Bloomberg: Fewer Americans Without Health Insurance Since Obamacare Debut 
Fewer Americans lack health insurance -- but the gap remains wide, especially in some pro-Trump states. The number of uninsured declined to 28.3 million in the first quarter, down from 29.3 last year -- and 48.6 million in 2010, the year the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by then-President Barack Obama, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.(Tanzi, 8/29)

The Hill: GOP Eyes Another Shot At ObamaCare Repeal After McCain’s Death
Senate Republicans say they would like Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to appoint a successor to late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who, unlike McCain, would support GOP legislation to repeal ObamaCare. GOP lawmakers say they won’t have time to hold another vote to repeal the law in 2018 but vow to try again next year if they manage to keep their Senate and House majorities. (Bolton, 8/29)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration To Pay New York, Minnesota For Lost Health-Care Funds
The Trump administration will pay New York and Minnesota close to half a billion dollars this year after the two states sued over lost federal funding for programs that provide health care to tens of thousands of low-income residents. The two states are the only ones in the country to create “Basic Health Programs,” an option for states created by the Affordable Care Act. Under such programs, people earning between 138 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level -- the population earning slightly too much to be eligible for Medicaid -- receive their health coverage from the state. That is about 738,000 people in New York and 84,000 people in Minnesota. (Itkowitz, 8/28)

The New York Times: Nearly A Year After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Revises Death Toll To 2,975
A long-awaited analysis of Hurricane Maria’s deadly sweep through Puerto Rico prompted the government on Tuesday to sharply increase the official death toll. The government now estimates that 2,975 people died as a result of the disaster and its effects, which unfolded over months. The new assessment is orders of magnitude greater than the previous official tally of 64, which was not revised for nearly a year despite convincing evidence that the official death certificates failed to take full account of the fatal and often long-range impacts from the storm across the island. (Fink, 8/28)

Reuters: Puerto Rico Death Toll Official Estimate From Hurricane Maria Rises To 2,975
The updated figure came from an academic study commissioned by Rossello from George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public health. It calculated the number of deaths that could be attributed directly or indirectly to Maria from the time it struck in September 2017 to mid-February of this year, based on comparisons between predicted mortality under normal circumstances and deaths documented after the storm. (Gorman and Borter, 8/28)

The Washington Post: Study: Hurricane Maria And Its Aftermath Caused A Spike In Puerto Rico Deaths, With Nearly 3,000 More Than Normal
The government of Puerto Rico on Tuesday embraced the GWU estimate as the official death toll, ranking Maria among the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. For much of the past year, the government had formally acknowledged just 64 deaths from the hurricane, which ravaged much of the territory and destroyed critical infrastructure. The spike in mortality came as the territory dealt with widespread and lengthy power outages, a lack of access to adequate health care, water insecurity and diseases related to the crisis. (Hernandez, Schmidt and Achenbach, 8/28)

The Hill: Hurricane Maria Caused Estimated 2,975 Deaths In Puerto Rico: Study 
The report found the risk of death was 45 percent higher for "populations living in low socioeconomic development municipalities" and men 65 years or older, ABC News reported. ... Puerto Rico only recently regained most of its electricity after the storm caused the second-largest blackout in history. The island is still suffering from the consequences of Hurricane Maria as it gears up for another hurricane season. (Birnbaum, 8/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Puerto Rico Governor Raises Hurricane Maria Death Toll To Nearly 3,000
Puerto Rico’s government has faced criticism for nearly a year that it drastically undercounted the number of fatalities caused by Maria. Earlier this month, it acknowledged in a document filed to Congress that the death toll from Maria was much higher than the official total. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said at a news conference Tuesday that he would sign an executive order updating the official death toll, with the caveat that the number was an estimate. And he said he took responsibility as the island’s governor for mishandling the fatality-count issue. “Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, in hindsight, things could have been handled differently,” Mr. Rosselló said. “My commitment as governor is accepting that criticism, but also building on it.” (Campo-Flores, 8/28)

Kaiser Health News: Hurricane Maria’s Official Death Toll In Puerto Rico Now Stands At Nearly 3,000
Hurricane Maria barreled into Puerto Rico Sept. 20 as a Category 4 storm. Destruction was widespread, severely crippling the island. Both the electrical and water systems were knocked out in some areas for months. Hospitals and other public health services were damaged, doctors’ offices lost power and often remained closed and medical supplies were difficult to find. Health advocates scoffed at the government’s initial death toll and said many people died after the storm because they lacked medicine, couldn’t get adequate medical treatment or had chronic diseases that were aggravated by the post-storm conditions. (Heredia Rodriguez, 8/29)

Modern Healthcare: Report: Hurricane Maria Caused Nearly 3,000 Deaths In Puerto Rico 
The analysis cited a number of factors for the crisis after the hurricane. One of the most notable challenges was the lack of trained personnel, causing the island's emergency response to be inadequate for certifying deaths. Also, the report cited an overall lack of a formalized command structure for emergency communications, which led to a breakdown in coordination between central and municipal governments. (Johnson, 8/28)

