First Edition: February 20, 2015

Kaiser Health News: UCLA Bacteria Outbreak Highlights The Challenges Of Curbing Infections
The bacterial outbreak at a Los Angeles hospital highlights shortcomings in the federal government’s efforts to avert the most lethal hospital infections, which are becoming increasingly impervious to treatment. Government efforts are hobbled, infection control experts say, by gaps in monitoring the prevalence of these germs both within hospitals and beyond. The continued overuse of antibiotics — due to over-prescription by doctors, patients’ insistence and the widespread use in animals and crops — has helped these bacteria evolve into more dangerous forms and flourish. (Rau, 2/20)

Kaiser Health News: Many Uninsured Don’t Realize They May Face A Tax Penalty
A “teachable moment” is one way to describe the consternation that many uninsured people may feel when they file their taxes this spring and realize they owe a penalty for not having health insurance. According to a new survey, the number of people who may need to be schooled is substantial: Forty-four percent of uninsured people who may be subject to the penalty say they know nothing or only a little about the penalty they may face. (Andrews, 2/20)

Los Angeles Times: FDA Knew Of Design Flaw In Scope Linked To UCLA Superbug
A commonly used medical scope linked to a deadly bacterial outbreak at UCLA may be so flawed it cannot be properly cleaned, federal officials conceded Thursday. But they stopped short of recalling the device or outlining any new sterilization procedures. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has known about the potential problems for more than two years, and took action only after The Times reported this week that two patients died in a new superbug outbreak at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center. (Levey, Terhune and Willman, 2/19)

Los Angeles Times: Patient's Family Cites Earlier Case Of Superbug At UCLA
UCLA hospital officials said they began investigating the possibility of a deadly bacterial outbreak in mid-December, but one patient's account suggests they missed a chance to discover the problem much earlier. That patient, an 18-year-old man still hospitalized at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, was first diagnosed in October with the drug-resistant superbug CRE after he was treated with a medical scope tied to outbreaks at hospitals across the country, his attorney said Thursday. UCLA declined to discuss specific patients but said it acted swiftly as soon as it discovered the problem. (Terhune, Panzar and Petersen, 2/19)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Issues Warning On Medical Device After Superbug Outbreak
The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning Thursday for a medical device widely used in hospitals that has been linked to an outbreak of a drug-resistant bacterial disease and may have contributed to the deaths of two patients and the possible infection of as many as 179 others in Los Angeles. ... The patients at UCLA underwent medical procedures between October and January using a type of endoscope that is also known as duodenoscope. It is used to diagnose and treat diseases of the liver, bile ducts and pancreas, according to UCLA. (McKay and Burton, 2/19)

The New York Times: Deadly CRE Germs Linked To Hard-To-Clean Medical Scopes
The CRE germs usually strike people receiving medical care in hospitals or nursing homes, including patients on breathing machines or dependent on catheters. Healthy people are rarely, if ever, affected. But the bugs attack broadly, and the infections they cause are not limited to people with severely compromised immune systems, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is exactly what we are worried about,” Dr. Frieden said of the California infections in an interview. “CRE is becoming increasingly common in hospitals around the U.S. If we aren’t careful, it may well get out into the community and make common infections, like urinary infections, and cuts potentially deadly.” (Tavernise, 2/19)

The Washington Post: FDA Warns About Medical Scopes After ‘Superbug’ Hits California Hospital
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday warned doctors and hospitals that a commonly used type of medical scope can be difficult to sanitize between uses and “may facilitate the spread of deadly bacteria.” The agency’s warning came a day after news broke that seven patients had been infected by a drug-resistant “superbug” at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center since last fall. Two of the patients died, and public health authorities are tracking down nearly 200 others who might have been exposed to the dangerous bacteria through the use of the contaminated medical scopes. (Dennis, 2/19)

NPR: Why California's Superbug Outbreak Isn't As Scary As It Seems
News reports are describing a "nightmare superbug" killing people in California. But scientists who study infectious diseases say the risk from this outbreak doesn't live up to the alarming headlines. "It's not something that is likely to spread around the community or is a cause for alarm," says David Perlin, an infectious disease scientist and executive director of the Public Health Research Institute at Rutgers. (Hamilton, 2/19)

USA Today: Superbug Cases Spur FDA Warning On Dirty Medical Scopes
The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors and hospitals Thursday to use extra caution in disinfecting a hard-to-clean medical scope that has been linked to the spread of powerful "superbugs" in outbreaks across the country. The agency said that even meticulous cleaning of the duodenoscopes, which are used on about 500,000 patients a year, may not entirely eliminate the risk. And it advised doctors and hospitals that it is studying possible solutions, including new disinfection protocols. (Eisler and Stanglin, 2/19)

