The New York Times: Report Faults V.A. Secretary Shulkin Over Travel To Europe
A scathing report released Wednesday found “serious derelictions” in a 10-day, $122,000 business trip the secretary of veterans affairs took to Europe, which included airfare for his wife and extensive sightseeing. According to the report, Secretary David J. Shulkin traveled to Denmark and London for meetings about health care for veterans, accompanied by his wife, a small staff and a six-person security detail, but nearly half of his time was spent visiting castles and other tourist sites. (Philipps, 2/14)

USA Today: VA Secretary David Shulkin Regrets Travel Errors, Pays Government For Wife's Airfare
The inspector general found Shulkin improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets and taxpayer-funded airfare for his wife for the 10-day trip in July, and he and his chief of staff misled VA ethics officials while seeking official approval for the tickets and flights. Investigators found the chief of staff, Viveca Wright Simpson, doctored an email to make it look like Shulkin was getting special recognition or an award during the trip in order to get approval for his wife’s flights. And they said Shulkin mischaracterized the woman who provided him with the Wimbledon tickets as a friend when they had only met three times at official events. (Slack, 2/14)

Reuters: 'Serious Derelictions' Found In U.S. Veteran Affairs Chief's Europe Trip: Report
The investigation of Shulkin's European trip found several other "serious derelictions," the Veterans Affairs inspector general said in a report on its website. The office opened the probe after receiving an anonymous complaint alleging the secretary had misused travel funds because the trip to Europe, which cost at least $122,344, was more personal than business. (Alexander, Heavey and Volcovici, 2/14)

The Wall Street Journal: VA Chief Got Free Wimbledon Tickets, Wife’s Airfare On Trip, Watchdog Says
Dr. Shulkin’s response, submitted by his attorneys, said the trip was “immensely valuable” to the VA. They wrote that Dr. Shulkin violated no “ethical regulations” in accepting the Wimbledon tickets. They said Dr. Shulkin had no role in obtaining approval for his wife’s travel, and that the department employee, “on his own initiative,” had undertaken the “detailed planning of tourist activities.” Dr. Shulkin said that he has offered multiple times to reimburse the cost of the Wimbledon tickets, and that a British veterans official obtained them through a personal, not a professional, connection and gave them on a personal basis. (Kesling and Nicholas, 2/14)

Politico: VA Audit: Aide Expensed Shulkin Wife’s European Travel Under False Pretense
Shulkin told POLITICO the IG report was inaccurate — wildly exaggerating the cost of the Wimbledon tickets, for example — and spurred by internal VA opponents of the sweeping changes he is trying to bring to the agency. Shulkin complained that he only had two business days to respond to accusations in the report before it was published.The most reliable politics newsletter. "There are people within my organization who are not happy with the progress we’re making and the direction of the organization, who are deliberately undermining me," he said. Shulkin has demanded more accountability from employees at the VA, which says it removed 1,300 staffers last year and suspended 500 others. "They are really killing me,” he said. (Allen, 2/14)

NH Times Union: Substandard Care At Manchester VA Used By Top Fed For Cover In Flap Over $122k Wimbledon Trip
Confronted by investigators about a European junket that included free tickets to a Wimbledon final, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said he worked a lot during the trip and cited the emerging media storm over substandard care at the Manchester VA Medical Center. That’s according to a VA Inspector General, who reports that Shulkin and his wife inappropriately accepted tickets to the ladies final at Wimbledon and ate lunch at the private members dining room at Wimbledon. Investigators also determined that the nine-day, mid-July trip, which cost taxpayers $122,300, involved only 3 1/2 days of meetings, and VA workers arranged numerous sight-seeing activities in Copenhagen and London for the Shulkins. (Hayward, 2/14)

The Washington Post: VA Secretary Shulkin, Under Fire For Europe Trip, To Appear Before House Panel
The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is scheduled to hold a previously planned hearing at 8 a.m. Its chairman, Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), intends to “address” the issue in his opening statement, his staff said. The hearing follows a damning report issued Wednesday from VA’s inspector general, Michael J. Missal. Shulkin is challenging the findings as “unfair.” (Wax-Thibodeaux, 2/15)

Politico: How One Conservative State Is Flouting Obamacare
Idaho is going rogue on Obamacare. The Republican-led state has a maverick plan to flout the federal health care law, letting insurers sell plans that don’t meet Obamacare coverage rules and patient protections. And the brazen move — Gov. Butch Otter is plowing ahead on his own, without seeking federal waivers or permission — poses a test for the Trump administration. (Demko and Pradhan, 2/14)

