First Edition: July 17, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California Healthline:
States Attacking ACA Would Hurt Most If Shield On Preexisting Conditions Were Axed
If the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with preexisting medical conditions are struck down in court, residents of the Republican-led states that are challenging the law have the most to lose. “These states have been opposed to the ACA from the beginning,” said Gerald Kominski, a senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “They’re hurting their most vulnerable citizens.” (Rowan, 7/17)
Kaiser Health News:
Staggering Prices Slow Insurers’ Coverage Of CAR-T Cancer Therapy
Patients whose blood cancers have failed to respond to repeated rounds of chemotherapy may be candidates for a new type of gene therapy that could send their cancers into remission for years. But the two approved therapies, with price tags of hundreds of thousands of dollars, have roiled the insurance approval process, leading to delays and, in some cases, denials of coverage, clinicians and analysts say. (Andrews, 7/17)
The Hill:
GOP Chairman In Talks With Trump Officials On Restarting Key ObamaCare Payments
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Monday that he is in talks with the Trump administration about ways to restart key ObamaCare payments that the administration abruptly suspended this month. The administration’s surprise suspension of $10.4 billion in payments to insurers this month set off a round of warnings of rising premiums and condemnation from Democrats who said it was further GOP “sabotage” of the health-care law. (Sullivan, 7/16)
The Hill:
Top Dems Urge Trump Officials To Reverse Suspension Of ObamaCare Payments
Top congressional Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to reverse its decision to suspend key ObamaCare payments to insurers, warning the suspension will cause premiums to rise. “The Administration's decision to suspend these collections and payments, which are required under federal law, appears to be yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to sabotage the nation's health care system for partisan gain,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services. (Sullivan, 7/16)
The Hill:
Judge Temporarily Halts Trump Admin From Deporting Reunited Families
A federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the deportations of families that have been recently reunited after being separated by the Trump administration. San Diego-based Judge Dana Sabraw granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at the top of a status hearing on the administration’s efforts to reunite children over 5 years old with their parents. (Weixel, 7/16)
The New York Times:
Court Orders Temporary Halt To Migrant Family Deportations
Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the Federal District Court in San Diego granted a request to allow families extra time to discuss the “momentous” and “exceedingly complex” decision of whether to leave the United States or continue to fight their immigration cases. Normally, families would have days or weeks to consider such a decision, but the separation of families and the rush to reunite them in response to an earlier court order has rendered such discussions difficult for most. (7/16)
San Diego Union-Times:
Judge Temporarily Halts Deportations Of Reunified Families
In a court filing, the ACLU argued that giving families a week together would allow them time to decide what’s best for them, whether the children should stay to push ahead with their own immigration cases or go back to their home countries with their parents. “It’s hard to imagine a decision more profound and momentous that parents have to make,” said Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney in the case for the ACLU. (Morrissey, 7/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Federal Judge Orders Temporary Halt To Deportations Of Recently Reunited Migrant Families
Judge Sabraw said Mr. Meekins’s filing suggests that HHS wants to continue treating separated children by the same standards as immigrant children who have arrived at the U.S. border on their own. Under a federal law governing the care and custody of such immigrants, HHS officials generally hold children for weeks or even months until a sponsor can be found and vetted by the government. Reuniting separated children, Judge Sabraw said, should be a much faster process since they arrived with their parents. “It is failing in this context,” the judge said. “Mr. Meekins wants to hold children for months. The problem with that is it doesn’t comport with fundamental due right process.” (Caldwell, 7/16)
ProPublica:
A Baby Was Separated From Her Uncle At The Border. Three Months Later, Her Mother Is Still Trying to Get Her Back.