The Associated Press: 'Superbug' Outbreak Raises Questions About Medical Scope
A "superbug" outbreak suspected in the deaths of two Los Angeles hospital patients is raising disturbing questions about the design of a hard-to-clean medical instrument used on more than half a million people in the U.S. every year. ... The infections may have been transmitted through two contaminated endoscopes that were used to diagnose and treat pancreatic and bile-duct problems. The instruments were found to have "embedded" infections even though they had been cleaned according to manufacturer's instructions, said Dr. Robert Cherry, the hospital's chief medical and quality officer. Five other scopes were cleared. (Chang, 2/20)

The Associated Press: Los Angeles Hospital 'Superbug' Takes Toll On Infected
Among the seven people infected by a "superbug" outbreak tied to medical instruments at a Los Angeles hospital is an 18-year-old student who has spent nearly three months in the hospital and is in grave condition, his attorney said. The young man was struggling not to become the third of those infected at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to die, Attorney Kevin Boyle said Thursday. (Chang and Rogers, 2/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Diet Experts Push More Plants, Less Meat In Nod To Environment
U.S. dietary guidelines, the government’s benchmark for balanced nutrition, have long advised Americans to eat dark, leafy greens. Now, there is another way the standards could be going green. A panel of nutrition experts recruited by the Obama administration to help craft the next set of guidelines, to be issued this year, said in long-awaited recommendations Thursday that the government should consider the environment when deciding what people should eat. (Tracy, 2/20)

The Washington Post: Think Of Earth, Not Just Your Stomach, Panel Advises
The nation’s top nutritional panel is recommending for the first time that Americans consider the impact on the environment when they are choosing what to eat, a move that defied a warning from Congress and, if enacted, could discourage people from eating red meat. Members of Congress had sought in December to keep the group from even discussing the issue, asserting that while advising the government on federal dietary guidelines, the committee should steer clear of extraneous issues and stick to nutritional advice. (Ferdman and Whoriskey, 2/19)

USA Today: Nutrition Panel Urges Americans To Eat Green
Americans should consider the health of the planet along with the health of their hearts when deciding what to eat, according to an expert panel that advises the federal government on nutrition. It is the first time the advisory committee, which updates its recommendations in a report every five years, has considered the environmental impact of food choices. (Szabo, 2/19)

Los Angeles Times: Cholesterol Is Back On The Menu In New Federal Dietary Guidelines
Go ahead and make that omelet. A new draft of the federal government’s healthy eating guidelines is poised to scramble some long-standing advice on cholesterol-rich foods. Nutrition and public health experts advising the federal government recommended Thursday that cholesterol no longer be labeled a “nutrient of concern” — a designation that for decades has prompted health-conscious Americans to avoid eggs and other foods that are high in the fat-like substance. (Healy, 2/19)

The New York Times: Nutrition Panel Calls For Less Sugar And Eases Cholesterol And Fat Restrictions
A nutrition advisory panel that helps shape the country’s official dietary guidelines eased some of its previous restrictions on fat and cholesterol on Wednesday and recommended sharp new limits on the amount of added sugars that Americans should consume. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which convenes every five years, said that Americans were eating too much salt, sugar and saturated fat, and not enough foods that fall into a “healthy dietary pattern,” like fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fish. (O'Connor, 2/19)

NPR: Nutrition Panel: Egg With Coffee Is A-OK, But Skip The Side Of Bacon
If you like a cup of coffee and an egg in the morning, you've got the green light. A panel of top nutrition experts appointed by the federal government has weighed in with its long-awaited diet advice. Their conclusions are that daily cup of joe (or two) may help protect against Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And an egg a day will not raise the risk of heart disease in healthy people. Hold the sugary muffin, though. ... The committee says Americans should shift to a pattern of eating that includes more plant-based foods. And, the panel concludes, Americans should eat less sugar and meat, specifically red meat and processed meat. (Aubrey, 2/19)

The Associated Press: Healthful Diet Report: Sugary Drinks Out; Coffee, Eggs In
An extra cup or two of coffee may be OK after all. More eggs, too. But you definitely need to drink less sugary soda. And, as always, don't forget your vegetables. Recommendations Thursday from a government advisory committee call for an environmentally friendly diet lower in red and processed meats. But the panel would reverse previous guidance on limiting dietary cholesterol. And it says the caffeine in a few cups of coffee could actually be good for you. (Jalonick, 2/19)

