Reuters: U.S. Top Court Puts Some Limits On Contractor Fraud Lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday imposed some limits on the kind of fraud claims that can be brought against federal contractors in a case involving a suit against one of America's largest hospital operators over a woman's death at one of its facilities. But the 8-0 ruling was not the broad victory for business sought by the company, Universal Health Services, and other healthcare providers fearful of suits under the U.S. False Claims Act, which lets individuals make claims that the federal government has been defrauded. (Hurley, 6/16)

Los Angeles Times: Divided Supreme Court Once Again Decides A Case Without Settling It
The eight-member Supreme Court showed again Thursday it can issue rulings in significant cases without actually deciding who wins. The justices issued a unanimous 18-page opinion in a major case of healthcare fraud that had appeared to leave them sharply divided during oral arguments in April. They achieved agreement by adopting some key arguments of each side. Then they sent the entire dispute back to a federal appeals court to take a second look. This method of ruling without deciding has emerged in response to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and the lack of a tie-breaking vote in closely contested cases. (Savage, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: U.S. Supreme Court Endorses Theory That Could Expand False Claims Act Liability
The court ruled that companies are subject to False Claims Act liability and the implied certification theory, but only if two conditions are met. First, claims from healthcare providers must request payment and make “specific representations about the goods or services provided,” which often is the case if providers use standard Medicare and Medicaid billing forms. Second, an organization's failure to disclose noncompliance with “material” requirements would equate to “misleading half-truths.” (Aguilar and Herman, 6/16)

The Boston Globe: Supreme Court Rules Mass. Family Can Continue Suit Over Daughter’s Death
The US Supreme Court Thursday handed a partial victory to a Massachusetts family who sued the country’s largest owner of psychiatric hospitals over the death of their daughter. But the justices sent the case back to a lower court for further review. (Kowalcyzk, 6/16)

Meanwhile, in a separate case involving veterans —

The Washington Post: High Court Says Law Requires More Contracts For Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
The Supreme Court decided Thursday that the Department of Veterans Affairs must set aside more contracts to be filled by veteran-owned small businesses. The court was unanimous that the department has not fulfilled its obligation to steer more business to small companies owned by veterans or service-disabled veterans simply by meeting its annual goal. The decision is likely to help more veteran-owned businesses compete for the billions of dollars in contracts the department awards. (Barnes, 6/16)

Reuters: Clinton Outpaces Rivals In Drug Company Donations
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has taken more money from employees of America's 15 biggest pharmaceuticals companies than all of the Republicans who attempted a run for the White House this year combined, according to campaign finance disclosures. The donations, which were nearly double those accepted by Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, came even as the former senator and secretary of state vowed to curb price gouging in the industry if elected. (Gibson and Smith, 6/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Hillary Clinton's Ohio Ads Introduce Her As An Advocate For Children
Hillary Clinton's first television campaign ads in Ohio portray her as an advocate for children. Two of the ads show a softer side of the presumptive Democratic nominee, emphasizing lesser-known parts of her biography that include championing a children's health care program that passed while she was first lady. (Thompson, 6/16)

The Hill: Portman Presses HHS For Answers On Failed ObamaCare Co-Op
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is asking the Obama administration for answers on the situation facing 22,000 Ohioans enrolled in an ObamaCare co-op insurance plan that is going out of business. Portman wrote to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday, asking for action to protect the enrollees. (Sullivan, 6/16)

Morning Consult: Portman Seeks Answers From HHS About Ohio Failed Co-op
Last month the nonprofit co-op InHealth announced that it would be liquidated and taken over by the state. It provided health coverage to about 22,000 state residents. In his letter, Portman said those enrollees now must choose between getting new insurance and starting over paying a new deductible, or paying the tax penalty for not having health insurance. Those enrollees “were encouraged by the administration to enroll in the Obamacare marketplace in the first place. Now they have to find new insurance or risk paying a penalty to the IRS. Worse, many of them have already paid high deductibles for their CO-OP coverage, yet they are about to lose credit for those payments and incur more out-of-pocket costs if they chose a new insurance plan mid-year,” Portman wrote. “That’s just not fair, and the administration owes these Ohio families a solution to a problem it created.” (Owens, 6/16)

CBS News: Health Care Premiums Will Rise, So What Can You Do?
It wasn't a matter of if, but more like how much. Health care analysts and actuaries have been predicting for weeks now that Affordable Care Act exchange members would likely see premium increases for 2017 around 10 percent on average. Preliminary reporting shows those predictions are accurate. (Konrad, 6/16)

And a look at Covered California's 2017 budget —

California Healthline: $320 Million Covered California Budget Provides More For Outreach To Underserved
The Covered California board Thursday approved a $320 million budget for 2017 that adds money for marketing, website upgrades and outreach to disadvantaged communities. The state health exchange’s budget adds $2 million to boost marketing in Asian languages. It also earmarks $7.25 million for the exchange’s Navigator program, in which community organizations across the state help underserved groups sign up for coverage. That’s a cut of $2.75 million from this year. (Ibarra, 6/17)

