First Edition: June 1, 2015

Kaiser Health News: EHealth Sees Once-Thriving Business Decline After Health Law’s Exchanges Open
The Affordable Care Act was expected to be a boon for eHealth Inc., the nation’s largest online health insurance broker. After all, the law required most Americans to have coverage, provided government assistance to afford it and allowed Internet brokers to sell Obamacare policies. (Galewitz, 6/1)

Politico: GOP Hits Another Roadblock On Obamacare Repeal
Repealing the law “root and branch” is probably out of the question, the chamber’s parliamentarian is hinting, because some parts of Obamacare don’t affect the federal budget. That’s a must in order to use the obscure procedure known in Senate parlance as reconciliation, which allows lawmakers to avoid the 60-vote filibuster hurdle and pass bills on a simple majority vote. That’s not the GOP’s only problem. Under those rules any Obamacare repeal has to reduce — not increase — the deficit. So Republicans will have to pick and choose which parts of the Affordable Care Act they most want to ditch. (Bade and Haberkorn, 6/1)

Politico: Experts See Big Price Hikes For Obamacare
The cost of Obamacare could rise for millions of Americans next year, with one insurer proposing a 50 percent hike in premiums, fueling the controversy about just how “affordable” the Affordable Care Act really is. The eye-popping 50 percent hike by New Mexico insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield is an outlier, and state officials may not allow it to go through. But health insurance experts are predicting that premiums will rise more significantly in 2016 than in the first two years of Obamacare exchange coverage. In 2015, for example, premiums increased by an average of 5.4 percent, according to PwC’s Health Research Institute. (Demko, 5/30)

Los Angeles Times: 44% Of Covered California Customers Report Difficulty Paying Premiums
A new survey shows that 44% of Covered California policyholders find it difficult paying their monthly premiums for Obamacare coverage. And a similar percentage of uninsured Californians say the high cost of coverage is the main reason they go without health insurance. The issue of just how much people can afford will loom large as the state exchange prepares to negotiate with health insurers over next year's rates. (Terhune, 5/29)

The New York Times: Federal Investigators Fault Medicare’s Reliance On Doctors For Pay Standards
The government relies too heavily on advice from the American Medical Association in deciding how much to pay doctors under Medicare, and the decisions may be biased because the doctors have potential conflicts of interest, federal investigators say in a new report. This reliance on the association, combined with flaws in data collected by the influential doctors’ group, “could result in inaccurate Medicare payment rates,” the investigators said. (Pear, 5/31)

Politico: Health Care Spending Billions To Protect The Records It Spent Billions To Install
The hacking of the health records of as many as 1 in 3 Americans has awakened the health care industry to an unpleasant reality: After spending billions to install computerized documents in hospitals and networks, it now must spend billions more to make them secure. (Allen, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Health Insurer Humana Explores Sale
Health insurer Humana Inc. is exploring a possible sale of the company, a move that could trigger a round of mergers in an industry grappling with challenges and opportunities the federal health-care overhaul has created. Faced with pressure to cut costs and find ways to profit from the potential new customers the Affordable Care Act is generating, the big health insurers have long been expected by analysts to turn to mergers that will give them the heft to better compete as the industry evolves. (Hoffman, Mattioli, Cimilluca and Wilde Mathews, 5/29)

The New York Times: Humana Is Said To Consider Sale Of Company
The wave of deal-making that has swept across the health care industry now appears poised to pull in health insurers, a development driven by the Obama administration’s insurance overhaul. Humana, one of the country’s largest health insurers, is weighing a potential sale of itself after having been approached by several competitors, people briefed on the matter said on Friday. These people, who were not authorized to speak publicly, cautioned that the company had made no decisions and might choose not to sell. (de la Merced and Creswell, 5/29)

USA Today: Humana Shares Close Up 20% On Report Of Possible Sale
Humana shares closed up 20% Friday after a day of media reports that the company could be for sale. Shares of Louisville-based Humana, one of the largest U.S. insurers were up $36.24 to close at $214.65. Analysts have been discussing the possibility that large health insurers flush with cash might be looking for a big acquisition. Deal-friendly low interest rates and expectations for another wave of consolidation also are fueling the speculation. (O'Donnell, 5/29)

The Associated Press: Report: Health Insurer Humana Considering A Sale
Humana shares soared well beyond all-time high prices Friday afternoon on speculation that the company, one of the nation's biggest health insurers, might be up for sale. Analysts have been discussing for a few weeks the possibility that large health insurers flush with cash may be hunting for a big acquisition. Deal-friendly low interest rates and expectations for another wave of consolidation also are fueling the speculation. (Murphy, 5/30)

