First Edition: January 11, 2019
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Federal Shutdown Mostly Spares Health Coverage, But Other Issues Loom
As the partial government shutdown drags on, about 800,000 federal employees who work for the shuttered agencies — and their families — are facing the reality of life without a paycheck. And those workers need to consider a host of other related issues as they attempt to make ends meet. (Appleby, 1/11)
Kaiser Health News:
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ New Year, New Health Proposals
The new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives took its first steps on health care — voting to intervene in the appeal of a Texas-led lawsuit that found the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional in December. And around the country, Democratic governors and mayors unveiled new initiatives aimed at making health care cheaper and more accessible. (1/10)
California Healthline:
Addiction Rooted In Childhood Trauma, Says Prominent Specialist
Dr. Gabor Maté, a well-known addiction specialist and author, spent 12 years working in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a neighborhood with a large concentration of hardcore drug users. The agency where he worked operates residential hotels for people with addictions, a detox center and a pioneering injection facility, where drug users are permitted to shoot up and can get clean needles, medical care and counseling. (Waters, 1/10)
Kaiser Health News:
Bills, Bills, Bills: Readers And Tweeters Offer Solace, Solutions And Scoldings
2018 was a busy year for KHN, harvesting more than 1,200 medical bills submitted by readers for consideration in our “Bill of the Month” franchise, an investigative partnership with NPR. These monthly dives into patients’ cumbersome bills continue to spawn stories — as well as proposed changes to health care policy by legislators. (1/11)
The New York Times:
White House Considers Using Storm Aid Funds As A Way To Pay For The Border Wall
President Trump traveled to the border on Thursday to warn of crime and chaos on the frontier, as White House officials considered diverting emergency aid from storm- and fire-ravaged Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and California to build a border barrier, perhaps under an emergency declaration. In a sign of growing unease about the partial government shutdown, some Senate Republicans came off the sidelines to hash out a deal that would reopen the government as Congress worked toward a broader agreement tying wall funds to protection for some undocumented immigrants and other migrants. (Tackett and Hirschfeld Davis, 1/10)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Lays Groundwork To Declare National Emergency To Build Wall
The president and members of his administration have been depicting a humanitarian and public safety crisis at the border, focusing on drugs flowing into the United States and violence by unauthorized immigrants. There was a significant uptick in border apprehensions in 2018, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, especially of immigrant families, but border apprehensions remain much lower than the high levels seen in the 1980s through the 2000s. Asked about a timetable for a national emergency declaration, the president said he would see how it goes with Congress. (Werner, Dawsey, DeBonis and Kim, 1/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Vows He Will 'Probably' Declare National Emergency If Congress Doesn’t OK Wall Money
Trump has received conflicting advice about declaring an emergency from administration aides and friends outside of Washington. Some view it as an effective way out of the prolonged stalemate that would still show the president’s supporters that he continues to fight to achieve his signature campaign promise. Other conservatives, however, have cautioned that declaring a national emergency to bypass a stubborn Congress would set a dangerous precedent, one that could backfire on Republicans in the future should Democrats retake the presidency and attempt to fund other initiatives without legislative approval. (Stokols and Hennessy-Fiske, 1/10)
Politico:
FDA Looks To Restart Safety Inspections For Risky Foods Amid Shutdown
The FDA is working to restore some food-safety inspections for products deemed high-risk, such as seafood and raw fruit, that have been suspended or delayed because of the government shutdown. "We’re taking steps to expand the scope of food safety surveillance inspections we’re doing during the shutdown to make sure we continue inspecting high risk food facilities," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Wednesday in a thread on Twitter. (Evich, 1/10)
Politico:
Survivors Of Domestic Violence, Child Abuse Could Be Hit Next By Shutdown
