The New York Times: Gingerly, Democrats Give ‘Medicare For All’ An Official Moment
It was a big political discussion in a very small room. “Medicare for all” got its first congressional hearing on Tuesday, albeit in one of the House’s tightest meeting rooms, in an area of the Capitol off limits to the scores of people who assembled in Washington to show support. The idea of a single government health care system for all Americans has been treated with extreme caution by the Democratic leadership, which has stressed more modest improvements to the current health law. On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was pointing to the bills moving through the House Judiciary Committee that could lower the prices of prescription drugs. (Sanger-Katz, 4/30)

The Washington Post: Medicare-For-All Advocates Get Their First Hearing On Capitol Hill
In the opening moments of Congress’s first-ever hearing on Medicare-for-all, House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) hit on a theme that already has begun to dominate the 2020 Democratic primary season: “Health care is a right for all,” he said, “not a privilege for the lucky few.” That mantra, which he and others invoked on Tuesday, is political ammunition for liberals’ crusade to convert the U.S. health-care system into a single-payer model. The language casts a redesign, intended to guarantee all Americans access to care by enlarging the government’s role, as a moral imperative. (Goldstein, 4/30)

Politico: Democrats Paper Over Rifts At 'Medicare For All' Hearing
Democrats who've spent much of this year mired by infighting closed ranks to amplify the party’s broader ambitions on a critical political issue ahead of the 2020 elections — and blunt GOP attacks over Medicare for All’s cost and government expansion. “We’re spending an awful lot on health care right now, and we’re not getting the services and the effectiveness that we’re all demanding,” Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern said at the outset of the hearing, which was briefly attended by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “I’d like to think we all believe we can do better.” (Cancryn and Ollstein, 4/30)

The Hill: 'Medicare For All' Gets Boost From First Congressional Hearing 
GOP panel members repeatedly pressed McGovern on why the Rules Committee, which is often controlled by the Speaker, was the one holding a Medicare for All hearing.
 McGovern, who took over as head of the panel in January, responded by saying: “There’s a new sheriff in town. That’s why we’re doing the hearing.” The location underscored the divisions the Democratic Party faces in how it plans to improve a system where 29 million Americans are uninsured, and millions more can’t afford their premiums, deductibles and prescription drugs. (Hellmann, 4/30)

Kaiser Health News: A Big Hearing For ‘Medicare-For-All’ — In A Small Room
For all the political machinations and sometimes overheated rhetoric about a major overhaul of the U.S. health system, the hearing itself was remarkably unremarkable — with witnesses both for and against the idea of the federal government providing health coverage to all Americans calmly discussing the pros and cons. (Rovner, 4/30)

CQ: House Democrats Kick Off Wonky 'Medicare For All' Debate
Overall, the hearing featured a thorough back-and-forth on the tradeoffs that would come with implementing a single-payer health care system. While people would pay more in taxes, they would not pay for health care costs like premiums, deductibles and copays that people currently face. Those types of tradeoffs are part of the key questions that lawmakers would have to answer if they plan in earnest to transition to a single-payer system. Lawmakers also discussed the at least $32 trillion, 10-year price tag associated with a single-payer system that would shift current health care spending to the government, rather than coverage through private insurance or other programs. (McIntire, 4/30)

Modern Healthcare: House Lawmakers Throw Down Gauntlet For Medicare For All
And in one exchange, Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), a freshman in Congress but former HHS secretary under President Bill Clinton who hasn't thrown her support behind Medicare for All, stated that private insurers "have been less effective" than the government at controlling costs. This spurred Collins to criticize the leverage that hospitals in concentrated markets in particularly have to negotiate high reimbursement rates. On the other side, Grace-Marie Turner, president of the conservative Galen Institute and outspoken opponent to a single-payer system, argued that universal adoption of Medicare rates would shutter hospitals. (Luthi, 4/30)

The CT Mirror: As U.S. House Weighs 'Medicare For All,' CT Dems Push Rival Plans
A sweeping Medicare for All proposal was given its first public hearing Tuesday, but isn’t likely to become law anytime soon. Still, the hearing before the House Rules Committee allowed progressive House Democrats to promote a controversial proposal that has split their party – as well as Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation. (Radelat, 4/30)

Meanwhile, CMS Administrator Seema Verma speaks out against the legislative proposals —

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Aide Criticizes Medicare For All Proposal
Seema Verma, a top White House health administrator, on Tuesday criticized the Medicare for All health proposal, saying it poses a threat to patient choice and would limit competition. “We have got to support a free market where patients are making decisions, not the government,”  said Ms. Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and has led many of the White House’s initiatives on giving patients more cost data. (Armour and Burton, 4/30)

CQ: House Panel Advances Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill
A House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday advanced a bill that would provide nearly $204 billion for the departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, and other agencies in fiscal 2020. The Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee approved the bill by voice vote, although panel Republicans did not support it. The bill would provide substantial funding increases to the departments it funds, setting a high bar for spending as House Democrats begin working on fiscal 2020 appropriations. (Siddons, 4/30)

Politico Pro: House Appropriations Subcommittee Advances Massive HHS Budget Along Party Lines
Ranking member Tom Cole (R-Okla.) criticized the bill for “tying the administration’s hands” and micromanaging agencies. It would roll back the Trump administration’s Title X family planning rule, which cuts funding to clinics that provide abortions or abortion referrals, and orders HHS to restore outreach and advertising during the Obamacare open enrollment period. Lawmakers from both parties aired concerns about beginning to mark up individual spending bills without an agreement on overall government spending caps. House progressives tanked a potential agreement just before the April recess, over concerns that it favored military over domestic spending. (Ollstein, 4/30)

The Associated Press: Democrats Using Veterans Bill To Try To Block Border Wall
Democrats controlling the House are trying to use a popular veterans measure to block President Donald Trump from transferring $3.6 billion from military base construction to build his long-sought wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Tuesday's move faces certain opposition from Trump and a potential veto threat. Lawmakers often try to use essential spending bills to reverse presidential moves, but they are often unsuccessful. Republicans tried in futility on numerous occasions to advance conservative policy "riders" on topics such as the Affordable Care Act, financial regulations and the environment. (Taylor, 4/30)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

