The New York Times: House Overwhelmingly Approves Sweeping Health Measure
The House overwhelmingly passed a far-reaching measure on Wednesday to increase funding for research into cancer and other diseases, address weaknesses in the nation’s mental health systems and help combat the prescription drug addictions that have bedeviled nearly every state. The bill, known as the 21st Century Cures Act, also makes regulatory changes for drugs and medical devices, which critics argue lower standards to potentially perilous levels. (Steinhauer and Tavernise, 11/30)

Stat: 21st Century Cures Act, Major Biomedical Bill, Passed By House
After three years of debate, countless hearings, and pleas from patient advocates, lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation to speed new medicines to market and to authorize an additional $4.8 billion in spending for medical research. The House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act by a 392 to 26 vote, showing a bipartisan spirit that has been rare in recent years. The Cures Act now heads to the Senate, for a vote early next week. (Kaplan, 11/30)

The Associated Press: House OKs Bill Bolstering Medical Research, Drug Approvals
The compromise, which envisions spending $6.3 billion over the next decade, was condemned by consumer groups and some Democrats as a present to drugmakers that promised only paltry spending increases for underfunded federal programs. But their objections were overwhelmed by an alliance among Republicans, many Democrats and the White House for a 996-page measure that bore wins for both parties. (Fram, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: House Passes Health Bill To Speed Drug Approvals, Boost Biomedical Research
The measure also wraps in separate legislation that contains an extensive program to promote treatment of mental illness and would provide $1 billion to prevent and treat the national scourge of opioid addiction. These provisions helped to rally lawmakers from both sides of the aisle around the bill, which passed 392-26. The bill, with a price tag totaling $6.3 billion, also includes $4.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health over 10 years and $500 million for the new programs within the FDA. (Burton, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Bill Expediting New Medical Treatments Passes House
Patient groups and drug and medical device companies have been pushing for the legislation for more than a year. Riding a rare wave of bipartisan support in the House, the legislation is expected to be taken up by the Senate early next week. Supporters say the bill will foster innovation and save the lives of Americans with diseases for which there is currently no hope. “We are on the cusp of ­something special — a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform how we treat disease,” said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) on Wednesday during a House debate on the bill. He co-authored the legislation with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.). “With this vote, we are taking a giant leap on the path to cures.” (Johnson, 11/30)

Los Angeles Times: House Approves Sprawling Bill That Would Expand Medical Research
The legislation has also generated concerns among many consumer advocates, who have warned that provisions that would speed federal regulatory review of new drugs and medical devices could expose patients to new risks. “While many harmful provisions have been improved or removed … there are still many provisions in the renegotiated bill that remain problematic for public health,” Public Citizen noted in a statement. Several leading liberal lawmakers have also blasted the legislation for including what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this week called “corporate giveaways that will make drug companies even richer.” (Levey, 11/30)

The Hill: House Passes Medical Cures Bill 
Democrats agree reforms are needed in mental health, though they note that the bill lacks funding. They say the bigger policy response to mass shootings should be gun control. (Sullivan, 11/30)

Denver Post: U.S. House Passes Medical “Cures” Bill Championed By Diana DeGette 
The next step is the Senate, where liberal lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders, Dick Durbin and Elizabeth Warren have raised concerns about whether the bill would overly weaken standards for the approval of drugs and other therapies in an effort to more quickly get them in the hands of patients. (Matthews, 11/30)

The CT Mirror: House Approves Mental Health And Addiction Bill Championed By Murphy, Courtney
Connecticut Democratic lawmakers split with Rep. Rosa DeLauro and other progressives in their party Wednesday over a bill that includes Sen. Chris Murphy’s mental health bill and authorizes spending $1 billion to treat and prevent opioid addiction. The House approved the measure on a overwhelming 392-26 vote. Reps. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District; John Larson, D-1st District; Jim Himes, D-4th District; and Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, voted for it. (Radelat, 11/30)

ProPublica: Would Washington’s FDA Fix Cure The Patients Or The Drug Industry? 
This week, Congress is taking back up a sweeping bill introduced last year that would expand medical research funding while also loosening the regulations for approving new drugs and medical devices. While the legislation has undergone revisions, it still includes many of the deregulatory provisions that have drawn criticism from some consumer safety advocates. Back in October 2015, we detailed the bill's origins and the massive lobbying push by the drug and device industry supporting it. This might seem to be a rough political patch for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. (MacGillis, 11/30)

Boston Globe: Activists Urge Senator Warren To Support Health Care Bill 
Advocates for addiction treatment in Massachusetts on Wednesday launched a campaign to persuade Senator Elizabeth Warren to reverse her opposition to a bill known as the 21st Century Cures Act, saying the state needs money for addiction treatment that the legislation could provide. Warren, who worked on the bill for two years and wrote parts of it, turned against it Monday, saying it had been rewritten to benefit pharmaceutical companies at the expense of consumers. (Freyer, 12/1)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

