First Edition: May 24, 2019

Kaiser Health News: Sen. Alexander Releases Bipartisan Plan To Lower Health Costs, End Surprise Bills
“These are common sense steps we can take, and every single one of them has the objective of reducing the health care costs that you pay for out of your own pocket,” Alexander said in a statement. “We hope to move it through the health committee in June, put it on the Senate floor in July and make it law.” It would be a mammoth piece of legislation, targeting nearly every area of the health care industry for reform, including surprise medical bills, prescription drugs, transparency, public health and health information. Alexander said at a White House event earlier this month that he hopes to get the package to the Senate floor by the end of July. (Bluth, 5/23)

California Healthline: Use Of Buprenorphine To Treat Opioid Addiction Proliferates In California
Buprenorphine, a relative newcomer in the treatment of opioid addiction, is growing in popularity among California doctors as regulatory changes, physician training and other initiatives make the medication more widely accessible. The rate of Medi-Cal enrollees who received buprenorphine nearly quadrupled from the end of 2014 to the third quarter of 2018, according to data released by Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. The rate for methadone — an older and more commonly used drug — was almost unchanged from the end of 2014 through the last quarter of 2017, the most recent period for which data are available. (Rowan, 5/23)

Kaiser Health News: Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Is ‘Medicare For All’ Losing Steam?
A second House committee this week held a hearing on proposals for a single-payer health system, such as “Medicare for All,” featuring experts from the Congressional Budget Office. But it appears the enthusiasm for a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s health system is waning, as even some Democratic supporters clarify that they are in favor of more incremental changes. Meanwhile, there’s a new push on Capitol Hill to raise the federal minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. And some of that effort is coming from senators from tobacco states. (5/23)

Kaiser Health News: Analysis: A Health Care Overhaul Could Kill 2 Million Jobs, And That’s OK
As calls for radical health reform grow louder, many on the right, in the center and in the health care industry are arguing that proposals like “Medicare for All” would cause economic ruin, decimating a sector that represents nearly 20% of our economy. While exploring a presidential run, former Starbucks chief Howard Schultz called Medicare for All “not American,” adding, “What industry are we going to abolish next — the coffee industry?” He said that it would “wipe out the insurance industry.” (Rosenthal, 5/24)

Kaiser Health News: Coming Soon: ‘An Arm And A Leg’ Season Two
Health care — and how much it costs — is scary. But you’re not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power. “An Arm and a Leg” is a podcast about all these issues, and its second season, co-produced by Kaiser Health News, starts on June 4. (Weissmann, 5/23)

The Associated Press: GOP, Democrats Team Up To Address Surprise Medical Bills
Plunging ahead despite paralyzing partisanship in the nation's capital, senior lawmakers of both parties Thursday proposed legislation to tackle surprise medical bills and other concerns, from prescription drug costs to uneven vaccination rates. The draft bill from Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., echoes a time when health care issues often led to dialogue and cooperation between political parties. Alexander chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, while Murray is the ranking Democrat. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/23)

The New York Times: Surprise Medical Bills Give Both Parties An Unexpected Opportunity To Agree
Washington finds itself having a genuine policy debate that isn’t driven by party line. The president gave a speech this month about the need for action, standing in front of patients who’d received huge surprise bills. Various lawmakers from the House and the Senate have introduced bills with solutions — all bipartisan. Some of them include elements that might seem unusual for Republican proposals: setting prices, if only in limited circumstances. Surprise bills — which occur when a hospitalized patient is treated by a doctor who is not in the same insurance network as the hospital, and is billed for the difference — aren’t tied to any of the political controversies about Obamacare. (Sanger-Katz, 5/24)

The Hill: Bipartisan Senators Reveal Sweeping Health Care Package 
The package contains nearly three dozen specific bipartisan provisions that will reduce the cost of what Americans pay for health care, Alexander said. It sidesteps controversial issues like ObamaCare repeal, Medicare for All and abortion funding. Aside from surprise billing, the package also aims to provide transparency to rebates between drug companies and the pharmacy benefits manager “middlemen.” The goal is to bring the package to the Senate floor this summer, and Alexander and Murray requested members submit comments on the bill by June 5. (Weixel, 5/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Preparing Executive Order On Health-Cost Disclosure
President Trump is expected to release an executive order as early as next week to mandate the disclosure of prices in the health-care industry, according to people familiar with the discussion. The order could direct federal agencies to pursue actions to force a host of players in the industry to divulge cost data, the people said. The administration is also looking at using agencies such as the Justice Department to tackle regional monopolies of hospitals and health-insurance plans over concerns they are driving up the cost of care, according to two people familiar with the discussions. (Armour, 5/24)

