The Hill: Premium Hikes Reignite The ObamaCare Wars
The ObamaCare premium wars are back. The cost of health insurance plans on the ObamaCare exchanges could jump in the coming weeks, some by double digits, inflaming the issue ahead of the midterm elections. Democrats argue the price increases are the result of what they refer to as “Republican sabotage.” They contend that, since the GOP controls Congress and the White House, the price hikes are their responsibility — and that's the message they plan to take into the fall campaign.  (Roubein, 5/16)

The Hill: Court Rules Dem States Can Intervene In ObamaCare Lawsuit
A federal judge granted a request from states looking to defend ObamaCare in a lawsuit filed in Texas. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and 16 other state attorneys general in Democratic states, were granted the right to intervene in the lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Hellmann, 5/16)

In other news —

The Hill: Graham Working On New ObamaCare Repeal Bill 
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Wednesday he is working on a new version of his ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill and has not given up on efforts to do away with the law despite Republicans’ failure last year. “I haven’t given up,” Graham said. “Will there be another effort to replace ObamaCare with a state-centric plan? I hope so.” The effort appears to have little, if any, chance of passing this year. Republican leadership has made clear that it has moved on from the ObamaCare repeal effort, and the GOP has an even slimmer margin in the Senate than they did last year when they failed to win enough votes for a bill. (Sullivan, 5/16)

Politico Pro: Another Obamacare Repeal Plan Faces Many GOP Skeptics
A group of conservatives is waging a quiet campaign to bring back Obamacare repeal. But there might be less support in the Senate now than there was last September. Several GOP senators on Wednesday expressed doubt about taking another stab at repeal. (Haberkorn, 5/16)

Modern Healthcare: House Passes VA Choice Expansion
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the long-delayed VA Choice reforms Wednesday night, potentially teeing up a vote in the Senate before funds for the current Choice program are expected to run out at the end of May. The bill folds all the community care options for veterans into the Choice program and opens up private provider options if VA facilities don't meet certain access standards and quality measures—an effort to address issues of long waits and poor quality care. It's unclear when the Senate vote will happen. (Luthi, 5/16)

The Associated Press: House OKs Expansion Of Private Care At VA, Budget Crisis Fix
The long-awaited bill would change how veterans receive their medical treatment by allowing them to go to a private physician when they felt government-run VA medical centers couldn't provide the care they needed, with the approval of a VA health provider. Veterans could access private care when they endured lengthy wait times, or the treatment was not what they had expected. The VA would decide in many cases when a veteran sees an outside doctor, based on conditions it sets that determine what is inadequate care. (5/16)

CQ: House Passes Veterans Health Care Overhaul
The legislation (S 2372) would extend funding for the Veterans Choice Program by $5.2 billion before combining the program with other community care programs offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2019. The Choice program is expected to run out of funds by May 31. The Choice program allows veterans to seek care outside of the VA if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility or have to wait more than 30 days for an appointment. The bill would instead allow veterans to see a private doctor if their service isn’t provided by the VA or if the doctor agrees that private care is in the patient’s best interest. (Clason, 5/16)

The Associated Press: FDA Approves 1st Nonopioid Drug To Ease Withdrawal Symptoms
Federal regulators on Wednesday approved the first nonopioid treatment to ease withdrawal from quitting addictive opioids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expedited approval of Lucemyra to help combat the U.S. opioid epidemic. Two-thirds of drug overdose deaths in 2016 involved opioids, mostly fentanyl, heroin and prescription painkillers. The pill was approved to treat adults for up to two weeks for common withdrawal symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and agitation. It is not an addiction medicine but can be part of a longer-term treatment plan, according to the FDA. (Johnson, 5/16)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Approves First Nonopioid Treatment For Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms
The FDA granted the approval of Lucemyra to Louisville, Ky.-based pharmaceutical company US WorldMeds LLC, the agency said Wednesday. The company also develops products for patients with Parkinson’s disease, malignant hyperthermia and other medical conditions. “We’re developing new guidance to help accelerate the development of better treatments, including those that help manage opioid withdrawal symptoms,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in prepared remarks. “We know that the physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction.” (Al-Muslim, 5/16)

Los Angeles Times: FDA Approves Lucemyra To Treat Symptoms Of Opioid Withdrawal And Help Patients Overcome Addiction
"The physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction," said Dr. Scot Gottlieb, the FDA's commissioner. "The fear of experiencing withdrawal symptoms often prevents those suffering from opioid addiction from seeking help. And those who seek assistance may relapse due to continued withdrawal symptoms." (Kaplan, 5/16)

