Abortions Can Continue, Judge Rules 
The regulation, which was adopted by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in October 2017, requires providers of medication abortions to contract with an ob-gyn who has hospital admitting privileges and who agrees to be available 24/7 to treat any complications arising from a medication abortion. The regulation, which was adopted by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in October 2017, requires providers of medication abortions to contract with an ob-gyn who has hospital admitting privileges and who agrees to be available 24/7 to treat any complications arising from a medication abortion. Planned Parenthood’s health clinics in Kansas City and St. Louis have been able to comply with the state’s requirement and enter into agreements with local ob-gyns. But its clinics in Columbia and Springfield have been unable to do so, meaning women seeking a medication abortion in those cities have to travel to Kansas City or St. Louis to undergo the procedure.(Margolies, 6/12)

WBUR: Americans' Support For Abortion Rights Wanes As Pregnancy Progresses
Gallup finds that 60 percent of Americans believe abortion generally should be legal during the first three months of pregnancy, known as the first trimester. That support drops by more than half, to 28 percent, once a pregnancy reaches the second trimester; it falls to 13 percent in the third trimester, at which point the fetus is often viable with medical support. (McCamon, 6/13)

The Hill: Lawmaker: Bill Tackling Maternal Death Rates To Get Vote Before August 
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) is confident her bill aimed at addressing increasing maternal death rates can pass, and says she has a commitment from leadership that a vote on the House floor will occur before August. "I’m in the trust but verify camp, so if you’re helping us advocate for this, don’t let up,” Herrera Beutler said Tuesday at an event hosted by The Hill and sponsored by AMAG Pharmaceuticals. (Roubein, 6/12)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: A Bundle Of Joy, A Pile Of Bills: Childbirth Can Cost Thousands In Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
U.S. hospitals charged an average of $12,290 for vaginal birth and $16,907 for a cesarean section in 2017, according to data from FAIR Health, a nonprofit that tracks health-care prices. Insurance plans typically negotiate a lower rate, but the charges and the amount insurance pays vary widely across the country, from $9,000 for a vaginal birth in Alabama to $27,000 for a C-section in Alaska. (Gantz, 6/13)

The Washington Post: Half Of Women In Science Experience Harassment, A Sweeping New Report Finds
Science has a sexual harassment problem. From the most polished ivory tower to the local community college, harassment pervades lecture halls and laboratories, observatories and offices, teaching hospitals and Antarctic field sites. And it takes an economic and emotional toll on female researchers and stifles their scientific contributions, according to a sweeping new study released Tuesday. The solution will require a “systemwide change to the culture and climate in higher education,” the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine conclude. (Kaplan and Guarino, 6/12)

The New York Times: How Universities Deal With Sexual Harassment Needs Sweeping Change, Panel Says
Years of efforts to prevent sexual harassment of women in the fields of science, engineering and medicine have not succeeded, and a sweeping overhaul is needed in the way universities and institutions deal with the issue, a major new report by a national advisory panel concluded on Tuesday. “Despite significant attention in recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that current policies, procedures, and approaches have resulted in a significant reduction in sexual harassment,” said the report, which was more than two years in the making, starting well before the #MeToo era. It was issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, independent agencies that advise the government and the public. (Belluck, 6/12)

Stat: Sexual Harassment Is Rampant In Science, Landmark Report Finds
“Most of that harassment is not the Harvey Weinstein harassment. It’s the everyday put-downs, and exclusions, and belittlings. It’s all of the ways of making women feel unwelcome,” said Kathryn Clancy, a member of the committee that produced the report and a University of Illinois anthropologist who has studied sexual harassment in science. (Thielking, 6/12)

Stat: At Biotech Industry Party, Topless Dancers Had Logos Painted On Their Bodies
When Kate Strayer-Benton arrived at a Boston nightclub last Wednesday night for a party for attendees of the BIO International Convention, she was expecting to see extravagant costumes. The annual party — called the Party At BIO Not Associated With BIO, or PABNAB for short — after all, has a reputation for bringing over-the-top themes and festivities to an industry networking event. But Strayer-Benton was shocked and frustrated by what she saw: At least two topless women dancing on mini-stages, their bodies painted with logos of several of the companies that had sponsored the party. (Robbins, 6/12)

And in other news —

Stat: Trump Administration Shuttering Practice-Guidelines Clearinghouse For Docs
Diagnostic and treatment guidelines aren’t sexy, but they play a vital role in the practice of medicine. Physician societies, government agencies, and others issue detailed recommendations for everything from who should receive cardiac stents to which antibiotics patients should get to avoid infections after knee surgery. These documents are essential for the provision of evidence-based care, as opposed to seat-of-the-pants treatment that might be expedient or lucrative for doctors but less than ideal for patients. (Oransky and Marcus, 6/13)

The Associated Press: Frustrated AMA Adopts Sweeping Policies To Cut Gun Violence
With frustration mounting over lawmakers' inaction on gun control, the American Medical Association on Tuesday pressed for a ban on assault weapons and came out against arming teachers as a way to fight what it calls a public health crisis. At its annual policymaking meeting, the nation's largest physicians group bowed to unprecedented demands from doctor-members to take a stronger stand on gun violence — a problem the organizations says is as menacing as a lethal infectious disease. (Tanner, 6/12)