Reuters: Lifting U.S. Curbs On Gay Blood Donors Seen Years Away: Experts
U.S. health regulators are under increasing pressure to remove restrictions keeping most gay and bisexual men from donating blood, but experts say any change would require years of research to guarantee the safety of the blood supply. (Seaman and Young, 6/17)

Health News Florida: How Hospitals, First Responders Reacted To The Pulse Shooting
Orlando Regional Medical Center got 44 patients from the Pulse night club shooting. It’s a Level 1 Trauma Center, and medical staff there were pushed to the limit as they dealt with the onslaught of patients coming from the Pulse nightclub shooting that happened just three blocks away. Medical staff and patients recounted the events of early Sunday morning. (Aboraya, 6/16)

California Healthline: California Insurance Commissioner Urges Feds To Block $54 Billion Anthem-Cigna Deal
Anthem criticized Jones’ decision and expressed confidence it would obtain the necessary government approval for the merger. “We do not believe that the California Department of Insurance’s opinion is based on the true merits of this transaction,” Anthem said in a statement. “We are confident that the highly complementary nature and limited overlap of our organizations that will benefit the complex and competitive health insurance markets will be reviewed on the facts by the Department of Justice and appropriate state authorities.” (Terhune, 6/16)

Los Angeles Times: California Regulator Asks U.S. To Block Anthem-Cigna Deal
“When it comes to the Anthem and Cigna merger, bigger is not better for California’s consumers,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. Jones does not have the authority to block the merger. But he said he had reviewed evidence presented at a March 29 hearing, as well as studies of past mergers, and concluded that the deal was “anti-competitive.” Anthem is now the nation’s second-largest insurer, while Cigna is No. 4. If combined, Jones said, the resulting company would control more than half the insurance market in 28 California counties. (Petersen, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: California Blasts Anthem-Cigna Merger, Calls On Feds To Block It
In a 22-page letter to top Justice Department leaders, Jones said the “most extreme” example of where Anthem's deal would lessen competition is the self-insured employer market. Anthem and Cigna control a combined 61% of that market. Many large, self-insured companies have expressed similar concerns over Anthem's acquisition. (Herman, 6/16)

Reuters: California Insurance Commissioner Urges U.S. To Block Anthem-Cigna Deal
California's insurance commissioner on Thursday urged the U.S. Department of Justice to block health insurer Anthem Inc's acquisition of Cigna Corp, saying he is concerned it will raise premiums in the state. Dave Jones, who as insurance commissioner in California does not have authority to approve the deal, said he believes his recommendation will hold weight with U.S. antitrust regulators examining the acquisition. (Humer and Bartz, 6/16)

Bloomberg: California Regulator Tells U.S. To Block Anthem-Cigna Deal
The takeover would give the combined Anthem-Cigna a greater than 50 percent market share in 28 counties in California, and a market share exceeding 40 percent in 38 counties, Jones said. (Tracer, 6/16)

And from Connecticut —

The Connecticut Mirror: Ethics Panel To Rule If Wade Has Conflict In Anthem-Cigna Merger
Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade's first contact with state ethics officials was to inform them in September why she intended to act on the merger of Anthem and Cigna, not to seek a ruling on whether they saw a potential conflict because of her family's long association with Cigna. (Pazniokas, 6/16)

The New York Times: Online Tools To Shop For Doctors Snag On Health Care’s Complexity
Need a dermatologist? Today, online tools can show you which doctors are in your plan’s network as well as rank them by the likely cost of a visit. Still not sure which one to pick? The tools also show whether you have already met your plan’s deductible and offer Yelp-like reviews of the doctors. The idea behind these web tools, which have been available from health insurers and start-ups for several years, is to harness the power of so-called big data. ... Yet the limits of this data are becoming increasingly clear. (Abelson, 6/16)

Reuters: Rising Rents, Healthcare Costs Support U.S. Underlying Inflation
U.S. consumer prices moderated in May, but sustained increases in housing and healthcare costs kept underlying inflation supported, which could still allow a cautious Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. (Mutikani, 6/16)

Asbury Park Press: Surprise Out-Of-Network Med Bills Cost NJ $1B
New Jersey consumers pay nearly $1 billion more in health care premiums because patients are unwittingly treated by doctors and hospitals that aren't in their insurance networks, much to their surprise, according to a study released Thursday by advocacy groups. The unexpected out-of-network bills contribute to New Jersey's health care costs that are among the highest in the nation, the study by New Jersey Policy Perspective and NJ for Health Care found. (Diamond, 6/16)

