First Edition: April 3, 2018

Kaiser Health News: Psychiatrist Stays Close To Home And True To Her Childhood Promise
Dr. Yamanda Edwards, the daughter of a truck driver and a stay-at-home mom, grew up just a few miles from Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center, at the time an iconic yet troubled hospital in South Los Angeles. As a child in the 1990s, she knew little of its history — how it rose from the ashes of the Watts riots. And she knew no one in the medical profession. (Gorman, 4/3)

Kaiser Health News: Don’t Get Tripped Up By The IRS’ Tweak To Health Savings Accounts
It’s tax time, and this week I answered questions from readers about the penalty for not having health insurance as well as changes to health savings accounts. I also discuss health insurance coverage options for a reader’s parents who are immigrants and green card holders. (4/3)

Kaiser Health News: Americans Have Mixed Feelings About The ACA’s Future — But Like Their Plans
Most Americans are happy with the insurance they buy on the individual market, yet those same people think the markets are collapsing before their eyes. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, released Tuesday, found that 61 percent of people enrolled in marketplace plans are satisfied with their insurance choices and that a majority say they are not paying more this year compared with last year’s premium costs. (Bluth, 4/3)

The Washington Post: Iowa Tries Another End Run Around The Affordable Care Act
As a growing number of Republican-led states look for end runs around the Affordable Care Act, Iowa is embracing a strategy that contends that not all health plans are actually health insurance. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Monday signed into law a bill allowing the century-old Iowa Farm Bureau to collaborate with the state’s dominant insurer to sell “health benefit plans,” which are expected to cost health customers less than ACA coverage because they will not have to comply with federal requirements. (Goldstein, 4/2)

The Hill: Iowa Law Seen As Breakthrough For ObamaCare Foes
A new law in Iowa could provide the path forward for Republican-led states that are looking for ways around ObamaCare’s rules and regulations. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Monday signed a law that will allow the Iowa Farm Bureau to collaborate with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield on self-funded “health benefit plans.” (Weixel, 4/3)

Stat: Medicare Puts Off Decision On Lowering Drug Prices Patients Pay
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services laid out a bevy of initiatives Monday that officials said would reduce drug prices for patients covered by the Medicare Part D prescription drug program — but they have made no decisions yet on an issue that has confounded lawmakers and patients alike. That issue is whether the discounts that pharmacy benefit managers negotiate for drugs — the “rebates” that lawmakers have been raising questions about in recent months — as well as other fees, should go toward lowering the price that a patient pays at the pharmacy. (Swetlitz, 4/2)

Stat: White House Is Urged To Sidestep Patents On Opioid Overdose Treatment
The White House is being urged to sidestep patents on a high-priced opioid overdose antidote as one way to stem the rising cost of combating the opioid crisis. In a letter sent last Thursday, an advocacy group argues the White House should use a little-known federal law that would permit the government to take title to patents on Evzio. This is a decades-old version of naloxone, which is widely used to reverse the effect of opioid and heroin overdoses. (Silverman, 4/2)

The Washington Post: DEA’s Opioid Crackdown Brings Arrests Of Prescribers, Pharmacists
The Drug Enforcement Administration arrested 28 drug prescribers and pharmacists, and revoked the licenses of 147 people who handle controlled substances, as part of a nationwide crackdown on the illegal use and distribution of opioids and other prescription medications, the Justice Department announced Monday. The 45-day enforcement “surge” stemmed from a review, ordered by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, of 80 million drug transactions. The review revealed dispensers who sold disproportionately large amounts of drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, and sparked 188 investigations. (Bernstein, 4/2)

Reuters: Justice Department Seeks Role In Opioid Settlement Talks
The U.S. Justice Department on Monday sought court permission to participate in settlement negotiations aimed at resolving lawsuits by state and local governments against opioid manufacturers and distributors. The Justice Department said in a brief it wanted to participate in talks overseen by a federal judge in Cleveland as a "friend of the court" that would provide information to help craft non-monetary remedies to combat the opioid crisis. (Raymond, 4/2)

The Associated Press: Old, New Drugs Creating Deadly Mixtures To Raise Ohio Tolls
New surges in use of methamphetamine and cocaine mixed with a powerful synthetic opioid are contributing to rising drug overdose death tolls in already hard-hit Ohio. As county coroners have begun releasing their 2017 tallies, a trend has emerged of more deaths involving meth or cocaine mixed with fentanyl, the painkiller blamed for increasing U.S. fatalities in recent years as authorities focused on reducing heroin overdoses. (Sewell, 4/2)