Modern Healthcare: House Bill Calls For Tweaks To Panel That Influences Payment For Preventive Screenings 
Members of a House committee on Wednesday said they want the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to invite more input to ensure its guidance, which can influence how much an insurer pays for preventive services, is independent and unbiased. During a hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, GOP lawmakers took turns expressing concern that patient access was being affected by the panel's efforts to control costs. (Johnson, 11/30)

The Fiscal Times: From Drug Research To A Cancer Moonshot, Lame Duck Congress Preps A Massive Health Care Bill
With Republicans just weeks away from possibly repealing the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature domestic policy program, it may seem like an odd time to look for bipartisan unity on legislation related to health care. Nevertheless, Congress appears to be ready to pass a major bill funding medical research and overhauling the approval process for new drugs and medical devices. The 21st Century Cures Act, which spans 25 separate sections touching on subjects as diverse as drug research and foster care, runs to nearly 1,000 pages. As with any piece of legislation so large, the bill is packed with elements that draw both praise and angry criticism. (Garver, 11/30)

The New York Times: Democrats See Medicare As Winning Wedge Issue
Republicans are talking about messing with Medicare again, and Democrats couldn’t be more enthusiastic. After an election that has thrown them back on their heels, they are grasping at the politics of Medicare as a path to potential revival in 2018. “We say to our Republicans that want to privatize Medicare, go try it, make our day,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the incoming Democratic leader, mustering his best Clint Eastwood/Ronald Reagan impersonation. (Huse, 11/30)

McClatchy: Kansas Lawmakers Want Medicare Change But Don'T Call It 'Privatize' 
Kansas members of Congress agree that Medicare should probably be changed. But they are reluctant to refer to a potential Medicare overhaul as “privatization” just yet. House Speaker Paul Ryan has indicated plans for privatization when discussing Medicare changes. According to Ryan’s model, which he has dubbed a “premium support” program, Medicare would change from a single-payer system to one in which Medicare recipients use government benefits to buy insurance from private providers. (Ota, 11/30)

Politico: GOP May Stall Obamacare Replacement For Years
Prepare for the Obamacare cliff. Congressional Republicans are setting up their own, self-imposed deadline to make good on their vow to replace the Affordable Care Act. With buy-in from Donald Trump’s transition team, GOP leaders on both sides of the Capitol are coalescing around a plan to vote to repeal the law in early 2017 — but delay the effective date for that repeal for as long as three years. (Bade and Everett, 12/1)

The Washington Post: Getting Rid Of Obamacare May Take Longer Than Trump Plans
President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans promised during the campaign to quickly repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health-care law if they controlled Washington. Now GOP lawmakers are predicting it could take years to fulfill that pledge. Republican leaders in the House and Senate on Tuesday began emphasizing that even if Congress moves quickly on a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, it will take time to ease people out of its programs and replace it with their long-promised alternative. (Snell, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Getting Obamacare Replacement Through Senate Will Be A Test
Republicans on Capitol Hill are grappling with the likelihood that they will need Democratic support to pass parts of any plan replacing the Affordable Care Act, setting up a complex legislative battle over the law’s future. President-elect Donald Trump is expected in his first days in office to take executive action voiding parts of the health law that the administration has discretion to change. Soon after that, lawmakers likely would start on their efforts to repeal and replace the law. (Armour, Peterson and Radnofsky, 11/30)

Kaiser Health News: Health Law’s Test Kitchen For Payment Reforms Could Offer Tool For GOP Ideas
Joint replacements. Cardiac care. Chemotherapy. What do those things have to do with the repeal of the Affordable Care Act? Economists and policymakers think the U.S. may be overpaying for such services, which helps drive up health care expenses for everyone. And the health law has a program that includes testing new ways to pay for care — including in those three areas — that might result in better quality and lower costs. (Appleby, 12/1)

Los Angeles Times: Trump Promised To Repeal Obamacare, But It Turns Out Americans Like Most Of It, A Poll Finds
Despite sharp partisan differences over the Affordable Care Act, Democrats and Republicans, including voters who backed President-elect Donald Trump, strongly support most of the law’s key provisions, a new national poll indicates. And although most Trump voters still favor repealing the law, often called Obamacare, an increasing share of Americans overall oppose that approach, according to the poll, which was conducted in mid-November, following Trump’s election. (Levey, 12/1)

The Associated Press: Poll: Only About 1 In 4 Wants Trump To Repeal Health Law
A new poll has found that only about 1 in 4 Americans wants President-elect Donald Trump to entirely repeal his predecessor's health care law that extended coverage to millions. The post-election survey released Thursday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation also found hints of a pragmatic shift among some Republican foes of "Obamacare." (12/1)