Bloomberg: Ignoring Obamacare Rules, Idaho ‘Freedom’ Plans Come With Limits
After Idaho’s Republican governor promised to find creative ways to get around Obamacare, one health plan in the state plans to offer skimpy coverage that may violate many of the law’s protections for patients. Blue Cross of Idaho said Wednesday that it will offer insurance plans that don’t comply with some Affordable Care Act requirements. The “Freedom Blue” coverage is a way to give some people lower premiums upfront in exchange for less comprehensive coverage. (Tracer, 2/14)

Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross Of Idaho Likely To See Lawsuits, Penalties Over Non-ACA Health Plans
Legal and regulatory experts say Blue Cross of Idaho could face lawsuits and federal penalties over its new individual health plans that flout Affordable Care Act rules, such as medical underwriting and annual benefit limits. Blue Cross of Idaho on Wednesday introduced five individual health plans that do not comply with the ACA in its bid to offer more affordable insurance options to uninsured residents in the state who make too much to qualify for subsidies but cannot afford ACA-compliant plans. (Livingston, 2/14)

Kaiser Health News: Idaho Blue Cross Jumps Into Controversial Market For Plans That Bypass ACA Rules
That didn’t take long. It’s barely been two weeks since Idaho regulators said they would allow the sale of health insurance that does not meet all of the Affordable Care Act’s requirements — a controversial step some experts said would likely draw legal scrutiny and, potentially, federal fines for any insurer that jumped in. (Appleby, 2/14)

The Hill: HHS Head Says He Will Uphold ObamaCare As Law
The top federal health official on Wednesday said he will uphold ObamaCare as long as it remains the law. In response to a question about a controversial plan in Idaho to allow insurers to sell plans that don’t meet ObamaCare requirements, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told a congressional panel that he has a responsibility to enforce the law. (Weixel, 2/14)

And in more news from the HHS secretary —

Modern Healthcare: Azar Eyes Relaxing Restrictions On Physician-Owned Hospitals
Two weeks into his new post, HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday took another step in the Trump administration's move toward relaxing the Affordable Care Act's moratorium on new physician-owned hospitals. In the HHS budget hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) asked for Azar to commit the administration to help repeal the ACA's "ban" on physician-owned hospitals. Azar promised he would help change existing restrictions even if he stopped short of saying he would support a full repeal. The ACA provision effectively blocks new physician-owned hospitals from being established by barring them from Medicare. (Luthi, 2/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Republican Foes Of Health Law Try A Patch Job Ahead Of Midterms
Republicans opposed to the Affordable Care Act are showing interest in proposals to shore up the health law and lower premiums, driven partly by their concerns that any big jump in insurance costs may hurt them in the midterm elections. State and federal GOP lawmakers are backing or considering reinsurance proposals that aim to curb premiums by offsetting insurers’ costlier claims. That stance is a reversal from last year, when Republicans almost uniformly opposed measures to aid the health law they tried to repeal. (Armour, 2/15)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Reports That Repeal Of Mandate Penalty Will Lead To Spike In Uninsured
The Trump administration is projecting that nearly 8 million people will voluntarily lose insurance in the next eight years as a result of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act's financial penalty for not having health insurance. In all, 37.7 million people will be uninsured by 2026, up from the estimated 30 million in 2018, according to an analysis CMS actuaries released Wednesday. (Dickson, 2/14)

The Associated Press: Gov't Says Health Costs To Keep Growing Faster Than Economy
U.S. health care spending will keep growing faster than the overall economy in the foreseeable future, squeezing public insurance programs and employers who provide coverage, the government said Wednesday. Annual projections from number crunchers at the Department of Health and Human Services cite an aging population and an uptick in prices for health care services and goods as factors behind the ongoing growth in costs. (2/14)

The Hill: US Spending On Health Care Estimated To Reach $5.7 Trillion In 2026
Health spending is expected to increase 5.5 percent annually through 2026, according to a report from the actuaries at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That's 1 percentage point faster than economic growth projections. Overall, health spending is projected to make up 19.7 percent of the U.S. economy in 2026, up from 17.9 percent in 2016. In total, spending on health care in the U.S. is estimated to reach $5.7 trillion in 2026, about $2 trillion higher than this year. (Hellmann, 2/14)

The Washington Post: U.S. Spending On Drugs Will Grow Faster Than On Other Health-Care Services Over The Next Decade
Prescription drug spending will grow faster than any other major medical good or service over the next decade, according to a projection from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The analysis, published in the journal Health Affairs, estimates that by 2026, national health spending will climb to $5.7 trillion, or nearly a fifth of the economy. Prescription drug spending is forecast to grow at 6.3 percent per year, on average, between 2017 to 2026. (Johnson, 2/14)

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Healthcare Tab To Keep Rising, Led By Higher Costs For Drugs And Services, Government Report Says
"High and rising costs expose two often overlooked problems," Harvard economist David Cutler noted in an article accompanying the new spending projections, published in the journal Health Affairs. "First, spending is too high because many dollars are wasted. … Second, high medical costs combined with stagnant incomes for a large share of the population and the inability of governments at all levels to raise tax dollars leads to increased health and economic disparities," Cutler wrote. (Levey, 2/14)