The Associated Press: Studies Link Legal Marijuana With Fewer Opioid Prescriptions
Can legalizing marijuana fight the problem of opioid addiction and fatal overdoses? Two new studies in the debate suggest it may. Pot can relieve chronic pain in adults, so advocates for liberalizing marijuana laws have proposed it as a lower-risk alternative to opioids. But some research suggests marijuana may encourage opioid use, and so might make the epidemic worse. (Ritter, 4/2)

The Washington Post: Two New Studies Show How Marijuana Can Help Fight The Opioid Epidemic
The studies are the latest in a long line of research showing that marijuana availability is associated with reductions in opiate use and misuse. But the Wen and Hockenberry report is significant for finding a link between recreational marijuana and opiate use — most previous research has focused on medical marijuana. There is widespread agreement among doctors and public-health experts that marijuana is effective at treating chronic pain. Doctors often treat that condition with opiate medication, despite little evidence that opiates are effective for it. (Ingraham, 4/2)

NPR: Medical Marijuana May Be Slowing Opioid Epidemic
Many people end up abusing opioid drugs such as oxycodone and heroin after starting off with a legitimate prescription for pain. The authors argue that people who avoid that first prescription are less likely to end up as part of the opioid epidemic. "We do know that cannabis is much less risky than opiates, as far as likelihood of dependency," says W. David Bradford, a professor of public policy at the University of Georgia. "And certainly there's no mortality risk" from the drug itself. (Harris, 4/2)

The New York Times: ‘I Can’t Stop’: Schools Struggle With Vaping Explosion
The student had been caught vaping in school three times before he sat in the vice principal’s office at Cape Elizabeth High School in Maine this winter and shamefacedly admitted what by then was obvious. “I can’t stop,” he told the vice principal, Nate Carpenter. So Mr. Carpenter asked the school nurse about getting the teenager nicotine gum or a patch, to help him get through the school day without violating the rules prohibiting vaping. (Zernike, 4/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Schools And Parents Fight A Juul E-Cigarette Epidemic
At Northern High School in Dillsburg, Pa., Principal Steve Lehman’s locked safe, which once contained the occasional pack of confiscated cigarettes, is now filled with around 40 devices that look like flash drives. The device is called a Juul and it is a type of e-cigarette that delivers a powerful dose of nicotine, derived from tobacco, in a patented salt solution that smokers say closely mimics the feeling of inhaling cigarettes. It has become a coveted teen status symbol and a growing problem in high schools and middle schools, spreading with a speed that has taken teachers, parents and school administrators by surprise. (Chaker, 4/2)

The Washington Post: Home-Delivered Meals Might Reduce ER Visits, Study Suggests
Delivering meals to vulnerable sick people might be a simple way to cut back on emergency room visits and hospitalizations, reining in some of the costliest kinds of medical care, according to a new Health Affairs study. Low-income seniors or disabled younger people who received home-delivered meals — particularly meals designed by a dietitian for that person's specific medical needs — had fewer emergency visits and lower medical spending than a similar group of people who did not receive meal deliveries. (Johnson, 4/2)

Los Angeles Times: Bringing Meals To People With Food Insecurity May Deliver Savings To The Healthcare System
Imagine you are the tightfisted potentate of a small republic, plotting the least expensive way to care for subjects in fragile health who depend on your beneficence. You could watch while your subjects who are elderly or disabled (or both) scramble to find and pay for healthy meals. And you could open your checkbook each time one of these subjects lapses into a health crisis that calls for a trip to a hospital's emergency department in an ambulance. But you might just try feeding these needy subjects instead. (Healy, 4/2)

Stat: 'The Code': The Roots Of Today’s Most Promising Genetic Technologies
The $1.455 billion “All of Us” project that the National Institutes of Health is launching this spring stands on the shoulders of the $3 billion Human Genome Project, which was (mostly) completed in 2003. All of Us will collect DNA, health, lifestyle, and other data from 1 million Americans to, among other things, identify the genetic and environmental roots of disease and understand why different people respond differently to the same drug. The genome project, which determined the sequence of most of the 3 billion biochemical “letters” that spell out human DNA, had similar goals. Some have been realized, others not. (Begley, 4/2)