The Hill: Why CBO Won't Estimate Cost Of Bernie Sanders's 'Medicare For All' Bill 
A recent study concluding that Sen. Bernie Sanders's “Medicare for all” bill would cost $32 trillion has set off a furious debate over the cost of the plan. But there's one estimate that would make an even bigger splash: the score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). (Sullivan, 8/29)

The Hill: California Gov Candidate Backs Universal Healthcare For Undocumented Immigrants 
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is running for governor, said in an interview released Tuesday that he would like to see the state pay for universal healthcare for all illegal immigrants. “I did universal healthcare when I was mayor — fully implemented, regardless of pre-existing condition, ability to pay, and regardless of your immigration status,” Newsom told the podcast Pod Save America, referencing his stint as San Francisco's mayor. “I’d like to see that extended to the rest of the state. (Keller, 8/28)

Politico: Trump Administration Warns California Against 'Safe' Opioid Injection Sites
The Justice Department is threatening to shut down San Francisco's proposed test of supervised injection sites amid the opioid crisis even before the governor has a chance to sign the pilot program into law. The looming showdown could affect similar efforts in New York, Philadelphia and Seattle, where officials have grappled with the ramifications of setting up spaces where drug users could shoot up while gaining access to clean syringes, medical professionals and treatment services as an approach to curb opioid addiction and overdose deaths. (Colliver, Goldberg and Roubein, 8/28)

Bay City News Service: Mayor: Safe Injection Sites Are 'One Step Away' After Legislature Passes Bill
The California Legislature on Monday passed Assembly Bill 186, which would give the green light for safe injection sites in San Francisco under a three-year pilot. Amid a visible drug crisis happening in the city, safe injection sites would allow for people suffering from addiction to use drugs at facilities under the supervision of trained staff. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. (8/28)

NPR: Does The 'Club Drug' Ketamine Ease Depression By Acting Like An Opioid?
A new study suggests that ketamine, an increasingly popular treatment for depression, has something in common with drugs like fentanyl and oxycodone. The small study found evidence that ketamine's effectiveness with depression, demonstrated in many small studies over the past decade, comes from its interaction with the brain's opioid system. A Stanford University team reported their findings Wednesday in The American Journal of Psychiatry. (Hamilton, 8/29)

Bloomberg: Narcan Maker Adapt To Be Acquired By Emergent BioSolutions
The maker of Narcan, the opioid-overdose antidote that’s been widely used across the U.S. to combat the nation’s addiction crisis, will be acquired by Emergent BioSolutions Inc. Emergent said the $735 million deal for Adapt Pharma, which includes a $635 million upfront payment and as much as $100 million in potential sales-based milestones, will expand the use of the nasal spray while maintaining its affordability and raising awareness of naloxone, the generic name for Narcan. The deal is expected to generate annual revenue of as much as $220 million in 2019, the company said. (Hopkins, 8/28)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Opioid Crisis Impact On MetroHealth Leads To Lawsuit Against Drug Makers, Marketers
The MetroHealth System is pursuing legal action in federal court against opioid drug manufacturers and marketers in an attempt to recoup some of the cost for caring for people affected by opioid addiction and overdoses, the hospital system said today. (Zeltner, 8/28)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: MetroHealth Sues Purdue Pharma, Other Drug Companies Over Nation's Opioid Epidemic
MetroHealth, the Cuyahoga County-based hospital system, filed suit Tuesday against drug companies over the nation's opioid epidemic. The hospital system says companies like Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson overstated the benefits of powerful pain medication such as OxyContin and downplayed the addiction risks of prescription opioids. (Heisig, 8/28)

State House News Service: Baker Hints At Fentanyl Enforcement As Death Toll Continues
Days after a new state report revealed fentanyl was detected in almost 90 percent of fatal overdoses this year, Gov. Charlie Baker suggested potential further action in the coming weeks aimed at combating the deadly synthetic opioid. ... In the first quarter of 2018, fentanyl was found in 89 percent of opioid-related overdose deaths where a toxicology screen occurred, up from about 40 percent in 2014. (Lannan, 8/28)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Seeks Help Creating Consumer Price Comparison Tool 
The CMS started the process of searching for a company to help create a price comparison tool for consumers. It has released a sources sought notice to see if any companies have the expertise to perform such work. A formal request for proposals for the work could be released later depending on the responses the agency receives to the CMS query on what would be a transparency-focused web portal. (Dickson, 8/28)

In other news on health care costs —

The Washington Post: A Heart Attack Left Him With A $109,000 Bill. His Story Aired, And Now He Owes $782.
First, Drew Calver had an unexpected heart attack, collapsing in his bedroom on a spring morning in 2017. Then came the bill: $164,941 for his four-day hospital stay, which included the cost of having four stents put in a clogged artery. As a teacher and swim coach at a public high school in Austin, where he lives with his wife and two daughters, Calver is luckier than some, with health insurance provided to him by Aetna. But even after the insurance kicked in and covered $56,000, Calver was left with nearly $109,000 in unpaid fees billed to him by the hospital. (Rosenberg, 8/28)