The Wall Street Journal: Public Health Insurance Legislation Announced In Connecticut
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and fellow Democratic lawmakers reached an agreement Thursday to create a public option that will allow individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance through the state. The proposal also calls for re-establishing the individual mandate—a centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act that required people to have health insurance or pay a penalty—that has since been eliminated at the federal level by Congress. The bill would also have the state seek permission from the federal government to buy prescription drugs from Canada and calls for taxing opioid manufacturers. (De Avila, 5/23)

The Associated Press: July 9 Appeal Arguments Set In 'Obamacare' Case
A court has scheduled a July 9 hearing on a Texas-based judge's ruling that former President Barack Obama's signature health care law is unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans set the hearing date Tuesday. The law's opponents want a 5th Circuit panel to uphold U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor's 2018 ruling striking down the law. (5/23)

Stat: These Republicans Campaigned On A Bold Drug-Pricing Pledge. Since They Won, They’ve Gone Silent
Both Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Pete Stauber of Minnesota have retreated from their campaign pledges on the issue — a sign, experts said, of both the political appeal of pledging to lower drug prices and the trepidation that comes with crossing the party line on a divisive issue. The political liability that comes with quickly abandoning a campaign-trail promise, too, could be substantial. (Facher, 5/24)

The Hill: Trump-Pelosi Fight Threatens Drug Pricing Talks
President Trump's new vow to cut off work with Democrats is threatening recent progress in bipartisan talks to lower drug prices. Staffers for the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office have been in discussions for months about potential legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and sources say the White House has expressed openness to some form of Medicare negotiating drug prices, a major Democratic goal that Trump supported during the 2016 campaign before backing off. (Sullivan, 5/24)

Denver Post: Colorado Becomes First State In Nation To Cap Price Of Insulin
Diabetics in Colorado who use insulin to control their blood sugar levels won’t pay more than $100 per month for the drug starting in January thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday. “Today, we will declare that the days of insulin price gouging are over in Colorado,” Polis said in his office as he signed the bill, according to CBS Denver. Insulin has been around for nearly a century, but the price that patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes pay for the drug has doubled since 2012, according to the Healthcare Cost Institute. The cost of insulin can creep up toward $1,000 for those whose health care coverage requires significant cost-sharing. (Staver, 5/23)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Moves To Curb Immigrants’ Use Of Public Services
The White House is pushing ahead with rules to tighten access to public benefits for immigrants, weeks after top aides to President Trump complained of slow-walking by Department of Homeland Security officials on such issues. A presidential memorandum published late Thursday instructed cabinet secretaries to seek repayment in cases where legal immigrants access means-tested services such as Medicaid, food stamps and cash payments in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. (Radnofsky, 5/23)

The New York Times: Senate Passes Long-Deferred Disaster Relief Package
The Senate on Thursday passed a long-delayed disaster relief package, a step toward ending a monthslong impasse that had prevented the release of billions of dollars in aid for farmers and communities struggling to recover from an onslaught of natural disasters over the last two years. Minutes after a tornado warning blared through the Capitol chambers, the Senate voted 85 to 8 to allocate $19.1 billion for recovery efforts across the country. (Cochrane, 5/23)

Politico: Senate Passes Massive Disaster Aid Package
The stalled aid package had faced several setbacks — including over Trump’s reluctance to provide more money to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. More recently, talks stalled over a White House request for more border funding. The bill does not include the additional border funds the president sought. Among the Senators who voted against the bill — all Republicans — were Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Crapo of Idaho, James Risch of Idaho, Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Mitt Romney of Utah, Martha McSally of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky. (Levine, Everett and Bresnahan, 5/23)

NPR: Senate Reaches $19 Billion Deal For Disaster Aid Without Border Wall Funding
Shortly before the Senate voted on the plan, the president told reporters at the White House he did not want to hold up the disaster aid to get additional funding for his immigration priorities. (Mak and Snell, 5/23)

Politico: Tobacco Bill Could Put Democrats In Tough Spot
Republicans and Democrats both agree that the tobacco purchasing age should be raised from 18 to 21. But not everyone is on board with how to do it. A bipartisan tobacco bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pushing forward — that he’s called a top priority — is already running into roadblocks with some Democrats who argue it would allow the tobacco industry to unduly influence state laws on vaping and other products. (Levine and Owermohle, 5/23)

