First Edition: December 13, 2019

Kaiser Health News: In The Fight For Money For The Opioid Crisis, Will The Youngest Victims Be Left Out?
Babies born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy represent one of the most distressing legacies of an opioid epidemic that has claimed almost 400,000 lives and ravaged communities. In fact, many of the ongoing lawsuits filed against drug companies refer to these babies, fighting through withdrawal in hospital nurseries.The cluster of symptoms they experience, which include tremors, seizures and respiratory distress, is known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. Until recently, doctors rarely looked for the condition. (Farmer, 13/13)

Kaiser Health News: San Francisco Hopes To Improve Care For People With Mental Illness Living On Streets
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has promised to tackle her city’s homelessness crisis, a vexing situation involving drug abuse and mental illness that is compounded by the city’s high housing costs. Breed has asked Dr. Anton Nigusse Bland, most recently the medical director for psychiatric emergency services at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, to help solve the problem. In March, she appointed him to the newly created position of director of mental health reform. His main role is to help the city improve its mental health and addiction treatment for people experiencing homelessness. (Krans, 12/13)

California Healthline: Californians Without Health Insurance Will Pay A Penalty — Or Not
Californians, be warned: A new state law could make you liable for a hefty tax penalty if you do not have health insurance next year and beyond. But some of you need not worry: The law contains several exemptions that will allow certain people to avoid the penalty, among them prisoners, low-income residents and those living abroad. (Wolfson, 12/11)

California Healthline: Some Rejoice Over New California Health Insurance Subsidies. Others Get Shut Out.
Syd Winlock bought one of the cheapest health insurance policies he could find for himself and his wife, Lisa, this year: a high-deductible plan with lousy coverage and a $1,500-per-month price tag. For coverage next year, the Elk Grove, Calif., resident qualifies for new state-funded health insurance subsidies totaling about $870 per month. This aid allows him to buy a better plan with a lower deductible for about $1,200 per month. That’s still high, he said, but any help is welcome. (Ibarra, 12/12)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Legislate-A-Palooza
The House overwhelmingly passed a 2020 National Defense Authorization that included a provision that would give 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal workers. The measure is expected to pass the Senate, and President Donald Trump has said he would sign the measure ― a priority for his daughter and special adviser Ivanka Trump ― into law. Meanwhile, the bipartisan leadership of key health care committees on Capitol Hill announced compromise legislation to address “surprise” medical bills, but a deal on a final package is far from clear. (12/12)

The New York Times: House Votes To Give The Government The Power To Negotiate Drug Prices
The House, delivering on one of Democrats’ central campaign promises, passed ambitious legislation on Thursday to lower the rising cost of prescription drugs by empowering the federal government to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. The bill, known as H.R. 3 — a numerical designation that reflects its position on Democrats’ priority list — would make significant changes to the federal Medicare program, which provides health coverage to older Americans. It passed largely on party lines, 230 to 192, and includes provisions to create new vision, dental and hearing benefits, and caps out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000. (Stolberg, 12/12)

Reuters: Democrats Pass U.S. Bill To Lower Drug Prices That Trump Threatens To Veto
"I've seen grown men cry on the campaign trail because they cannot meet the prescription drug cost, whether they have a spouse that is ill or a child with a pre-existing conditions," Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told reporters ahead of the vote. "This will make all the difference in the world." The bill would cap prices for the country's most expensive drugs using an international index and impose hefty fines for manufacturers that do not negotiate. (Lambert, 12/12)

The Washington Post: House Democrats Pass Broad Prescription Drug Price Bill As Election Marker
It is also a marker for how Democrats would address rising prescription drug prices if they were to gain control of the White House and Congress. In addition, Democrats are seeking to highlight Trump’s failure to deliver on his 2016 campaign promise to allow Medicare to “negotiate like crazy.” The Democrats’ effort, which became broader as it made its way through committees, has spooked the pharmaceutical industry, which is vehemently opposed to the legislation and has said it would stifle innovation. (Abutaleb, 12/12)

Politico: House Passes Bill Requiring Drug Price Negotiations
[The bill] would mandate that the government negotiate the price of at least 25 Medicare Part D drugs annually, ultimately requiring federal officials to hammer out the cost of at least 50 medicines a year. Commercial insurers could also take advantage of the deals. A separate set of provisions would limit drug manufacturers’ ability to annually hike prices in Medicare, forcing them to rebate the portion of the increase that is above the rate of inflation. The bill envisions eventually expanding that requirement to the private sector under language that progressives led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal secured in negotiations with Pelosi just 48 hours ahead of the vote. (Cancryn and Owermohle, 12/12)