The Hill: AMA Endorses Assault Weapons Ban
Under pressure from members, delegates from the American Medical Association (AMA) took a strong stance on gun control measures at the group’s annual policy conference. The group also endorsed a ban on bump stocks, which are mechanisms that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more rapidly. Bump stocks came under scrutiny last year after a gunman used them in the shooting in Las Vegas that left 59 people dead. (Weixel, 6/12)

In other news —

The Associated Press: Money To 'Harden' Schools Draws Backlash After Shootings
An alliance of U.S. education groups expressed shock Tuesday that the Trump administration would let schools purchase metal detectors and police patrols through a $1.1 billion program that the White House and Congress have used to defend their response to an epidemic of school shootings. The concern comes nearly a month after a gunman killed 10 people at a high school near Houston, which prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to urge schools to use federal education dollars to "harden" campuses through more armed guards or altering buildings. (6/12)

The Associated Press: Governor Set To Sign 6 Gun Control Measures In New Jersey
New Jersey is set to become the latest state to enact measures to tighten its already strict gun laws. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy says he will sign the half-dozen bills on Wednesday. The measures began advancing after the fatal high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February that left 17 people dead. Other states, including Florida and Vermont have enacted gun control measures since the shooting. (6/13)

The New York Times: Common Drugs May Be Contributing To Depression
Could common prescription medications be contributing to depression and rising suicide rates? Over one-third of Americans take at least one prescription drug that lists depression as a potential side effect, a new study reports, and users of such drugs have higher rates of depression than those who don’t take such drugs. (Rabin, 6/13)

Los Angeles Times: Are Prescription Medications Making Americans Depressed?
The incidence of depression has been rising in the U.S. for more than a decade. So has Americans’ reliance on prescription medications that list depression as a possible side effect. Coincidence? Perhaps not, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Using 10 years of data collected from more than 26,000 Americans, researchers reported a significant link between the use of medications with the potential to cause depression and the chances of becoming depressed. (Kaplan, 6/12)

NPR: Many Common Drugs May Be Making People Depressed
The list includes a wide range of commonly taken medications. Among them are certain types of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (used to treat acid reflux), beta blockers, anxiety drugs, painkillers including ibuprofen, ACE inhibitors (used to treat high blood pressure), and anti-convulsant drugs. "The more of these medications you're taking, the more likely you are to report depression," says study author Mark Olfson, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University. (Aubrey, 6/12)

In related news —

The New York Times: How Cognitive Behavior Therapy May Help Suicidal People
After a week of devastating news about suicide, there has been much discussion of the need for people who may be thinking of ending their lives to reach out for help. But some people who are suffering may be skeptical that therapy could make a difference. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy, or C.B.T., in treating suicidal individuals and decreasing subsequent attempts. A 2016 review of 15 randomized controlled trials found that C.B.T. “is a useful strategy in the prevention of suicidal cognitions and suicidal behaviors.” (Beck, 6/13)

Sacramento Bee: Here’s What The Suicide Epidemic Looks Like In California
Nearly 4,300 Californians killed themselves in 2016, a 50 percent increase from 2001, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The suicide rate rose from 8.2 suicides per 100,000 residents to 10.9 suicides per 100,000 residents over the same time period. (Reese, 6/13)

Los Angeles Times: Psychedelic Drugs Change Brain Cells In Ways That Could Help Fight Depression, Addiction And More
Psychedelic drugs’ mind-expanding properties may be rooted in their ability to prompt neurons to branch out and create new connections with other brain cells, new research has found. This discovery may explain why psychedelic drugs appear to be a valuable treatment for a wide range of psychiatric diseases, scientists said. In test tubes as well as in rats and flies, psychedelic drugs as diverse as LSD, ecstasy, psilocybin and ketamine all share this knack for promoting neural “plasticity,” the ability to forge new connections (called neurites) among brain cells. In particular, the drugs appeared to fuel the growth of dendritic spines and axons, the appendages that brain cells of all sorts use to reach out in the darkness and create connections, or synapses, with other brain cells. (Healy, 6/12)

California Healthline: When Erratic Teenage Behavior Means Something More
Mary Rose O’Leary has shepherded three children into adulthood, and teaches art and music to middle-school students. Despite her extensive personal and professional experience with teens, the Eagle Rock, Calif., resident admits she’s often perplexed by their behavior. “Even if you have normal kids, you’re constantly questioning, ‘Is this normal?’” says O’Leary, 61. (Bazar, 6/11)

PBS NewsHour: The End Of AIDS: Far From Over
The tools exist. HIV/AIDS can be treated and contained. But in many communities, social, political and economic obstacles get in the way. There, the epidemic is far from over. (6/11)

PBS NewsHour: The End Of AIDS: Florida
Florida is home to about 10 percent of all HIV cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Miami has the most new infections of any U.S. city. Fort Lauderdale ranks number two. Multiple factors make Florida one of the epicenters of HIV in America: a slow statewide response, continued stigma against those living with HIV, and a complex mix of cultures. (6/11)

