First Edition: June 13, 2019
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Drug Users Armed With Naloxone Double As Medics On Streets Of San Francisco
The man was out of his wheelchair and lay flat on his back just off San Francisco’s Market Street, waiting for the hypodermic needle to pierce his skin and that familiar euphoric feeling to wash over him. The old-timer, who appeared to be in his 60s, could not find a viable vein, so a 38-year-old man named Daniel Hogan helped him. Hogan, a longtime drug user originally from St. Louis, leaned over the older man, eyeing his neck as he readied a syringe loaded with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. (Rinker, 6/13)
Kaiser Health News:
Why So Many Older Americans Rate Their Health As Good Or Even Excellent
A common myth about aging is that older adults are burdened by illness and feel lousy much of the time. In fact, the opposite is usually true. Most seniors report feeling distinctly positive about their health. Consider data from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (the most recent available), administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When asked to rate their overall health, 82% of adults ages 65 to 74 described it as excellent (18%), very good (32%) or good (32%) — on the positive side of the ledger. By contrast, 18% of this age group had a negative perspective, describing their health as fair (14%) or poor (4%). (Graham, 6/13)
The Hill:
First Major 'Medicare For All' Hearing Sharpens Attacks On Both Sides
Supporters of “Medicare for All” notched a victory Wednesday when one of Congress’s most powerful committees debated the progressive proposal, but the venue also gave Republicans an opportunity to paint proponents as socialists. Democrats and Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee were at odds with each other, and at times with the lively audience of Medicare for All advocates, over how to pay for a program that’s estimated to cost in the tens of trillions of dollars. (Hellmann, 6/12)
Modern Healthcare:
House Panel Explores Insurance Coverage Expansion Plans
A House committee hearing on paths to universal health coverage on Wednesday devolved into a fiery rhetorical battle between Democrats seeking an expanded public payer role and Republicans denouncing such moves as one-size-fits-all socialized medicine. Both Democrats and Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee agreed that the current $3.5 trillion system features unsustainable spending increases, imposes excessive administrative burdens for providers and patients, and leaves too many Americans without quality coverage and access to care. (Meyer, 6/12)
Modern Healthcare:
Arbitration For Surprise Medical Bills Splits House Panel
Lawmakers of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee appeared split on Wednesday over whether they should give physicians and hospitals a chance to appeal to an arbiter in a balance billing dispute. The divisions over how to handle balance billing didn't fall along party lines and peeled both Democratic and GOP representatives from the committee leaders' bipartisan proposal to set a benchmark price according to the patient's in-network rate. Committee Chair Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who produced a draft policy with ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), put his stake in the ground for transparency and price concerns. (Luthi, 6/12)
The Hill:
Pelosi To Change Drug-Pricing Plan After Progressive Complaints
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is making changes to her drug pricing plan after complaints from the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC). Pelosi told lawmakers, including the heads of the Progressive Caucus, during a private meeting Wednesday night that she had heard their complaints. (Sullivan, 6/12)
Stat:
House Progressives Invite Six Drug Makers Back To Capitol Hill
House progressives on Wednesday called for executives from six drug companies to appear on Capitol Hill next week to justify what the lawmakers termed unjustifiable price increases — the latest public display of displeasure from the Democratic Party’s left flank regarding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approach to lowering pharmaceutical costs. (Facher, 6/12)
The Hill:
Senate Judiciary Committee Plans Markup Of Drug Pricing Bill This Month
The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning a markup of legislation to lower drug prices this month, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the panel’s chairman, told The Hill on Wednesday. The action from the Judiciary Committee is a sign of the movement on the issue of drug pricing in both parties, which could provide Congress with a rare bipartisan achievement this year. The Senate Finance Committee is also moving forward with drug pricing legislation this month or next. (Sullivan, 6/12)
The Hill:
House Panel Launches Investigation Into Juul