The New York Times: Giving Babies Antibiotics Or Antacids May Increase Allergy Risk
Babies given antibiotics or antacids in infancy may be at increased risk for allergies in childhood. Researchers retrospectively studied 792,130 infants covered by a health insurance program. Of these, 131,708 received antibiotics, 60,209 got histamine-2 receptor antagonists and 13,687 were given proton pump inhibitors. Both H2 blockers and P.P.I.s are prescribed for gastroesophageal reflex, or GERD. (Bakalar, 3/2)

The Washington Post: How Do You Make A Destination Autism-Friendly?
Myrtle Beach , South Carolina, has a busy boardwalk and all kinds of attractions, from mini-golf courses and water parks to a zip line and a Ferris wheel. So it might not be an obvious destination for families with kids on the autism spectrum who may be easily overwhelmed by noise and commotion. But an organization called Champion Autism Network is working with hotels, restaurants and other venues to make the area autism-friendly. (Harpaz, 4/2)

NPR: Veterans Affairs Agency Looks To Alternative Therapies To Ease Pain
Every week in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Zibin Guo guides veterans in wheelchairs through slow-motion tai chi poses as a Bluetooth speaker plays soothing instrumental music. "Cloudy hands to the right, cloudy hands to the left," he tells them. "Now we're going to open your arms, grab the wheels and 180-degree turn." The participants swivel about-face and continue to the next pose. Guo, a medical anthropologist at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has modified his tai chi to work from a seated position. (Farmer, 4/2)

Los Angeles Times: Gay Dating App Grindr Changes Its Policy Of Sharing Users' HIV Status With Outside Vendors
Grindr, a gay dating app, will stop sharing users' HIV statuses with third parties after a report disclosed that the company passed the information on to two vendors. The West Hollywood company's policy change came after a BuzzFeed report Monday that said personal data was being passed to two outside vendors hired by Grindr to test the performance of its app. (Pierson, 4/2)

The Wall Street Journal: The Food That Helps Battle Depression
You’re feeling depressed. What have you been eating? Psychiatrists and therapists don’t often ask this question. But a growing body of research over the past decade shows that a healthy diet—high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and unprocessed lean red meat—can prevent depression. And an unhealthy diet—high in processed and refined foods—increases the risk for the disease in everyone, including children and teens. (Bernstein, 4/2)

The Washington Post: Snorting Condom Challenge‬‬: Why Would Someone Do That?
Imagine uncoiling a condom and stuffing it up one side of your nose, then plugging the other nostril and inhaling until the long piece of latex slides into your throat. Then what? You reach back and pull it from your mouth. Why would someone do that?Apparently for the same reason young people have dared each other to pour salt in their hands and hold ice until it burns, douse themselves in rubbing alcohol and set themselves on fire, or bite into colorful liquid laundry detergent packets. (Bever, 4/2)

The Washington Post: Parkinson's Disease Information Available From Virtual Library
April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month, a time to think about how much you know about the disease. You may know about the tremors and stiffness that gradually take over patients’ bodies. You may know about famous people with the disease, including Michael J. Fox. For what you may not know, there’s the PD Library. (Blakemore, 4/2)

The Associated Press: Vegas Hospital Advisory After Mass Shooting Draws Scrutiny
A review of medical responses after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history in Las Vegas found confusion led to a fire department broadcast that the only top-tier regional trauma center was too full to accept any more victims of the attack, a newspaper reported Monday. The problem began when University Medical Center called an "internal disaster" alert following the Oct. 1 shooting at an open-air concert venue on the Las Vegas Strip, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. (4/2)

The Associated Press: CDC To Review Ohio County's Recent Spate Of Youth Suicides
Health officials dealing with a spate of youth suicides in a northeastern Ohio county are getting help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials say five students and one former student from the Perry Local School District in Stark County killed themselves within a six-month period from 2017 into 2018, spurring vigils, prevention efforts, community meetings and discussion about a possible contagion effect. (4/2)

The Washington Post: Sewage And Water Leaks In Hospital Operating Rooms Reported In New Lawsuit
Persistent water and sewage leaks in and around the operating rooms of Washington’s largest hospital are at the center of a lawsuit seeking millions in damages in the infection-related death of a retired Northern Virginia schoolteacher. The lawsuit comes after D.C. health inspectors last year found that MedStar Washington Hospital Center had not ensured a safe, sterile environment for patients. Investigators reported at least seven sewage leaks during an 11-month period, and during a tour last summer described a “black, grainy, foul smelling substance” on the floor between two operating rooms. (Marimow, Jamison and Hermann, 4/2)