Kaiser Health News: Some GOP Voters Skittish On Full Repeal, Poll Finds
With their party gaining control of both the White House and Congress, some Republican voters are growing hesitant about outright abolition of the Affordable Care Act and instead favoring a more circumspect approach of scaling it back, according to a poll released Thursday. (Rau, 12/1)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Nearly 107,000 Georgians Signed Up For Obamacare Health Plans
More than 100,000 Georgians have selected health coverage through the Obamacare insurance exchange since open enrollment began Nov. 1, federal data released Wednesday shows. Nationwide, 2.1 million Americans have signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov, more than had signed up at this time last year, said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. (Williams, 11/30)

Georgia Health News: Exchange Sign-Ups In Georgia Higher Than Last Year’s
More Georgians have signed up for coverage for the upcoming insurance exchange than at the same time last year, according to new federal figures released Wednesday. The 106,905 total through Nov. 26 exceeds the 105,299 Georgia sign-ups through Nov. 28 last year. The sign-up increase comes amid a re-energized Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which created the state health insurance exchanges. (Miller, 11/30)

Kansas Health Institute: Kansas Marketplace Enrollment Hits 25,000 In First Month 
Close to 25,000 Kansans have signed up for health insurance through the online marketplace, healthcare.gov, despite uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act under a new administration. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service reported Wednesday that 24,778 people in Kansas had signed up for insurance since open enrollment for 2017 started Nov. 1. The number of people seeking insurance was up less than 2 percent compared to the same period during open enrollment last year. (Wingerter, 11/30)

Miami Herald: More Than 500,000 Floridians So Far Sign Up For Obamacare Coverage In 2017
The Obama administration on Wednesday reported that during the four weeks since open enrollment began on Nov. 1 nearly 514,000 Floridians have signed up for 2017 coverage — representing more than one quarter of the total 2.1 million plan selections to date among the 39 states using the federally run insurance exchange at healthcare.gov. (Chang, 11/30)

Chicago Tribune: More Americans, Illinoisans Enrolling In Obamacare, Despite Uncertainty
Uncertainty surrounding the future of Obamacare hasn't stopped a growing number of consumers in Illinois and across the nation from buying health insurance through the law's exchanges this year. More than 2.1 million Americans — including 68,192 Illinoisans — selected health insurance plans through the Obamacare exchange since open enrollment began Nov. 1, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Wednesday. In Illinois, that's up nearly 1,400 over the same time last year, and nationally, that's about 97,000 more compared with November 2015. (Schencker, 11/30)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Obamacare Enrollment Lags National Numbers Amid Uncertainty
The number of Tennesseans who selected insurance plans on the Obamacare exchange in November is lagging both the national activity and the state's activity last year. There were 55,434 people who picked a plan across the state from Nov. 1 to Nov. 26, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the first four weeks of enrollment in 2015, 62,922 Tennesseans selected a plan. The layers of local and political confusion are muddling the enrollment process in Tennessee. Nationally, enrollment hit 2.1 million in the first four weeks of this enrollment season, exceeding the enrollees the year prior. (Fletcher, 11/30)

The CT Mirror: CT Business Community On Watch Over ACA Repeal Effort
GOP plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act would affect individuals who’ve been purchasing their coverage on state exchanges or through the expansion of Medicaid the most, but some who receive their health care from their employers are also likely to be affected. The ACA mandated that companies with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees provide health insurance to at least 95 percent of their full-time employees and dependents up to age 26, or pay a penalty. A repeal of the mandate, a Republican priority, may prompt some of those companies to drop coverage. (Radelat, 11/30)

Stat: AMA Endorsement Of Trump Health Secretary Spurs Backlash
When Donald Trump this week tapped a surgeon-turned-congressman to run the Department of Health and Human Services, the nation’s largest physicians group swiftly endorsed the choice. The blowback started almost at once. Liberal doctors peppered the American Medical Association with furious tweets decrying the group’s endorsement of Representative Tom Price as a betrayal of patients and physicians. And by Wednesday night, 500 doctors had signed an online open letter titled “The AMA Does Not Speak For Us” started by the Clinician Action Network, a left-leaning advocacy group. (Robbins, 12/1)

In other news on the nominee to lead HHS —

McClatchy: Trump's HHS Secretary Could Take Away Free Birth Control Coverage 
Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services would be able to repeal one of President Barack Obama's most controversial initiatives: free birth control for women under the Affordable Care Act. If confirmed, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a legislator with a 100 percent anti-abortion voting record, would be able to revoke the contraceptive measure, which is deeply unpopular with abortion foes, without engaging Congress. Price, who like the president-elect has championed repealing the Affordable Care Act, would not have to wait for the overall law to be targeted by Congress because the contraceptive measure exists due to a rule enacted by the Obama administration. (Clark, 11/30)

The Fiscal Times: 8 Big Changes Under Tom Price’s Obamacare Replacement Plan 
The legislation Price is offering as a replacement to Obamacare is called the Empowering Patients First Act and is reflective of his long-standing concern that government has interfered with the traditional doctor-patient relationship. The latest iteration of his legislation would try to wean 20 million Americans off of Obamacare with a handful of tax credits, savings incentives, state grants and other marketing incentives to encourage competition within the insurance industry. (Pianin, 11/30)