A powerful House committee is launching an investigation into e-cigarette manufacturer Juul, seeking a host of information about whether the company has actively marketed its product to American children. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to Juul asking for all documents related to the company’s marketing strategy, the product’s impact on minors, information on the health effects of the product and details about its business arrangements with potential investors, among other information. (Weixel, 6/12)
Politico:
Dems Scramble To Break Impasse Over Funding Migrant Crisis
House Democrats are still haggling over the details of a contentious bill to deliver billions of dollars for the humanitarian crisis at the border, with chances of a vote before the Fourth of July diminishing by the day. Top Democrats left a closed-door meeting Wednesday still aiming to bring legislation to the floor within the next two weeks. But Democrats have yet to reach a final agreement, with a vocal group of progressives still refusing to back the proposal to send money to the Trump administration. (Ferris and Caygle, 6/12)
Stat:
Senators Want To Know If HHS Money Went To Chinese Genomics Firms
Two Republican senators are asking whether the Department of Health and Human Services might have compromised national security by indirectly doing business with genomics companies tied to China, the latest escalation in Washington’s efforts to limit overseas access to American intellectual property. In a letter to the HHS inspector general, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) name-checked WuXi Nextcode and BGI, two Chinese-founded genomics companies that have relationships with U.S. companies that have received payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Garde, 6/12)
The Hill:
Cruz Pitches Ocasio-Cortez On Bill To Make Birth Control Available Over The Counter
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is looking to join forces with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on legislation that would make over-the-counter birth control legal. The GOP Texas senator on Wednesday offered to team up with her to create a "simple, clean bill making birth control available over the counter," a move that comes just weeks after he offered to take up lobbyist reform with her. (Wise, 6/12)
Reuters:
House Panel Approves Permanent Sept. 11 Victims' Compensation
A U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to extend the fund compensating first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center for the next 70 years, a move that would avoid steep benefit reductions over a lack of money. The House Judiciary Committee acted one day after television personality and comedian Jon Stewart castigated lawmakers at a hearing for their slow response to helping New York City firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel who rushed to the scene of the attacks that left two of Manhattan's most well-known skyscrapers in rubble. (6/12)
The Hill:
Schumer Calls For Senate Vote On 9/11 Victim Fund
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that he is "begging" and "pleading" with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a vote on legislation to extend the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. "The House Judiciary Committee just passed the fix to the Victims Compensation Fund. The full House will follow suit soon. As soon as the House passes this bill, it should be on the floor of the Senate immediately — as a stand-alone bill," Schumer said from the Senate floor. (Carney, 6/12)
The New York Times:
How Jon Stewart Became A Fierce Advocate For 9/11 Responders
Jon Stewart, speaking on Capitol Hill about the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, was not the cool, detached comedian that television viewers are accustomed to. Instead, faced with empty seats as he spoke on Tuesday to a House Judiciary subcommittee about a bill to secure funding for ailing Sept. 11 victims, the former host of “The Daily Show” was outraged, at times pounding his fist on the table, shouting at lawmakers and choking up as he came close to tears. (Gold, 6/12)
The New York Times:
Planned Parenthood To Host Women’s Health Forum For 2020 Democrats
Planned Parenthood Action Fund is set to host a forum on reproductive rights for the Democratic primary field this month, as the issue of abortion emerges as a central topic in the 2020 presidential race. The forum, hosted by Planned Parenthood’s political arm, is the first event in recent presidential campaigns singularly focused on women’s health. The candidates will be individually questioned for 15 minutes about their positions and records on issues like abortion rights, access to health care and contraception. (Lerer, 6/12)
The Hill:
16 Democrats To Attend 2020 Abortion Forum Hosted By Planned Parenthood
Among the candidates to be confirmed already by the group is Joe Biden, whose positions on reproductive rights made headlines last week. Biden's campaign initially said the former vice president still supported the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal money from being used for abortion. After significant backlash arguing that the rule disproportionately hits poor and minority women, Biden announced he would now oppose the amendment. (Rodrigo, 6/12)
The New York Times:
What Abortion Access Looks Like In Mississippi: One Woman At A Time