Survivors of domestic violence, child abuse and a slew of other crimes could be next to feel the squeeze of the partial government shutdown. Shelters across the country are bracing for federal funds to dry up in the coming weeks. The Justice Department has been warning the state agencies and nonprofits that run them that it will only be able to process funding requests until Jan. 18. Justice is one of nine departments shuttered by the dispute over funding for President Donald Trump's border wall. (Wermund, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Shutdown Suspends Federal Cleanups At US Superfund Sites
The government shutdown has suspended federal cleanups at Superfund sites around the nation and forced the cancellation of public hearings, deepening the mistrust and resentment of surrounding residents who feel people in power long ago abandoned them to live among the toxic residue of the country's factories and mines. "We are already hurting, and it's just adding more fuel to the fire," says 40-year-old Keisha Brown, whose wood-frame home is in a community nestled among coking plants and other factories on Birmingham's north side. (Knickmeyer and Chandler, 1/11)
The Associated Press:
California Heads To Court To Fight Trump Birth Control Rules
A U.S. judge will hear arguments Friday over California's attempt to block new rules by the Trump administration that would allow more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women. Judge Haywood Gilliam previously blocked an interim version of those rules — a decision that was upheld in December by an appeals court. But the case is before him again after the administration finalized the measures in November, prompting a renewed legal challenge by California and other states. (1/11)
Roll Call:
Senators Clash Over Abortion Fee Rule
Senate Democrats and Republicans at odds over a proposed rule that would change how individuals are billed for abortion coverage sent two competing letters to Health and Human Services this week. The public comment period for the rule closed Tuesday, amassing over 74,000 comments.The Republican letter, led by Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, urges HHS Secretary Alex Azar to move forward with the rule. (Raman, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Lawmaker Hopes State’s Action Lead To Demise Of Roe V. Wade
With Kentucky embroiled in three abortion-related court cases and lawmakers considering tougher restrictions almost certain to draw a legal challenge, a leading Republican senator said Thursday that he hopes the state’s actions lead to a Supreme Court review of the Roe v. Wade ruling. Anti-abortion lawmakers hope to push more abortion-related bills through the legislature — led by a proposed ban on most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which occurs around six weeks of pregnancy. The state already is defending three abortion-related laws in court, and the American Civil Liberties Union says it will challenge the fetal heartbeat bill if it becomes law. (Schreiner, 1/10)
Stat:
Democrats Eyeing 2020 Put An Early Spotlight On Drug Prices
As they jostle to position themselves for 2020, many Democratic presidential hopefuls have suddenly zeroed in on a narrow policy target: prescription drug prices. Sen. Bernie Sanders called his first press conference since the midterms not to discuss President Trump’s quest for a wall or tout universalized health coverage, but to unveil a proposal to lower drug prices that mirrors one of Trump’s own. Sen. Cory Booker dialed up his own rhetoric to campaign-trail levels, decrying high drug prices as “a stain on the very idea of America.” The House Oversight Committee, too, set drug prices atop its own agenda, scheduling a hearing on that issue that will occur more than a week before it calls former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to testify. (Facher, 1/11)
Reuters:
Sen. Sanders, Rep. Cummings Introduce Bill To Lower U.S. Drug Prices
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Elijah Cummings introduced legislation on Thursday aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs for American consumers, critiquing President Donald Trump administration’s efforts to curb medicine prices. (Abutaleb, 1/10)
The Hill:
Sanders, Dems Unveil Sweeping Bills To Lower Drug Prices
“The people of our country pay by far, not even close, the highest prices in the world for the prescription drugs that they need,” Sanders said at a press conference. “That has got to end, and the legislation that we are supporting will do just that.” (Sullivan, 1/10)
The Hill:
Drug Prices To Take Center Stage In First House Oversight Hearing
The House Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing to examine drug price increases later this month, the committee’s first since Democrats took control of the House. In a statement, Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said the hearing will serve to launch a “broad review of the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs.” (Weixel, 1/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Congress Revives Flurry Of Drug Pricing Legislation
