Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
As An Investor In Biotech Stock, Republican Chris Collins May Have Overshared
Rep. Chris Collins talked one time too many, according to federal prosecutors who on Wednesday charged him with violating insider trading laws.
Pharmacy-Made Pain Creams Flagged On Fears Of Medicare Fraud And Risk
Inspector general identifies possible problems in nearly 23 percent of pharmacies that bill Medicare for blended creams, gels and lotions.
Learning To Live Well With Dementia
Two leading experts on caring for people with Alzheimer’s offer ways to make life better for patients and their caregivers.
Summaries Of The News:
Capitol Watch
Rep. Chris Collins Indicted On Charges Related To Insider Trading Following Probe Into His Ties To Drugmaker
The New York Times: New York Congressman Chris Collins Is Charged With Insider Trading
Representative Chris Collins was at the Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House last summer when he received an unexpected email from the head of a drug company in which he was heavily invested. The company’s only product — an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis — had just failed a do-or-die scientific trial. What Mr. Collins did next, apparently in a state of panic, forms the core of a federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday in New York that accuses him of insider trading and lying to federal agents. Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Collins with brazenly using his private information about the company to help his son and others avoid financial disaster. (Feuer and Goldmacher, 8/8)
The Associated Press: GOP Congressman From New York Charged With Insider Trading
Collins, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who was among the first sitting members of Congress to endorse his candidacy for the White House, pleaded not guilty to an indictment unsealed at a court in Manhattan. The indictment charges Collins, his son and the father of the son's fiancee with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Speaking to reporters in Buffalo hours after his release on bail, Collins, 68, professed his innocence and said he would remain on the ballot for re-election this fall. (Hays, 8/8)
The Wall Street Journal: New York Congressman Chris Collins Arrested On Insider-Trading Charges
According to the indictment, Rep. Collins passed the confidential results to his son, Cameron Collins, so he could trade on the tip. Prosecutors say his son sold nearly 1.4 million Innate shares and gave the information to at least four individuals, including his fiancée and her father, Stephen Zarsky. Mr. Zarsky then sold all of his Innate shares and shared the tip with at least three other individuals, including his brother and sister, before the public release of the trial results, according to the indictment. (Hong and Peterson, 8/8)
Politico: GOP Rep. Chris Collins Charged With Securities Fraud
"Congressman Collins, who by virtue of his office helps to write the laws of our nation, acted as if the law didn't apply to him," said Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announcing the charges. (Cheney, Vielkind and Nahmias, 8/8)
CQ HealthBeat: Chris Collins Continues Re-Election Bid Following Arrest
Collins highlighted his long affiliation with the Australian biotechnology company, saying he was the biggest investor and lost most of the money he invested when it failed a clinical drug trial to treat multiple sclerosis. "I will mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name," Collins said. "I look forward to being fully vindicated and exonerated, ending any and all questions relating to my affiliation with Innate." (Ruger, 8/8)
The Washington Post: Rep. Chris Collins Charged With Insider Trading, Federal Prosecutors Announce
The charges could turn into a headache for several House Republicans who invested in Innate Immunotherapeutics at Collins’s encouragement. Prosecutors did not allege in the indictment that Collins tipped off any of his colleagues in Congress about the failed drug trial before it was made public, but Democrats pounced on the charges and said those lawmakers would have to answer tough questions about their investments in Innate. (Merle and DeBonis, 8/8)
Kaiser Health News: As An Investor In Biotech Stock, Republican Chris Collins May Have Overshared
House Speaker Paul Ryan removed Collins from the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday and called for a new investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Last year, the panel began looking at evidence that Collins had previously “shared material, nonpublic information” on Innate. (Hancock, Kopp and Bluth, 8/8)
Stat: Inside N.Y. Rep. Chris Collins’ Painful Education In Biotech
Innate was never a blue-chip investment; at its peak, it was worth less than $1.25 per share. Its milestones, press releases, and pronouncements of success were met with indifference by the market. And there might have been other reasons for the congressman to be cautious. Innate had a long road ahead in the risky business of drug development. It hadn’t started a Phase 3 trial of its drug; its mid-stage trial involved only 93 patients. But Collins, who once owned about 17 percent of the company, always kept the faith. (Garde, 8/8)
The Associated Press: Indicted Rep. Collins Was Early Loyalist To Trump
Collins, 68, backed Trump on Feb. 24, 2016 — well before it was clear Trump had a shot at winning the Republican nomination in a crowded field of seasoned politicians. But that’s why, Collins said at the time, he was backing Trump. He said the country needs “a chief executive, not a chief politician.” Collins became one of Trump’s most ardent and public backers, promoting him as a businessman who would boost the economic fortunes of areas that have suffered. (Kellman, 8/8)
Health Law
Subsidies For Health Law Coverage Racing Past Cost Of Medicaid Expansion
Modern Healthcare: ACA Subsidies More Cost More Per Person Than Medicaid. Is That Sustainable?