CQ HealthBeat: VA, Lawmakers Focus On Veteran Suicides
Lawmakers are turning their attention to the rising rate of veteran suicides as the Department of Veterans Affairs asks for more funding to address the issue. The attention comes as four veterans in the past week took their lives at VA facilities. The department estimates that 20 veterans commit suicide every day, 14 of whom have not seen a VA provider in the past two years. (Clason, 4/30)

The Hill: Trump Urges Dem Senator To Revive Bipartisan ObamaCare Talks
President Trump encouraged Democratic Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) to resume efforts to find a bipartisan deal to shore up ObamaCare at a White House meeting on Tuesday. Trump said that he did not understand why the bipartisan proposal that Murray worked on in 2017 and 2018 with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) had been dropped, according to a Democratic source. (Sullivan, 4/30)

Stat: Progressives Warn Democratic Leaders They Must Be Bolder On Drug Pricing
Progressive lawmakers are increasingly warning that they would forcefully oppose any effort to set up a system of arbitration to help lower drug prices, a model that would fall short of their demands to allow the federal government to negotiate with drug companies. It’s an idea that has the implicit backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose top health policy aide has been focused on the proposal in talks with other experts. The speaker’s backing of any eventually legislation could put it on the fast track for congressional action, though no bill on the issue has yet been introduced in Congress. (Florko, 4/30)

The Hill: Progressives Push House Chairmen To Go Bolder On Drug Pricing 
During a meeting, the Congressional Progressive Caucus urged House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) to support a far-reaching drug pricing bill that would allow the government to strip drug companies of their monopolies if they refuse to sell drugs at a reasonable price. The progressives also pushed back on a competing proposal under discussion that would allow an outside arbiter to help set drug prices, warning that the idea would be too weak. (Sullivan, 4/30)

CQ: House Advances Drug Price Agenda, But Medicare Issues Unsettled
A House committee on Tuesday approved bills to address high drug prices as chairmen of two other committees overseeing Democrats’ drug plans met with the party’s progressive wing to discuss a big unsettled piece of their agenda: Medicare price negotiation. Even as committees have moved forward on bipartisan drug price bills that are supposed to be on the House floor in May, the party still hasn’t finalized how to approach one of its key campaign promises, direct Medicare negotiation with drug manufacturers. (Siddons, 4/30)

Modern Healthcare: House Lawmakers Bash Trump's Medicare Drug Pricing Efforts
Republicans and Democrats on the House Energy & Commerce Committee's health subcommittee alleged that the Trump administration's efforts threaten patient access to needed drugs. Step therapy requires a patient to try a cheaper drug before a more expensive drug and prior authorization requires insurance to approve a prescription before it's issued. "It is not defensible in my view," said Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who chairs the subcommittee. "I don't know who supports this thing." (King, 4/30)

Politico Pro: House Judiciary Approves 4 Bills Boosting Generics
The House Judiciary Committee this afternoon approved by voice vote four bipartisan bills to boost generic drug competition. The most high-profile bill passed by the committee was the CREATES Act, H.R. 965 (116), which penalizes drugmakers that withhold samples from generic rivals. The bill could now move to the House floor for a vote. (Owermohle, 4/30)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Permits The Sale Of IQOS, A New Tobacco Device
The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would permit the sale of IQOS, a “heat not burn” tobacco device made by Philip Morris International, in the United States. While the agency stopped short of declaring that the device was safer than traditional cigarettes, the F.D.A. did say the heated tobacco-stick system could help people to quit smoking. (Kaplan, 4/30)

The Associated Press: US Sales OK'd For Cigarette Alternative That Heats Tobacco
The cigarette alternative is the centerpiece of Philip Morris International's effort to move the shrinking number of U.S. smokers toward other products, including heating and vaping devices. FDA regulators stressed that IQOS is neither safe nor "FDA approved." But they acknowledged that studies submitted by the company did show IQOS produces fewer toxic byproducts than traditional burning cigarettes. (Perrone, 4/30)

The Washington Post: IQOS: FDA Clears Philip Morris's Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Device For Sale
The product consists of a tube that gently heats up sticks of tobacco instead of burning them, making what’s inhaled less harmful than conventional cigarette smoke. Philip Morris has made the device a key part of its plans for growth. The device is already sold in dozens of other countries with varying success, but it has triggered debate among U.S. health experts over whether IQOS would help or hurt overall public health. (McGinley and Wan, 4/30)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Clears Philip Morris International Heat-Not-Burn IQOS Device For Sale In U.S.
The FDA said it found that the aerosol produced by IQOS contains fewer toxic chemicals than cigarette smoke. In a separate application to the FDA, Philip Morris is seeking authorization to say in marketing materials that switching from cigarettes to IQOS reduces the risks of tobacco-related disease. Newport maker British American Tobacco PLC is waiting on FDA authorization for a similar product, called Glo, although that company hasn’t sought U.S. approval to market it as safer than cigarettes. (Maloney, 4/30)

The Hill: Philip Morris Gets FDA Nod To Begin Selling New Tobacco Device
FDA said allowing the device to be sold is “appropriate for the protection of the public health because ... the products produce fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes.” (Weixel, 4/30)

In other news from the administration —

The Hill: Booming Cannabis Market Puts Pressure On FDA
The market for cannabis-based products is booming, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is struggling to keep up. Congress legalized the use of hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) products late last year in the farm bill, sending the agency scrambling to figure out new rules around regulating a unique product that is both a drug and a dietary supplement. (Weixel, 4/30)

Reuters: U.S. Environment Agency Says Glyphosate Weed Killer Is Not A Carcinogen
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Tuesday that glyphosate, a chemical in many popular weed killers, is not a carcinogen, contradicting decisions by U.S. juries that found it caused cancer in people. The EPA's announcement reaffirms its earlier findings about the safety of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer's Roundup. The company faces thousands of lawsuits from Roundup users who allege it caused their cancer. (Polansek, 5/1)

The New York Times: Drug Agency Calls For Strong Warning Labels On Popular Sleep Aids
Federal health regulators announced on Tuesday that they would require manufacturers of sleeping pills such as Ambien and related drugs to post strongly worded warnings in boxes on labels and patient guides. The Food and Drug Administration, in what it called a safety announcement, noted that the drugs’ side effects included risky behaviors, such as sleepwalking and sleep driving, that can lead to injury and even death. (Carey, 4/30)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Orders ‘Black-Box’ Warnings For Sleep Aids
The FDA said on Tuesday prescription insomnia pills that contain eszopiclone, zaleplon and zolpidem would have to display a black-box warning about potential risks and a contraindication that they shouldn’t be taken by patients who have experienced complications such as sleepwalking or driving while asleep. (Armental, 4/30)

