First Edition: November 14, 2019

Kaiser Health News: A Regulatory Haze: Vape Marketers Are Online, Creating New Headaches For Feds
In one picture, Hannah — or, as her 133,000 Instagram followers know her, @__justpeachyy — reclines in a car, her blue vape accenting the matching tattoo ink on her arms. Her curls are messy by design, and eyes heavily lined. (The post has more than 1,300 likes.) In another, she gazes at the camera, her hair brushing against her right eye, her blouse slightly unzipped. You swipe left to see the vape juice she’s using today: a mix of strawberry custard, sugar cookie and vanilla custard, paired with, this time, a black device (2,994 likes as of Nov. 2). (Luthra and Giles, 11/14)

California Healthline: Dialysis Patients Panic As Financial ‘Life Raft’ Becomes Unmoored
Russell Desmond received a letter a few weeks ago from the American Kidney Fund that he said felt like “a smack on the face.” The organization informed Desmond, who has kidney failure and needs dialysis three times a week, that it will no longer help him pay for his private health insurance plan — to the tune of about $800 a month. “I am depressed about the whole situation,” said the 58-year-old Sacramento resident. “I have no clue what I’m going to do.” (Ibarra, 11/13)

Kaiser Health News: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Mom Vs. Texas In A Fight To Get Kids’ Hearing Aids Covered
When Stephanie Wittels Wachs found out that health insurance in Texas didn’t cover hearing aids for kids, she lobbied to change Texas law. And she won. But the process took more than two years. “You’re constantly just like bugging everyone you know, like, ‘Please call! Please text! Please call! Please email!’” Wittels Wachs said. “You just become like this broken record.” (Weissmann, 11/14)

Kaiser Health News: Listen: Focusing On Health Care Politics
Julie Rovner, the chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, was on the air Tuesday discussing current health politics and marketplace enrollment issues. She joined New York Times reporter Margot Sanger-Katz to talk with Radio Times host Marty Moss-Coane to break down Democratic presidential candidates’ debate on “Medicare for all” plans and other health initiatives. (11/13)

The Associated Press: Justice Dept. Rolls Out New Program To Combat Gun Violence
Attorney General William Barr announced a new initiative Wednesday that would better enforce the U.S. gun background check system, coordinate state and federal gun cases and ensure prosecutors quickly update databases to show when a defendant can’t possess a firearm because of mental health issues. The push, known as Project Guardian, was unveiled at a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee, alongside officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, on the same day public impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump began in Washington. (Sainz and Balsamo, 11/13)

The New York Times: Justice Dept. Unveils Gun Plan, Sidestepping A Preoccupied Washington
At a news conference, Mr. Barr described Project Guardian as intended to help federal and local law enforcement “better target offenders who use guns in crimes and those who try to buy guns illegally. ”The result should “cut the pipeline of crime guns from those violent individuals who seek to terrorize our communities,” Regina Lombardo, the acting deputy director of the bureau, said in her public remarks. Project Guardian includes no new statutes or policies, which has opened it up to criticisms about its potential effectiveness. (Benner, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Barr Unveils Plan To Combat Gun Violence
“Gun crime remains a pervasive problem in too many communities across America,” Mr. Barr said during a news conference in Memphis, Tenn., that took place just as televised impeachment hearings against President Trump opened in Washington. Mr. Barr’s plan underscores the absence of a comprehensive White House proposal to fight gun violence. For months, the White House discussed various options with lawmakers but never announced a cohesive plan, despite Mr. Trump’s insistence that he would address the problem after back-to-back mass shootings this summer in Texas and Ohio left dozens dead. Mr. Barr himself had floated an idea to expand background checks for prospective gun buyers, but it was mostly rejected by Republican lawmakers. (Gurman, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Mass Shootings Raise Questions About Security And Training
Mass shooters who target schools and workplaces are typically insiders such as students or employees, calling into question the effectiveness of security measures and training, according to one of the most comprehensive studies of the subject. Barriers and locks meant to block outsiders and active-shooter drills do little because most attackers already have access and are aware of the procedures, said the authors of the study, Jillian Peterson and James Densley. The university professors have created a mass-shooter database that goes back more than 50 years. (Elinson, 11/13)

