Modern Healthcare: Tennessee Will Test CMS' Willingness To Block-Grant Medicaid
Tennessee Republicans have decided to test the Trump administration's willingness to radically restructure Medicaid by turning it into a state block grant program. The GOP-dominated legislature passed a three-page bill last Thursday ordering the governor to submit a Section 1115 waiver request to the CMS within six months. The waiver would seek the CMS' approval to transform TennCare, the state's $12 billion Medicaid program covering 1.3 million Tennesseans, from an open-ended entitlement program to one where the federal government makes fixed payments. (Meyer, 5/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Tennessee Becomes First State To Embrace Block Grants For Medicaid Funding
Republican Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign legislation soon seeking Trump administration approval to turn federal funding for the state’s Medicaid program into a lump-sum grant. Currently, Tennessee, like other states, gets open-ended federal dollars because the government matches a percentage of state spending. A switch to block grants would essentially cap funding. The move comes as the Trump administration has encouraged states to explore block grants as part of a White House effort to overhaul Medicaid. The federal-state program covers about 74 million low-income and disabled people, including almost 30 million children, and several Republican-controlled states have already adopted or are requesting federal approval for work requirements and other ways to rein in costs. Growth in Medicaid means the program is making up a larger share of state budgets. (Armour, 5/7)

Politico: Tennessee Will Ask Trump To OK First Medicaid Block Grant
Medicaid for decades has been an open-ended entitlement, without strict limits on how much the federal government pays to states as costs rise. Republicans have long championed Medicaid block grants, arguing that states could better manage their programs if the federal government gave them predetermined funding and significantly greater freedom to set eligibility and benefit rules. Tennessee Republicans spearheading the bill said they didn’t intend to cut coverage for low-income people. They have discussed the concept with the administration and the office of Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who chairs the Senate health committee. (Pradhan, 5/3)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Governor Poised To Sign Republican Bill To Overhaul Medicaid
Currently, the federal government funnels about $7.6 billion into the state's Medicaid program, commonly known as TennCare. This funding isn't capped — so TennCare can grow as more Tennesseans qualify — but block grant funding would inherently be capped, potentially limiting the size of TennCare in the future. (Kelman, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: State Medicaid Waivers Getting Approved Faster
The CMS approved state plans to amend Medicaid 16% faster last year than they did in 2016, according to new federal data. CMS Administrator Seema Verma said that the agency will improve the waiver process that allows states to make changes to Medicaid such as eligibility requirements and rates. (King, 5/7)

The New York Times: Trump Administration Seeks To Redefine Formula For Calculating Poverty
The Trump administration is proposing regulatory changes that could result in cuts in federal aid to millions of low-income Americans. The proposal by the Office of Management and Budget on Monday would change how inflation is used to calculate the official definition of poverty used by the Census Bureau to estimate the size of the country’s poor population. The measure is also often applied to determine eligibility for government benefits. (Karni, 5/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Considers Poverty-Gauge Change That Could Trim Rolls On Aid Programs
The change in the poverty calculation would fit with other steps taken by the White House to reduce access to federal welfare programs, a policy shift that has alarmed consumer groups while appealing to conservatives who call for reducing spending on social programs. The administration has allowed states to impose work requirements in Medicaid. It has also backed a plan to make it harder for legal immigrants who use public assistance programs to come to the U.S. or stay permanently. The number of people affected by the change would be small at first but would grow over time, said Aviva Aron-Dine, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. She said it could affect the income thresholds used to determine Medicaid eligibility. (Armour, 5/7)

The New York Times: E.P.A. Leaders Disregarded Agency’s Experts In Issuing Asbestos Rule, Memos Show
Senior officials at the Environmental Protection Agency disregarded the advice of their own scientists and lawyers in April when the agency issued a rule that restricted but did not ban asbestos, according to two internal memos. Because of its fiber strength and resistance to heat, asbestos has long been used in insulation and construction materials. It is also is a known carcinogen. Last month’s rule kept open a way for manufacturers to adopt new uses for asbestos, or return to certain older uses, but only with E.P.A. approval. (Friedman, 5/8)