WBUR: A Look At Potential Changes In Medicaid And Medicare Under President Trump 
As President-elect Donald Trump finalizes his cabinet picks, we are taking a look at how each of those officials could shape policy and what changes we might see ahead. Today, we focus on Medicaid and Medicare. Trump said he would nominate Georgia Congressman Tom Price as secretary of health and human services. Price has introduced bills to replace the Affordable Care Act. Trump has also selected Seema Verma to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Verma helped design Indiana's Medicaid expansion and consulted for several other states. (McNerney and Chakrabarti, 11/30)

And a look at the history of Vice President-elect Mike Pence's stance on conversion therapy —

The New York Times: Mike Pence And ‘Conversion Therapy’: A History
Since Gov. Mike Pence was chosen as Donald J. Trump’s running mate in July, he has faced complaints from groups critical of his record on gay and transgender rights, who said he has long been an opponent of the gains made by the L.G.B.T. community in recent years. Mr. Pence has been particularly dogged by accusations that he is a supporter of “conversion therapy,” the practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. (Stack, 11/30)

Stat: FDA Chief Takes On Criticism Of Stem Cell Treatment Regulations
The country’s top drug regulators on Wednesday pushed back on claims they move too slowly in approving new stem cell treatments and sought to temper expectations for the field’s potential to benefit patients, emphasizing the hazards and the unknowns that persist with developing such therapies. ... The authors make their argument in the staid language befitting both government regulators and academic journals. But their message is clear: Let’s all take a deep breath on the stem cell hype. (Joseph, 11/30)

NPR: Allen Institute Release Glowing Human Stem Cells To Researchers
A nonprofit research group is giving scientists a new way to study the secret lives of human cells. On Wednesday, the Allen Institute for Cell Science provided access to a collection of living stem cells that have been genetically altered to make internal structures like the nucleus and mitochondria glow. (Hamilton, 11/30)

The New York Times: ‘Victimizing Me All Over Again’: San Bernardino Victims Fight For Treatment
Almost a year after a terrorist’s bullets ripped through her, after so many operations and infections she has lost count, Valerie Kallis-Weber has a paralyzed left hand, painful bone and bullet fragments in her pelvis, psychological trauma and tissue damage, including a fist-size gouge in her thigh where a bullet tore away the muscle. ... But the visits from the health aide have been reduced, and she has been told they will end soon. Approval of her antidepressant medication was withdrawn. Her occupational therapy was cut off, and her physical therapy stopped, restarted and stopped again. (Perez-Pena, 11/30)

NPR: Abortion-Rights Groups Challenge Laws In Three States
There's no shortage of speculation about how the incoming Trump administration, whose appointees so far are staunch abortion opponents, might crack down on access to the procedure. But reproductive rights groups say the big picture is getting lost: Women in large parts of the country already have limited access to abortion, due to hundreds of Republican-backed laws passed by state legislatures over the past half-decade. (Ludden, 11/30)

The Associated Press: Lawsuits Challenge Abortion Restrictions In 3 States
Taking the offensive after Election Day setbacks, Planned Parenthood and its allies filed lawsuits Wednesday in North Carolina, Missouri and Alaska challenging laws that they view as unconstitutional restrictions on abortion. "We are going to fight back state by state and law by law until every person has the right to pursue the life they want, including the right to decide to end a pregnancy," said Planned Parenthood's chief medical officer, Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley. (11/30)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Planned Parenthood Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Missouri's Abortion Restrictions 
Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday morning challenging state laws that require abortion clinics to meet standards for surgical centers and for their doctors to have hospital privileges. The move comes after similar restrictions in Texas were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in July, a landmark decision that determined the laws were medically unnecessary and unconstitutional. The ruling didn’t invalidate similar restrictions elsewhere, however, leaving states such as Missouri to pursue their own fights in court. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Alaska and North Carolina filed similar challenges Wednesday. (Bott and Liss, 12/1)

The Washington Post: Over 2,000 Scientists Urge Trump To Respect ‘Scientific Integrity And Independence’
Call it the opening shot in a brewing war over scientific integrity in the future Trump administration. More than 2,300 scientists, including 22 Nobel Prize winners, have issued an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump and the 115th Congress, urging them to “adhere to high standards of scientific integrity and independence in responding to current and emerging public health and environmental health threats.” (Eilperin and Mooney, 11/30)

In other news —

Stat: Should Research Volunteers Get To See Their Medical Tests?
Volunteer for a clinical trial and your body will be poked, prodded, scanned, and analyzed. But you’re unlikely to get any of the results. A small but influential band of activists has been pushing hard to change that — and they’re starting to get traction. The research establishment has long opposed giving volunteers access to their data, even though that’s supposed to be part of the arrangement. Some worry that it’s too easy for laypeople to misinterpret test results, while others maintain that it’s a waste of resources to organize data for individual review. (McGowan, 12/1)