KOCO (Oklahoma City): Rural Hospitals Still Struggling Despite Being Spared Deep Medicaid Cuts
Although lawmakers might have spared health care providers from deep Medicaid cuts this summer, some hospitals in Oklahoma are still struggling to keep their doors open. Officials at the Purcell Municipal Hospital told KOCO 5 that they may have to close their doors at the end of this year. ... [Jennifer Warren, chief financial officer] said in addition to reductions in Medicaid funding, the hospital has faced Medicare reimbursement rate cuts and rising commercial insurance deductibles for about 4 years now. She said these cuts have ultimately forced the hospital to cut nine positions, reduce hours for 16 other people, and they have also had to eliminate different services which include MRS’s, mammography and wound care. (Price, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: AmSurg-Envision Merger Satisfies Hospitals' Appetite For Array Of Physician Services
A key driver of the AmSurg and Envision Healthcare merger announced Wednesday is the trend among hospitals to find a single vendor for outsourced physician staffing in multiple departments rather than contract the services a la carte, Envision CEO William Sanger said in a conference call Thursday. (Barkholz, 6/16)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Exeter Hospital Presses For Staffing Agency To Pay Share Of Settlements From Hepatitis C Outbreakf
Lawyers for Exeter Hospital are arguing that a staffing agency should pay a share in settlements compensating 188 patients who tested negative during a hepatitis C outbreak caused by a former technician feeding his drug habit. (Kimble, 6/16)

The Associated Press: IHS Leader: Bill Would Help Reservation Hospital System
The head of the federal agency responsible for providing health care to members of Native American tribes believes legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would help the department fix severe shortcomings at its network of hospitals across the country. Indian Health Service principal deputy director Mary Smith spoke with The Associated Press hours ahead of a U.S. Senate committee hearing scheduled for Friday in South Dakota during which the proposed legislation was expected to be discussed. (Garcia Cano, 6/17)

Outlets also report on hospital-related developments in Georgia and Virginia -

Georgia Health News: Lawsuits Say Blue Cross Harms Hospitals With Tactic Of Paying Patients
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia faces separate lawsuits accusing it of sending reimbursement money for emergency room care directly to patients — and not the hospital that delivered the service — because the latter isn’t part of the insurer’s network. (Miller, 6/16)

The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Hazel: Jail Inmate Died Within 24 Hours Of Admission To State Hospital
A woman incarcerated at Hampton Roads Regional Jail who was transferred to a state hospital last month after a mental health crisis died within 24 hours of admission, according to Virginia’s top health official. Central State Hospital workers found the woman dead in bed the morning after she arrived for court-ordered care, Dr. William A. Hazel Jr., the state’s secretary of health and human resources, said Thursday in a sit-down interview in his fourth-floor office at the Patrick Henry Building. (Evans and Kleiner, 6/16)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Reports 234 Pregnant Women In U.S. With Zika
The number of women infected with the Zika virus during their pregnancies in the continental United States has risen to 234, health officials said on Thursday. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to say how many of the women had given birth, citing confidentiality concerns for the women and their families. But they did cite six cases with abnormalities — three babies with birth defects and another three who died before birth with evidence of defects. (Tavernise, 6/16)

The Associated Press: CDC: 3 Babies With Zika-Linked Birth Defects Born In US
The health agency provided few details about the six women, their pregnancies, the birth defects or their severity. Three cases ended in "pregnancy loss" but the CDC did not say whether it was from miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. While the women had Zika infections, the officials said they did not know whether the birth defects were caused by the virus or other factors. (Stobbe, 6/16)

Reuters: Health Agency Reports U.S. Babies With Zika-Related Birth Defects
The U.S. cases so far involve women who contracted the virus outside the United States in areas with active Zika outbreaks, or were infected through unprotected sex with an infected partner. There have not yet been any cases reported of local transmission of the virus in the United States. Health experts expect local transmission to occur as mosquito season gets underway with warmer weather, especially in Gulf Coast states, such as Florida and Texas. (Berkrot, 6/16)

Stat: Three US Infants Have Been Born With Zika-Related Birth Defects, CDC Says
The early signs of what the US may experience from Zika infections among pregnant women are worrying, admitted Dr. Denise Jamieson, co-lead for the CDC’s Zika pregnancy and birth defects task force. “I’m very concerned,” she told STAT. “What we’re seeing among US travel-associated cases and US travelers is the same pattern that we’re seeing in other places like Colombia and Brazil.” (Branswell, 6/16)

The Baltimore Sun: CDC To Begin Reporting Pregnancy Outcomes Of Women With Zika
In coming weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to begin reporting the pregnancy outcomes of women infected with the Zika virus. The agency has been collecting information on pregnant women, who are most affected because the virus can cause their fetuses to develop microcephaly, which stunts brain and skull development, as well as other significant birth defects. (Cohn, 6/17)

The Washington Post: CDC: 6 Pregnancies In Zika-Infected Women Resulted In Birth Defects
The information released Thursday provides additional details about the impact of the virus on pregnant women in the United States. The agency is monitoring 234 pregnant women with Zika on the U.S. mainland who contracted the virus through travel or an infected partner; another 189 are being monitored in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Widespread local transmission already is occurring in Puerto Rico, and officials expect that about 20 percent of the island’s 3.5 million residents could become infected. (Sun, 6/16)

And the battle against Zika continues in the states —

Kaiser Health News: Florida's Mosquito Control Forces Mobilize Against Zika Threat
[Evaristo] Miqueli is on the front line in the ground war against this year’s two most-feared urban mosquitoes -- Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (also known as the yellow fever mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito, respectively). Both can spread the dangerous Zika virus, which causes devastating birth defects in babies and has been called a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. ... Mosquito-fighting pros such as Miqueli, 67, who keeps a clear garbage bag with thousands of the dead insects in his office, are an often forgotten part of the nation’s public health system both in Florida and nationally — until an outbreak occurs. (Galewitz, 6/17)

