First Edition: August 15, 2017

California Healthline: Number Of Dialysis Patients In California Surges
The number of Californians who are getting care at dialysis centers has spiked in recent years — but not because kidney disease is more prevalent. The reason is that people are living longer with end-stage renal disease, said Anjay Rastogi, a professor of nephrology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. The number of new cases has generally leveled off in recent years, Rastogi said. “The same number of patients are being put on dialysis, but they stay on dialysis,” he said. (Bartolone, 8/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Early Peeks At Drug Trials Are Giving Investors Whiplash
Roche Holding AG shares jumped 6.5% on a single day in early March when the drugmaker said its new breast-cancer treatment, Perjeta, helped prolong average patient survival in a clinical study. But the stock gave up nearly all those gains three months later, when the Swiss company disclosed full details of the trial at a medical conference. The study, dubbed Aphinity, showed what some doctors said was only a marginal benefit for Perjeta .... The episode throws light on the peculiar drip-feed way drug companies often disclose the results of clinical trials. (Loftus and Roland, 8/14)

The Associated Press: Sanders Plans To Introduce 'Medicare For All' Plan Soon
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told a group of seniors that the solution to the country's health care crisis is to make Medicare available to all, a proposal he plans to introduce shortly after Congress reconvenes in September. ... He acknowledged that a "Medicare for all" bill likely won't pass in the Republican-controlled Congress and with Trump as president. But he said change takes time, and would involve organizing effectively in every state to make it happen. (Rathke, 8/14)

NPR: Trump Administration Extends Deadline For Insurers To Decide On Obamacare Markets
The extension comes as insurance companies wait for President Trump to decide whether he will continue to make payments to insurance companies that are called for under the Affordable Care Act but that some Republicans have opposed. The payments — known as cost-sharing reduction payments — reimburse insurance companies for discounts on copayments and deductibles that they're required by law to offer to low-income customers. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the payments this year would be about $7 billion. (Kodjak, 8/14)

Politico: Cecile Richards To Democrats: Stand Firm On Abortion
Abortion is exactly the kind of debate Democrats don’t want right now: visceral, internally divisive, and more about hypotheticals than any actual candidate or race. ... The latest round of infighting was inadvertently kicked off by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, who said in an interview at the beginning of the month that abortion wouldn’t be a “litmus test” in backing candidates for next year’s existential battle for the House majority. Abortion rights activists erupted, and Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, couldn’t be clearer on how wrong she thinks Luján is. “It’s a shocking sort of misunderstanding of actually where the country is … which is overwhelmingly supportive of abortion rights and also, who are the ground troops that kind of fuel the election of candidates,” Richards told me in an interview at her office in Lower Manhattan. (Dovere, 8/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Three CEOs Quit Trump Advisory Council After Charlottesville Violence
Drugmaker Merck issued a statement Monday morning on Twitter from Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier, saying, “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal.” ... Almost an hour later, President Donald Trump posted on Twitter: “Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” (Loftus, 8/14)

The Washington Post: Merck CEO Takes A Stand And Draws Trump’s Ire
It is unclear whether Trump’s tweet could portend negative repercussions for Merck or the pharmaceutical industry generally. Trump has repeatedly promised to bring down drug prices and has used harsh language to describe the industry, but has not taken any strong actions. (Johnson and McGregor, 8/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Some Companies Want You To Take A Mental-Health Day
More companies are trying to destigmatize mental illness and encourage workers to use mental-health days for their original intent. EY, or Ernst & Young, has an initiative called “r u ok?”, which encourages workers to check in with each other and offer support to those who might be struggling. American Express Co.’s employee-assistance program offers on-site access to mental-health professionals and free counseling. Prudential Financial Inc. gives employees flexible work arrangements and access to mental-health professionals. (Fontana, 8/15)

The Wall Street Journal: The New Conundrum About When To Stop Antibiotics
Remember the doctor’s advice to always finish your antibiotics, even if you feel better? That message is being upended by concerns that taking antibiotics when they are no longer needed is contributing to the growing danger of antibiotic resistance. (Reddy, 8/14)

The Washington Post: Dangerous Mistakes Led To Shutdown Of United Medical Center Obstetrics Ward
D.C. regulators ordered the only full-service hospital in Southeast Washington to stop delivering babies last week because of dangerous mistakes the hospital’s staff made with multiple pregnant women and newborns, a letter obtained by The Washington Post shows. In one case, the hospital’s staff members did not take critical steps to prevent the transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her newborn .... In another, a morbidly obese woman who was about 35 weeks pregnant and had come to the hospital with trouble breathing was not properly monitored or treated, despite a history of potentially fatal blood-pressure problems. (Jamison and Nirappil, 8/14)

Reuters: Big-Name U.S. Hedge Funds Shed Healthcare Stocks During The Rally In Second-Quarter
Several big-name hedge fund investors trimmed their stakes in healthcare companies in the second quarter as the sector led the broad U.S. stock market higher, rallying amid a Republican effort to repeal and replace President Obama's signature healthcare law. ... Healthcare stocks have underperformed since the current quarter began on July 1, dipping 0.5 percent compared with a 1.9 percent gain by the broad S&P 500, suggesting that the move by hedge fund managers could signal the end of the rally. (Randall and Hunnicutt, 8/14)