Government spending on Obamacare premiums has raced past its per-person spending on Medicaid expansion, and the gap is poised to increase—a trend that has some policy experts shaking their heads over the long-term economic picture and at least one major insurer questioning the sustainability of the individual market. This year, federal dollars going to exchange premium subsidies more than doubled from 2014 and the Congressional Budget Office projected they will nearly double again over the next decade. (Luthi, 8/8)
Meanwhile, in other health law news —
Texas Tribune: Texas Is Suing — Again — To End Obamacare. This Time It Has Some Advantages.
At the helm of a 20-state coalition, Texas sued the federal government in February to end the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare,” arguing that the law is no longer constitutional after Congress gutted one of its key provisions, the individual mandate. ...After a deadline last week for parties to submit all their arguments, the judge could decide any day whether to let the law stand, block it in part or entirely, or to ask for more arguments from both sides. Experts predict a decision in the next few months. (Platoff, 8/8)
Coverage And Access
There's A Big Asterisk In Bernie Sanders' Claim That 'Medicare For All' Plan Saves $2 Trillion In Health Spending
The Associated Press Fact Check: Sanders Spins Savings In Medicare Plan
Sen. Bernie Sanders is skimming over the facts in claiming that his "Medicare for all" plan will lead to big reductions in what Americans spend for health care. In a recent tweet, the Vermont independent insists the plan will cut $2 trillion from the nation's health care bill. But that's based on a scenario in which hospitals and doctors accept significantly lower payments for many patients. It's a big asterisk, and one that Sanders fails to disclose. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/8)
Meanwhile —
Politico: Bernie And His Army Are Losing 2018
Bernie Sanders is sputtering. Two years after his defeat in the 2016 presidential primary, the Vermont senator has amassed a growing string of losses in races in which he has intervened. Beginning last year, Sanders-backed candidates faltered in an Omaha mayoral race and a nationally watched House race in Montana. (Siders, 8/8)
Supreme Court
Planned Parenthood's #DearSenators Campaign Against Kavanaugh Highlights Women's Personal Abortion Stories
The Hill: Planned Parenthood Launches Six-Figure Supreme Court Ad Campaign
Planned Parenthood Action Fund is launching a six-figure ad campaign as part of a broader effort by progressive groups to highlight personal stories of individuals who could be impacted if President Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is confirmed to the Supreme Court. The buy, announced Wednesday, includes TV ads in Maine and Alaska, the home states of two potential GOP swing votes: Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. It also includes a nationwide digital ad. (Carney, 8/8)
The CT Mirror: Panel: Women Would Retain Right To Abortion In CT If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned
If the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established women’s constitutional right to abortion were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, women would still have that right in Connecticut where it was codified into law decades ago, participants in a state discussion panel said Wednesday. ... Many have questioned the fate of Roe v. Wade, since Kennedy’s retirement and President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Kennedy. (Rigg, 8/8)
Opioid Crisis
Insys To Pay $150M To Settle Criminal, Civil Investigation Into Marketing Techniques For Its Opioids
Stat: Insys Agrees To Pay $150 Million To Settle Federal Probe Into Opioid Marketing
Insys Therapeutics (INSY) reached an agreement in principle with the Department of Justice to pay $150 million over the next five years to settle civil and criminal investigations into allegedly illegal marketing of its fentanyl opioid by some of its former employees. The company could pay up to another $75 million, depending upon other undisclosed conditions. The deal comes amid long-running probes by federal and state authorities into the abuse and misuse of opioid painkillers, and the extent to which they are appropriately prescribed. Insys has figured prominently in this drama, as several former executives and employees have been arrested in connection with allegations of bribing doctors to boost sales of Subsys, which contains fentanyl, a highly addictive opioid. (Silverman, 8/8)
The New York Times: Dr. Robert Newman, Apostle Of Methadone Treatment, Dies At 80
Dr. Robert G. Newman, who pioneered methadone maintenance as a safe substitute for heroin and struggled to redefine addiction as a chronic medical condition that cannot be cured, died on Aug. 1 in Manhattan. He was 80. He was struck by a car in the Bronx in June and never recovered from his injuries, his son, Seiji, said. (Roberts, 8/8)
WBUR: Construction And Fishing Industries Have Highest Opioid OD Death Rates In Mass.
