First Edition: May 25, 2018

Kaiser Health News: Pfizer Settles Kickback Case Related To Copay Assistance For $24M
Pfizer spokeswoman Sally Beatty stressed that the company takes compliance “very seriously.” The company continues to donate to charities that offer assistance with copays. “The Company believes all individuals deserve access to medicines prescribed by their physicians,” she said in a statement provided to Kaiser Health News. “Pfizer continues to believe these programs help patients lead healthier lives.” (Lupkin, 5/24)

Kaiser Health News: Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Campaign Promises Kept, Plus ‘Nerd Reports’
President Donald Trump managed to fulfill — at least in part — two separate campaign promises this week. To the delight of anti-abortion groups, the administration issued proposed rules that would make it difficult if not impossible for Planned Parenthood to continue to participate in Title X, the federal family-planning program. And Congress cleared for Trump’s signature a “right-to-try” bill aimed at making it easier for patients with terminal illnesses to obtain experimental medications. (5/24)

The Wall Street Journal: New Push To Topple Affordable Care Act Looms
A group of Republicans and advocacy groups will soon release a proposal intended to spark another push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, resurrecting a potentially volatile issue in the months before the November midterm elections. The proposal to topple the Obama-era health law and replace it with a plan that would give states more control over health policy is the result of eight months of behind-the-scenes work by a coalition of conservative groups. It reflects the frustration that many GOP lawmakers feel over last year’s failed effort to overturn the ACA, and the challenge Republicans now face in framing a campaign message around health care. (Armour and Hughes, 5/25)

Stateline: Why States Worry That 'Association Health Plans' Will Be Magnets For Scam Artist
The U.S. Department of Labor is putting the final touches on new rules for the insurance collaborations known as "association health plans." The plans won’t have to include mental health care, emergency services or other benefits required under the Affordable Care Act, making them a cheap alternative to the policies on the health care exchanges. But many states — blue and red — are sounding alarm bells, arguing that by weakening state authority over the plans, the changes would enable unscrupulous operators to sell cheap policies with skimpy or nonexistent benefits. (Ollove, 5/25)

NPR/ProPublica: Health Insurance Hustle: High Prices Can Boost Profits
Michael Frank ran his finger down his medical bill, studying the charges and pausing in disbelief. The numbers didn't make sense.His recovery from a partial hip replacement had been difficult. He'd iced and elevated his leg for weeks. He'd pushed his 49-year-old body, limping and wincing, through more than a dozen physical therapy sessions. The last thing he needed was a botched bill. (Allen, 5/25)

The Hill: Senate Health Committee To Hold Hearing On Trump Drug Pricing Plan
President Trump's top health official will testify at a Senate hearing next month about the president’s proposal to reduce prescription drug costs. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will testify at the June 12 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, the first time lawmakers will publicly examine Trump’s plan, which was unveiled earlier this month. (Weixel, 5/24)

The Hill: Planned Parenthood Considers Litigation On Trump's Proposed Changes To Family Planning Program
Planned Parenthood and a national group representing family planning clinics say they will consider suing the Trump administration if it moves forward with a proposal that would reshape a federal grant program. "We will absolutely consider all of our options and that does include litigation," said Dr. Gillian Dean, senior director of medical services at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. (Hellmann, 5/24)

The Hill: Abortion Rights Group Launches $5M Campaign To Help Dems Take Back The House
A pro-abortion rights group on Thursday announced a $5 million investment in 19 states to flip the House to Democratic control in November. “NARAL was built for this moment. Never before have our rights and freedoms been under greater attack, and never before have we had greater opportunity to fight back and win,” said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue. (Hellmann, 5/24)

The New York Times: They Shared Drugs. Someone Died. Does That Make Them Killers?
In West Virginia, a woman woke after a day of drug use to find her girlfriend’s lips blue and her body limp. In Florida, a man and his girlfriend bought what they thought was heroin. It turned out to be something more potent, fentanyl. She overdosed and died. In Minnesota, a woman who shared a fentanyl patch with her fiancé woke after an overdose to find he had not survived. None of these survivors intended to cause a death. In fact, each could easily have been the one who ended up dead. But all were charged with murder. (Goldensohn, 5/25)

The Associated Press: Discharged And Jobless: Veterans Seek Change In Hiring Rules
Military veterans who were discharged for relatively minor offenses say they often can't get jobs, and they hope a recent warning to employers by the state of Connecticut will change that. The state's human rights commission told employers last month they could be breaking the law if they discriminate against veterans with some types of less-than-honorable discharges. Blanket policies against hiring such veterans could be discriminatory, the commission said, because the military has issued them disproportionately to black, Latino, gay and disabled veterans. (McDermott, 5/25)

