First Edition: February 25, 2019
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
HHS Finalizes Rule Seeking To Expel Planned Parenthood From Family Planning Program
None of the funds provided for Title X services may be used for abortion. That has been true since the program was created in 1970. But abortion opponents have for decades complained that since many Planned Parenthood affiliates that receive Title X support also provide abortion, the federal family planning money can be improperly commingled with funds used for the procedure. (Rovner, 2/22)
Kaiser Health News:
Talk About DeJà Vu: Senators Set To Re-Enact Drug Price Hearing Of 60 Years Ago
Kenneth Frazier, CEO of pharma giant Merck, is set to face senators Tuesday who say drug costs are “sky-high” and “out of control.” But Frazier doesn’t need new talking points. Sixty years ago, a different panel of senators grilled a different Merck boss about the same problem. To a striking degree, the subjects likely to surface Tuesday — high drug prices and profits, limited price transparency, aggressive marketing, alleged patent abuse and mediocre, “me-too” drugs — are identical to the issues senators investigated decades ago, historical transcripts show. (Hancock, 2/22)
Kaiser Health News:
Video: High Drama No Stranger At Congressional Health Care Hearings
This week the CEOs of major pharmaceutical firms will come to Capitol Hill to defend their products’ prices. The hearing before the Senate Finance Committee is expected to produce rhetorical fireworks, particularly given the national furor over rising drug prices. This video features five dramatic moments from past congressional showdowns over health care. (Rovner and Carey, 2/25)
Kaiser Health News:
A Parent-To-Parent Campaign To Get Vaccine Rates Up
In 2017, Kim Nelson had just moved her family back to her hometown in South Carolina. Boxes were still scattered around the apartment, and while her two young daughters played, Nelson scrolled through a newspaper article on her phone. It said religious exemptions for vaccines had jumped nearly 70 percent in recent years in the Greenville area — where they had just moved from Florida. She remembers yelling to her husband in the other room, “David, you have to get in here! I can’t believe this.” (Olgin, 2/25)
The New York Times:
Trump Administration Blocks Funds For Planned Parenthood And Others Over Abortion Referrals
The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will bar organizations that provide abortion referrals from receiving federal family planning money, a step that could strip millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood and direct it toward religiously-based, anti-abortion groups. The new federal rule is almost certain to be challenged in court. Clinics will be able to talk to patients about abortion, but not where they can get one. And clinics will no longer have to counsel women on all reproductive options, including abortion, a change that will make anti-abortion providers eligible for funding. (Belluck, 2/22)
Reuters:
Trump Administration Bans Abortion Referrals At U.S.-Funded Clinics
The new regulation was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of Title X, a government family planning program that serves about 4 million people. The program currently subsidizes health centers such as those run by the non-profit Planned Parenthood, which provides contraception, health screenings and abortions. Planned Parenthood serves about 41 percent of Title X patients and receives up to $60 million a year in federal funds for family planning services. (2/22)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Bars Clinics That Provide Abortions Or Abortion Referrals From Federal Funding
The change means federally funded family planning clinics can no longer refer a patient for abortion and must maintain a “clear physical and financial separation” between services funded by the government and any organization that provides abortions or abortion referrals. Groups receiving money under the Title X program, which serves an estimated 4 million low-income women, were already prohibited from performing abortions with those funds. The changes, which opponents vowed to challenge, were celebrated by social conservatives who oppose abortion and helped elect President Trump. Health and Human Services Department officials have said they were necessary to ensure transparency and the legal and ethical use of taxpayer funds. (Cha, 2/22)
The Hill:
Trump Steps Up Attack On Planned Parenthood
This could disqualify many of Planned Parenthood’s 600 centers across the country, which receives about a quarter of Title X funds annually to provide reproductive health and preventive services to low-income women. “Planned Parenthood cannot participate in a program that would force our health care providers to compromise our ethics,” President Leana Wen said Friday, when asked by The Hill if Planned Parenthood would continue applying for the funding. (Hellmann, 2/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Curbs Federal Funding For Clinics Providing Abortions