Read The Original KHN Story: A Jolt To The Jugular! You’re Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack

The Associated Press: Worldwide Gun Deaths Reach 250,000 Yearly; US Ranks High
Gun deaths worldwide total about 250,000 yearly and the United States is among just six countries that make up half of those fatalities, a study found. The results from one of the most comprehensive analyses of firearm deaths reveal "a major public health problem for humanity," according to an editorial published with the study Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Tanner, 8/28)

Los Angeles Times: In Some Countries, The Odds Of Getting Shot Are 1 In A Million. In The U.S., It's 100 Times Higher
Imagine that, in the course of a single year, a ubiquitous household item was implicated in the death of every man, woman and child in the city of Glendale, Ariz., America’s 87th largest city with a population of 251,269. The world would almost certainly take notice of such a loss. That, in essence, was the global toll of humanity’s obsession with firearms. (Healy, 8/29)

PBS NewsHour: There’s A New Global Ranking Of Gun Deaths. Here’s Where The U.S. Stands
Overall, 64 percent of deaths were determined to be homicides, while an additional 27 percent were suicides and 9 percent were accidental shootings. But country to country, looking at the ways people die due to gunfire produces a deeply varied picture, said Christopher Murray, the institute’s director. When it comes to the number of gun-related homicides, the U.S. ranks 30th worldwide. But suicides linked to guns occurred in the U.S. at a rate of 6.4 per 100,000 deaths — a total of 23,800 people — the second highest rate worldwide. (Santhanam, 8/28)

The New York Times: Pollution May Dim Thinking Skills, Study In China Suggests
A large study in China suggests a link between air pollution and negative effects on people’s language and math skills. The link between pollution and respiratory diseases is well known, and most experts now believe that small particulates may also raise the risk for strokes and heart attacks. Whether this form of air pollution impairs cognition is not yet certain, but several studies have hinted at a connection. (Ives, 8/29)

The Wall Street Journal: As Wildfires Burn Miles Away, Smog Blankets The Northwest
On a recent morning in this city bred on the great outdoors, the halls of Mt. Spokane High School were filled with some 600 football players throwing spirals, cross-country runners doing laps, and marching band members twirling batons. The air outside was too smoky to breathe. The Pacific Northwest, sandwiched between Canada’s smoldering British Columbia to the north and six fire-wracked Western U.S. states, is feeling the side effects of one of the worst fire seasons on record. For much of the past several weeks, clouds of choking smog have upended daily life and posed a health hazard for millions here. (Carlton and Malas, 8/29)

The New York Times: Boy, 9, Killed Himself After Being Tormented By Bullies, His Mom Says
Leia Pierce shuffled out the front door on Tuesday. Her son, Jamel Myles, 9, had killed himself last week, and she was still struggling with the basics. Eating. Sleeping. “I took a shower, but I put the same clothes back on,” she said, staring at the ground. “I need him back.” Jamel, a fourth grader at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School in Denver, hanged himself in his bedroom last Thursday, according to the county coroner, and his death has plunged a mother into despair and a community into disbelief. (Turkewitz, 8/28)

USA Today: Preteen Suicides Are Rare, But Numbers Are On The Rise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the teen suicide rate rose by more than 70 percent between 2006 and 2016. Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death for elementary school-aged children in 2014, the CDC reported. The death rate among 10- to 14-year-olds more than doubled from 0.9 per 100,000 in 2007 to 2.1 per 100,000 in 2014. Suicide is a particular concern among LGBTQ youth. Pierce told KUSA-TV that her son was bullied because he was gay. (O'Donnell, 8/28)

The New York Times: S.T.D. Diagnoses Reach Record 2.3 Million New Cases In U.S.
New cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis rose sharply for the fourth consecutive year in 2017, to a record high of nearly 2.3 million, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number surpassed the previous record, which was set in 2016, by more than 200,000 cases. The statistics are an alarming sign that the systems to prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases are “strained to near-breaking point,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, a top C.D.C. official. (Zraick, 8/28)

NPR: STD Cases Reach Record High In U.S., As Prevention Funding Declines
Chlamydia, a bacterial infection, remained the most common sexually transmitted disease, with more than 1.7 million reported cases. But health officials are concerned that gonorrhea cases increased a startling 67 percent between 2013 and 2017, and syphilis climbed even faster — 76 percent over those four years. After many years of success in controlling sexually transmitted diseases, "We've been sliding backwards," says Dr. Gail Bolan, director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. She spoke at a news conference in Washington Tuesday. (Harris, 8/28)

The Hill: CDC: 2017 Set Record For STD Cases
“We are sliding backward,” said Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “It is evident the systems that identify, treat, and ultimately prevent STDs are strained to near-breaking point.” (Hellmann, 8/28)