Lawmakers rushed into the drug pricing arena this week as they revived a bundle of legislation and oversight talks, signaling they want to put manufacturers in the hot seat when it comes to addressing healthcare costs. Medicare negotiation was at the forefront of Democratic messaging with an unexpected Republican boost. Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) joined Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) to re-introduce legislation to allow the HHS secretary to directly barter with manufacturers on behalf of Medicare Part D. Rooney is the sole Republican to co-sponsor the bill so far. (Luthi, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Liberals Dare Trump To Back Their Bills Lowering Drug Prices
Challenging President Donald Trump to make good on his pledge to cut prescription drug prices, congressional liberals proposed legislation Thursday to bring U.S. prices in line with the much lower costs in other countries. The Democratic bills stand little chance of becoming law in a divided government. But the effort could put Republicans on the defensive by echoing Trump's pledge to force drugmakers to cut prices. (1/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senator Collins Presses HHS To Reform Drug Rebate System
The impact that rebates can have on prescription drug prices is drawing more scrutiny of the practice. Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, has asked the Department of Health and Human Services to take action on the Trump administration’s pledge to change drug rebates, saying legislation may be necessary to reform the system. (Hopkins, 1/10)
Stat:
Drug Pricing Advocates To Spend $1M On Ads Supporting Trump Proposal
A drug pricing advocacy group on Thursday announced a roughly $1 million ad campaign to boost a Trump administration proposal to align American drug prices with those in other wealthy nations, providing an outside boost to a policy concept that the drug industry has vocally opposed. The same advocacy group, Patients for Affordable Drugs, spent $10 million via its political arm to endorse midterm election candidates it said were working to lower drug costs — and to oppose candidates it said were in bed with industry. (Facher, 1/10)
The Washington Post:
Louisiana Adopts ‘Netflix’ Model To Pay For Hepatitis C Drugs
Louisiana officials announced Thursday that their state would become the first to move forward with a new way to pay for expensive hepatitis C treatments, which could dramatically increase the number of people who can be cured of the liver-damaging disease and provide a model for others struggling to afford the medications. Instead of paying for each prescription individually, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said the state would essentially pay a subscription fee to a drug company, an alternative payment arrangement that has become known as the “Netflix model.” The state would then get unlimited access to the drug, similar to how consumers pay a monthly fee to stream unlimited television shows and movies. (Johnson, 1/10)
Stat:
Louisiana Proceeds With 'Netflix' Subscription Model To Buy Hepatitis C Drugs
By next July, the state Department of Health hopes to treat more than 10,000 people by the end of 2020, eliminating the chronic liver disease and limiting total spending on hepatitis C drugs to $35 million or less, the amount Medicaid and the Louisiana Department of Corrections spent in fiscal year 2018. However, less than 3 percent of infected Medicaid beneficiaries received treatment. State officials estimate that about 39,000 individuals in Medicaid and state prisons are known to be infected. (Silverman, 1/10)
Reuters:
J&J Raises U.S. Prices On Around Two Dozen Drugs
Johnson & Johnson raised U.S. prices on around two dozen prescription drugs on Thursday, including the psoriasis treatment Stelara, prostate cancer drug Zytiga and blood thinner Xarelto, all among its top-selling products. J&J joined many other companies that raised U.S. prices on hundreds of prescription medicines earlier this month. (1/10)
Stat:
Regeneron CEO: 'We Need A Carrot-And-Stick System' For Pricing And Innovation
Amid ongoing furor over prescription drug pricing, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals chief executive Len Schleifer has sometimes gleefully adopted the role of an industry contrarian, openly poking other companies for price hikes. His ongoing penchant for addressing the topic, in fact, gives him the appearance of a Jiminy Cricket lecturing pharma’s Pinocchio. But Schleifer, who is prone to monologues, is not an indiscriminate naysayer. We spoke with him at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference about recent price hikes that Sanofi — a Regeneron partner — took on a drug, the balance between innovation and accessibility, a controversial cost-effectiveness watchdog, and policy solutions to high prices. This is an edited conversation. (Silverman and Herper, 1/10)