NPR: Abortion Limits Carry Economic Cost For Women
As Republican-led states pass laws restricting abortion in hopes the Supreme Court will overturn its Roe v. Wade decision, supporters of abortion rights are pushing back. Thousands of women who've had abortions have taken to social media to share their experience. Many argue they would have been worse off economically, had they been forced to deliver a baby. "I didn't know what I would do with a baby," said Jeanne Myers, who was unmarried and unemployed when she got pregnant 36 years ago. (Horsley, 5/23)

The Hill: Los Angeles County Votes To Ban Travel To Alabama Over Abortion Law
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted this week to impose a one-year restriction on travel to the state of Alabama for official county business in response to a new law in the Southern state that bans abortion in nearly all cases, including instances of rape and incest. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, who authored the motion to restrict travel to the state, said in a statement that Alabama's new anti-abortion law is an "attack not only confined to the residents of those states, but an act of aggression upon all of us." (Folley, 5/23)

The Washington Post: Officials Fighting U.S. Measles Outbreaks Threaten To Use Rare Air Travel Ban
Health officials in five states have warned people believed to be infected with measles and planning to travel that they could prevent them from getting on planes. All eight individuals agreed to cancel their flights after learning the officials could ask the federal government to place them on a Do Not Board List managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Martin Cetron, director of the agency’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, which tracks disease outbreaks. (Sun, 5/23)

The Associated Press: Indianapolis 500 Officials To Offer Measles Vaccine At Race
Some fans attending Sunday's Indianapolis 500 can get measles vaccines at the track's infield medical center. IndyCar medical director Geoffrey Billows said Thursday a "very limited supply" of vaccines will be available at the medical building near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. He says most insurance companies will cover the cost. (5/23)

Politico: Vets Who Use Medical Marijuana Hit VA Obstacles
U.S. veterans who use medical marijuana are ensnared between harsh federal drug laws and the state-based push for legalization — and some say it’s blocked them from job training or other benefits. Access to medical marijuana has quickly risen to the top of the veterans advocacy world as groups address chronic pain, depression and suicide rife in the veteran community. Both the American Legion, the country's largest vet organization, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, have made researching the plant’s medicinal value a top legislative goal. (Owermohle, 5/23)

Stateline: Nation’s First Opioid Trial Promises Long Odds, High Drama 
The hearing, one of many held by Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman in the lead-up to next week’s trial, served as a sort of dress rehearsal for opening arguments Tuesday in Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, the first public trial to emerge from roughly 2,000 U.S. lawsuits aimed at holding drug companies accountable for the nation’s raging opioid crisis. It will be the first time Americans will hear the full scope of arguments on both sides in any of the lawsuits claiming that false and aggressive marketing by U.S. painkiller manufacturers caused an opioid overdose crisis that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says killed nearly 218,000 Americans between 1999 and 2017. (Vestal, 5/24)

Reuters: JPMorgan Cuts Ties With OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma - Sources
JPMorgan Chase & Co has cut ties with Purdue Pharma LP over the OxyContin maker’s alleged role in the U.S. opioid crisis, forcing it to find a new bank to manage cash and bill payments, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The move makes JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, the most high-profile corporation known to have distanced itself from Purdue and its wealthy owners, the Sackler family, amid thousands of lawsuits alleging the company pushed addictive painkillers while downplaying their abuse and overdose risks. (Spector and DiNapoli, 5/23)

Stat: American Pain Society Weighs Bankruptcy Under Load Of Opioid Suits 
Weighed down by the cost of opioid litigation, the American Pain Society is considering filing for bankruptcy and a decision is expected next week. In a May 20 letter to its members, the APS board of directors blamed financial problems that have been exacerbated by the mounting expenses associated with defending lawsuits filed by local, city, and state governments over the opioid crisis. Along with drug makers and wholesalers, the professional society was named as a defendant in many of the cases. (Silverman, 5/23)

The New York Times: To Fight Deadly Candida Auris, New York State Proposes New Tactics
New York State health officials are considering rigorous new requirements for hospitals and nursing homes to prevent the spread of a deadly drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris. The requirements could include mandatory pre-admission screening of patients believed to be at-risk and placing in isolation those patients who are infected, or even those just carrying the fungus on their skin. (Richtel, 5/23)

Stat: 'I Was A 31-Year-Old-Kid': How Cancer Changed A Health Reporter
[Alexandra] Glorioso is a reporter for Politico. She’s based in Tallahassee, Fla., and she writes about health care, insurance, and the state legislature. She covers stories like the push to expand Medicaid in Florida and legislative proposals to rein in drug costs. Last summer, at age 31, Glorioso was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She underwent chemotherapy, participated in a clinical trial with an experimental drug, and had surgery. Then, in March, she announced she was in remission, with no evidence of disease. This week, Glorioso talked with STAT about what the whole experience has been like — and how it shaped her thinking as a health care reporter. (Robbins, Garde and Feuerstein, 5/24)