When Brandy found out she was pregnant for the fifth time, she was 25 and single and had given birth to her third child two months earlier. Soon after that, she lost her retail management job of six years. It was midwinter 2013, and she could barely pay her heating bill. “I knew I wasn’t going to keep it if I could do anything about it,” she says now of the pregnancy. A month later, once she could afford the cab fare, she called a taxi to drive her 20 minutes to Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only abortion clinic in Mississippi. (Beery, 6/13)
The Associated Press:
Illinois Governor Signs Law Expanding Access To Abortion
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed sweeping abortion protections into law on Wednesday, establishing women's access to the procedure as a "fundamental right" and putting Illinois at odds with Republican-led states that have been embracing steep abortion restrictions. The new Illinois law voids decades-old abortion regulations that were on the books but had never taken effect because of court orders, including restrictions on late-term abortions and criminal penalties for doctors who perform abortions. (6/12)
The New York Times:
Florida Company Sued Over Sales Of Skimpy Health Plans
One Ohio resident paid $240 a month for health insurance that she later learned didn’t cover her knee replacement. Saddled with $48,000 in medical bills, she decided not to get the other knee replaced. “It’s been devastating to me,” said Elizabeth Belin, who lives in Columbus. The bills totaled more than her annual salary. A Kansas resident paid premiums on a policy for two years, then found out his insurance would not cover surgery for a newly diagnosed cancer. (Abelson, 6/12)
The New York Times:
N.I.H. Head Calls For End To All-Male Panels Of Scientists
The word “scientist” does not specify a gender. And yet, for eons — well, ever since conferences and symposiums emerged from the primordial academic soup — the majority of prominent scientific speakers and panelists have been men. This phenomenon has been documented in studies and spawned many mocking monikers: “manference,” “himposium,” “manel.” People have tried to understand why the Y chromosome so dominates the dais and explain that there really should be more X. (Belluck, 6/12)
The Hill:
NIH Director Will No Longer Participate In All-Male Panels
The director of the National Institutes of Health will no longer participate in all-male panels, he announced Wednesday. Francis Collins said in a statement that "it is time to end the tradition in science of all-male speaking panels." The decision comes in response to a report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine which identified a key role for scientific leaders to play in combatting gender harassment and disparities in women's visibility in science. (Rodrigo, 6/12)
The Washington Post:
NIH Director Will No Longer Speak On All-Male Science Panels
Collins speaks about 125 times annually, according to the NIH, often as a keynote speaker but sometimes as part of a panel. His announcement is more important as a signal that one of the world’s top scientists is addressing the issue, according to an activist working for women in science. (Bernstein, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
GOP Leaders: Economy Helped Remove Kids From TennCare Rolls
Top Republican elected officials in Tennessee say their state's improved economy is partly why at least 128,000 children were cut from its low-income health insurance programs over the past two years — but Democrats and some health care advocates dispute that contention. (6/12)
The New York Times:
Inside The Elementary School Where Drug Addiction Sets The Curriculum
Inside an elementary school classroom decorated with colorful floor mats, art supplies and building blocks, a little boy named Riley talked quietly with a teacher about how he had watched his mother take “knockout pills” and had seen his father shoot up “a thousand times.” Riley, who is 9 years old, described how he had often been left alone to care for his baby brother while his parents were somewhere else getting high. (Levin, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
Nebraska's AG Is Lone Holdout In Pursuing Opioid Cases
Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has fought prescription opioid abuse through public education campaigns, worked with lawmakers to tighten prescribing practices and even demanded documents from the maker of OxyContin. He has said the overdose crisis is ravaging families. What Peterson hasn't done is pursued a lawsuit seeking to hold any opioid manufacturer, distributor or pharmaceutical company accountable. That leaves him standing alone among state attorneys general. (6/12)
USA Today:
Opioid Overdoses, Alcohol Deaths, Suicide Hit Millenials The Most
Young adults were more likely than any other age group to die from drugs, alcohol and suicide over the past decade, underscoring the despair Millennials face and the pressure on the health care system to respond to a crisis that shows little sign of abating. Drug-related deaths among people 18 to 34 soared 108% between 2007 and 2017, while alcohol deaths were up 69% and suicides increased 35%, according to an analysis out Thursday of the latest federal data by the non-profit Trust for America's Health and Well Being Trust. (O'Donnell, 6/13)