Stat:
Sanofi-Genzyme Sought Confidential Patient Info, Employee Lawsuit Alleges
A former Sanofi-Genzyme employee is accusing the company of inappropriately seeking confidential patient information, as part of a lawsuit alleging her wrongful termination. The lawsuit, filed in late December in Massachusetts federal court, says the former Sanofi-Genzyme employee made a formal, internal complaint about the inappropriate request for confidential information, after which she experienced “harassment” and “discrimination … in retaliation for the reports she made about [her manager’s] efforts to obtain confidential patient data.” (Sheridan, 1/11)
The Hill:
Chamber Of Commerce CEO Vows To 'Use All Our Resources' To Fight Single-Payer Proposals
Thomas Donohue, the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday vowed to use all of the Chamber's resources to fight single-payer health care proposals. "We also have to respond to calls for government-run, single-payer health care, because it just doesn't work," Donohue said during his annual "State of American Business" address. (Hellmann, 1/10)
Politico Pro:
Financial Conflicts Stall Trump HHS Nominee
The nomination of a Minnesota economist picked two years ago to be HHS’ top policy adviser has expired, and he has told colleagues that he no longer expects to be confirmed amid questions about his financial disclosures, say five people with knowledge of the situation. Stephen Parente, a University of Minnesota professor and a top Republican health policy consultant with industry ties, was nominated by President Donald Trump in April 2017 to be the HHS assistant secretary overseeing planning and evaluation. (Diamond, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Facing Legal Action, Insurer Now Will Cover People Taking Truvada, An H.I.V.-Prevention Drug
Settling allegations of discrimination filed by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, Mutual of Omaha has agreed not to deny insurance to people who use medications to prevent H.I.V. infection. The insurer also has settled a lawsuit brought by an unidentified gay man in Massachusetts who was turned down for long-term-care insurance after acknowledging that he took an H.I.V.-prevention drug called Truvada. (Kolata, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Juul’s Convenient Smoke Screen
Juul Labs, the company behind the insanely popular vaping device, has a message for the nation’s estimated 37.8 million adult smokers: It really, really, really cares about them. And it wants them (and only them — got that, teens?) to try vaping instead. “For smokers. By design,” blares the company’s website. A new $10 million TV ad campaign, called “Make the Switch,” echoes that theme, featuring testimonials from ex-smokers, all comfortably above the legal smoking age, who have swapped their cigarettes for a Juul. (Roose, 1/11)
Stat:
Digital Health Is Attracting Huge Investments, But Will Patients Buy It?
For two days in the desert, its exponential growth was on full display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. What was once an exclusive showcase for must-have gadgets for your home, car, and pocket is now a place where doctors mingle with giant technology companies that are promising, with a straighter face than ever, to make health care their top priority. Attendees discussed efforts to use artificially intelligent voice technology to diagnose the onset of stroke or mental illness; others demonstrated software programs that help Alzheimer’s patients recover lost memories, get toddlers to brush their teeth like dentists, and push diabetes patients to drive down their blood sugar and improve their exercise habits. (Ross, 1/11)
The Associated Press:
Surgeons Fear Pelvic Mesh Lawsuits Will Spook Patients
Doctors who specialize in female pelvic medicine say lawsuits by four states, including Washington and California, over products used to treat pelvic floor disorders and incontinence might scare patients away from the best treatment options — or maybe even push the products off the market. Sixty-three Washington surgeons signed a letter to state Attorney General Bob Ferguson , arguing his consumer-protection lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its Ethicon Inc. subsidiary is off-base. (Johnson, 1/10)
The New York Times:
Traditional Masculinity Can Hurt Boys, Say New A.P.A. Guidelines