NPR: Nancy Pelosi's Prescription Drug Price Plan To Get A Vote
Right now, there's no limit for how much seniors and others on Medicare spend on drugs out of pocket — unlike in most insurance plans. This bill would set a limit for Medicare patients at $2,000 a year. It's not just seniors who get a break here. Right now, after enrollees have spent several thousand dollars on drugs, they're on the hook for 5% of ongoing costs, their prescription drug plan pays 15% and Medicare pays 80% — drug companies don't pay any part of it. Under the bill, that splitting gets changed around: Patients pay nothing after they hit the new cap, drug companies pay 30% and Medicare and health plans pick up the rest. (Simmons-Duffin, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: House Passes Bill To Reduce Drug Prices
Some Republicans and pharmaceutical lobbying groups have said the plan would discourage investment in research on new cures and treatments. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s primary lobbying group. has said it would siphon $1 trillion or more from biopharmaceutical innovation over 10 years, leading to fewer drugs. Mrs. Pelosi pushed her legislation through despite initial objections from progressive members who said the bill wasn’t aggressive enough and didn’t open enough drugs in Medicare to negotiation. (Armour, 12/12)

The New York Times: South Carolina Is The 10th State To Impose Medicaid Work Requirements
Although the courts have so far blocked President Trump’s attempts to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, his administration announced on Thursday that it would allow a 10th state, South Carolina, to condition Medicaid eligibility for many poor adults on proving that they work or engage in other activities, like volunteering. It is the first time the Trump administration has approved such rules in a state whose working-age Medicaid population consists almost entirely of poor mothers. Unlike most of the other states that have won approval for work requirements, South Carolina chose not to expand Medicaid to most of its low-income adult population, as the Affordable Care Act had encouraged. (Goodnough, 12/12)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Approves Medicaid Work Rules For S. Carolina
South Carolina is planning to impose its work rules on two groups of low-income people who did not qualify before under that state’s stringent eligibility rules. Specifically, those groups are parents or other caretakers with incomes slightly higher than the state’s threshold of 67 percent of the federal poverty level, plus certain adults who are homeless, need drug treatment or are involved with the criminal justice system. For this reason, the CMS says that the program will add an estimated 45,000 additional South Carolinians to the rolls, even if some of the newly eligible people fail to meet the requirements. (Goldstein, 12/12)

The Hill: Trump Administration Approves Medicaid Work Requirements In South Carolina
“South Carolina’s economy is booming, wages are up, and our unemployment rate is at an all-time low,” Gov. Henry McMaster (R) said in a statement. “Competition for workers is fierce and businesses are struggling to fill vacancies. In this economy there is no excuse for the able bodied not to be working.” (Weixel, 12/12)

The New York Times: Federal Watchdog Questions Billions Of Dollars Paid To Private Medicare Plans
A government report released Thursday found health insurance companies had combed through patient charts to obtain billions of dollars of additional payments from the federal Medicare program. The report, from the federal inspector general’s office, examined payments billed by insurers for those covered by private Medicare Advantage plans, which are increasingly popular and heavily promoted by the Trump administration. The findings showed that insurers were adding on conditions like diabetes and even cancer, reporting that patients were sicker, to receive higher payments from Medicare. (Abelson, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Medicare Enrollment Can Be Confusing And Lead To Unexpected Costs
As more Americans postpone retirement, a growing number are experiencing Medicare enrollment problems that can saddle them with hefty penalties and monthslong coverage gaps. The roots of the problem are Medicare’s complex rules and a lack of notice from the program explaining the steps older workers must take to enroll once they leave their jobs. In recent decades, Americans have remained in the workforce longer, for reasons including concerns about savings and a desire to keep working, with many putting off taking Social Security payments. (Tergesen, 12/12)

The Associated Press: Senate OKs Trump's FDA Nominee Despite Unclear Vaping Agenda
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Dr. Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration despite concerns about how he will confront the growing problem of underage vaping. Hahn, a cancer specialist and hospital executive, won confirmation to the role of FDA commissioner with a vote of 72-18. The move comes as key decisions about regulating electronic cigarettes, including how to keep them away from teenagers, remain unresolved. (Perrone, 12/12)