Stat: FDA Approves Drug Meant To Mitigate Symptoms Of Opioid Withdrawal
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved for the first time a drug meant to mitigate the symptoms of opioid withdrawal — rather than an underlying dependency — giving American physicians a new tool to help patients begin treatment. The drug, lofexidine, will be manufactured by Kentucky-based US WorldMeds and marketed as Lucemyra. (Facher, 5/16)

In other news on the crisis —

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Payment For Opioid Treatment Embroiled In Politics Over Loosening Restrictions 
In Cincinnati, wait times for opioid addicts seeking residential treatment have dropped as the city's providers are banding together to manage the barrage of cases across different settings.In January, Mercy Health partnered with 10 outpatient treatment centers. The hospital offers short-term detox stays for patients, then the clinics take over and manage the long-term treatment, nearly on demand. After they have stabilized, patients can decide whether they want residential treatment or outpatient care. (Luthi, 5/16)

CQ: Ways And Means Advances Opioid Bills
The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday advanced four bipartisan opioid packages that are expected to move with other House bills. The action comes a day before the House Energy and Commerce Committee intends to hold its own opioid-related markup. The four legislative opioid packages include a variety of measures by members on both sides of the aisle. They focus on combating the crisis through prevention, provider education, beneficiary education, and treatment options. (Raman, 5/16)

The Star Tribune: Kidney Stone Pain Overtreated In ER But Lighter Approach Just As Effective, Data Say 
When kidney stone patients come into emergency rooms, complaining that the pain is worse than childbirth, or falling off a roof, doctors often have been persuaded to overtreat them with potent opioid painkillers. ... Trouble is, new data suggest that another common medication works equally well, and that prescriptions of opioids create problems ranging from nausea to addiction for these patients. (Olson, 5/16)

The Washington Post: San Francisco Will Bring Anti-Addiction Medication To Users On The Streets
San Francisco will begin supplying anti-addiction medication to long-term drug users and homeless people on city streets, an attempt to overcome a formidable obstacle to treatment that has complicated efforts to address the opioid crisis. The city is scheduled to announce Thursday that its medical providers will offer buprenorphine and naltrexone prescriptions at needle exchanges, in parks and in other places where people with opioid disorders congregate. Users will be able to pick up the medications, which block the craving for opioids and the painful symptoms of withdrawal, at a centrally located city-run pharmacy. (Bernstein, 5/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Mayor’s Bold Plan To Treat Heroin Addicts On The Street
Mayor Mark Farrell is set to announce Thursday that he is including $6 million in his current budget proposal to fund the 10-person team over the next two years, with the aim of prescribing the medication buprenorphine to at least 250 street addicts. Buprenorphine, widely available only in recent years and commonly known by its main brand name Suboxone, works faster and causes fewer side effects than methadone. Given the heroin epidemic that is swelling the city’s streets with dirty needles and addled users, it’s being seen as a potential game-changer. (Fagan, 5/16)

In other news —

Chicago Tribune: Public Bathrooms Become Clandestine Epicenter Of Opioid Crisis 
Publicly accessible bathrooms like the one where [Catherine] Altop died last year have become a clandestine epicenter of the opioid crisis, serving as the setting for numerous fatal overdoses and close calls. Just this month, Cook County sheriff’s officers revived a man who allegedly overdosed in the bathroom of the Skokie courthouse, while another man died of a suspected overdose in the restroom of a Downers Grove Starbucks. Experts say the seclusion afforded by these spaces makes them dangerous, especially as fentanyl has increased the potency of heroin to unpredictably strong levels. (Keilman, 5/17)

Kaiser Health News: Opioid Overdoses Are Rising Faster Among Latinos Than Whites Or Blacks. Why?
The tall, gangly man twists a cone of paper in his hands as stories from nearly 30 years of addiction pour out: the robbery that landed him in prison at age 17; never getting his high school equivalency diploma; going through the horrors of detox, maybe 40 times, including this latest bout, which he finished two weeks ago. He’s now in a residential treatment unit for at least 30 days. “I’m a serious addict,” said Julio Cesar Santiago, 44. “I still have dreams where I’m about to use drugs, and I have to wake up and get on my knees and pray, ‘Let God take this away from me,’ because I don’t want to go back. I know that if I go back out there, I’m done.” (Bebinger, 5/17)

The New York Times: For Women With Early Breast Cancer, Herceptin Treatment Can Be Much Shorter
Over the past 20 years, hundreds of thousands of women with breast cancer have taken the drug Herceptin, typically for a year or more. The medicine, used to treat an aggressive form of the disease, is credited with saving many lives, but it also has some tough side effects, particularly damage to the heart. A large new study that followed thousands of women with early-stage breast cancer for a median of more than five years has found that those treated with Herceptin for only six months did just as well as those who got it for a year — and they suffered fewer side effects. (Grady, 5/16)