The Sun Sentinel: Zika 'One Of The Most Pressing Health Issues' Facing Florida, State Surgeon General Says
The Zika virus is "currently one of the most pressing health issues we are facing as a state, community and as a world," Florida Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. Celeste Philip told Broward legislators on Thursday. (Dimmer, 6/16)

The Times-Picayune: New Travel-Related Zika Cases Confirmed In Louisiana
Two new cases of travel-related Zika virus have been confirmed in Louisiana, the state Department of Health and Hospitals announced Thursday (June 16). The patients had both traveled to a region with Zika transmission, and the infections were confirmed after they sought medical treatment in Louisiana. (Lipinski, 6/16)

And a look at the possible link between Zika and poverty —

NPR: Is The Risk Of Catching Zika Greater In Poor Neighborhoods?
In Rio, "impoverished" areas refers to the urban neighborhoods known as "favelas." But Brazilian scientists say the link between poverty and Zika is not clear, especially in Rio de Janeiro. While the Zika virus only recently arrived to Brazil, scientists here have done a lot of studies on the dengue virus, which is transmitted by the same type of mosquito. (Garcia-Navarro, 6/16)

The Hill: Senate Takes Step Forward On Opioid Bill
The Senate on Thursday took a step toward bridging the gap with the House on legislation intended to combat the opioid epidemic. The upper chamber voted 95-1 to set up a conference committee with the House that will seek to iron out the differences between the chambers’ bills. Only Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) voted no. (Sullivan, 6/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio, KY Could Get Up To $63 Million For Heroin, Opioid Treatment
Ohio and Kentucky stand to get an estimated $63 million in federal money for heroin and opioid addiction treatment if President Barack Obama gets his way. Both states rank in the top five in the nation for drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 population. ( DeMio, 6/16)

Concord Monitor: Legislature Approves $1.5 Million Drug Enforcement Bill
The Republican-led Legislature came back to Concord and revived a bill Thursday that sends $1.5 million to drug enforcement initiatives, despite objections that arrests can’t solve the state’s opioid crisis. (Morris, 6/17)

New Hampshire Public Radio: As NH Scales Up Its Battle Against Drugs, Will History Repeat Itself?
When politicians talk about drug abuse, ‘tough on crime’ is a phrase that seems to be going out of style as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree that the War on Drugs didn’t solve the problem. (Haverty, 6/17)

The Associated Press: Philadelphia Is 1st Major American City With Soda Tax
Philadelphia became the first major American city with a soda tax on Thursday despite a multimillion-dollar campaign by the beverage industry to block it. The City Council gave final approval to a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet beverages. The tax is set to take effect Jan. 1. Only Berkeley, California, has a similar law. Soda tax proposals have failed in more than 30 cities and states in recent years, including twice in Philadelphia. (6/16)

Wyoming Public Radio: Philadelphia Becomes 1st Major U.S. City To Pass A Tax On Soda
The law lists these as examples of taxable products: "non-100%-fruit drinks; flavored water; energy drinks; pre-sweetened coffee or tea; and non-alcoholic beverages intended to be mixed into an alcoholic drink." (Kennedy, 6/16)

KQED: Philadelphia Is First Major U.S. City To Pass Soda Tax
The soda industry spent millions of dollars in advertising against the proposal, arguing the tax would be costly to consumers. The plan also attracted national attention and dollars, with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Texas billionaires John and Laura Arnold, advocates for less consumption of sugary drinks, funding ads in support. The American Beverage Association called the soda tax “discriminatory and highly unpopular.” (Aliferis, 6/16)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Health Experts: Philly Soda Tax Could Start National Movement
The public health community far and wide reacted instantly and enthusiastically to Philadelphia City Council's final vote Thursday to tax sweetened beverages. It also largely avoided commenting on one big part of the new tax: the inclusion of artificially sweetened drinks. (Sapatkin, 6/17)

Stat: Philanthropist Bill Gates Talks Public Health, Biotech, And The Race For The White House
Gates met at a downtown hotel with STAT executive editor Rick Berke and Helen Branswell, STAT’s senior infectious diseases and global health reporter. They discussed everything from Gates’s deep interest in science to his views of a presidential race in which the Republican nominee has suggested, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, that vaccines may be tied to autism. (Branswell and Berke, 6/16)

Politico: School Lead Testing: The Race For Tighter Regulations And More Funding
The Flint water crisis has exposed a gaping legal hole: There’s no requirement that schools using public water test for lead. Congress – and particularly state legislatures – are scurrying to tighten regulations and provide financial help for lead testing and infrastructure renovations as parents around the country are pressing school districts to act. (Lopez, 6/16)

Kaiser Health News: Harmful Chemicals Are Everywhere — But What Does That Mean?
Everything from our plastic water bottles and cosmetics to our non-stick frying pans contains chemicals that accumulate in our bodies. But it is unclear what effects these chemicals might have on human health and well-being. A report released this week by the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., attempts to inform part of this discussion by quantifying the extent these chemicals are found in Americans. (Tan, 6/17)

