First Edition: August 8, 2018

Kaiser Health News: As Opioid Crisis Rages, Some Trade ‘Tough Love’ For Empathy
It was Bea Duncan who answered the phone at 2 a.m. on a January morning. Her son Jeff had been caught using drugs in a New Hampshire sober home and was being kicked out. Bea and her husband, Doug, drove north that night nine years ago to pick him up. On the ride back home, to Natick, Mass., the parents delivered an ultimatum: Jeff had to go back to rehab, or leave home. Jeff chose the latter, Bea said. She remembers a lot of yelling, cursing and tears as they stopped the car, in the dead of night, a few miles from the house. (Bebinger, 8/8)

Reuters: U.S. To Boost Drug Price Negotiation In Medicare Advantage Health Plans
The Trump administration said on Tuesday it would give Medicare Advantage health plans for the elderly new tools to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Medicare Advantage plans will be allowed to require that patients first try certain lower-cost drugs before moving to a more expensive alternative if the first treatment is not effective. (Erman and Gershberg, 8/7)

The Hill: Trump Administration Gives Insurers Power To Lower Medicare Drug Prices
Insurers participating in Medicare Advantage will be able to negotiate directly with drugmakers in an effort to lower the cost of prescription medications under a new policy announced by the Trump administration. The policy aims to allow Medicare Advantage plans access to the same tools as private insurers to try to lower the costs of treatments delivered in a physician office or hospital under Medicare Part B. The change will impact more than 20 million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. In 2017, Medicare Advantage plans spent $11.9 billion on Medicare Part B drugs, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). (Weixel, 8/7)

Stat: Private Medicare Plans Will Be Able To Use A New Tool To Lower Drug Costs 
The administration framed the announcement as a step toward lowering drug prices, saying in a press release that it will enable Medicare Advantage plans “to drive down prices for some of the most expensive drugs seniors use.” “President Trump promised better Medicare negotiation and lower drug prices for the American people. Today, we are taking an important step in delivering on that promise,” health secretary Alex Azar said. But the new policy is a far cry from President Trump’s campaign promise to let Medicare negotiate prices — a far more ambitious and controversial proposal that he and his top health officials have since abandoned. (Swetlitz, 8/7)

Reuters: Trump Says Will Make Announcement Next Week On Reducing Drug Prices
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would make an announcement next week on reducing drug prices, but he did not offer specifics. Speaking at a dinner with business leaders at his New Jersey club, Trump said, "We are announcing something next week which is going to get them down really substantially." Trump has made lowering the cost of prescription drugs an issue for his administration. (Oliphant, 8/7)

The Hill: Top Dem Wants Information About ObamaCare Website Removals
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may have violated federal law by removing a web page that provided information about how Medicare coverage is affected by ObamaCare, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said Tuesday. In a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, Cummings asked HHS to provide documentation about any decisions to remove information from websites it maintains. (Weixel, 8/7)

The New York Times: Plan To Punish Immigrants For Using Welfare Could Boost G.O.P. Candidates
The Trump administration is advancing a plan to punish legal immigrants for accepting food stamps, public housing and other government benefits they are entitled to — a strategy that appeals to conservatives and could help to galvanize Republican voters before the midterm elections. The proposed rule first surfaced last year. Last month, the White House Office of Management and Budget published a notice that it was under consideration. A Trump administration official said Tuesday that details of the proposal were still weeks away from being finalized and made public. (Shear and Nixon, 8/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Carl Icahn Publicly Opposes $54 Billion Cigna-Express Scripts Deal
Carl Icahn is going public with his campaign to scuttle Cigna Corp.’s $54 billion plan to buy Express Scripts Holding Co. The billionaire activist investor sent an open letter Tuesday urging fellow Cigna shareholders to vote against the deal, which he calls a “$60 billion folly” carrying a “ridiculous” price tag. The Wall Street Journal reported on the forthcoming letter Monday. “Cigna is dramatically overpaying for a highly challenged Express Scripts that is facing existential risks on several fronts,” Mr. Icahn wrote. (Lombardo, 8/7)

The Hill: Icahn Warns Against Cigna-Express Scripts Merger 
Cigna in March said it would pay $52 billion for Express Scripts, a deal on which shareholders will vote Aug. 24. The deal includes $15 billion in debt, bringing the total cost to $67 billion. Express Scripts is the largest independent pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) in the country. PBMs act as intermediaries between drug manufacturers and health insurance plans and their beneficiaries. They negotiate drug rebates and pass the savings on to patients. (Weixel, 8/7)

Stat: Wall Street Is Writing Off Spark's Hemophilia Gene Therapy. Clinicians Are Not
On Tuesday, Spark Therapeutics offered what it called “highly encouraging” data in hemophilia A, and Wall Street rewarded it by driving down the stock price by nearly 28 percent. But doctors in the field say it’s far too early to count Spark out in its effort to craft a gene therapy that could leave patients free of spontaneous bleeding. (Garde, 8/7)