Stat: STD Cases In US Hit Record Highs As Officials Warn About Resistant Gonorrhea 
The CDC also reported on Tuesday that, in lab tests, more samples of gonorrhea are showing resistance to one of the antibiotics that authorities recommend to treat the disease. CDC guidelines since 2015 have called on gonorrhea to be treated with a single shot of ceftriaxone along with an oral dose of azithromycin — a boost meant to extend the life of ceftriaxone against resistant bugs. (Joseph, 8/28)

Stateline: Local Governments Aren’t Waiting For States To Raise Smoking Age
Last month, Massachusetts became the sixth state to boost its legal smoking age to 21. While two dozen other states considered similar bills this legislative session — and many likely will do so again in 2019 — much of the groundswell of activity isn’t happening in state capitols. A growing number of local governments are acting on their own to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. At least 340 towns, cities and counties in 21 states have taken action, compared with about 200 in 14 states in 2016. (Bergal, 8/29)

Stat: Officials Look To Update Federal Guidelines For Mail-Order DNA Companies
The Trump administration wants to modernize the federal guidelines for companies that sell made-to-order DNA in hopes of keeping dangerous genetic material — like smallpox or the Ebola virus — out of the hands of malicious potential customers, federal officials confirmed to STAT this week. The administration’s work is still in early stages, and it’s too soon to tell whether or how the government will make the guidelines more stringent, as companies and experts in the space have called for. (Swetlitz, 8/29)

Stat: Genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter Helped Crack The Golden State Killer Case 
Barbara Rae-Venter is pioneering a new, high-stakes application of genomics — one that could put killers behind bars. Half a lifetime ago, she was married to the man who went on to become perhaps the best-known pioneer of the field. The retired patent attorney and genetic genealogist offered California investigators crucial guidance that helped crack the Golden State Killer case, according to the San Jose Mercury News. (Robbins, 8/28)

Kaiser Health News: Earwax, Of All Things, Poses Unrecognized Risk In Long-Term Care
Of all the indignities that come with aging, excessive earwax may be the most insidious.Don’t laugh. That greasy, often gross, buildup occurs more often in older ears than those of the young, experts say. And when it goes unrecognized, it can pose serious problems, especially for the 2.2 million people who live in U.S. nursing homes and assisted living centers. (Aleccia, 8/29)

The New York Times: Exercise Now, Sit In Front Of The TV Later
If we spend an hour working out, that’s one hour less during our day that we can potentially spend being sedentary. But we may, consciously or not, find other opportunities during the day to move less, undermining our best intentions and the potential health benefits of the exercise, according to an interesting new study of how people use their time, minute by minute, on days when they exercise and when they do not. Time management is always tricky, involving constant trade-offs, not all of which are voluntary or even conscious. (Reynolds, 8/29)

Stat: At 83, AIDS Activist Larry Kramer Isn’t Done Ripping Into His Foes 
Over the course of three decades, the name Larry Kramer has become synonymous with the gay rights movement, patient rights — and savage attacks on public officials and drug companies. Today, with controversy over drug prices and concern over public health funding, we were curious what Kramer had on his mind. We also wondered whether at the age of 83 he has mellowed. He has not. (Berke, 8/29)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Did You Get Whooping Cough Vaccine? Don't Assume You're Protected
Whooping cough, a potentially life-threatening childhood illness, all but disappeared in the 1940s after a vaccine was developed. But in recent decades, the illness has been making a comeback. Changes in the vaccine and waning immunity are likely contributing to the resurgence of the illness, according to experts. (Oliviero, 8/28)

The Associated Press: Toxic Pesticides Found At Most Illegal California Pot Farms
Nine of every 10 illegal marijuana farms raided in California this year contained traces of powerful and potentially lethal pesticides that are poisoning wildlife and could endanger water supplies, researchers and federal authorities said Tuesday. That’s a jump from chemicals found at about 75 percent of illegal growing operations discovered on public land last year, and it’s six times as high as in 2012. (Thompson, 8/28)

The CT Mirror: Eight New Conditions Approved For CT's Medical Marijuana Program
The legislature’s Regulations Review Committee approved the addition of eight new conditions to the medical marijuana program on Tuesday. The eight conditions apply to all adults, but only two are allowed for those under 18. (Rigg, 8/28)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Is CBD Oil Legal In Ohio? State Regulators Say No
Guidance from the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy issued over the weekend states that CBD oil -- derived from hemp or marijuana -- can only be dispensed in a state-licensed dispensary. But the first state-approved dispensary is still several months away from opening its doors. All products containing CBD -- short for cannabidiol -- will have to comply with the rules of the state's medical marijuana program, including undergoing testing in a state-licensed lab. (Borchardt, 8/28)