A path from injury to medication, and then to addiction and death, may explain why workers in these jobs — men in particular — have had in recent years fatal opioid overdoses far more often in Massachusetts than do workers as a whole. Among fishermen, the death rate is more than five times higher. (Bebinger, 8/8)
Boston Globe: Clinic To Pay Back Patients Illegally Charged Cash For Suboxone
The owners of a North Andover mental health practice have agreed to pay $612,000 in restitution to 232 patients who were illegally charged cash for opioid addiction treatment even though the patients were covered by the state’s Medicaid program. ...It’s illegal for a provider to charge Medicaid patients for a covered service. (Freyer, 8/9)
Boston Globe: Study Links Opioid Deaths To Workplace Injuries
The report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health found that nearly a quarter of overdose deaths in a five-year period occurred among people, mostly men, who work in construction. ...The report, released Wednesday, paints a disturbing picture of workers hurt on the job, taking addictive painkillers, and needing those painkillers to keep working at jobs they would otherwise lose. (Freyer, 8/8)
Women’s Health
Inducing Labor In Healthy Women At 39 Weeks May Actually Cut C-Section Rates, Surprising Study Finds
The Washington Post: Inducing Labor At 39 Weeks For Healthy Pregnancies May Improve Outcomes For Mothers, Study Suggests
The prevailing wisdom on healthy pregnancies has long been to just wait it out. Only after reaching the full-term 40-week mark will many doctors consider hurrying a birth along with drugs. The thinking is that inducing labor increases the risk of complications, which lead to more Caesarean sections, putting both the baby and the mother at risk. A new study suggests that idea might be wrong. (Cha, 8/8)
NPR: Pregnancy Controversy Gets New Data: Inducing Labor Can Be Safe
Obstetricians currently induce labor when a delivery has failed to progress, or if a woman is far overdue for giving birth. But when women who have no medical need for induced labor have talked to their doctors, "We've been saying, 'Well you know one thing you need to know is it does increase the C-section rate,' " says. Dr. Uma Reddy, an obstetrics researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (Harris, 8/8)
Stat: Inducing Labor At 39 Weeks Is Safe And Linked To Lower Risk Of C-Sections
“I think it’s going to have a very big impact on obstetric practice not just in the U.S., but around the world,” said Dr. Kate Walker, an obstetrician and University of Nottingham researcher who has studied the health impact of induction but was not involved in the new paper. (Thielking, 8/8)
Public Health
'End Family Fire': Advocates Want To Curb Children's Deaths From Accidental Shootings By Giving The Problem A Name
The Washington Post: A Gun Control Group Is Trying To Make A Phrase Viral. How Does It Happen?