NBC News:
U.S. Death Rates From Suicides, Alcohol And Drug Overdoses Reach All-Time High
The report examined data in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., taking an in-depth look at 47 factors that have an impact on health outcomes, including insurance coverage, access to doctors, obesity, smoking, even tooth loss, and ultimately assigning each state a score. The data are from 2017. Although the rates of the so-called deaths of despair are up nationally, the report's investigators were particularly struck by regional differences in the rates. (Edwards, 6/12)
The New York Times:
Bastion Of Anti-Vaccine Fervor: Progressive Waldorf Schools
The mother of an unvaccinated child here in the New York suburbs says eating papaya helps to combat measles. The father of another child who has not been immunized believes that big pharmaceutical companies are paying millions of dollars to doctors, government officials and even judges to bury the truth about vaccine complications. Another mother says the souls of her children are on a journey that vaccines would impede. “As a parent, for me, a lot of my job is to just not put extra obstacles in that soul’s way,” she said. (Freytas-Tamura, 6/13)
The New York Times:
‘If We Do This Right’ Maybe H.I.V. Will Be Forgotten
If the 50 years since Stonewall has ultimately been about social and legal progress for L.G.B.T.Q. people, it has also been about one of the most devastating and, at first, mysterious medical events of modern times: The AIDS epidemic. While history now tells us that H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, probably made its move to humans from chimpanzees in central Africa in the early 1900s, its arrival in the United States in the 1980s brought to the public consciousness a disease that has so far killed more than 35 million people worldwide. (Dubin, 6/12)
The New York Times:
The Latest Reason To Breast-Feed: Milk Is Alive
In the earliest days after birth, millions of bacteria make their home in a baby’s body — in the skin, mouth and especially the gut. These immigrants come from the birth canal and the mother’s feces (during a vaginal birth), the mother’s skin and mouth as she holds and nuzzles the baby and perhaps even from the placenta, although that source is still debated. The colonizing microbiome can have a far-reaching impact on the baby’s health. (Mandavilli, 6/12)
The New York Times:
How To Protect Your DNA Data Before And After Taking An At-Home Test
Consumer DNA testing kits like those from 23andMe, Ancestry.com and MyHeritage promise a road map to your genealogy and, in some cases, information about what diseases you’re most susceptible to. They also ask for a lot of trust with your DNA information — trust that, in some ways, may not be earned. Here’s how to protect and delete your data if you use any of these services. (Ravenscraft, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
O.J. Simpson Case Helped Bring Spousal Abuse Out Of Shadows
In a letter that surfaced after her 1994 murder, Nicole Brown Simpson detailed the fear and violence that framed her marriage to O.J. Simpson, the charismatic football star who became a TV pitchman. Simpson gave her "disgusted" looks with each pound she gained in her first pregnancy in 1988 and "beat the holy hell" out of her a year later, when the couple told an X-ray lab she fell off a bike, she wrote. (6/12)
The New York Times:
A Fractured Ankle Turned Me Into My Father
I have become my father. I don’t mean I’m short-tempered, overly particular about petty things or obsessed with finding cheap gasoline, although these are all traits he passed on to me. I mean I can’t walk. Unlike my father, my condition is temporary — I fractured my ankle on an ill-advised descent down an icy hill on cross-country skis, landing me with a space-age boot and crutches. (Palm, 6/13)
The Associated Press:
New Gene Tests For Germs Quickly Reveal Source Of Infections
Brian Jetter was on life support, a healthy 40-year-old suddenly battling pneumonia and sepsis, and a slew of tests had failed to find the cause. Mystery illnesses like this kill thousands of people each year when germs can't be identified fast enough to reveal the right treatment. Now genetic tests are helping to solve these cases. (6/12)
The New York Times:
Bats, Not Dogs, Are The Most Common Source Of Rabies
Bats are the main cause of human rabies in the United States and have been for several years, responsible for infecting seven of every 10 people who develop the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday. Even though the actual number of rabies cases is very small, the C.D.C. made its announcement to raise awareness that bats carry rabies, said Dr. Emily Pieracci, a veterinarian with the agency. (Gorman, 6/12)
NPR:
More Wildfires Bring Focus On How All That Smoke May Harm Firefighters