Politico: Why Bernie’s Heart Attack Was Good For Him
Since he was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital in early October, the Vermont senator has flourished in early-state polls, held some of the biggest rallies of any Democratic candidate, and scored the endorsements of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of the so-called “Squad.” The curmudgeonly candidate looks happier — sunny, even — on the stump, cracking jokes and sharing personal stories. In an era in which conventional political wisdom has been set ablaze, Sanders has challenged the notion that a major health issue is an automatic death knell for a presidential candidate. His age and health remain serious long-term question marks — at 79 in Jan. 2021, he would be the oldest person ever inaugurated into office, a fact that could well draw more scrutiny as voting approaches.But so far, at least, Sanders has weathered his heart attack and then some. (Otterbein, 11/13)

The New York Times: After Heart Attack, Bernie Sanders Takes Long Walks And Eats Salads
Before a campaign event last month, Bernie Sanders and his wife, Jane, went for an hourlong stroll around Green Castle Recreation Area, a lush park in central Iowa with evergreen trees and a small lake. Mr. Sanders also walked around a residential neighborhood in Waterloo recently, prompting curious passers-by to ask him what on earth he was doing there. Ms. Sanders is ensuring that her husband is getting adequate rest, and he has been requesting fish for dinner instead of steak or ribs. (Ember, 11/13)

The New York Times: To Drive Down Insulin Prices, W.H.O. Will Certify Generic Versions
With insulin prices skyrocketing and substantial shortages developing in poorer countries, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that it would begin testing and approving generic versions of the drug. Agency officials said they hoped to drive down insulin prices by encouraging makers of generic drugs to enter the market, increasing competition. At the moment, the world’s insulin market is dominated by three companies — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — and they have steadily pushed up prices for two decades. (McNeil, 11/13)

The Hill: Pelosi Aide Hopeful White House Will Support Drug-Pricing Bill Despite Criticism 
A top aide to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that he thinks the Trump administration will eventually support a sweeping Democratic bill to lower drug prices, despite recent criticism from the White House. “I still think at the end of the day we are going to get administration support, despite some recent comments they have made,” Wendell Primus said last Friday at the University of Wisconsin. (Sullivan, 11/13)

The Hill: Trump Officials Making Changes To Signature Drug Pricing Proposal, Azar Says 
Under the original proposal, prices would still have been lower than they are now, but would still be a certain percentage higher than they are in other countries. Trump was not satisfied with that idea, Azar said Wednesday, and wanted the proposal changed so that prices in the United States are even lower than they are in other countries. “What we suggested was reducing that 180 percent premium [above other countries] by 30 percent,” Azar said at an event hosted by Axios. “The president did not find that satisfactory. His view, which he has articulated publicly, is that America ought to be getting the best deal among developed countries. That was the terminology of ‘most favored nation status.’ And so that's the type of proposal we're working on.” (Sullivan, 11/13)

Stateline: The Politics of Medicaid Expansion Have Changed
Year by year, resistance to extending Medicaid to more low-income Americans in conservative states has given way. ... In some states, Democratic governors who favor expansion have replaced Republicans who were stalwart opponents. GOP critics have had a change of heart in some holdout states. And in several Republican-led states, citizen ballot initiatives are driving expansion. Serious efforts are underway in Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina and Oklahoma that could add them to the 36 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have opted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Ollove, 11/12)

