First Edition: January 21, 2016
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
A Lifesaving Flight, With A Price Tag Of $56,000
When patients need an air ambulance, the first priority is getting them the care they need as fast as possible. So, patients don’t always know who is going to pick them up or if the ambulance is an in-network provider. That can lead to surprise expenses if the companies ask patients to pay the bill or any balance left after the insurance plan’s out-of-network coverage is applied. (Cates-Carney, 1/21)
The Washington Post:
Bill Clinton Sharpens Contrast Between Sanders And ‘Change Maker’ Hillary
Bernie Sanders may be leading a “political revolution,” but according to former president Bill Clinton, the real “change maker” is his wife, Hillary. Sounding like the spouse of a candidate running behind, Clinton pleaded with New Hampshire Democrats to deliver his family yet another win. ... While Clinton said his wife would preserve President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and improve it, he portrayed the Medicare-for-all, single-payer plan that Sanders has proposed as a liberal fairy tale. (Rucker, 1/20)
The New York Times:
Bill Clinton Warns Of ‘Gridlock’ Under Bernie Sanders’s Health Care Plan
Bill Clinton acknowledged he was in Senator Bernie Sanders’s backyard as he took the stage Wednesday in New Hampshire. “I know we’re running against one of your neighbors,” Mr. Clinton told the crowd at a campaign rally in Concord. So, as he laid out the differences between Mr. Sanders and Hillary Clinton, he did so with compliments before dwelling on the contrasts. ... But on health care, he took a more direct criticism of Mr. Sanders’s plan: “I don’t want to talk about the merits, I want to talk about the practical reality here.” ... "It’s a recipe for gridlock.” (Corasaniti, 1/20)
The Associated Press:
GOP Candidate Kasich Addresses NH House Ahead of Primary
Ohio Gov. John Kasich praised the New Hampshire Legislature on Wednesday for expanding Medicaid under the president's health care overhaul law — a rare move for GOP presidential contender — saying that the decision saved lives. "I took $14 billion dollars over the next two years back to Ohio from Washington to meet our challenges, and you did it here. I want to compliment you for it," Kasich told the 400-member body. "Lives have been saved; people have some hope." (1/20)
The Associated Press:
House GOP Subpoenas Treasury's Lew On 'Obamacare' Papers
Two top House Republicans have subpoenaed Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, seeking documents involving payments to insurance companies to lower out-of-pocket costs for some people enrolled under the Affordable Care Act. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady and Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton maintain those "cost-sharing reduction" payments must be provided by Congress each year. The administration says they are permanently appropriated under the "Obamacare" law. (1/20)
The New York Times:
Congress Calls Martin Shkreli To Testify On Rapid Rises In Drug Pricing
Martin Shkreli loves to talk. On Tuesday, Mr. Shkreli, 32, will get his chance to talk some more. A congressional committee has served a subpoena on him and ordered him to appear for a hearing to discuss pricing trends and other developments in the drug industry, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. (Goldstein, 1/20)
The Associated Press:
Price-Hiking Pharma Exec Martin Shkreli Gets House Subpoena
House lawmakers have issued a subpoena to compel former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, reviled for price-gouging, to appear at a congressional hearing next Tuesday. Shkreli became notorious after his company Turing hiked the price of Daraprim, the only approved drug for a rare and sometimes deadly parasitic infection, by 5,000 percent. Since then, Shkreli has been deluged with criticism from patients, politicians and the media, with some labeling him the “most hated man in America.” (Perrone, 1/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Valeant Pharmaceutical Interim CEO To Testify Before Congress Next Week
Howard Schiller, interim CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., is planning to testify at a congressional hearing next week that will explore drug-price increases, according to a company spokeswoman. Valeant has been “providing information” to the House Oversight committee, the company spokeswoman said Wednesday. “Mr. Schiller looks forward to testifying and sharing with the committee how Valeant works to make its drugs available to the millions of patients who depend on them,” she added. (Rockoff, 1/20)
The New York Times:
To Fight ‘Superbugs,’ Drug Makers Call For Incentives To Develop Antibiotics
More than 80 pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies from around the world are calling for new economic models to spur development of badly needed new antibiotics and to fight the rising global threat of drug-resistant “superbugs.” In a declaration that is being released on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the companies say that governments must work with companies to fight the problem of antimicrobial resistance. (Pollack, 1/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Drug And Diagnostic Companies Issue Joint Declaration On Antibiotics
More than 80 drug and diagnostic companies have committed to working together to develop new antibiotics, while calling on governments to improve the financial incentives for doing so, in a declaration released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The group, which includes pharmaceutical giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, Roche Holding AG and Pfizer Inc., said combating a “dramatic” increase in drug-resistant bacteria required governments to create market incentives for developing new antibiotics and diagnostic tools. (Roland, 1/20)
The Wall Street Journal:
Muscular Dystrophy Drugs Face New FDA Questions
Hopes are dimming that the drug industry will be able to quickly deliver a treatment for one of the most keenly researched diseases of recent years—an inherited muscle-wasting disorder called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Amid intense pressure from patients’ families, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to expedite its review of a pair of experimental drugs from BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. and Sarepta Therapeutics. But last week the FDA rejected BioMarin’s application to sell its drug, drisapersen. ... And on Friday, FDA scientists said the benefits of Sarepta’s drug appeared inconsistent in a small clinical trial, and questioned the methodology of the research. (Whaler and Dockser Marcus, 1/20)
The Associated Press:
New Flare-Ups Over The Racial Demographics Of Abortion
Abortion and race, two of America’s most volatile topics, have intersected in recent flare-ups related to the disproportionately high rate of abortion among black women. In Congress, Rep. Sean Duffy, a white Republican from rural Wisconsin, lambasted black members of Congress for failing to decry these high abortion numbers. The next day, Rep. Gwen Moore, a black Democrat from Milwaukee, fired back — accusing Duffy and his GOP colleagues of caring about black children only before they are born. In Missouri, a white GOP state legislator, Rep. Mike Moon, introduced a “personhood” bill that would effectively outlaw all abortions, and titled it the All Lives Matter Act. (Crary, 1/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Health Groups Launch California Ballot Initiative To Raise Taxes On Tobacco, Including E-Cigarettes
Months after California's Legislature failed to act, a coalition of health experts and the state’s schools chief on Wednesday launched a petition drive to qualify an initiative for the November ballot that would raise the cigarette tax by $2 per pack. The measure would reduce smoking and raise money to expand treatment services for Medi-Cal patients, support anti-smoking campaigns and boost medical research, said Tom Steyer, co-chairman of the Save Lives Coalition. (McGreevy, 1/20)
The Associated Press:
More Than 1,000 Tested For Tuberculosis In Rural Alabama
Public health officials in Alabama are working to contain a tuberculosis outbreak. They used federal money to pay for tests on more than 1,000 people in one of the poorest counties in America, and found 47 people who are infected and need treatment to keep the disease from spreading. They'll keep using the grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pay people to follow through on recommended chest X-rays. Those who complete the whole course of medication will get $100 each. (1/20)