Title X will instead steer more funding toward clinics that discourage women from seeking abortions. In a release following the rule’s publication, HHS officials said the changes are designed to protect providers who want to offer family-planning services but refuse, on the basis of conscience, to receive federal funding that requires them to make referrals for abortion counseling. Antiabortion groups cheered the move, arguing that the Title X program has long helped to indirectly subsidize abortions by supporting clinics that offer them. (Hackman, 2/22)
Politico:
Trump Administration Issues Rule To Strip Millions From Planned Parenthood
Critics of the new policy, which is bound to be litigated in federal court, say it would amount to a "domestic gag rule" that prohibits health care providers from fully counseling their patients on their reproductive choices. Abortion rights groups have already sued the Trump administration over the way grant funding under the program is being distributed, arguing the criteria improperly stress abstinence over access to all FDA-approved forms of contraception. Several state officials, including Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, have announced an intent to sue over the new policy. (Ollstein, 2/22)
Politico:
Trump Abortion Rule Has Both Sides Digging In
"I am committed to fighting the implementation of this rule," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who leads the House's health care appropriations subcommittee. “We’re in the majority now and we have a lot of people in key positions,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who chairs the contraception and family planning task force of the House Pro Choice Caucus, speaking about Democrats' broader reproductive rights agenda. “We’re going to interject ourselves into the appropriations process.” But in the face of a divided government, both sides admit the next two years will largely be a fight to preserve the status quo and rally their bases on the divisive issue ahead of the 2020 election. (Ollstein, 2/22)
The New York Times:
Health Care And Insurance Industries Mobilize To Kill ‘Medicare For All’
Even before Democrats finish drafting bills to create a single-payer health care system, the health care and insurance industries have assembled a small army of lobbyists to kill “Medicare for all,” an idea that is mocked publicly but is being greeted privately with increasing seriousness. Doctors, hospitals, drug companies and insurers are intent on strangling Medicare for all before it advances from an aspirational slogan to a legislative agenda item. They have hired a top lieutenant in Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign to spearhead the effort. And their tactics will show Democrats what they are up against as the party drifts to the left on health care. (Pear, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
Many Shades Of Meaning Behind 'Medicare-For-All'
"Medicare-for-all" can mean different things to different people. For some, it's a single government-run health insurance plan for the whole country. To others, it's giving consumers a choice to buy into Medicare or keep their private insurance. But whatever the form, the proposals are built on the premise that health insurance should be a guaranteed right. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/22)
NPR:
Beyond 'Bumper Sticker' Slogans: 2020 Democrats Debate Details Of Medicare-For-All
Bernie Sanders is back, but one of his signature policies never left. In 2015, he introduced Medicare-for-all to many Democrats for the first time. Since Sanders' first run for president, that type of single-payer health care system has become a mainstream Democratic proposal. Last week, Sanders launched his second presidential campaign, amid a field of presidential candidates who are trying to figure out how to position themselves around the policy. (Kurtzleben, 2/25)
The Hill:
Dems Face Internal Battle Over Budget
Democrats say they broadly agree about addressing problems like climate change, health care, infrastructure and immigration. Where they differ is the scale of the solution. ... Health care is a key example. At the request of the CPC, [House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. John] Yarmuth has agreed to hold hearings on Medicare for all in the spring. He is also planning hearings on the economic cost of climate change. Even if the 2020 budget doesn’t include Medicare for all in its entirety, progressives want it to carve out a path forward. (Elis, 2/24)
Politico:
‘It’s Finally Pharma’s Turn’: Drug CEOs Face Capitol Hill Reckoning
Pharma executives are facing a Capitol Hill grilling on high drug prices Tuesday — bringing them into the same politically treacherous ground as tobacco and tech leaders before them. The Senate Finance Committee hearing is an ominous signal for the drug industry that major legislative reform is on the horizon. It’s reminiscent of previous hearings with businesses that proved to be turning points, leading to massive reforms of Wall Street banks, the health insurance industry and tobacco companies. (Karlin-Smith, 2/25)
Stat:
How Pharma Executives Are Preparing For Tuesday's Congressional Grilling
To avoid the fate of so many executives before them, the pharmaceutical companies are shelling out for lawyers and strategic communications experts who specialize in teaching unpopular corporate figures how to survive a Capitol Hill grilling. STAT spoke with more than a dozen corporate lobbyists, lawyers, and public relations consultants who laid out the extensive preparations that go into avoiding a cable-news catastrophe. Their advice’s central themes: appear contrite and willing to work with lawmakers. Remain humble, even with senators who attack your compensation or lifestyle. And even in the face of aggressive questioning, never — never! — push back with force. (Facher and Florko, 2/25)
