First Edition: May 21, 2019

Kaiser Health News: Hidden Reports Masked The Scope Of Widespread Harm From Faulty Heart Device
Faced with the possibility that a bout of abnormal heartbeats could end his life, in 2006, Dr. Marc Sicklick had a small device implanted in his chest that would shock it back into rhythm. Soon he would struggle with another life-or-death choice: whether to remove the Sprint Fidelis, which was deemed dangerous and recalled in 2007 after it had been implanted in hundreds of thousands of patients. The Sprint Fidelis was prone to giving patients random electrical jolts — and sometimes failed to fire in genuine cardiac emergencies, according to manufacturer Medtronic’s letter to doctors. (Jewett, 5/21)

Kaiser Health News: Supreme Court Declines To Hear Military Medical Malpractice Case
The family of a young Navy nurse who died after military doctors allegedly failed to halt massive bleeding following childbirth won’t get a hearing in the nation’s highest court. The Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition that sought to change what’s known as the Feres doctrine, a long-standing rule that bars active-duty military members from suing the federal government for injuries, including medical malpractice. (Aleccia, 5/20)

California Healthline: A Medical Sanctuary For Migrant Farmworkers
On the 15-mile drive between his two Central Valley medical clinics, Dr. J. Luis Bautista often passes armies of farmworkers stooped over in the fields, picking onions, melons and tomatoes. Most of the 30,000 annual office visits to his small staff of doctors and nurses in downtown Fresno and the nearby rural town of Sanger are by these farmworkers. Many of them are undocumented. (Glionna, 5/20)

The Associated Press: 'Medicare For All's' Rich Benefits 'Leapfrog' Other Nations
Generous benefits. No copays. No need for private policies. The "Medicare for All" plan advocated by leading 2020 Democrats appears more lavish than what's offered in other advanced countries, compounding the cost but also potentially broadening its popular appeal. While other countries do provide coverage for all, benefits vary.But the Medicare for All plan from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would charge no copays or deductibles for medical care, allowing only limited cost-sharing for certain prescription drugs. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/21)

The Hill: Pro-ObamaCare Group Launches Ad Campaign To Protect 20 House Dems 
A pro-ObamaCare group on Monday announced it is launching a seven-figure advertising campaign aimed at protecting 20 House Democrats who could face tough reelections. The ad campaign by Protect Our Care will highlight the Democrats’ work on health care and argue that Democratic lawmakers are protecting people with pre-existing conditions, an issue that helped the party win back the House in the 2018 midterm elections. (Sullivan, 5/20)

Politico: Disaster Relief Package On Fast Track After Shelby Relents
Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby is caving on his demand to add a key parochial provision to a long-stalled disaster aid bill, potentially clearing the way for its passage later this week. The Alabama Republican agreed to drop the fight — which had held up a deal for weeks and even begun to rattle members of his own party — after a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday yielded a commitment to address harbor maintenance provisions outside the disaster relief package. (Levine, Ferris and Bresnahan, 5/20)

The Associated Press: Senate GOP Leader Would Raise Age For Buying Tobacco To 21
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose home state of Kentucky was long one of the nation's leading tobacco producers, introduced bipartisan legislation Monday to raise the minimum age for buying any tobacco products from 18 to 21. The chamber's top Republican, who said he was making enactment of the bill "one of my highest priorities," issued his proposal at a time when the use of e-cigarettes is growing and underage vaping has soared, raising concerns by health expert s. The measure would apply to all tobacco products, e-cigarettes and vapor products and was co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., whose state has also been a major tobacco producer. (Fram, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: McConnell Pushes To Raise Age For Tobacco Purchases
The bill’s prospects in the House are unclear. House Democratic aides said they are still reviewing it, though they pointed to more expansive legislation introduced in the House that would also restrict flavored e-cigarettes and regulate marketing to young people, among other measures, in addition to raising the age for purchasing tobacco. Legislation that takes similar measures—but doesn’t raise the purchasing age—has received bipartisan support in the Senate. Many e-cigarette companies, including market leader Juul Labs Inc., sell cartridges of nicotine liquids with flavors such as mango and cucumber. The FDA last year announced plans to restrict the sale of flavored nicotine products in an effort to curb use among young people. (Duehren, 5/20)