Bloomberg: Lunesta, Ambien Sleeping-Pill Side Effects? FDA Adds Warnings 
There were 46 reports of serious injuries that weren’t deadly, including overdoses, burns, loss of limbs from extreme cold, and self-injuries from gunshot wounds. “These incidents can occur after the first dose of these sleep medicines or after a longer period of treatment, and can occur in patients without any history of these behaviors and even at the lowest recommended doses,” FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in a statement. “While these incidents are rare, they are serious and it’s important that patients and health-care professionals are aware of the risk.” (Cortez, 4/30)

Stateline: Medicaid Work Requirements Hit Roadblocks 
In three red states that might have been expected to adopt work requirements, lawmakers failed this year to pass legislation. Some governor seats recently occupied by Republicans changed hands as 2019 opened, bringing in executives who oppose work requirements. And a federal judge in Washington, D.C., last month ruled that Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services had improperly approved work requirements in Arkansas and Kentucky. The same judge is considering a similar challenge to HHS’ approval of New Hampshire’s plan to impose work requirements in its Medicaid program. (Ollove, 4/30)

The Associated Press: Medicaid Expansion Backers In Kansas May Hold Budget Hostage
Supporters of expanding Medicaid in Kansas are looking to block passage of the state's next annual budget to force an expansion plan through the Republican-controlled Legislature. Legislators were set to reconvene Wednesday after an annual spring break. The state Senate expected to vote quickly on expediting an expansion debate. The House approved the measure in March, but the Senate has yet to act on it. (Hanna, 5/1)

The New York Times: Should Adults Get A Measles Booster Shot?
Because of this year’s sharp increase in measles cases — which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has blamed a deliberate misinformation campaign by anti-vaccine activists for — many Americans are wondering whether they need to be vaccinated. The C.D.C. emphasizes that children are the most important group to reach. Outbreaks spread rapidly in preschools and kindergartens, and young children often have infant siblings too young to get the vaccine. But some adults, too, should consult with their doctors and consider getting the shot. (McNeil, 4/30)

The New York Times: Where Every Measles Case Has Been Reported This Year
Most of the cases have occurred in New York, Michigan and Washington State. The disease spread in Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and in Rockland County, New York, before being carried to Michigan. A large outbreak in southern Washington State spread mostly among unvaccinated children under 10 years old. And last week, hundreds of people were put under quarantine at two Los Angeles universities after an outbreak there. (Cai, Lu and Reinhard, 4/30)

NPR: Measles History 101: How Serious Is This Year's Measles Outbreak?
In 2000, the Pan American Health Organization announced a monumental public health achievement: Widespread vaccination efforts, overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had effectively eliminated measles from the United States. The disease, which before the vaccination era affected 3 million to 4 million people in the U.S. each year, was now isolated to small, contained outbreaks connected to international travel. (Lambert, 4/30)

NPR: How Did We Get Here? 7 Things To Know About Measles
Americans could be forgiven for not knowing that much about measles. After all, it's been 51 years since an effective vaccine was introduced, quickly turning the disease from a common childhood experience to a rarity, and nearly two decades since the disease was declared eliminated from the U.S. But outbreaks have surfaced throughout the country over the past few months, affecting more than 700 people. (Lambert, 4/30)

Bloomberg: How Measles Made A Comeback After Elimination In U.S.: Quicktake 
Thanks to the introduction of a vaccine in 1963, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. Yet the number of cases of the highly contagious disease this year has surpassed 700, spread across 22 states and focused in New York. The outbreak has prompted authorities to quarantine university students, fine parents for not immunizing their children and bar unvaccinated minors from public places. (Goldman, 5/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Amid Measles Scare, Wisconsin Legislators Seek To End Vaccines Waiver
As the most severe wave of measles in 19 years spreads across the country, state representatives are trying, for the second time, to eliminate Wisconsin's "personal conviction" vaccines waiver. Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, reintroduced the bill to do so Tuesday, three years after his first attempt failed to make it out of committee. (Shastri, 4/30)

The New York Times: Like ‘Uber For Organs’: Drone Delivers Kidney To Maryland Woman
A custom-made drone delivered a kidney this month to a Maryland woman who had waited eight years for a lifesaving transplant. While it was only a short test flight — less than three miles in total — the team that created the drone at the University of Maryland says it was a worldwide first and a crucial step in its quest to speed up the delicate and time-sensitive task of delivering donated organs. (Zraick, 4/30)

The Associated Press: It Seems Like Alzheimer's But Peek Into Brain Shows A Mimic
Some people told they have Alzheimer's may instead have a newly identified mimic of the disease — and scientists say even though neither is yet curable, it's critical to get better at telling different kinds of dementia apart. Too often, the word dementia is used interchangeably with Alzheimer's when there are multiple types of brain degeneration that can harm people's memory and thinking skills. (Neergaard, 4/30)

Stat: Experts Emphasize Multiple Gaps Facing The Health Care Workforce 
The evidence is clear: Having a diverse health care workforce can have an impact on patient care. Research suggests that some patients treated by female physicians have lower mortality and hospital readmission rates and that black men who are treated by black doctors are more likely to receive more preventive services than their peers treated by doctors who aren’t black. But there are still big challenges to recruiting and retaining a diverse health care workforce, a panel of experts said Tuesday at the Atlantic Pulse Summit on Health Care. (Thielking, 4/30)

The Washington Post: Suicide Attempts Using Poison Have Surged Among Young People, Particularly Girls
More young people than ever are trying to kill themselves using poison. The rate of attempted suicide by poison has more than doubled among people under 19 in the past decade in the United States and more than tripled for girls and young women 10 to 24. The new numbers, published Wednesday in the Journal of Pediatrics, come amid an overall rise in suicides nationwide across age groups and gender. But the sudden and sharp rise in poison-related suicide attempts by children and teens has left researchers and health advocates searching for answers. (Wan, 5/1)

The New York Times: His Symptoms Pointed To M.S. Then He Had A Strange Personality Shift.
“I don’t know where I am,” said a terrified voice on the phone. It was the woman’s husband, and he was scared. “I’m lost,” he said in a panicked tone. It’s O.K., she told him, sounding as calm and reassuring as she could. Her husband, a former high school English teacher in his 60s, left his mother-in-law’s that morning to return to their home several hours away in Pinon Hills, just north of San Bernardino, Calif. It was a route he drove often enough to know well. (Sanders, 5/1)