USA Today: 'Superbugs' Sicken Millions, Kill 35K Each Year, CDC Report Finds
Drug-resistant "superbugs" infect 2.8 million people and cause more than 35,000 deaths each year, underscoring the enormous public health threat of germs in what one official describes as a "post-antibiotic era," according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The report, which analyzes electronic health records and other data, shows an infection every 11 seconds and a death every 15 minutes on average from bugs that resist treatment from antibiotics. The CDC said there are nearly twice as many deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections compared to the agency's 2013 report, which likely underestimated the numbers. (Alltucker, 11/13)

Reuters: Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Killing Twice As Many Americans As Once Thought
A 2013 CDC study estimated that 2 million Americans were infected by superbugs each year, leading to at least 23,000 deaths." The 2013 report propelled the nation toward critical action and investments against antibiotic resistance. Today's report demonstrates notable progress, yet the threat is still real," Dr. Robert Redfield, the CDC's director, said in a statement. Global health officials have repeatedly warned about the rise of bacteria and other microbes that are resistant to most available drugs, raising the specter of untreatable infectious diseases that could spread rapidly. (Whitcomb, 11/14)

The Associated Press: US Superbug Infections Rising, But Deaths Are Falling
Indeed, though deaths are going down, nonfatal infections grew nationally from 2.6 million in 2013 to 2.8 million in 2017. Some worrisome new germs are emerging. And superbugs are appearing much more often outside of hospitals, the report says. For example, urinary tract infections have been easily treated in doctor’s offices with common antibiotics. But it’s increasingly common to see young healthy women with such infections forced into the hospital after initial treatments don’t work, said Dr. Bradley Frazee, a California emergency room doctor. (Stobbe, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Superbugs Toll Worse Than Thought, CDC Says
“Our nation must stop referring to a coming post-antibiotic era—it’s already here,” CDC director Robert Redfield said in an introductory letter to the report, which was released Wednesday. The report identified 18 bacteria and fungi of concern. In addition, new bugs are emerging rapidly, the CDC said. It included a “watch list” of pathogens identified elsewhere in the world that it is keeping an eye on, such as a drug-resistant form of Bordetella pertussis, bacteria that cause whooping cough. (McKay, 11/13)

The Washington Post: Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Fungi And Related Germs Cause 3 Million Infections, 48,000 Deaths In U.S. Annually
Bacteria, fungi and other germs that have developed a resistance to antibiotics and other drugs pose one of the gravest public health challenges and a baffling problem for modern medicine. Scientists, doctors and public health officials have warned of this threat for decades, and the new report reveals the top dangers and troubling trends. More pathogens are developing new ways of fending off drugs designed to kill them, and infections are spreading more widely outside of hospitals. No new classes of antibiotics have been introduced in more than three decades. (Sun, 11/13)

The New York Times: Climate Change Poses Threats To Children’s Health Worldwide
The health effects of climate change will be unevenly distributed and children will be among those especially harmed, according to a new report from the medical journal The Lancet. The report compared human health consequences under two scenarios: one in which the world meets the commitments laid out in the Paris Agreement and reins in emissions so that increases in global temperatures remain “well below 2 degrees Celsius” by the end of the century, and one in which it does not. (Pierre-Louis, 11/13)

The Associated Press: Doctors: Warmer World Is Unhealthier Place For Children
With increasing diarrhea diseases, more dangerous heat waves, air pollution and increases in mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever and malaria, man-made global warming is already harming public health around the world, the annual climate change and health report from the medical journal The Lancet said Wednesday. But the report and its authors said they worry that the future health of the world’s youngest people will get even grimmer if emissions of heat-trapping gases aren’t curbed. (11/13)

The Associated Press: Ex-Government Health Chief Joins Warnings About EPA Proposal
A former top government environmental health official joined health experts on Wednesday in expressing alarm as the Trump administration moves forward with a proposal that scientists say would upend how the U.S. regulates threats to public health. “It will practically lead to the elimination of science from decision-making,” said Linda Birnbaum, who retired last month as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences after serving under both Republican and Democratic administrations. (11/13)