PBS NewsHour: Why The Navy Is Making A Major Change In Its Approach To PTSD
For years, the military has struggled to deal with the unseen, psychological wounds of war, especially Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Now, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has instituted major changes to the rules affecting sailors and Marines who suffer from PTSD. (6/16)

In other veterans' health care news —

The Fiscal Times: Facing $1 Billion In Cost Overruns, VA Hospital Execs Head For The Exits
Costs overruns at a VA hospital being built in Aurora, Colorado, have former officials in charge heading for the exits, according to the AP. The medical facility near Denver, which is scheduled to open in early 2018, is now expected to cost $1.7 billion, about three times its original budget. (Scotti, 6/16)

The Sacramento Bee: Audit: Vets Agency Wastes $28 Million On Failed Computer System
California’s state auditor has labeled yet another California government technology project an expensive failure. The California Department of Veterans Affairs has spent nearly $28 million on a system that launched years later than planned, wastes staff time and has not been fully implemented, according to an audit released Thursday by state Auditor Elaine Howle. (Cohrs, 6/16)

San Antonio Press Express: University Health Wins Grant To Boost Kids’ Medicaid, CHIP Enrollment
University Health System has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to boost the number of Bexar County children enrolling in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. About 10 percent of Bexar County children are uninsured, an improvement from 2009, when the rate of children lacking coverage was 14 percent. But in some San Antonio census tracts, up to 40 percent of children are still uninsured, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. (O'Hare, 6/16)

KQED: California Budget Includes Limit On Medi-Cal Estate Recovery
California’s $122 billion general fund budget includes money to dramatically limit a practice advocates had long lobbied against — the seizure of assets, after death, of people who had received health insurance coverage through the state’s Medi-Cal program. The federal government requires that states recover money for nursing home care. But it also gives states the option to recover costs of general medical care — hospitalizations and doctors visits — for people 55 and over. (Aliferis, 6/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Health Centers Get $1.75 Million To Expand Access To Dental Care
Health centers in Maryland were awarded $1.75 million in federal funding to expand dental services to underserved populations in the state. The money is part of a pot of $156 million doled out to 420 health centers in 47 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico to increase access to oral health services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the funds could pay for 1,600 new dentists, dental hygienists, assistants and technicians to treat about 785,000 more patients. (Cohn, 6/16)

Miami Herald: Nearly $10 Million In Federal Grants Awarded To Florida Health Centers, Groups
The Obama administration this week announced nearly $10 million in grants for Florida health centers and organizations to expand oral health services and reduce the number of uninsured children in the state. (Chang, 6/16)

The Times-Picayune: Louisiana Gets $4.3 Million To Expand Dental Care
The U.S Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday (June 16) awarded $4.3 million to 12 Louisiana health centers to expand oral health care services and improve oral health outcomes. (Lipinski, 6/16)

Kansas Health Institute: Kansas Centers Receive $2M In Grants To Expand Oral Health Services
Kansas health centers will receive more than $2.2 million to improve access to oral health care — funding that is desperately needed, according to a Kansas dental health advocate. (Hart, 6/16)

KQED: The Unexpected Health Risks Of Drought
No place has been hit harder by the California drought than Tulare County in the San Joaquin Valley. By now, most Americans have read or heard stories about residential wells going dry in the county’s rural towns, such as East Porterville, Orosi and Cutler. But it has remained unclear how water shortages are affecting people in these towns. How do they cope without running water in their kitchens and bathrooms? How has this affected their physical health and mental well-being? (Deeply, 6/16)

Pioneer Press: Teen Pregnancy, Birth Rates At ‘Historic Lows’ In State, UMN Report Says
Teen pregnancy and birth rates are at “historic lows” in Minnesota, University of Minnesota researchers reported this week. But youth who are LGBT, from rural areas and/or are from populations of color are “disproportionately impacted,” said the report from the U’s Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center. (Lundy, 6/16)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: In Cleveland Area, Communities Just 10 Miles Apart Have A Large Gap In Life Expectancy, New Study Says
From looking at health data, it would be easy to conclude that Lyndhurst and Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood are on opposite sides of the globe, their populations separated by vast differences in climate and proximity to modern health care. After all, a new study shows, the life expectancy of a baby born in Glenville is 12 years shorter than one born in Lyndhurst. (Ross, 6/16)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Two-Year Costs And Quality In The Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative
The 4-year, multipayer Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative was started in October 2012 to determine whether several forms of support would ... improve the quality and reduce the costs of care at 497 primary care practices in seven regions across the United States. Support included the provision of care-management fees, the opportunity to earn shared savings, and the provision of data feedback and learning support. ... During the first 2 years, initiative practices received a median of $115,000 per clinician in care-management fees. ... Midway through this 4-year intervention, practices ... have reported progress in transforming the delivery of primary care. However, ... these practices have not yet shown savings in expenditures for Medicare Parts A and B after accounting for care-management fees, nor have they shown an appreciable improvement in the quality of care or patient experience. (Dale et al., 6/16)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Early Performance Of Accountable Care Organizations In Medicare
In the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), accountable care organizations (ACOs) have financial incentives to lower spending and improve quality. ... Using Medicare claims from 2009 through 2013 and a difference-in-differences design, we compared changes in spending and in performance on quality measures from before the start of ACO contracts to after the start of the contracts between beneficiaries served by the 220 ACOs entering the MSSP in mid-2012 (2012 ACO cohort) or January 2013 (2013 ACO cohort) and those served by non-ACO providers (control group). ... The first full year of MSSP contracts was associated with early reductions in Medicare spending among 2012 entrants but not among 2013 entrants. Savings were greater in independent primary care groups than in hospital-integrated groups. (McWilliams et al., 6/16)