Kaiser Health News: Diabetic Amputations A ‘Shameful Metric’ Of Inadequate Care
On his regular rounds at the University of Southern California’s Keck Hospital, Dr. David Armstrong lives a brutal injustice of American health care. Each week, dozens of patients with diabetes come to him with deep wounds, severe infections and poor circulation — debilitating complications of a disease that has spiraled out of control. He works to save their limbs, but sometimes Armstrong and his team must resort to amputation to save the patient, a painful and life-altering measure he knows is nearly always preventable. (Gorman, 5/1)

The New York Times: How Exercise Affects Our Memory
A single, moderate workout may immediately change how our brains function and how well we recognize common names and similar information, according to a promising new study of exercise, memory and aging. The study adds to growing evidence that exercise can have rapid effects on brain function and also that these effects could accumulate and lead to long-term improvements in how our brains operate and we remember. (Reynolds, 5/1)

The Associated Press: Oklahoma High Court Nullifies Medical Abortion Restrictions
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a state law restricting access to drug-induced abortions is unconstitutional, the latest decision by the state's highest court striking down restrictions on abortions adopted by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The court overturned a 2014 state law that banned "off-label" use of mifepristone, a medication used for abortions, sometimes called RU-486. (4/30)

The Associated Press: Wisconsin Governor Calls Trump Abortion Comments 'Blasphemy'
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday it is "blasphemy" and "horrific" for President Donald Trump to say that doctors in the state want to execute babies. Evers was reacting to comments Trump made Saturday during a rally in Green Bay. Trump said then it was "shocking" that Evers planned to veto a "born alive" abortion bill that requires doctors to keep babies alive following a failed abortion. (4/30)

The Wall Street Journal: As Retiree Health-Care Bills Mount, Some States Have A Solution: Stop Paying
North Carolina corrections official Charles Johnson will soon lose a major perk he can offer recruits when the state ends a promise to pay health-care bills once workers retire. “It’s going to make a difficult situation even more difficult,” said Mr. Johnson, an assistant superintendent at Polk Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C. About 30% of the facility’s roughly 335 correctional-officer positions are currently empty, he said. States across the U.S. are testing how far they can reduce health benefits for their retirees as a way of coping with mounting liabilities and balancing budgets. (Gillers, 5/1)

In other news on health care costs —

The Atlantic: 'Looping' Created An Underground Insulin-Pump Market
One day last June, Doug Boss pulled into a police-station parking lot to meet a stranger from Craigslist. His purpose: to buy used insulin pumps. Boss has type 1 diabetes, and he relies on a small pump attached to his body to deliver continuous doses of insulin that keep him alive. To be clear, he didn’t need to buy used medical equipment on Craigslist. Boss, who is 55 and works in IT in Texas, has health insurance. He even has a new, in-warranty pump sitting at home. But he was thrilled to find on Craigslist a coveted old model that was made by the medical-device company Medtronic and discontinued years ago. What makes these outdated Medtronic pumps so desirable is, ironically, a security flaw. Boss was looking for a pump or two he could hack. (Zhang, 4/29)

Stateline: New Naloxone Laws Seek To Prevent Opioid Overdoses 
It’s increasingly likely that someone you know has the opioid overdose rescue drug naloxone in their pocket or medicine cabinet. In fact, a new mobile app, NaloxoFind, will tell you whether anyone nearby is carrying the lifesaving drug. In the last five years, at least 46 states and the District of Columbia enacted so-called good Samaritan laws, allowing private citizens to administer the overdose-reversal medication without legal liability. And all but four states — Connecticut, Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon — have called on pharmacies to provide the easy-to-administer medication to anyone who wants it without a prescription, according to the Network for Public Health Law. (Vestal, 5/1)

NPR: Meth Surges Out West, With Fewer Treatment Options Than For Opioids
Amelia and her roommate had been awake for two days straight. They decided to spray-paint the bathroom hot pink. After that, they laid into building and rebuilding the pens for the nine pit bull puppies they were raising in their two-bedroom apartment. Then the itching started. It felt like pin pricks under the skin of her hands. Amelia was convinced she had scabies, skin lice. She spent hours in front of the mirror checking her skin, picking at her face. She even got a health team to come test the apartment. All they found were a few dust mites. (Dembosky, 5/1)

The Associated Press: West Virginia Hospitals Sue Opioid Companies; Want Damages
Hospitals in West Virginia have banded together to sue some of the country's largest opioid companies, saying they flooded Appalachia with powerful painkillers and forced medical centers to deal with the financial repercussions. Nearly 30 West Virginia hospitals and 10 affiliates in Kentucky have signed on to the suit filed Monday in Marshall County, West Virginia. The hospitals' lawyer said the case is the first time a large group of hospitals in a state has teamed up to take legal action against opioid firms. The hospitals are seeking monetary damages to cover the costs of treating people with opioid addictions. (4/30)

The Associated Press: Washington State Jail To Give Addiction Meds After Lawsuit
A county in Washington state has agreed to provide opiate-withdrawal medication to prisoners at its jail, following a federal lawsuit. The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued Whatcom County Jail last year, saying its practice of requiring most prisoners to go cold turkey violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Opioid addiction qualifies as a disability under the law, and the ACLU said prisoners suffering from it are as entitled to medication as those with any other condition. Nevertheless, advocates say relatively few jails provide such treatment. (4/30)

Stat: Facebook Announces New Steps In Effort To Bolster Privacy Of Health Data
Millions of Facebook users have joined groups to talk about health care issues ranging from rare disease diagnoses to chemotherapy side effects. Now, the technology giant is taking steps it hopes will encourage those conversations while affording users more privacy. ...The company announced Tuesday that it will create a new type of community: health support groups. Once groups are designated as health support communities, users will be able to easily ask the administrators to post questions on their behalf. (Thielking, 4/30)

Stat: 5 Names To Know: The Team Leading Microsoft Into Health Care 
Microsoft is quickly expanding its footprint in medicine. The company has filed dozens of patents in recent years related to health care innovations. It is working in medical imaging, cloud storage, telehealth, and remote patient monitoring — and applying artificial intelligence to all of the above. Just in the past few months, the company has announced a national digital health partnership with Walgreens; a new health care bot to help screen and address patients’ health problems; and a cloud-based tool to spur data sharing between hospitals. (Ross, 5/1)