When Timothy Ingalsbee thinks back on his days in the 1980s and '90s fighting wildfires in the Pacific Northwest, he remembers the adventure of jumping out of a helicopter into the wilderness, and the camaraderie of being on a fire crew. "We just slept in a heap," he says, "on the ground under the stars, or smoke-filled skies." But Ingalsbee, who went on to found the Eugene, Ore.-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, doesn't like to remember all that smoke. (Burns, 6/12)
The New York Times:
Scientists Find Ancient Humans Used Weed 2,500 Years Ago, Too
An association between weed and the dead turns out to have been established long before the 1960s and far beyond a certain ur-band’s stomping grounds in San Francisco. Researchers have identified strains of cannabis burned in mortuary rituals as early as 500 B.C., deep in the Pamir mountains in western China, according to a new study published Wednesday. (Hoffman, 6/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Ancient Drug Paraphernalia Reveals That People Smoked Pot In China 2,500 Years Ago
Humans have long had a complex relationship with cannabis, in part because cannabis is not just one plant with one set of properties. Strains of Cannabis sativa have been used for millennia to produce rope and textiles from the stalks and oil from the seeds. And because wild cannabis typically has very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, the plant’s powerful psychoactive compound better known as THC, it’s unclear exactly when and how humans might have started inhaling smoke or ingesting plant matter for mind-altering purposes. (Khan, 6/12)
NPR:
NPR Rural Health Poll Finds Financial Insecurity Plagues Many Who Have A Disability
Carol Burgos is worried her neighbors think she is bringing the neighborhood down. She lives in a mobile home park in a woodsy part of Columbia County, N.Y, just off a two-lane highway. The homes have neat yards and American flags. On a spring Saturday, some neighbors are out holding yard sales, with knickknacks spread out on folding tables. Others are out doing yardwork. (Simmons-Duffin, 6/12)
The Hill:
Maine Legalizes Medically Assisted Suicide
Maine became the eighth state to legalize medically assisted suicide Wednesday. Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the Maine Death with Dignity Act, which lays out several steps a patient and physician must take before the procedure. The bill requires the patient to undergo two waiting periods and one written and two oral requests and obtain opinions from at least two physicians that a medically assisted suicide is appropriate. (Axelrod, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
Maine Becomes 8th State To Legalize Assisted Suicide
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who had previously said she was unsure about the bill, signed it in her office. “It is my hope that this law, while respecting the right to personal liberty, will be used sparingly,” said Mills. Oregon was the first state to legalize such assistance, in 1997, and it took over a decade for the next state, Washington, to follow suit. While still controversial, assisted suicide legislation is winning increasing acceptance in the United States, and this year at least 18 states considered such measures. (Villeneuve, 6/12)
The New York Times:
Former U.C.L.A. Gynecologist Charged With Sexual Battery
A gynecological oncologist who worked at a University of California, Los Angeles, student health center has been charged with two counts of sexual battery, according to his lawyer. The doctor, James Heaps, was employed at the clinic from about 1983 to 2010 and was hired by U.C.L.A. Health in 2014, the school said in a statement on Monday. The university said it was made aware of the accusations of sexual misconduct last year and began an investigation. Dr. Heaps has pleaded not guilty to both charges, his lawyer, Tracy Green, said. (Garcia, 6/12)
The Associated Press:
Health Executive Says He Bribed Arkansas Governor's Nephew
A former health care executive admitted Wednesday to taking part in a conspiracy to bribe a former Arkansas lawmaker who is also the governor's nephew, in a widening corruption probe that's ensnared several legislators and lobbyists. (6/12)
The Associated Press:
Judge Rules Federal Prison Must Treat Inmate’s Breast Cancer
A judge has ordered the federal prison system to make sure a North Carolina woman gets timely treatment for breast cancer while she is incarcerated in Alabama. The Winston-Salem Journal reports that a judge admonished federal officials for what she called a ‘longstanding failure’ to make sure 47-year-old Angela Beck gets the cancer treatments she needs. The Monday order would require prison officials to coordinate with medical providers to get tests and treatment for Beck, who is serving almost 14 years for drug and firearms offenses. (6/12)
The Associated Press:
California Court: Prison Pot Is OK - If Inmates Don't Inhale
A California appeals court says it's legal to have small amounts of marijuana in prison — so long as inmates don't inhale. The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that California voters legalized recreational possession of less than an ounce (28 grams) of cannabis in 2016, with no exception even for those behind bars. But the court says state law does prohibit smoking weed in prison. Prison officials can also still punish pot possession as a rules violation. (6/12)