Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: March 31, 2015
Kaiser Health News: Research Plan Could Drive ‘Culture Change’ In How Mental Illness Is Diagnosed, Treated
The National Institute of Mental Health unveiled a five-year strategic plan emphasizing research it hopes will ultimately give clinicians a better understanding of what mental illness looks like inside the brain — before a patient shows outward symptoms. (Gillespie, 3/31)
Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Obamacare 'Death Panels' Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a new challenge to President Barack Obama's healthcare law that took aim at a bureaucratic board labeled by some Republicans as a "death panel" because it was designed to cut Medicare costs. The high court left intact a ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that threw out the lawsuit. (Hurley, 3/30)
The New York Times: House Provision Offers Doctors More Protection Against Malpractice Suits
A little-noticed provision of a bill passed by the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support would provide doctors new protections against medical malpractice lawsuits. The bill, which requires the government to measure the quality of care that doctors provide and rate their performance on a scale of zero to 100, protects doctors by stipulating that the quality-of-care standards used in federal health programs — Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act — cannot be used in malpractice cases. (Pear, 3/30)
The Wall Street Journal: UnitedHealth To Buy Catamaran For $12.8 Billion In Cash
UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s deal to acquire Catamaran Corp. for about $12.8 billion in cash will bulk up its pharmacy-benefit business amid growing concern from employers and insurers about the rising costs of cutting-edge drugs. Catamaran, the fourth-largest pharmacy-benefit manager in the U.S. by volume of prescriptions processed, will be merged into UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx unit, the industry’s third-largest and part of the company’s Optum health-services arm. (Wilde Mathews and Walker, 3/30)
Los Angeles Times: UnitedHealth To Acquire Pharmacy Benefits Firm Catamaran In $12-Billion Deal
Whether the acquisition will benefit consumers may be an issue in the months ahead. Some experts suggest that the deal may weaken competition and prompt opposition from the Federal Trade Commission. Pharmacy benefit managers help negotiate with drug companies the prices of prescription drugs on behalf of employers, insurers and government agencies. The largest players in the industry include Express Scripts and CVS/Caremark. (Pfeifer, 3/30)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: How The Nation’s Largest Health Insurer Is Fighting High Drug Prices
You don't have to look far these days to find stories about the rising costs of prescription drugs. By one count, drug spending jumped 13 percent last year, the highest annual increase in more than a decade. And health insurers have spent the better part of the past year warning anyone who'll listen that the new medications will come with high price tags that will strain the health-care system's ability to afford such medical advances. (Millman, 3/30)
The Wall Street Journal's Moneybeat: What Biotech Bubble? Specialty Pharma Stocks Pop Again On Merger Monday
M&A has helped drive the rally in biotech stocks in the past few years. And while many investors have grown concerned that valuations are getting too lofty, pharmaceutical companies showed that they remain willing to pay up for their targets. On Monday, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced that it would acquire Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc. for roughly $3.2 billion at a 42% premium to its closing price on Friday. Horizon Pharma announced that it would purchase Hyperion Therapeutics for $955.7 million in cash, at a price just 7.6% premium over its closing price Friday but roughly 55% above its price one month ago. The deals announced Monday show how M&A is both reshaping the pharmaceutical industry and rapidly responding to it. Midsize and large pharmaceutical companies have struggled to refill their product pipelines as many of their biggest cash-generating drugs come off patent. (Farrell, 3/30)
The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: Amgen Loses Another Round In Its Battle To Fend Off A Biosimilar Rival
For the second time this month, Amgen has lost a battle over its effort to block a biosimilar version of its Neupogen drug, a $5.7 billion seller that is used to fend off infections during chemotherapy. This time, the FDA denied a citizen’s petition the biotech filed arguing that Sandoz, which plans to sell a biosimilar, violated federal law by failing to provide it with needed information by a specified deadline. (Silverman, 3/30)
The Associated Press: An Apple A Day May Not Keep The Doctor Away, Study Says
An apple a day doesn't necessarily keep the doctor away. That's according to proverb-busting research that found daily apple eaters had just as many doctor visits as those who ate fewer or no apples. The findings don't mean apples aren't good for you but they do underscore that it takes more than just one kind of food to make a healthy diet and avoid illness. (3/30)
Los Angeles Times: Olympus Scopes May Have Infected More Patients, Seattle Health Agency Says
More patients across the country may have been infected by medical scopes manufactured by Olympus Corp. than previously thought, health officials warned Monday. Olympus' scopes are at the center of a string of recent endoscope-related superbug outbreaks that include Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Cedars Sinai Medical Center, as well as an earlier case at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. (Peterson, 3/30)
The Associated Press: Arizona Governor Signs Abortion Drug Notification Mandate
Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill Monday that requires abortion providers in Arizona to tell women they can reverse the effects of a drug-induced abortion and also bars women from buying any health care plan through the federal marketplace that includes abortion coverage. (3/30)
Reuters: Arizona Governor Signs Bill Blocking Abortion Coverage Through Obamacare
Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed a law on Monday that requires doctors to tell women that drug-induced abortions can be reversed and that blocks the purchase of insurance on the Obamacare health exchange that includes abortion coverage. The requirement that patients be told that the effects of abortion pills may be undone by using high doses of a hormone was the most hotly contested provision during legislative debate. (Schwartz, 3/30)
Los Angeles Times: New Arizona Law Restricts Abortions And Abortion Insurance
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a controversial bill Monday that requires abortion providers to tell women they can reverse the effects of a drug-induced abortion. The new law also bars women from buying healthcare plans through the federal marketplace that include abortion coverage, although an exception allows insurance in cases of rape, incest and when a woman's life is endangered. The Republican governor made good on a pledge to Arizona residents to defend the "right to life" in a continuation of former Gov. Jan Brewer's tough stance against abortion. (Parker, 3/30)
The New York Times: Indiana Races To Fight H.I.V. Surge Tied To Drug Abuse
Jeanni McCarty, a nurse and native of this threadbare city of 4,200, hurried up and down [Austin, Ind.'s] Main Street in Saturday’s bright sun, handing out stacks of fliers to any business that would take them. They were announcing a hastily planned specialty clinic — FREE, they emphasized in red — that would provide H.I.V. treatment to anyone who needed it. Quite suddenly, a lot of people around here do. And the number keeps growing. (Goodnough, 3/30)