The New York Times: The Microbots Are On Their Way
Like Frankenstein, Marc Miskin’s robots initially lie motionless. Then their limbs jerk to life. But these robots are the size of a speck of dust. Thousands fit side-by-side on a single silicon wafer similar to those used for computer chips, and, like Frankenstein coming to life, they pull themselves free and start crawling. “We can take your favorite piece of silicon electronics, put legs on it and then build a million of them,” said Dr. Miskin, a professor of electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. “That's the vision.” (Chang, 4/30)

NPR: AI In Medicine: More Science And Less Art
When Kim Hilliard shows up at the clinic at the New Orleans University Medical Center, she's not there simply for an eye exam. The human touches she gets along the way help her navigate her complicated medical conditions. In addition to diabetes, the 56-year-old has high blood pressure. She has also had back surgery and has undergone bariatric surgery to help her control her weight. (Harris, 4/30)

KQED: Former Techies Find New Work As Technology Detox Activists
Phone addiction has become a full-on crisis, with detox camps and phone apps designed to disconnect us from around-the-clock technology. Former techies are jumping into the mix, too, crafting encore careers as technology activists urging Silicon Valley companies to make their products less addictive. (Schiffer, 4/29)

The New York Times: New York Bans Alcohol Ads On Most City Property
Eighteen months after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority banned alcohol advertisements on New York City buses, in subway cars and in stations, the City of New York has followed suit, instituting its own ban on most city-owned properties. The ban, which goes into effect immediately, affects city-owned properties such as bus shelters, newsstands, recycling bins and LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks. (Mays, 4/30)

The Associated Press: New York City Bans Alcohol Ads On City Property
Venues that are currently allowed to sell alcohol, such as restaurants, stadiums and concerts halls, are exempt. "This order banning alcohol ads from City property reaffirms our commitment to health equity and our stand to protect the well-being of all New Yorkers," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said in an emailed statement. (4/30)

The Associated Press: Defense Strikes Back In Records Dispute In Flint Water Case
Lawyers for Michigan's former health director are firmly opposing an effort to put his Flint water criminal case on hold for six months, saying it's a sign of "dysfunction" by prosecutors. In blunt language, Nick Lyon's defense team urged Judge Joseph Farah to reject a timeout and instead decide whether involuntary manslaughter charges will stick. (4/30)

The Wall Street Journal: NYC Homeless Shelter Population Could Rise By 5,000, Report Says
New York City’s homeless shelter population could rise by more than 5,000 people during the next three years, according to a new report. The nonprofit organization Coalition for the Homeless released its annual report on Tuesday, warning that the shelter population—already hovering at a record of about 60,000 people—could hit 65,000 by 2022 because of the lack of shelters and permanent housing in the city. (Honan, 4/30)

The Star Tribune: Syphilis Cases In Babies Alarm Minnesota Health Authorities 
The growing number of syphilis cases in Minnesota women has spawned a new problem: syphilis infections in newborns. Ten cases of congenital syphilis were found in 2018 in fetuses or newborn babies, a shocking number given that the Minnesota Department of Health leapt into action after just two such cases were reported in 2015. Untreated, syphilis in babies over time can affect the development of children’s eyes, ears and bones and can damage organs. (Olson, 4/30)

North Carolina Health News: MedAssist Fills Prescriptions For Tar Heels In Need 
MedAssist is a non-profit pharmacy, partially funded by the state, which ships 90-day supplies of free prescription medications to people in need across all 100 counties of North Carolina. Based in Charlotte, the program also runs a free “store” for over-the-counter medications for local residents, a mobile free pharmacy with OTC giveaways and a consultation program for seniors who fall in the Medicare “donut hole.” Last year, MedAssist served more than 37,000 Tar Heels across its three programs and gave out $68.5 million worth of medications. (Duong, 4/30)

Arizona Republic: Hacienda Healthcare, Where Patient Was Raped, Receives A State License
The specialized-care facility where a patient with intellectual disabilities was raped last year now has a license from the state.Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law last week requiring intermediate-care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities in the state to be licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Those facilities had been exempt from state law since 1997. (Innes, 4/30)

Modern Healthcare: Three Health Systems To Build $48M Medical Laundry Center In Detroit
Three Michigan health systems are banding together to construct a $48 million medical laundry service center in the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood in Detroit. Henry Ford Health System; Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan's healthcare arm; and St. Joseph Mercy Health System, owned by Livonia-based Trinity Health, have stitched together a joint venture to build the facility, according to a Monday news release. (Jibrell, 4/30)

Georgia Health News: State Finds Many Valid Complaints Against Health Insurers
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Ambetter of Peach State, and Humana had high levels of consumer complaints last year that the state determined to be justified, according to newly released figures. Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck and his staff recently posted complaint data for all health insurers in 2018. (Miller, 4/30)

North Carolina Health News: Lawmakers Look For Ways To Reduce Barriers To Rural Broadband 
But getting high-speed internet into every corner of North Carolina is proving to be a challenge. Advocates and lawmakers say that broadband is an economic, education, safety and health care issue that needs to be overcome to help rural communities. ...First responders say they need broadband access to better communicate and protect their communities. Broadband would help medical providers better connect and care for their patients through telemedicine, particularly those in rural parts of the state where there’s a lack of providers. (Knopf, 5/1)

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Emergency Motion Alleges Inmate's Life Is Threatened By Health Care Failures At Fluvanna Prison
Lawyers for an inmate at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women have filed an emergency motion alleging repeated and life-threatening mismanagement of the inmate’s medication. Margie Ryder, 39, who is due to be released Oct. 15, suffers from terminal pulmonary arterial hypertension and is dependent for her survival upon the correct use of a medication, Remodulin, which is continuously delivered to her heart with a pump, according to her lawyers with the Legal Aid Justice Center, Wiley Rein LLP and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee. (Green, 4/30)

Texas Tribune: Arming More Texas Teachers Makes Some Black Students, Parents Feel Unsafe
Come fall, the high school senior’s worries will focus on younger black students at schools where educators trained as school marshals can carry their concealed handguns when students are present. He’s even more concerned that there could be no limit on how many marshals a school district can appoint — and that those marshals could have immunity in court for any “reasonable action” taken to maintain safety. (Samuels, 5/1)