Stat: HHS To Probe If Google’s 'Project Nightingale' Followed Privacy Law
A federal regulator is investigating whether the federal privacy law known as HIPAA was followed when Google (GOOGL) collected millions of patient records through a partnership with nonprofit hospital chain Ascension. The probe, first reported by the Wall Street Journal Tuesday night, was opened by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. “OCR would like to learn more information about this mass collection of individuals’ medical records with respect to the implications for patient privacy under HIPAA,” Roger Severino, the office’s director, said in a statement to STAT. (Robbins and Ross, 11/13)

Reuters: Apple Watch Detects Irregular Heartbeats In U.S. Study
Apple Inc's Heart study, the largest yet to explore the role of wearable devices in identifying potential heart problems, found the device could accurately detect atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), come as technology companies increasingly strike up partnerships with drugmakers as a way to gather large amounts of real-time health data on individuals. (11/13)

ProPublica: Police Don’t Do A Good Job Tracking Hate Crimes. A New Report Calls On Congress To Take Action.
A report made public Wednesday by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights called on Congress to adopt legislation that would use funding to incentivize police departments across the country to produce annual accountings of hate crimes. The commission also recommended that the police departments establish dedicated hate crime units aimed at better identifying and investigating reports of those incidents. The commission issued its proposals a day after the latest FBI report on hate crimes, an accounting the commission said remained deeply flawed. The FBI’s report, the commission noted, still depends on the voluntary submission of data from local police agencies, a process that has regularly produced what almost everyone agrees is a vast undercount of actual hate crimes. (Glickhouse, 11/13)

The New York Times: Alcohol Was An Escape. Now He Is Living On His Own Terms.
The military was supposed to be Earl Breland’s ticket to stability. He was just six credits shy of a college degree when he enlisted in the Army in 1983, setting aside his aspirations to become a journalist so he could make a good life for himself and his new wife. “I thought the service would do that for me,” said Mr. Breland, 58. But the military proved to be a rough adjustment. Mr. Breland said he had trouble getting “used to the structure and being told what to do.” (Brown, 11/13)

The Washington Post: Two Cases Of Pneumonic Plague Confirmed In Beijing
Two people in China were diagnosed with a severe form of the plague, according to reports in Chinese media — raising alarms for citizens despite promises from health authorities that control measures are in place. Local health officials confirmed the two cases of pneumonic plague on Tuesday, according to Xinhua News, China’s state-run news agency. The two patients, who authorities say received “proper treatment,” hail from China’s Inner Mongolia region. (Brice-Saddler, 11/13)

NPR: CRISPR Could Stop Replication Of Viruses That Cause Illness, Researchers Say
It's not easy to treat viral infections. Just ask anyone with a bad cold or a case of the flu. But scientists in Massachusetts think they may have a new way to stop viruses from making people sick by using what amounts to a pair of molecular scissors, known as CRISPR. It's a gene editing tool based on a molecule that occurs naturally in microorganisms. (Palca, 11/13)

The New York Times: Texting While Walking Is Dangerous. Here’s How To Stop.
You’re walking around and a thought occurs: “I should check my phone.” The phone comes out of your pocket. You type a message. Then your eyes remain glued to the screen, even when you walk across the street. We all do this kind of distracted walking, or “twalking.” (Yes, this term is really a thing.) The behavior has spawned debates among lawmakers about whether walking and texting should be illegal. (Chen, 11/13)

The Associated Press: 3 Universities, Medical Center Get $1B To Teach And Research
Three universities and a health care institution are sharing a gift of more than $1 billion that’s one of the largest in the history of higher education, they announced Wednesday. Receiving $260 million apiece will be Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, and the Cleveland Clinic. The institutions are free to use the money as they see fit. (Amy and Franko, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Duke, MIT, USC, Cleveland Clinic To Split $1 Billion Gift
In the early 1980s, Lord Corp.’s then-chairman, Thomas Lord, established the Lord Foundations of North Carolina, Massachusetts, California and Ohio, to benefit Duke, MIT, USC and the Cleveland Clinic, respectively. Since their establishment the foundations had given $200 million to the four institutions, but the latest gifts arrived with little warning. (Korn and Bauerlein, 11/13)