PBS NewsHour: The End Of AIDS: Nigeria
While Nigeria represents only 2 percent of the global population, it is home to nearly 25 percent of the babies born with HIV worldwide. In many countries, mother-to-child HIV transmission has been virtually eliminated. But in Nigeria, since many pregnant women don't know their HIV status, they don't receive treatment and are more likely to infect their babies. (6/11)

PBS NewsHour: The End Of AIDS: Russia
In Russia, the epidemic is growing at a rate of 10 percent per year. It’s one of the few places in the world where the epidemic continues to get dramatically worse. As many as 30,000 people died from AIDS in Russia in 2017, according Russia's Federal AIDS Center. (6/11)

The Washington Post: Kids In These U.S. Hot Spots At Higher Risk Because Parents Opt Out Of Vaccinations
Public health officials have long known that the United States has pockets of vulnerability where the risk of measles and other vaccine-preventable childhood diseases is higher because parents hesitate or refuse to get their children immunized. Eighteen states allow parents to opt their children out of school immunization requirements for nonmedical reasons, with exemptions for religious or philosophical beliefs. And in two-thirds of those states, a comprehensive new analysis finds a rising number of kindergartners who have not been vaccinated. (Sun, 6/12)

The New York Times: A Crispr Conundrum: How Cells Fend Off Gene Editing
Human cells resist gene editing by turning on defenses against cancer, ceasing reproduction and sometimes dying, two teams of scientists have found. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, at first appeared to cast doubt on the viability of the most widely used form of gene editing, known as Crispr-Cas9 or simply Crispr, sending the stocks of some biotech companies into decline on Monday. (Zimmer, 6/12)

The New York Times: High Blood Pressure At Age 50 Tied To Dementia Risk
Elevated blood pressure at age 50 is linked to an increased risk for dementia in later years, a new study reports. The research, published in the European Heart Journal, found that systolic blood pressure (the top number) as low as 130 increased the risk, even though 140 is the usual level at which treatment with blood pressure medication is recommended. (Bakalar, 6/12)

The Wall Street Journal: The Great Egg Debate: Are They Healthy Or Not?
Are eggs good for you or not? It’s never been more confusing for consumers to answer that seemingly simple question. Vilified for years for their high cholesterol content, eggs more recently have broken back into dietary fashion. Nutrition experts today are touting eggs’ high levels of protein, essential vitamins and nutrients like brain-booster choline. (Byron, 6/12)

The New York Times: C-Sections Not Tied To Overweight Children
Several studies have suggested that babies born by cesarean section are at higher risk for obesity in childhood than those born vaginally, perhaps because of differences in the babies’ microbiomes. But a new analysis suggests that mode of birth has no effect on body mass index in children. The new study, in JAMA Pediatrics, used a large clinical database to study 16,140 siblings born between 1987 and 2003 and their 8,070 mothers. Of these, there were 2,052 siblings of whom one was delivered vaginally and one by cesarean section. Looking at these sibling pairs eliminates most other variables that could affect childhood B.M.I., such as socioeconomic factors, the health and weight of the mother, race and ethnicity, so that the effect of mode of delivery alone can be determined. (Bakalar, 6/12)

The Associated Press: What Goes Into A Go-Bag? How To Prepare An Emergency Kit
Heather Kretzer, a health consultant for the Florida Department of Health in Panama City, lives near the water. But the most recent call for an evacuation in her area wasn't because of a hurricane but because of an active shooter. The incident, which did not result in any bystanders being injured but did lead to the temporary evacuation of an apartment complex, drove home to Kretzer the need for all families to have a survival bag they can grab in an emergency. (6/12)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Free Snacks At Work Could Be Detrimental To Health, Study Suggests
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently conducted a study, presented at a American Society for Nutrition meeting, to determine how many unhealthy foods employees consume while on the job. ... After analyzing the results, they found that nearly a quarter of the participants received food from work at least once a week averaging almost 1,300 calories. (Parker, 6/12)

Los Angeles Times: What Causes ‘Chemobrain’? It’s Time For Neuroscientists To Get Serious About Finding Out, Experts Say
At some point in their treatment for cancer, somewhere between 17% and 75% of patients with malignancies that don’t affect the central nervous system report the sensation that a mental fog has set in. For months or years after their hair has grown back, the exhaustion has lifted and the medical appointments taper off, the “new normal” for these patients includes problems with concentration, word-finding, short-term memory and multitasking. (Healy, 6/13)

NPR: Electrocardiograms Not Worth It For Low-Risk Patients
Doctors shouldn't routinely perform electrocardiograms on patients at low risk for heart disease, an influential federal panel is recommending. While an ECG test of the heart's electrical activity is safe and inexpensive, the benefits for patients at low risk of heart disease are very low and the results can trigger possibly dangerous, unnecessary follow-up testing and treatment, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (Stein, 6/12)

The New York Times: Exercise Vs. Standing? You Probably Need To Do Both
Exercise alone is probably not enough for us to achieve and maintain good health. We must also try to sit less, according to a fascinating new study of the separate physiological effects that exercise and light, almost-incidental activities, such as standing up, can have on our bodies. By now, we all know that regular exercise is good for us. The United States national exercise guidelines, which are based on a wealth of scientific evidence, recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week in order to lengthen our life spans and reduce our risks of a variety of diseases. (Reynolds, 6/13)