The Associated Press: Legal Marijuana Industry Tries To Shake 'Stoner' Stereotypes
Michelle Janikian, who writes about marijuana for publications like Herb, Playboy and Rolling Stone, says after she tells someone what she does for a living, she usually spends the rest of the conversation "trying to act so friendly and mainstream" so they don't think she's stoned. Adam Salcido relates that after he went to work a couple of years ago for a Southern California company that helps organize weed-infused events like Hempfest and Cannabis Cup, he had to reassure his family he wouldn't turn into a drug addict. (Rogers and Fauria, 8/29)

KCUR: Missouri Now Says It Will Renew Kansas City Planned Parenthood’s Abortion License 
Missouri health officials say they plan to renew the abortion license of Planned Parenthood’s midtown Kansas City clinic now that the clinic has secured an abortion provider. The Department of Health and Senior Services had allowed the facility’s license to expire on Aug. 10 after its previous abortion physician left. The department said it was impossible to verify compliance with the state’s legal requirements without a physician on the premises. (Margolies, 8/28)

The Hill: Former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala Wins Democratic House Primary In Florida
Democrat Donna Shalala, a former Health and Human Services secretary under President Clinton and a long-time educator, won her House primary on Tuesday. Shalala emerged from a crowded Democratic primary in Florida's 27th District with 32 percent of the vote, the Associated Press projected with 95 percent of precincts reporting. (Greenwood, 8/28)

Arizona Republic: Congressional District 4: Brill Leading In Race To Challenge Gosar
David Brill, a doctor and businessman, was leading in the Democratic primary for Arizona’s northwestern congressional district and a chance face U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar in the November elections. ... Like many Democrats running this year, Brill wants a public option like Medicare available for everyone. (Hansen, 8/28)

The Star Tribune: Second Measles Case Puts Minnesota Officials Back On Alert 
A case of measles reported in Hennepin County last month has not caused other infections — ending fears that it would set off a larger outbreak, state health officials reported Tuesday. But just as they were about to declare the all clear, another unrelated case popped up last week, also in Hennepin County. Like the earlier case, this one involves an unvaccinated child who had traveled here from Africa and brought the infection along. (Howatt, 8/28)

Reveal: A Judge Ordered Immigrant Children Removed From Troubled Texas Facility. They’re Still There.
Immigrant children are still being held at a troubled Texas facility nearly a month after a federal judge ruled they should be moved to other housing, court documents show. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee also previously ordered that children at the facility could no longer be injected with psychiatric drugs without proper consent. But while lawyers for the children and a doctor visited the Shiloh Treatment Center last week, program director Douglas Plaeger told them the children are still being medicated “without parental consent or court authorization,” court records filed Monday state. (Morel, 8/28)

Kaiser Health News: Wis. Board Will Again Cover State Workers Seeking Transgender Treatment
In a surprising reversal, a Wisconsin board has voted to again offer insurance coverage to transgender state employees seeking hormone therapy and gender confirmation surgery. Members of the Group Insurance Board, which manages the insurance program for Wisconsin’s public workers and retirees, last week voted 5-4 to overturn its current policy barring treatments and procedures “related to gender reassignment or sexual transformation.” (Huetteman, 8/29)

Wyoming Public Media: Child Homelessness Is On The Rise In Idaho, Region
A new report out of Idaho shows the number of children without a permanent roof over their heads is increasing. This trend is mirrored across much of the Mountain West. The number of children struggling with homelessness in Idaho has jumped nearly 65 percent since 2010, according to state data. (Peacher, 8/28)

Dallas Morning News: Hillcrest Foundation Gives $1 Million Toward Parkland's Breast Health Center
The Hillcrest Foundation has pledged $1 million to build a comprehensive breast health center at Parkland Health & Hospital System. ... Parkland, which largely serves the poor and uninsured of Dallas County, sees more than 30,000 patients a year in an aging breast center that spans only 8,000 square feet. (Haber, 8/28)

Miami Herald: Accord Recalls Pills After Wrong Pills Get Put In Bottle
No one wants a surprise in their pill bottles. So when Accord Healthcare heard about a 100-count bottle of hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg tablets instead contained 100 spironolactone Tablets USP 25 mg, the4 company recalled the entire lot. (Neal, 8/29)

Iowa Public Radio: Investigators Track Contaminated Lettuce Outbreak To A Cattle Feedlot
Now, the Food and Drug Administration has a theory for how E. coli ended up on that lettuce. According to the FDA, it probably came from a large cattle feedlot at one end of a valley near Yuma, Ariz., which is one the country's biggest lettuce-growing areas. (Charles, 8/29)

Santa Fe New Mexican: Nuclear Safety Board Slams Energy Department Plan To Weaken Oversight
A new Department of Energy order that could be used to withhold information from a federal nuclear safety board and prevent the board from overseeing worker safety at nuclear facilities appears to violate longstanding provisions in the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, the board’s members said Tuesday. (Moss, 8/29)