The New York Times: Senate Confirms Stephen Hahn To Head F.D.A.
Dr. Hahn, chief medical executive at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, was nominated by President Trump to replace Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who left the post in the spring. Since then, the F.D.A. has been run by two acting commissioners. In two recent appearances before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Dr. Hahn, 59, sidestepped questions on whether he supports the F.D.A.’s proposal to ban most flavored e-cigarettes. Although President Trump promised to do so in September, he has since backed away from that plan, flummoxing public health lobbyists and industry executives alike. (Kaplan, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Hahn Confirmed As New FDA Chief
One prominent Democrat in the e-cigarette debate, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday that he would vote to confirm Dr. Hahn, but urged him to take strong action on youth vaping. “Dr. Hahn may find himself in a compromised position soon, and I told him as much,” Sen. Durbin said. “Dr. Hahn said to me that he doesn’t want to be known in history as the head of the FDA who saw this epidemic grow dramatically when it comes to vaping by young people.” (Burton, 12/12)

The Washington Post: Senate Confirms Stephen Hahn As FDA Commissioner
Robert Califf, FDA commissioner during the Obama administration, said key issues facing Hahn include the ongoing opioid epidemic and declines in life expectancy caused in part by chronic disease, suicide and depression. He also urged Hahn to press forward with agency efforts to incorporate “real world evidence " — information from sources such as electronic medical records — in evaluating drugs. “We need much better evidence about medical products in practice,” he said. (McGinley, 12/12)

The Associated Press: Vaping Illness Death Count Surpasses 50 In US
The death toll in the vaping illness outbreak has topped 50, U.S. health officials said Thursday. The 52 deaths in 26 states are among the 2,409 hospitalized cases that have been reported across the nation this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Hospitalized cases have been most common in the Midwest, with some of the highest rates in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. (Stobbe, 12/12)

The Associated Press: Illinois Sues E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Youth Marketing
Illinois has become the latest state to sue the country's biggest e-cigarette maker, alleging in a lawsuit filed Thursday that Juul Labs Inc., used deceptive marketing practices to entice minors and misrepresented the amount of nicotine in its products. State Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the company designed its products to lure teens, making them sleek and easy to conceal, offering flavors like fruit medley and relying on celebrities and social media influencers. (Tareen, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Slow VA Payments Left Veterans Facing Collection Agencies
A whistleblower at the Department of Veterans Affairs spurred an investigation that found hundreds of millions of dollars in improper travel claims and a deeply flawed system used when veterans seek care outside the VA, according to an internal VA investigation made public Thursday by the Office of Special Counsel. The top federal whistleblower-protection agency, which ordered the VA to conduct the investigation after reviewing the whistleblower’s allegations, called the hundreds of millions spent on improper travel claims a “gross waste of funds” and expressed concern that the VA has known since 2014 that veterans are being sent to collection agencies because of problems with the system used by the administration to pay private doctors. (Kesling, 12/13)

The Wall Street Journal: FCC Approves Making ‘988’ A National Suicide-Prevention Hotline Number
Americans would be able to dial 988 to reach a suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline under a proposal approved Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission. The new three-digit dialing code is designed to be an easier-to-remember version of an existing toll-free number, 1-800-273-TALK, known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Dialing 988 would connect callers to the lifeline, which routes calls to a nearby crisis center run by an organization designated to answer the call. (Tracy, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: DOJ Charges 10 Ex-NFL Players With Health Care Fraud
The federal government charged 10 former National Football League players on Thursday with participating in a scheme that stole $3.4 million from an NFL health care fund for retired players. The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against Robert McCune and nine other ex-players, including Clinton Portis and Correll Buckhalter, for two conspiracies that were linked to the same scheme to defraud the plan. The agency also said it also intends to charge Joe Horn and one other player. (Radnofsky and Gurman, 12/12)

The Washington Post: Clinton Portis, 9 Others Charged In NFL Health Care Fraud Case
The players allegedly submitted false claims to the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan for reimbursement for medical equipment — such as hyperbaric chambers, cryotherapy machines, ultrasound machines used to conduct women’s health exams and electromagnetic therapy devices designed for use on horses — costing between $40,000 and $50,000. According to the indictments, the players fabricated documents, including invoices and prescriptions, to execute the plan. (Kilgore and Maese, 12/12)