Bloomberg: Health Prices To Outpace Inflation For First Time Since 2010
Health spending is determined by the price of goods and services, as well as how much health care people use. In recent years, increases in health spending have been driven by volume, as millions more people gained insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. While high-cost drugs have made headlines, overall price hikes have been historically low, increasing by an average of 1.1 percent annually between 2014 and 2016. (Levingston and Tozzi, 2/14)

The Associated Press: A Surprise No One Wants: Big Medical Bill Even With Coverage
This winter’s nasty flu season may smack patients with a financial side effect: surprise medical bills. People who wind up in the emergency room or need an ambulance can be blindsided by hefty, unexpected charges. This often happens after patients visit a doctor or hospital outside their insurance network so coverage was limited. Insurance deductibles that reset every January and must be paid before coverage begins can make these invoices even more painful. Here’s a look at the issue and some tips for dealing with surprises. (Murphy, 2/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Deals: An Offer They Can’t Refuse
The health-care industry is in the throes of a major shake-up. That creates a situation in which companies face a greater risk by standing pat than possibly overpaying for an acquisition.Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced last month that they would start their own nonprofit company aimed at lowering medical costs for their employees. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon has designs on expanding its hospital-supplier business. (Grant, 2/15)

In other industry news —

The Wall Street Journal: HeartFlow Valuation Tops $1.5 Billion For Disease Detection Software
HeartFlow Inc. has raised a fresh funding round that puts the company’s valuation over $1.5 billion. Wellington Management and Baillie Gifford led the a $240 million Series E, with participation from existing investors including the venture arm of HealthCor Partners Management. This brings the company’s total funding to date to about $475 million. (Mack, 2/14)

The Associated Press: How Best To Treat Opioids' Youngest Sufferers? No One Knows
Two babies, born 15 months apart to the same young woman overcoming opioid addiction. Two very different treatments. Sarah Sherbert’s first child was whisked away to a hospital special-care nursery for two weeks of treatment for withdrawal from doctor-prescribed methadone that her mother continued to use during her pregnancy. Nurses hesitated to let Sherbert hold the girl and hovered nervously when she visited to breast-feed. (2/14)

Stat: A State Offered All Inmates Addiction Treatment. Overdose Deaths Plunged
A first-in-the-nation program offering a range of medications to Rhode Island inmates who are addicted to opioids appears to have lowered the number of overdose deaths among people recently released from jail and prison, researchers reported Wednesday. Experts have long advocated for expanding the use of medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, in correctional facilities, but for the most part, jails and prisons remain treatment deserts. Starting in the middle of 2016, however, Rhode Island started rolling out its program and making available to all inmates the three medications approved to treat opioid use disorder. (Joseph, 2/14)

WBUR: Rhode Island Study Shows Benefit To Medication-Assisted Addiction Treatment In Jails
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Wednesday, showed a more than 60 percent reduction in opioid overdose deaths among those who were recently incarcerated, after medication-assisted treatments were offered to them behind bars. "This study shows that not only is medication for addiction treatment an evidence-based approach, its doable, feasible within current structures, and an important contribution toward reducing overdose deaths," said lead researcher Traci Green, an associate professor at Brown University and physician at Boston Medical Center. (Becker, 2/14)

Politico Pro: Pick For 'Drug Czar' Stokes Concerns Over Trump’s Opioid Strategy
President Donald Trump's hand-picked "drug czar" is a Washington lawyer with no public health experience who's been tasked to lead a drug policy office the president has proposed to gut, raising questions about the White House's commitment to fight the opioid crisis and other drug epidemics. Jim Carroll already held three different positions in the Trump administration — most recently deputy to beleaguered White House chief of staff John Kelly — before he was selected to lead the White House Office of National Drug Policy. (Karlin-Smith and Ehley, 2/14)

The Hill: Surgeon General Offers Advice On Fighting Opioids
The nation’s top doctor offered advice for lawmakers Wednesday on how to help support long-term recovery for people with an addiction, as Congress examines how to curb the opioid epidemic plaguing the country. Connecting people with support services, such as food and housing, pays off, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Wednesday at an event hosted by The Hill. (Roubein, 2/14)

The Hill: Markey, Paul Want To Know If New Rules Are Helping Opioid Treatment
Two senators are asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if new measures aimed at increasing access to opioid treatment are working. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) worked to pass a provision allowing trained nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine, a type of medication-assisted treatment for an opioid addiction. (Roubein, 2/14)

Reuters: Minnesota Renews Push For Tax On Prescription Opioids
Citing rising opioid fatalities, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton on Wednesday announced a renewed legislative proposal to tax prescription opioid pills to help fund treatment. Minnesota is one of at least 13 states to have considered an opioid tax in recent years to help pay for the fallout from the United States' opioid epidemic, although none have passed, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. (Kenning, 2/14)