The New York Times: Hallucinogen Eases Depression In Cancer Patients, Studies Find
On a summer morning in 2013, Octavian Mihai entered a softly lit room furnished with a small statue of Buddha, a box of tissues and a single red rose. From an earthenware chalice, he swallowed a capsule of psilocybin, an ingredient found in hallucinogenic mushrooms. ... Psilocybin has been illegal in the United States for more than 40 years. But Mr. Mihai, who had just finished treatment for Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was participating in a study looking at whether the drug can reduce anxiety and depression in cancer patients. (Hoffman, 12/1)

The Washington Post: Three Cancer Patients Explain How A Psychedelic Drug Eased Their Fears
Two studies published Thursday found that a single dose of psilocybin reduced negative feelings for months at a time while increasing optimism, feelings of connection with other people, and mystical and spiritual experiences. The findings, which appeared in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, are from clinical trials at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and New York University Langone Medical Center. (McGinley, 12/1)

Los Angeles Times: Ingredient In Magic Mushrooms Is Shown To Ease Anxiety And Depression In Cancer Patients In One Dose
“This drug saved my life and changed my life,” said Dinah Bazer, a Brooklyn, N.Y., woman who was administered a single dose of psilocybin at a New York treatment center in 2011. In the wake of treatment for ovarian cancer, Bazer said, her anxiety at the prospect of its return was “eating her alive.” Under the influence of a single high dose of psilocybin, Bazer said Wednesday, she became “volcanically angry” as she visualized her cancer as a dark mass bearing down on her. With an epithet, she then saw herself throwing it off. (Healy, 11/30)

The Baltimore Sun: Psychedelics Reduce Anxiety, Depression In Patients, Study Finds
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a psychedelic drug can significantly reduce anxiety, depression and other emotional distress in cancer patients. The patients experienced almost immediate relief, which lasted for months, after taking psilocybin, the active hallucinogenic ingredient in "magic mushrooms," the researchers reported. A separate study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center found the same effect. (McDaniels, 12/1)

The New York Times: U.S. Will Ban Smoking In Public Housing Nationwide
Smoking will be prohibited in public housing residences nationwide under a federal rule announced on Wednesday. Officials with the Department of Housing and Urban Development said that the rule would take effect early next year, but that public housing agencies would have a year and a half to put smoke-free policies in place. The rule will affect more than 1.2 million households, the officials said, although some 200,000 homes already come under smoking bans adopted voluntarily by hundreds of public housing agencies around the country. (Navarro, 11/30)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: HUD To Ban Smoking In Public Housing 
Smoking will be banned from public-housing units nationwide, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro announced Wednesday. Castro said public housing will be required to provide a smoke-free environment for residents. Castro said HUD's new rule will provide resources and support to more than 3,100 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to implement required smoke-free policies over the next 18 months, according to a press release from HUD. (Ewinger, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Philip Morris CEO: Cigarette Production Could End Someday
Philip Morris International Inc.’s chief executive on Wednesday said the tobacco giant could walk away from selling traditional cigarettes altogether someday, as the company launches its heat-not-burn product in the U.K. “There will come a moment in time where I would say we have sufficient adoption of these alternative products…and sufficient awareness to start envisaging together with government a phaseout period for cigarettes, and I hope this time will come soon,” Andre Calantzopoulos said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.’s Radio 4. (Chaudhuri, 11/30)

And, in other news, President Barack Obama discusses marijuana in the United States —

The Washington Post: Obama Says Marijuana Should Be Treated Like ‘Cigarettes Or Alcohol’
In an “exit interview” with Rolling Stone magazine, President Obama said that marijuana use should be treated as a public-health issue similar to tobacco or alcohol and called the current patchwork of state and federal laws regarding the drug “untenable.” “Look, I’ve been very clear about my belief that we should try to discourage substance abuse,” Obama said. “And I am not somebody who believes that legalization is a panacea. But I do believe that treating this as a public-health issue, the same way we do with cigarettes or alcohol, is the much smarter way to deal with it.” (Ingraham, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Human Embryo Experiment Shows Progress Toward ‘Three-Parent’ Babies
The era of “three-parent babies” (a hyperventilated term for mitochondrial replacement therapy, as we'll explain) is getting incrementally closer — but the path forward remains bumpy. A report published Wednesday in the journal Nature describes a successful, though not flawless, proof-of-concept laboratory experiment. The researchers swapped nuclear material in human eggs to create healthy embryos lacking disease-carrying mitochondrial DNA. (Achenbach, 11/30)

Los Angeles Times: Experiments With Embryos Suggest Ways To Make 3-Parent IVF Safer For Babies
Using [three-parent IVF], couples obtain eggs from a healthy donor, remove the nuclear DNA and replace it with nuclear DNA from the would-be mother. This combination egg is then fertilized by sperm in a dish, incubated for a few days in the lab and then transferred into the would-be mother’s uterus — just as with regular in vitro fertilization. (Kaplan, 11/30)

