First Edition: December 13, 2017
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Why Do People Hate Obamacare, Anyway?
The Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare,” has roiled America since the day it was signed into law in 2010. From the start, the public was almost evenly divided between those who supported it and those who opposed it. They still are. The November monthly tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 50 percent of those polled had a favorable view of the health law, while 46 percent viewed it unfavorably. Partisan politics drives the split. Eighty percent of Democrats were supportive in November, while 81 percent of Republicans were strongly negative. (Rovner, 12/13)
Kaiser Health News:
Consumers Who Froze Their Credit Reports Could Hit A Glitch Enrolling In Insurance
Some Americans who froze their credit reports following the big data breach this year at the credit-rating firm Equifax may be in for a surprise if they try to purchase insurance on the federal health law’s marketplaces. That freeze could trigger a delay in the application process. Signing up for a marketplace plan online requires consumers — especially first-time enrollees — to prove their identity by answering questions linked to their credit history. It can affect both those who are seeking a subsidy and those who are not. (Appleby, 12/13)
Kaiser Health News:
These Annual Checkups Help Seniors Not Only Survive But Thrive
Bea Lipsky shuffled into her wellness coach’s office one morning this fall and parked her walker by the wall. Lipsky, 89, had had a trying year, enduring a hernia operation and two emergency room visits for heart problems. She’s losing her hearing, and recently gave up her dream of riding in a hot air balloon for her 90th birthday. (Bailey, 12/13)
The Hill:
Dems Call For Trump Officials To Extend ObamaCare Deadline
Two top Senate Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to extend ObamaCare’s sign-up period, arguing it is being cut off too soon this year before people have time to enroll. The sign-up period is slated to end on Friday, after beginning Nov. 1, about half as long as it has been in previous years. Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.) and Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democrats on the Senate committees overseeing health care, wrote to the administration on Tuesday calling for the period to be extended to Jan. 31. (Sullivan, 12/12)
The Hill:
Actuaries Warn Of Premium Increases From Repealing ObamaCare Mandate
A group of insurance experts is warning Congress against repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate, saying the move would raise premiums and could cause insurers to drop out of the market. The American Academy of Actuaries wrote to congressional leaders on Tuesday saying that “eliminating the individual mandate would lead to premium increases.” (Sullivan, 12/12)
Reuters:
Republicans Propose To Delay, Pause Obamacare Taxes
A spokeswoman for the House Ways and Means Committee said the additional proposed healthcare tax rollbacks would not be part of the broader tax overhaul bill. (Cornwell, 12/12)
The Hill:
House GOP Unveils Package To Delay ObamaCare Taxes
House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) led the announcement for the bills to delay ObamaCare’s tax on medical devices for five years, on health insurance for two years, and the "Cadillac tax" on high-cost health plans for one year. The package would also eliminate penalties for employers who do not offer health insurance to their workers, under the employer mandate, through 2018. (Sullivan, 12/12)
The Hill:
Two GOP Lawmakers Call For End To ObamaCare Program Operating In Only Arkansas
Two Republican lawmakers are calling for the elimination of a little-known ObamaCare program that costs the federal government $10 million a year. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced a bill Tuesday that would repeal ObamaCare's Multi-State Plan program. (Hellmann, 12/12)
Stat:
What Pharma's Watching As Congress Tries To Hammer Out A Tax Bill
As congressional leaders prepare to lock themselves away and hammer out a final tax bill, one thing is clear: Big Pharma, like the rest of corporate America, is going to get a big break. But there are devilish details the drug industry will be tracking, including the fates of an oft-used tax credit and a long-promised provision that would make it cheaper for multinational companies to bring overseas cash back to the U.S. (Garde, 12/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Families Of Patients Fear GOP Tax Plan Will Scuttle Drug Development For Rare Diseases
Of all the proposals in the GOP tax plan, none may be more important to families like Jay and Amy Granzow than an obscure provision on "orphan" drug research. The Granzows, who live in Manhattan Beach, fear that the final tax bill will end up killing or drastically cutting a three-decade-old tax credit for companies developing therapies for so-called orphan or rare diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and Angelman syndrome. The last is a debilitating genetic disorder that afflicts the Granzows' nearly 3-year-old daughter, Cora. (12/13)
Stat:
FDA To Study Deputizing Consumers To Find Bad Ads, As Warnings To Pharma Plunge
Concerned about the veracity of some pharmaceutical marketing, the Food and Drug Administration plans to study the extent to which doctors and consumers can detect deceptive ads. In explaining its rationale, the agency reiterated ongoing worries that misleading advertising can generate unnecessary prescribing, but also indicated interest in finding new ways to identify troubling ads, since resources are tight, according to this notice. (Silverman, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Lawyers Clash Over Impact Of Trump's Rules On Birth Control
Lawyers for California and the U.S. Department of Justice clashed in court Tuesday over whether new rules from President Donald Trump's administration would dramatically reduce women's access to free birth control. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ethan Davis urged a federal judge not to grant the state's request to block the policy change to President Barack Obama's health care law, saying it was not clear any women would lose no-cost contraception coverage. (Thanawala, 12/12)
Reuters:
U.S. Judge Questions Trump Administration On Birth Control Rules
New rules from the Department of Health and Human Services announced in October let businesses or non-profit organizations lodge religious or moral objections to obtain an exemption from the Obamacare law's mandate that most employers provide contraceptives coverage in health insurance with no co-payment. The move from President Donald Trump's administration kept a campaign pledge that pleased the Republican's conservative Christian supporters.California and several other states with Democratic attorneys general promptly sued and asked for the policy to be blocked while its legality is decided. (Levine, 12/12)