The Associated Press: Shorter Drug Treatment OK For Many Breast Cancer Patients
Herceptin transformed care of a dreaded disease when it was approved in 1998 for women with advanced breast cancers whose growth is aided by a faulty HER2 gene, as 15 percent to 20 percent of cases are. It was later approved for treatment of those cancers in earlier stages, too, based on studies that had tested it in patients for 12 months. That guess, that the drug should be taken for a year, became the standard of care. (Marchione, 5/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Reducing Use Of Roche Drug For Breast Cancer Didn’t Hurt Efficacy, Study Says
Still, there has been some debate among doctors over the optimal length of treatment with Herceptin. A Roche-sponsored study and one by the French National Cancer Institute, both released in 2012, suggested one year was best. But researchers have continued to study shorter durations. The U.K. researchers began their study in 2007. About half the women were assigned to receive six months of Herceptin treatment, and the other half 12 months. (Loftus, 5/16)

NPR: Breast Cancer Drug Herceptin May Work Just As Well With Much Briefer Treatment
Dr. Bruce Johnson, president of ASCO, said one benefit of this change would be to reduce the cost of treatment, both to women and to health insurers. "We think this is an important thing for the 12 percent of women who have early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer," he said. Even though the report covers the results after five years of study, there were relatively few deaths in either group, so researchers can't yet say for sure whether the long-term benefits are the same for the two treatment options. As a result, "it may be a bit early to make a definitive change in practice," Johnson said. (Harris, 5/16)

Bloomberg: Study Finds More Isn't Better For Roche Breast Cancer Drug 
“Our field is maturing,” said Bruce Johnson, chief clinical research officer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO. “When we didn’t have very many treatments that worked, we kind of threw the kitchen sink at it. We are beginning to learn we can change the status quo. We’ve been able to back off on some of the treatments.” (Cortez, 5/16)

The New York Times: Fertility Rate Fell To A Record Low, For A Second Straight Year
The fertility rate in the United States fell to a record low for a second straight year, federal officials reported Thursday, extending a deep decline that began in 2008 with the Great Recession. The fertility rate fell to 60.2 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age, down 3 percent from 2016, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. It was the largest single-year decline since 2010, when families were still feeling the effects of a weak economy. (Tavernise, 5/16)

The Associated Press: US Births Hit A 30-Year Low, Despite Good Economy
Experts said several factors may be combining to drive the declines, including shifting attitudes about motherhood and changing immigration patterns. The provisional report, based on a review of more than 99 percent of the birth certificates filed nationwide, counted 3.853 million births last year. That's the lowest tally since 1987. Births have been declining since 2014, but 2017 saw the greatest year-to-year drop — about 92,000 less than the previous year. (Stobbe, 5/17)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Births Hit Lowest Number Since 1987
The figures suggest that a number of women who put off having babies after the 2007-09 recession are forgoing them altogether. Kenneth M. Johnson, senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire, estimates 4.8 million fewer babies were born after the recession than would have been born had fertility rates stayed at prerecession levels. “Every year I expect the number of births to go up and they don’t,” said Prof. Johnson. (Adamy, 5/17)

In other news on pregnancy and maternal health —

The Washington Post: Depression In Men May Lower Chances For Pregnancy, NIH Study Suggests
Women having trouble getting pregnant sometimes try yoga, meditation or mindfulness, and some research suggests that psychological stress may affect infertility. But what about men: Does their mental state affect a couple's ability to conceive? The latest research on this subject was published Thursday in the journal Fertility and Sterility and suggests that a link between mental health and fertility may exist for women and men. (Cha, 5/17)

The Washington Post: Surrogate Mothers Ask Supreme Court To Stop ‘Exploitation’ Of Women And Babies
Melissa Cook's story became headline news in 2015 when she was carrying triplets as a surrogate. The intended dad asked her to abort at least one of them, she says, because he couldn't afford to raise them all. She refused and has been fighting for custody of the children in court ever since. Cook and two other surrogate mothers — Gail Robinson and Toni Bare  — are in Washington this week to call on the Supreme Court to provide more clarity on the rights of women and children in the controversial industry. The women, who have separately filed lawsuits in different states, say surrogacy contracts are exploitative to the birth mothers, create a class of women as breeders and commodify children. (Cha, 5/16)