Modern Healthcare: Memorial Health In South Florida Earns Top Brand Ranking
A new report ranking health system brands gave the top three spots, in descending order, to Memorial Healthcare System, Hollywood , Fla., Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. The announcement comes in a report that features not one, but two photos of businessmen standing on tables trying to amp up their wide-eyed colleagues, whose mouths hang open in shock. (Bannow, 4/30)

North Carolina Health News: Firefighters Return To NCGA Looking For Help For Sick Colleagues 
Modern firefighters continue to struggle with health consequences caused by the products of combustion, as evidence grows that firefighters are prone to higher rates of many forms of cancer. Last year, President Donald Trump signed legislation setting up a system to track the cancers diagnosed in firefighters after the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health completed studies finding that firefighters had higher rates of nine types of cancers. ...The Firefighters Fighting Cancer Act would create a presumption that if a firefighter who’s been serving for more than five years in a local department is diagnosed with one of the nine cancers, then the care and treatment for that cancer would be covered by workers’ compensation. (Hoban, 5/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: No Stanford Nurses Strike As Union, Hospitals Reach Bargaining Agreements
The union representing 3,700 registered nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has reached tentative bargaining agreements with the hospitals, bringing an end to a contract impasse that the nurses had previously authorized a strike over. A spokesman for the union, the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA), said the three-year agreements — one with Stanford Health Care and one with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital — include increased pay opportunities, the maintenance of part-time nursing positions, protection of vacation and attendance policies, and the establishment of workplace-violence prevention provisions to ensure nurses have a role in ensuring safe working conditions. (Ho, 4/30)

San Jose Mercury News: County, San Jose Officials Grapple With Rising Homelessness
The number of homeless people in Santa Clara County is increasing faster than the new county resources allocated to help them, a reality that frustrated county and San Jose elected officials at a joint meeting Monday afternoon. ...The county has tried to respond — adding 1,372 permanent homeless housing units — some still under construction — and 1,034 temporary shelter beds since 2015. And county voters in 2016 passed a nearly $1 billion affordable housing bond, Measure A, a quarter of which has been allocated for so far. (Vo, 4/30)

Tampa Bay Times: Healthcare Bill Breathes New Life Into Proposal To Cap Strong Smokable Medical Pot
While House Health & Human Services Chairman Ray Rodrigues' bill to cap medical THC — the naturally occurring element in marijuana that produces a high — was never heard on the floor and failed to get a Senate companion, the Estero Republican's proposal is not dead yet. But although there is only a matter of days left in the legislative session, the proposal to cap strong medical pot was tacked on as an amendment to a larger health-related agency bill, as often happens to some major changes in the final days of session. (Gross, 4/30)

Reuters: The Obscure Advisory Committees At The Heart Of The U.S. Drug Pricing Debate
Expectations were high last year for three new migraine drugs hitting the market from Amgen Inc, Eli Lilly and Co and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Priced around $7,000 each, the drugmakers called them "breakthrough" treatments designed to prevent migraines when taken year-round, and estimated that millions of patients could benefit. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration said Amgen's Aimovig – the first of the three drugs approved – was an "important addition" to available treatments. But a small group of external medical experts who quietly advise U.S. health insurers on new drugs was not impressed, according to a private meeting held at UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx offices in Chicago that was attended by Reuters. (Humer, 4/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Maryland Takes Step Toward Capping Drug Prices
Maryland is poised to become the first state to create a panel to review expensive prescription drugs and cap what public agencies will pay for them. The legislation, which cleared the state legislature in the waning moments of its session earlier this month, would be the first of its kind to allow prices for certain drugs to potentially be capped. The effort already has encouraged other states to take action, and lawmakers in Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts are considering legislation to create similar boards. The bill’s backers say they are confident the measure can survive court challenges that have stalled other efforts in Maryland and elsewhere on drug-price reform. (Hopkins, 4/30)

Politico Pro: Gottlieb Appears To Take Aim At Trump Part B Drug Idea
President Donald Trump's former FDA commissioner today appeared critical of the administration's plan to overhaul how Medicare pays for physician-administered drugs in his first speech since leaving his government post. While Scott Gottlieb didn't directly reference HHS's proposal to test tying payments for Medicare Part B drugs to the lower cost paid in others countries, he was critical of any government-controlled pricing system and alluded to newly proposed changes for Part B. (Karlin-Smith, 4/29)

Bloomberg: Pharma’s Charity Allies Help Its Fight To Keep Drug Prices High 
The U.S. Rural Health Network has a slogan on its website that seems obvious: “We’re fighting for rural health.” But it’s not that simple. The two-year-old nonprofit hasn’t had much impact in rural health circles, where experts say they’ve never heard of it. It’s also active in a different area: fighting proposals that would cut the cost of prescription drugs. This year, it joined scores of other groups to oppose letting Medicare negotiate prices with drugmakers. (Elgin, 4/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Should Drug Prices Be Disclosed In Ads Targeted Directly To Consumers?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is working on a proposed rule that would require drug companies to disclose the list prices of prescription medications when advertising them directly to consumers on television. The move, part of the Trump administration’s blueprint for reducing drug prices, aims to increase transparency around prices in the hope consumers will make more informed decisions about their medications and pressure manufacturers to rein in the cost of their products. (4/29)

Tampa Bay Times: PolitiFact Florida: TV Ad Misleads On Florida Plan To Import Drugs From Canada
Supporters say that the bill will lead to lower prices for consumers who struggle to pay for medicines. Opponents cast doubt about whether it will truly save money, and a conservative group, Americans for Tax Reform, called the bill “socialist price controls.”SB 1528 would require the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to establish a program to allow a vendor to import wholesale drugs into Florida pharmacies. (Sherman, 4/29)

Columbus Dispatch: Could Michigan's High Drug Prices Flow South To Ohio?
The analysis of spending on more than 2 million prescriptions for generic drugs found that pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, charged Michigan taxpayers far more than they paid pharmacies to dispense the medications to Medicaid beneficiaries. The practice, known as spread pricing, allowed PBMs to increase their profits, pushing Medicaid’s drug spending higher despite declining drug costs, researchers found. (Candisky, 4/29)

