First Edition: April 12, 2018

Kaiser Health News: Medical Marijuana’s ‘Catch-22’: Fed Limits On Research Hinder Patients’ Relief
By the time Ann Marie Owen turned to marijuana to treat her pain, she was struggling to walk and talk. She also hallucinated. For four years, her doctor prescribed the 61-year-old a wide range of opioids for her transverse myelitis, a debilitating disease that caused pain, muscle weakness and paralysis.The drugs not only failed to ease her symptoms, they hooked her. (Taylor and Bailey, 4/12)

Kaiser Health News: What We Know And Don’t Know About Memory Loss After Surgery
Two years ago, Dr. Daniel Cole’s 85-year-old father had heart bypass surgery. He hasn’t been quite the same since. “He forgets things and will ask you the same thing several times,” said Cole, a professor of clinical anesthesiology at UCLA and a past president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. “He never got back to his cognitive baseline,” Cole continued, noting that his father was sharp as a tack before the operation. “He’s more like 80 percent.” (Graham, 4/12)

Kaiser Health News: Make Room For Baby: After Giving Birth, Duckworth Presses Senate To Bend Rules
It is so common that it likely will have happened at least once somewhere in the United States by the time you finish reading this sentence. But it took more than 230 years for it to happen to a senator. On Monday, Tammy Duckworth became the first sitting senator to give birth, forcing Senate leaders to face how ill prepared they may be to accommodate the needs of a new mother. (Huetteman, 4/11)

The Associated Press: Speaker Ryan's Legacy To Include New Tax Code, Busted Budget
House Speaker Paul Ryan will leave Congress having achieved one of his career goals: rewriting the tax code. On his other defining aim — balancing the budget and cutting back benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — Ryan has utterly failed. Ryan, a budget geek with a passion for details who announced Wednesday that he would retire next year, proved adroit in drawing up budget plans that balanced on paper but didn't get beyond the hypothetical. (Taylor, 4/12)

Modern Healthcare: House Speaker Ryan To Retire With A Mixed Legacy On Health Policy
House Speaker Paul Ryan will leave office in January likely without having achieved two of his top health policy priorities: repealing the Affordable Care Act and tackling entitlement reform. The Wisconsin Republican confirmed Wednesday that he won't seek re-election in November. He is now one of 38 sitting Republican House lawmakers who won't seek re-election in a cycle that retiring Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) described as a referendum on President Donald Trump "and his conduct in office." Ryan leaves an uncertain legacy when it comes to healthcare policy. (Luthi, 4/11)

The New York Times: Ryan Found Himself On The Margins As The G.O.P. Moved Right
Once described as “the intellectual center of Republicans in the House,” Mr. Ryan has styled himself as a master of policy, someone who understood the arcane details of budgeting, the tax code and health care. ... By that time, Mr. Ryan had carved out a niche as a rare creature in the House: someone who was admired in most conservative circles, and who had the respect of nearly everyone in his conference. He also presented himself as a younger and more modern face of the Republican Party. (Stolberg and Kaplan, 4/11)

The Washington Post: Fiscal Hawk Ryan Leaves Behind Growing Deficits And A Changed GOP
Fiscal issues have long been Ryan’s focus, as chairman of the Budget Committee and then the Ways and Means Committee, and it’s there that his failure to deliver looks most glaring, given years of promises and budget proposals aimed at slashing spending and reining in entitlements. Ryan acknowledged Wednesday that “more work needs to be done. And it really is entitlements.” But he added that he was proud that the House had passed what he described as “the biggest entitlement reform bill ever considered in the House of Representatives,” a reference to legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act and remaking the Medicaid program. That bill was rejected by the Senate. (Werner, 4/11)

The Wall Street Journal: With Paul Ryan's Exit, GOP Loses Advocate For Changes To Retirement, Healthcare
When House Speaker Paul Ryan leaves Congress, the Republican party will lose its most influential advocate for changes to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. As Budget committee chairman, a vice presidential running mate to Mitt Romney in 2012, Ways and Means chairman and finally House speaker, Mr. Ryan had pressed for curbs on federal spending on the three programs. These retirement and health care programs are popular with voters, but their costs are rising faster than the funds to pay for them. (Radnofsky and Timiraos, 4/12)