California Healthline: Insurer Slashes Breast Pump Payments, Stoking Fears Fewer Moms Will Breastfeed
A sharp cut in breast pump payments by the nation’s second-largest health insurer has prompted a strong reaction from breastfeeding advocates, who warn that some new moms will not get the pumps they need and fewer babies will be breastfed. Starting last month, Anthem Inc. slashed the rate it reimburses medical suppliers for breast pumps by 44 percent — from $169.15 to $95. The move means some breast pumps that used to be free under a provision of the Affordable Care Act will now entail a cost to consumers, according to the advocacy group MomsRising. More complex pumps, which have always required an out-of-pocket payment, will now be more expensive. It’s unclear how many women will be affected. (Young, 5/17)

The Associated Press: A Cancer Screening Flop: Few Smokers Seek Free Lung Scans
Lung cancer screening has proved to be stunningly unpopular. New research shows that five years after government and private insurers started paying for it, less than 2 percent of eligible current and former smokers have sought the free scans. That's way below the 60 percent to 80 percent rates for breast, colon or cervical cancer screening. (Marchione, 5/16)

Bloomberg: America’s Heaviest Smokers Don’t Want To Know If They Have Cancer 
A new study found that fewer than 2 percent of heavy smokers in the U.S. get recommended lung cancer screenings, an imaging test that can catch tumors when they are small and potentially curable. The numbers fall far short of screening for other types of cancer, including mammograms and colonoscopies—both procedures that are much more uncomfortable than the CT scan used to detect tiny tumors in the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., killing an estimated 150,000 Americans each year. For the past five years, such groups as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have urged people aged 55 or older who have smoked a pack a day (or the equivalent) for three decades or more to get checked for early stage disease. (Cortez, 5/17)

Stat: Combination Cancer Immunotherapies Take Center Stage As Investors Watch
Biotech and pharma companies are racing to develop combinations of immunotherapy drugs to treat cancer more effectively. But new data emerging Wednesday night from clinical trial research abstracts released by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) paint a muddled picture. Even with hints of efficacy, there’s still no convincing proof cancer patients benefit more when experimental immune-boosting drugs are paired with immunotherapy blockbusters like Merck’s Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb‘s Opdivo. (Feuerstein, 5/16)

Stat: After Tense Eye Surgery, World Comes Into Focus For Gene Therapy Recipient
About eight weeks earlier, in March, his eyes had been just as hollow. He’d been the first person to get an $850,000 therapy called Luxturna since it had hit the market. It was intended to replace a mutant gene in Jack’s retinal cells that impaired his vision. After the surgery, with his eyes temporarily drained of liquid and pumped full of air, he’d had to lie back for six hours, staring at the ceiling, so that the medication would pool in the right part of his retina. His mother had held an iPad above him, streaming basketball games and music until her arms got tired. Sometimes, she fed him crackers. She could only hope that the drug had worked. (Boodman, 5/17)

The New York Times: In ‘Play On,’ Exploring How Elite Athletes Improve With Age
Most people find that their athletic capabilities diminish as they get older, and accept it as an inevitable part of aging. But some elite athletes seem to just get better as they get older. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at 39, an age when most quarterbacks are retired or in decline. The hockey star Jaromir Jagr, often referred to as the ageless wonder, led his team in scoring at the age of 44, which was double the age of some of his teammates. And Dara Torres, the elite swimmer, won three Olympic medals at the age of 41, the oldest female swimmer to compete in the games. (O'Connor, 5/17)

The Associated Press: Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Update: 172 Sick In 32 States
Health officials say nearly two dozen more cases of a food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Arizona have been reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the total number of people sickened by a strain of E. coli is now 172 across 32 states. At least 75 people have been hospitalized, including 20 with kidney failure. One death was in California. (5/16)

The Washington Post: CDC Comes Close To An All-Clear On Romaine Lettuce As E. Coli Outbreak Nears Historic Level
Romaine lettuce has a shelf life of about 21 days. The current outbreak has been traced to the Yuma, Ariz., growing region, the source of virtually all lettuce sold in this country during the winter months. The CDC said Wednesday that April 16 was the last day romaine lettuce was harvested in the Yuma area. The leafy-greens industry has shifted to California over the past two months. “Romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region is past its shelf life and is probably no longer being sold in stores or served in restaurants,” the CDC said in a news release. In the latest official update, the CDC noted that new cases of E. coli-related food poisoning came from the period when contaminated lettuce might still be in circulation or in home refrigerators. (Achenbach, 5/16)

