Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: January 24, 2018
California Healthline: Hospitals’ Best-Laid Plans Upended By Disaster
It was 3:35 a.m. and flames from a massive Northern California wildfire licked at the back of a Santa Rosa hospital. Within three hours, staffers evacuated 122 patients to other facilities — something they’d never come close to doing before. Ambulances sped off with some of the sickest patients; city buses picked up many of the rest. With phone lines charred and communication restricted, doctors and nurses struggled to figure out who was sent where — forced to keep their wits even as some of their own homes burned and their families fled. (Ibarra, 1/23)
The Hill: Short-Term Spending Bills Leave Public Health Agencies In Suspense
Congress’s inability to pass a long-term spending bill has major ramifications for public health, advocates and former agency officials warn. The short-term measures hinder efforts to play ahead and recruit staff even as they keep the government open, the advocates say. They have left public health agencies “treading water,” said Ellie Dehoney, vice president of policy and advocacy at Research!America. “It’s just a state of suspended animation.” (Weixel and Roubein, 1/24)
The Hill: Community Health Centers Await Funding That Expired Months Ago
While Congress on Monday extended the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, more than 1,000 community health centers around the country are still waiting for the government to take action on their own funding. Both programs expired at the end of September, but only CHIP was funded in the short-term spending bill signed by President Trump. (Hellmann, 1/23)
NPR: CHIP Deal Brings Relief
When parts of the federal government ground to halt this past weekend, Linda Nablo, who oversees the Children's Health Insurance Program in Virginia, had two letters drafted and ready to go out to the families of 68,000 children insured through the program, depending on what happened. One said the federal government had failed to extend CHIP after funding expired in September and the stopgap funding had run out. The program would be shutting down and families would lose their insurance. (Simmons-Duffin, 1/23)
The Hill: Congressional Scorekeeper: Delay Of ObamaCare Taxes In Spending Bill Will Cost About $31B
The delay of three of ObamaCare's taxes will reduce federal revenue by $31.3 billion over 10 years, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) said Tuesday. The taxes were delayed as part of the stopgap spending bill that Congress passed Monday in order to end the three-day government shutdown. The medical device tax was delayed for two years, until 2020, while the "Cadillac" tax on high-cost health plans, which had been set to take effect in 2020, was delayed until 2022. The health insurance tax was suspended for 2019. (Jagoda, 1/23)
The Associated Press: Work Requirements May Prompt More States To Expand Medicaid
In an ironic twist, the Trump administration's embrace of work requirements for low-income people on Medicaid is prompting lawmakers in some conservative states to resurrect plans to expand health care for the poor. Trump's move has been widely criticized as threatening the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. But if states follow through, more Americans could get coverage. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/24)
The Hill: Top Medicaid Official To Leave Post Next Month
Brian Neale, a top Medicaid official in the Trump administration, is leaving his post next month, officials announced Tuesday. Neale is the deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) overseeing Medicaid. His departure comes amid a major conservative change in Medicaid, allowing states to impose work requirements on enrollees, a move the administration announced earlier this month. Neale had helped shepherd those changes. It is not clear where he is going or why he decided to leave. (Sullivan, 1/23)
The Associated Press: Oregon Approves New Taxes To Address Medicaid Costs
Oregon approved taxes on hospitals, health insurers and managed care companies in an unusual special election Tuesday that asked voters — and not lawmakers — how to pay for Medicaid costs that now include coverage of hundreds of thousands of low-income residents added to the program's rolls under the Affordable Care Act. Measure 101 was passing handily in early returns Tuesday night. The single-issue election drew national attention to this progressive state, which aggressively expanded its Medicaid rolls under President Barack Obama's health care reforms. (1/24)
The Washington Post: At Northam’s Urging, Democrats Back Off Hardball Medicaid Tactic And Pass Rural Hospital Bill
Senate Democrats on Tuesday backed off a threat to hold a bill related to a rural hospital hostage because its Republican sponsor wouldn’t agree to expand Medicaid, abandoning their hardball tactic at the urging of Gov. Ralph Northam (D). One week after a bloc of Democrats killed a bill intended to help the shuttered Patrick County hospital in Southwest Virginia, the Senate voted unanimously for an identical measure, which Sen. William Stanley (R-Franklin) filed just hours after the original had died. (Vozzella, 1/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Costs Rose For Americans With Employer-Sponsored Insurance
Spending on health care accelerated in 2016 for Americans who get insurance through work, even as use of most health-care services declined or remained flat. The reason, according to a new report: price increases. Rising prices for prescription drugs, surgery, emergency-room visits and other services drove a 4.6% increase in total spending per person, versus 4.1% in 2015 and less than 3% in the two previous years, according to the research nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute, which analyzed data for nearly 40 million people up to age 65 with employer-sponsored insurance. (Whalen, 1/23)