Bloomberg:
Drug CEOs Expected To Deflect Blame On Costs At Senate Hearing
Pharmaceutical executives looking to blame drug-plan middlemen for rising prescription costs at a Senate committee hearing next week will be greeted skeptically by lawmakers, said people familiar with the panel’s preparations. Senior officials from seven pharmaceutical giants are scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday to discuss soaring drug prices, which have become a lightning rod in Washington. Drug companies have long pinned climbing prescription costs on rebates that pharmacy-benefit managers negotiate when agreeing to cover certain medicines. (Griffin, 2/22)
Bloomberg:
How Pharma Lost Its Edge In Washington
For decades drug manufacturers in the U.S. have been able to set prices virtually at will. They introduce new pharmaceuticals with five- or even six-figure price tags, while they raise the prices of existing drugs as much as 10 percent a year. Unlike their counterparts in the airline or auto industries, most leaders of these companies have never appeared before Congress. Until now. The heads of pharma giants Merck, Pfizer, and Sanofi, among others, will face members of the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 26, the opening move in what promises to be a long chess match between the prescription drug industry and Congress over how to rein in prices. (Koons and Edney, 2/25)
The Associated Press:
Congress Mulls Cap On What Medicare Enrollees Pay For Drugs
With health care a top issue for American voters, Congress may actually be moving toward doing something this year to address the high cost of prescription drugs. President Donald Trump, Democrats trying to retire him in 2020, and congressional incumbents of both parties all say they want action. Democrats and Republicans are far apart on whether to empower Medicare to negotiate prices, but there's enough overlap to allow for agreement in other areas. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/24)
Reuters:
U.S. Senators Launch Bipartisan Probe Into Rising Insulin Prices
Two top U.S. senators launched an investigation into rising insulin prices on Friday, sending letters to the three leading manufacturers seeking answers as to why the nearly 100-year-old drug's cost has rapidly risen, causing taxpayers to spend millions of dollars a year. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden, the committee's top Democrat, sent letters to the heads of Eli Lilly and Co, Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA, the long-time leading manufacturers of insulin. (Abutaleb, 2/22)
Stat:
FDA Slammed For ‘Reckless Decision’ To Allow A Gout Drug To Remain Available, Despite Heart Risks
Despite indications that a gout pill is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and death, the Food and Drug Administration is allowing the medicine to remain on the market, but will require the label to carry a so-called Black Box, the most serious warning about the risk of a medication. In explaining its decision, the agency maintained that the drug, called Urolic, may benefit some of the roughly 8.3 million Americans who suffer from this form of arthritis. Gout occurs when too much uric acid crystallizes and forms deposits in the joints, causing acute episodes of extreme pain. (Silverman, 2/22)
Stat:
Here Are Five Immediate Takeaways From Roche’s $5 Billion Acquisition Of Spark Therapeutics
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Roche is in talks to buy Spark at a 150 percent premium to the smaller company’s market capitalization as of Friday. The talks could still fall apart, the Journal said, and there is another, unnamed, bidder in the mix. But a deal could be reached as soon as Monday. Here are five things to keep in mind about this news for anyone who cares about the biotechnology sector. (Herper, 2/25)
The New York Times:
UnitedHealth Loses Case To The Health Venture Begun By Amazon, Berkshire-Hathaway And JPMorgan Chase
UnitedHealth Group, the giant health insurance company, on Friday lost its case to prevent a former executive from working at the new health care venture formed by three powerful corporations, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase. A federal judge in Boston denied UnitedHealth’s request to have the executive, David William Smith, immediately stop working. Mr. Smith was an executive at Optum, a unit of UnitedHealth, and it accused him of taking corporate secrets to what it claimed was a competitor. Mr. Smith has denied any wrongdoing. (Abelson, 2/22)
Reuters:
U.S. Judge Will Not Block Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan Health Venture's New Hire
The decision by U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf in Boston came in a lawsuit closely watched in the industry for clues about the future plans of the venture, which was announced in January 2018 with a goal of lowering healthcare costs. UnitedHealth's Optum unit had sought a court order blocking David Smith from working at the venture, saying he could share trade secrets that would give it a competitive advantage. (2/22)
