Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘Triumph For Public Health’: FDA Has Authority To Regulate E-Cigs Like Tobacco Products, Court Rules
Public health advocates hailed the federal appeals court’s decision to reject the industry’s challenge against regulations. News outlets also look at how one veteran became addicted to THC to control constant pain and Massachusetts’ and California’s efforts to protect people from addictive products.
“It always bothered me pouring pharmaceuticals down the drain,” a former employee at generic-drug giant Mylan told Stat. Other public health news reports on the development of a potential E. coli vaccine, improving knee health by running marathons (yes), the toll on parents when teens are abusive and a look at why New York has the lowest suicide rates.
Fifty-two top LGBT advocates say Facebook ignored their concerns over the issue. The ads portray PrEP as having dangerous side effects and LGBT advocates and health professionals say they threaten to undermine years of work in promoting a drug that’s been found to be wildly successful in cutting down on HIV transmissions.
The confrontation between the armed suspects and local, state and federal law enforcement officers turned a residential neighborhood into a battle zone, with videos taken by witnesses capturing relentless blasts from guns. Jersey City’s mayor said that officials believed the shooters had “targeted the location they attacked,” which included a kosher market.
It’s likely that Democrats are viewing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill as a political tool rather than a realistic goal. The legislation is already being used in ads for vulnerable Democrats and candidates are planning to tout it as a main component of their health care agendas. “Republicans will spend the next year defending their decision to block Medicare from lowering prescription drug prices for everyone,” said Jesse Ferguson, a veteran Democratic messaging consultant. After Pelosi secured a deal with the progressive wing of her party, the House is set to vote on the bill on Thursday.
Democrats argue that enshrining a 10-year guarantee in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would have tied Congress’ hands if lawmakers wanted to change the threshold. “This deal would have caused prices of prescription drugs in those countries to skyrocket,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). Pharmaceutical lobbyists were harsh in their assessment: “This was an unforced error and very, very weak negotiating.”
Escalating Public Feud Between Azar And Verma Reaching ‘Soap Opera’ Levels Of Melodrama
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has now summoned HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma to meet at the White House this week to see if they can continue to work together amid the bickering. Meanwhile, allegations continue to emerge about who is leaking what information and the motives behind the riff.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg drew fire on the presidential campaign trail for his consulting work for McKinsey. Buttigieg says he “never worked on a project” inconsistent with his values, and maintains that although he worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan during his tenure, he focused on expenditures like rent, utilities and company travel. Two years after he worked on the case, the insurer cut up to 1,000 jobs.
The government promised to cushion the blow for some insurers if they entered the health law marketplace, but then Congress stripped the money out of the budget. The insurers say they are owed $12 billion. From the questions during the oral arguments it seems like the Supreme Court justices may agree, though both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito were skeptical of some of the insurers’ points.
First Edition: December 11, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Drug Giants’ Big Bets On Cancer Treatments Reflect Industry’s Intense Interest In Lucrative Market
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical development and pricing stories from the past week in KHN’s Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Opinion writers express views on these health issues and others.
Media outlets report on news from Virginia, New York, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts.
For those who use a wheelchair, the struggle that comes with flying can be disheartening. “You’re basically giving disabled people yet another reason to feel like society wants us shut into our homes and doesn’t want us going anywhere,” says Emily Ladau, a disability rights activist. In other public health news: Huntington’s disease, the HIV epidemic, salad and E. coli, obesity, mental health and more.
Warren Pivots When Asked By Worried Union Workers If Their Negotiated Coverage Will Be Protected
Union workers, which can be a powerful voting bloc for Democrats, are concerned that a “Medicare for All” plan will upend the hard-won coverage they’ve negotiated for themselves. “What you’ve got is something I want to see replicated all across America,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said. But she didn’t answer how she would protect their coverage.
UnitedHealth To Acquire Specialty Drug Provider Diplomat Pharmacy At A Steep Discount
“This combination will expand the innovative specialty pharmacy and infusion solutions OptumRx can offer to the consumers and clients we serve,” said John Prince, the chief executive of OptumRx, a division under UnitedHealth. In other health industry news: cigarette stocks rebrand, a former executive pleads guilty to fraud, Banner Health agrees to a settlement over a data breach.
Primary Care Doctors Who Are Fed Up With Industry Are More And More Cutting Out The Middleman
Instead of playing by the rules of the traditional health system, primary care doctors are charging patients a set fee per month to cover a range of basic services. This lets them spend more time with patients and avoid the headache of dealing with insurers.
Supreme Court Declines To Hear Unusual Case Brought By Arizona Against Embattled Sackler Family
Arizona argued that the Supreme Court had “original jurisdiction” because one of the parties involved was a state. It was an unusual step to take because most cases work their way up through the lower courts. The Supreme Court didn’t bite, though. Meanwhile, new documents show that Purdue Pharma’s decision to cut its sales force in 2018 wasn’t quite the sacrifice it may have looked like. The opioid-maker had already calculated that its past marketing would cushion any fallout from the decision.
Without explanation or notable dissent, the justices declined to take up the case, which argued that the law violated physicians’ First Amendment right of free speech. Lower courts have been divided over “display-and-describe” ultrasound laws. Two federal courts upheld the Kentucky law, but in a similar case out of North Carolina, a separate federal judge struck down the law. The case is just one of many abortion challenges destined for the Supreme Court.
