Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Utah Public Employees Paid To Travel To Mexico For Prescription Drugs; Infection Teams Assess N.J. Viral Outbreak
The Salt Lake Tribune: To Fight High Drug Prices, Utah Will Pay For Public Employees To Go Fill Prescriptions In Mexico
Amid a flurry of national proposals to bring exorbitant U.S. drug prices in line with other countries’ charges, one Utah insurer has a different option for patients: Pay them to go to Mexico. PEHP, which covers 160,000 public employees and family members, is offering plane tickets to San Diego, transportation to Tijuana, and a $500 cash payout to patients who need certain expensive drugs for multiple sclerosis, cancer and autoimmune disorders. (Alberty, 10/29)
The Associated Press: Training Teams Sent To Centers Amid Deadly Viral Outbreaks
New Jersey health officials said Monday they are sending infection-control teams to four long-term pediatric centers and a hospital to assist with training amid viral and bacterial outbreaks that have left 10 people dead. The teams will assess infection prevention practices and deploy beginning in November, according to Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal. The response comes amid a fatal adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation that left 9 people dead, most under age 18. (Catalini, 10/29)
The Associated Press: Bid To Ban State Funds For Abortions Tests Open Oregon Laws
Teenage girls in Oregon don’t need their parents’ consent to end an unwanted pregnancy, women in the country illegally have coverage for the procedure and private insurers will soon be required to cover the full cost of an abortion under a new law. Oregon has the least restrictive laws on abortion access in the U.S., making it a political standard-bearer for the abortion rights movement. But a dozen years after voters last rejected a measure to reduce women’s ability to get an abortion, a question on the Nov. 6 ballot is asking a new generation to amend the Oregon Constitution to ban the use of state funding for abortion. (Flaccus, 10/29)
Georgia Health News: Special Report: Doctors Born In India Filling Medical Gaps
India provides the largest number of international medical graduates to the U.S., according to a study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine. Most of them belong to the American Association for Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), which claims to have a membership of 80,000 doctors, as well 40,000 residents, fellows and medical students in the United States. (Ridderbusch, 10/29)
Georgia Health News and Kaiser Health News: Republicans’ Drive To Tighten Immigration Overlooks Need For Doctors
The American Medical Association said that, as of last year, 18 percent of practicing physicians and medical residents in the U.S. in patient care were born in other countries. Georgia’s percentage of foreign-born doctors is similar, at 17 percent. Yet President Donald Trump’s focus on securing U.S. borders and restricting immigration — and the bitter arguments between the national political parties on the issue during midterm campaigns — have sown concerns about opportunities for foreign-born doctors. (Blau, Miller and Ridderbusch, 10/30)
NPR and WHYY: When To Give Narcan Can Be Daunting For Overdose Bystanders
The antidote quickly blocks the effects of opioids — both the euphoria and dangerous side effects, such as slowed breathing that cuts off oxygen to the brain.In the process, it can send someone into instant withdrawal. Many people who use drugs say withdrawal is like having the worst flu of your life, complete with cold sweats, shakes and vomiting. (Feldman, 10/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Why NYU Is Making Its Medical School Tuition-Free
Although NYU’s tuition initiative isn’t the first of its kind, it is the first of such scale. The medical school has raised more than $450 million of the $600 million it will need to fund the initiative into perpetuity, including $100 million from Mr. Langone and his wife, Elaine. ... In a conversation with The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Grossman discussed why covering medical-school tuition addresses a “moral imperative” and responded to critics. Here are edited excerpts of the conversation. (Toy, 10/29)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Two Health Clinics Open In North St. Louis County High Schools
Health clinics opened Monday at two high schools in north St. Louis County, following a trend of school-based care to address racial and geographic disparities in medical outcomes. The clinics in Hazelwood East High/Middle School Center and Riverview Gardens High School are funded by Christian Hospital Foundation and staffed by the federally-funded CareSTL Health clinics. (Bernhard, 10/29)
USA Today Network: Same-Sex Couple Carries Same Baby In IVF Fertility Treatment First
Two Texas mothers each carried their "miracle baby" because of a medical advance that allowed them to do what they thought was otherwise impossible. Ashleigh Coulter, 28, and Bliss Coutler, 36, met six years ago and later were married. The couple who desired a baby knew that welcoming their own biological child would require a sperm donor, and some creativity. ... Fertility specialists Dr. Kathy Doody and her husband, Dr. Kevin Doody, of the CARE Fertility in Bedford, Texas, were the first to try reciprocal effortless in vitro fertilization using radical technology, which gave the Coutlers a shot at motherhood. (Azad, 10/29)