Minnesota Public Radio: Dayton Wants Big Pharma To Fund Minnesota's Anti-Opioid Battle
Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday laid out a broad plan to tackle Minnesota's opioid crisis, including a significant increase in funding for prevention and treatment, and a penny-a-pill fee paid by drug companies to cover costs. The officials called out the pharmaceutical industry for creating the crisis, and urged drug companies to support the legislative efforts. (Collins, 2/14)

Denver Post: Supervised Injection Site For Drug Users Fails In Colorado Legislature
A Republican-led legislative panel rejected a bipartisan bill Wednesday to allow Denver to create a supervised injection site for drug users, despite pleas from public health experts and relatives of overdose victims. The measure, Senate Bill 40, would have allowed one community in Colorado to create a site where drug users could inject with clean needles under the supervision of staff with medical training who can administer the overdose-antidote naloxone. (Frank, 2/14)

WBUR: Opioid Overdose Deaths Fell About 8 Percent In 2017 In Mass.
Preliminary data from a new report by the Massachusetts Department of Health shows deaths from opioid overdoses fell slightly in the state from 2016 to 2017. In total, DPH estimated there were 178 fewer opioid overdose deaths in 2017 from 2016, an 8.3 percent decrease. (Bebinger, 2/14)

Stat: FDA Approves First Blood Test To Help Diagnose Concussions
The Food and Drug Administration gave a green light Wednesday for the first time to a blood test that doctors can use to help rule out concussions. The Brain Trauma Indicator, marketed by Banyan Biomarkers Inc., measures the levels of two proteins — called UCH-L1 and GFAP — whose elevated presence suggests a certain type of brain damage normally only visible on a CT scan. The test takes three to four hours, and doctors could use it to determine which patients need a CT scan to confirm the damage and which patients can rest easy. (Swetlitz, 2/14)

CNN: FDA Approves First Ever Blood Test For Concussion
Patients are currently diagnosed with concussion based on a combination of symptoms as well as imaging. However, CT scans don't always detect concussion. "Over 90% of CT scans (for concussion) are negative. And you get 200 times the radiation of a chest X-ray. It's expensive; it's not terrific," said Hank Nordhoff, chairman and CEO of Banyan Biomarkers, maker of the new test. It can help determine whether a patient further needs a CT scan, based on a physician's concerns. (Kounang, 2/14)

The New York Times: First Blood Test To Detect Concussions Is Approved
“This is going to change the testing paradigm for suspected cases of concussion,” said Tara Rabin, a spokeswoman for the F.D.A. She noted that the agency had worked closely on the application with the Defense Department, which has wanted a diagnostic tool to evaluate wounded soldiers in combat zones. The Pentagon financed a 2,000-person clinical trial that led to the test’s approval. (Kaplan and Belson, 2/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: First Blood Test To Detect Concussions Approved
Concussion-related brain damage has become a particularly worrisome public health issue in many sports, especially football, affecting the ranks of professional athletes on down to the young children in Pop Warner leagues. Those concerns have escalated so far that it has led to a decline in children participating in tackle sports. (Kaplan and Belson, 2/14)

CNN: Flu Warfare May Look Different Next Year
New ways of preventing and treating the flu are on the horizon. One experimental treatment developed by researchers in Japan has garnered plenty of attention, but only time will tell whether or not the drug is worthy of whole-hearted enthusiasm. In October, Shionogi & Co. Ltd., based in Osaka, reported that its experimental drug baloxavir marboxil reduced influenza viral load to undetectable levels -- killed the virus -- within 24 hours for more than half of the 414 participants in a study. (Scutti, 2/14)

In other news on the flu —

The Washington Post: Tracking The Flu Week By Week
This flu season is turning out to be so intense that the number of people seeking care at doctors' offices and emergency rooms has surged to levels not reported since the peak of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, federal officials said Feb. 9. This year's vaccine is less effective against the strain of virus making the rounds. But there's another factor that gives aggressive viruses such as this one an extra punch in the United States: lack of access to paid sick time. (Cameron and Keating, 2/14)

The Associated Press: Flu Kills First Delaware Woman Without Underlying Illness
Delaware health officials say the flu has killed the first person in the state who didn't have an underlying condition. The New Journal of Wilmington reports the 47-year-old woman who died this week did not have this year's flu shot and was infected with influenza B. The 10 other Delawareans who have died from the flu all had underlying conditions; Six of them had received a flu shot. (2/15)

Stat: Fecal Transplants Move Into The Mainstream To Treat Difficult Infection
Fecal transplants are increasingly becoming a mainstream treatment. For the first time, an influential medical group is recommending the procedure — in which donor fecal matter is transferred to a patient — for individuals who have repeatedly failed standard treatments for severe diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile, commonly known as C. diff. (Cooney, 2/15)