Annals Of Internal Medicine: The Prevalence Of Resident-To-Resident Elder Mistreatment In Nursing Homes
[Researchers sought to] estimate the prevalence of physical, verbal, and sexual R-REM [Resident-to-resident elder mistreatment] in nursing home residents and subgroups. ... 2011 residents in 10 facilities [were] randomly selected on the basis of size and location; 83% of facilities and 84% of eligible residents participated. ... 407 of 2011 residents experienced at least 1 R-REM event; the total 1-month prevalence was 20.2% .... The most common forms were verbal (9.1% ...), other (such as invasion of privacy or menacing gestures) (5.3% ...), physical (5.2% ...), and sexual (0.6% ...). Several clinical and contextual factors (for example, lower versus severe levels of cognitive impairment, residing on a dementia unit, and higher nurse aide caseload) were associated with higher estimated rates of R-REM. (Lachs et al, 6/14)

Health Affairs: Identification Of Four Unique Spending Patterns Among Older Adults In The Last Year Of Life Challenges Standard Assumptions
The assumption that health care spending skyrockets at the end of life might suggest that policy makers should target the last few months of life to control costs. However, spending patterns leading up to death have not been fully examined. ... we identified four unique spending trajectories among decedents: 48.7 percent had high persistent spending, 29.0 percent had moderate persistent spending, 10.2 percent had progressive spending, and 12.1 percent had late rise spending. High spending throughout the full year before death (approximately half of all decedents) was associated with having multiple chronic conditions but not any specific diseases. These findings suggest that spending at the end of life is a marker of general spending patterns often set in motion long before death. (Davis, 6/15)

The Kaiser Family Foundation/Virginia Commonwealth University: Understanding Medicaid Hospital Payments And The Impact Of Recent Policy Changes
This brief provides an overview of Medicaid payments for hospitals and explores the implications of the ACA Medicaid expansion as well as payment policy changes on hospital finances. ... Overall, hospitals have benefitted financially from the ACA coverage expansions and the increase in Medicaid payments .... data for 2013 and 2014 shows overall declines in uncompensated care from $34.9 billion to $28.9 billion in 2014 nationwide. Nearly all of this decline occurred in expansion states .... Despite the decrease in uncompensated care, other changes to Medicaid payment policy (such as required reductions to disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments and policy changes to limit the use of other supplemental payments) are likely to have a more substantial effect on Medicaid hospital payment and overall hospital financial performance in the future. (Cunningham et al, 6/9)

The Commonwealth Fund: Looking Under The Hood Of The Cadillac Tax
One effect of the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac tax” (now delayed until 2020) is to undo part of the existing federal tax preference for employer-sponsored insurance. The specific features of this tax on high-cost health plans—notably, the inclusion of tax-favored savings vehicles such as health savings accounts (HSAs) in the formula for determining who is subject to the tax—are designed primarily to maximize revenue and minimize coverage disruptions, not to reduce health spending. Thus, at least initially, these savings accounts, rather than enrollee cost-sharing or other plan features, are likely to be affected most by the tax as employers act to limit their HSA contributions. Because high earners are the ones benefiting most from tax-preferred accounts, the high-cost plan tax will probably be more progressive than prior analyses have suggested, while having only a modest impact on total health spending. (Glied and Striar, 6/8)

Here is a selection of news coverage of other recent research:

Stat: More Clinical Trials Are Succeeding For The First Time In Years
After years of declines, the pharmaceutical industry is experiencing a greater rate of success with its clinical trials in recent years, according to a new analysis. Between 2012 and 2014, more than 11 percent of clinical trials succeeded, which meant compounds being tested survived the arduous journey from the laboratory to the pharmacy counter. This reversed a downward trend seen over the past 20 years, according to executives at McKinsey & Co., the consulting firm that conducted the analysis and does consulting work for drug makers. (Silverman, 6/13)

Reuters: Too Fat, Too Thin - Report Finds Malnutrition Fuels Disease Worldwide
A third of people worldwide are either undernourished or overweight, driving increasing rates of disease and piling pressure on health services, a global report showed on Tuesday. Rates of obese or overweight people are rising in every region of the world, and in nearly every country, according to the 2016 Global Nutrition Report - an annual independent stock take of the state of the world's nutrition. (Kelland, 6/14)