Politico: McConnell And Kaine Unveil Bill To Raise Tobacco Age To 21
Several leading public health groups, including the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics came out in cautious support, applauding the McConnell measure but urging lawmakers not to add carve-outs or special provisions for the industry. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said it was still evaluating the proposal. Most of the anti-tobacco groups favor raising the age, but want other steps to curb tobacco use, particularly among youth. (Owermohle, 5/20)

The Associated Press: US Judge To Consider Blocking New Mississippi Abortion Law
Inside Mississippi's only abortion clinic, administrator Shannon Brewer has been fielding phone calls from women who want to know whether they can still terminate a pregnancy if they think they might be more than a few weeks along. The confusion comes from a Mississippi law that's set to ban abortions after a fetus's heartbeat is detected: about six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. The clinic has sued to block it, and a judge was scheduled to hear arguments on the request Tuesday. (Pettus, 5/20)

The Washington Post: Court Case Seeking To Overturn Abortion Restrictions Opens In Virginia
A federal trial opened Monday with activists challenging four state laws that restrict abortion, including requirements that clinics meet stringent licensing standards, that patients get an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion and that only doctors perform the procedure in the first trimester. Abortion is a relatively safe procedure for the woman, carrying less risk than a colonoscopy, plastic surgery or tonsillectomy, an expert witness testified for activists bringing the suit. Even some dental procedures pose greater danger. (Vozzella, 5/20)

The Associated Press: Abortion Clinic Asks Full Appeals Court To Rehear Case
A Kentucky abortion clinic is asking a federal appeals court to rehear an appeal in the case of a state law that requires doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients prior to abortions. A divided panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the 2017 law is constitutional, reversing a lower court judge. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the Louisville abortion clinic, filed a petition Monday asking that the full appeals court hear the case. The petition cites a First Amendment issue of “exceptional importance.” (5/20)

The Associated Press: Gov: Abortion Ban Shows Alabama Values 'Sanctity Of Life'
Alabama's governor said Monday the new abortion ban she recently signed into law reflects the high value residents place on the "sanctity of life," adding she doesn't expect any fallout from the controversial measure on tourism or business recruitment. Gov. Kay Ivey last week approved the most stringent abortion law in the nation— making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases unless necessary for the mother's health. The law provides no exception for rape and incest. (Chandler, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: State Abortion Curbs Reverberate In Presidential Race
In the days since this state’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved a near-total ban on abortion, the debate over abortion rights has taken a central role in the 2020 presidential race. Several Democratic presidential hopefuls have made abortion a central issue in the past week on the campaign trail, in policy platforms, cable television interviews, targeted digital ads, fundraising and outreach to supporters in a way that appears to be energizing the Democratic primary base. (Parti, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Planned Parenthood Head Says Abortion Is Still Legal Despite Restrictive Laws
Some women living in states that passed laws restricting or banning abortion are acting as though the procedure is already illegal, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said on Monday, despite the fact the new laws haven’t yet gone into effect. “Patients are deeply worried,” said Leana Wen, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival on Monday. She said some women were afraid of attending appointments and others had tried to move them up. “They are worried that abortion is already illegal and they have to take measures into their own hands,” added Dr. Wen, a doctor who became president of the organization in November. (Ramey, 5/20)

Politico: Faith-Based Clinics Sue HHS Over Family Planning Program Rules
A California chain of faith-based clinics is suing HHS, claiming it can't administer more than $5 million in federal family planning funds because current program rules infringe on its First Amendment rights. The complaint in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., states the Obria Group has been put in an untenable situation because courts temporarily stayed new Trump administration rules for the Title X program that would have, among other things, barred providers in the program from offering or referring patients for abortions. Instead, Obria has to comply with existing standards that require recipients to offer contraception and counseling that includes discussing abortion. (Colliver, 5/20)