The New York Times: Lena Dunham Says She Had Hysterectomy After Endometriosis
The actress and writer Lena Dunham said in an essay published on Wednesday that she had a hysterectomy last fall at age 31 after living for many years with endometriosis, a painful medical condition affecting pelvic tissue. In the essay, in the March issue of Vogue, Ms. Dunham chronicled her decade-long struggle with the disease, her efforts to manage it without surgery and the choice she made to have her uterus removed after the pain left her “delirious.” (Stack, 2/14)

Stat: Fractional Doses Of Yellow Fever Vaccine Provide Protection, Study Finds
A 2016 emergency yellow fever vaccination campaign that had to resort to using smaller than standard doses because of a global vaccine shortage appears to have protected the people who were vaccinated, a new study suggests. People who received a fractional dose — one-fifth the standard size — showed strong immune responses a month after they received the single dose of vaccine, the authors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Branswell, 2/14)

The Washington Post: How A Transgender Woman Breast-Fed Her Baby
She told doctors that she wanted to breast-feed her baby. She explained that her partner was pregnant but was not planning to breast-feed when the child was born, so she wanted to take it on herself. The 30-year-old, who is transgender, was willing to accept the risks. Following months of hormone therapy last year, doctors say she might be the first reported transgender woman in academic literature to breast-feed, according to a case study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Transgender Health. (Bever, 2/14)

The Washington Post: A Mom Turned To A Controversial ‘Treatment’ For Her Daughter’s Autism — Feeding Her Bleach
A father in Indianapolis last week accused his wife of feeding their child bleach to help cure her autism — something his wife had read about in a Facebook group. Police arrested the 28-year-old mother on Saturday after she allegedly put drops of hydrochloric acid and water-purifying solution in her young daughter’s drinks. The potentially dangerous chemical combination, which becomes an industrial bleach, is marketed as Miracle Mineral Solution or Master Mineral Solution, which its advocates claim will cure a number of diseases, including autism, cancer, AIDS and hepatitis. (Eltagouri, 2/14)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Study: Too Few Teens Get Cancer-Fighting HPV Vaccine
A new national study of children covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance shows that use of the vaccine that protects against cancer-causing human papilloma virus (HPV) has risen, including in the Philadelphia area. However, the number of youngsters who get the vaccine — proven to help ward off certain cancers in both females and males — is still very low, compared with other adolescent immunizations. (Giordano, 2/13)

NPR: Apple IPhone Software Update Will Support Medical Records
Richard Klein switched doctors last year. The new doctor put him on a new blood pressure drug. But it didn't help. The failure was entirely predictable. Klein, an associate professor at Florida International University in Miami, realized later that he had tried the same medicine unsuccessfully a few years before, but he hadn't remembered that fact during the appointment. (Yu, 2/14)

The Baltimore Sun: Gwyneth Paltrow Does It. But Do You Really Need A Vitamin IV?
Once a month Kristen Curtin gets vitamins pumped into her bloodstream through an IV. The Mount Airy mother of three started getting the intravenous vitamins a few years ago as a way to boost her energy. Taking care of small children often leaves her tired and drained. Her go-to cocktail of vitamins is one from Nava Health Vitality & Wellness Center in Bethesda that contains magnesium, vitamin C and other nutrients. When she feels a cold coming on, she gets a mix with extra vitamin C to strengthen her immune system. Curtin said she has felt more vibrant since starting the infusions. (McDaniels, 2/15)

The Associated Press: Report Details Harm To Cuba Diplomats But Offers No Cause
Doctors are releasing the first detailed medical reports about the hearing, vision, balance and brain symptoms suffered in what the State Department has called "health attacks" on U.S. diplomats in Cuba. Still missing: A clear diagnosis of just what happened to trigger their mysterious health problems. All together, the symptoms are similar to the brain dysfunction seen with concussions, concluded a team of specialists from the University of Pennsylvania who tested 21 of the 24 embassy personnel thought to be affected. (2/14)

The Associated Press: Pot-Users Want Judge To Declare Marijuana Safe Under US Law
Army veteran Jose Belen says the horrors of the Iraq War left him with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the drug that helped him cope best with the symptoms was one his Veterans Affairs doctors could not legally prescribe: marijuana. “Once I did use cannabis, immediately I felt the relief,” said Belen, who is now working with other medical marijuana users to mount a long-shot court challenge to federal laws criminalizing the drug. (Matthews, 2/14)

The Associated Press: Soda On Children’s Menus Could Fizz Out In New Hampshire
Fewer children will wash down their chicken fingers and fries with soda if a bill limiting beverage choices for restaurant children’s meals gets through the New Hampshire Legislature. The bill would apply to restaurants that serve children’s meals that bundle together food and a beverage for one price. Drinks served with such meals would be limited to milk, 100 percent juice or juice combined with water, plain water, or flavored water with no sweeteners. Customers still could purchase soda or other sugary drinks on the side. (Ramer, 2/14)

