First Edition: August 31, 2018
NOTE TO READERS: KHN's First Edition will not be published Sept. 3. Look for it again in your inbox Sept. 4. Here's today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?
A Texas hospital that charged a teacher $108,951 for care after a heart attack slashed the bill to $332.29 Thursday — but not before the huge charge sparked a national conversation over what should be done to combat surprise medical bills that afflict a growing number of Americans. The story of Drew Calver was first reported by Kaiser Health News and NPR on Monday as part of the “Bill of the Month” series, which examines U.S. health care prices and the troubles patients run up against in the $3.5 trillion industry. (Terhune, 8/31)
Kaiser Health News:
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!
This week, KHN’s “What the Health?” panelists answered questions submitted by listeners. Among the topics covered were the origins of coverage in Medicare and Medicaid, telehealth, wellness plans and why doctors get paid the way they do. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico. Kaiser Health News will post a transcript of the podcast later. (8/30)
The Hill:
Washington's Fall Agenda: Pre-Existing Conditions Fight Takes Center Stage In Midterms
Health care is one of the issues taking center stage in this November’s midterm elections as Democrats press Republicans on preserving protections for pre-existing conditions under ObamaCare. But there is also plenty of unfinished work for Congress and the administration this fall, from passing opioid legislation to tackling drug costs. (Hellmann and Sullivan, 8/30)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare ACOs Saved CMS $314 Million In 2017
The CMS made a profit from the Medicare Shared Savings Program last year as more accountable care organizations moved to risk-based contracts and gained experience, new federal data show. About 60% of the 472 Medicare ACOs generated a total of $1.1 billion in savings in 2017, according to the CMS data set released Thursday. The CMS paid $780 million in bonuses to the ACOs, but the agency still scored a $313.7 million gain from the program. (Castellucci and Dickson, 8/30)
The New York Times:
How Modern Medicine Has Changed The Supreme Court
Two related health trends mean that each Supreme Court nomination now has the potential to shape the nation’s highest court for far longer than in the past. One is that Americans live decades longer than they did when the country was founded. At the same time, medical and public health advances have changed the dominant causes of death from infectious to chronic diseases. Infectious diseases typically kill fast, while chronic ones have a longer course. This shift toward a longer and slower decline, as opposed to more rapid death, means that justices are more able to select the administrations and political environments in which to end their terms — to, in effect, pass the baton. (Khullar and Jena, 8/31)
Politico:
Inside Kavanaugh's Hearing Prep: Mock Hearings And Faux Protesters
The White House is making last-minute preparations for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearings next week, holding final prep sessions and setting up a pair of rapid-response war rooms. Kavanaugh, a Washington veteran who worked for President George W. Bush and helped write the Starr Report, has called on his vast network to help him get ready for the hearings. His former clerks, lawyers from the conservative Federalist Society and even Republican senators have participated in nearly a dozen practice sessions designed to mimic the conditions of the often grueling hearings, according to a White House official. (Restuccia, Schor and Woellert, 8/30)
Stat:
CVS Exec: Our New Reliance On Cost Effectiveness Should Make Drug Makers 'Think About Launch Prices'
In a bid to dampen rising drug costs, CVS Caremark plans to allow its clients — such as health plans and employers — to exclude from their formularies any new medicine that has a higher price than a particular benchmark for determining value. The pharmacy benefit manager will set a threshold of $100,000 per QALY, or quality-of-life years, a barometer that measures both the quantity and quality of life generated by providing a treatment or some other health care intervention. The move, which begins Jan. 1, comes as PBMs are under pressure to demonstrate their own value at a time of rising drug prices. We spoke with Dr. Troyen Brennan, an executive vice president and chief medical officer at CVS Health (CVS), the parent company, about the implications. (Silverman, 8/31)
The Associated Press:
Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against California Drug Price Law
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block a California law requiring pharmaceutical companies to give advance notice before big price increases. U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr., ruled Thursday in Sacramento that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America failed to show that the court has jurisdiction to hear the case. He gave PhRMA 30 days to refile. (8/30)
The Associated Press:
Heroin-Fentanyl Mix Led To Drug Exposure Concerns At Prison
A substance that led to nearly 30 people at an Ohio prison being treated for drug exposure or suspected exposure was a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, the State Highway Patrol said. Prison guards, nurses and inmates at Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe were treated Wednesday with the anti-overdose drug naloxone after an inmate showed signs of a drug overdose, and some people experienced symptoms consistent with exposure to the opioid fentanyl. Medical officials said symptoms such as nausea, sweating and drowsiness were reported. (Cornwell, 8/30)
The Washington Post:
Fentanyl Exposure Sickened Ohio Prison Staff
In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, a statewide prison lockdown was ordered Wednesday after an uptick this month in the number of staff members who have become mildly sick while on duty, corrections spokeswoman Amy Worden said. She said 29 employees at 10 prisons have fallen ill since early August. One of the employees was accidentally exposed to synthetic marijuana, Worden said. Although the causes of the other illnesses are unknown, she said, officials think the staff members might have been exposed to the residue of dangerous substances, including opioids, while handling inmates. (Duggan, 8/30)
CNN:
Technology Is Changing The Way You See A Doctor, But Is That Good For Your Health?