The New York Times: E.P.A. Plans To Get Thousands Of Deaths Off The Books By Changing Its Math
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to change the way it calculates the health risks of air pollution, a shift that would make it easier to roll back a key climate change rule because it would result in far fewer predicted deaths from pollution, according to five people with knowledge of the agency’s plans. The E.P.A. had originally forecast that eliminating the Obama-era rule, the Clean Power Plan, and replacing it with a new measure would have resulted in an additional 1,400 premature deaths per year. The new analytical model would significantly reduce that number and would most likely be used by the Trump administration to defend further rollbacks of air pollution rules if it is formally adopted. (Friedman, 5/20)

The Hill: EPA To Implement Change Reducing Number Of Predicted Deaths From Air Pollution: Report 
The new analytical model would significantly reduce that number, making it easier for the Trump administration to defend further rollbacks, according to the Times. Five people familiar with the plan told the Times that the new modeling method would appear in the agency’s analysis of the final version of the replacement regulation, known as the Affordable Clean Energy rule, expected to be rolled out in June. (Rodrigo, 5/20)

The Associated Press: 5th Migrant Child Dies After Detention By US Border Agents
A 16-year-old Guatemala migrant who died Monday in U.S. custody had been held by immigration authorities for six days — twice as long as federal law generally permits — then transferred him to another holding facility even after he was diagnosed with the flu. The teenager, identified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, was the fifth minor from Guatemala to die after being apprehended by U.S. border agents since December. (Merchant, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Guatemalan Boy Dies In U.S. Border Patrol Custody
The CBP official said Monday that Carlos was diagnosed with the flu on Sunday and prescribed Tamiflu before being transferred from a processing center in McAllen to the station in nearby Weslaco on Sunday. The official said Carlos was set to be transferred to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement shelter in Brownsville. Under federal law, unaccompanied immigrant children can generally be held in Border Patrol facilities for up to 72 hours. The official said the agency relies on Health and Human Services to determine when and where unaccompanied immigrant children are transferred. (Caldwell, 5/20)

USA Today: Guatemalan Migrant Is The Latest Minor To Die In U.S. Custody
A collection of law enforcement agencies will investigate Hernandez Vasquez' death, looking into medical records while he's in custody and interviewing any other minors who may have been with him in the holding cell, CBP said. The FBI is among the agencies, the CBP official said. Hernandez Vasquez is the the fifth minor to die in the United States after being apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border. All five minors have been from Guatemala. (Carranza, 5/20)

Stat: Supreme Court Gives Merck A Break, Orders Fosamax Suits Review 
In a boost for Merck (MRK), the U.S. Supreme Court tossed a lower-court ruling that had revived more than 500 lawsuits accusing the drug maker of failing to properly warn patients about thigh-bone fractures traced to its widely used Fosamax treatment for osteoporosis. The justices want a federal appeals court to reconsider its 2018 ruling that allowed the lawsuits to proceed. Merck has argued that it tried to update warnings on the product labeling, but that the Food and Drug Administration rejected its efforts over disagreements with proposed wording about fracture risks. Last summer, the U.S. Solicitor General had urged the Supreme Court to review the case. (Silverman, 5/20)

Stat: Generic Drug Price-Fixing Suit Is Akin To Earlier Case, But ‘On Steroids,’ Conn. Prosecutor Says 
Earlier this month, 44 states filed a sweeping lawsuit that accused 20 generic drug makers, including large players such as Teva Pharmaceutical, and 15 current and former executives of a widespread price-fixing conspiracy. This was the second such lawsuit over the past three years that alleged schemes in which one company would decide to raise prices on a particular medicine and others would follow suit. ...We spoke with Joseph Nielsen, an assistant attorney general in Connecticut, which has taken the lead on these cases, about some of the details and what to expect next. (Silverman, 5/20)

The New York Times: Measles Outbreak Now At 880 Cases, With Fastest Growth Still In New York
There have now been 880 measles cases reported in this year’s outbreak, already the largest since 1994, federal health officials said on Monday. An additional 41 cases were reported last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 30 were in New York State, which is having the country’s most intense outbreak, largely in Orthodox Jewish communities. Most of those new cases were in New York City, and nine were in suburban Rockland County. (McNeil, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Measles Outbreaks In U.S. Tick Up
That is 41 more cases than a week ago, and included one additional state, Oklahoma, where a person contracted the measles after traveling domestically and internationally. By contrast, the number of confirmed cases had increased by 75 the previous week. This year is the worst for measles in the U.S. in 25 years, and the additional cases of the highly contagious disease brings the count closer to the 963 cases reported in 1994. (Abbott, 5/20)