USA Today: Pregnancy And Childbirth Deaths Are Largely Preventable, CDC Says
For every five mothers dying in the United States from pregnancy and childbirth, three could have been saved if they had received better medical care, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report published Tuesday. The report details how mothers are dying needlessly before, during and up to a year after giving birth from pregnancy-related complications and health conditions aggravated by childbirth. The agency's latest analysis of national maternal mortality data adds to the growing body of evidence that more than half of deaths are preventable. And it further illustrates how delayed and missed diagnoses by medical providers, failures to recognize warning signs, and a lack of patient access to healthcare are all fueling this country's status as the most dangerous place to give birth among developed nations. (Young, 5/7)

The New York Times: Huge Racial Disparities Found In Deaths Linked To Pregnancy
African-American, Native American and Alaska Native women die of pregnancy-related causes at a rate about three times higher than those of white women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. The racial disparity has persisted, even grown, for years despite frequent calls to improve access to medical care for women of color. Sixty percent of all pregnancy-related deaths can be prevented with better health care, communication and support, as well as access to stable housing and transportation, the researchers concluded. (Rabin, 5/7)

The Associated Press: US Pregnancy Deaths Are Up, Especially Among Minorities
"An American mom today is 50% more likely to die in childbirth than her own mother was," said Dr. Neel Shah, a Harvard Medical School obstetrician. Separately, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released new guidelines saying being black is the greatest risk factor for these deaths. The guidelines say women should have a comprehensive heart-risk evaluation 12 weeks after delivery, but up to 40% of women don't return for that visit and payment issues may be one reason. (Stobbe and Marchione, 5/7)

The Washington Post: Hundreds Of Women Die Each Year From Pregnancy Issues. Most Of The Deaths Could Be Prevented
The leading cause of death was cardiovascular conditions, such as heart disease and stroke, which accounted for 33 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. Infections accounted for nearly 13 percent, and obstetric hemorrhage accounted for 11 percent. A cause of death could not be determined in nearly 7 percent of the cases, according to the report. (Bever, 5/8)

Stat: Many Pregnancy-Related Deaths Are Preventable, CDC Report Finds 
“While maternal deaths are relatively rare, every death is tragic and it often represents a web of missed opportunities,” said Dr. Nicole Davis, an epidemiologist at the CDC and a co-author of the new report. (Thielking, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: 3 Out Of 5 Pregnancy-Related Deaths Are Preventable, CDC Says
The U.S. has seen its maternal mortality rate rise for decades while most other countries have experienced declines. A 2017 study published in the Lancet found the U.S. had a maternal mortality rate of 26.4 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2015 compared with 7.3 deaths in Canada, 7.8 in France, and 8.8 deaths in England. (Johnson, 5/7)

The Associated Press: Opponents Of Georgia Abortion Ban Promise Court Challenge
Opponents of a Georgia law banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected vow to take their fight from the state Capitol to the courthouse. Signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, the measure is one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws and would effectively ban the procedure around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. (Nadler, 5/8)

The Washington Post: Georgia Governor Signs ‘Heartbeat Bill,’ Giving The State One Of The Most Restrictive Abortion Laws In The Nation
Separately, the Alabama Senate is poised to vote this week on legislation that could become the nation’s strictest abortion law, making it a felony to receive an abortion, with no exception for rape or incest. In a countermove, lawmakers in a growing number of states are racing to amend state constitutions to provide a backstop for the possible overturn of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion. (Wax-Thibodeaux and Cha, 5/7)

The Hill: Abortion Battles Heat Up With Kavanaugh On Supreme Court
Abortion rights advocates and opponents are racing to pass some of the most aggressive laws in recent history as each side prepares for coming legal fights that are likely to culminate in a new challenge to Roe v. Wade. Those involved in the fight say Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation last year has spurred both sides to action. (Wilson, 5/7)