Stat: Watchdog Asks Ethics Officials To Probe Azar Over Industry Ties And Rebates
A watchdog group has asked ethics officials at the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the relationship between Alex Azar, who heads the department, and Eli Lilly, his former employer, over a recently proposed rule that would benefit drug makers. The request by the Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit, comes in response to a proposal the Trump administration is considering to reduce or restrict rebates, which are essentially a type of discount that drug makers provide pharmacy benefit managers off the wholesale, or list, price for their medicines in order to receive favorable placement on formularies, which are lists of insured drugs. (Silverman, 8/28)

The Wall Street Journal: U.K. Nixes Gilead Gene Therapy Citing Cost, Casting Doubt On Other Approvals
Gilead Sciences Inc.’s CAR-T blood cancer drug Yescarta is too expensive to be recommended for use in the U.K.’s state-funded health service, a national regulator said Tuesday, casting doubt on whether other European countries will grant approval for the cutting-edge class of drugs. The move comes a day after Gilead’s Yescarta and competitor Novartis AG’s Kymriah received approval from the European Commission, paving the way for the drugmakers to seek approval from each member state in Europe. (Mancini and Martuscelli, 8/28)

Stat: High Drug Prices In The Netherlands Prompt A New Group's Bid For Investigation 
A new organization dedicated to eradicating high drug prices in the Netherlands has found what it believes is its first example — and will ask the government to investigate. At issue is a medicine known as CDCA that is used to treat people with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, or CTX, a rare genetic metabolic disease. An earlier version had been available for decades at a low cost, but was purchased by a company that later took the drug off the market. Last year, however, the company was granted marketing exclusivity by regulators and, at the re-launch, boosted the price many times over. (Silverman, 8/27)

The CT Mirror: Senate Backs White House On Effort To Require Drug Prices In Ads
Last week the U.S. Senate gave consumers – along with doctors, hospitals, and Connecticut’s health insurers — a win by approving bipartisan legislation that would require this “direct-to-consumer” advertising to include the price of these medications, which are among the costliest on the market. The Senate-approved measure would provide the Department of Health and Human Services with $1 million to implement proposed Trump administration rules that would require the disclosure by drug makers. (Radelat, 8/28)

Politico Pro: 'New NAFTA' Plan To Extend Biologic Exclusivity Draws Generic Drug Group Ire
The United States and Mexico’s new trade deal quickly drew criticism from consumer and generic drug groups that said a 10-year biologic patent protection would hurt affordability and the biosimilar industry. The two-way deal, announced Monday by President Donald Trump, would set patent protections for biologic drugs at 10 years. (Owermohle, 8/28)

Bloomberg: Pfizer's Potential Blockbuster Heart Drug Boosted By Study
Pfizer Inc.’s pipeline may finally be delivering. A new study shows that patients with a rare condition that can lead to heart failure lowered their risk of dying by 30 percent after being treated with Pfizer’s tafamidis. The finding could give the biggest U.S. drugmaker another potential blockbuster medicine and challenge a biotech startup marketing its own groundbreaking treatment for the same disease. (Hopkins and Lipschultz, 8/27)

Denver Post: Colorado Prisoners Get $41 Million For Hepatitis C Treatment
Four Colorado prisoners who sued prison chief Rick Raemisch in Denver U.S. District Court, claiming they were not adequately treated for hepatitis C, have reached a $41 million settlement with Colorado that ensures all infected inmates will be treated for the deadly disease. According to the settlement, the Colorado Department of Corrections will spend $20.5 million during this fiscal year for hepatitis C care and $20.5 million next year, according to a letter from John Spring, one of four plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit filed in 2017 by the American Civil Liberties Union. (Mitchell, 8/28)

Forbes: You May Start Seeing Drug Prices In Ads, But Will You Understand The Point?
Late last week, the U.S. Senate passed an amendment to the spending bill that would require pharma companies to disclose the prices of any products they advertise directly to consumers. The package devotes $1 million in funding to implement the new requirement, which co-sponsoring Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) believes will be vital for bringing “transparency to drug pricing and educating the public about the cost of their prescriptions,” he said in a statement. (Weintraub, 8/28)

CQ HealthBeat: Path Forward Unclear After Senate Calls For Drug Prices In Ads
A spending bill passed by the Senate last week includes $1 million for the Trump administration to craft new regulations that would force pharmaceutical companies to include prices in prescription drug advertisements. But there are plenty of questions about how such regulations would work and whether the Department of Health and Human Services has the legal authority to make drug companies disclose prices in TV, radio and other ads to consumers. (McIntire and Siddons, 8/27)

Politico Pro: With Mega-Mergers On The Verge Of Closing, Rebate Reform Chases A Moving Target
Cigna’s acquisition of Express Scripts sweeps the last major standalone PBM off the market at the same time as CVS’s deal for Aetna blurs the line between health plans and drug benefits. That assumes the mergers are finalized, as widely expected. Cigna shareholders are expected to approve its merger this Friday. The deals would reshape both Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage — but most of the uncertainty about the future of rebates focuses on Part D, the prescription drug benefit. (Owemohle, 8/22)