The Washington Post: Anti-Vaxxers Target Communities Battling Measles
In a suburban shopping center an hour north of New York City, hundreds of mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in a sex-partitioned ballroom to hear leaders of the national anti-vaccine movement. Sustained applause greeted Del Bigtree, a former television-producer-turned-activist who often wears a yellow star , similar to those required of Jews in Nazi Germany, to show solidarity with parents ordered to keep unvaccinated children at home. Bigtree described the purported dangers of childhood vaccines in phrases that also conjured the Nazis. (Sun and Guarino, 5/20)

NPR: The Other Reasons Kids Aren't Getting Vaccinations: Poverty And Health Care Access
The toddler looking up at Dr. Melanie Seifman in her Washington, D.C., exam room seems a little dazed. It could be because she just woke up from a nap at daycare. It could be that she remembers the shots she got last time, and she knows what's coming. The little girl is catching up on some vaccines she's behind on: missing doses of the DTaP and polio vaccines. She's over two years old — both of those shots are supposed to happen at a baby's six-month check up. (Simmons-Duffin, 5/20)

NPR: Day-To-Day Financial Insecurity A Burden For People In Rural Communities
Polling by NPR finds that while rural Americans are mostly satisfied with life, there is a strong undercurrent of financial insecurity that can create very serious problems for many people living in rural communities. The findings come from two surveys NPR has done with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on day-to-day life and health in rural America. (Neel and Neighmond, 5/21)

The New York Times: A.I. Took A Test To Detect Lung Cancer. It Got An A.
Computers were as good or better than doctors at detecting tiny lung cancers on CT scans, in a study by researchers from Google and several medical centers. The technology is a work in progress, not ready for widespread use, but the new report, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, offers a glimpse of the future of artificial intelligence in medicine. One of the most promising areas is recognizing patterns and interpreting images — the same skills that humans use to read microscope slides, X-rays, M.R.I.s and other medical scans. (Grady, 5/20)

Stat: Google's AI Boosts Accuracy Of Lung Cancer Diagnosis, Study Shows 
A study published in Nature Medicine reported that the algorithm, trained on 42,000 patient CT scans taken during a National Institutes of Health clinical trial, outperformed six radiologists in determining whether patients had cancer. It detected 5% more cancers and cut false positives — when cancer is suspected though a nodule is harmless — by 11% from reviewing a single scan. It performed on par with the radiologists when prior images of patients were also included in the evaluation. (Ross, 5/20)

USA Today: Teen Suicide And Mental Health: America's Deadly, Costly Problems That Have No End In Sight
The nation's medical system falls far short of meeting the demand for teen mental health services because cases of suicide and psychiatric disorders are skyrocketing, underscoring a public health crisis that is already costing Americans billions to combat. Research from federal regulators and medical groups shows the suicide rate for young people ages 10 to 19 rose by 56% from 2007 to 2016, the latest year for which figures are available. Only 40% of young people with major depression got treatment, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. (O'Donnell, 5/20)

Stat: Judge Rules Parents Of Deceased Cadet Can Take Control Of His Sperm
The parents of a West Point cadet who died after a skiing accident earlier this year can take control of his sperm and, if they wish, use it to pursue a pregnancy using an egg donor and surrogate, a New York judge has ruled. The judge, state Supreme Court Justice John Colangelo, in March ordered that a hospital retrieve the sperm from 21-year-old Peter Zhu before he was taken off life support, following a request from his parents. Colangelo said his decision then was based on recovering the sperm while it was still viable, but that he needed more time to address how it could ultimately be used. (Joseph, 5/20)

The New York Times: Why High-Class People Get Away With Incompetence
In season four of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” Paul Rudd plays a wealthy businessman named Bobby Newport who runs for city council because he’s looking for something “easy” to do. He is asked during a debate how he’d fix the town. His answer: “I have no idea.” Still, the audience goes wild, much to the frustration of his rival, Leslie Knope. It’s funny because it’s relatable. Sooner or later, we all may encounter a Bobby Newport. What is it about an elite upbringing that seems to make people feel qualified for tasks where they have little experience? This is one of the questions that inspired a study published Monday in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. (Murphy, 5/20)