The Associated Press: Wisconsin Republicans Defend Born-Alive Abortion Bill
Wisconsin Republicans moved quickly Tuesday to advance a bill that would require abortion providers to care for babies who survive abortion attempts or face prison, pushing it through a public hearing and preparing for a floor vote as early as next week. Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke and Senate President Roger Roth urged the Assembly Health Committee to pass the bill during the hearing, saying it would leave no doubt that health care providers must do everything they can to keep babies alive if they are born during a failed abortion attempt. (Richmond, 5/7)

The Washington Post: Non-Doctors Can Perform First-Trimester Abortions In Virginia, Federal Judge Rules
Requiring a doctor to perform most abortions in Virginia violates the Constitution, a federal judge in Richmond ruled Monday. The decision from U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson is a victory for abortion rights advocates locally and nationally, who have long argued that first-trimester abortions are simple and safe enough to be performed without a physician. (Weiner and Vozzella, 5/7)

Texas Tribune: Texas Senate Passes Ban On "Discriminatory" Abortions And Removes Some Exceptions Allowing The Procedure After 20 Weeks Of Pregnancy
The Texas Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would ban abortions on the basis of sex, race, or disability status, and criminalize doctors who perform so-called “discriminatory abortions.” Current law prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but there are certain exceptions such as when a fetus is unviable or has "severe and irreversible" abnormalities. (Sundaram, 5/7)

The Associated Press: Lawmaker Vows To 'Do Better' After Abortion Clinic Video
A Pennsylvania state lawmaker who has drawn criticism for a recording of himself berating a woman who was protesting abortion outside a Philadelphia clinic promised Tuesday to "do better." Democratic state Rep. Brian Sims posted a two-minute video on Twitter that said "two wrongs don't make a right." (Scolforo, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: GOP Senators Warn Drug Price Controls Could Come
Two Republican senators on Tuesday issued sharp warnings to the pharmaceutical industry about price controls. The GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday showed that the Trump administration's idea of an international reference model, aimed at just a subset of Medicare drugs, has transformed at least some Republican thinking on the drug-pricing policy debate. (Luthi, 5/7)

CQ: Patents Could Pose Challenge In Drug Price Debate
Senators expressed concern at a hearing Tuesday about how drug companies can accumulate patents and delay competition longer than Congress intended, but experts indicated drawing a line between promoting innovation and punishing abusive behavior might be difficult. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing comes after another drug price hearing earlier this year illuminated how one drug originally approved in 2003 now had more than 100 patents, including some that last until 2034 — a far longer period of monopoly sales than most lawmakers consider reasonable. (Siddons, 5/7)

Kaiser Health News: Drug Industry Patents Go Under Senate Judiciary Committee’s Microscope
Congress isn’t making much headway in finding a solution to the problem of soaring prescription drug prices, but lawmakers from both parties are tinkering on the edges with legislation that aims to increase competition among drugmakers. A comprehensive piece of drug-pricing legislation is a high priority for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). And it could be introduced by mid-June, according to congressional staff. (Bluth, 5/7)

The Hill: Graham: Doing Nothing On Drug Prices 'Unacceptable' 
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that he expects Congress to take action this year to lower drug prices by cracking down on drug companies that delay the patent system to extend their monopolies. “I expect us to do something on patents and prescription drugs this year,” Graham said at a Judiciary Committee hearing. “I don’t know where the sweet spot is but doing nothing is unacceptable.” (Sullivan, 5/7)

Politico Pro: Senators Tee Up Bipartisan Bill For FTC Probe Of Drug Patents
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Richard Blumenthal will introduce a bill this week to let the FTC bring antitrust suits against drug companies that use patents to discourage competition and unfairly extend exclusivity. The bill will enable the FTC to examine tactics like patent thickets and product hopping, or shifting consumers onto slightly different brand-name drugs when older patents run out, Cornyn told POLITICO today. (Owermohle, 5/7)