NH Times Union: Bill Would Keep Sugary Drinks Off Kids' Menus
“Some say this is a nanny-state bill. I’m sure you’re going to hear that,” said Rep. Timothy Horrigan, D-Durham, in introducing HB 1668, a bill that limits the type of beverages offered with a children’s meal. “But a nanny is a person who cares for, protects and teaches small children,” he said. “So being a nanny is not necessarily a bad thing. We want to protect children from the adverse effects of sugar and artificial sweeteners while developing better dietary habits. And if you want to buy your child a soda a la carte, you’ll still be able to.” (Solomon, 2/14)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Committee Passes Bill Barring Restaurants From Serving Kids Soda
A Baltimore City Council committee voted Tuesday morning to support a bill that would bar restaurants from including sodas and other sugary drinks in kids meals, a move supporters say could improve children’s health. Under the proposed measure, city restaurants would be required to offer water, milk or real fruit juice on children’s menus. They would still be allowed to serve soda to children if accompanying adults order it. (Duncan, 2/13)

Reuters: McDonald's Plays 'Hide The Cheeseburger' In New Happy Meal Health Push
McDonald's Corp is removing cheeseburgers from U.S. Happy Meal menus and shrinking the french fry serving in one "Mighty Meal" as part of a new global plan to cut calories and make its food for children more healthy. The changes announced Thursday come as the world's biggest fast-food chain for the first time established global limits for calories, sodium, saturated fat and added sugar in Happy Meals, which consultants and franchisees say account for roughly 15 percent of sales in the United States. (Baertlein, 2/15)

The New York Times: New York Will Investigate Reports Of Gay Men Denied Insurance
State financial regulators in New York said Wednesday that they would investigate reports that gay men have been denied insurance policies covering life, disability or long-term care because they were taking medication to protect themselves against H.I.V. Such denials would amount to illegal discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the companies doing so could be penalized, said Maria T. Vullo, the state’s superintendent of financial services. (McNeil, 2/14)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Employees Launch Weekslong Protest Over Expected Cuts
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees across California are expected to protest over the next few weeks in response to worries that there will be layoffs and wage cuts in the near future. The protests, which began Wednesday at four Kaiser facilities, are organized by the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which represents more than 55,000 Kaiser workers. The protests are expected to occur at 32 Kaiser Permanente hospitals across the state through March 9. Wednesday's protest was expected to draw hundreds of picketers. (Castellucci, 2/14)

The Baltimore Sun: New President Appointed To Lead Baltimore Hospital Where Woman Was Put Outside In Gown
The University of Maryland Medical Center is moving to tighten control of its Midtown Campus, a month after a patient there was found outside the emergency room in frigid temperatures wearing just a gown. Video of hospital staff putting the 22-year-old woman out went viral, stoking national outrage and sparking discussion of the practice known as patient dumping. (McDaniels, 2/12)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lawmakers Vote To Make It Harder For State Workers To Get Abortions
Assembly Bill 128 would prevent the state from providing insurance plans that cover abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to preserve the life of the mother. The provision would also apply to local governments that get their insurance through the state Group Insurance Board. (Stein, 2/14)

Reuters: Illinois Governor Takes Aim At Pensions, Healthcare Costs In Budget
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner proposed a $75 billion fiscal 2019 budget on Wednesday that would be balanced if lawmakers agree to push some big-ticket costs onto local school districts and universities. The budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, which includes $37.6 billion in general fund spending, would save money by phasing out state funding for certain pension costs. (Pierog, 2/14)

Sacramento Bee: New Bill Seeks To Put An End To 'Patient Dumping' In California
Hospitals would be required to get written confirmation from homeless shelters before discharging patients to those facilities under a bill introduced Wednesday in the California State Senate. The bill, carried by Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Azusa, is designed to curb the practice known as hospital patient “dumping,” or discharging poor people to the streets, shelters or other agencies incapable of caring for them. (Hubert, 2/15)

Boston Globe: State Formally Signs Off On Merger Between Mass. Eye And Ear, Partners HealthCare
State public health officials Wednesday formally approved Partners HealthCare’s acquisition of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, capping a monthslong public debate about whether the deal would significantly raise costs for consumers. The unanimous vote from the Public Health Council, which is chaired by the Baker administration’s public health commissioner, Dr. Monica Bharel, means Partners and Mass. Eye and Ear now can finalize the deal they proposed more than a year ago. (Dayal McCluskey, 2/14)