Reuters: 'We Are Still At War' With Ebola: WHO Chief
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday cautioned against declaring victory too early in Congo's Ebola epidemic, despite encouraging signs that it may be brought under control. "The outbreak is stabilising, but still the outbreak is not over," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists on a visit to Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa. "We are still at war, and we need to continue to strengthen our surveillance and ... be very vigilant." (Nyemba, 6/12)

The New York Times: He Had No Symptoms — Except He Felt Nauseated All The Time.
“Dad, you have to come home, right away,” the woman said calmly but insistently on the phone to her 73-year-old father. He and her mother had just embarked on a two-week European vacation with close friends, but he told his daughter that he had never felt this sick. It frightened her that this man, who was in excellent health, competed in triathlons and whose stoicism was a family joke, felt bad enough to call her from France to tell her how the very smell of food nauseated him. Eating, he said, was even worse. For days, he hadn’t been able to do much more than nibble the bread and sip the water and try to pretend that he was having a good time. He and his wife had been looking forward to this post-retirement trip for so long that he couldn’t bear to ruin it. But he wasn’t sure he could make it to the end. (Sanders, 6/13)

The New York Times: Can’t Sleep? Let Bob Ross Help You Find Some Happy Little Zzzs
For years, insomniacs have been lulled to sleep by the dulcet voice of Bob Ross, the bushy-haired painter whose PBS show, “The Joy of Painting,” rose to popularity in the 1990s and has lately enjoyed a second life on YouTube. Now, the maker of a popular meditation app hopes Mr. Ross will put everyone else to sleep, too. Calm.com, which produces meditation products, is recasting classic episodes of “The Joy of Painting” into “Sleep Stories,” an audio series designed for restless adults to ease the burden of slumber. It is the first time the company that manages Mr. Ross’s estate has agreed to license audio of the show that turned Mr. Ross into a celebrity and, after his death in 1995, a pop culture favorite. (Holson, 6/12)

ProPublica: Patients Wait In Limbo As St. Luke’s Heart Transplant Program Reviews Its Problems
Earlier this month, when Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston announced it was temporarily suspending its renowned heart transplant program, it threw the care of dozens of patients into limbo, including some who have yet to hear directly from the hospital. Now those patients are left waiting to learn if the troubled program will restart Friday, at the end of a two-week internal review, or if it is in store for a much longer overhaul. (Ornstein and Hixenbaugh, 6/13)

The Associated Press: Puerto Rico Issues New Data On Hurricane Maria Deaths
Eight days after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Efrain Perez felt a pain in his chest. Doctors near his small town sent him to Puerto Rico's main hospital for emergency surgery for an aortic aneurysm. But when the ambulance pulled into the parking lot in the capital, San Juan, after a more than two-hour drive, a doctor ran out to stop it. (6/12)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore VA Works To Embrace LGBT Veterans Who Have Long Felt Unwelcome By The Military
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the health system for former military personnel, thinks sentiments like this are keeping many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans like Robertson from using the services they are entitled to. The federal agency is working to embrace the very service members the military once ostracized even as the Trump Administration takes steps that could make such veterans feel unwelcome. (McDaniels, 6/12)

The Associated Press: Patients Being Tested For HIV After Nurse Reused Syringes
A Cherokee Nation hospital in Oklahoma is testing more than 180 patients for HIV and hepatitis after allegations that a nurse reused syringes to administer medications. The nurse violated protocols by using the same vial of medication and syringe to inject multiple intravenous bags at W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, according to Cherokee officials. The nurse no longer works for the tribe, the Tulsa World reported. (6/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Data Breach At Dignity Health Affected 56,000 Patients, Is Under Investigation
Federal health officials are investigating an April data breach that affected 55,947 patients of Dignity Health, a major health system headquartered in San Francisco that operates 39 hospitals and 400 care centers in California, Nevada and Arizona. ...It was the third-largest data breach, by number of affected patients, reported to the federal health agency that month. (Ho, 6/12)

Boston Globe: Harvard Pilgrim CEO Resigns Over Questionable Behavior
The longtime leader of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the state’s second-largest commercial health insurer, abruptly resigned Tuesday for what the company said was behavior “inconsistent” with its values. The company declined to specify what led to the departure of Eric H. Schultz, who had been chief executive and president of the Wellesley-based insurer since 2010, succeeding Charlie Baker. (Dayal McCluskey, 6/12)

WBUR: Abrupt Resignation Of Harvard Pilgrim CEO Will Have 'No Impact' On Talks With Partners HealthCare
President and CEO Eric Schultz had been under investigation for at least three weeks, according to employees who spoke on background because they were not authorized by the company to speak on the matter. Several of those employees added that during that time, they had no reason to think the findings would force Schultz to leave. But that wasn't the case. (Bebinger, 6/12)