One morning, Charlie Latuske woke up feverish and somewhat delirious in his home in Surrey in the UK, leaving him unable to function and in need of a doctor. He'd endured a sore throat and general malaise for a few days, believing it would get better, but that morning in August 2017, he knew that he had to do something about it. "I was quite out of it," said 27-year old Latuske, who was also due to go on vacation with his wife in just three days. (Senthilingam, 8/30)
The New York Times:
Lost In The Storm
Wayne Dailey sat in a waiting area at a Houston hospital, anxious for word about his wife. He and his sister stared at the television to distract themselves. It was Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, and broadcasters described a large storm moving off the Yucatán Peninsula with Texas in its sights, potentially bringing historic flooding to Houston that weekend. Wayne, who as a child in Galveston County spent hours watching the cloudscapes drift over the Gulf of Mexico, kept multiple weather apps on his phone and had already been tracking the storm. “It’s going to get us,” he told his sister. But coastal storms were a part of life that he had prepared for, and they did not concern him. (Fink, 8/30)
The New York Times:
A Fertility Doctor Used His Sperm On Unwitting Women. Their Children Want Answers.
To couples at the end of their ropes who wanted children but could not conceive them for medical reasons, Dr. Donald Cline was a savior of sorts, offering to match the women with sperm from anonymous men resembling their partners. Many couples sought Dr. Cline out at his Indianapolis-area fertility clinic during the 1970s and ’80s. They had children, who grew up and had children of their own. (Zaveri, 8/30)
Stat:
This Harvard Doctor Has Worn Both A Hospital Gown And A White Coat
[Shekinah] Elmore is a lot of things: She is both a cancer doctor and a “cancer person” — she’s not keen on the word “survivor.” Now 36 and a fourth-year resident in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, Elmore has Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a genetic disorder that puts her at high risk for a range of cancers. Having worn both a hospital gown and white coat, she moves through her work with a kind of double vision, seeing through the eyes of a patient and of a provider. The two views are hard to reconcile, and leave her wondering what can be done to bridge the gaps that exist between doctors and their patients. (Farber, 8/31)
CNN:
Pediatricians Drop Age Limit For Rear-Facing Car Seats
Children should ride in rear-facing car seats until they reach the height or weight limit for the seat, according to updated recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This changes the academy's previous guidance, which said children should ride in rear-facing seats until at least age 2. The new recommendation eliminates the age-specific milestone to turn a child's car seat around. (Gumbrecht, 8/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Crispr Used To Repair Gene Mutation In Dogs With Muscular Dystrophy
Researchers used a gene-editing tool to repair a gene mutation in dogs with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an important step in efforts to someday use the tool to edit DNA in people with the same fatal disease. In a study published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and the Royal Veterinary College in London reported that they used the Crispr gene-editing system in four dogs to restore production of dystrophin, a protein crucial for healthy muscle function. (Marcus, 8/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Your DNA, Your Diet: How Nutrition Is Being Personalized
Cynthia Fife-Townsel, a Chicago librarian, had been researching nutrition and DNA profiling to help her understand her body and improve her health. So when she saw an advertisement offering an at-home DNA and blood-test kit from a company called Habit for just $200, she decided to give it a try. (Ostroff, 8/30)
The New York Times:
The Bugs Are Coming, And They’ll Want More Of Our Food
Ever since humans learned to wrest food from soil, creatures like the corn earworm, the grain weevil and the bean fly have dined on our agricultural bounty. Worldwide, insect pests consume up to 20 percent of the plants that humans grow for food, and that amount will increase as global warming makes bugs hungrier, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science. That could encourage farmers to use more pesticides, which could cause further environmental harm, scientists said. (Pierre-Louis, 8/30)
The New York Times:
Too Many Chinese Children Need Glasses. Beijing Blames Video Games.
It started this week with a call to action from China’s leader, Xi Jinping. Too many of the country’s children need glasses, he said, and the government was going to do something about it. It ended on Friday with billions of dollars being wiped from the market value of the world’s largest video game company. (Zhong, 8/31)
The New York Times:
Little Decline In Number Of Children In Public Housing With High Lead Levels, Report Says
For more than a decade, New York City made steady progress in reducing the number of children living in public housing who have tested positive for lead, but that trend ended about the same time that the city’s housing authority stopped inspecting its apartments for lead-paint hazards. That was one upshot of a report on lead poisoning released on Thursday by the city’s Department of Health. Overall, the report showed the number of city children with elevated levels of lead in their blood had dropped to a record low of about 5,300. (Sadurni, 8/30)
The Associated Press:
Hospital Staff Question Officials After 2nd Attack In A Week
Staff say another nurse was attacked at Washington state's troubled psychiatric hospital this week, just days after an incident Sunday in which a patient is accused of punching a nurse, knocking her to the floor and stomping on her head. Workers at Western State Hospital rallied Thursday to demand changes in the way officials assign dangerous patients to wards and to call for an increase in staffing. Newly appointed CEO Dave Holt and Tonik Joseph, deputy assistant secretary of the state's Behavioral Health Administration, spent about two hours hearing grievances from more than 80 workers gathered in an amphitheater. The workers shouted out or raised their hands to question the leaders. (8/30)
The Associated Press:
Last Heart Transplant Doctor Leaves Oregon Hospital
The only remaining doctor in Oregon's only heart transplant program has resigned, leaving the state with no medical facilities that can perform the life-saving procedure. Oregon Health & Science University is now working to transfer the 20 patients on its waiting list to other transplant centers, including those in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Thursday. (8/30)