The Oregonian: Cancer Risk Doubles In Industry-Backed Toxic Air Plan For Oregon
For nearly the last two years, state regulators, scientists, advocates and businesses interests have met in public to come up with a plan to cut toxic air pollution statewide. But before it can be adopted, the state Legislature is stepping in with its own plan, crafted in secret and backed by industry. (Davis, 2/14)

North Carolina Health News: NC’s Older Population Burgeons, While Services Lag, Legislators Hear At Panel
That’s the average break that a North Carolinian looking after someone with dementia gets under Project CARE, a state-funded respite program found in 94 counties. Using a Project CARE voucher for a fill-in by another person, an adult day care, a home care agency or other program, the caregiver can get out of the house for shopping, errands, banking or even a little alone time. More than 80 percent of people using the service receive one $500 voucher annually, paying for professional services at about $20 an hour, or a friend or family member at $10 or so. (Goldsmith, 2/14)

Boston Globe: Suspended Head Of Health Care Workers Union Reportedly Engaged In Lewd Behavior
As a top executive at an organization that fights for workers’ rights, Tyrék D. Lee Sr. allegedly made unwanted advances to women in the office and sometimes engaged in lewd behavior in front of colleagues, according to several people with knowledge of his behavior. Lee was suspended from his job at the state’s largest health care workers union in December amid allegations of inappropriate conduct, the Globe previously reported. (Dayal McCluskey, 2/14)

Austin American-Statesman: Audit Praises Central Health But Leaves Dell Question Unresolved
Central Health commissioned the two-part, $350,000 review last spring amid calls from critics for an independent assessment of whether its contribution of $35 million a year to the University of Texas’ Dell Medical School is an appropriate use of tax dollars. The public debate over that subject has been a thorn in the agency’s side since 2012, when voters approved a proposition to raise taxes to support the school. (Goldenstein, 2/14)

North Carolina Health News: Transport For Older People Tied To Health
Residents of the Wood Spring Apartments in Fuquay-Varina have cut a walking path across a field to a shopping center with a Food Lion, a pharmacy and a couple of restaurants. Now the people who live at the building serving people 55-and-older would like to see a bus stop at the center for the trips they regularly need to take to the wider world. That’s the word from Sharon Peterson, who works in the Wake County Planning Office, based on conversations with residents about their need for transportation, a concern that often shows up as a top priority for seniors. (Goldsmith, 2/13)

Texas Tribune: Texas Prison System Stalls Release Of Public Information On Executions
After death penalty defense lawyers claimed the state’s first two executions of the year were botched because of old lethal injection drugs, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stalled the release of public information regarding the state’s supply of lethal doses. Without providing a reason, the department told a Texas Tribune reporter last week that it would take an estimated 20 business days — until the day before the state’s next scheduled execution — to provide information on how many lethal doses the state has and when they expire. (McCullough, 2/15)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meriter Hospital Employee Suspended After Injuries To Newborns
An employee at Meriter hospital in Madison has been suspended amid a police investigation into unexplained injuries to infants in the hospital's Newborn Intensive Care Unit, a hospital official confirmed Wednesday. Officials at the hospital reported the injuries last week, according to Madison police, who added that the case is being investigated by their Special Victims Unit. (Garza, 2/14)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: 75-Year-Old 'Kingpin Granny' Arrested In Drug Investigation: Report
A 75-year-old woman dubbed "Kingpin Granny" by authorities was arrested after more than 1,000 illegally-obtained prescription pills and cash were seized at her Parsons, Tenn., home, according to WVNS-TV. Betty Jordan was taken into custody Feb. 9 by the Decatur County Sheriff's Office following a "lengthy investigation" into illegal prescription drug sales, the department said. Investigators accused Jordan of distributing morphine, oxycodone and Xanex. (Hunter, 2/14)

Forbes: What Trump's Budget Would Mean For Seniors
While most proposals in President Trump’s newly released 2019 budget are unlikely to become law, the fiscal framework does show the White House’s priorities for government over the coming year. And those apparently don’t include support for older adults, younger people with disabilities, or their families. For example, the Trump budget would: Restructure the Medicare drug benefit to reduce costs for some beneficiaries but raise them for others. Reduce overall Medicare spending by $236 billion over 10 years. Freeze most funding under the Older Americans Act. Eliminate key federal block grants that states use to fund programs for seniors. Create a new six-week family leave program, but exclude those caring for frail parents or other relatives with disabilities. (Howard Gleckman, 2/14)

The New York Times: Donald Trump Raids The Pantry Of Poor Americans
If Mr. Trump and his aides actually cared about improving nutrition and the lives of low-income Americans, they would be trying to put more money into SNAP, not less. The program has done a heroic job of reducing poverty and improving the lives of millions of people. Studies have found that the program’s beneficiaries are less likely to report not having enough to eat. They are also less likely to take sick days and are shown to spend less on health care compared with similar people who do not benefit from the program. (2/14)