Sendy Karina Ferrera Amaya opened her mouth, and a gloved hand gave each cheek a perfunctory brush with a cotton swab. Fifteen seconds, and the $429 DNA test she’d paid for was over. “Eso es todo,” the lab technician said last Thursday. That was it. Ferrera, 25, gave a tentative smile and walked out to join her fiancé. Squeezing his hand as they drove away, she allowed herself to hope. To imagine her curly-haired 1-year-old daughter wrapped in her arms, much bigger and more wiggly than last time she held her. Maybe next week, she would finally be reunited with Liah, whose name she wore around her neck like a talisman. (Surana, 7/16)
NPR/ProPublica:
Health Insurers Tap Data Brokers To Help Predict Costs
To an outsider, the fancy booths at a June health insurance industry gathering in San Diego, Calif., aren't very compelling: a handful of companies pitching "lifestyle" data and salespeople touting jargony phrases like "social determinants of health. "But dig deeper and the implications of what they're selling might give many patients pause: A future in which everything you do — the things you buy, the food you eat, the time you spend watching TV — may help determine how much you pay for health insurance. (Allen, 7/17)
The New York Times:
Hospitals Challenge Medicare Payments, With Help From Judge Kavanaugh
A federal appeals court has cleared the way for hospitals around the country to seek more money from Medicare, based on evidence that the government has been using faulty data to calculate costs for decades. The case, which was decided in June, featured a concurring opinion by Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump’s choice for the Supreme Court, who heaved a broadside at the Department of Health and Human Services just days before he was nominated. (Pear, 7/16)
Politico:
Conservative Group Drops Another $1.4 Million To Confirm Kavanaugh
The conservative Judicial Crisis Network is dropping another $1.4 million on ads to help Brett Kavanaugh get confirmed to the Supreme Court. The group's ad buy this week will bring its total spending to $3.8 million, according to an official familiar with the efforts. The latest batch of ads will target four Democratic senators from conservative states on national cable and broadcast networks in their home markets: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Doug Jones of Alabama. (Everett, 7/16)
Politico:
Democratic Governors Campaign As Last Line Of Defense On Abortion
The Supreme Court confirmation fight brewing in Washington has made abortion a front-burner issue in governor’s races around the country, as Democrats warn that Republicans could try to ban the practice in their states if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The possibility that the Supreme Court will leave it to the states to legislate the legality of abortion has prompted a flurry of advertisements and campaign pronouncements from Democrats — and muted responses from many Republicans, who have generally praised Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh without getting into specifics about how he might affect abortion rights. (Strauss, 7/17)
The Washington Post:
The Affordable Care Act, Once A GOP Target, Is Now A Midterm Rallying Cry For Democrats
Democrats are centering their campaign to retake Congress and defeat President Trump’s Supreme Court pick on a staunch defense of the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health-care law that Republicans used to wipe away their majorities in the past two midterm elections. Democratic candidates and groups are trumpeting support for popular elements of President Barack Obama’s signature law and attacking Republicans for trying to rescind them in last year’s failed repeal-and-replace effort. Liberal activists also are seeking to convince centrist senators that confirmation of Trump’s new Supreme Court nominee, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, would increase the odds that courts would dismantle the law known as Obamacare. (Sullivan, 7/16)
The New York Times:
Defendants On Probation Can Be Jailed For Drug Relapse, Court Rules
The top Massachusetts court unanimously ruled on Monday that a judge can require defendants with substance use disorders to remain drug-free as a condition of probation and send them to jail if they relapse. The case, which challenged a requirement routinely imposed by judges across the country, had been closely watched by prosecutors, drug courts and addiction medicine specialists. For many, it represented a debate over the nature of addiction itself. (Hoffman, 7/16)
The Associated Press:
US Health Official Reveals Fentanyl Almost Killed His Son
The head of the nation's top public health agency says the opioid epidemic will be one of his priorities, and he revealed a personal reason for it: His son almost died from taking cocaine contaminated with the powerful painkiller fentanyl. (Stobbe, 7/16)
Reuters:
Judge Rules For Trump Administration In Suit Over Family-Planning Program Shift
A federal judge ruled on Monday against birth control organizations that sought to block the Trump administration from shifting a federal family-planning grant program toward prioritizing groups that are faith-based and counsel abstinence. Three planned Parenthood organizations along with the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association filed lawsuits, which were later combined, in May challenging guidelines the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued in February. (O'Brien, 7/17)
The New York Times:
It’s 4 A.M. The Baby’s Coming. But The Hospital Is 100 Miles Away.