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is launching a public education campaign to warn of the dangers of having unlocked and loaded guns in a house, particularly in one where there are children. Called “End Family Fire,” the campaign seeks to prevent unintentional deaths by urging gun owners to take steps that would prevent children or guests from accessing firearms. They include storing a gun in a place where it is not accessible to those who do not own it, storing a firearm and ammunition separately from one another and using a gun lock. (Zezima, 8/8)
The Washington Post: Online Dating Study Quantifies What’s ‘Out Of Your League'
Online dating is now one of the primary ways people meet partners, and researchers can use data from dating apps to observe and quantify romantic attraction and pursuit. In other words, all of those terrible online messages and first dates are being donated to science. A study out Wednesday in the journal Science Advances described “a hierarchy of desirability” in the messaging tactics of online daters. It also found that both men and women messaged potential partners who were on average 25 percent more attractive than they were. (Furby, 8/8)
The New York Times: Dizziness On Standing May Be A Risk Factor For Dementia
Feeling dizzy or lightheaded when you stand up may be a risk factor for stroke and dementia years down the road, a new study reports. The condition, known as orthostatic hypotension, is caused by a sharp drop in blood pressure when rising from a supine position. It can be a symptom of various diseases or a side effect of medicine but often has no known cause. (Bakalar, 8/8)
NPR: Sperm Counts Lower In Men Wearing Tight Undies
If you've ever seen someone with testicles get kicked in the groin, then you probably know that male genitals — often portrayed as a symbol of male strength and virility — aren't actually that tough. But can testicles — or rather, the sperm they produce — be harmed by something as seemingly innocent as a pair of briefs? (Chisholm, 8/8)
The New York Times: Margot Kidder’s Death Was A Suicide, Coroner Says
When Margot Kidder died in May, she was remembered as the actress who brought the fictional reporter Lois Lane to life in a series of blockbuster Superman movies in the 1970s and ’80s. Her obituary in The New York Times did not specify a cause of death. But on Wednesday the Park County coroner’s office in Montana, where she lived, revealed that the cause was suicide. A statement provided by the coroner to The Associated Press said that Ms. Kidder “died as a result of a self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose.” (Fortin, 8/8)
The Associated Press: No Easy Answers On Best Heart Check-Up For Young Athletes
What kind of heart check-up do young athletes need to make the team? A large study of teenage soccer players in England found in-depth screening didn't detect signs of trouble in some athletes who later died — yet allowed others at risk to get treated and back in the game. At issue is cardiac arrest, when the heart abruptly stops beating. It is rare in young people, especially athletes thought to be at the peak of health. (Neergaard, 8/8)
Kaiser Health News: Learning To Live Well With Dementia
Imagine your doctor telling you have Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia. Then, imagine being told, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do. You might want to start getting your affairs in order.” Time and again, people newly diagnosed with these conditions describe feeling subsequently overcome by hopelessness. In their new book, “Better Living With Dementia,” Laura Gitlin and Nancy Hodgson — two of the nation’s leading experts on care for people with cognitive impairment — argue forcefully that it’s time for this “cycle of despair” to be broken. (Graham, 8/9)
State Watch
Southern California Gas Co. To Pay For Study Into Health Consequences Of Leak As Part Of $120M Settlement
The Associated Press: Huge Los Angeles Gas Leak Leads To $120 Million Settlement
A Southern California utility reached a nearly $120 million settlement over a massive blowout at a natural gas storage field that became the nation's largest known release of climate-changing methane and forced thousands to flee their Los Angeles homes almost three years ago, officials announced Wednesday. The settlement between Southern California Gas Co. and state and local governments aims to mitigate the greenhouse gases that spewed uncontrollably for nearly four months. The October 2015 blowout at an Aliso Canyon well sickened residents of the San Fernando Valley and led to evacuations of 8,000 homes. (8/8)
Los Angeles Times: SoCal Gas Agrees To $119.5-Million Settlement For Aliso Canyon Methane Leak — Biggest In U.S. History
The deal between Southern California Gas Co. and city, county and state officials and prosecutors will fund a long-sought health study and numerous environmental measures intended to offset the damage caused by the leak. But it leaves unresolved questions about the root cause of the leak, the fate of the storage facility outside Los Angeles’ Porter Ranch neighborhood, the state’s reliance on planet-warming natural gas and residents’ medical claims against the company. The tentative agreement will resolve agencies’ lawsuits against the utility for violating the state’s health and safety laws by failing to promptly control the leak and alert authorities. (Barboza, 8/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Southern California Gas Agrees To Settlement For 2015 Methane Leak