The Washington Post: Virginia Tech To Establish Biomedical Research Facility With Children’s National In D.C.
Virginia Tech plans to launch a biomedical research facility in the District by early 2021, focused on pediatric health, in a venture with Children’s National Hospital that will expand the university’s presence in the capital region. The collaboration, announced Thursday, will establish four or five Virginia Tech research teams on a campus Children’s National is developing at the site of what was once the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington. (Anderson, 11/14)

Los Angeles Times: USC To Receive $260-Million Gift, Among Largest In Higher Education
[The donation] comes as USC has had to assure major donors that it is on the right track after a series of scandals in the last few years tarnished its reputation. The private university was completing the second most successful fundraising campaign in American higher education history — raising $7.16 billion between 2010 and 2018 — when it was hit with controversies involving a former medical school dean who was revealed to have used hard drugs and associated with criminals while in his post. (Watanabe and Agrawal, 11/13)

Los Angeles Times: USC Student Deaths: Possible Drug Overdoses, Tainted Narcotics Probed
USC President Carol L. Folt confirmed Wednesday that police investigators are looking into drug overdoses as a potential cause of death among some of the nine students who have died this semester. While Folt would not elaborate on the scope of the inquiries or circumstances of the individual deaths, citing federal student privacy laws, she said USC is working with the Los Angles Police Department on the cases and “doubling down” on education and outreach over drug abuse. (Shalby, Winton, Karlamangla and Watanabe, 11/13)

The Associated Press: Overdoses Possible In Some Student Deaths On USC Campus
A letter sent Tuesday to staff and students warned about the dangers of substance abuse, and especially about the increase of contaminated drugs. The death of nine students since classes began a little more than two months ago has left students and administrators shaken and seeking answers. Administrators say three deaths were the result of suicide. The causes of the other deaths are either unknown or haven’t been disclosed. (11/13)

The Washington Post: Report Finds U-Md. Followed Protocols In Mold, Adenovirus Outbreaks
Nearly a year after an adenovirus outbreak killed a freshman at the University of Maryland, an outside review found the college followed protocols in how it responded to the crisis but made numerous recommendations for handling campuswide emergencies. Olivia Paregol, an 18-year-old freshman, died of adenovirus on Nov. 18, 2018, after suffering from health problems during the several months she lived in a mold-infested dorm. (Abelson, 11/13)

The New York Times: New York Identifies Hospitals And Nursing Homes With Deadly Fungus
Nearly 35,000 people in the United States are dying each year from drug-resistant infections, public health officials said on Wednesday, an alarming problem that New York state underscored by revealing that it had found one particularly new and virulent fungus in 64 hospitals and 103 nursing homes. The numbers show just how widespread drug resistant infections have become, with the latest projection of deaths in America double previous estimates. (Richtel and Jacobs, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Fewer New York City Kids Showing Elevated Lead Levels In Blood
New York City has seen a slight decrease this year in the number of children with elevated blood-lead levels, city officials said Wednesday. In the first six months of 2019, 1,794 children were reported to have an elevated blood-lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter, officials testified at a City Council hearing. That represents a 10% decline when compared with the same period a year before. (West, 11/13)

The Washington Post: Fentanyl-Laced Tablets Bring Murder Charge To Maryland Drug Dealer Who Sold What Looked Like Percocet
On a Monday in August, authorities say, Percell “Pete” Arrington sold purported Percocet pills to two women at a restaurant in Germantown, Md. One woman went home, swallowed a single tablet and within 15 minutes had passed out, according to court records. Her boyfriend called 911. Paramedics revived her with doses of naloxone and took her to a hospital. She survived. (Morse, 11/13)