Denver Post: How A Colorado Healthcare Provider Is Battling The Opioid Epidemic With Non-Pill Pain Treatments 
Since January 2015, Kaiser has been running what it calls a one-of-a-kind integrated pain-service class aimed at helping its high-risk opioid patients better manage their pain through alternative treatments and understand the risks of the drugs. The idea is to show patients they don’t necessarily need a pain pill to manage their pain. With Colorado and the nation in the grips of a prescription painkiller epidemic — which has been blamed for a resurgence of heroin and skyrocketing overdose deaths — those running the program hope it can be a way to stem the rising tide and prevent overdoses and addiction. (Paul, 11/30)

Seattle Times: As Seattle Eyes Supervised Drug-Injection Sites, Is Vancouver A Good Model?
It’s still quiet and calm here at Insite, North America’s first supervised drug-injection center, but that’s just because it’s 7:45 a.m. on a Thursday and the doors haven’t opened yet. In less than an hour, the first of the day’s 376 clients will be lined up, clutching hidden stashes of heroin and other drugs, anxious to slide into one of more than a dozen mirrored, lighted booths and shoot up. Some come by more than once. Visits for the day will total 610. Three addicts will overdose — and be revived...Such a scene could soon be a reality in Seattle and King County — albeit on a much smaller scale. A local task force in September recommended opening what could be the first public sites in the U.S. where drug addicts can inject and smoke hard drugs under supervision, and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray went to Vancouver to take a look. (Aleccia, 11/30)

The Oregonian: Parents Of Inmate Who Died Pleading For Medical Help File Suit Against Washington County, Corizon Health 
The parents of a 26-year-old woman who died after pleading for medical help while detoxing from heroin at the Washington County Jail filed a $20 million lawsuit Wednesday against the county and Corizon Health. Madaline Pitkin died on April 24, 2014, on her seventh day at the Washington County Jail after her arrest on a warrant and heroin possession charge. (Woolington, 11/30)

The Associated Press: Regulators: Illinois Doctor’s Pill Mill Supplied 11 States
Illinois regulators have yanked a suburban Chicago doctor’s license for running a cash-only pill mill and prescribing vast amounts of fentanyl and other addictive painkillers to patients in 11 states. Illinois is sharing information about Dr. Paul C. Madison with Indiana, where he has an office. Michigan barred Madison from practicing last year. (Johnson, 11/30)

Kansas Health Institute: State Medical Malpractice Fund To Reduce Surcharge 
Many Kansas health care providers will see a lower cost next year for participating in a state fund that backs them up if a malpractice claim exceeds their primary insurance. All Kansas health care providers are required to participate in the Health Care Stabilization Fund, which is paid for through a surcharge on their primary liability insurance. Russ Sutter, an actuary with the firm Willis Towers Watson, told an oversight committee Wednesday that the fund’s board of governors had approved a reduction after claims and related legal fees came in below expectations in the fiscal year that ended June 30. (Marso, 11/30)

Health News Florida: State Reports 7 New Zika Cases 
State health officials said Tuesday that seven more Zika cases have been reported in Florida, bringing the overall number of cases in the state to 1,213. Two of the cases involved Miami-Dade County residents who were infected with the mosquito-borne virus locally, according to information posted on the Florida Department of Health website. The department said it was investigating to determine where exposure occurred. (11/30)

Detroit Free Press: House GOP Bills Would Boost Some Retiree Health Care Costs
Retiree health care would get more expensive for employees of cities, villages, townships and counties under a package of 12 bills introduced Wednesday by Republicans in the House of Representatives. The bills would require municipalities who offer retiree health care and whose funds for those costs are less than 80% funded to make the public employees pick up at least 20% of the cost of their retiree health care. The package would cover current retirees and existing employees even if the benefits were negotiated under a union contract and would cut off nearly all retiree health care for new employees hired after April 2017. (Gray, 11/30)

WBUR: After Soda Tax Proposals Pass Elsewhere, Issue To Be Raised Again In Mass. 
Suddenly, soda taxes are fizzing up around the country: in Philadelphia this summer, then in votes this month in locales from the Chicago area, to San Francisco and Oakland, to Boulder. But if this is an idea whose time has come — combining a big new stream of revenue with the public health appeal of cutting sugar consumption — it has yet to catch on in Massachusetts. Proponents have pushed a soda tax here for several years to no avail, even when they had the hearty backing of then-Gov. Deval Patrick. (Goldberg, 11/30)

Health News Florida: Insurance Regulators Appeal Workers’ Comp Ruling 
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said Tuesday it is appealing a circuit judge's ruling that would block a 14.5 percent increase in workers' compensation insurance rates. The office filed a notice of appeal, a move that is expected to allow the rate increase to start taking effect Thursday as originally planned. Though Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers issued an order to block the increase, appeals by state agencies typically lead to legal stays of such orders. (11/30)

