First Edition: November 8, 2018

Kaiser Health News: House Dems In New Seats Of Power Will Steer Health Policy, Attack Drug Prices
With the Senate (and the presidency) remaining under Republican control and even fewer moderate Republicans left in the House after this election, Democrats will struggle to move legislation without Republican support. What they can do is hold hearings, launch investigations and generally unnerve the pharmaceutical industry, among other likely adversaries. And there’s a chance they could strike a deal with President Donald Trump, whose administration is moving to crack down on drug companies. (Huetteman, 11/7)

Kaiser Health News: Midterm Election Boosts Medicaid Expansion, But Challenges Remain
It wasn’t a clean sweep, however, for Medicaid on Tuesday. In preliminary results, a ballot issue to fund Montana’s Medicaid expansion — which is already in place and slated to expire next July — was failing. Tobacco companies had mounted a campaign to stop the measure, which would have partially financed the expansion with taxes on tobacco products. The Montana legislature and the Democratic governor are expected to address the issue in the session that starts in January. No state has reversed its Medicaid expansion, even though GOP governors in Kansas and Arkansas have threatened to do so. (Galewitz, 11/8)

California Healthline: California’s Top Lawyer Sees Election Win As Mandate To Sustain Trump Resistance
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has cemented his role as one of the nation’s top defenders of the Affordable Care Act, filing multiple lawsuits in the past two years to uphold key protections of the law and often clashing with the Trump administration. Voters this week gave Becerra a clear mandate to continue that work, he said. (Young, 11/8)

California Healthline: Measure To Cap Dialysis Profits Pummeled After Record Spending By Industry
Record-breaking spending by the dialysis industry helped doom a controversial California ballot measure to cap its profits. The industry, led by DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care, spent nearly $111 million to defeat Proposition 8, which voters trounced, 62 to 38 percent, and appeared to approve in just two of 58 counties. The measure also faced strong opposition from medical organizations, including doctor and hospital associations, which argued it would limit access to dialysis treatment and thus endanger patients. (Ibarra and Gorman, 11/8)

Kaiser Health News: At Death’s Door, Shedding Light On How To Live
Nothing so alters a person as learning you have a terminal illness. Ronni Bennett, who writes a popular blog about aging, discovered that recently when she heard that cancer had metastasized to her lungs and her peritoneum (a membrane that lines the cavity of the abdomen). There is no cure for your condition, Bennett was told by doctors, who estimated she might have six to eight months of good health before symptoms began to appear. (Graham, 11/8)

The Associated Press: Obama's Health Insurance Overhaul A Winner In Midterms
The personality looming over the 2018 midterms was President Donald Trump. The issue was health care, the top concern for voters as they decided how to cast their ballots. This week's election showed a nation increasingly — if belatedly — in step with former President Barack Obama's approach to it. (Mulvihill and Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/8)

The Washington Post: Republicans Abandon The Fight To Repeal And Replace Obama’s Health Care Law
For eight years, Republicans waged a war against Barack Obama’s health-care law, holding dozens of repeal votes, filing lawsuits and branding it a dangerous government takeover. On Wednesday, they effectively surrendered. The day after crushing midterm election losses handed Democrats control of the House, GOP leaders signaled they had no appetite to make another go at shredding the signature accomplishment of Obama’s presidency anytime soon. (Sullivan, 11/7)

Bloomberg: McConnell Says Drug Prices Are On The Agenda, Obamacare Is Off 
Congress’s health-care priorities are likely to focus on drug prices as Obamacare repeal becomes a non-starter for a split legislature, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday. On changes to Obamacare, “I think it is very obvious that a Democratic House is not going to be interested in that,” McConnell said at a post-midterm elections news conference in Washington, after Democrats won control of the House of Representatives and Republicans added to their control of the Senate. (Armstrong, 11/7)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Repeal In Congress Is Dead. Next, A Battle Over Medicare For All 
Obamacare repeal is officially dead. On to the battle over Medicare for All. Tuesday’s midterm victories by Democrats mean that Republicans no longer have a path to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. It also sets up a debate between Democrats’ liberal and moderate wings over whether to embrace a broad expansion of insurance to all Americans as they prepare to challenge President Donald Trump for the presidency in 2020. (Tozzi, 11/7)