Arizona Republic: OTOjOY’s Technology Is Music To The Ears Of Those With Hearing Loss
The technology connects into a venue’s sound system and allows a hearing aid or cochlear implant to pick up its wireless signal. The result is a clear and direct sound delivered to the ear directly from the sound system, creating an experience as if the listener were sitting on stage next to the artist or presenter. (Yara, 5/16)

Politico Pro: Critics Say Trump Is Cutting Ebola Funding At The Wrong Time
President Donald Trump’s push to slash $252 million from U.S. assistance for the 2014 Ebola outbreak is drawing objections from health advocates and some lawmakers, especially since it comes just as a new wave of Ebola cases has emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The $252 million is part of a package of $15.4 billion in spending cuts, H.R. 3 (115), expected to be voted on in the House next week. (Burton, 5/17)

US News & World Report: A Battle For Community Health In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley
About three years ago, Sareth Garcia's immune system began breaking down. Rashes and infections, crippling headaches, kidney problems and what felt like a painful cramp near her heart landed her in the hospital more than once. Garcia weighed 265 pounds. Without a car, the uninsured single mother had no way to get to a doctor's office, let alone pay for medical treatment, despite working several jobs to care for her two sons. "I was so afraid to die," the 47-year-old says, clad in a floral hat and a light pink button-down bearing an insignia for La Unión Del Pueblo Entero. LUPE, a community group founded three decades ago by activist César Chávez, connected Garcia to a low-income clinic where she received a free medical assessment and insulin for her newly diagnosed diabetes. She credits the group with giving her the determination and resources to begin improving her health. (Galvin, 5/16)

The Associated Press: Ohio City's Last Abortion Clinic Gets License, Can Resume
The last abortion clinic in Toledo, Ohio, has been granted a license allowing it to resume performing most abortions. Capital Care of Toledo applied for the license after receiving a state-mandated patient-transfer agreement from the ProMedica hospital system in February. Restrictions passed by Ohio lawmakers in 2013 mandated the transfer agreements be with local hospitals and barred public hospitals from providing them. The University of Toledo Hospital ended its transfer arrangement with Capital Care two months before the law was enacted. (5/16)

Sacramento Bee: 'It's The Right Thing To Do.' Sacramento City Council Approves Homeless Hospice, Despite Objections
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday evening gave unanimous support to a project that would offer residential care for homeless people suffering from terminal illnesses. Following an emotional public hearing, the council ultimately rejected a neighborhood association's appeal of the hospice. The care facility will be one of the first of its kind in the country. (Hubert, 5/16)

Los Angeles Times: Former Students Recount Decades Of Disturbing Behavior By USC Gynecologist
When Chelsea Wu walked into Dr. George Tyndall's exam room at USC's student health clinic, she was 19 and, in her own words, "naive." The sophomore had never seen a doctor without her parents by her side and had never been to a gynecologist. "I was blindly trusting of doctors. I pretty much followed whatever they say," Wu recalled. During the 2016 appointment, Tyndall asked prying questions about her sex life, showed prolonged interest in her Chinese heritage and made comments about the tone of her pelvic muscle as he thrust his fingers inside her, Wu said. (Ryan, Hamilton, Parvini and Pringle, 5/16)

Boston Globe: Despite Promises, Some Low-Paid Nursing Home Workers Still Waiting For Wage Increases
Nearly two years after Massachusetts lawmakers approved $35.5 million in public money to boost wages for the lowest-paid nursing home workers — who care for some of the state’s most frail residents — a new report indicates some workers may still be waiting for their money. Following several extensions and lapsed deadlines, 12 nursing homes are still not in compliance with state regulations, according to the report from the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. (Lazar, 5/16)

Des Moines Register: Andy McGuire: 'Health Care Is A Right, Not A Privilege'
Andy McGuire said she is the Democratic gubernatorial candidate best equipped to handle the major issues facing the state. "When you listen to people all around the state — you even listen to the other people who are running — health care is what comes up," she told the Des Moines Register's editorial board Tuesday. "As a doctor, health care is a right, not a privilege." McGuire, 61, is a physician, health care executive and past chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party. She is among the six Democrats vying for the party's nomination in a June 5 primary. The winner will take on incumbent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. (Pfannenstiel, 5/16)