Boston Globe: TraceLink Raises $51.1 Million To Speed Growth 
TraceLink Inc., a North Reading startup that develops software to help drug companies fight counterfeiting by tracking their medicine shipments, said Wednesday that it has raised $51.5 million in venture capital to speed its growth. The company will use the cash infusion to beef up its sales and marketing operations in Europe and elsewhere while working on new health care and patient adherence software application, said chief executive Shabbir Dahod. (Weisman, 11/30)

San Jose Mercury News: Caltrain Promotes Bay Area Suicide Crisis Line: 'Help Is Just A Text Away'
Crisis Text Line, launched in 2013, is already available to “anyone, anytime, anywhere,” said Mary Gloner, executive director of Project Safety Net, another Crisis Text Line partner. Through Crisis Text Line, 2,400 volunteer counselors nationwide provide crisis help purely via text messaging. The service is free, confidential and available 24/7. (Lee, 11/30)

Health News Florida: Bill Seeks Repeal Of Florida’s ‘Tampon Tax’
Following the lead of other states, a South Florida House member filed a proposal Tuesday to create a sales-tax exemption for feminine hygiene products. The bill, (HB 63), filed by Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, for consideration during the 2017 legislative session, calls for a tax exemption on the sales of products such as tampons, sanitary napkins and pantiliners. Similar proposals to eliminate what has become known as the "tampon tax" have moved forward in other states. (11/30)

San Jose Mercury News: Bay Area Nail Salons Get Help To Improve Worker Health 
Oakland-based Asian Health Services received a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pilot a microloan program for nail salons in Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties that want to achieve the status of “Healthy Nail Salon” — a designation established by the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative for salons that avoid certain toxic ingredients and commit to certain requirements. The microloan program will help nail salons get no-interest, no-fee loans to buy nail products without toxic ingredients (including what health experts call “the toxic trio”: dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde) and to purchase equipment to better ventilate their spaces. (Sciacca, 11/30)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Dr. Oz Being Sued In Georgia By Olive Oil Trade Group
The North American Olive Oil Association filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court this week against Oz claiming that he’d made “disparaging statements,” about the purity of olive oil sold in the United States. Michael Kohler, an Atlanta attorney representing the industry, declined comment on the lawsuit Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Oz’s production company. (Bentley, 11/30)

Henry Herald: Local Lawmaker Proposes Cell Phone Ban Usage In Vehicles 
A bill filed to the General Assembly by a lawmaker representing Clayton County could outlaw the use of cell phones by drivers, except for hands-free calls.Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta), who represents a portion of Clayton County in the Georgia House of Representatives, filed House Bill 7 on Nov. 15. The bill would prohibit the use of a cell phone by drivers of motor vehicles in the state, if the phone is not being used for a hands-free call. (Adgie, 11/30)

Sacramento Bee: New California Pesticide Rules Worry Farmers, Satisfy Some Parents 
The policy, released in September and open for public comment until Dec. 9, would ban pesticide application by aircraft, sprinkler, powder and gas between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Friday within a quarter-mile of schools and child care facilities. Farmers have historically needed county permits for pesticide applications near schools, but the new rule would be the first state policy to put a blanket restriction on such aerial spraying. (Caiola, 11/30)

Slate: We Know How To Treat Opioid Addiction
When I was 22 years old, I was treated for an addiction to opioids. In the five years since, I wake up each morning and scan my news filters to read about some of the 78 people who die each day from overdose. Which depressed Rust Belt city was hit today? (Zachary Siegal, 11/30)

RealClear Health: What The Surgeon General Gets Wrong About Addiction
The U.S. Surgeon General's new report, "Facing Addiction in America," is the first time the office has explicitly addressed addiction to illicit drugs. With the epidemic of addiction to drugs from Vicodin to heroin raging across the country, the report is timely. But although the report provides a solid summary of established findings, the Surgeon General perpetuates key misconceptions that have come to dominate the field of addiction. These views, frequently repeated but infrequently scrutinized, bear critical implications for how we treat addiction. (Sally Satel, 11/30)

Stat: 21st Century Cures Act Will Distort The Meaning Of 'FDA Approved'
The term “FDA approved” means a lot to those of us working in health care and the patients we treat. But if the 21st Century Cures Act becomes law — the House of Representatives approved it Wednesday and the Senate will vote on it next week — this mark of trustworthy stewardship will become a shadow of its former self. Working in medicine and public health in Baltimore, we are witnesses to patients’ distrust of the health care system and the numerous barriers they face to quality, affordable care. We rely on the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that the treatments we provide are both safe and effective. Our patients have also placed their trust in this agency through us as their prescribers. (Reshma Ramachandran and Zackary Berger, 12/1)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Planned Parenthood's Lawsuit To Expand Abortion Rights Is Gutsy Move
Planned Parenthood made a gutsy move in the current political environment by stepping forward Wednesday with a court challenge seeking to overturn two highly restrictive Missouri laws on abortion. The organization is standing up for women’s constitutional right to choose, despite the Nov. 8 election results that suggest the state’s Legislature and governor have a strengthened hand to further restrict access to abortion services. (11/30)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Column: Will Patients Die?
We all agree that our health care programs are in crisis. We need changes; but who is to make these changes? First, doctors must take back the practice of medicine from the administrators and government agencies that are populated by profiteers, or their representatives. Too many investors are up to their elbows in this medical pie. (James Baker, 11/30)