Politico: Tuesday's Big Winner: Obamacare's Medicaid Expansion
The elections will usher in the program’s largest growth since Obamacare’s early days, after Republican leaders in those states resisted the optional program for years. Democratic victories in Kansas, Maine and Wisconsin gubernatorial races could soon put those states in the expansion column, and voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah easily approved initiatives adopting the program. (Pradhan and Ollstein, 11/7)

The New York Times: Idaho, Nebraska And Utah Vote To Expand Medicaid
Despite the uncertainty and partisan gridlock that Tuesday’s election results ensure, one policy change seems guaranteed: hundreds of thousands more poor Americans in red states will qualify for free health coverage through Medicaid. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah, which President Trump won easily in 2016, approved ballot initiatives to expand the government insurance program under the Affordable Care Act. Democratic victories in governors’ races also improved the chances of Medicaid expansion in Kansas and Wisconsin, and all but ensured it in Maine. As a result, Medicaid could see its biggest enrollment bump since the health law began allowing expansion in 2014. (Goodnough, 11/7)

The Hill: Utah Voters Approve ObamaCare's Medicaid Expansion For Low-Income Adults
Utah voters on Tuesday approved a measure expanding Medicaid coverage to thousands of low-income adults, circumventing Republican lawmakers who have opposed the policy for years. The measure raises the state sales tax to fund the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to those making 138 percent or less of the federal poverty level — about $17,000 for an individual and $25,000 for a family of four. (Hellmann, 11/7)

The Washington Post: Three Deep Red States Vote To Expand Medicaid
In addition, Maine voters elected Democrat Janet Mills as governor, clearing the path for a Medicaid expansion that voters approved by referendum a year ago. The outgoing GOP governor, Paul LePage, has been an ardent foe of the expansion and had blocked it for a year, leading to a court battle. (Goldstein, 11/7)

NPR: Medicaid Expansion Passes In Idaho, Nebraska And Utah
"People are enthusiastic about Medicaid expansion because they recognize that it's both good for health care but it's also a compassionate thing to do," says Jonathan Schleifer, executive director of The Fairness Project, which worked to get the questions on the ballots of the four states. "And it's a financially sound thing to do. It's a fiscally responsible thing to do." (Kodjak, 11/7)

The New York Times: When Medicaid Expands, More People Vote
Obamacare didn’t just give more people health insurance. It also caused more people to vote. That’s the conclusion of a new body of evidence that strongly suggests that giving people coverage through expansions of the Medicaid program increases their likelihood of participating in the next election. Medicaid expansions seem to raise both voter registration and voter participation, at least temporarily. (Sanger-Katz, 11/8)

The Washington Post: From Medicaid To Minimum Wage, Even Red State Voters Backed Progressive Measures
The electoral dissonance underscored that the issues people vote on at the ballot box don’t always align with the candidates they vote for. The outcomes also highlight the approach advocates took in trying to get the ballot measures passed — namely, by not associating them with either party. “Americans are far more generous than our politics suggest,” said Jonathan Schleifer, executive director of the Fairness Project, a three-year-old nonprofit organization that has used ballot measures to circumvent deadlocks in legislative and executive branches­ of government. The group backed several minimum-wage and Medicaid-expansion measures that passed Tuesday. (Dennis and Weigel, 11/7)

The Associated Press: Many Red State Voters Embrace Liberal-Backed Ballot Measures
Even in deep-red states, voters embraced an array of liberal-backed ballot measures in Tuesday's election — expanding Medicaid, targeting gerrymandering, boosting minimum wages, legalizing marijuana use. The results heartened left-of-center activists, who see a path going forward for circumventing Republican-controlled legislatures. With the new Congress deeply split along partisan lines, the outcome ensured that the states will serve as pivotal battlegrounds for social issues heading toward the next election in 2020. (Crary, 11/7)

Los Angeles Times: The 'Blue Wave' Down-Ballot? Where Democratic Candidates Faltered, Many Liberal Measures Found Success
Party identification is one of the most powerful forces in politics, with many people voting strictly on party lines when it comes to choosing their politicians. But ballot measures, while often pushing policies favored by one party more than another, don’t come with “D” or “R” labels. Voters can make their choices without feeling like they’re casting their ballots for one party or another. Most Americans “aren’t particularly ideological,” said Lilliana Mason, a government professor at the University of Maryland and author of a recent book, “Uncivil Agreement,” about identity in politics. (Pearce, 11/7)