Houston Chronicle: Democratic Candidate For Lt. Gov. Rolls Out Health Care Plan
Lieutenant governor hopeful Mike Collier announced his health care reform plan Tuesday, which aims to reduce costs and increase access to health care in Texas. “Achieving these goals will not be easy,” Collier said in a statement. “But it’s time to get cracking. Doing nothing — the only skill our current governor and lieutenant governor seem to possess — is no longer acceptable.” (Marfin, 6/12)

Sacramento Bee: East Area Rapist Golden State Killer: Victims Can Get Money From State Restitution Fund Under Bill
Victims of the East Area Rapist, the serial killer suspected in at least 12 murders and 51 rapes throughout California decades ago, were thrust into the spotlight when police in April arrested Joseph James DeAngelo. Now, they could receive compensation for new trauma related to the arrest. (Browning and Sullivan, 6/13)

The Star Tribune: UnitedHealth Group Buys Into Hearing Aid Benefits
UnitedHealth Group is pushing further into the hearing aid business by purchasing the subsidiary of a Swiss hearing aid manufacturer that manages insurance benefits for the devices. The Minnetonka-based health care giant said it has directed customers for more than a decade to a company called Epic Hearing when employers want to supplement their employee health insurance plan with financial benefits for workers who need hearing aids. (Snowbeck, 6/12)

The Associated Press: Brothers Who Ran 7-Year Health Fraud Scam Face Sentencing
Two brothers who ran a bribes-for-referrals health fraud scam that brought in more than $100 million over several years were due in court Wednesday to face sentencing, in a case that already has produced more than 50 guilty pleas or convictions. David and Scott Nicoll were arrested in 2013 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering through their New Jersey company, Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services. Of more than 50 people who have pleaded guilty since then, more than three dozen were doctors who admitted taking bribes. (6/13)

Chicago Tribune: Northwestern's Acquisition Of Centegra Wins Approval 
More than two years after they first announced a potential partnership, Centegra Health System will officially join Northwestern Medicine on Sept. 1, having earned all the necessary regulatory approvals, the health systems said Tuesday. No money changed hands as part of the deal, though Northwestern will take on Centegra’s debt, said Northwestern spokesman Christopher King. As to why finalization took more than two years, King said in an email: “Every affiliation discussion is different and there is no set timeline for these types of discussions. We believe the timeline was appropriate.” (Schencker, 6/12)

The Associated Press: Rare Type Of Tick Inexplicably Turns Up In Arkansas
A hardy, invasive species of tick that survived a New Jersey winter and subsequently traversed the mid-Atlantic has mysteriously arrived in Arkansas. No one is sure how the Longhorned tick, native to East Asia, arrived in the country, nor how it made its way to the middle of the continent. The Arkansas Agriculture Department said late Monday researchers at Oklahoma State University had confirmed a tick found on a dog in Benton County in the far northwestern corner of the state was a Longhorned tick. Until then, the bug had only been reported in New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia. (Grabenstein, 6/12)

Texas Tribune: Report: Trump Administration Considers Texas Sites For Tent Cities For Immigrant Children
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is eyeing Fort Bliss, an Army base close to El Paso, as a potential location for a cluster of temporary shelters that could house between 1,000 and 5,000 children, McClatchy reported. ...The tent city proposal is the Department of Health and Human Services' latest idea for housing the growing number of children under their care, who are quickly filling shelters. (Parker and Aguilar, 6/12)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Expands Homeless Services With Toilets In Venice And Overnight Parking In Hollywood And North Hollywood
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to expand services for homeless people in areas where the city of Los Angeles has struggled. The supervisors approved the overnight placement of two portable toilets and hand-washing stations at the Rose Avenue beach parking lot in Venice Beach — the latest development in an ongoing debate about bathroom access for the homeless. (Agrawal, 6/12)

Stat: What Trump Pushback? Bayer Hikes Prices On Two Cancer Drugs
Even as the Trump administration looks for ways to mollify angry consumers over rising drug prices, some companies continue to push the proverbial envelope. Take Bayer. Late last month, the drug maker boosted wholesale, or list, prices for two cancer drugs by 7.9 percent. And that followed 5 percent price hikes last December. In other words, prices rose by 13 percent for each drug in half a year, greatly exceeding inflation and above the 10 percent annual cap that some drug makers have voluntarily embraced. (Silverman, 6/7)

The Washington Post: Two Weeks After Trump Unveiled Plan To Lower Drug Prices, Two Cancer Drugs Got A $1,000-Per-Month Price Hike
Two weeks after President Trump in May unveiled a plan to lower drug prices for Americans, promising “it will start to take effect very soon,” the drug company Bayer hiked the list prices of two cancer drugs by more than $1,000 per month. Bayer wasn't alone. A research note by Wells Fargo analyst David Maris found that although fewer drug-price increases occurred in May than in previous months, dozens of increases did occur.“We believe drug pricing remains a risk for the pharmaceutical industry,” Maris wrote. “The President has highlighted lowering the cost of healthcare as a key objective and we do not expect the negative commentary around the cost of medicines will soon subside.” (Johnson, 6/8)