The Wall Street Journal: The Four Legs Of A New Health-Care System
Donald Trump announced this week that he had chosen Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), a leader in the efforts to replace ObamaCare, to be his secretary of Health and Human Services. This is a consequential choice. Mr. Trump’s election, and the political realignment it represents, offers a generational opportunity to pursue a new direction for American health care. Mr. Price will now be leading the charge. (James C. Capretta and Scott Gottlieb, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Democrats Should Pick Their Health-Care Battles
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) will govern the nation’s sprawling health-care programs next year — if, that is, the Senate confirms him to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Since President-elect Donald Trump tapped Mr. Price to join the Cabinet, senior Democrats have signaled they may make his confirmation difficult, in part because he has pushed very conservative ideas about how to remake health-care policy — including an Obamacare replacement plan that would be tougher on the poor and the sick than some other GOP proposals. (11/30)

Boston Globe: The GOP’s Coming Assault On Obamacare
President-elect Trump announced this week that he will nominate Republican congressman and fervent Obamacare opponent Tom Price to be his secretary of health and human services, which seemingly makes the possibility of Obamacare being repealed that much more likely. After all, Price, who has actually drafted an Obamacare replacement bill, would be the ideal person to fulfill Trump and the GOP’s pledge to scrap President Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment. But what remains unexplained is: Why? (Michael Cohen, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Obamacare Warnings For Republicans
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whose acknowledgment that the Benghazi hearings were political lost him the speakership, now has his second stupidest comment. He wants to repeal Obamacare now and replace it later. “Once it’s repealed, why wouldn’t [Democrats] be willing to vote for a replacement? Right? You have no other options.” Thunk. (Jennifer Rubin, 11/30)

The Washington Post: Republicans Suddenly Discover That Obamacare Repeal Might Not Be So Awesome, After All
During the Obama years, congressional Republicans could rail away at the Affordable Care Act and vote endlessly to repeal it, secure in the knowledge that they would never have to deal with the consequences of repeal actually happening. At the same time, they could claim they wanted to keep the popular parts (protections for people with preexisting conditions) without explaining how that might be accomplished while jettisoning the unpopular parts (the individual mandate). But now, repeal has suddenly become a reality. (Greg Sargent, 11/30)

JAMA Forum: Repeal And Replace Obamacare: What Could It Mean?
Donald Trump’s pledge to “repeal and replace Obamacare” was one of his biggest crowd pleasers. It’s been noted, of course, that “repeal and replacing” is easier said than done, and indeed the President-elect has already begun to fudge. But moving forward on his broad replacement themes—expanding health savings accounts (HSAs) and state flexibility—could lead to some surprising and intriguing reforms. (Stuart Butler, 11/30)

JAMA: The Future Of The ACA And Health Care Policy In The United States
On November 8, 2016, Republicans won the presidency and retained control of the US House and Senate in Congress. The composition of the Senate shift will profoundly affect the passage of new legislation. With only 52 Republicans in the Senate, the Republican Senate leadership will have to ensure that all Republicans support any legislation because a few defections on an issue could push them into a minority position. More challenging is that except for budget-related legislation, which can pass with only a simple majority, other legislation, including much of an Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement bill, will require the support of 60 votes in the Senate to circumvent a filibuster. (Gail R. Wilensky, 11/28)

Seattle Times: Obamacare: Improve, Don’t Repeal 
Also known as Obamacare, the ACA is neither perfect nor as flawed as the many Republican leaders believe. Much more can be done to make health insurance affordable and accessible to all Americans. But getting rid of Obamacare would be a step backward.The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of Americans get health care, thanks in a large part to the expansion of Medicaid. (11/30)

USA Today: Repealing Obamacare Is Only Sane Path
I recently met with President-elect Donald Trump on how we can undo the terrible damage of Obamacare and reinvent great health care for America’s future. (Gov. Rick Scott, 11/30)

The New York Times: A Trump Pick, And Why Indiana’s Strict Medicaid Rules Could Spread
In most of the United States, anyone poor enough to qualify for Medicaid simply receives whatever care doctors recommend at minimal cost. But many Medicaid enrollees in Indiana can’t get full benefits unless they pay monthly premiums, and some who fail to pay can be shut out of coverage entirely for six months. If they go to the emergency room too often, they have to pay a fee. (Margot Sanger-Katz, 12/1)

Modern Healthcare: AHA Says New Laws Under Trump Administration Could Help Struggling Hospitals
Could bundled payments be the key to keeping struggling hospitals healthy? The American Hospital Association seems to think so and it's planning on lobbying for several legislative changes including loosening anti-kickback laws to allow financial agreements between hospitals and other healthcare providers. (Virgil Dickson, 11/30)