The Aliso Canyon underground site is the fifth-largest such gas-storage facility in the U.S. and is essential to the region’s power industry. It gushed methane—one of the most potent heat-trapping gases responsible for climate change—for 15 weeks, leading California to declare a state of emergency while locals reported headaches, nosebleeds, rashes and other woes. It eventually led to a federal review that called for a sweeping safety overhaul of more than 400 underground natural-gas storage fields. (Puko, 8/8)
State Highlights: Minnesota Speeds Up Investigations Of Elder Abuse Complaints; Mich. Parents Who Didn't Seek Medical Care Charged In Infant's Death
The Star Tribune: Minnesota Clears Giant Backlog Of Elder Abuse Complaints
State health regulators have eliminated a massive backlog of unresolved complaints alleging abuse and neglect at Minnesota senior care facilities, while fulfilling a promise to dramatically speed up investigations into new complaints. Minnesota started the year with 3,147 reports of abuse and maltreatment that needed to be investigated, including incidents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. The backlog had become so severe that it sometimes took state investigators months or even years to complete investigations, angering relatives of abuse victims and undermining criminal prosecutions, according to a Star Tribune report published last November. (Serres, 8/8)
The Washington Post: Michigan Parents Seth Welch, Tatiana Fusari Charged With Murder In 10-Month-Old's Death
In video sermons, the man railed against vaccines, “bad medicine” and doctors whom he deemed to be “priesthoods of the medical cult.” And he explained why he refused to vaccinate his children, saying: “It didn’t seem smart to me that you would be saving people who weren’t the fittest. If evolution believes in survival of the fittest, well then why are we vaccinating everybody? Shouldn’t we just let the weak die off and let the strong survive?” (Bever, 8/8)
The Associated Press: Famed California Research Center Settles 2 Gender Bias Suits
Southern California’s Salk Institute for Biological Studies has settled two of three gender discrimination lawsuits filed by top female scientists. The renowned research center and two former plaintiffs, Kathy Jones and Vicki Lundblad, said in a statement Tuesday that they’ve agreed to “put our disagreements behind” and “move forward together.” Terms were not disclosed. The third plaintiff, Beverly Emerson, will continue the lawsuit against the Salk, according to her attorney Alreen Haeggquist. (Tu, 8/8)
Politico Pro: California Poised To Require Medication Abortion On State College Campuses
California legislators are set to plunge into an election-year debate over abortion access, taking up a bill that would make the state the first in the nation to mandate public universities offer medication abortion as part of basic student health services. The measure, which passed the state Senate in January, would expand abortion rights at a time when some other states are enacting new restrictions on the procedure. (Colliver, 8/8)
Reveal: Troubled Texas Facility Still Holds 28 Immigrant Children As Deadline Nears, Attorney Says
More than a week after a judge ordered that immigrant children staying at a troubled Texas facility should be moved, 28 children affected by the ruling remain at the Shiloh Treatment Center, Reveal has learned. The children’s fate is now in the hands of lawyers who must come up with a plan for their evaluations and housing by Friday, the deadline set by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee last week. (Morel, 8/8)
Houston Chronicle: UH School Of Medicine Could Limit Primary Care Physician Shortage In The Area
Health care officials hope the opening of the University of Houston’s School of Medicine in 2020 can help limit a shortage of primary care physicians plaguing several regions of the country — including the Greater Houston area. In 2017 the Texas Department of State Health Services estimated that there are 4,122 primary care physicians in Harris County to take care of a population that exceeds 4.6 million. That means there are only 89 primary care physicians to treat every 100,000 Harris County residents. (Contreras, 8/8)
MPR: Students Take The Lead In Campus Mental Health Programs
Kerri Miller spoke with Stefanie Lyn Kaufman, founder and executive director of Project LETS and mental health worker/trauma counselor at IMERSE — International Mental Health Resource Services, and Rashida Fisher, director of the Co-Occurring Disorders Program and adjunct faculty member at Adler Graduate School, about the changing culture of mental health on college campuses and the new wave of student-led programs that are reshaping the conversation. (Miller, Schreiber and Shockman, 8/8)
Boston Globe: Tufts Medical Center Names New CEO