California Healthline: California’s Deadly STD Epidemic Sets Record
Diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases hit a record high in California last year — with sometimes deadly consequences, according to preliminary state data released this week. More than 300,000 cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis — the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infections — were reported in 2017. That represents a 45 percent increase since 2013 and the highest number since the state started tracking these infections, California Department of Public Health numbers show. (Rowan and Matthews, 5/16)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Express Scripts To Remain In St. Louis And Retain Name Under Cigna Ownership, New Filing Shows
Even though Express Scripts is being acquired by insurance giant Cigna, the St. Louis County-based company will keep its name and continue marketing and branding under the Express Scripts moniker, according to details included in a merger proxy filed Wednesday. In March it was announced that Express Scripts, the largest public company to ever call St. Louis home, was being sold to health insurer Cigna in a $67 billion deal. When the deal was announced, many details were not disclosed about how the new companies would operate after the merger finalizes. (Liss, 5/16)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. State Health Leader Rebuts Allegations Of Illegal Restraint At Youth Center
Last week, the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire released a report that accused staff at the Sununu Youth Services Center of using unlawful restraint against residents multiple times over the past few years. Now the state is rebutting those allegations. (Biello, 5/16)

The Associated Press: Any Doctor On Board? US Surgeon General Gives Aid On Plane
When the call went out for a doctor on board, the U.S. surgeon general says he gladly stepped in to help with a medical emergency on a commercial flight. Dr. Jerome Adams, an anesthesiologist, said he assisted someone on a Delta Air Lines jet as he prepared to fly Wednesday to Jackson, Mississippi. Adams tweeted that a call went out requesting a doctor. (5/16)

Boston Globe: Former Steward Health Care Executive Files Harassment Suit Against Company
A former top executive at Steward Health Care has sued the company for harassment and discrimination, saying she was subject to sexual and racial comments that were part of an overall management culture that demeaned women and blacks. (Kowalczyk, 5/17)

Chicago Tribune: Advocate, NorthShore To Partner On Pediatric Care A Year After Merger Called Off 
Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem, which called off a planned merger last year after the Federal Trade Commission moved to block the deal, on Wednesday announced plans to collaborate on pediatric care. The partnership between Advocate Children’s Hospital and NorthShore aims to improve communication between doctors and spur technical advances that ease the care process and give health providers more patient history. Pediatric patients often receive care from multiple health care providers, and by teaming up, Advocate and NorthShore will be able to compile more comprehensive records on each child, making it easier to provide quality care, the hospitals said. (Bomkamp, 5/16)

The New York Times: L.G.B.T. Students In Oregon Were Bullied And Forced To Read Bible, Report Says
In the hallways of a rural Oregon high school, gay and lesbian students were taunted with homophobic slurs. In the cafeteria, students pelted a transgender student with food. And when gay and lesbian students got into trouble, the school’s principal assigned a specific punishment just for them: readings from the Bible. Students detailed those allegations in recent state investigative reports into the North Bend School District, a coastal area about 100 miles north of California. In the reports, gay and lesbian high school students described years of harassment and bigotry from school employees and other students, and a deeply religious culture that silenced their complaints. (Haag, 5/16)

Sacramento Bee: Sutter Health Asks Court To Dismiss California AG's Antitrust Lawsuit
In a case with broad implications for health-care pricing and transparency, Sutter Health has asked the San Francisco Superior Court to refuse to hear the California attorney general’s antitrust lawsuit because it would impose expensive, unwieldy regulations that would upend Sutter's business. (Anderson, 5/16)

Sacramento Bee: Nurses Want Mark Zuckerberg’s Name Off S.F. Hospital
Nurses say patients at a San Francisco hospital renamed in 2015 for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife fear for their privacy given recent data breaches and security scandals on the social media platform. ...Protests by some nurses at the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center seek to have the hospital revert to its original name, the station reported. (Sweeney, 5/16)

San Jose Mercury News: Sutter Health Network Restored; Bereaved Daughter Recounts Ordeal
Sutter Health said service has returned to normal after a network outage, but its effects are likely to linger for a Santa Clara woman who said Wednesday she couldn’t reach a hospice’s 24-hour hotline for many hours after her father’s death at an assisted-living facility. During the outage, which began about 10:30 p.m. Monday, a Sutter spokesperson said sites such as the system’s Santa Rosa center saw relatively little disruption, but that San Francisco’s California Medical Pacific Center was forced to delay some surgeries and Berkeley’s Alta Bates had to cancel some surgeries. (Kelly, 5/16)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Dover, Exeter Hospitals To Become Part Of Mass General Nonprofit Network 
A new regional nonprofit corporation is being developed to collaboratively deliver health care on the Seacoast. On Tuesday, officials at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, Exeter Health Resources and Massachusetts General Hospital announced they had signed a letter of intent to form the entity, which has not yet been named. (Haas, 5/16)

The Associated Press: Judge To Decide Florida Ban On Smokable Medical Marijuana
A Florida judge will soon decide if patients approved to use medical marijuana will be allowed to smoke it. Leon County circuit court Judge Karen Gievers heard testimony Wednesday from two women with terminal illnesses challenging the state's ban on smoking cannabis. (5/16)