Politico:
Dems Move Toward First Vote To Crack Down On Gun Violence
In the most high-profile congressional vote on gun control in years, House Democrats are set to pass a bipartisan measure this week that mandates federal background checks on all gun sales, including private transactions. House Democrats have also scheduled a vote on legislation to extend the deadline for federal background checks from three business days to as many as 20. The legislation is designed to close the “Charleston Loophole,” which allowed white supremacist Dylann Roof, who killed nine African-Americans at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, to buy a gun despite pending felony drug charges against him. (Bresnahan, 2/25)
Reuters:
Democrats Pursue Subpoenas On Trump Separations Of Immigrant Families
In what is likely to be their first public use of subpoena power since taking over the U.S. House of Representatives in January, Democrats were set to vote on Tuesday on subpoenaing documents on the Trump administration's migrant family separation policy. If approved, the subpoenas by the House Oversight Committee would show Democrats beginning to invoke the investigative clout they obtained when voters in November handed them majority control of the House and took it away from Republicans. (Landay and Hosenball, 2/23)
The Hill:
Wyoming Moves Closer To Medicaid Work Requirement
A bill to establish work requirements for thousands of Medicaid recipients in Wyoming passed its first reading on Friday in the state's House. The Casper Star Tribune reported that the bill survived, despite appearing doomed moments before the vote. ...Work requirements under the bill would not affect parents who have children under age 6 or those who are pregnant or disabled. The bill now must survive two more votes in the House, according to the Star Tribune, before heading to the desk of Gov. Mark Gordon (R). (Bowden, 2/23)
Modern Healthcare:
As Value-Based Efforts Lag, Push For Price Regulation Gains Momentum
For many years, the battle cry of healthcare cost warriors was, “Eliminate all those wasteful services.” More recently that evolved to, “Pay providers based on value rather than volume.” But there were always those who insisted the real problem was, “It's the high prices, stupid.” Now policymakers and experts who favor attacking price increases have gained momentum, with both congressional Democrats and the Trump administration pushing price-setting proposals. (Meyer, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Sorry, ER Patients. People With Elective Procedures Get The Hospital Beds First.
In a medical emergency, you may have a surprisingly difficult time finding a bed in a hospital. This is because elective admissions — that is, patients whose hospital stays have been scheduled in advance — take priority over emergencies. Such a preference for elective admissions might be unexpected, as emergency patients are, by definition, emergencies. But elective patients have attributes that make them financially attractive. They arrive promptly in the morning; they are well-insured; and they undergo invasive procedures that represent a significant revenue stream for hospitals. (Klasco and Wolfe, 2/24)
The Associated Press:
Report: Apps Give Facebook Sensitive Health And Other Data
Several phone apps are sending sensitive user data, including health information, to Facebook without users' consent, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. An analytics tool called "App Events" allows app developers to record user activity and report it back to Facebook, even if the user isn't on Facebook, according to the report. One example detailed by the Journal shows how a woman would track her period and ovulation using an app from Flo Health. After she enters when she last had her period, Facebook software in the app would send along data, such as whether the user may be ovulating. (2/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Popular Apps Cease Sharing Data With Facebook
Since Friday, at least four of the apps that the Journal had identified and contacted as part of its reporting issued updates to cut off transmission of sensitive data to Facebook, a new round of testing showed Sunday. The apps that made the change include Flo Health Inc.’s Flo Period & Ovulation Tracker and Azumio Inc.’s Instant Heart Rate: HR Monitor, the tests showed. Another popular food- and exercise-logging app, Lose It!, from FitNow Inc., also stopped sending Facebook information, Sunday’s test showed. In a test on Thursday, the app had been sending Facebook the weight users logged, along with how much they had gained or lost and the caloric content of every food item they logged. (Schechner, 2/24)
Reuters:
NY Governor Orders Probe Into Facebook Access To Data From Other Apps
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday ordered two state agencies to investigate a media report that Facebook Inc may be accessing far more personal information than previously known from smartphone users, including health and other sensitive data. The directive to New York's Department of State and Department of Financial Services (DFS) came after the Wall Street Journal said testing showed that Facebook collected personal information from other apps on users' smartphones within seconds of them entering it. (2/22)
The New York Times:
Pinterest Restricts Vaccine Search Results To Curb Spread Of Misinformation
Pinterest, a digital platform popular with parents, took an unusual step to crack down on the proliferation of anti-vaccination propaganda: It purposefully hobbled its search box. Type “vaccine” into its search bar and nothing pops up. “Vaccination” or “anti-vax”? Also nothing. Pinterest, which allows people to save pictures on virtual pinboards, is often used to find recipes for picky toddlers, baby shower décor or fashion trends, but it has also become a platform for anti-vaccination activists who spread misinformation on social media. (Caron, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
Hospital: 5 Patients Given Overdoses May Have Been Treatable
Five hospital patients who died after getting potentially fatal doses of pain medication may have been given those drugs when there still was a chance to improve their conditions with treatment, an Ohio health system said Friday as its investigation continued. The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System said it is notifying families of those five people, who were among dozens of patients that received excessive doses ordered by one of its doctors. (2/22)
The Washington Post:
Overcoming Opioid And Alcohol Addiction Is Rough, But Recovery Happens
In addiction phraseology, it’s often called “rock bottom.” It’s a state of mind known as the nadir of suffering, an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. Sometimes it’s a jumpoff point at which misery is traded for normalcy and meaning, where one life ends and another begins. Ryan Hess’s rock bottom came during a drizzly December in Ohio. He was yet again high on heroin, and he had been that way for more hours than he could remember. The 33-year-old lay on a filthy sweatshirt beneath a piece — just a small piece — of tent, stolen from a stranger’s garden shed. His socks and shoes were wet, his breath and body reeked. (Fleming, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Should Drug Dealers Be Charged With Murder? States Ponder
Having lost his 29-year-old son to a fentanyl overdose, Dean Palozej believes dealers who peddle drugs that kill should be locked up for a very long time — for the rest of their life, in some cases. A state representative who heard the story felt the same way. With a piece of legislation introduced this year, he joined lawmakers around the country who have been pushing for murder or manslaughter charges in a get-tough campaign against people who supply drugs that cause fatal overdoses, in efforts to curb the opioid overdose crisis. (Collins, 2/25)
The Washington Post:
How To Stay Up-To-Date On Medical Scams, Quackery, Deadly Treatments
A “cure” that seems too good to be true. A doctor who profits from ineffective or dangerous “treatments.” A product that doesn’t do what it says. All three are health-care frauds — and they can cheat you out of more than money. But how can you arm yourself against these hucksters and scams? The Food and Drug Administrations’s Health Fraud Scams website is a good start. (Blakemore, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
‘Every 30 Seconds Another Alarm Is Going Off’: Neonatal ICUs Can Take Their Toll On Parents
For the casual visitor, the most striking thing about a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit is the noise. An orchestra of alarms beeps incessantly. The lights are dim, the shades are drawn and the air inside the NICU’s sterile environment is thick with parental anxiety. When babies are born prematurely or sick, they are separated from parents, hooked up to tubes and wires, and cared for in transparent incubators. To understand what is happening to their children, family members must learn a strange new medical vernacular while they await discharge. (Durairaj, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Florida Doctor And Mom Free Hess Exposes Suicide Tips Hidden In Clips On YouTube And YouTube Kids
Free Hess, a pediatrician and mother, had learned about the chilling videos over the summer when another mom spotted one on YouTube Kids. She said that minutes into the clip from a children’s video game, a man appeared on the screen — offering instructions on how to commit suicide. “I was shocked,” Hess said, noting that since then, the scene has been spliced into several more videos from the popular Nintendo game Splatoon on YouTube and YouTube Kids, a video app for children. Hess, from Ocala, Fla., has been blogging about the altered videos and working to get them taken down amid an outcry from parents and child health experts, who say such visuals can be damaging to children. (Bever, 2/24)
NPR:
Social Media Spreads Rage But Kindness Can Stop It In Its Tracks
Even if you're not aware of it, it's likely that your emotions will influence someone around you today. This can happen during our most basic exchanges, say on your commute to work. "If someone smiles at you, you smile back at them," says sociologist Nicholas Christakis of Yale University. "That's a very fleeting contagion of emotion from one person to another." But it doesn't stop there. Emotions can spread through social networks almost like the flu or a cold. And, the extent to which emotions can cascade is eye-opening. (Aubrey, 2/25)
USA Today:
Parent Coaches: Why Moms And Dads, Including Celebrities, Hire Them