The American Psychological Association has released several guides for psychologists who work with people belonging to certain groups — members of ethnic and linguistic minorities, for example, or women and girls. It did not have a guide for working with males, in part because they were historically considered the norm. But in August, the A.P.A. approved its first set of official guidelines for working with boys and men. (Fortin, 1/10)
CNN:
High-Fiber Diet Linked To Lower Risk Of Death And Chronic Diseases
People who eat diets that are high in fiber have lower risk of death and chronic diseases such as stroke or cancer compared with people with low fiber intake, a new analysis found. Dietary fiber includes plant-based carbohydrates such as whole-grain cereal, seeds and some legumes. Fiber's health benefits have been recorded "by over 100 years of research," Andrew Reynolds, a researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand, wrote in an email. He is co-author of the new meta-analysis of existing research, which was published Thursday in the journal The Lancet. (Avramova, 1/11)
The Washington Post:
How Your At-Home DNA Test Results Could Solve Cold Cases
The results seem almost miraculous: an arrest in the killing of a young girl in 1988 after 30 years of searching. The murder of a young couple in 1987, solved in a matter of days. These breakthroughs came as a result of an investigative technique called “genetic genealogy,” a blend of DNA analysis and old-fashioned archival research used to point investigators in the direction of a person of interest in a criminal case. (Taylor and Turner, 1/10)
NPR:
Restrictions On Mifepristone Limit Women's Access To Miscarriage Treatment
When Kirstin Herbst found out she was pregnant last winter, she and her fiancé were overjoyed. But when she went to the doctor for her first ultrasound, she found out she was having a miscarriage. Her doctor prescribed a medication called misoprostol, which helps the miscarriage to pass. But the misoprostol didn't work right away, and Herbst needed to take another dose. Herbst was optimistic when she became pregnant again this past summer. When she went in for an ultrasound, she learned she was miscarrying again. (Gordon and McCammon, 1/10)
CNN:
Drug Overdose Deaths Among Women Have Skyrocketed, CDC Study Says
As America continues to combat its opioid epidemic, the rate of deaths from drug overdoses among women has soared in recent years, according to new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. From 1999 to 2017, the drug overdose death rate among women 30 to 64 years old climbed more than 260%, according to the report published Thursday. (Howard, 1/10)
CNN:
US Fertility Rate Is Below Level Needed To Replace Population, Study Says
The total fertility rate for the United States in 2017 continued to dip below what's needed for the population to replace itself, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics. The new report also reveals some major state-by-state differences in fertility rates. (Howard, 1/10)
Reuters:
China Could Lift Life Expectancy By Nearly Three Years If It Meets WHO Smog Standards: Study
China could raise average life expectancy by 2.9 years if it improves air quality to levels recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), according a new study from a U.S. research group. China has vowed to determine the precise impact of air and water pollution on health as part of its efforts to raise average life expectancy to 79 years by 2030 from 76.3 years in 2015. (1/11)
NPR:
Time In The ICU Means Worse Outcomes For Pregnant Moms With Severe Flu
Need another reason to get the flu shot if you're pregnant? A study out this week shows that pregnant women with the flu who are hospitalized in an intensive care unit are four times more likely to deliver babies prematurely and four and a half times more likely to have a baby of low birth weight. (Neighmond, 1/10)
CNN:
Excessive Body Fat Around The Middle Linked To Smaller Brain, Study Says
Big waist, small brain? If you're too heavy, especially around your middle, you probably have shrunken gray matter volume in your brain, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology. Gray matter contains most of your brain's 100 billion nerve cells, while white matter is filled with nerve fibers that connect the brain regions. "Previous studies have shown associations between gray matter atrophy and risk of developing dementia," study author Mark Hamer, a professor of exercise as medicine at Loughborough University in England, wrote in an email. (Scutti, 1/9)
The Associated Press:
California Governor Offers $144B Budget, Sees Big Surplus
California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a state budget proposal Thursday that seemingly does it all — boosts spending toward his ambitious campaign promises and sets aside significant contributions toward debts and savings. It appears he can have his cake and eat it too because he's projecting a massive $21.5 billion surplus — far beyond anything the state has seen in nearly 20 years — as California collects more in taxes than predicted and growth slows for Medi-Cal, which provides health care for low-income people. (Cooper, 1/10)
