Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: August 21, 2015
The New York Times: Once Voters Get The ‘Narrative,’ Jeb Bush Says, They’ll Turn To Him Over Donald Trump
The day after dueling New Hampshire town-hall-style meetings left Jeb Bush the recipient of snide attacks from Donald J. Trump, Mr. Bush offered some not-so-friendly fire of his own. ... “I cut taxes every year; he’s proposed the largest tax increase in mankind’s history, not just our own country’s history. I have been consistently pro-life; he until recently was for partial birth abortion. I’ve never met a person that actually thought that was a good idea. I believe we need to reform our health care system to make sure we stop the suppression of wages and allow people to have access to insurance; he’s for a single payer system.” (Parker, 8/20)
The Associated Press: Newcomer To Koch Scene, Bush Competes With Tea Party Class
Billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch are opening the tea party's door for Republican Jeb Bush, whose time as Florida governor preceded the movement. ... Five of the 17 GOP presidential candidates, including Cruz and Rubio, plan to be in Columbus. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry are also scheduled to speak at the two-day summit. Notably absent will be Ohio's own Gov. John Kasich, whose office is less than a mile from the convention hall. Americans for Prosperity objected strongly to the GOP presidential candidate's acceptance of federal money in exchange for expanding Ohio's state-run health insurance program for poor people under the 2010 federal health care law. (8/21)
The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Examine Whether Antiabortion Videos Broke Laws
Congressional Democrats are examining whether the antiabortion group that released videos of Planned Parenthood Federation of America officials discussing fetal tissue broke state or federal laws. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) on Thursday sent a letter to the antiabortion group the Center for Medical Progress. Mr. Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is looking into whether the organization sought charitable donations by posing as a nonprofit and whether the group secretly recorded Planned Parenthood employees without their consent. (Armour, 8/20)
Politico: Sting Videos' Star Sees Some 'Good' In Planned Parenthood
The woman featured prominently in three of the Planned Parenthood sting videos says she’s unsure whether the women’s health organization should be shut down in light of the massive political controversy she helped ignite. Holly O’Donnell, a 24-year-old from Northern California, said in a little-noticed conservative radio podcast that she is “pro-life” and personally opposes abortion, but also calls it “every woman’s choice.” She said she participated in the videos as a whistleblower because she wanted to expose practices that she considers trafficking in fetal body parts — yet she still has praise for some of Planned Parenthood’s work. (Haberkorn, 8/20)
The Washington Post: Study Raises Doubts About Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treatments
Aggressive interventions to treat the earliest stage of breast cancers have no effect on whether a woman is alive a decade later, according to a study that tracked more than 100,000 women. (Johnson and Cha, 8/20)
The Washington Post: Jimmy Carter To Undergo Latest Immune Treatment For Brain Cancer
Flanked by family members and friends at a news conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta, he detailed the treatments that he has already begun and will continue in coming weeks, including radiation and the IV infusions of a new type of anti-cancer drug that tries to harness the body’s immune system to fight the disease. (Nutt, Phillip and Dennis, 8/20)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: The New Women’s Libido Drug May Not Be The Feminist Victory That It Seems
Should women really be celebrating the new libido drug? Flibanserin, the newly approved drug that has been touted as the "female Viagra" and decried for its risky side effects, has been under an intense media spotlight for the past two days. Just days after Sprout Pharmaceuticals received federal regulators' blessing to market the drug, the small company got scooped up by a Canadian drugmaker for $1 billion. (Johnson, 8/20)
The New York Times' DealBook: Maker Of Addyi, ‘Female Viagra’ Drug, Being Sold To Valeant For $1B
Sprout Pharmaceuticals, which on Tuesday won regulatory approval for the first pill to aid a woman’s sex drive, will be acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International for about $1 billion in cash. The deal, announced on Thursday, represents a sizable return for investors in Sprout, a privately held company in Raleigh, N.C., with 34 employees. A total of about $100 million has been invested in Sprout since its formation in 2011. (Pollack and Bray, 8/20)
The Wall Street Journal: N.Y.C. Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Over, City Says
New York City’s Legionnaires’ disease outbreak is officially over, health officials said on Thursday, confirming that the Opera House Hotel in the South Bronx was its source. The outbreak, which officials called the worst for Legionnaires’ in the city’s history, killed 12 people and sickened 128 since early July. No new illnesses have been identified since Aug. 3, longer than the disease’s two-week incubation period. (Ramey and MacMillan, 8/20)
The Associated Press: Dallas Hospital With Link To JFK Moves To New $1.3B Building
About 600 patients were moved Thursday into a new $1.3 billion hospital in Dallas that replaces an aging facility memorialized in U.S. history as the place John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead after his assassination. Some 1,700 staff members and volunteers participated in the move across the street from the old Parkland Memorial Hospital into its new 17-story embodiment, which features about $80 million worth of digital technology and a lobby with a display commemorating the 35th president. (Warren, 8/20)
The Washington Post: They’ve Overdosed, Or Seen Other People Die. Now They’re Learning To Save Victims’ Lives.
Baltimore City Adult Drug Treatment Court is the first court in Maryland to teach drug offenders how to save someone suffering from an overdose of heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone or similar substances. As the number of deaths from opioid overdoses swells locally and nationwide, the demonstration was part of growing number of public health efforts to get naloxone — also known as Narcan — to those best positioned to save lives. (Bui, 8/20)
The New York Times: Nail Salon Sweeps Continue As Violations Are Found In Queens
This was a sweep. But this was not a guns-blazing drama unfolding off Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens. This was a meticulous fact-finding mission through an empty salon that left Mr. Tran with a list of health and safety violations to fix in his tired-looking shop. (Robbins, 8/20)