The Associated Press: New Kansas Governor Faces Skeptical GOP-Led Legislature
Democrat Laura Kelly promised a new tone of bipartisanship after a victory in the Kansas governor's race brought her national attention. She faces a Republican-dominated Legislature with leaders who call her proposals impractical and vow to hold her to a pledge not to raise taxes. ... Kelly wants Kansas to expand its Medicaid health coverage in line with the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act, something Brownback and Colyer stymied. Voters in Republican-leaning Idaho and Nebraska, approved expansions Tuesday. "It's long past time to expand Medicaid," Kelly said. (11/7)

The Washington Post: Here’s How Abortion Rights Played Out In Midterm Elections Across The Country
With the fate of Roe v. Wade hanging in the balance, Tuesday night’s midterm elections brought high stakes for both sides of the abortion debate. Antiabortion advocates gained clear legislative victories in Alabama and West Virginia, where voters passed constitutional amendments paving the way to ban abortion if the new conservative consensus on the Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 ruling that outlawed restrictions on the procedure before the fetus is viable. (Schmidt and Boorstein, 11/7)

Politico: Here Come The Roe V. Wade Challenges
On Tuesday, Alabama became the first state in the nation to enact what opponents call a “personhood clause” in its constitution, recognizing “the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.” That makes it possible for the state to ban abortion entirely if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The measure includes no exemptions for abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk. (Ollstein and Roubein, 11/8)

The Hill: Alabama, W.Va. Voters Approve Anti-Abortion Amendments 
West Virginia narrowly passed a similar amendment that states nothing in the state Constitution "secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion." That vote was 52 percent to 48 percent. Proponents of the amendments say the measures signal the opinions of voters, and would not have any impact under current law. (Weixel, 11/7)

The New York Times: With Republican Gains In Senate, Social Conservatives Tighten Their Grip
Republican victories in crucial Senate and governors’ races this week have tightened social conservatives’ grip across American government, strengthening the party’s power as it seeks to limit abortion rights and push harder to the right on a number of divisive cultural issues. Even as Democrats captured the House and promised to act as a check on President Trump and Republican policy priorities, conservatives were breathing a deep sigh of relief on Wednesday after strengthening their majority in the Senate. Their gains in the upper chamber could have a far-reaching impact on the remainder of the president’s term, particularly on his ability to continue shifting the ideological balance on the federal courts. (Peters and Dias, 11/7)

The Hill: Trump Says He Has 'Solution' To Abortion Debate 
President Trump on Wednesday said he has a “solution” to the abortion rights debate, but did not provide details. At a wide-ranging and sometimes confrontational press conference following the midterm elections, Trump was asked how he would “push forward” with his anti-abortion agenda, as promised during the campaign. (Anapol, 11/7)

The New York Times: Parkland Activists Took On The N.R.A. Here’s How It Turned Out.
After the shooting massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla., survivors found themselves taking on the National Rifle Association as they crisscrossed the country rallying young adults to register and vote against candidates opposed to gun control. On Tuesday, the Parkland students got a dose of political reality. While their registration drives enrolled thousands of younger votes, the students were unable to turn key races in their home state. (Burch, 11/7)

The Associated Press: Voters OK More Funds For Security After School Shooting
Voters have agreed to fund improved security at a suburban Indianapolis school district where a 13-year-old girl and a teacher were shot in May. Unofficial results show about 58 percent backed the measure Tuesday to collect an additional $50 million over eight years for Noblesville Schools. The money would be used to employ more school resource officers, safety staff and mental health counseling staff, and to recruit and keep teachers. (11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Voters Expand Medicaid, Weigh In On Gas Taxes In Ballot Measures
Washington state voters approved an initiative creating some of the strictest gun-control regulations in the country, including enhanced background checks, an increase in the minimum age to buy a semiautomatic rifle to 21, and requirements that gun owners keep their firearms locked at home. (Lazo, 11/7)