The Washington Post: Bernie Sanders Talks Universal Medicare, And 1.1 Million People Click To Watch Him
With more than one million people watching at home, and hundreds watching from the studio audience, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leaned across his desk with a crucial health-care question. “What’s the quality of the Norwegian system?” Sanders asked Meetali Kakadi, an Oslo-based health researcher. “Is it good?” In her view, it was: “Far better than Canada.” (Weigel, 1/24)
Stat: Pharma Is Urged To Do More To Thwart The Superbug Crisis
As public health officials continue to lament a dearth of antibiotics, a new report finds some drug makers are making strides in developing medicines to combat superbugs, but that the pharmaceutical industry, in general, needs to do more. Overall, more companies are addressing R&D priorities, particularly the development of new antimicrobial drugs, but remain less active in bolstering manufacturing or sufficiently widening access, according to the report from the Access to Medicines Foundation, a non-profit based in the Netherlands, that regularly compiles indices to rank the progress made by drug companies on various matters. (Silverman, 1/23)
The New York Times: New Index Rates Drug Companies In Fight Against ‘Superbugs’
GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson are the best of the big pharmaceutical companies at tackling the growing “superbug” threat, according to an index released Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The index, which rates companies on their contributions to preventing the spread of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, found Mylan to be the best of the generic drug makers and rated a little-known company, Entasis, as top among biotechnology companies. (McNeil, 1/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Johnson & Johnson Results Driven By Pharmaceutical Sales Growth
Johnson & Johnson sales rose in the fourth quarter, but the company reported a loss after taking a $13.6 billion charge as a result of the new U.S. tax law. J&J expects the new law to lower its effective tax rate by 1.5 to 2.5 percentage points from the current rate of 17.2%. Analysts said the positive impact probably figured in the company’s better-than-expected financial outlook for this year. (Rockoff and Prang, 1/23)
The New York Times: New York City Sues Drug Companies Over Opioid Crisis
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced that New York City had filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid prescription drugs, joining a national campaign to hold the companies responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in costs related to the deadly opioid epidemic. It was the second time this month — and the second time in his just-begun sophomore term — that Mr. de Blasio has held a news conference to herald legal action taken against corporate giants that he blames for problems that impact the city and beyond. (Goodman and Neuman, 1/23)
The Wall Street Journal: New York City Sues Companies Over Opioid Abuse
The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, seeks half a billion dollars that city officials say they need to fight the opioid epidemic. “More New Yorkers have died from opioid overdoses than car crashes and homicides combined in recent years,” Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Big Pharma helped to fuel this epidemic by deceptively peddling these dangerous drugs and hooking millions of Americans in exchange for profit.” (Ramey and Randazzo, 1/23)
Reuters: U.S. Lets More Healthcare Workers Prescribe Opioid Addiction Treatment
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said on Tuesday it had changed a regulation to allow more healthcare professionals to prescribe a medication used to treat opioid addiction, opening up access in rural America where there are few doctors. Prior to 2000, only physicians could treat those with opioid addiction and had to register with the DEA as both physicians and operators of narcotic treatment programs. The latest change is part of a 2016 law that added categories of practitioners who may prescribe the narcotic drug buprenorphine for maintenance or detoxification treatment, the DEA said in a statement. (Abutaleb, 1/23)
The Associated Press: Philadelphia Wants Safe Injection Sites To Help Opioid Fight
Philadelphia wants to become the first U.S. city to allow supervised drug injection sites as a way to combat the opioid epidemic, officials announced Tuesday, saying they are seeking outside operators to establish one or more in the city. Public Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said the sites could be "a life-saving strategy and a pathway to treatment," and would be just one piece of the city's overall plan to fight the epidemic. (1/23)
The Washington Post: Local Health Officials Are Reporting A Serious Spike In Flu This Season
A vicious strain of the flu is battering the Washington region, mirroring a wave of debilitating illness that in recent weeks has seized the entire United States, health officials say. With the number of cases across the country still rising, health officials in the District, Maryland and Virginia are reporting a surge in patients showing up at doctor’s offices and emergency rooms suffering from fever, severe headaches, muscle aches and nausea. (Chason and Schwartzman, 1/23)
The Washington Post: She Claims Paramedics Said Her 6-Year-Old Had Common Flu Symptoms And Left. Now Her Daughter Is Dead.
