First Edition: August 27, 2018

Kaiser Health News: A Jolt To The Jugular! You’re Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack 
Drew Calver took out his trash cans and then waved goodbye to his wife, Erin, as she left for the grocery store the morning that upended his picture-perfect life. Minutes later, the popular high school history teacher and swim coach in Austin, Texas, collapsed in his bedroom from a heart attack. He pounded his fist on the bed frame, violent chest pains pinning him to the floor. (Terhune, 8/27)

Kaiser Health News: McCain’s Complicated Health Care Legacy: He Hated The ACA. He Also Saved It.
There are many lawmakers who made their names in health care, seeking to usher through historic changes to a broken system.John McCain was not one of them. And yet, the six-term senator from Arizona and decorated military veteran leaves behind his own health care legacy, seemingly driven less by his interest in health care policy than his disdain for bullies trampling the “little guy.” (Huetteman, 8/25)

Kaiser Health News: The Doctors Want In: Democratic Docs Talk Health Care On The Campaign Trail
Dr. Rob Davidson, an emergency physician from western Michigan, had never considered running for Congress. Then came February 2017. The 46-year-old Democrat found himself at a local town-hall meeting going toe-to-toe with Rep. Bill Huizenga, his Republican congressman of the previous six years. “I told him about my patients,” Davidson recalled. “I see, every shift, some impact of not having adequate health care, not having dental insurance or a doctor at all.” (Luthra, 8/27)

Kaiser Health News: Pediatricians Put It Bluntly: Motherhood And Marijuana Don’t Mix
The strong direction to women and pediatricians comes as more than half of states, including California, have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use, and studies show that a growing number of babies are being exposed to the drug. The march toward marijuana legalization has outpaced scientific research about its effects. Because marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug — by definition, one with potential for abuse and no approved medical use — federal law has limited research on it. But in a detailed review of the existing safety data published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, researchers concluded that enough concerns exist about both short-term growth and long-term neurological consequences for children to recommend against it. (Gold, 8/27)

The New York Times: John McCain, War Hero, Senator, Presidential Contender, Dies At 81
John S. McCain, the proud naval aviator who climbed from depths of despair as a prisoner of war in Vietnam to pinnacles of power as a Republican congressman and senator from Arizona and a two-time contender for the presidency, died on Saturday at his home in Arizona. He was 81. According to a statement from his office, Mr. McCain died at 4:28 p.m. local time. He had suffered from a malignant brain tumor, called a glioblastoma, for which he had been treated periodically with radiation and chemotherapy since its discovery in 2017. (McFadden, 8/25)

The Associated Press: For McCain, A Life Of Courage, Politics Came Down To 1 Vote
For John McCain, a lifetime of courage, contradictions and contrarianism came down to one vote, in the middle of the night, in the twilight of his career. The fate of President Donald Trump's long effort to repeal Barack Obama's health care law hung in the balance as a Senate roll call dragged on past 1 a.m. on a July night in 2017. (Benac, 8/27)

Politico: McCain Remembered For Bipartisanship, Decisive Obamacare Vote
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also voted against undoing the health care law, said on CNN that McCain “felt very strongly about virtually every issue that he tackled, but it was never based in partisanship.” Collins recalled the huddle among the three Republicans before McCain cast his vote. “Lisa and I crossed the Senate floor to where John was sitting, and we knew that he was struggling with the issue,” she said. “We sat down and started talking with him, and all of a sudden he pointed to the two of us and said, ‘You two are right.’ And that’s when I knew that he was going to vote no.” (Warmbrodt, 8/26)