Tufts Medical Center has named the leader of a Canadian children’s hospital as its new chief executive. Dr. Michael Apkon will take the CEO job in the fall, Tufts officials announced Wednesday. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/8)
Health News Florida: USF Researching Computer Brain Games That Reduce Risk Of Dementia
Researchers at the University of South Florida say reducing your risk of dementia can be a mouse click away. Health News Florida's Julio Ochoa spoke with USF professor Jerri Edwards about computer brain games they've studied and others they're testing now. (Ochoa, 8/9)
Health News Florida: Crist Files Bill To Protect Federal Employees Who Use Medical Marijuana
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist was in Largo on Wednesday to introduce legislation that would protect federal employees who use medical marijuana in states where it is legal. Those employees can now be fired for using the drug, which is still against federal law. (Ochoa, 8/8)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Doctors Can Steer Patients Toward Better Value, Lowering High Consumer Costs
Bloomberg: To Save On Health Care, Change What The Doctor Orders
Health care costs too much for what we get in return. Is it more reasonable to hope that doctors will curb unnecessary spending, or consumers? I have long believed that while both are useful, our primary focus should be on influencing what doctors recommend.Recent evidence shows that should indeed be where we put most of the emphasis. Consumer-driven health care may have some benefits, but it doesn’t come close to a doctor-driven approach. (Peter R. Orszag, 8/8)
The Hill: Don’t Blame Capitalism For High Health Costs
On both sides of the aisle, lawmakers often propose lowering health-care costs, which consume a growing share of the U.S. economy each year. On track to claim about 1 in 5 of all American dollars in 2026, the health sector is a complex political landmine. The idea of a national “Medicare for all” plan is gaining popularity and prominence. Already 59 percent of Americans support it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. The sell for this idea, often presented by Bernie Sanders and other politicians on the left, is that capitalism has failed in American health care, and a government solution is needed to ensure equity and hold down costs. (Hadley Heath Manning, 8/8)
Stat: Congress Needs A Commission, Not The Pharma Industry, For Drug Policy Ideas
As the midterm elections loom, politicians are trotting out their stump speeches promising, among other things, to lower the cost of prescription drugs. We’ve been hearing these kinds of promises for years, with few results. If members of Congress really want to get serious about tackling the mounting cost of medications, they need to start by doing two simple things: Stop relying on drug companies for information about medication. Hire more policy staffers who can go head to head with big pharma. Creating a permanent commission to advise Congress on drug policy accomplishes both goals. (Scott Levy, 8/9)
Detroit News: Getting To The Heart Of America's Diabetes Crisis
About 30 million Americans have diabetes, and an estimated 1.5 million more are diagnosed each year. More than 25 percent of our seniors have diabetes, and minority populations are at the greatest risk of developing this disease. African Americans, for instance, have a 77 percent higher risk of developing diabetes compared to White Americans. Hispanic Americans have a 66 percent higher risk. Most meticulously monitor their blood sugar, as they know that failing to keep diabetes in check can damage the kidneys, eyes, and feet. ...What few know, though, is that the disease also threatens the heart. People living with diabetes are more than twice as likely to develop a heart problem and up to four times as likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Yet half of people living with diabetes aren't aware of this risk. That needs to change. Educating doctors and patients about the connection between diabetes and heart disease and ways to protect heart health could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. (Ken Thorpe, 8/8)
Stat: Grassley: Congressional Oversight Of Health Care Is Essential For A Healthy America
Diligent oversight of the federal government is a priority of mine. It’s imperative that legislators root out waste, fraud, and abuse while holding bureaucrats responsible for the decisions they make when they think no one is watching. At its core, oversight is about keeping faith with the taxpayers and working to give the American people confidence that their government plays by the rules and, if it doesn’t, it is held accountable. Health care is an issue that requires constant attention because it directly affects the life of every American. One area of importance is federally funded medical research. Results of health-care-related studies are often indicators to the public on how to live healthy lives. When the processes of such studies are subject to impropriety, millions of taxpayer dollars can be needlessly wasted on biased results. (Sen. Chuck Grassley, 8/9)
New England Journal of Medicine: Opioid Prescribing Limits For Acute Pain — Striking The Right Balance