Reuters: Pfizer To Pay $23.85 Million To Settle U.S. Co-Payment Kickback Probe
Pfizer Inc agreed to pay $23.85 million to resolve U.S. charges that it used a purportedly independent charity to pay illegal kickbacks to Medicare patients, covering their out-of-pocket costs for its prescription drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday that the civil settlement resolves allegations that Pfizer improperly used the Patient Access Network Foundation as a conduit to cover co-payment obligations of patients taking three Pfizer drugs. (Stempel, 5/24)

Stat: Pfizer To Pay Nearly $24M For Illegally Using A Charity To Pay Kickbacks
Specifically, the Department of Justice alleged that Pfizer used the Patient Access Network Foundation as a conduit to cover co-pay costs for Medicare patients taking three of its drugs, according to the settlement agreement. These drugs were Sutent and Inlyta, which both treat renal cell carcinoma, and Tikosyn, which treats arrhythmia in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. The feds contended that, from 2012 through 2016, Pfizer used a specialty pharmacy called Advanced Care Scripts to shift some patients to the charity, which then covered co-pay costs, rather than giving Sutent and Inlyta directly to Medicare patients who met financial qualifications for its existing free drug program. And Pfizer allegedly made donations to PAN so co-pay costs would be covered. (Silverman, 5/24)

The Associated Press: Jury Recommends $25M In Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit
A California jury delivered a $25.7 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed she developed cancer by using the company’s talc-based baby powder. Jurors in Los Angeles recommended $4 million in punitive damages Thursday after finding the company acted with malice, oppression or fraud. A day earlier, the panel called for $21.7 million in compensatory damages for plaintiff Joanne Anderson, who suffers from mesothelioma, a lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. (Weber, 5/24)

Bloomberg: J&J Jury Asks Judge To Slap Cancer Warning Label On Baby Powder 
Jurors weighing how to punish Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit asked a judge if they could force the company to warn consumers that its Johnson’s Baby Powder could be contaminated with asbestos, according to the law firm that won the case against the health-care giant. After the judge said no, the jury awarded $4 million in punitive damages Thursday to Joanne Anderson, a 68-year-old woman who claimed her deadly cancer was caused by asbestos in J&J’s baby powder. A day earlier the jury had awarded $21.7 million to Anderson, finding J&J 67 percent responsible for her mesothelioma. (Fisk, 5/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Fertility Apps Are Multiplying. But Are They Reliable?
More women are counting on their smartphones to help them avoid getting pregnant—a trend that has some experts worried. As people increasingly turn to technology to monitor everything from their sleep to heart palpitations, apps that help women track their fertility are taking off, particularly among millennials, even as questions swirl about their reliability as a sole form of birth control. (Chaudhuri, 5/24)

Stat: Artificial Intelligence Is Evolving Fast. Can The FDA Keep Up?
The use of artificial intelligence in medicine is accelerating rapidly, and large companies — from Google, to Amazon, to Microsoft — are dedicating huge sums to developing novel products that offer big rewards, and equally large risks. The Food and Drug Administration has already approved three products this year that use AI to help diagnose health problems, including one Thursday that detects wrist fractures. And some companies, like IBM, have put their products on the market without agency signoff. (Ross, 5/25)

The New York Times: New Ebola Tactics Raise Hope But May Sow Confusion
Although there is optimism that the Ebola outbreak in central Africa can still be quickly contained, the fight is already becoming more complex, health experts said this week. Novel tactics — a new vaccine already in use, and new antibody or drug treatments that may be deployed — raise hopes that the outbreak will be quickly extinguished. Nonetheless, they may sow confusion because the treatments are unfamiliar to a wary and terrified population. (McNeil, 5/24)

The New York Times: Is It A Migraine? Many Patients Don’t Realize What Causes Their Suffering
The first of a new class of drugs to prevent migraines was approved last week. The medication, called Aimovig, reduces the frequency of migraines among those severely afflicted, but the drug rarely prevents these episodes altogether. One expert called it “progress but not a panacea.” Migraine is the most disabling neurological disease in the world among people under age 50, beating epilepsy, strokes and chronic back pain. Yet many who have migraines don’t realize it or ever mention their symptoms to a doctor. (Kolata, 5/24)

The Associated Press: St. Jude: $100M For Children With Cancer Global Outreach
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has helped with the treatment of thousands of cancer-stricken children around the world. Striving to reach so many more, the Memphis, Tennessee-based hospital announced a $100 million plan Thursday to expand its global outreach. President and CEO James R. Downing told doctors and media that the St. Jude Global program's goal is ambitious — to influence the care of as much as 30 percent of children with cancer worldwide in the next decade. He said he hopes the investment will improve access and quality of medical care for many children who might otherwise die. (5/24)