The Hill:
Bipartisan Group Of Governors Calls For Swift CHIP Reauthorization
A bipartisan group of governors is urging Congress to act quickly to reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In a letter led by Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), the governors said their states are running out of money, and urged lawmakers to find a bipartisan solution. (Weixel, 12/12)
The Washington Post:
Fact-Checking Jimmy Kimmel On CHIP Funding
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Dec. 11 stepped out of his comedic role and offered a commentary on the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, after introducing his son Billy, who has a serious heart issue. His presentation was a bit one-sided, and readers requested a fact check. It’s often difficult to describe Washington sausage-making in shorthand, and Kimmel fell short in several areas, appearing to pin most of the blame on Republicans — even though he was careful not to mention party affiliation. (Kessler, 12/13)
The Washington Post:
DEA Official Says 2016 Law That Undermined Enforcement Should Be Changed
The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration office that regulates pharmaceutical opioids told senators Tuesday that a 2016 law has made enforcement more difficult in urgent circumstances and should be revised. Demetra Ashley, who leads the agency’s Diversion Control Division, said Congress should choose between repealing and amending the law. But she said the DEA agrees with the Justice Department that it should be altered to help curb the ongoing opioid epidemic. (Bernstein and Higham, 12/12)
The Hill:
DEA, DOJ Back Changes To Law Linked To Opioid Crisis
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Justice both support changing a controversial law that led to the withdrawal of President Trump's nominee to be the nation’s drug czar earlier this year. Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) asked that his nomination be withdrawn after 60 Minutes and The Washington Post in a joint report said a law he spearheaded through Congress had weakened the enforcement of the nation’s drug policing laws, perhaps contributing to the opioid crisis. (Roubein, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Opioid Crisis Strains Foster System As Kids Pried From Homes
The case arrives with all the routine of a traffic citation: A baby boy, just 4 days old and exposed to heroin in his mother's womb, is shuddering through withdrawal in intensive care, his fate now here in a shabby courthouse that hosts a parade of human misery. The parents nod off as Judge Marilyn Moores explains the legal process, and tests arrive back showing both continue to use heroin. The judge briefly chastises, a grandmother sobs, and by the time the hearing is over, yet another child is left in the arms of strangers because of his parents' addiction. (Sedensky and Hoyer, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Q&A: How Is The US Opioid Crisis Affecting Children?
Public attention to the historic wave of opioid addiction gripping the U.S. has focused mostly on its effect on adults and the thousands who have died of overdoses. Missed by much of the spotlight, though, is a hidden epidemic: children who have fallen victim to opioids' wrath because a parent's drug use has left them in danger and thrust them into the foster care system. (Sedensky, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Officer Honored For Adopting Baby From Opioid Addicted Mom
A routine call about an Albuquerque convenience store theft turned into a life-transforming moment for an officer who came across upon a pregnant woman he found using heroin. That officer later volunteered to adopt the unborn baby. Officer Ryan Holets and his wife, Rebecca, were honored Monday for adopting the baby girl they named Hope after the addicted mom agreed to let the couple raise her child. The baby is now 6-weeks-old and is recovering after being born with an opioid addiction. (Contreras, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Hard-Hit By Opioids, A City Struggles With Hardcore Homeless
This is the lesson that the working-class city of Everett has learned: It takes a community to rescue the hardcore homeless.It takes teams of outreach workers — building relationships with men and women struggling with addiction or untreated mental illness, prodding them to get help. It takes police and other agencies, working together to provide for their needs. (Le, 12/13)
The Washington Post:
'Phenomenal' Trial Results May Lead To A Treatment For Huntington's Disease, Experts Say
The discovery of a drug that may treat the fatal disease known as Huntington's is being hailed as “historic” by Louise Vetter, president and CEO of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, and “phenomenal” and “fantastically promising” by Huntington's researchers, including the woman who discovered the genetic mutation that causes the disease. “I'm ecstatic,” said Nancy Wexler, who in 1993 identified the mutation. “Huntington's is horrible, one of the worst diseases known to mankind, and certain death. . . . We know it’s a bad gene, making a bad protein, that makes people sick, that kills your brain cells. Anything that could impact that, we knew that that could be a cure.” (Nutt, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
5 Years After Sandy Hook, Mental Health Care Worries Linger
Anguished mothers with mentally ill children have sought out Liza Long for help ever since she wrote an essay, "I am Adam Lanza's Mother," comparing experiences with her son to the emotionally troubled 20-year-old who carried out the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The massacre sounded alarms nationally about gaps in mental health care and led to calls for better screening and services, especially for young people showing a propensity for violence, but some key reforms enacted in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting depend on funding that has yet to be delivered by Congress. And Long still hears almost daily from families overwhelmed by their children's behaviors and struggling to get treatment. (Haigh, 12/13)
The New York Times:
Why You Need The Flu Shot Every Year
Most people know: If you got a flu shot this year, next year you’ll need it again. This is because the virus changes, usually rendering the previous year’s vaccine partly or totally useless. And it’s no secret that the flu vaccine’s effectiveness falls well short of what scientists and public health officials would like to see. Yes, it reduces the severity of influenza infections and prevents thousands of deaths and hospitalizations every year, but nowhere near other recommended vaccines. But why does the virus change so much every year? (Haelle, 12/12)
The Washington Post:
Trump Reportedly Drinks 12 Cans Of Diet Coke Each Day. Is That Healthy?