Stat: Express Scripts To Drop Dozens More Drugs Next Year
As the cost of prescription drugs generates increased controversy, Express Scripts (ESRX), the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager, will be removing still more medicines from its list of drugs covered by insurance, known as formularies. In 2019, the PBM will exclude 242 medicines, compared with 196 this year, and the changes are forecast to save about $3.2 billion for its clients, such as health plans. The formulary covers approximately 25 million people, and about 0.2 percent of them are forecast to be affected by the changes. (Silverman, 8/7)

Reuters: AstraZeneca Settles Texas Drug Lawsuits For $110 Million
Drugmaker AstraZeneca has agreed to pay $110 million to settle two lawsuits brought by the state of Texas claiming that it fraudulently marketed the antipsychotic drug Seroquel and Crestor for high cholesterol. The largest settlement, totaling $90 million, resolves allegations the drugmaker encouraged doctors to use Seroquel for unapproved uses. A second settlement for $20 million covers allegations it misrepresented the benefits of Crestor. (Hirschler, 8/8)

The Washington Post: Beyoncé, Serena Williams Open Up About Potentially Fatal Childbirths, A Problem Especially For Black Mothers
Beyoncé. Serena Williams. While one is a singer and the other is a professional tennis player, there are many similarities between the women’s lives. Both are at the top of their respective fields — Beyoncé has 22 Grammy Awards. Williams has 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Both are African American. Both are mothers. But the women have shared one life experience that has recently attracted widespread attention: Both survived potentially fatal pregnancy complications. (Chiu, 8/7)

The Wall Street Journal: The Genetic Test Some Men Don’t Know They Need
Mark Meerschaert learned from a posting in a family Facebook group a few years ago that a close male relative tested positive for an inherited mutation in the BRCA2 gene. The gene mutation is widely associated with female breast and ovarian cancer, but increases risk for other cancers, too. The relative suggested that family members consider getting tested. Dr. Meerschaert, a 62-year-old statistics and probability professor at Michigan State University, ignored the advice at first. He had already been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and as the father of two sons, getting tested didn’t feel urgent or relevant in the same way it might have, he says, if he had daughters. “I was still thinking about it mainly as a problem for the women in the family,” he says. (Marcus, 8/7)

The Associated Press: Advocates Condemn Psych Techniques Used To Keep Kids Online
Children's advocates want the American Psychological Association to condemn the tech industry's practice of using persuasive psychological techniques to keep kids glued to their screens. The advocates, citing research that links excessive use of social media and video games with depression and academic troubles, say it's unethical for psychologists to be involved in tactics that risk harming kids' well-being. Skeptics say the research is inconclusive, and they note that psychologists have been involved in other industries' marketing and advertising for decades. (Tanner and O'Brien, 8/8)

The New York Times: Why We All Need To Drink More During Hot Weather Exercise
Don’t skip drinking during exercise in hot weather, a new study reminds us. This advice might seem obvious. But apparently some athletes, especially in team sports, have begun to eschew fluids during hot weather workouts, in hopes that the privation might somehow make them stronger. But the new study finds that it is likely only to make them more physically stressed. And very, very thirsty. (Reynolds, 8/8)

The Associated Press: Experts Question Benefits Of Fluoride-Free Toothpaste
Dental health experts worry that more people are using toothpaste that skips the most important ingredient — fluoride — and leaves them at a greater risk of cavities. Most toothpastes already contain fluoride. While health authorities recognize fluoride as a cavity blocker, the internet is dotted with claims, often from “natural” toothpaste marketers and alternative medicine advocates, that fluoride-free toothpaste also prevents cavities. Dental authorities disagree. (Donn, 8/7)

The New York Times: Experimental Ebola Vaccine Can Be Used In Latest Outbreak, W.H.O. Says
The effort to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo received a boost on Tuesday with news that an experimental vaccine can be used to combat the deadly virus. Dr. Peter Salama, the World Health Organization’s deputy director general for emergencies, said the latest outbreak, in North Kivu Province, involves the Zaire strain of the virus. (Satoshi Sugiyama, 8/7)

The Associated Press: Study: 1 In 7 Children Of Zika-Infected Moms Have Problems
One out of every seven babies born to U.S. mothers who were infected with Zika during pregnancy developed some kind of health problem, according to the first long-term look at those children. Tuesday's study focused on the children of women in Puerto Rico and other territories, where most of the U.S. cases were seen when the disease swept across the Americas more than two years ago. (Stobbe, 8/7)

