Lawmakers Publicly Shame Drug Distributors For Role In Opioid Crisis. But As Candidates They Welcome Their Money.
The practice of lawmakers taking money from the health industries they regulate is not unusual, but the increased scrutiny of the opioid epidemic is drawing attention to these particular donations. News from the upcoming elections comes out of Iowa, California and Massachusetts, as well.
Stat:
Even As They Scold Drug Distributors, Lawmakers Take Their Campaign Cash
In this election season, lawmakers are taking on drug distributors with abandon, and many seem to relish the role. “I just want you to feel shame,” one member of Congress said in May to five executives of major drug wholesalers, which are accused of worsening the opioid crisis by dumping thousands of addictive painkillers into small towns. ... In the run-up to next month’s midterm elections, the country’s three largest distributors alone have given nearly $3 million to congressional campaigns. Key lawmakers from both parties — including many of the ones who publicly shamed the companies for their role in the crisis — have accepted the contributions eagerly. (Facher, 10/12)
Des Moines Register:
Iowa Election: David Young, Cindy Axne Skirmish In 3rd District Debate
U.S. Rep. David Young and his Democratic challenger, Cindy Axne, sharply disagreed on a range of key issues, from health care to federal tax policy to addressing the federal debt, Thursday night in a televised debate. ... Health care was one of the most contentious issues as the candidates were quizzed by journalists before a studio audience. Young described himself as a supporter of Iowans who have pre-existing medical conditions and need to obtain health insurance, while Axne repeatedly contended his record in Congress is to the contrary. (Petroski, 10/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California’s Proposition 8 Seeks To Cap Revenue At Dialysis Clinics
Williams is one of nearly 68,000 Californians on dialysis. That number is expected to grow 5 percent each year as diabetes and obesity, two common risk factors for kidney failure, become more prevalent. It is also a big business — one that major dialysis providers are spending tens of millions of dollars to preserve with their opposition to Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that would cap revenue for California’s dialysis centers. (Ho, 10/11)
State House News Service:
Baker Against Ballot Question To Boost Nursing Staffing
Gov. Charlie Baker weighed in Wednesday on one of this year's most contentious election issues, indicating that he planned to vote against a ballot question that would set minimum nurse to patient staffing ratios. The governor had been waiting to see the results of a report produced last week by the Health Policy Commission, which he said he read over the weekend. (Murphy, 10/11)
Politico Pro:
POLITICO-Harvard Poll: Most Democratic Voters Driven By Desire To Ice GOP Health Agenda
Fear and anger over the GOP’s health policies are driving a majority of Democratic voters to the polls in an effort to flip control of the House and put the brakes on the Trump administration’s agenda, according to POLITICO-Harvard polling gauging voter attitudes before the midterm elections. More than half of Democrats likely to vote in House races rank health care as “extremely important” in determining their vote, the new survey found. (Cancryn, 10/11)
Meanwhile, preexisting conditions is an idea being bandied about a lot before the midterms, but who is right? —
Kaiser Health News:
Fact-Check: Who’s Right On Protections For Preexisting Conditions? It’s Complicated
Ensuring that people with preexisting health conditions can get and keep health insurance is the most popular part of the Affordable Care Act. It has also become a flashpoint in this fall’s campaigns across the country. And not only is the ACA, which mostly protects people who buy their own coverage, at risk. Also potentially in the crosshairs are preexisting conditions protections that predate the federal health law. (Rovner, 10/11)