Columbus Dispatch: Movement To Reform Pharmacy Middlemen Reaches A Boiling Point Nationwide
PBMs, such as CVS Caremark, OptumRx and Express Scripts, act as the middlemen between health insurers, drug manufacturers and pharmacies. Their contracts typically keep pricing and rebate data secret, leading many people to conclude that they’re partly to blame for the rising price of drugs, which itself is the fastest-rising part of the health-care sector. Following a Dispatch analysis last year of confidential pharmacy-reimbursement data, the Ohio Department of Medicaid released its own analysis showing that in 2017, CVS Caremark and OptumRx charged taxpayers $224 million more for drugs than they reimbursed pharmacists. (Candsiky and Schladen, 4/29)

The CT Mirror: PBMs Driving Up Drug And Insurance Prices, Critics Say
Pharmacy benefit managers – the middlemen who negotiate drug purchases for insurers and large buyers – are coming under growing scrutiny and criticism both in Connecticut and nationwide for their role in the sharp rise of prescription drugs. The third-party companies, called PBMs for short, originally processed claims for pharmacies, but now are hired by Medicare, Medicaid and commercial health plans to manage pharmaceutical benefits. (Hoffman, 4/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Government To File Complaint After Mallinckrodt Unit Is Accused Of Bribery To Drive Drug Sales
Shares of drugmaker Mallinckrodt Plc fell 16% Tuesday after news reports that the federal government is intervening in a pair of lawsuits that allege its subsidiary bribed doctors to drive sales of a pricey multiple-sclerosis drug. The U.S. Department of Justice said in recent court filings that it would file its own complaint within 90 days in relation to lawsuits brought by whistleblowers alleging that Questcor, which Mallinckrodt acquired in 2014 for $5.9 billion, defrauded government health-care plans by illegally marketing H.P. Acthar Gel. (Hopkins, 4/30)

Stat: U.K. Reaches 'First-Of-Its-Kind' Deal With Drug Makers For Hepatitis C
n the latest attempt to bring drug spending under control, the U.K.’s National Health Service reached what it calls a “first-of-its-kind” agreement with three drug makers to provide hepatitis C medicines at “best prices” in hopes of eradicating the disease. Five-year agreements were reached with Gilead Sciences (GILD), AbbVie (ABBV), and Merck (MRK), which will also work with local health services and voluntary groups to find patients —including homeless people and those with mental health problems — test for infection, and provide treatment. (Silverman, 4/30)

Kaiser Health News: Is Insulin’s High Cost Keeping Diabetes Patients From Taking Their Medicine?
High prescription drug prices are fast becoming a leading political topic, with medications like insulin emerging as a poster child for the issue. Nearly doubling in price from 2012 to 2016, the diabetes medication has commanded bipartisan attention on Capitol Hill and even a shoutout in a recent Netflix comedy special. Voters say curbing such prices should be a top priority for lawmakers — and Democratic presidential candidates are paying attention. (Luthra, 4/29)

Stat: Sun Pharma's Insider-Trading Policy Raises Question Of Double Standard
Earlier this month, a senior executive at Sun Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s largest purveyors of generic drugs, and his wife settled insider trading allegations brought by Indian regulators. The case stemmed from an episode five years ago, when Abhay Gandhi traded in Ranbaxy Laboratories stock soon after Sun Pharma agreed to buy the company from another drug maker. Despite the infraction, Gandhi remains with the company as both head of its North American operations and as a director of Taro Pharmaceuticals, in which Sun Pharma owns a controlling stake. (Silverman, 4/29)

The Associated Press: Pfizer 1Q Profit Jumps 9% On Higher Drug Sales, Lower Costs
Higher prescription drugs sales and restrained spending together gave drugmaker Pfizer a 9% jump in first quarter profit as it easily topped analysts' profit expectations. Investors drove up Pfizer shares $1.20, or 3%, to $40.79 in early afternoon trading. Sales of breast cancer drug Ibrance and blood thinner Eliquis both jumped over 20% to more than $1 billion each in the quarter, and Xeljanz for rheumatoid arthritis saw sales soar 30%, lifting prescription drug sales by 3%. (4/30)

Reuters: Eli Lilly Misses Estimates For Top-Selling Diabetes Drug Trulicity, Shares Slip
Eli Lilly and Co on Tuesday reported lower-than-expected first-quarter sales for its top-selling diabetes drug Trulicity, and the U.S. drugmaker said the need to offer rebates and discounts were taking a toll and likely to weigh on revenue growth for the year. Lilly has been banking on newer drugs such as psoriasis treatment Taltz and migraine treatment Emgality to grow revenue and help offset pricing pressures and sales declines for other products. However, sales of both fell short of Wall Street estimates in the quarter. (Joseph and Steenhuysen, 4/30)

Stat: States Should Treat Pharma As A Utility Or It It's 'Lights Out' For Patients 
Basically, a newly created rate-setting board or an existing government agency, depending upon the state, would determine an “upper payment limit” for any prescription drug — brand-name or generic — that is considered unaffordable after reviewing cost and pricing data submitted by drug makers. In some states, such a ceiling might also apply to fully insured commercial health plans, not just state health programs. In general, the concept builds on efforts to demand more transparency from the pharmaceutical industry while mimicking how governments determine how much is paid for electricity. (Ed Silverman, 4/25)

The Hill: Misuse Of Asthma And Allergy Medicine Can Be Directly Linked To Price 
For people living with asthma and allergies, properly managing these conditions can drastically improve their quality of life. A key tool for patients is prescription medications that can help limit the disruptions associated with asthma and allergy complications. Unfortunately, the high cost of drugs and a complex and arcane rebate distribution system between prescription drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who work on behalf of health insurance companies stand in the way of improving the lives of patients. This has real, tangible costs not only for individuals living with asthma and allergies, but for all patients. (Kenneth Mendez, 4/24)

Bloomberg: How Drug Shortages Can Be Prevented
American drug companies pride themselves on innovation, and much of today’s policy debate has focused on the high prices of the newest, patent-protected drugs. But older drugs were innovative once, and some — if available — still offer people with once-deadly diseases their best shot at life. That’s why efforts to make drugs more accessible have to address shortages as well as high prices. Some are. Lifesaving cancer drugs or IV fluids can run short on a routine basis (as I explored in a previous column) and experts also say there’s no plan in place to deal with emergencies. Had the anthrax attacks that occurred in the wake of 9/11 been more extensive, as many feared, there would never have been enough of the recommended antibiotic, Cipro, to go around. (Faye Flam, 4/25)