Stat: After Ballot-Box Success, These Drug Pricing Advocates Are Eyeing Results 
The advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs had a near-perfect night at the polls on Tuesday, marking its first year on the national elections scene by claiming success in all but one of the competitive elections it had waded into. The group’s sole issue, lowering high prescription drug prices, even provided a rare point of agreement on Wednesday in a deeply divided Washington. In post-midterms remarks, President Trump cited high drug costs as a potential area for compromise with Democrats. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer — the Senate’s top Republican and Democrat, respectively — extended the same olive branch. (Facher, 11/8)

The Washington Post: How Science Fared In The Midterm Elections
This year, more candidates with degrees in science, medicine and engineering ran for Congress than ever before. Of the nearly two-dozen new candidates in this crop, at least seven won seats in the House of Representatives. The newcomers, mostly Democrats, include Chrissy Houlahan, who has a degree in industrial engineering and won in Pennsylvania. Sean Casten, who has worked as a biochemist, flipped a longtime Republican district in Chicago. Ocean engineer Joe Cunningham, who came out strongly against offshore drilling, won in South Carolina. Lauren Underwood, a registered nurse, won Illinois’s 14th District. In Virginia, Elaine Luria, who has a nuclear engineering background, defeated the Republican incumbent, Scott Taylor. Jeff Van Drew, who won a seat representing the 2nd Congressional District in New Jersey, is a dentist. (Guarino and Kaplan, 11/7)

The New York Times: Marijuana Embraced In Michigan, Utah And Missouri, But Rejected In North Dakota
Marijuana initiatives appeared on ballots in four states in the midterm elections. In Michigan and North Dakota, initiatives gave voters the opportunity to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In Missouri and Utah, voters chose whether to allow people who are sick to use the drug for medical reasons. (Hauser, 11/7)

Reuters: Health Stocks Up On U.S. Vote; Insurers Hit Records
Shares in drugmakers and U.S. health insurers rallied on Wednesday, after election results delivered a split Congress that is unlikely to significantly cut government healthcare programs or reduce drug prices in the world's biggest and most profitable market. Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats in Tuesday's elections, a setback for President Donald Trump, but increased their grip on the Senate, signaling likely policy gridlock in Washington. (11/7)

The Associated Press: Election Impact: Health Care Stocks Jump Following Midterms
Health insurers rose sharply Wednesday as investors anticipated that any prospects of repealing the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance to millions of Americans, diminished greatly now that Democrats control the House of Representatives. Marijuana companies soared after several states voted to partly legalize pot, oil and gas companies benefited from the defeat of a ballot measure in Colorado that might have restricted drilling, and a dialysis services company rocketed higher after California voters rejected a measure that would have capped the profits of dialysis clinics. (11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: New Winners And Losers Emerge In Stock Market After Midterms
The future looks brighter for many health-care stocks following the 2018 election, as the likelihood of rolling back the Affordable Care Act diminished following the Democrats winning the House. Insurers and hospital stocks rose, with UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH 4.21% up 4.2%, Anthem Inc. ANTM 6.59% up 6.6% and Cigna Corp. CI 2.82% rising nearly 3%. WellCare Health Plans Inc., which provides services to families and individuals primarily through Medicaid and Medicare, jumped 7.3%. (11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Humana Offers Positive Take On 2019
Humana offered a positive take on 2019, saying it expects that the midpoint of its initial earnings-per-share guidance will be “slightly above” analysts’ consensus projections. In the key individual Medicare Advantage business, the insurer suggested it could see growth of around 250,000 to 300,000 members, and margins will “improve nicely,” but still likely be below the long-term target of 4.5% to 5%. (Mathews, 11/7)

The New York Times: House Democrats’ Agenda: Ethics, Infrastructure And Medical Legislation
Democratic leaders say they would use their first month in the House majority to advance sweeping changes to future campaign and ethics laws, requiring the disclosure of shadowy political donors, outlawing the gerrymandering of congressional districts and restoring key enforcement provisions to the Voting Rights Act. They would then turn to infrastructure investment and the climbing costs of prescription drugs, answering voter demands and challenging President Trump’s willingness to work on shared policy priorities with a party he has vilified. (Fandos, 11/7)