The Associated Press: Virtual Reality Helps Police Learn To Interact With Autistic
An autistic man walks out of a store without paying for a toy he picked up. He's followed by a storekeeper demanding he come back inside. The situation quickly escalates, and police are called. Officers arrive, their patrol car's lights flashing and sirens blaring, to find the man in the parking lot, yelling and not responding to their commands. They have a choice: confront the man and risk having the situation turn violent or regroup to figure out a different approach. (Balsamo, 5/24)

The New York Times: 4 Women With Lives Scarred By Genital Cutting: Could A Surgeon Heal Them?
She called it her “deepest, darkest secret,” one she had never even shared with her husband. When Saffiatu Sillah was growing up in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, her clitoris was cut off in a ritual circumcision. She was left with scar tissue that caused pain during sex and agony during childbirth. After her second child was born, Ms. Sillah, a pharmacist then living in Philadelphia, searched for medical help. Dr. Ivona Percec, a plastic surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, said she thought an operation could ease the pain but might fail to uncover any remnant of the clitoris beneath the scarring. (Belluck, 5/24)

The New York Times: No, Night Owls Aren’t Doomed To Die Early
Last spring, a study set the internet ablaze with sensational headlines promising an early death for those with nontraditional sleep schedules. It wasn’t the conclusion of the study, or its researchers. But in the bombastic world of science reporting, it didn’t really matter. Originally published in the journal Chronobiology International, the study looked at the chronotypes — a means of classifying one’s predisposition for sleeping at certain hours — of more than 430,000 people over a six-and-a-half-year period. (Clark, 5/23)

The New York Times: What Causes Stress Fractures In Runners? Can Diet Contribute?
With exercise and everyday activities, and even our normal body weight, we are constantly putting stress on our bones. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since stress causes microdamage to our bones that our body naturally repairs, and that continual repair process helps to make the bones stronger. However, “if you don’t give bones long enough to catch up, instead of getting stronger they’ll break down, and you accumulate enough injury that the bones can break,” Dr. Terry said. (Miller, 5/24)

The Washington Post: As ACL Tears Pile Up, Doctors And Coaches Worry That Kids Are Playing Too Much Basketball
Long before high school basketball star Anthony Harris tore his ACL in December, his father was doing his best to prevent his son from suffering the serious knee injury. Anthony Harris Sr. visited multiple doctors and trainers and asked what workouts were best for strengthening the knee. He had them run tests to see how vulnerable his son — a senior at Paul VI Catholic High in Fairfax City, Va., who is signed to play at the University of North Carolina next season — was to getting hurt. He built rest time into his training schedule. (Pell, 5/23)

Los Angeles Times: Scientists Spy On Superbugs To See How They Outsmart Our Antibiotics
Scientists have discovered yet another way that single-celled organisms have outsmarted us. The tiny bacteria that live inside our guts have an ingenious way of withstanding the onslaught of antibiotics we throw at them, according to a report published Thursday in the journal Science. The two-part system allows bacterial cells to stay alive until another bacterium can deliver a lifeline, packaged in a snippet of DNA. (Baumgaertner, 5/23)

The New York Times: How To Pack A First Aid Kit For Extended International Travel
It’s a question that the two 52 Places Travelers have fielded from readers and colleagues alike: How do you stay healthy when crisscrossing the world for nearly 365 days? And what do you pack in case you get sick? Each location has its own set of challenges, recommended vaccines and access to pharmacies. (Minsberg, 5/23)

The New York Times: Stay Healthy While Traveling
It's easy for healthy lifestyles to go to the wayside when you're traveling, especially if you're on vacation. But it really is possible to have a good time, enjoy local cuisine and get in some exercise without depriving yourself of a true vacation. We’ll show you how to combine pleasure with wellness when you're on the road, because isn’t living your best life the point of a vacation in the first place? (Vora, 5/23)

The Associated Press: UN Health Agency Seeks To Halve Number Of Snakebite Deaths
The World Health Organization is publishing its first-ever global strategy to tackle the problem of snake bites, aiming to halve the number of people killed or disabled by snakes by 2030. Nearly 3 million people are bitten by potentially poisonous snakes every year, resulting in as many as 138,000 deaths. Last week, Britain's Wellcome Trust announced an 80 million-pound ($100 million) program to address the problem, saying there were new potential drugs that could be tested. (5/23)