Those keeping tabs on President Trump's diet know that Wendy's and McDonald's are staples. While campaigning, Trump inhaled Filets-o-Fish and Big Macs and snacked on Oreos. He'd then wash it all down with a Diet Coke. Just how much diet soda the president consumes, though, was revealed Saturday by the New York Times, which reported that Trump has a button to summon household staff for one of the 12 Diet Cokes he drinks each day. (Eltagouri, 12/12)
The Washington Post:
Women Rate The Strongest Men As The Most Attractive, Study Finds
Heterosexual male gym rats, rejoice! Women, when asked in a study to judge photos of men's bodies, rated the strongest men as the most attractive. Height and leanness were appealing attributes, too, but strength played an outsize role in the ratings of a man's torso, per a report published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “No one will be surprised by the idea that strong men are more attractive,” said study author Aaron Lukaszewski, an evolutionary psychologist at California State University at Fullerton. “It's no secret that women like strong, muscular guys.” (Guarino, 12/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Is 'Man Flu' Real? Medical Science Delivers Comfort To Helpless Male Snufflers
We've all seen him: The man who strides boldly into high-stakes negotiations, risks serious injury to win a pickup basketball game and fearlessly confronts things that go bump in the night, yet is brought low by a tiny virus. He snivels pitiably, wallows in his misery and tests the most forbearing caregiver with his abject helplessness. The diagnosis often comes with a roll of the eyes. It’s “man flu,” an infectious disease that renders healthy males utterly incapable of self-care. (Healy, 12/12)
Stat:
How Healthy Is Your State? The Disparities Are Stark
Massachusetts is the healthiest state in which to live this year, according to a new report from the United Health Foundation. The report ranks states on 35 factors that impact health, from vaccination levels and infant mortality rates to environmental pollution and poverty levels. The analysis also pinpoints public health challenges nationwide. (Thielking, 12/12)
NPR:
Down Syndrome Families Divided Over Abortion Ban
When a pregnant woman finds out that she's likely to give birth to a baby with Down syndrome, she's often given the option to terminate the pregnancy. But families affected by the genetic disorder that causes developmental delays are conflicted over whether such abortions should be legal. Ohio could soon become the latest state to restrict abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis. A bill that would make it a felony for doctors to perform abortions after a Down syndrome diagnosis is moving through the state legislature and could be ready for Gov. John Kasich's signature as soon as this week. (McCammon, 12/13)
The Washington Post:
D.C.'s Only Public Hospital Needs A $17 Million Taxpayer Bailout To Stay Afloat
A taxpayer bailout of at least $17 million will be needed if the District’s only public hospital is to stay afloat, the hospital’s finance committee has concluded, in the latest setback to afflict United Medical Center. Hospital board members plan to discuss the recommended subsidy request when they meet Wednesday. If approved by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the D.C. Council, it would be the largest investment of District tax dollars to prop up the hospital’s operating budget since 2010, when the city took over the facility. (Jamison, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
Ex-Kansas Official Accused Of Misconduct Fired From New Job
A company that helps to manage the Medicaid program in Kansas has fired an employee who was accused of sexual misconduct while working as a state social services administrator. Amerigroup Kansas Inc. spokeswoman Olga Gallardo said Tuesday in an email that Brandt Haehn “was terminated.” She provided no other details about the firing or his employment. (Hanna, 12/12)
The Associated Press:
West Virginia Nurse Admits To Illegally Distributing Drugs
A registered nurse has admitted to illegally distributing drugs used to treat opioid addiction through her job at a clinic in West Virginia’s northern panhandle from 2008 through 2016. Sharon E. Jackson of Wellsburg pleaded guilty Monday to one conspiracy charge in federal court, agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors and forfeit $253,000 described in court papers as her proceeds from the drug offense at an addiction treatment center, Advance Healthcare Inc., in Weirton. (12/12)