Modern Healthcare: Where The ACA Health Insurance Exchanges Stand In 2018
Though enrollment in the exchanges slipped and insurers hiked premiums by an average of 30%, the size of the premium tax credits available to most exchange enrollees ballooned enough that the average subsidized shopper paid a lower premium for coverage than the year before. Even so, the individual on-exchange ACA plans remain unaffordable for millions of people who aren’t eligible for financial help. Congress has yet to pass legislation to bolster the market and bring down premiums, and is unlikely to do so before insurers must file 2019 rates later this spring. (Livingston, 4/11)

Stat: NIH Looking At Alcohol Industry Influence 'In A Very Aggressive Way'
The controversy over research conducted by the National Institutes of Health on the health impacts of moderate drinking has reached Capitol Hill, where a lawmaker on Wednesday stridently questioned the agency’s director, Francis Collins, over the NIH’s reportedly cozy relationship with the alcohol industry. In response to a question about reports that the NIH had allowed industry partnerships to influence research into alcohol use and the impact of alcohol marketing, Collins told Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) that the NIH is “looking into this in a very aggressive way.” (Facher, 4/11)

The Hill: NIH Investigating 'Alarming' Report On Funding For Alcohol Study: Official
Public health advocates argue the fundraising violates NIH policy, which prohibits employees from soliciting or suggesting donations to support activities. "I am also very concerned about the materials that have been reported ... about these circumstances, which I agree are alarming," Collins said Wednesday during a congressional hearing on the NIH's budget request. "We are looking at this in a very aggressive way." (Hellmann, 4/11)

Stat: Senator Lashes Out At Drug Makers For Buying Back Stock, Not Cutting Prices
Amid ongoing debate over the effect of the recent tax law, one lawmaker complains that shareholders in the nation’s 10 largest drug makers will reap a “windfall,” but the average American will not share in the bounty because none of these companies is using tax cuts to lower prescription medicine prices. In a new report, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) noted that several of the companies have announced more than $45 billion in stock buybacks, but overall, there has been only “limited mention” of investments in ways that could benefit patients and workers, such as increases in R&D and capital investment for building new facilities and creating jobs. (Silverman, 4/11)

Stat: FDA-Designated 'Breakthrough' Therapies May Not Be Real Breakthroughs
In a review of three years of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration under a “breakthrough therapy” pathway, researchers argue that some of the compounds are not actually scientific breakthroughs, which they say could be potentially misleading to the public. “You have newly approved breakthrough therapy drugs that may not be any better than existing treatments, and in some cases, it’s possible they could be even worse,” said Jonathan Darrow, lead author of the paper and faculty member of Harvard Medical School. (Swetlitz, 4/11)

The Associated Press: Insurers Look To Pass Drug Price Breaks Straight To Consumer
Some major health insurers plan to take a little sting out of prescription drug prices by giving customers rebates at the pharmacy counter. Aetna and UnitedHealthcare both say they will begin passing rebates they get from drugmakers along to some customers starting next year. They could spark a trend: The idea has been championed by President Donald Trump, and it's something other bill-payers like major employers might consider. (4/11)

Stat: SEC Considers Civil Charges Against Clovis Oncology Over Trial Data For Discarded Drug
For investors in Clovis Oncology (CLVS), this may be a case of “Better late, than never.” Two years after an R&D expert publicly questioned the veracity of clinical trial data released by the drug maker, the company disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission may pursue a civil enforcement action or administrative proceeding against the company. (Silverman, 4/11)

Bloomberg: Asbestos In Talc Products Verdict Means J&J, Imerys Owe Millions
Johnson & Johnson and a talc-mining company were ordered by jurors to pay $80 million in punitive damages for hiding that their products, including J&J’s iconic baby powder, had been tainted by asbestos and posed a cancer risk. The New Jersey jury’s award brings to a total of $117 million that J&J and a unit of Imerys SA must pay investment banker Stephen Lanzo III over his claims the companies’ asbestos-laced talc products caused his cancer in what may be a precedent-setting case for U.S. talc litigation. (Feeley and Fisk, 4/11)

Stat: ‘Therabros’ And ‘Disappeared’ Staffers: The 8 Juiciest Things We Learned From John Carreyrou’S New Theranos Book
Theranos this week laid off all but about two dozen of its remaining employees — the latest indignity for the once-fabulously rich blood-testing company that’s become a parable for Silicon Valley hubris. As with much of the flood of bad news for Theranos, word of the layoffs came from John Carreyrou, the investigative reporter at the Wall Street Journal who was the first to break the story of the company’s troubles in October 2015 and who later landed a string of Theranos-related scoops. (Robbins, 4/12)