Los Angeles Times: USC Was Told Gynecologist Could Be Preying On Asian Students, Secret Records Show
After decades of complaints about a campus gynecologist, USC administrators hired a team of medical experts to evaluate him. The experts came back with a disturbing report saying there was evidence Dr. George Tyndall was preying on vulnerable Asian students and had signs of “psychopathy.” Still, the university did not fire Tyndall or notify the state medical board. (Hamilton and Ryan, 5/23)

The Associated Press: Backers Of More Info On Ohio State Doctor Abuse Win A Round
Ohio State University and the state board that regulates physicians are trying a new strategy in hopes of being able to make more information public from the board's old investigation involving a team doctor who sexually abused students for two decades. Details about the mid-1990s State Medical Board investigation involving the late Dr. Richard Strauss have remained confidential under state law, but that might change if the parties involved waive their confidentiality. (Franko, 5/23)

The Associated Press: Maryland Physicians To Be Employed Outside Athletics
The University of Maryland will have medical staff tending to the school's sports teams employed outside of the athletics department. This would include the head team physician, athletic trainers, nutritionists and mental health practitioners. The directive, announced Thursday, fulfills recommendations from an external safety review following the death last year of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair, who collapsed during practice and subsequently died of heatstroke. (5/23)

The Associated Press: Acting Medical System Chief Pledges Changes To Senior Staff
The acting chief executive of the University of Maryland Medical System is pledging “significant changes” to senior staff after a scandal involving financial arrangements. The Baltimore Sun reports system CEO John W. Ashworth III met with Gov. Larry Hogan and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones on Thursday. Ashworth III said the hospital network needs to undergo a “cultural shift” away from an environment in which board members won contracts for their private companies. (5/23)

The Washington Post: Veterans Affairs Employee Charged With Recording Women In Bathroom Stalls At Work
Authorities have charged a Department of Veterans Affairs employee with secretly recording women in bathroom stalls in an office in downtown Washington, according to court documents filed in the case. Alex Greenlee, 24, of Alexandria, was charged with four misdemeanor counts of voyeurism. A D.C. Superior Court judge freed him Wednesday, pending a hearing June 25. (Hermann, 5/23)

NPR: Hacienda HealthCare Rape Victim May Have Been Impregnated Before
An incapacitated woman who gave birth after being a patient at an Arizona health care facility for more than two decades had been raped repeatedly and may have been impregnated before, her lawyers say. In documents filed Wednesday, the 29-year-old woman's attorneys cite a medical exam in alleging that she suffered multiple sexual assaults. The exam found that the birth of a baby boy last December was "a non-nulliparous event," the documents say, meaning she may have been pregnant before. (Romo, 5/23)

Colorado Sun: Colorado Is Plowing Forward On Transgender Rights, While The Trump Administration Backtracks
The federal government in recent months has banned transgender people from joining the military and made plans to roll back protections that could lead to insurance companies and doctors refusing to provide them health care. Colorado, meanwhile, is heading the opposite direction. ... the state Division of Insurance added a new regulation to the books that makes it against the law for an insurance company in Colorado to deny coverage for transgender care deemed medically necessary by a doctor, including hormones and surgeries. (Brown, 5/23)

The Washington Post: Florida Infant Dies After Being Left In A Hot Day Care Van
For almost five hours, the infant girl remained strapped in her car seat, forgotten in a day-care center van that was parked in the sun on a 91-degree day. According to authorities, the 4-month-old was picked up from her home on Wednesday morning along with other children headed to the Ewing’s Love and Hope Preschool and Academy in Jacksonville, Fla. But when her mother called at about 1 p.m. to make arrangements for her children, day-care employees realized the baby had never been checked in. (Epstein, 5/23)

The Associated Press: New Jersey Beach Smoking Ban In Place For Start Of Summer
Smoke 'em if you've got 'em — but not on the beach in New Jersey this summer. Smoking and vaping will be banned on nearly every public beach in the state this summer under tougher new restrictions. Nonsmokers are rejoicing over the ban, which also applies to public parks. But some smokers are feeling discriminated against by the law, which took effect in January. (Parry, 5/23)

Los Angeles Times: After Reports Of Chaos In L.A. Juvenile Halls, State Officials Visit Two Facilities
Officials from the California Department of Justice on Thursday visited two of Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile halls — a sign that conditions inside the facilities are drawing the attention of state monitors. The officials toured Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, where staff complaints and damage caused by detainees were the subject of a story in The Times on Sunday. The officials spent the morning at the facility with detention supervisors and county lawyers before heading to the Central Juvenile Hall, northeast of downtown L.A., about lunchtime. (Stiles, 5/23)