Modern Healthcare: Generic Competition Not A Cure-All For High Drug Prices 
Bringing more generic drugs to market is a critical component of lowering drug prices, but it is not a panacea, according to a new report. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has looked to increase generic competition as the primary lever to stem sky high drug prices. While the agency has succeeded in doing so, there's a ceiling on the ultimate impact of that plan, researchers from PricewaterhouseCoopers said. (Kacik, 6/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Under Pressure To Tighten Supply Chain, Drug Companies Look To Blockchain
Under federal pressure to tighten the pharmaceutical supply chain and keep drugs from falling into the wrong hands, drug companies are ramping up experiments with promising but unproven blockchain technologies. AmerisourceBergen Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. plan to expand a test project completed last year that tracked the ownership of drugs moving through the health-care supply chain. The new test will increase the number of drugs and health-care devices and perform more complex transactions, said Dale Danilewitz, chief information officer at the drug distributor. (Nash, 6/6)

Bloomberg: Drugmaker Revives Female Libido Pill At Half The Price
Sprout Pharmaceuticals Inc. is relaunching Addyi, the first-ever approved drug for low libido in women -- and it’s slashing the drug’s price in half. The new price will be $400, down from $800 for a monthly prescription. The uninsured and those not covered for the treatment will pay no more than $99. It’s a rare step for a pharmaceutical company: Drugs typically go up in price on an annual basis, sometimes even twice a year. (Koons, 6/11)

Stat: Clinical Trial Participants May Not Trust Pharma, But They'd Still Share Their Data
Despite mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry, most people who participate in clinical trials are willing to have their data shared with researchers who work at drug companies, although concerns remain that the information may be used for marketing purposes, according to a new study. Specifically, 44 percent of clinical trial participants who were queried indicated that they have little to no trust in drug makers, yet overall, 82 percent said they were very or somewhat likely to allow scientists at for-profit companies to access their data. (Silverman, 6/11)

Bloomberg: Another Alzheimer's Drug Fails As Lilly, Astra Halt Tests
Eli Lilly & Co. and AstraZeneca Plc ended two late-stage trials of an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease after the treatment failed to show any signs of working, adding to a litany of disappointments for the memory-robbing illness. An independent data-monitoring committee found that the medicine, lanabecestat, was unlikely to meet the goals of the studies, one for early Alzheimer’s and the other for mild dementia related to the disease, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. There were no safety concerns, they said. (Serafino, 6/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca Drop Two Late-Stage Alzheimer’s Drug Trials
AstraZeneca PLC and Eli Lilly & Co. on Tuesday scrapped two late-stage trials of an experimental Alzheimer’s drug they were co-developing, the latest blow in the long quest to find a breakthrough for the memory-robbing disorder. The companies said the decision was taken after an independent data-monitoring committee concluded that trials associated with lanabecestat, the experimental drug, wouldn’t achieve their original goals. The companies said the treatment wasn’t working as well as they had hoped and that ending the trials wasn’t a result of any safety concerns. (Rana and Loftun, 6/12)

Stat: The Trouble With Those Post-Marketing Studies Required By The FDA 
To ensure a new drug works properly after marketing approval is granted, the Food and Drug Administration regularly requires a drug company to run a so-called post-marketing study. But a new analysis found a troubling lack of timely follow-through as well as basic information. Specifically, one in four studies was never publicly disseminated. Meanwhile, there was often little information about post-marketing requirements — the median description was just 44 words — and some were difficult to categorize. There was also a lack of up-to-date information on the progress of about one-third of these study requirements. (Silverman, 6/12)

Stat: FDA Broadens What Information Drug Makers Can Share With Insurers
It’s a small update to a Food and Drug Administration policy first launched by the Obama administration, but top Trump health officials — and key congressional Republicans and drug makers — are nonetheless touting it as a central part of the Trump camp’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices. On Tuesday, the FDA finalized guidance documents, released in draft form in mid-January 2017, making it clear that drug and device companies are allowed to share with insurers information that is not in the FDA-approved labeling. Insurers can use that information to determine how much they should pay for the drugs, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement. (Swetlitz, 6/12)

Bloomberg: J&J Formally Accepts $2.1 Billion Offer For Diabetes Device Unit
Johnson & Johnson said it will move forward with the $2.1 billion sale of its diabetes monitoring unit LifeScan Inc. to Platinum Equity, a private investment firm. J&J said in March that it had received a $2.1 billion binding offer from Platinum Equity. On Tuesday, it said it had formally accepted that offer. The health-care company said it expects the deal to close by the end of the year. (Armstrong, 6/12)

WBUR: Could The 'BioBoom' Go Bust? How One MIT Professor Sees It | CommonHealth
Local companies have already produced revolutionary treatments for rare diseases, cancer and more. And there's promise and hope for cures and treatments still to come. ... Biotech companies often go public even if they haven't yet put a product on the market, let alone turned a profit. (Joliocoeur and Mullins, 6/8)

NBC 5: Why Prescription Drug Prices Vary
Dealing with the ever-changing landscape of prescription drug costs can be challenging. High drug prices are among the top reasons our viewers reach out to our consumer team, viewers like Larry Hammons, who depends on medication to control his seizures. Like million of Americans, he is on a fixed income, so he also depends on his medication being affordable but recently, in a pinch, he tried a different pharmacy than his usual and found his medication was triple was he normally pays. (Castro, 6/11)