NPR: Not Just For Soldiers: Civilians With PTSD Struggle To Find Effective Therapy
Lauren Walls had lived with panic attacks, nightmares and flashbacks for years. The 26-year-old San Antonio teacher sought help from a variety of mental health professionals — including spending five years and at least $20,000 with one therapist who used a Christian-faith-based approach, viewing her condition as part of a spiritual weakness that could be conquered — but her symptoms worsened. She hit a breaking point two years ago, when she contemplated suicide. In her search for help, Walls encountered a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, she sought out a therapist who specialized in trauma treatment, and that's when she finally experienced relief. "It was just like a world of difference," Walls says. (Covington, 5/20)

The New York Times: Turmeric Takes A Star Turn In Cocktails
If cocktails look golden to you lately, it’s probably not because spring is here and the sun is out. Turmeric, the bright yellow-orange spice long used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, is the latest ingredient to make the leap from the kitchen to the cocktail glass. Every upscale bar menu these days seems to have at least one drink containing the spice. There is no single reason for this. And the two most significant ones sit on opposite ends of the serious-to-superficial spectrum. (Simonson, 5/20)

The Wall Street Journal: California Democrats Face Off Over Health Care For Illegal Immigrants
California lawmakers are headed for a showdown over how many illegal immigrants should qualify for government-subsidized health care. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed allowing unauthorized immigrants under 26 to enroll in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. Some members of the legislature, which is dominated by Democrats, have proposed that low-income people of all ages be eligible, regardless of their immigration status. Both would be first-in-the-nation expansions and represent another step by California to enact economic and social policies in defiance of the Trump administration, including support for those in the country illegally. (Lazo, 5/21)

The Associated Press: California Eyes Health Care For Immigrants In US Illegally
Lilian Serrano's mother-in-law had lots of stomach problems, but she always blamed food. Doctors at a San Diego-area clinic suspected Genoveva Angeles might have cancer, but they could not say for sure because they did not have the equipment to test for it and Angeles, who had been in the country illegally for 20 years, could not afford to see a specialist and did not qualify for state assistance because of her immigration status. (5/20)

The Associated Press: Oregon Joins Effort To Solve Crimes Against Native Women
Native American women have gone missing or been killed at alarming rates, federal and private studies show, and there is growing concern that confusion by law enforcement over who has jurisdiction can lead to lax pursuit of cases and insufficient data. Oregon, home to nine federally recognized tribes or confederations of tribes, has now joined a movement to account for and solve more of the crimes. (5/20)

The New York Times: Tuesday Could Be The Beginning Of The End Of Philadelphia’s Soda Tax
Jeff Foster, 58, a retired security guard with an abiding sweet tooth and a generous paunch, scowled as he considered the cornucopia of refrigerated soft drinks at his local convenience store. “It’s just not right,” he said, complaining that prices on his favorite brands had nearly doubled since a tax on sweetened beverages went into effect here two years ago. (Jacobs, 5/20)

The Associated Press: California Regulators Not Taking Action Against Care Homes
Across California, at least 20 companies providing care for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill continue to operate illegally after being cited for failing to pay their workers more than $1.4 million in back wages and penalties. "There's no accountability," said Hina Shah, an associate law professor at Golden Gate University who directs the Women's Employment Rights Clinic, which represents low-wage workers on issues of wage theft, discrimination and harassment. "Many of the cases that are being brought by workers are challenging flat-rate pay for 24 hours of work, conditions that are akin to modern-day slavery." (5/20)

The Associated Press: Governor Orders Probe Of Medical Board In Ohio State Abuse
Gov. Mike DeWine declared the late Ohio State University team doctor Richard Strauss a monster Monday as he ordered a review of the state medical board's handling of his case decades ago and called for lawmakers to lift the statute of limitations on rape charges. The Republican governor signed an executive order at a Statehouse news conference creating a group to review a complete, unredacted version of an investigative report released last week to see what the board knew about Strauss, who took his life in 2005, and when. Portions of the report involving the board's actions had been blacked out. (Carr Smyth, 5/20)