The New York Times: M.L.B. Updates Drug Policy To Include Opioid Testing
After a season that saw the opioid-overdose death of a 27-year-old pitcher, Major League Baseball and the players’ union on Thursday announced that players will be tested for opioids and cocaine starting in spring training under an updated drug policy. The update to the drug policy takes a treatment-based approach, rather than a punitive one, as players will only be disciplined if they violate a prescribed treatment plan after a positive test. (Wagner, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Major League Baseball Players To Face Mandatory Opioid Testing
While MLB has long tested players for performance-enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids, under the previous protocol it could only test for opioids and other so-called drugs of abuse if it had “reasonable cause” to do so. Now all players will be subject to random testing for opioids, the drugs at the center of the public health crisis, as well as cocaine and synthetic THC. (Diamond and Radnofsky, 12/12)

The Associated Press: Tramadol Is An Odd, Unpredictable Opioid, Scientists Say
Scientists who’ve studied the curious chemistry of the opioid tramadol use an array of adjectives to describe it: “unpredictable,” “messy,” “crazy.” Tramadol is unlike most other opioids in that it must pass through the liver to be metabolized into its most potent form. At the same time, it releases another type of drug that acts as an antidepressant because it increases levels of serotonin in the brain, which elevates mood. (12/13)

The Associated Press: Another Opioid Crisis Is Raging Through The Developing World
Reports rolled in with escalating urgency — pills seized by the truckload, pills swallowed by schoolchildren, pills in the pockets of dead terrorists. These pills, the world has been told, are safer than the OxyContins, the Vicodins, the fentanyls that have wreaked so much devastation. But now they are the root of what the United Nations named “the other opioid crisis” — an epidemic featured in fewer headlines than the American one, as it rages through the planet's most vulnerable countries. (12/13)

The Associated Press: Court Won't Halt Lawsuits Against Doctor In Murder Case
An Ohio hospital doctor who pleaded not guilty to murder in 25 patients' deaths was unsuccessful in his latest bid to pause more than a dozen related lawsuits while the criminal case is pending. A state appeals court dismissed the appeals from William Husel and his former employer, the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System, for procedural reasons in the past two weeks. (12/12)

NPR: The Psychological Science Accelerator Pushes For Large-Scale Global Research
In 2008, psychologists proposed that when humans are shown an unfamiliar face, they judge it on two main dimensions: trustworthiness and physical strength. These form the basis of first impressions, which may help people make important social decisions, from whom to vote for to how long a prison sentence should be. (Chawla, 12/13)

The New York Times: You Could Die Today. Here’s How To Reduce That Risk.
Everyone dies, but almost nobody expects to die today. Yet, accidents do happen. In 2017, accidents and unintentional injuries were the third-most-common cause of death of Americans. Although we live in a remarkably safe world by historical standards, many of us needlessly increase our risk of sickness, injury and even death without realizing it. Let’s look at a hypothetical day and see which choices have the greatest potential benefits to our well-being. (Webb, 12/12)

The New York Times: New Zealand Seeks Human Skin To Treat Volcano Burn Victims
To treat more than two dozen tourists severely burned in a volcanic explosion earlier this week, doctors in New Zealand are rushing to obtain a unique medical export from the United States. The doctors are buying nearly 1,300 square feet of human skin. At a briefing on Thursday in Auckland, health officials outlined the desperate task before them. The volcanic explosion on White Island left 27 visitors with severe burns, some covering up to 95 percent of their bodies. Twenty-two are in critical condition. (Rabin, 12/12)

The Associated Press: More People Signing Up For Health Insurance In California
More than 130,000 people have purchased health insurance through California's state-run marketplace for the first time, a 16% increase from last year now that the state is offering more money to help people pay their monthly premiums and will begin taxing people next year who refuse to buy insurance. Covered California released the numbers on Thursday ahead of a Sunday deadline for people to purchase insurance and have their plans effective Jan. 1. Plans purchased after Sunday would take effect Feb. 1. California's open enrollment period closes Jan. 31. (12/12)

The New York Times: Why Hospital Workers Fear Moving 50 Criminally Insane Patients
Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center in New York City has long been a place of mystery, with little known about what goes on behind the razor-wire fences. As a result, the state-run facility for the dangerously mentally ill — located on Wards Island in Manhattan — has gone all but unnoticed for decades, despite having held some of the city’s most notorious criminals, including serial killers and cannibals like Daniel Rakowitz, the so-called Butcher of Tompkins Square Park. (Correal, 12/13)

The Associated Press: Judges Nixes Lawsuit About Toxic Mold At Mississippi Airbase
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a military family who says they were sickened by toxic mold at an air force base in Mississippi. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr.'s ruling dismissed one of 14 lawsuits filed against Hunt Southern Group and Hunt MH Property Management, the owner and property manager of housing at the Keesler Air Force in Biloxi, The Sun Herald reports. (12/12)