Bloomberg: U.S. Health-Care Law Just Got Even More Confusing
The Supreme Court is supposed to take appellate cases to make the law clearer. Today's opinion on health-care fraud had the opposite effect. Instead of spelling out exactly when a misrepresentation in health-care billing counts as a legal violation, the court said that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. The result introduces new uncertainty in the law instead of greater clarity. (Noah Feldman, 6/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Rehabbing Our Ideas About Addiction
In 1980, our roads were seven times deadlier than our drugs. But in 2008, drug overdoses surpassed car crashes to become the No. 1 cause of accidental death in the U.S., killing almost 50,000 Americans in 2014, the latest year on record. This epidemic is due almost entirely to the alarming rise of one class of drugs: Opioids, which include prescription painkillers and heroin, killed nearly 30,000 Americans in 2014, up from just under 10,000 in 2001. Once considered a relic of the 1970s, heroin in particular has seen a peculiar and deadly resurgence, as more patients become dependent on prescription opioid painkillers and switch to heroin when their prescriptions run out. Between 2010 and 2014, heroin overdoses tripled. (David M. Cordani, 6/16)

Bloomberg: No Takeover Premium, No Problem
When news broke last week about a possible merger of AmSurg and Envision Healthcare, investors were betting that the deal between the two big U.S. hospital-services providers would be arranged as a typical takeover, with at least some sort of stock price bump for Envision. That sent Envision's shares surging more than 8 percent to their highest levels of the year. (Brooke Sutherland, 6/16)

JAMA: Is The United States Prepared For A Major Zika Virus Outbreak?
From its initial discovery in Ugandan forests nearly 70 years ago, Zika virus has emerged as a worldwide public health crisis, with active transmission in more than 40 countries in the Americas and Caribbean. On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), concerned about clusters of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). A week later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) triggered the highest “level 1” activation of its emergency operations center, and President Obama requested $1.86 billion in emergency funding.1 On April 7, the WHO reported there is scientific consensus that Zika is a cause of microcephaly and GBS. (Lawrence O. Gostin and James G. Hodge Jr., 6/14)

The Washington Post: Mosquitoes Don’t Just Spread The Zika Virus. They May Be Helping An Older Killer Reemerge.
Yellow fever is a virus spread by Aedes mosquitos (which also spread Zika, dengue and chikungunya). Although most cases are mild, about 15 percent of patients progress to a more serious stage marked by jaundice, from which yellow fever takes its name. Until the 20th century, yellow fever was one of the world’s most feared diseases — a major killer and threat to commerce. Historical efforts to fight yellow fever laid the groundwork for our current public-health policies and disease-control strategies, both nationally and internationally. (Mara Pillinger, 6/16)

Bloomberg: Hedge-Fund Consultant Bantered For Insider Information
Today's murk is a criminal and civil insider trading case against Sanjay Valvani, a portfolio manager at Visium Asset Management, and Gordon Johnston, a former FDA official (from 1987 through 1999) who, at the time of the alleged insider trading (2010 to 2011), was vice president of the Generic Drug Trade Association. He was also working as a consultant for Visium, on a retainer of $5,000 a month. Johnston, who has pleaded guilty to the charges, called up an official in the FDA's Office of Generic Drugs and asked him if it was going to approve some drugs. The official told him, and then he allegedly told Valvani. Then Valvani traded in the stocks of companies that made those drugs, or their brand-name competitors. (Matt Levine, 6/16)

JAMA Forum: Using Intermediaries To Improve Health
As we explore the social determinants of health, we are discovering some very important things. One is that compared with other developed countries, the United States spends a much higher proportion of resources on medical services to treat people than on social services that improve the prospects for good health. Research shows that countries placing a greater emphasis on social services rather than medical care have better health outcomes. Recent research comparing spending on health and social services among US states also found that spending relatively more on social services is significantly related to better health outcomes. (Stuart Butler, 6/15)

The Wall Street Journal: ‘A Swimming Pool In The ICU?’
“A swimming pool in the ICU? You must be nuts.” The nurse’s voice was almost lost amid the whooshing ventilator and infusion pumps. Five days earlier, we had admitted Bennie, a Vietnam veteran, to the intensive care unit of our VA hospital in Nashville, Tenn. Frail and wrinkled, he had a look of utter confusion and a furrowed brow that would pluck the heartstrings of even the most calloused physician. Decades spent in Southern tobacco fields left him looking old enough to remember Hoover’s presidency. Double pneumonia and too much sedation made him delirious. (E. Wesley Ely, 6/16)