Reuters: Exclusive: Pharma Sector Warns Saudis On German Drug Curbs
European and U.S. pharmaceutical associations have waded into a diplomatic row between Germany and Saudi Arabia, warning that ongoing restrictions on German-made drugs could hurt Saudi patients and dampen future investment in the kingdom. In a strongly worded letter to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a copy of which has been seen by Reuters, the associations highlighted the level of concern in Germany and elsewhere about restrictive procurement measures implemented by Riyadh in response to criticism of its policies. (Barkin, 8/22)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Exact Sciences Signs Agreement With Pfizer To Market Cologuard Tests
Sales representatives of Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, will join Exact Sciences Corp.’s sales representatives in selling the company’s non-invasive screening test for colorectal cancer to physicians and health systems under an agreement announced Wednesday. Pfizer will make at least 625,000 sales calls a year for Exact Sciences under the agreement. (Boulton, 8/22)

The New York Times: A Little-Known Windfall For Some Hospitals, Now Facing Big Cuts
Most hospitals are nonprofit and justify their exemption from taxation with community service and charity care. But the Trump administration could require some of them to do more to help the poor, and the hospitals that are in the cross-hairs are those benefiting from an obscure drug discount program known as 340B. The 340B program requires pharmaceutical manufactures to sell drugs at steep discounts to certain hospitals serving larger proportions of low-income and vulnerable people, such as children or cancer patients. The participating hospitals may charge insurers and public programs like Medicare and Medicaid more for those drugs than they paid for them and keep the difference. (Austin Frakt, 8/29)

Los Angeles Times: She Paid $3.47 For A Prescription Drug. The Retail Price Was 10,000% Higher
Stephanie Garman picked up some prescription meds from CVS the other day. Normally she doesn’t give such things a second thought. This time she took a closer look at her receipt. The retail price for her drug: $355.99. The amount due: $3.47.In other words, Ventura resident Garman was being charged 1% of the drug’s market price. She’s not complaining. But she wonders how there can be such a huge gap between what a drug ostensibly costs and what she’s actually paying. (David Lazarus, 8/28)

The Washington Post: Trump Might Actually Lower Drug Prices
Surprise! The Trump administration is actually making progress to reduce drug prices, and not just by “browbeating” pharmaceutical executives. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced new options to increase competition for physician-administered drugs and lower the cost of some innovative medications, and the Food and Drug Administration is exploring importation to create more competition in the generics market. These reforms will help. But the real game changer is under review at the Office of Management and Budget. Although details are under wraps, it is clear that Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar wants to end kickbacks in the pharmacy distribution chain that are costing Medicare and taxpayers billions of dollars. (Dana Goldman and Anupam Jena, 8/28)

Stat: Are Pharmacy Benefit Managers The Good Guys Or Bad Guys Of Drug Pricing? 
In the ongoing debate over drug prices, the pharmaceutical industry has been highly effective in shifting the blame to the middlemen — in particular to pharmacy benefit managers. As they currently operate, pharmacy benefit managers are part of the problem. But if incentives were realigned, pharmacy benefit managers could — and should — play more of a vital role in controlling runaway prices for prescription drugs. (John Arnold, 8/27)

Nashville Tennessean: Rising Drug Costs Are Taking More Health Care Dollars
One of the most common ways we experience the impact of rising health care costs is when we visit the pharmacy. For BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee members, it’s the most commonly used benefit, with 8 of 10 members filling at least one prescription last year. We recently shared that covering pharmacy claims accounted for 10 cents from every premium dollar we collected in 2017. There are two important caveats. (Natalie Tate, 8/25)

The Washington Post: Russian Bots Are Not Just Anti-Democracy — They're Also Anti-Vaccine
Meddling in American democracy by outsiders — Russians and perhaps others — has triggered substantial public awareness and debate. But what if the damage was not only to elections? What if the bots, trolls and malicious hackers also undermined public health and well-being? That is the question raised by an important new study in the American Journal of Public Health reporting on the results of a research team led by David Broniatowsky of George Washington University. The researchers examined 1,793,690 tweets, collected from July 14, 2014, through Sept. 26, 2017, to explore how polarizing anti-vaccine messages were broadcast and amplified by bots and trolls. (8/28)

USA Today: Back To School With Juul
Sales of the nation’s most popular e-cigarette, Juul, have skyrocketed nearly 800% since last year. If trends continue, teenagers returning to school will be vaping sleek, easy-to-conceal devices in bathrooms, libraries and even in classrooms. And e-cigarettes, used by nearly 12% of high school students last year, have already surpassed the popularity of traditional cigarettes among teens. The craze has caught on so quickly among young people that  parents, school officials and public health advocates can hardly keep up. About the only thing moving slowly is the federal government’s effort to regulate the popular products. (8/28)