The Washington Post: Virginia Legislature Meets For A Special Budget Session And Will Decide Whether To Expand Medicaid To 400,000 Poor Virginians
Virginia’s General Assembly launched its second attempt to adopt a state budget Wednesday, kicking off a special session amid a thaw in the Medicaid standoff that brought the first go-round to a halt last month. Republicans, who control both chambers of the legislature, are split over whether to expand Medicaid to as many as 400,000 low-income Virginians; the House supports expansion while the Senate has opposed it. Those differences prevented the approval of a two-year budget during the regular session that ended March 10. (Vozzella and Schneider, 4/11)

The Associated Press: Medicaid Expansion Still Unresolved In General Assembly
After a Republican senator switched sides last week, there is now a majority of lawmakers in both chambers who support expansion. Proponents are more optimistic than ever. “It’ll take a while, but it’ll happen,” said Democratic Sen. Dick Saslaw. But key differences remain among expansion supporters — including whether to enact a related hospital tax — and opposition among many Republicans remains strong. “There are some people that are truly dug in on the issue,” said Republican Sen. Bryce Reeves. (Suderman, 4/11)

The Associated Press: In Opioid Epidemic, Some Cities Strain To Afford OD Antidote
An overdose-reversal drug is a critical tool to easing America's coast-to-coast opioid epidemic. But not everyone on the front lines has all they need. Baltimore's health department is rationing its supplies of naloxone because it says it can't afford an adequate stockpile. City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen says they are forced to make hard decisions weekly about who gets the life-saving drug. (McFadden, 4/12)

The Hill: Poll: More Americans View Opioid Addiction As Serious Problem 
More Americans see opioid addiction as a significant issue in their communities than did two years ago, according to a new poll. Forty-three percent of Americans say the use of prescription pain drugs is an extremely or very serious problem in their communities, up from 33 percent two years ago, according to an Associated Press-NORC poll released Wednesday. (Hellmann, 4/11)

CQ: House And Senate Panels Plan To Act Soon On Opioids Bills
The Senate health panel plans to approve legislation to curb the opioid addiction crisis in less than two weeks, Chairman Lamar Alexander said Wednesday. “Our intention is to mark up the bill and report legislation to the full Senate by the end of the month,” said the Tennessee Republican, identifying April 24 as the target date. The remarks came during the seventh hearing that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee convened since October on the opioid crisis. (Raman, 4/11)

The Associated Press: Kentucky School Wins $150K For Device That Picks Up Needles
A Kentucky middle school has won a nationwide competition for creating a device that can safely pick up used needles and other drug paraphernalia. News outlets report Ashland Middle School won $150,000 Wednesday from Samsung. The hand-held device looks like a plastic box with flexible teeth that first responders and others can use to avoid touching needles. (4/11)

The New York Times: Morning People May Live Longer Than Night Owls
Morning people may live longer than night owls, a new study suggests. Researchers studied 433,268 people, aged 38 to 73, who defined themselves as either “definite morning” types, “moderate morning” types, “moderate evening” types or “definite evening” types. They followed their health for an average of six-and-a-half years, tracking cause of death with death certificates. The study is in Chronobiology International. (Bakalar, 4/12)

Los Angeles Times: Bad News For Night Owls. Their Risk Of Early Death Is 10% Higher Than For Early Risers, Study Finds
Scientists have long studied whether night owls are saddled with health impacts — some research has linked a preference for sleeping late to higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity, among others. But little was known on whether there was a link between sleeping late and the ultimate outcome: an earlier death. "We wanted to see whether this translated also into an increased risk of mortality and no one had done that before," said lead author Kristen Knutson, an anthropologist at Northwestern University. (Khan, 4/11)

Stat: Could CRISPR Create Monster Animals? STAT Reviews 'Rampage'
We here at STAT cover CRISPR a lot. But it’s not every day we get to cover Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock and the genome-editing technology meet in a new movie, “Rampage,” coming out Friday. Through a freak accident, a gorilla, a wolf, and a crocodile ingest some CRISPR complexes. The animals — whose genomes become edited to make them stronger, bigger, faster, and more aggressive — soon wreak havoc on the city of Chicago. (Thielking and Joseph, 4/12)

The Associated Press: Risk Of Zika Infection Through Sex May Last Only A Month
Signs of Zika infection can be seen in semen for as long as nine months, but the risk of sexual transmission appears to end in one month, according to a study published Wednesday. The study suggests health officials have been overly cautious in advising couples to abstain from sex or to use condoms for at least six months after a male partner comes down with Zika. (Stobbe, 4/11)