Bloomberg: House Democrats Seek Deals With Trump On Infrastructure, Drugs 
House Democrats will use their new majority to seek deals with President Donald Trump on infrastructure spending and prescription drug costs, but won’t back down on their oversight responsibilities, said party leader Nancy Pelosi, in line to regain the speaker’s gavel. "We believe we have a responsibility to seek common ground where we can," Pelosi of California told reporters at a news conference Wednesday. "Where we cannot, we must stand our ground." (Wasson and Flatley, 11/7)

Stat: Three Proposals To Bring Down Drug Prices That Have A Fighting Chance 
The drug industry is bracing for a deluge of drug pricing proposals from the soon-to-be Democratic House of Representatives. But it’s not worried about the controversial policies that have been blaring in TV ads and featured in stump speeches in recent months. Democrats campaigned on a slate of sweeping drug pricing proposals, like allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies and creating a Senate-confirmed price-gouging enforcer. But those ideas are likely dead on arrival in the Senate, which remains in Republican control. (Florko, 11/7)

Stat: 8 Burning Questions As Washington Braces For A Health Policy Shakeup 
Will House Democrats set their sights on high drug prices over Russian election hacking? Should drug industry CEOs be checking their mailboxes for subpoenas? Is Bob Casey or Greg Walden the next Orrin Hatch? What about the next Claire McCaskill? Drug industry executives are no doubt buzzing over many questions in the wake of the Democrats’ takeover of the House. Democrats made health care a central plank of their re-election drive, and they’ve made clear that they’ll leverage their new power to make lots of noise about the high cost of prescription drugs. (Florko, 11/8)

CQ: Health Care Issues In The 116th Congress
The Democrats’ takeover of the House changes the dynamic on health care issues, which played a prominent role in the midterm elections. This is a look at likely scenarios in the 116th Congress under a Democratic House and GOP Senate. The health care law remains a divisive and politically charged issue a year after Republicans fell short of overhauling the law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). Congress has been unable to move a bipartisan compromise on legislation to update the law in a significant way and that is unlikely to become easier in a divided Congress. (Clason, McIntire and Siddons, 11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Meet The New Agenda Setters In The House
In winning control of the House of Representatives, Democrats take over the chairman’s seat in the chamber’s committees. Here are the men and women likely to be setting the agenda for key committees, and what policy changes to expect from them. (11/7)

CQ HealthBeat: 116th Congress: House Ways & Means Committee
On the health agenda, shoring up the exchanges created under the 2010 health care law and lowering the cost of prescription drugs are the top priorities for the panel. The retirement of Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., opens up the top spot on the Health Subcommittee. California Rep. Mike Thompson is currently the panel’s most senior member who doesn’t lead a subcommittee. Other senior committee members like Reps. Lloyd Doggett, of Texas, and Bill Pascrell, Jr., of New Jersey, are also outspoken on health issues. (Lerman and McIntire, 11/12)

CQ: 116th Congress: Senate Health, Education, Labor And Pensions Committee
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will see only modest change next year. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., will be chairman again and Patty Murray, D-Wash., is likely to remain as ranking member. On health care, the committee may continue its shift away from changes to the 2010 health care law and focus on reducing the cost of prescription drugs. Alexander and Murray held a number of hearings on drug costs during the 115th Congress and identified it as a future priority. Their previous bipartisan attempts to stabilize the individual market are expected to take a back seat due to disagreements over language related to abortion funding. (Raman, 11/12)

The Associated Press: Trump Administration Finalizes Birth Control Opt-Out Policy
A day after Republicans expanded their Senate majority, the Trump administration on Wednesday finalized a policy change that allows some employers with religious or moral objections to opt out of providing no-cost birth control for female workers. The new regulations from several federal agencies apply mainly to religious organizations, nonprofits and small businesses. Women's rights groups already suing the administration over an earlier version of the opt-out vowed to continue their court battle. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/7)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Issues Rules Letting Some Employers Deny Contraceptive Coverage
The rules notch a deep exception to a federal requirement under the Obama-era interpretation of the Affordable Care Act that essential health benefits must include coverage of contraception at no charge to consumers. The circumvention of this mandate, first proposed by Trump health officials a year ago, is part of the administration’s alliance with social conservatives for whom “religious liberty” has become a central cause and who had objected to the contraceptive mandate. (Goldstein, 11/7)