CNN: The French Solution To US Drug Prices
In June 1974, I rented a room in a lovely bungalow in the village of Vallauris in the hills above Cannes, the same town of stone cottages and tiled roofs where Picasso had maintained his pottery studio. I was furiously at work on my second book, but that summer happened to be particularly dismal for an asthma sufferer. My little apartment gave onto a beautiful little garden filled with plants, which unfortunately only intensified my symptoms. My rescue inhaler was the powerful stimulant and bronchodilator epinephrine, and I was using it so frequently that I began to develop heart palpitations. I was pretty scared. (David A. Andelman, 4/30)

The Hill: Is Arbitration An Answer For High Drug Prices?
Future prescription drug costs are projected to spike to unsustainable levels. Biologic pharmaceuticals will make up the majority of new drugs, and unfortunately, they are commonly priced at over six figures for a course of treatment. These drugs promise new breakthroughs in treatments for patients with certain targeted conditions, but at prices few can afford.Medicare in particular needs new tools to better balance the incentives for new drug development with our ability to afford them. Despite recent, negative news coverage many health-care professionals would argue that one of the best solutions is to adopt a tactic that is already in use in other sectors of the economy — binding arbitration. (John Rother, 4/24)

Bloomberg: Genetic Medicine Isn't Moving Faster Than The Speed Of Ethics 
There’s a belief that became pervasive in the 1990s that medicine is moving so fast that ethics can’t keep up. Science stories in the news would refer to “Brave New World” or Frankenstein’s monster. But now that we’re living in that long-imagined future, it looks like science isn’t keeping pace with the hype, which over the years has included promises of cures tied to the human genome project, the expectation that gene therapy would be commonplace, and even the weird belief that cloning would replace sex as the preferred method of human reproduction. (Faye Flam, 4/30)

The Hill: Stopping Veteran Suicide Starts On The Front Lines, Not In DC
“When I asked for help, they opened up a Pandora's box inside of me and just kicked me out the door. That’s how they treat veterans 'round here." These were the last words of U.S. Army Sergeant John Toombs in a message he’d recorded shortly before taking his own life on VA property, near the emergency room that had reportedly turned him away. John couldn't get his memories of combat in Afghanistan out of his head. He had developed a drug problem that landed him in the residential treatment program at the Murfreesboro Veterans Affairs in Tennessee. (Sherman Gillums, 4/30)

The Washington Post: I’ve Been A Surgeon In Australia For 16 Years. I’ve Seen Only Two Gunshot Wounds. 
Australia’s lack of gun violence has largely been attributed to the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. On April 28 of that year, Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 people and injured 23 others using semi-automatic weapons. Weeks after the event, Australian politicians across the political spectrum legislated a gun buyback program, a ban on self-loading guns, a requirement to prove a genuine need to own a firearm, a licensing scheme, and strict stipulations on the storage of weapons and ammunition. The public supported these moves, selling thousands of guns to the government.Following Port Arthur, not only have gun-related homicides dropped, but gun-inflicted suicides have fallen as well, with some reports showing as much as a 58-percent decrease. (Nikki Stamp, 4/30)

Los Angeles Times: As A Medical Student, I Was Told We Had Conquered Measles. I Wish 
In the 1980s, when I was a medical student and later a pediatrics resident, grizzled old pediatricians would tell us how lucky we were that we’d probably never see a case of measles or diphtheria or polio. Images and descriptions of these diseases were still classic favorites on medical board exams, though, so we dutifully committed information about them to memory. That was a good thing. (Linda Schack, 5/1)

Stat: Me Too Has Done Little To Improve Medicine For Female Physicians
It isn’t easy being a female physician these days. Although new data may suggest progress in several gender equity areas, deep-seated inequality still exists. The pay gap between male and female doctors decreased for the first time in three years, yet women physicians still earned an average of $90,490 less than their male counterparts (down from a difference of $105,000 a year ago). Advancement for female physicians continues to lag in academic medicine, as well as in NIH grants, clinical trial roles, and publications. And in a recent study sponsored by the American Medical Association, female physicians reported routinely being perceived as a nurse or other type of non-physician during day-to-day work. (Janet Klosoff, 5/1)

Bloomberg: Medicare For All Would Also Be Expensive For All
Medicare for All gets its very own hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives today, but congressional leaders are only beginning to come to grips with the true costs of the proposal — or, for that matter, the battle that lies ahead. Most of the Democrats’ proposals claim that they can reduce costs, but they cannot do so unless they take on two of the most sympathetic and powerful actors in the U.S. health care system: hospitals and physicians. Both of them are more likely to co-opt Medicare for All than to allow it to harm their interests. (Karl W. Smith, 4/30)

The Hill: A Watershed Day For 'Medicare For All' 
I recently spoke with a woman whose mother put off seeing a doctor until she became eligible for Medicare. When she finally did see a doctor, she learned that she had cancer, and it was too late for treatment. She died shortly after her diagnosis. Her story is all too common. In the richest nation on earth, people are suffering and dying because they cannot afford quality health care. That is unacceptable. In 2018, Democrats campaigned on the declaration that health care is a human right. The American people responded by voting many of them into office. Now the people we elected have the opportunity to deliver on the promise of quality, guaranteed health care for each and every American. (Liz Watson, 4/30)

The New York Times: I’m Embarrassed By My Prenatal Depression. Here’s Why I Talk About It Anyway.
I had prenatal depression when I was expecting my first daughter in 2012. It’s not something I think about often, seven years after the worst of my symptoms, though I occasionally have a flash of sweaty, humiliating memory. Like when I’m on the A train and I pass Canal Street — the subway stop I used for work during my darkest days — I’m reminded that I was so anxious it took me hours to get on the train because I was irrationally afraid of a terrorist attack or of fainting onto the third rail. (Jessica Grose, 4/30)

Stat: A Researcher With ALS Wishes A Polygenic Analysis Had Warned Him 
If a fortune teller had “read” my future two years ago, I would have learned that I was at high risk of dying. Soon. A year ago I was diagnosed with the disease that killed baseball legend Lou Gehrig. It’s called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and mine is moving swiftly. I’d have wanted to know what was headed my way so I could start preparing for it and make every hour count. ...We are at the point where such “fortunes” can be told. I’m not talking about the kinds of genetic analyses done by 23andMe or Ancestry.com. I’m talking about something called polygenic analysis. (Rahul Desikan, 4/30)