The New York Times: Veteran, Maverick, Candidate: Key Moments Of John McCain’s Public Life
Mr. McCain was frequently referred to as a “maverick,” an image he cultivated to advance his political goals, including two failed presidential runs. After those defeats, he became known as a conservative lion of the Senate, who — despite his famous temper — believed that partisan disputes and civility could coexist in Washington. (Stack, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Sen. John McCain Remembered As Principled Leader
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose effort to repeal President Obama’s signature health-care legislature failed because Mr. McCain withdrew support in a striking, late-night vote, said: “In an era filled with cynicism about national unity and public service, John McCain’s life shone as a bright example. He showed us that boundless patriotism and self-sacrifice are not outdated concepts or clichés, but the building blocks of an extraordinary American life.” (Corse, 8/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Arizona Governor Faces Intense Pressure In Picking McCain Successor
Sen. John McCain’s death touches off a number of questions about who will succeed him, putting the spotlight on Arizona’s Republican governor, Doug Ducey, who will choose a replacement. A spokesman for Gov. Ducey said Sunday any appointment won’t be announced until after Mr. McCain has been laid to rest. “Now is a time for remembering and honoring a consequential life well lived,” the spokesman said. (Hughes, 8/26)

Stat: John McCain Has Died. For Cancers Like His, 'Research Is Our Only Hope' 
About 14,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common form of adult brain cancer, every year. It will kill all but 15 percent within five years. Barely half live 18 months. Of two dozen experimental drugs tested in clinical trials for newly diagnosed glioblastoma in the last decade, zero improved survival. The last drug to do so, by an average of about two months, was temozolomide, approved in 2005. The newest experimental treatment, based on electromagnetic waves, bought patients an average of five more months. (Begley, 8/25)

The New York Times: Thomas Frieden, Former Head Of C.D.C., Arrested On Groping Charge
Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, who ran the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for eight years under President Obama, was arrested in Brooklyn on Friday morning and charged with groping a woman in his apartment in October 2017, the police said. A 55-year-old woman came forward to the police in July and said that Dr. Frieden squeezed her buttocks against her will nine months earlier, on Oct. 20, the police said. She told investigators the incident happened as she was leaving a gathering at Dr. Frieden’s residence on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. (Wilson, 8/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Ex-CDC Head Thomas Frieden Arrested On Sex-Crime Charges In New York
Dr. Frieden was hosting a get-together at his home when the incident occurred, according to a senior law-enforcement official. Dr. Frieden squeezed the unidentified woman’s buttocks “on the way out the door” as people were exiting, added the official, who didn’t know if there were any other witnesses. The woman is someone who has been known by Dr. Frieden and his family for a number of years, according to two people familiar with the matter. (Kanno-Youngs and Betsy McKay, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Ex-CDC Director Frieden Accused Of Groping Woman's Buttocks
Dr. Thomas Frieden, who for years informed the public about dangers to their health, sat stone-faced as a judge warned him not to approach the woman, who accused him of groping her on Oct. 20, 2017, in his Brooklyn home. Frieden, who also is a former New York City health commissioner, was arrested earlier Friday on three charges: forcible touching, sex abuse and harassment. His attorney, Laura Brevetti, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. (8/24)

Stat: Former CDC Director Tom Frieden Arrested On Sexual Misconduct Charges
A spokesman for Frieden said: “This allegation does not reflect Dr. Frieden’s public or private behavior or his values over a lifetime of service to improve health around the world.” (Garde and Branswell, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Ex-CDC Director Tom Frieden Arrested In New York, Accused Of Groping
As New York’s health commissioner under then-Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I), Frieden was the architect of controversial public health policies. Among them was a citywide ban on workplace smoking, including restaurants and bars. New York City also became the first place in the United States to eliminate trans fats from restaurants. Earlier, working in the health department’s tuberculosis branch, he realized that the city’s campaign against antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis would require going out and making sure that patients finished their course of medicine. He set up a program that did so, including locking up homeless people if he had to. The tuberculosis control program he led lowered the incidence of cases that were resident to multiple drug treatments. (Berman and Goldstein, 8/24)