The Wall Street Journal: HHS To Let Some Employers Opt Out Of Birth-Control Mandate
The exemptions, which the department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday, are less sweeping than an original set of rules laid out a year ago that would have allowed virtually any employer to opt out of the contraceptive mandate by claiming a religious or moral objection. Those rules were blocked from going into effect by two federal judges. ... A group of Democratic state attorneys general filed suit last year against the administration’s original set of exemptions, and are likely to pursue legal action to attempt to prevent the new exemptions from taking effect. (Hackman, 11/7)

Reuters: U.S. Companies Team Up With Hospitals To Reduce Employee Maternity Costs
General Electric Co and other large companies are trying to chip away at rising childbirth costs for U.S. employees, working directly with hospitals to reduce cesarean sections and related complications. The efforts are in very early stages, with few details on their impact outside of cost savings of a few million dollars so far. But they illustrate yet another path companies are taking to bring down U.S. medical costs by working with doctors and hospitals to set health goals. (Mincer, 11/7)

The Associated Press: Vietnam, US Complete Cleanup Of Toxic Chemical From Airport
Vietnam and the United States have finished the cleanup of dioxin contamination at Danang airport caused by the transport and storage of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The 74 acres of land cleansed of the toxic chemical were handed over to Vietnam at a ceremony Wednesday where Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh praised the U.S. government's involvement in the cleanup. (11/7)

NPR: THC Helped Mice Engineered To Mimic Humans With Alzheimer's
A substance that gives pot its kick appears to reduce the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease – at least in mice. In mice that had been genetically tweaked to develop symptoms like those of Alzheimer's, animals that received a synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol for six weeks performed as well as healthy mice on a memory test, scientists reported Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego. (Hamilton, 11/7)

The New York Times: Older Fathers More Likely To Have Babies With Health Problems
Babies of older fathers are at greater risk of premature birth, low birth weight and other neonatal problems, a new study reports. Mothers may also be affected: Those with older partners were more likely to have gestational diabetes, probably because older paternity is associated with changes in the placenta. The study, published in BMJ, used data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on more than 40 million live births between 2007 and 2016. (Bakalar, 11/7)

The Associated Press: More US Adults And Kids Are Doing Yoga, Meditating
If you can do a downward-facing dog, you're among the increasing numbers of Americans doing yoga. A new report says more adults — and even kids — are practicing yoga and meditation. A government survey conducted last year found 14 percent of adults said they had recently done yoga, and the same percentage had recently meditated. That's up from about 10 percent and 4 percent from a similar survey done five years earlier. (11/8)

The Associated Press: Anti-Abortion Activist Who Shot Kansas Abortion Doctor Freed
A woman who shot Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller and attacked abortion clinics in several states in the 1990s has been released from prison in Oregon, prompting concern in clinics across the country, according to a published report Wednesday. (11/7)

The Associated Press: Florida Surgeon Removes Healthy Kidney He Thought Was Tumor
A Florida surgeon removed a woman's healthy kidney while she was undergoing back surgery because he believed the vital organ was a cancerous tumor. The Palm Beach Post reported last week that Maureen Pacheco has sued Ramon Vazquez and two other surgeons for malpractice. Vazquez was responsible for cutting Pacheco open in 2016 so two orthopedic surgeons, Dr. John Britt and Dr. Jeffrey Kugler, could perform the back operation. (11/7)

The Washington Post: District Woman Receives Prison Sentence For Illegal Synthetic Drug Sales
A 20-year-old District woman was sentenced to six months in prison for selling synthetic marijuana in Northeast Washington on New Year’s Eve day in 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sentenced Briana Barnes Tuesday following her August guilty plea to a charge of unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to a statement released by prosecutors. (Williams, 11/7)

The Associated Press: New U. Of Maryland Board Chair Apologizes Over Player Death
The University System of Maryland Board of Regents has a new chair, and her first public act was to apologize for how university officials responded to a player’s death. The Baltimore Sun reports Linda Gooden apologized Wednesday to the family of 19-year-old Terrapins football player Jordan McNair, who collapsed from heatstroke on the field in May and later died. The 17-member board has spent weeks overseeing two investigations into his death. (11/8)