Stat: Study Suggests Risk Of Sexual Transmission Of Zika May Dissipate Quickly
When Zika infections flared throughout Latin America, there was enormous concern that men carrying the virus could transmit it to women through sex — potentially infecting developing fetuses, if the women were pregnant. But it was unclear how long the risk might last. A new study from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not definitely answer the question, but it offers public health agencies data to assess — and suggests infected men might not shed the virus in their semen for as long as was once thought. (Branswell, 4/11)

The New York Times: Why Exercise Alone May Not Be The Key To Weight Loss
If you give a mouse a running wheel, it will run. But it may not burn many additional calories, because it will also start to move differently when it is not on the wheel, according to an interesting new study of the behaviors and metabolisms of exercising mice. The study, published in Diabetes, involved animals, but it could have cautionary implications for people who start exercising in the hopes of losing weight. (Raynolds, 4/11)

NPR: Does The U.S. Need More Male OB-GYNs?
As she leaves a 12-hour-day on the labor and delivery shift, Dr. Katie Merriam turns off her pager."I don't know what I'd do without it, you know? It's another limb. I always know where it is," she says and laughs. The third-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the Carolinas Medical Center hospital in Charlotte, N.C., works in a medical specialty dominated by women, treating women. Merriam says she feels a special connection to her patients. (Olgin, 4/12)

The Washington Post: Heart Surgery: Sadie Rutenberg And The World's Smallest Mechanical Heart Valve
When Sadie Rutenberg was born, she had a gaping hole between the two sides of her heart, and her heart valves were malformed and leaking. In her first few months of life, she had already undergone two open-heart surgeries; but the damage was too extensive to repair, and the blond-haired, blue-eyed infant was failing to thrive. Her parents said there was no choice — they would have to take a risk, or their child might not survive. (Bever, 4/11)

The Associated Press: Federal Lawsuit Seeks To Block Kentucky's New Abortion Law
Kentucky lawmakers and the American Civil Liberties Union are again locked in battle over abortion rights. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday shortly after Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed a new law banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure known as "dilation and evacuation. "Kentucky's GOP-led legislature passed the bill overwhelmingly. It is the second abortion law in as many years to draw a court challenge. (Schreiner, 4/11)

The Hill: ACLU Sues Kentucky Over Ban On Common Abortion Method After 11 Weeks 
“We’re suing Kentucky yet again — this time to stop state politicians from banning a safe abortion method,” said Talcott Camp, deputy director with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “This law disregards a woman’s health and decisions in favor of a narrow ideological agenda.” Dilation and evacuation involves dilating the cervix and removing the fetus using suction and surgical tools. (Hellmann, 4/11)

The Hill: Arizona House Passes Bill Requiring Women To Provide Reason For Abortion
The Arizona state House of Representatives passed a bill requiring women to provide the reason why they’re obtaining an abortion. The bill, passed on party lines Monday, would require women to fill out an extensive questionnaire about their reasons to obtain the abortion, HuffPost reported. (Thomsen, 4/11)

The Associated Press: Nurse Fired, Arrested After Patient Dies At Texas Hospital
A former nurse who was fired last month from a Texas hospital has been charged with murder in the death of a patient last year and will likely face additional charges for hurting other patients in six other cases, police announced Wednesday. William George Davis was being held on a $2 million bond after he was arrested Tuesday evening in the August death of 47-year-old Christopher Greenaway. Police say aggravated assault charges could also be filed against Davis. (4/11)

The Associated Press: Nixon: Support For Legalizing Marijuana Use A Racial Issue
A week after telling two interviewers her support for legalizing recreational use of marijuana in New York was revenue-based, Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon said Wednesday that it's now foremost a racial justice issue for her. The "Sex and the City" star posted a 90-second video on YouTube in which she stated that it's time New York joined eight other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational use of marijuana. (4/11)

The Washington Post: John Boehner's Reversal On Cannabis: Former Speaker Of The House Joins Acreage Holdings, Says Thinking On Drug Has Evolved
John A. Boehner, the former Republican speaker of the House who once said he was “unalterably opposed” to decriminalizing marijuana laws, has joined a board of directors for a cannabis company with an eye on rolling back federal regulations. The former Ohio congressman has been appointed to the board of advisers of Acreage Holdings, invoking the need for veterans to access the drug legally to explain his change of heart, Boehner said in a statement Wednesday. The company grows and sells legal weed and operates in 11 states. (Horton and Ingraham, 4/11)