Stat: Groping Arrest Imperils Thomas Frieden's Legacy And Global Health Campaign 
Dr. Thomas Frieden has been a giant in public health for decades. Now, sexual misconduct charges threaten not only his legacy but also his vision for leading a global effort to combat disease outbreaks and chronic diseases. Frieden, who led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for eight years, had plotted a third act in his long career with an organization called Resolve To Save Lives. Like a CDC in miniature, Resolve was built in Frieden’s image and focused its attention on two of his banner global health issues: heart disease and epidemics. Frieden raised $225 million from wealthy donors to get Resolve off the ground in 2017, chasing the oft-stated goal of saving 100 million lives over 30 years by working with countries around the world on public health initiatives. (Garde, 8/26)

The Associated Press Fact Check: Heitkamp Overstates Pre-Existing Denials
U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says in a television ad released last week that 300,000 North Dakota residents with pre-existing medical conditions couldn’t get health insurance before former President Barack Obama’s health care law. Health care is a big issue in midterm races across the country, and has become especially charged in North Dakota, where Heitkamp’s re-election race against Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer is seen as critical to control of the Senate. (MacPherson, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Nebraska Official Certifies Medicaid Expansion Ballot Item
A proposal to expand Medicaid in Nebraska moved closer Friday to getting on the November ballot after the state's top elections official determined there are enough valid signatures to send the question to voters. Secretary of State John Gale said 104,477 valid signatures were certified by his office. The effort needed at least 84,269 to make it onto the ballot. (Beck, 8/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Shareholders Approve Cigna-Express Scripts Deal
Cigna Corp. and Express Scripts Holding Co. shareholders overwhelmingly supported Cigna’s $54 billion purchase of the pharmacy-benefit manager, a deal that activist investor Carl Icahn initially sought to block. The deal received the backing of about 90% of Cigna shareholders, the health insurer said Friday, citing a preliminary vote tally. Of the Express Scripts ESRX 0.21% shareholders who voted Friday, 99% approved the deal. (Chin, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Prince's Family Sues Doctor Who Prescribed Him Pain Pills
The family of the late rock star Prince is suing a doctor who prescribed pain pills for him, saying the doctor failed to treat him for opiate addiction and therefore bears responsibility for his death two years ago, their attorney announced Friday. Prince Rogers Nelson died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl April 15, 2016. Authorities say Dr. Michael Schulenberg admitted prescribing a different opioid to Prince in the days before he died, oxycodone, under his bodyguard's name to protect the musician's privacy. Schulenberg has disputed that, although he paid $30,000 to settle a federal civil violation alleging that the drug was prescribed illegally. (8/24)

The New York Times: Big Tobacco’s Global Reach On Social Media
It’s been years since the tobacco industry promised to stop luring young people to smoke cigarettes. Philip Morris International says it is “designing a smoke-free future.” British American Tobacco, likewise, claims to be “transforming tobacco” into a safer product. But while the Food and Drug Administration weighs plans to cut nicotine in cigarettes, making them less addictive, Big Tobacco has been making the most of the time it still has using social networks to promote its brands around the world. (Kaplan, 8/24)

The New York Times: Did Juul Lure Teenagers And Get ‘Customers For Life’?
The leaders of a small start-up, PAX Labs, gathered at a board meeting in early 2015 to review the marketing strategy for its sleek new electronic cigarette, called Juul. They watched video clips of hip young people, posed flirtatiously holding Juuls. And they talked about the name of the gadget, meant to suggest an object of beauty and to catch on as a verb — as in “to Juul.” While the campaign wasn’t targeted specifically at teenagers, a former senior manager said that he and others in the company were well aware it could appeal to them. After Juuls went on sale in June 2015, he said, the company quickly realized that teenagers were, in fact, using them because they posted images of themselves vaping Juuls on social media. (Richtel and Kaplan, 8/27)