Reuters:
California To Spend Big On Education, Healthcare In $144 Billion Budget
The budget also calls for an overall increase in health and human services spending of 8 percent over the current fiscal year, and $1 billion to double the state's earned income tax credit for low-income families. Subsidized premiums would be increased under Covered California, the state's version of Obamacare, while expanding Medi-Cal, the state's medical plan for the poor. The proposed Medi-Cal expansion would extend coverage to roughly 138,000 young adult immigrants, from age 19 through 25, who are in the country illegally. (1/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Gavin Newsom Threatens To Cut State Funding From Cities That Don't Approve Enough Housing
For 50 years, California has required cities and counties to plan for enough new housing so that residents can live affordably. But many local governments fail to approve new development, contributing to the state’s housing crunch. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a radical new step: punishing communities that block homebuilding by withholding state tax dollars. (Dillon, 1/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Gov. Cuomo To Introduce State Budget Weeks Before Deadline
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would unveil his proposal for a new state budget on Tuesday, weeks before the deadline. ... The total budget is projected to exceed $170 billion, with operating costs around $102 billion, according to the most recent state financial plan, which was released in November. The state budget will include updated allocations for school aid, Medicaid and infrastructure spending. (Vielkind, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Expert: Comatose Woman May Not Have Shown Signs Of Pregnancy
A doctor examined an Arizona woman in a vegetative state nearly nine months before she gave birth but did not find that she was pregnant, and medical experts said Thursday that it's possible she displayed no outward signs that workers who cared for her every day would have noticed either. Police are looking for her rapist and say it appears none of the staff members at a Phoenix long-term care facility knew about the pregnancy until the baby was born Dec. 29, a notion that has drawn skepticism. (1/10)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Police Don’t Carry The Overdose Antidote Naloxone. Should They?
As government officials across the country struggle to slow the death toll of America’s opioid epidemic, thousands of police departments from coast to coast have equipped their officers with naloxone, a lifesaving overdose antidote. But police officials in the nation’s capital — which in recent years has experienced one of the country’s sharpest increases in fatal overdoses — refuse to do so, prompting D.C. lawmakers to advance legislation that would require officers to carry the medication. (Jamison, 1/10)
The Associated Press:
Inmates Battling Addiction Get An Unlikely Ally: A Puppy
Caitlin Hyland’s New Hampshire jail cell looks like those of many of her fellow inmates, featuring family photos, a few books and a cot. But one thing sets it apart: the cage on the floor for a 4-week-old puppy. Hyland, a 28-year-old from Concord, New Hampshire, who is serving time for a drug conviction, is one of four inmates at the Merrimack County jail who are training puppies for the next month. In a partnership between a group called Hero Pups and the jail, two male and two female inmates, who are all in the jail’s drug treatment program, will raise the puppies for the next two months. They will eventually be handed over to military veterans and first responders who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other challenges. (Casey, 1/11)
Reuters:
Massachusetts Man Gets 10 Years In Prison For Hospital Cyberattack
A Massachusetts man was sentenced on Thursday to more than 10 years in prison for carrying out a cyberattack on a hospital on behalf of the hacking activist group Anonymous to protest the treatment of a teenager in a high-profile custody dispute. Martin Gottesfeld, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston nearly three years after he was rescued from a disabled powerboat off the coast of Cuba by a Disney Cruise Line ship after fleeing the United States amid a federal investigation. (1/10)
The Associated Press:
Ex-Student Sues Counselor After Trying To Kill Himself
A university and its counselor are being sued for $12 million each by a former student who says they didn’t do enough to stop his suicide attempts. The Roanoke Times reports that a lawsuit filed this week by Kionte Burnette accuses Washington and Lee University and counselor Rallie Snowden of negligence. (1/10)