The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: Will The 21st Century Cures Bill Lower Standards For Some Drug Approvals?
Would a new Congressional bill designed to jumpstart medical innovation lower standards for approving new uses of existing medicines? Consumer advocates are raising this concern about the 21st Century Cures legislation, which passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously last week and, in part, is designed to reform the approval process for drugs. Supporters say the bill is a long overdue move that, among other things, will give the FDA the tools to ensure treatments reach patients faster. (Silverman, 5/29)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Drug Shortages Frustrate Doctors, Patients
Robin Miller, a 62-year-old oncologist in Atlanta with bladder cancer, was scheduled to receive a potentially lifesaving drug in December. But her doctor’s office called shortly before the appointment to say: “Sorry, we don’t have any. We can’t give it to you,” according to Dr. Miller. The disruption was due to a global shortage of the drug, BCG, which arose after manufacturing problems at two of the few global suppliers. Without the drug, Dr. Miller feared her cancer would come back and she would have to have her bladder removed, a step she called “barbaric.” (Loftus, 5/31)

The Wall Street Journal: High Prices For Drugs Attacked At Meeting
In a sign of growing frustration with rising drug prices, a prominent cancer specialist on Sunday sharply criticized the costs of new cancer treatments in a high-profile speech at one of the largest annual medical meetings in the U.S. “These drugs cost too much,” Leonard Saltz, chief of gastrointestinal oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said in a speech heard by thousands of doctors here for the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. (Walker, 6/1)

The New York Times: New Class Of Drugs Shows More Promise In Treating Cancer
A new drug that unleashes the body’s immune system to attack tumors can prolong the lives of people with the most common form of lung cancer, doctors reported on Friday, the latest example of the significant results being achieved by this new class of medicines. In a separate study, researchers said they had found that a particular genetic signature in the tumor can help predict which patients could benefit from the immune-boosting drugs. The finding could potentially extend use of these drugs to some patients with colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and other tumors that have seemed almost impervious to the new drugs. (Pollack, 5/29)

The New York Times: Doctors Seek Test For Deploying New Life-Extending Cancer Drugs
New drugs that boost the immune system’s ability to fight tumors may be one of the greatest medical advances in years, cancer doctors say, pulling some patients from death’s door and keeping them in remission for years. But the truth is that this happens for only a minority of patients. Now, doctors say, there is a new imperative to develop a test that will identify in advance which patients will benefit, sparing others the cost and possible side effects.n (Pollack, 5/31)

The Associated Press: Clinton Advisers Begin Developing Substance Abuse Policies
Top advisers from Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign are speaking with substance abuse prevention advocates in Iowa and New Hampshire as they develop campaign policies around drug addiction and treatment. Ann O'Leary and Maya Harris, two top policy advisers to the campaign, held video conferences last week with leading advocates in both early voting states, campaign officials said. Clinton said in April she would make mental health and substance abuse treatment a "big part" of her campaign after hearing about it on the trail in both states. (5/31)

The Washington Post: Clinton’s Campaign Will Make Substance Abuse, Mental Health Key Issues
Clinton senior policy advisers Ann O'Leary and Maya Harris participated in Google hangouts Friday with treatment providers, law enforcement officers, local politicians and others in Iowa and New Hampshire, a Clinton aide said. The groups discussed the scourge of opiate addiction, which is decimating New Hampshire and is a growing problem in Iowa, and the use of methamphetamines in Iowa. (Zezima, 5/31)

The Washington Post: Matt Bevin Prevails As James Comer Concedes Kentucky Governor Primary
After a recanvass of vote totals left him still narrowly trailing, James R. Comer, the Kentucky agriculture commissioner, on Friday conceded the Republican primary race for governor to Matt Bevin, a wealthy Louisville businessman and Tea Party favorite. ... This year, Mr. Bevin again portrayed himself as the most conservative choice, vowing to repeal the state’s health insurance exchange and Medicaid expansion, both created under the Affordable Care Act. Political analysts and some state Republicans said Mr. Bevin would be a weaker candidate in the general election than Mr. Comer would have been. (Blinder and Perez-Pena, 5/29)

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down Idaho Law Banning Abortions After 20 Weeks
Three federal judges have unanimously struck down an Idaho law that banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Jennie McCormack, the plaintiff in the case, was arrested in 2011 for taking a pack of five pills to end a pregnancy. Surgical abortions were not available in southeast Idaho, where she lived, according to court documents. Instead of undergoing an inpatient procedure, which would have required McCormack to travel more than 150 miles, crossing the Utah state line, to Salt Lake City, she used a combination of medicine to induce an abortion in her home. (Shepherd, 5/30)

The New York Times: Jury In The Bronx Awards $45 Million For A Death After Surgery
A Bronx jury has awarded $45.6 million to the parents of a man who was paralyzed at 14 and later died as a result of a spinal operation at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, according to court papers released Friday. The man, Edward Beloyianis, who lived in Dix Hills, Long Island, had gone to the Manhattan hospital in November 2002 for surgery to correct his scoliosis, a condition that made his spine curve in an S-shape, his lawyer, Evan Torgan, said on Friday. Mr. Beloyianis was paralyzed from the waist down by four screws that had been misplaced during the surgery and were pressing on his spinal cord, Mr. Torgan argued during a six-month trial in State Supreme Court in the Bronx. (Hartocollis, 5/29)

The Associated Press: NYC Mayor Forms Task Force To Probe Sober Houses
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has created a task force to investigate so-called three-quarter houses for potentially exploiting addicts and homeless individuals. The dwellings, sometimes called sober houses, fall somewhere between regulated halfway houses and permanent housing. (6/1)