The Associated Press: Tobacco-Funded Group Starts Montana Anti-Initiative Ad Blitz
A group funded by the tobacco industry has launched a massive ad blitz against a ballot initiative to fund Montana's Medicaid expansion program and other health programs by raising the cigarette tax by $2 per pack and taxing vaping products for the first time. Montanans Against Tax Hikes booked air time starting in mid-August on television stations in Billings, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena and Glendive, according to purchase orders filed with the Federal Communications Commission records. (Volz, 8/24)

The Washington Post: These Would-Be Parents’ Embryos Were Lost. Now They’re Grieving — And Suing.
Colorful umbrellas dotted an otherwise bleak cemetery landscape as chaplains led a crowd of about 50 people in prayer. Kate Plants, the organizer of the memorial service, stood by an ash tree, crying. The ceremony was a memorial for the potential souls lost in one of the biggest mishaps in the history of modern reproductive technology, the “catastrophic failure” of a cryogenic tank at the University Hospitals Fertility Center in Cleveland. Four-thousand eggs and embryos had been destroyed in a single weekend. Five of them belonged to Plants, 33. (Cha, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Mind-Altering Breast Milk? New Pot Study Poses That Question
Marijuana's main mind-altering ingredient was detected in nursing mothers' breast milk in a small study that comes amid evidence that more U.S. women are using pot during pregnancy and afterward. Experts say the ingredient, THC, has chemical properties that could allow it to disrupt brain development and potentially cause harm, although solid evidence of that is lacking. (Tanner, 8/27)

The New York Times: England To Allow Women To Take Early Abortion Pill At Home
The British government announced on Saturday that women in England would legally be allowed to take an abortion pill at home for the first time, following in the footsteps of decisions by Scotland and Wales. Under the new regulation, set to take effect by the end of this year, women will be able to take the second of two early abortion pills “in the safe and familiar surroundings of their own home,” the government said. Currently, women seeking to terminate a pregnancy in the first 10 weeks must take two pills — mifepristone and misoprostol — at a clinic, 24 to 48 hours apart. (Joseph, 8/25)

The Associated Press: Aspirin Disappoints For Avoiding First Heart Attack, Stroke
Taking a low-dose aspirin every day has long been known to cut the chances of another heart attack, stroke or other heart problem in people who already have had one, but the risks don’t outweigh the benefits for most other folks, major new research finds. Although it’s been used for more than a century, aspirin’s value in many situations is still unclear. The latest studies are some of the largest and longest to test this pennies-a-day blood thinner in people who don’t yet have heart disease or a blood vessel-related problem. (Marchione, 8/26)

The Associated Press: Weight-Loss Drug Belviq Seems Safe For Heart, Study Finds
For the first time, a drug has been shown to help people lose weight and keep it off for several years without raising their risk for heart problems — a safety milestone that may encourage wider use to help curb the obesity epidemic. The drug, Belviq, has been sold in the United States since 2013 and is the first of several new weight-loss medicines to succeed in a long-term heart safety study now required by federal regulators to stay on the market. (Marchione, 8/26)

Stat: Negative Fish Oil Study Results Raise The Stakes For Amarin's Capsule
Daily use of a prescription-grade fish oil pill, first marketed by GlaxoSmithKline before going generic, failed to prevent serious cardiovascular events or death in people with diabetes, according to results from a large clinical trial presented Sunday. The negative outcome of the study, called ASCEND, adds to the growing body of scientific evidence casting doubt on the long-term heart benefit of products containing omega-3 fatty acids. (Feuerstein, 8/26)

The New York Times: The Heartbreakers At Chain Restaurants
Who is to blame for fattening up Americans and killing their hearts? McDonald’s, it seems, is not even in the running. In fact, when you compare the fare under the Golden Arches with many of the dishes served at chain restaurants around the country, a Big Mac with large fries and soda begins to sound like health food. Hungry for a hearty breakfast? You could — if you dare to test the resilience of your heart — try the Cheesecake Factory’s Breakfast Burrito: “warm tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, chicken chorizo, cheese, crispy potatoes, avocado, peppers and onions, over spicy ranchero sauce.” Nutritional information: 2,730 calories (more than a day’s worth, so I hope you’ll skip lunch and dinner), 4,630 milligrams of sodium (two days’ worth) and 73 grams of saturated fat (more than three days’ worth). (Brody, 8/27)