Although prescribing limits seem like a commonsense approach to restricting exposure to opioids, adoption of these policies is outpacing the evidence, and opioid prescribing for acute pain is not a one-size-fits-all situation. (Margaret Lowenstein, David Grande and M. Kit Delgado, 8/9)
New England Journal of Medicine: Behind Schedule — Reconciling Federal And State Marijuana Policy
The long-standing chasm between federal and state marijuana policy recently widened when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidance indicating that the Justice Department would not make it a priority to prosecute federal marijuana crimes in states where the activities are legal. At present, a budgetary amendment is the only legal barrier to Justice Department enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) against users and sellers of medical marijuana in the 30 states that have legalized it. Nothing prevents federal prosecution of recreational marijuana activities in jurisdictions where they are legal. However, spurred by Sessions’s policy, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced a bipartisan bill in June 2018 (S.3032) that would exempt most marijuana-related activities from CSA application when they’re allowed under state or tribal law — legislation that President Donald Trump says he will support. As the marijuana-policy terrain shifts, it’s important to consider the potential public health benefits of closing the federal–state divide. (Rebecca L. Haffajee, Robert J. MacCoun and Michelle M. Mello, 8/9)
New England Journal of Medicine: To Fight Burnout, Organize
The clinician who coined the term “burnout” was not a primary care physician buried under paperwork, nor an emergency physician beset by an unwieldy electronic health record. He was Herbert Freudenberger, a psychologist working in a free clinic in 1974. Discussing risk factors for burnout, he wrote about personal characteristics (e.g., “that individual who has a need to give”) and about the monotony of a job once it becomes routine. He also pointed to workers in specific settings — “those of us who work in free clinics, therapeutic communities, hot lines, crisis intervention centers, women’s clinics, gay centers, runaway houses” — drawing a connection between burnout and the experience of caring for marginalized patients. In recent years, burnout has become a chief concern among physicians and other front-line care providers. But somewhere along the way, the concept was separated from its original free-clinic context. The link between marginalized patients and clinician burnout seems to have gotten lost. (Leo Eisenstein, 8/8)
New England Journal of Medicine: A Road Map For Sustaining Healthy Eating Behavior
The difficulty of adopting and sustaining healthy lifestyle changes is a source of substantial frustration for patients, health professionals, policymakers, and others with a vested interest in reducing the burden of diet-related disease. So what do we do? (Sara N. Bleich, 8/9)
Sacramento Bee: Older Adults Have Mental Health Needs, Too
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and state Sen. Scott Weiner make a reasonable case for why youth should be prioritized for Mental Health Service Act funding. ...Yet the bill narrowly defines prevention and early intervention outreach as targeting “secondary school and transition age youth, with a priority on partnerships with college mental health programs.” This cuts out all other population groups. (Janet Frank, 8/8)
Houston Chronicle: Health Care In Rural Texas? A Scary Thought!
Healthcare-for-All is an admirable goal and is quite likely achievable in our lifetime. However, the national conversation and the national parties have gotten ahead of themselves. If we truly believe that health care is a human right, and I do, then we need to address the catastrophic shortage of health care infrastructure in rural America. No fewer than 14 rural hospitals have closed in Texas since 2010, and 83 have closed nationwide in that timeframe, mostly in the South. (Dayna Steele, 8/9)
The Wichita Eagle: Rep. Elizabeth Bishop On Substance Use Disorder Task Force: Expand KanCare
Substance use disorder — drug addiction — including opioid addiction, is a growing problem in Kansas. That’s why I was honored to be appointed to serve on the governor’s task force to address substance use disorders. When the task force was created, I had high hopes that bringing experts in the field together with legislators like me would produce a strong set of recommendations for addressing this critical health issue. Regrettably, the task force has not lived up to its promise. A key component of effectively dealing with substance use disorder – or any other health issue – is availability of and access to treatment services. And vital to making treatment available and accessible is ensuring payment for these services. Too many Kansans, however, do not have health insurance coverage and cannot get the health services they need. Many task force members, including me, have urged the committee to recommend expanding KanCare, the Kansas Medicaid program, to help fill this coverage gap. Dr. Greg Lakin, the medical director of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and chair of the task force, has shut down discussion of KanCare expansion. (Rep. Elizabeth Bishop, 8/8)