The Washington Post: 1 In 7 Babies Exposed To Zika In U.S. Territories Have Birth Defects, Nervous System Problems
The data analyzed come from a registry of 1,450 children in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands whose mothers were confirmed through lab tests to have been exposed to Zika while pregnant. Six percent of the children suffered from birth defects such as small head size and brain and eye damage. Nine percent had at least one neurodevelopmental issue such as seizures or difficulty swallowing. And 1 percent had both. Margaret Honein, director of the CDC’s Division of Congenital and Developmental Disorders, said in an interview that there appeared to be a wide range of outcomes, with some children more affected than others. She said that some of the children born with severe microcephaly — or a smaller-than-normal head size — do in fact have major impairments, as doctors had feared. (Cha, 8/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Zika’s Long-Term Toll Is Heavy For Children
The results “could be an underestimate” of Zika’s impact because many children born to mothers infected with Zika haven’t had follow-up medical care reported, said Peggy Honein, director of the CDC’s Division of Congenital and Developmental Disorders and senior author of the report. Public-health officials are tracking children born to infected mothers to better understand the medical needs they will have and care they will require, Dr. Honein said. (McKay, 8/7)

Reuters: Zika Exposure Before Birth Could Cause Health Issues In Babies-CDC
Some babies exposed to the Zika virus before birth may face health problems related to the mosquito-borne illness, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, providing guidance for couples planning pregnancies. About 14 percent, or one in seven babies among 1,450 infants, had one or more health problems possibly caused by Zika, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report. (Joseph, 8/7)

Los Angeles Times: For Zika-Exposed Babies, Trouble May Emerge In Their First Year
Microcephaly — a smaller-than-usual head size -- has emerged as a hallmark of Zika exposure in babies. But in many babies whose mothers were infected by the Zika virus during pregnancy, follow-up care revealed health issues that were less immediately evident, including brain and eye damage, vision and hearing abnormalities and nervous system problems such as seizures. Many of those babies had appeared healthy at birth, and only as the babies grew older did those abnormalities become evident. (Healy, 8/7)

NPR: Babies Who Seem Fine At Birth May Have Zika-Related Problems Later, Study Finds
"We're beginning to see the full spectrum of the impact of Zika," says Margaret Honein, director of the Division of Congenital and Developmental Disorders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC released the study Tuesday. "This is really our first look at how these children are doing as they grow and develop, and really emphasizes that the Zika story is not over, particularly for these children," Honein says. (Stein, 8/7)

The Associated Press: School Massacre Commission To Discuss Campus Safety
The state commission investigating the Florida school massacre will discuss improving campus safety and hear about education and health privacy laws. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission begins its monthly two-day meeting Wednesday. The 14 members will hear from experts on "school hardening" and state and federal privacy laws. (8/8)

Politico: In 2 Rural States That Let Teachers Carry Guns, Few Schools Take Part
Officials in rural states like South Dakota and Wyoming told President Donald Trump’s school safety commission on Tuesday that few school districts have taken advantage of state laws there to train and arm teachers. The lack of participation comes despite a ringing endorsement from the president, who touted the idea of arming trained school staff after the shooting in Parkland, Fla., earlier this year that left 17 people dead. (Emma, 8/7)

The Associated Press: Tobacco-Funded Group Sues Over Montana Citizen Tax Measure
A tobacco industry-funded group wants to change the wording of a citizen's ballot initiative that would significantly raise Montana's tobacco taxes, a legal challenge that is part of the group's expensive effort to defeat the measure when it goes to voters in November. The lawsuit filed with the Montana Supreme Court Monday by Montanans Against Tax Hikes takes issue with specific phrasing contained in the 135-word ballot statement, saying the language is incorrect, will cause confusion and prevent voters from casting an informed ballot. (8/7)

The Washington Post: ‘Sex-Positive’ D.C. Briefly Promoted Trump’s Abstinence-Only Sex Education Policy
Talk about strange bedfellows. The District government — which proudly boasts a “sex-positive” public health strategy — this week became an unexpected and fleeting ally to the Trump administration’s abstinence-only approach to sex education. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s office on Monday headlined its weekly roundup of local, federal and privately funded grant opportunities with $14 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for “sexual risk avoidance education.” (Nirappil, 8/7)

Los Angeles Times: USC Names Retired Aerospace Executive Wanda Austin As Acting President, Announces Nikias' Departure
USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administration’s handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USC’s board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. (Ryan, 8/7)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County To Test New Efforts To Assist People Living In Vehicles
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create a pilot program to assist people living in vehicles and to reduce the hazards associated with vehicle dwelling. The program will consist of outreach to people living in their cars, vans and RVs to connect them with social services, money to discourage the use and reuse of dilapidated RVs as dwellings, and a solid- and hazardous-waste collection program, including free sharps containers. (Agrawal, 8/7)