JAMA: Implementing MACRA Implications For Physicians And For Physician Leadership
On April 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the highly anticipated 962-page proposed rule1 for implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). MACRA will overhaul Medicare’s physician payment system starting in 2019, placing most physicians in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), a pay-for-performance system that adjusts payments based on measures derived from prior care. Physicians can be exempt from MIPS and receive bonus payments by demonstrating sufficient participation in advanced alternative payment models (APMs), which are intended to support greater flexibility in care delivery alongside greater accountability for efficiency and care improvement. (Jeffrey D. Clough and Mark McClellan, 6/14)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: State Initiatives To Control Medication Costs — Can Transparency Legislation Help?
Spending on prescription drugs has risen sharply in the United States over the past 2 years.1 Although thousandfold price increases for a few generic products in limited use have attracted much attention, overall spending growth has been driven more by the widespread use of costly new agents such as sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) and cumulative markups in prices of common brand-name drugs such as rosuvastatin (Crestor), imatinib (Gleevec), and etanercept (Enbrel). Coverage of these products has strained payers’ budgets, forcing difficult funding choices. (Ameet Sarpatwari, Jerry Avorn and Aaron S. Kesselheim, 6/16)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Beyond Bathrooms — Meeting The Health Needs Of Transgender People
One might have to go back to the era of racial desegregation of U.S. bathrooms to find a time when toilets received so much attention. Recently, several states have debated or passed legislation requiring people to use the public bathroom corresponding to their sex as “identified at birth” or “stated on a person’s birth certificate.”1,2 Some supporters of these laws have focused on the fear that male stalkers will claim to be transgender women in order to victimize girls and women in restrooms. Others have expressed vitriol and revulsion toward transgender people, describing them as “sexual predators,” “voyeurs,” and “pedophiles.” Although transgender people have been characterized as dangerous, it is transgender people who have generally been the victims of verbal harassment and physical assaults when trying to use public bathrooms. (Mark A. Schuster, Sari L. Reisner and Sarah E. Onorato, 6/15)

Reuters: Transgender People Face Challenges For Adequate Health Care: Study
Millions of transgender people around the world face major challenges in getting adequate medical care despite multiple health issues, from depression to high rates of HIV, researchers say. (Lih Yi, 7/17)

The New England Journal Of Medicine: Wollschlaeger V. Governor Of Florida — The First Amendment, Physician Speech, And Firearm Safety
On June 21, 2016, the full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in Wollschlaeger v. Governor of Florida, which challenges a Florida law regulating physicians’ speech related to patients’ gun ownership. A decision by the court on the merits will most likely have broad implications both for states’ ability to regulate physicians’ speech and physicians’ efforts to protect patients from firearm-related injuries, which in 2014 in the United States, included more than 33,000 deaths, most of which (21,334) were suicides. (Wendy E. Parmet, Jason A. Smith and Matthew J. Miller, 6/16)

Stat: We Are Not Viruses: Don’t Limit Gay Men From Donating Blood
Don’t get me wrong. We should be concerned about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS, its deadly consequence if left untreated. But we should not be fearful of acquiring HIV through a blood transfusion. Thanks to highly sensitive blood tests, conservative estimates place the risk of acquiring HIV through a transfusion as at most 1 in 1,000,000. (Benjamin Mazer, 6/16)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Congress Passes A Not-Very-Good Toxic Chemical Bill
Just when you're fed up with the United States Congress (approval rating: 11 percent) comes word that it has passed and sent to the president an overhaul of the 1976 Toxic Chemicals and Substances Act, generally regarded as the weakest environmental law on the books. And it only took 10 years. The Environmental Protection Agency is now free to begin testing 64,000 household chemicals to determine how dangerous some of them are. But lest the EPA get carried away with its new powers, the new law restricts the agency to testing only 20 chemicals at a time, with a maximum testing period of seven years. (6/16)

Lexington Herald-Leader: Bad Ruling On Reproductive Rights In Ky.
A Court of Appeals ruling allowing the Bevin administration to shut down one of only two abortion providers in Kentucky misses the constitutional forest for the regulatory trees. Fayette Circuit Judge Ernesto Scorsone ruled in March that closing the EMW Women’s Clinic in Lexington even temporarily would “have a severe, adverse impact on the women in the Eastern part of the state.” In overruling Scorsone, a three-judge panel discounted the impact on Kentucky women, then went on to conclude preposterously that “this is not about a woman’s right to an abortion” and “the Cabinet is not seeking to prevent women from obtaining abortions.” (6/16)

San Jose Mercury News: Cresanti: Drug Cost Transparency Will Kill Patients, Jobs
American research firms develop dozens of such advanced, targeted drugs each year. But that flow of lifesaving discoveries could soon cease if some short-sighted lawmakers continue their opportunistic and uninformed crusade against the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. California lawmakers, for instance, are considering a bill -- SB 1010, introduced by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) -- that would require pharmaceutical companies to disclose marketing budgets, public research funding grants, and reams of other information related to their development and sales of prescription medicines. ... The laws, if passed, will hinder research and discourage developers from creating the kinds of cutting-edge drugs that saved Wood's life. (Robert Cresanti, 6/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Planning In Case A Loved One Develops Alzheimer's
The situation is bad. So families should start planning for what to do if a family member develops Alzheimer ’s disease. The incidence of the disease has become devastating, and the numbers are projected to grow. Estimates are only 25 percent of those with the condition have been diagnosed. (J. Brendan Ryan, 6/16)

The New York Times: Soda Tax Passes In Philadelphia. Advocates Ask: Who’s Next?
Forty times, city or state governments had proposed taxes on sugary soft drinks, failing each time. Then, in 2014, liberal Berkeley, Calif., passed such a tax, but most people saw it as an aberration. Several measures, including one in New York, never won much support. But on Thursday, a measure to tax sweetened drinks passed in Philadelphia, one of the country’s largest cities — and also one of its poorest. Indeed, raising revenue was the winning argument in Philadelphia. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 6/16)