The New York Times: Easier Drug Approval Isn’t Cutting Drug Prices
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, recently vowed to bring “new science” to market faster, in hopes that patients benefit from treatment advances sooner. Medications are already clearing regulatory hurdles faster than ever, but it’s not clear that people, as opposed to drug companies, are feeling much benefit. For several years the F.D.A. has been lowering the standards by which it decides whether new medications are safe and useful. The agency now requires fewer and smaller clinical trials, approving some drugs after just one successful trial. It also accepts short-term effects (like whether a drug shrinks a tumor) instead of clear clinical outcomes (like whether the drug prolongs life), and ever-smaller improvements in health as sufficient proof that a medication works and is worth selling. (6/8)

Bloomberg: The World Can’t Afford High-Tech Insulin
The researchers who pioneered insulin injections for diabetes sufferers in 1922 were dedicated to making the life-saving treatment widely available, and gave away their rights to profit from the discovery. Yet almost a century later, the medicine is still beyond the reach of roughly half of the 100 million people around the world who need it. Governments should be asking why, and doing something to put this right. Insulin is still expensive because the three major producers — Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Sanofi — have been granted patents on the drug as they have incrementally changed it. First they derived the hormone from animals, then from humans, and most recently from recombinant DNA techniques. With each small advance, the price has gone up. (6/7)

Forbes: Amazon Could Still Disrupt The Prescription Drug Market
While list prices of drugs in the U.S. continue to grow at an annual clip of around 6%, real or net U.S. drug prices, including discounts and rebates, fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) appear to be successfully lowering net prices of drugs through higher rebates and co-payment accumulators. But, end-users continue to be feel the pain of higher cost-sharing, premiums, and deductibles.Because PBMs do not disclose rebate information, consumers cannot effectively determine if their PBM is favoring drugs with the lowest net out-of-pocket cost. The PBM may in fact be favoring drugs with a higher list price due to the rebates or claw backs it is earning. And, because the increasingly prevalent form of patient cost-sharing is co-insurance, out-of-pocket costs to consumers are increasing. (Joshua Cohen, 6/8)

Bloomberg: Blockbuster Drugs? How About Doing More With What We've Got
When it comes to innovation in health care, it's easy to focus on potential blockbuster drugs that hold the promise of flashy cures with billion-dollar sales potential. But a growing crop of research suggests there are also gains to be made by better using drugs we already have. Case in point is a study published earlier this month in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that women who have breast cancer with certain genetic characteristics can take hormone therapy alone  and avoid chemotherapy. The findings are encouraging, and not just because of the positive impact they will have on patients who may be able to bypass the toxic side effects of chemo. They also offer broader takeaways about best practices for shaping the direction of medicine. (Max Nisen, 6/8)

Forbes: Pharmacy Benefit Managers Are Not The Cause Of High Prescription Drug Prices
The press has found no shortage of villains for the high cost of prescription drugs today. While the pharmaceutical companies typically receive the lion’s share of the blame, of late the Pharmacy Benefit Managers have come under fire for their supposed role in high drug prices. Pharmacy Benefit Managers work on behalf of health insurance companies to help them negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies, and the price breaks they obtain typically come in the form of rebates paid to the companies. (Ike Brannon, 6/6)

The Roanoke Times: Virginians' And Americans’ Drug Prices Are Rising. Here’s A Major Reason.
Congressional lawmakers just held a hearing to figure out who’s responsible for surging drug prices. No one could point to a single culprit. But Virginia Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) correctly pointed to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) as an obscure but critical offender. “I can’t for the life of me figure out what you do,” he said to a PBM lobbyist. “[But] we’ve got this black box called a PBM ... and they [the pharmaceutical companies] are saying they’ve got to raise their prices to pay you.” PBMs negotiate, manage, and administer prescription drug benefits for health insurers as well as self-insured companies, working between drug companies and pharmacies. They are the middlemen who are involved in every step of the drug supply chain. (Harry L. Gewanter, 6/11)

Los Angeles Times: Cecile Richards: Conservatives Are Fighting To Roll Back Abortion Rights. And They're Winning
When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a strict Arkansas abortion law last month, it effectively made Arkansas the first state in the country to ban medication abortion. As a result, anyone seeking an abortion in Arkansas now has to travel out of state or to Little Rock, where the state’s only surgical abortion provider is located. (Surgical abortion is still legal.) There is no medical or health reason for this ban on medication abortion. (Cecile Richards, 6/13)

The Hill: To Save Money, We’re Laying Off Pediatricians — This Will Put Kids At Risk
In the fight over health-care costs, pediatricians are on the chopping block. In hospitals and clinics across the country, pediatricians are being laid off, leaving kids’ care to nurse practitioners (NPs) or increasing the clinical burden on emergency room doctors. These decisions are being made by suits over scrubs, and they put patients at risk of receiving substandard care. (Niran Al-Agba and Marion Mass, 6/12)