Detroit Free Press: Trump Wants Food Boxes Instead Of Food Stamps
Trump’s massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations blew a hole in the budget, so  in his budget unveiled earlier this week, he proposes to make up the difference by slashing programs such as food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid that benefit struggling Americans. The hypocrisy behind the plan is so rank you need to wear a nose clip: Small government conservatives letting big government determine what people eat? In Michigan, the average Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (food stamp) recipient gets about $122 a month.  Small potatoes considering that Trump’s proposing a $4.4 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. We've got bigger whales to fry. America, we’re better than this. (Mike Thompson, 2/14)

Kansas City Star: The Problem With Replacing Food Stamps With Blue Apron-Style Approach
We are old enough to remember when Michelle Obama was pilloried for suggesting that school lunches should include less salt and some vegetables beyond the tomatoes in the pizza sauce. ...So how surprising that this same freedom-loving, choice-respecting administration wants to tell those receiving nutritional assistance exactly what their families should eat — and then deliver it to them in a carton they’re calling “America’s Harvest Box.” (2/14)

USA Today: Stop Cheering The Budget Deal. It's Ruinous For Long-Term Care.
The new budget deal known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 included a massive increase in military spending and a comparatively modest domestic spending increase.  Both parties claimed victory. ...The bipartisan jubilation ignored the fact that long-term care was used as a “pay-for” to offset the military spending increase. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), there is a $3.5 billion Medicare cut to home health services, and a $1.9 billion Medicare cut to nursing home care. While the cut will not begin until 2019 for home health, it starts Oct.1 for nursing homes with $140 million slashed from care. (Brendan Williams, 2/15)

Des Moines Register: Lawmaker Wants Drug Tests, Delayed Care For Iowans On Medicaid
When Iowans helped send Donald Trump to the White House in November 2016, they also gave Republicans control of the Iowa Legislature. Sen. Tom Courtney was among the long-serving Democrats who were unseated. He was replaced by Sen. Tom Greene, R-Burlington. Courtney was known for sponsoring criminal justice reform that became law and for leading the Senate’s Government Oversight Committee, among other accomplishments. Greene is making a name for himself in other ways. (2/14)

Los Angeles Times: What The Aetna Scandal Tells Us About Our Healthcare System: It's A Money Pit
Gillen Washington was a student at Northern Arizona University in 2014 when his health insurer, Aetna, denied authorization for the costly drug infusion he'd been receiving each month to treat his rare immunodeficiency disease. He appealed, but while he was waiting for a decision he wound up hospitalized with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. These ugly facts were enough to prompt a lawsuit, but Washington's claim against Aetna surfaced an even uglier revelation: that Aetna's medical director at the time, Dr. Jay Ken Iinuma, granted or denied coverage for treatments without ever bothering to look at the patients' medical records. According to CNN, Iinuma said in his sworn deposition that he relied on what he was told by the nurses working for Aetna, who checked to see whether the requested treatments complied with the insurer's guidelines. Denying authorization amounts to vetoing a treatment for all but the very few people who can afford to cover the cost out of pocket. (2/14)

The New York Times: Making Pregnancy Safer For Women Of Color
The clinic is unassuming, in an office building just blocks from the revitalized downtown strip in Winter Garden, Fla., 30 minutes from Orlando. As you head up to the third floor, you might share the elevator with pregnant women making small talk in Spanish, a grandmother holding a newborn in a carrier, or a white woman with a baby strapped to her chest in an eco-friendly wrap. (Miriam Zoila Perez, 2/14)

USA Today: Focus On The Flu, Not The New
When Ebola struck with a vengeance in West Africa in 2014 or SARS was reported in Asia in 2003, the viruses dominated the news and Americans were gripped by fear over the potential spread in the United States.   In the end, Ebola, while taking an enormous toll in Africa, killed two people in America, neither of whom contracted the disease in this country. SARS was diagnosed in just eight U.S. patients, and all recovered. But the flu, neither exotic nor rare, garners too little attention and too few resources. (2/14)

JAMA: Language, Science, And Politics
The Albert Einstein Memorial in front of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, expresses a core value of science and medicine: “The right to search for truth implies also a duty; one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true." Evidence informs decisions about the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, medical treatment, and public health. Science, of course, is not value-neutral and has always been intertwined with politics. Yet ideology and politics can never justify obscuring the truth, including clarity of language. (Lawrence O. Gostin, 2/14)

The Hill: Health Chief Must Protect Doctors Against Changing Medical Culture
The new Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex Azar, is speaking to the members of the Health Subcommittee on Thursday, who are eager to learn from him how he plans to use his position to positively impact millions of Americans. Health care professionals across the country, especially concerned physicians like me, are hoping he will tell the members that he is planning to support the new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the HHS Office for Civil Rights. (Grazie Pozo Christie, 2/15)