The Associated Press: Gut Check: Swallowed Capsule Could Spot Trouble, Send Alert
Scientists have developed a swallowed capsule packed with tiny electronics and millions of genetically engineered living cells that might someday be used to spot health problems from inside the gut. The capsule was tested in pigs and correctly detected signs of bleeding, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported Thursday in the journal Science. (Johnson, 5/24)

Stat: Swallow This: A Sensor Could Monitor Gut Health Via Engineered Bacteria — And Beam Results To A Smartphone 
Researchers have devised a new way to get a sneak peek into what’s going on deep in your digestive system, creating a swallowable sensor that, with the help of engineered bacteria and a tiny electrical circuit, can detect the presence of molecules that might be signs of disease and then beam the results to a smartphone app. The device, which scientists validated in pigs, remains a prototype and needs to be refined before it could be used in people. But the researchers, who reported their work Thursday in the journal Science, combined innovations in synthetic biology and microelectronics to create a modular platform that could be adapted to identify a wide range of molecules. (Joseph, 5/24)

The New York Times: ‘How Not To Get Too Sad’: Santa Fe Students Turn To Parkland For Advice
Four days after the nation’s latest school shooting killed eight of her classmates and two teachers, Bree Butler, a senior at Santa Fe High School, climbed into the car and drove three and a half hours to Austin, hoping that lawmakers in the gun-friendly State Capitol might listen to her. Ms. Butler’s drive was a far cry from the caravan of charter buses that set off from Parkland, Fla., about a week after the slaughter there of 17 people by a teenage gunman in February. The Parkland students had reporters on board, meetings on the schedule and the attention of the nation. Ms. Butler drove alone, aware that her support for more gun regulations, such as new requirements for locking up weapons, are not widely supported in her conservative hometown. (Bidgood, 5/24)

Reuters: 'It Is Happening Everywhere' Texas Mass Shooting Victims Tell Governor
Victims and survivors of mass shootings in Texas choked back tears, recounted the bloodshed that unfolded before their eyes and pleaded with Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday to improve safety so that another massacre does not take place. Abbott, a Republican, promised that action was coming as he finished his third session on school safety in talks that came less than a week after a 17-year-old student armed with a pistol and shotgun fatally shot 10 people at a Houston-area high school on May 18. (Herskovitz, 5/24)

Los Angeles Times: Pressure Grows On Board Of Trustees Amid USC Gynecologist Scandal
USC's large and powerful Board of Trustees is coming under growing pressure to provide a stronger hand as the university faces a crisis over misconduct allegations against the campus' longtime gynecologist that has prompted calls for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down. Allegations that Dr. George Tyndall mistreated students during his nearly 30 years at USC have roiled the campus, with about 300 people coming forward to make reports to the university and the Los Angeles Police Department launching a criminal investigation. USC is already beginning to face what is expected to be costly litigation by women who say they were victimized by the physician. (Parvini, Elmahrek and Pringle, 5/24)

The Associated Press: Virginia House To Reconvene Next Week For Budget Work
The Virginia House of Delegates plans to reconvene next week with plans to finalize a state budget. GOP Speaker Kirk Cox announced Thursday that the House would gavel in on May 30. Cox cancelled a House meeting earlier this week after the Senate delayed a vote Tuesday on the state budget. GOP Senate leaders said they needed another week to study a new budget proposal that includes Medicaid expansion. (5/25)

The Associated Press: Official: Review Finds 4,900 Untested Rape Kits In Missouri
There are close to 4,900 untested rape kits in Missouri, and that number likely is low because some agencies couldn't say exactly how many kits they have, according to a review by the state attorney general's office. Attorney General Josh Hawley, who launched an audit of the state's rape kit backlog in November 2017, announced the findings Thursday in what he said was the first such review. (5/24)

The Washington Post: D.C. Government Data Breach Exposed Nurses’ Social Security Numbers
The D.C. Department of Health has warned hundreds of nurses that their personal information was inadvertently exposed in the online licensing portal and is offering them one year of credit-monitoring services. A nurse navigating the nursing board’s online portal somehow ended up on a nonpublic portion of a database that included the Social Security numbers, names and addresses of nurses, said Department of Health spokesman Tom Lalley. Seven nurses had their information exposed. City officials couldn’t identify them, so they sent warning letters last week to all 600 people who were then registered in the system. (Nirappil, 5/24)

The Washington Post: Hot-Car Death: Nashville Police Say 1-Year-Old Katera Barker Died In Vehicle
The tragedy unraveled on a gravel driveway at a home in Tennessee, where a family’s dark blue pickup truck sat, eerily, with a rear door still ajar and an empty car seat lying beside it on the ground. Authorities said it was there, in East Nashville, that a father said he forgot his 1-year-old daughter in a hot car Wednesday and, sometime later that evening, the mother discovered the child. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said on Twitter that the child was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. (Bever, 5/24)