Stat: Nurses Play Vital Roles In Health Care. Why Are They Invisible In The Media?
Nurses have made vital contributions to health and health care for generations and are essential players today. Nurses outnumber doctors by almost 3 to 1. So why are nurses missing in action when it comes to health news stories? A landmark report published in 1997 painted a dismal picture of nurses and nursing in the media. The title of the report, “The Woodhull Study on Nursing and the Media: Health Care’s Invisible Partner,” says it all. The study was the brainchild of Nancy Woodhull, founding editor of USA Today, who died of lung cancer before the study was completed. She was struck by the contradiction between the excellent nursing care she received and her observation of the minimal coverage of nurses and nursing in the media. (Carole R. Myers, 6/13)

The Hill: Congress Needs To Do Something About Improper Medicare Billing Practices 
The Medicare Trustees have released a new report predicting that  the inpatient Trust Fund will soon begin paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll taxes from American paychecks. Medicare Part A will only be able to manage this financial gap until 2026, after that, the program will have no choice but to scale back inpatient hospital coverage — adding more out-of-pocket burden on seniors. The trustees report calls on Congress and the executive branch to work “with a sense of urgency to address the depletion of the HI trust fund” and the projected growth in Medicare expenditures. (Kristin Walker, 6/12)

USA Today: Suicide And Depression Need To Be Understood To Help Those Hurting
How could Anthony Bourdain have possibly felt like his life of adventure was not worth living, that suicide was his only option? How could Kate Spade, one of the most beloved and influential fashion designers on earth, have felt that way? Or not so long ago, Robin Williams, who made us all laugh out loud as he silently suffered. How? Why? We helplessly ask and then we ask again. A few months ago, my congregation was asking those very questions when First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, Pa., where I am the senior pastor, lost one of our teenagers: a boy named Sam Plank, who died by suicide. Sam’s parents, Andy and Tina, want people to know about what happened to their son so that others can be educated about depression and suicide, now at epidemic proportions among young adults. (J.C. Austin, 6/13)

Stat: Studying Sex Differences Will Improve Health For Women And Men
Alzheimer’s disease is a prime example of a condition for which we have little understanding of sex differences, other than that women bear the majority of the disease burden, both as patients and caregivers. About two-thirds of the 5.7 million Americans living with the disease are women, and about two-thirds of caregivers are women (even higher in Hispanic and African-American communities). Why do so many more women have Alzheimer’s? The main reason is because women live longer than men and advanced age is the strongest risk factor for the disease. Growing evidence suggests that biological and sociocultural differences between women and men affect the development, progression, and treatment outcomes of Alzheimer’s disease. A better understanding of these differences can improve outcomes among both sexes. (Amy M. Miller and Rebecca Nebel, 6/13)

USA Today: Prescription Opioids Led My Son To Addiction And Heroin Overdose
For the past five years, I have been plagued with thoughts of regret. “I should have done more” and “I wish I did that” are on a constant loop inside my head. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that it will always be there, like a mass that encompasses part of my head, my heart and my home. This is my new normal since my son died, at the age of 30, of a heroin overdose. (Mother's Guilt #1 ) Cory died of his addiction, but he also died because the medical profession failed him. Please don’t think that I feel my son had no responsibility for his death. He absolutely did, but so did all the doctors who overprescribed medications without getting to the root of his problem: depression.(Karen Boland, 6/13)

The Hill: Bipartisan Lawmakers Agree — Marijuana Prohibition Has Failed And It’s Time To Change The Law
Marijuana prohibition has been around for more than 80 years, but if last week’s series of events are any indicator, this era may finally be coming to an end. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss the bipartisan legislation, Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States, to remove the threat of federal intervention and prosecution in states that regulate marijuana use and sales. Representatives David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced companion legislation in the House. This marks the first bicameral, bipartisan legislation to end the federal enforcement of prohibition in states that have reformed their marijuana laws. The unlikely duo of Senators, who rarely agree on anything, were lockstep on one factor: Prohibition has failed and it is time to change the law. (Justin Strekal, 6/12)

Stat: I Handed Over My Genetic Data To The NIH. Here's Why You Should, Too
The National Institutes of Health recently launched the All of Us Research Program to create one of the largest, richest public resources for biomedical research in human history. Its mission is to accelerate medical breakthroughs that personalize prevention, treatment, and care for all Americans. As the director of this unprecedented program — and as a cancer survivor, patient advocate, and participant in more than a dozen research studies — I want to share how we are safeguarding participant confidentiality and personal data. (Eric Dishman, 6/13)

Dallas Morning News: Why Texas' New Effort To Fight Maternal Mortality With Checklists Is A Smart Idea 
Too often in Texas, small medical missteps and overlooked warning signs cause a celebration to turn to horror. Treatable complications are driving our state’s maternal mortality rates, killing women before they ever have the chance to become mothers. State maternal mortality rates have understandably set off alarm bells the last few years. Now we are finally seeing evidence-based interventions that will help to save lives that never should have been at risk in the first place. The Texas Department of State Health Services and TexasAIM (Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health) announced last week that they are working with hospitals to ensure that they follow new standardized guidelines for treating women at risk of complications during and after birth. So far, 168 of Texas’ 242 hospitals have joined the initiative. (6/12)