USA Today: On Vaping, Don't Let Fearmongering And Misinformation Guide The Debate
The number of teens who reported using tobacco products declined from 4.5 million to 3.6 million from 2011 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, youth use of e-cigarettes fell from its peak in 2015. You might think that health activists and their allies in the press would be celebrating this reality. You would be wrong. Many activists have chosen to simply ignore the large declines in tobacco and e-cigarette use, pointing instead to the availability of flavored e-cigarette products and the rise of independent competitors to Big Tobacco like Juul. (Gregory Conley, 8/28)

The Hill: E-Cigarette Tariffs Are A Threat To Public Health
Fifteen years ago, a Chinese pharmacist sparked a global innovation race to end smoking by inventing a safer, more appealing way for smokers to get the nicotine they desire without the smoke that may kill them–the modern day e-cigarette. Thousands of companies are now creating jobs and wealth competing to make quitting cigarettes easier, cheaper and more enjoyable. But smokers trying to switch to vaping face a host of obstacles. FDA regulation threatens to wipe out most e-cigarette businesses in a matter of years. Cities and states are imposing tax hikes, flavor bans, and extending smoke-free laws to cover vaping. Now there's another threat to add to the tally, with vapers set to join the seemingly endless list of consumers and businesses bracing themselves for the impact of the Trump administration's latest round of tariffs. (Guy Bentley, 8/28)

Stat: FDA Use Of 'Black Box' For Antidepressants Ignores The Harms Of This Warning
The Food and Drug Administration’s “black box” warnings and advisories give important safety information about drugs. But they can sometimes go too far and harm more people than they help. Take the FDA’s highly publicized warnings that taking antidepressants increases the risk of suicidality (defined as serious thoughts about taking one’s own life or planning or attempting suicide) among children, adolescents, and young adults. We have evidence, as do many others, that these warnings have decreased youths’ access to mental health care and increased suicide attempts. So far, the FDA has refused to accept this evidence. (Stephen Soumerai and Ross Koppel, 8/29)

The Hill: Opioids Do Discriminate — Help Women Avoid Dangers Of Opioid Addiction
It’s a fact: women experience pain differently than men. They also respond to opioids differently. These differences can seriously impact the likelihood that women become addicted to opioids. There are differences between women and men in all health conditions. Women are more likely to have certain conditions, such as arthritis, that can cause pain. They are more likely to suffer injuries, including injuries sustained during a domestic incident. As a result, women deal with pain — episodic, acute, and chronic — more frequently than men. Research also tells us that women tend to experience pain more intensely than men. (Connie Newman and Kim Templeton, 8/28)

The New York Times: Want To Protect The Right To Abortion? Train More People To Perform Them
When I was in medical school in the 1990s, it was rare to hear abortion mentioned as an option for pregnant women at all — let alone for there to be in-depth training on how to counsel patients on a full range of pregnancy options, including termination. My generation of physicians simply wasn’t prepared to provide basic, comprehensive reproductive health care. Even though it had been 20 years since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide, only 12 percent of obstetrics and gynecology residency programs at the time included abortion training. Twenty-five years later, the training situation has, fortunately, improved. (Jody Steinauer, 8/29)

USA Today: I Treated HIV/AIDS. We’re Still Making The Same Mistake Now With STDs
A rise in sexually transmitted diseases has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the fourth straight year. The CDC reports that the spike — close to a whopping 10 percent in 2017 — is fueled by a lack of awareness and changing sexual behavior. I can attest to that. As a young doctor, I became obsessed with exploring epidemics and public health crises. (Kristen Ries, 8/29)

Bloomberg: NYU's Free Medical School Plan Is No Cure-All
The NYU decision marks an unprecedented move to eliminate the large educational debt that most medical students face. Three-quarters of medical students graduate with debt. In 2016, the four-year cost of attending medical school was nearly $250,000, and the median debt of graduating medical students was $190,000. These costs don’t include college debt or living expenses. Medical education debt for private universities is also considerably higher. What are the hoped-for results? (Anupam B. Jena, 8/28)

The New York Times: A New Way To Detect Breast Cancer
Not long before Mihir Shah was to be married in 2007, his soon-to-be mother-in-law got a diagnosis of breast cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and survived, wearing a wig to the wedding. But while the women in Mr. Shah’s family — in both India and the United States — were able to get breast cancer screening, it made him think of the millions who weren’t as fortunate. (Sophie Cousins, 8/28)

USA Today: The Government Owes Separated Immigrant Families Psychological Care
After ripping thousands of children from their parents, unprecedented public outrage forced President Donald Trump to sign an executive order purporting to end family separation in June. He proclaimed the problem solved. But the family separation crisis is far from over. Just this month, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered the adoption of new precautionary measures to protect immigrant families from the United States’ callous actions. The government is failing to resolve a crisis it manufactured, and the chaos at the border is emblematic of the Trump administration’s heartless, often slapdash approach to immigration. (Efrén Olivares, 8/28)