A few hours after the only hospital in town shut its doors forever, Kela Abernathy bolted awake at 4:30 a.m., screaming in pain. Oh God, she remembered thinking, it’s the twins. They were not due for another two months. But the contractions seizing Ms. Abernathy’s lower back early that June morning told her that her son and daughter were coming. Now. (Healy, 7/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
Many Breast Cancer Patients Don’t Get Recommended Follow-Up, Study Finds
Women who have been treated for early-stage breast cancer should get periodic mammograms to monitor for recurrence, but the likelihood they will varies across U.S. metropolitan areas, a new study finds. The research, published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, found that about 30% of women studied didn’t get recommended breast screening after surgery for early-stage breast cancer. (Evans, 7/16)
Politico:
Veterans Spending Dispute Raises Specter Of Stopgap
Inviting more stopgap spending, the White House has fired off an official warning against congressional efforts to blow through budget limits. Top Trump administration officials sent a letter Monday cautioning lawmakers against raising spending caps to accommodate shifts in funding for a popular veterans health program, though they stopped short of threatening a veto. (Ferris and Scholtes, 7/16)
The New York Times:
Cognitive Test Trump Took May Have Been Undermined By Publicity, Doctors Warn
Six months after a White House physician told reporters that President Trump had aced a well-regarded test of cognitive impairment, a group of doctors is warning that the exam may have been compromised by the resulting news coverage, which revealed some of its questions. Until it’s clear what effect the exposure has had on the effectiveness of the test, known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, doctors should consider using alternatives, said Dr. Hourmazd Haghbayan, an internist at the University of Toronto. (Chokshi, 7/16)
The Washington Post:
Urgent Care Clinics Are Prescribing Too Many Unnecessary Antibiotics, Study Says
Nearly half of patients who go to urgent care clinics seeking treatment for a flu, cold or other conditions that do not require antibiotics received a prescription for one anyway. That is three times as often as antibiotics are prescribed to patients with the same illnesses in traditional doctors’ offices, according to a study published Monday. Patients who get unnecessary antibiotics are at risk for severe side effects, even with just one dose of the medicine, doctors say. Inappropriate use of these lifesaving drugs also puts everyone else at risk because overuse accelerates the emergence of resistant bacteria, or “superbugs,” that cannot be stopped with drugs. (Sun, 7/16)
Stat:
To Treat Gonorrhea, Researchers Increasingly Look To Bespoke Treatments
With antibiotic resistance on the rise, the days when doctors and clinics could rely on one treatment to cure all gonorrhea cases may be waning. In fact, clinicians may find that some of their patients respond best to drugs of the past. But how will they know which patients? (Branswell, 7/17)
Stat:
Potential CRISPR Damage Has Been 'Seriously Underestimated,' Study Finds
From the earliest days of the CRISPR-Cas9 era, scientists have known that the first step in how it edits genomes — snipping DNA — creates an unholy mess: Cellular repairmen frantically try to fix the cuts by throwing random chunks of DNA into the breach and deleting other random bits. Research published on Monday suggests that’s only the tip of a Titanic-sized iceberg: CRISPR-Cas9 can cause significantly greater genetic havoc than experts thought, the study concludes, perhaps enough to threaten the health of patients who would one day receive CRISPR-based therapy. (Begley, 7/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
New Research Prompts Selloff In Companies Using Crispr Technology
Shares of companies developing therapies using the gene-editing technology Crispr declined Monday following the publication of research suggesting Crispr could cause far more extensive DNA damage than previously thought, leading to potentially harmful health effects for patients. The study, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, said the changes were often at places far away from the intentional edit, and so went undetected in previous studies, which typically observed smaller sections of genetic material. (Mohan and Marcus, 7/16)
The New York Times:
Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny
The urge to pull down statues extends well beyond the public squares of nations in turmoil. Lately it has been stirring the air in some corners of science, particularly psychology. In recent months, researchers and some journalists have strung cables around the necks of at least three monuments of the modern psychological canon. ... The assaults on these studies aren’t all new. Each is a story in its own right, involving debates over methodology and statistical bias that have surfaced before in some form. (Carey, 7/16)
Stat:
A CAR-T Bottleneck: Centers That Collect Patient Cells Feel Crunch
The arrival of CAR-T cancer treatments and the expected coming age of cell therapies are opening new frontiers for what medicines look like: Cells are taken from patients, then tweaked or supercharged in a lab, and finally given back to patients. But the emergence of those treatments has put a pinch on the places that collect those cells from patients. The crunch is only expected to grow as more CAR-T candidates and other cell therapies enter clinical trials and win approval. (Joseph, 7/17)