Katie Zimmerman has two daughters who are 8 months apart. How? She adopted a little girl and then found out she was pregnant. The most challenging part of having two kids so close in age? Getting them to sleep, she said. For months, Zimmerman was constantly exhausted because one child was always awake. To find relief and advice, she didn't call her mom or consult other parents. She called Chesea Kunde, a professional parent coach. (Haller, 2/24)
NPR:
To Adapt To Adversity, Learn To Have A Flexible Sense Of Self
What if we told you that you could learn a lot about handling adversity from the life of a bug? In their explorations of humans and how we interact with the world around us, the team that makes NPR's Invisibilia stumbled on a surprising fact about the insect world — one that could inspire a new way of looking at ourselves. The epic destruction wrought by swarms of locusts is downright biblical. Exodus tells of a plague that left nothing green in all of Egypt, and we've seen these harbingers of destruction at work in modern day Australia, Argentina and Israel, just to name a few. But for centuries, one essential piece of information about these strange insects eluded scientists: Where do they come from? (Simstrom, 2/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Your Avocados And Olives Are Pricier Because Fat Is In Fashion
Farmers around the globe are struggling to keep up with an increasing global appetite for fats that are perceived as healthy, leading to long-term disruptions in food prices. From Mexico to Norway to New Zealand, avocado growers, fish farmers and butter producers are struggling to increase output so they can meet surging demand, but environmental constraints and other challenges are limiting how much they can churn out. (Craymer, 2/25)
The New York Times:
Japan Battles Worst Measles Outbreak In Years
Health officials in Japan are combating the country’s worst measles outbreak in years, with many infections clustered among attendees of a Valentine’s Day gift fair and a religious group that avoids vaccinations. A total of 167 cases were reported in 20 of Japan’s 47 prefectures as of Feb. 10, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said, with the largest outbreaks in the prefectures of Mie and Osaka. It is the fastest Japan has reached that many cases at the beginning of the year since 2008. (Ramzy and Ueno, 2/22)
The Associated Press:
High-Stakes Trial Over Roundup Cancer Claim To Begin
A jury in federal court in San Francisco will decide whether Roundup weed killer caused a California man's cancer in a trial starting Monday that plaintiffs' attorneys say could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits. Edwin Hardeman, 70, is the second plaintiff to go to trial of thousands around the country who claim agribusiness giant Monsanto's weed killer causes cancer. Monsanto says studies have established that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, is safe. (2/25)
The Hill:
Colorado Lawmaker Moving To Eliminate Personal Belief Vaccine Exemptions
A Colorado state lawmaker is drafting legislation to eliminate an exemption that allows parents to opt out of vaccinating their children for personal reasons. The Denver Channel reported Friday that Democratic Rep. Kyle Mullica has begun drafting the bill, which would make it more difficult for parents to opt out of vaccinations. (Bowden, 2/23)
The Associated Press:
Special Unit To Move Mental Patients Under Consideration
Overhauling how South Carolina handles mental patients who must be brought to hospitals under the order of a doctor or a court is a more difficult problem than they expected, a group of senators said. Sen. Marlon Kimpson began working on the bill in fall, just weeks after two mental health patients drowned in the back of a locked police van while being moved during Hurricane Florence. (2/23)
The Washington Post:
Craft Beer Wars In Maryland: Comptroller Peter Franchot Vs. Sen. Ben Kramer
A struggle over whether to strip alcohol regulation from the Maryland comptroller’s office turned ugly last week as each side accused the other of putting politics over public health and safety. In the past two years, Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) has pushed legislation that would remove caps on how much craft beer can be made and sold in local breweries. The effort did not succeed, and he angered some fellow Democrats with rhetoric accusing state lawmakers — including House Speaker Michael E. Busch (Anne Arundel) — of being under the thumb of big beer distributors. (Thompson, 2/24)
The Associated Press:
Doctors, Physician And Nursing Assistants Would Pay More To Practice Under New Washington Rules
Washington state regulators plan to increase the fees doctors and physician assistants must pay to renew their license to practice, citing increased costs tied to discipline as the primary cause of double-digit hikes. The increases are among the first revisions to licensure fees for health care professionals in a phased approach that could affect the tens of thousands of health care workers in Spokane County. The state Department of Health will hold a public meeting on the fee increases in Tumwater next week, amid pushback from the trade group representing the state’s practicing physicians who say the agency hasn’t yet made its case that the hikes, between 54 percent and 96 percent, are urgently needed. (Hill, 2/24)