The Washington Post: Drug Policies Without Compassion Are Doomed To Fail
If you ask people what caused the opioid crisis ravaging our country, you’ll no doubt hear that doctors are to blame for handing out painkiller prescriptions too liberally. That narrative makes sense: Over the past few decades, doctors have massively increased the amount of opioid prescriptions going to patients. Most heroin users report that they started off abusing prescription drugs. But this gets at a basic misconception of the crisis. The epidemic is not really about prescription practices — or at least, if it was, it isn’t any longer. It’s about a lack of care for people who are dependent on the drugs. Unfortunately, policymakers are learning this the hard way. (Robert Gebelhoff, 5/16)

USA Today: Profiteering From The Opioid Crisis
Almost like magic, the drug naloxone can bring victims of opioid overdoses back from the brink of death. With more than 115 people dying each day from opioid overdoses across the country, the drug could save thousands of lives each year. Except for one problem. The prices of naloxone set by drug makers have skyrocketed, putting it beyond the reach of some police, first responders, community groups, and families and friends of overdose victims. (5/16)

USA Today: Naloxone Maker KalÉO: Affordable Access Is Our Company’s Priority
After watching patients in need struggle to get access to naloxone, we made a commitment, starting in 2016, to make EVZIO® available for $0 out of pocket for all patients with commercial insurance and a prescription, as well as for uninsured patients who have a household income of less than $100,000. For those who pay cash, the price is $180 per auto-injector, which comes in a box of two for $360. To be clear, no patient has to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for EVZIO. Because of our commitment, no naloxone product, branded or even generic, is less expensive out of pocket for patients than EVZIO. (Spencer Williamson, 5/16)

Lexington Herald Tribune: Should Lexington B.U.I.L.D. A Better Needle Exchange? 'Yes,' Say 2,000 People In 26 Congregations.
Only about 11 percent of the Americans who needed specialized treatment for a substance abuse disorder in 2016 received it, which tells us that B.U.I.L.D. has again zeroed in on an urgent need: How to expand access to treatment in Lexington. Alarmed by a doubling in fatal overdoses in Lexington in three years, the coalition of 26 religious congregations is seeking an expansion of Lexington's needle-exchange program as a way to stem the spread of blood-borne diseases, steer more people into treatment and save money on health-care costs. (5/16)

Orlando Sentinel: Florida's Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers Is Welcome, But Not Enough
The lawsuit alleges the drug companies violated state laws by underplaying the dangers of opioids and distributing excessive quantities of the drugs. ...But Florida’s leaders would be foolish to bank on a windfall from the lawsuit, which could play out over several years. (5/16)

USA Today: Donald Trump Caves On Prescription Drug Prices, Consumers Get No Relief
Reducing prescription drug costs were President Trump’s best chance for a health care victory in what so far has been the worst health care presidency in modern times. Americans are feeling significant pain on this issue. As many as one in four report difficulty affording their medications. Too often we hear stories about unexplainable price jumps for common medications that people depend on to stay alive, like insulin and EpiPen. There were high expectations for Trump after a campaign in which he accused drug companies of “getting away with murder” with their unchecked prices, and vowed to take them on. Americans are unified in how they want their government to respond; 92% say it should use its negotiating power to reduce drug prices for Medicare. Sensing a populist wave, in one of his most important and surprising campaign pledges, then-candidate Trump said he would "negotiate like crazy." He even promised that his negotiating skills would save taxpayers $300 billion annually. (Andy Slavitt, 5/16)

New England Journal of Medicine: Addressing Generic-Drug Market Failures — The Case For Establishing A Nonprofit Manufacturer
Robust competition usually keeps the price of generic drugs well below that of brand-name drugs. When there is little or no competition, however, generic-drug manufacturers can substantially increase prices, and drug shortages may occur. Such market failures can compromise care and negatively affect patients, health care providers, government insurance programs, and private health plans. (Dan Liljenquist and Gerard F. Anderson, 5/17)

Stat: Paying The Price For Insulin
The debate about drug costs can be hard to follow because it is both broad and deep. Between patients not being able to afford their medication, the role of “middlemen” (pharmacy benefit managers), and lawyers filing class-action lawsuits, the topic is complex and can be emotional for many. I’d like to put it into perspective with insulin, a lifesaving drug used by most of my patients — and millions of Americans — that is a perfect case study of the drug pricing issue. (Irl Hirsch, 5/17)