Six-year-old Emily Muth first fell ill with the flu on Jan. 16. Three days later, she had difficulty breathing, so her mother, Rhonda Muth, called for an ambulance. Muth said a paramedic told her that labored breathing was a common symptom of the flu, so the ambulance was sent back. But Emily's breathing continued to slow, and when paramedics returned a second time, it was too late. Emily's sudden death was heartbreaking and unsettling to her parents and her 8- and 10-year-old brothers, Muth said. (Eltagouri, 1/23)
The New York Times: Vaping Can Be Addictive And May Lure Teenagers To Smoking, Science Panel Concludes
A national panel of public health experts concluded in a report released on Tuesday that vaping with e-cigarettes that contain nicotine can be addictive and that teenagers who use the devices may be at higher risk of smoking. Whether teenage use of e-cigarettes leads to conventional smoking has been intensely debated in the United States and elsewhere. While the industry argues that vaping is not a steppingstone to conventional cigarettes or addiction, some antismoking advocates contend that young people become hooked on nicotine, and are enticed to use cancer-causing tobacco-based cigarettes over time. (Kaplan, 1/23)
NPR: Public Health Review Of E-Cigarettes Is Mixed
"There is conclusive evidence that most products emit a variety of potentially toxic substances. However the number and intensity is highly variable," says David Eaton, who heads the committee that wrote the report. He is also the dean and vice provost of the graduate school of the University of Washington, Seattle. "In some circumstances, such as their use by nonsmoking adolescents and young adults, their adverse effects clearly warrant concern." (Neighmond and Fulton, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Military Families Bolster The Case That Obesity Is Indeed Contagious
Members of the military serve their country in myriad ways. That includes helping researchers figure out whether obesity is a contagious disease. A new study involving thousands of military families suggests that the answer is yes. The idea that fatness can spread like chicken pox or the flu may sound downright crazy. But how else do you explain the fact that families assigned to Army bases in communities with higher rates of obesity were more likely to be overweight or obese compared with families sent to bases where excess pounds were less common? (Kaplan, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Less Smartphone Time Equals Happier Teenager, Study Suggests
A precipitous drop in the happiness, self-esteem and life satisfaction of American teens came as their ownership of smartphones rocketed from zero to 73% and they devoted an increasing share of their time online. Coincidence? New research suggests it is not. (Healy, 1/23)
The New York Times: New York Legislator Renews Effort To Bar Tackle Football For Children
A bill being reintroduced in the New York state legislature this week would bar youth tackle football for children under 12 years old, the latest attempt to address the emerging dangers of repeated head hits on young brains. Sponsored by state assemblyman Michael Benedetto, who represents Bronx County in New York City, the bill would prevent organized youth football leagues and schools from offering the tackle version of the game in New York state. (Belson, 1/24)
The Associated Press: San Diego Declares End To Hepatitis A Emergency
San Diego's public health emergency for Hepatitis A has ended, officials declared Tuesday, after no new cases of the liver-damaging virus were reported in the past month and no deaths since October. Officials vowed to continue efforts to keep the illness under control. On Sept. 1, authorities declared the emergency to fight the worst epidemic of its kind in 20 years in the U.S. It killed 20 people and sickened 577 people between November 2016 and October 2017. (1/23)
NPR: Abortion Pills: California Senate Bill Requires On-Campus Access
In California, the state Senate is considering legislation that would ensure that students at four-year public universities in California have access on campus to medication for abortions. Sen. Connie Leyva introduced the bill, SB 320, in February 2017. It would require all health centers within the University of California and California State University systems to stock the drugs prescribed for medication abortion and ready their campus health clinics to provide them by 2022. (Wilhelm, 1/23)
The Washington Post: Woman Says Missouri’s Strict Abortion Regulations Violate Her Religion: The Satanic Temple
A member of the Satanic Temple in Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the state that alleges that her religious rights are violated by the state’s abortion restrictions. The anonymous plaintiff, who goes by the name Mary Doe in the lawsuit because she fears she would be subject to “personal attack,” brought her case before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday. The woman, who has had an abortion, according to local news reports, alleges that the state’s requirement that Planned Parenthood — the only abortion provider in the state — distribute a booklet from the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services that stipulates that life begins at conception violates her beliefs as a member of the Satantic Temple. (Rosenberg, 1/23)
The New York Times: Murphy Starts To Expand Access To Medical Marijuana In New Jersey
Having campaigned on a pledge to fully legalize marijuana, Gov. Philip D. Murphy took the first step toward expanding access to the drug in New Jersey on Tuesday, signing an executive order that would ease regulations on the use of marijuana for medical purposes. New Jersey legalized medical marijuana in 2010, but Mr. Murphy’s predecessor, Chris Christie, a Republican, kept tight limits on the drug, including on which conditions could qualify for prescriptions. (Corasaniti, 1/23)
The Washington Post: Vermont Is The First State To Legalize Marijuana Through Legislature
Vermont has become the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana legislatively. Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed a bill Monday legalizing marijuana for adults over 21. It allows for the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, two mature and four immature plants. Vermont is the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The other states did so through ballot initiatives. But Vermont’s law is notable for what it does not do: create a state marketplace for the sale of marijuana. (Zezima, 1/23)