Los Angeles Times: Number Of Latino Doctors Isn't Keeping Pace With Population, Study Says
Latinos as a group suffer disproportionately from poverty-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Under the Affordable Care Act, more of them than ever have access to coverage. But in a recent analysis published by the journal Academic Medicine, [Dr. Gloria] Sanchez and colleagues found that the number of Latino physicians was not keeping pace with population growth and suggested that correcting the imbalance could be key to addressing Latino health disparities. (Brown, 2/19)

USA Today: States Move To Give Terminally Ill 'Right-To-Try' Drugs
A growing number of states are considering legislation to allow terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental drugs, before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deems them market-ready. "Right-to-try" laws were passed in five states last year — Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan and Missouri, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twenty-five more have proposed similar legislation. (Monir, 2/19)

USA Today: Supreme Court Case Against Obamacare Faces Obstacles
A legal challenge that threatens to unravel President Obama's health care law has been stricken by a series of ill-timed setbacks before next month's Supreme Court showdown. The four plaintiffs' qualifications to bring the lawsuit have been cast in doubt because of their low incomes and potential eligibility for other government benefits. At least one of the four Virginians must show that the law constitutes a burden. (Wolf, 2/19)

Fact Check/USA Today: Moving The Goalposts On ACA Enrollment
President Obama says the Affordable Care Act is working "a little bit better than we anticipated," based on the 11.4 million people who signed up for insurance on the exchanges during the recent open enrollment period. That's better than the administration anticipated, but worse than a Congressional Budget Office projection. (Robertson, 2/19)

USA Today: For Some, There's Still Time To Enroll In Obamacare
Miss the Obamacare deadline last Sunday? You may still be able to sign up for health coverage. The federal government and every state running its own health insurance exchange have extended deadlines for some consumers – although the rules differ depending on where you live. Jennifer Sullivan, director of the Best Practices Institute for the non-profit Enroll America, suggests people look into the rules in their own states if they think they might qualify. (Ungar and O'Donnell, 2/19)

USA Today: Medical Leaders Cite Discrimination, Calls For Advocacy
Leaders in the medical community have published a pair of perspective pieces in the New England Journal of Medicine saying implicit bias among physicians is adversely affecting the health of black patients, and calling on the medical community to advocate against this. In one piece, Mary Bassett, New York City health commissioner, suggests health professionals should be accountable for battling the racism that contributes to poor health. The medical community must first acknowledge injustices in medical experimentation on black patients, Bassett writes. She also cites a lack of diversity among doctors. Only 4% are black, compared to 13% of the population, she says. (Eversley, 2/19)

The New York Times: FDA Eases Access To DNA Tests Of Rare Disorders
The genetic testing company 23andMe on Thursday took a step toward being able to offer consumers health-related information again, winning approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a test for mutations that cause a rare disease. The company, a pioneer in offering genetic tests direct to consumers from a sample of spit, stopped doing health-related testing in late 2013 after the F.D.A., in a scathing warning letter, said that such tests required the agency’s approval before they could be marketed. (Pollack, 2/19)

The Associated Press: FDA Eases Access To DNA Screening For Inherited Diseases
Federal health officials are easing access to DNA tests used to screen parents for devastating genetic disorders that can be passed on to their children. The surprise announcement offers a path forward for Google-backed genetic testing firm 23andMe, which previously clashed with regulators over its direct-to-consumer technology. The Food and Drug Administration said late Thursday it will not require preliminary review before companies can sell so-called carrier screening tests to the public. (Perrone, 2/19)

Reuters: Washington ACLU Sues State Hospital District Over Abortion Services
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the state's third-largest public hospital district, accusing it of failing to comply with an abortion rights law. The lawsuit alleges that Skagit Regional Health, which operates a large hospital and several clinics in Skagit County about 100 miles north of Seattle, is not following the state's 1991 Reproductive Privacy Act. That law requires that any state medical facility that provides maternity care must also provide abortion care, and it prohibits the state from interfering with or denying a woman's right to an abortion. (Cavaliere, 2/19)

Los Angeles Times: Harris Discusses Looming Decision On Sale Of Catholic Hospitals
California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris said she is nearing a decision on the hotly debated proposed sale of a chain of struggling Catholic hospitals to a for-profit company in Ontario. “We’re going to be looking at it and making a decision based on protecting access to healthcare services and maintaining the continuity of care -- that's a big concern and a big issue -- and then protecting workers," Harris said. ... Harris is facing a Friday deadline to decide whether to sign off on Prime Healthcare Services Inc.'s proposed purchase of six California hospitals operated by the Daughters of Charity Health System. (Pfeifer and Mehta, 2/19)