Charleston Gazette: Trump Administration Conceals Conclusion Of C8 Report
What to think of a government that conceals bad news from its citizens, just because it doesn’t make government look good? For decades, residents of Parkersburg and nearby communities drank, cooked with and bathed in water that was contaminated with a chemical linked to cancer and numerous other health problems. ...There is now word that the health effects of C8 and similar chemicals might be worse than previously feared, especially for vulnerable people, like babies and pregnant women. (5/17)

The Washington Post: The GOP Is Quietly Crafting Work Requirement Waivers — For White People
In January, the Trump administration released new guidelines that would allow states to begin imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients. It was a kindness, really: According to Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, meaningful work is essential to “economic self-sufficiency, self-esteem, wellbeing and . . . health.”  Well, for some of us. (Christine Emba, 5/16)

The Hill: Yes, We Can Put Chronic Patients First And Lower Costs Simultaneously
Our health-care system can be overwhelming for those of us in the best of health. This is especially true of those living with serious and life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer or heart disease — who are juggling multiple doctors, diagnoses, treatment regimens and social stressors. Patients cycle in and out of hospitals and nursing facilities, yet 80 percent say they would rather be at home as they approach the end-of-life.Compared to other nations, U.S. health care providers rely more heavily on medical services and procedures than providing less costly services that can help patients remain more independent and at home, but that is beginning to change. (Former Sens. Tom Daschle and Bill Frist, 5/16)

The Detroit News: Medicaid Bill Would Devastate Detroiters
Saundra Gay has been doing a lot trying to remain alive since a traumatizing accident in 2000 left her with a spinal cord injury and confined her to a wheelchair. ...The (Medicaid) bill, according to studies, would disproportionately affect unemployed blacks in Wayne County — more than their white counterparts in rural areas. The bill would impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients and exempt largely white counties where the unemployment rate is above 8.5 percent. The 55-year-old Detroiter, who worked for the late Detroit City Councilwoman Brenda Scott as an administrative assistant from 1994-2000, has a message for Gov. Rick Snyder. “I’m asking him to not please sign this bill,” Gay said. “This would affect my quality of life. It would devastate me.” (Bankole Thompson, 5/17)

Chicago Tribune: The Myth Of The 'Welfare Queen' Endures, And Children Pay The Price
Republicans are expected to vote this week on a farm bill that once again takes aim at the infamous “welfare queen.” The problem is that she does not exist.cThough no one has used the term outright in the current debate, this elusive scammer has been at the core of entitlement reform since Ronald Reagan conjured her up in 1976. Conservatives refuse to give up their quest to bring down this lazy, scheming, African-American woman who uses her food stamps and other government aid to support a lavish lifestyle with countless jobless men who drift in and out of her bed. (Dahleen Glanton, 5/17)

Des Moines Register: Farm Bill Hurts Hard-Working Iowans
Right now in Washington, our legislators are considering a bill that will cause children to go hungry, seniors to face impossible financial choices and hard-working Americans to struggle with even greater burdens. The Farm Bill is intended to support agriculture, which drives our state’s economy, and provide assistance to our neighbors struggling with hunger. This year’s Farm Bill (HR 2), is not that – it is a disaster. (Michelle Book, 5/16)

Chicago Tribune: SNAP Has Helped Millions Of Families — Including Mine
For families struggling with a temporary setback, or for working parents struggling to break the cycle of poverty, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program is the make-or-break program that ensures children don’t go to bed hungry.I know this firsthand because I was once one of the children who benefited from SNAP’s predecessor, the food stamp program. (Raja Krishnamoorthi, 5/16)

Los Angeles Times: California's Historic And Successful Right-To-Die Law Is Itself On Life-Support
California's right-to-die law is nothing less than historic, certainly one of the most important pieces of legislation passed in the last several years. More than 100 people have used it to take their own lives since it was approved in 2015. Families have said repeatedly that the law has brought comfort to their relatives who took advantage of it, in many cases by offering an alternative to pain and suffering. Furthermore, it has wide backing. ...But this important, compassionate and, by all measures, successful law was overturned Monday by a judge in Riverside County. (5/16)

Des Moines Register: But What If Mentally Ill Refuse Help?
My cousin Roger was a gifted person who held a master’s degree in architectural engineering. He had a passion for inventing or developing products and processes that would help society become more eco-friendly. He was also homeless, literally living on the streets, collecting cans and rummaging through garbage for junk that he considered useful either to himself or as candidates for recycling. Roger had a very engaging personality that helped him to make acquaintances easily, but never friends.  His outgoing behavior quickly exposed a deeper, self-centered, controlling, demanding attitude that alienated those who wished to help him.  Roger was mentally ill. (C. Sheldon Smith, 5/16)