The New York Times: Heart Risks Tied To Parkinson’s Disease
Symptoms of poor cardiovascular health may be linked to an increased risk for Parkinson’s disease, a new study has found. Researchers used data on 17,163,560 South Koreans over 40 years old and found 44,205 cases of Parkinson’s over the course of a five-year follow-up. They looked for five cardiovascular risk factors that define the metabolic syndrome: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high glucose readings. The study is in PLOS Medicine. (Bakalar, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Ebola Outbreak Now At 105 Cases, And Bordering Countries Are On Alert
On Tuesdays and Fridays, an estimated 19,000 people stream down the hill from Congo’s North Kivu province to cross the border into this small town (Mpondwe, Uganda), many of them headed to a sprawling open-air market. In recent weeks, crossing the border has become more difficult as Ugandan health authorities have beefed up precautions against the spread of the Ebola virus. An outbreak centered in North Kivu is responsible for 105 confirmed or suspected cases, including 67 deaths, according to Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has just returned from the area. (Sun and Bernstein, 8/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Officials Worried About Containing Latest Ebola Outbreak
The world has never been so prepared for an Ebola outbreak, but the latest emergence of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s conflict-ridden east is proving the most dangerous in years. Seventy-two out of 111 patients who have been infected with the hemorrhagic fever have died, making this outbreak the deadliest in more than a decade in Congo, where the disease was first diagnosed in 1976 and named after the nearby Ebola River. (Bariyo and McKay, 8/26)

NPR: Scientists Predict More Heatstroke In Years Ahead
More Americans die from the effects of heat than of any other form of severe weather, and this summer has seen one heat wave after another. Some places in the U.S. and elsewhere have recorded their highest temperatures ever. In fact, the average temperature around the planet over the past four years has been the highest ever recorded, and nine of the 10 hottest years were all in this century. (The other was 1998.) All of this would suggest that more people must be experiencing heat-related illness or death. But it's more complicated than that. (Joyce, 8/26)

NPR: The Science Of Surviving A Fall
Falling from an airplane would ruin most people's day. But if you're James Bond, it's no big deal. After getting pushed out of a plane in the 1979 film Moonraker, Bond initiates a midair fight with a nearby skydiving villain and takes the evildoer's parachute. As his enemy plunges to the ground, Bond fights off a second bad guy, deploys his chute and floats gracefully to Earth. Piece of cake. (Chisholm, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Feds Confirm 507 People Sick After Eating McDonald's Salad
Federal health officials say they've confirmed more than 500 cases of people who became sick with an intestinal illness after eating McDonald's salads. The illnesses reported earlier this year are linked to the cyclospora parasite, which can cause diarrhea, intestinal pain, nausea or fatigue. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that 507 cases have been confirmed in 15 states and New York City. (8/24)

The Associated Press: Man Accused Of Stealing $6,000 From Disabled Client
A Massachusetts man is accused of stealing more than $6,000 in EBT benefits from a disabled client. The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says 35-year-old Christopher Gardner, of Pembroke, was indicted Friday on two larceny counts. (8/24)

The Washington Post: Therapy Ducks: Dylan Dyke, 12-Year-Old With Autism, Fights Michigan Neighbors Over His Ducks
Dylan Dyke’s best friends are ducks.There Dylan is playing cards with “Bill.” There he is swimming with “Nibbles.” In another photo online, the 12-year-old with autism is seen talking to his two animals outside in Georgetown Township, Mich. Earlier this year, Dylan even drew a picture of a duck and wrote an acrostic, defining his feathery friends as “Determined,” “Undefeatable,” “Caring” and “Kind." (Bever, 8/24)