The New York Times:
Now In Sight: Success Against An Infection That Blinds
Fifteen years ago, Shiva Lal Rana walked 20 miles to Geta Eye Hospital to ask doctors to pluck out all his eyelashes. Trachoma, a bacterial infection, had swollen and inverted his eyelids. With every blink, his lashes raked his corneas. “The scratching hurt my eyes so much I could barely go out in the sun to plow,” he said. “I was always rubbing them.” (McNeil, 7/16)
Stat:
Scientist Searching To Cure Her Own Prion Disease Reveals Industry Alliance
For years, Sonia Vallabh has been working to save her life. Vallabh has a type of brain illness called a prion disease — specifically, one called fatal familial insomnia. Since the illness killed her mother and a genetic test showed she carried the same mutation, she and her husband, Eric Minikel — both prion researchers at the Broad Institute — have been working to find a possible treatment. But details about their work had been kept quiet until last week, when they revealed their years-long partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS). (Sheridan, 7/16)
Stat:
Probiotics Studies Often Don't Disclose Safety Data Or Risks, Report Finds
As consumer interest grows in probiotics and other supplements that claim to regulate gut microbes, experts are posing a critical question: Are they safe? Probiotics are increasingly popular, from Greek yogurt and kombucha to pills chock-full of bacteria in the supplement section of the grocery store. But a new analysis published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine finds that many studies of probiotics and similar products fail to adequately report on safety and adverse events. (Thielking, 7/16)
The Associated Press:
Maryland Exchange To Hold Reinsurance Hearings
Maryland’s health care exchange has announced hearings for public comment on regulations to create a reinsurance program for the individual health insurance market. The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange has scheduled four hearings. One of them is scheduled for July 26. The other three are set for next month. The state’s reinsurance program will aim to keep consumer costs down and bring greater certainty to Maryland’s individual insurance market. (7/17)
The Associated Press:
Illinois Governor Signs 2 Bills To Tighten Gun Restrictions
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed laws Monday authorizing judges to take weapons away from people facing problems that make them dangerous to themselves or others and to extend the waiting period for delivery of newly purchased guns, but pledged to veto a third piece of legislation that would require state licensing of firearms dealers. (7/16)
The Associated Press:
Michigan Spends Almost $25M On Flint Water Crisis Attorneys
New accounting figures show Michigan has spent nearly $25 million on attorneys handling cases involving the Flint lead-tainted water crisis. Data from Michigan agencies and the Governor's Office show attorney spending has reached more than $24.8 million for the 2014 crisis that began after Flint switched its drinking water source to the Flint River without adding corrosion-control chemicals. (7/16)
The New York Times:
In New Jersey, Legal Marijuana Is So Close You Can Smell It. But It Could Be Awhile.
Tucked inside a nondescript commercial warehouse here sits a sophisticated marijuana-growing operation. A custom filtration system feeds a proprietary cocktail of nutrients into a hydroponic, two-level farming system. Two pallets of crops are harvested every day, and the 15,000 square feet will eventually yield two tons of marijuana per year. And it’s all legal. (Corasaniti, 7/16)
The New York Times:
CVS Fires 2 For Calling Police On Black Woman Over Coupon
CVS Health fired two employees at a Chicago area store on Monday, just days after a black woman posted a video that she said showed one of them — a white man — calling the police after she tried to use a coupon they believed to be fraudulent. The drugstore company also said it had apologized to the woman, Camilla Hudson. (7/16)
The Associated Press:
Day Care Owner Gets Probation For Trying To Kill Child
A Minneapolis day care owner was sentenced to 10 years of probation for trying to kill a toddler in her home by hanging him from a noose. Forty-three-year-old Nataliia Karia was sentenced Monday after earlier pleading guilty to attempted murder and third-degree assault. She also pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular operation for hitting a pedestrian, a bicyclist and another driver as she fled from her home in a minivan in November 2016. (7/16)
The Associated Press:
San Francisco To Consider Tax On Companies To Help Homeless
San Francisco voters will decide in November whether to tax large businesses to pay for homeless and housing services, an issue that set off a battle in another West Coast city struggling with income inequality. The city elections department verified Monday that supporters had collected enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot. It would raise about $300 million a year — doubling what San Francisco spends on homelessness — for more shelter beds and housing for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming so. (7/16)