Meanwhile, in other news —

Stat: Will The Speaker's Office Finally Spill The Beans On Its Drug Pricing Plan?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s health policy expert Wendell Primus is set to address a congressional drug pricing briefing Friday afternoon — his first public remarks since news broke that he has quietly been crafting the speaker’s own drug pricing plan. Primus has been in talks with the White House about his idea for using arbitration to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. And his efforts have single-handedly set off something of a drug-pricing-focused civil war in the Democratic Party between progressives, who hate Primus’ idea, and more moderate Democrats, who insist they’re open to all ideas to bring down drug prices. (Florko, 5/7)

Prescription Drug Watch: For news on rising drug costs, check out our weekly roundup of news coverage and perspectives of the issue.

Modern Healthcare: Judge Halts 340B Medicare Rate Cuts For Hospitals
A federal judge late Monday blocked the Trump administration's Medicare cuts to 340B hospitals, saying the new rates aren't lawful for 2018 and 2019. However, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras did not grant hospitals the permanent injunction against the cuts that they wanted. Instead, he ordered the department to take "first crack" at a remedial measure with a status update due Aug. 5. (Luthi, 5/7)

Politico Pro: Court Rules Against Trump's Cuts To Drug Discount Program
The lawsuit was brought by major trade groups American Hospital Association, America's Essential Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges, and three hospitals. HHS declined to comment. The 340B program had come under fire in recent years from the administration and drugmakers, who have argued it’s strayed from its original purpose and that hospitals aren’t always sharing their savings with patients. (Roubein, 5/7)

CQ: Lawmakers Raise Questions About Health Apps Privacy
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander on Tuesday indicated the committee should consider developing guidelines for how health apps could use and share patients' data. Health apps are a burgeoning field of interest as smart devices, such as certain blood pressure monitors, become more popular and as wearables like the Apple Watch, which can monitor a person’s heart rate, venture further into the medical field. Some apps connect directly with a doctor’s electronic health record system. (Clason, 5/7)

Kaiser Health News: Feds Want To Show Health Care Costs On Your Phone, But That Could Take Years
Federal officials are proposing new regulations that for the first time could allow patients to compare prices charged by various hospitals and other health care providers using data sent to their smartphones. Donald Rucker, who coordinates health information technology policy for the Department of Health and Human Services, said he expects that the rules, first proposed in March, will give patients new power to shop for care based on price and quality. (Schulte, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: Top GOP Senator Calls For CMS To Delay Interoperability Rule
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday called for the Trump administration to give providers more time to implement part of a major rule to promote interoperability in healthcare. The CMS and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT issued two rules in February that target information blocking, implement interoperability and require all health IT companies to use the same application programming interface two years after the policies are finalized. Hospitals also will be required to send doctors notifications when a patient is discharged. (King, 5/7)

Stat: 5 Names To Know At Google: The Key Players Driving Its Health Push 
There’s lots of buzz around Verily and Calico, the Alphabet units single-mindedly devoted to the life sciences. But in many respects, the conglomerate’s most ambitious health play is at its core: Google. The company is working on a dizzying array of initiatives in health and medicine. There’s a fitness tracking app. There’s the famous search engine, the first stop for many people with a medical complaint. There’s the cloud division, which is one of the vendors jockeying for contracts with hospitals shifting to centralize their data storage on the internet. (Robbins, 5/8)

Modern Healthcare: Allscripts' Practice Fusion Subpoenaed Over Alleged HIPAA, Kickback Issues
Practice Fusion, an electronic health records vendor acquired by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions last year, has received a grand jury subpoena as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Allscripts disclosed the subpoena in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week. The subpoena, which Practice Fusion received in March, relates to "certain business practices engaged in by Practice Fusion," according to the filing, including the company's compliance with the anti-kickback statute and HIPAA. (5/7)

The New York Times: Robert Pear, Who Covered Washington For 45 Years, Dies At 69
Robert Pear, a reporter whose understated demeanor belied a tenacious pursuit of sources and scoops during his 40 years at The New York Times covering health care and other critical national issues, died on Tuesday in Rockville, Md. He was 69. His death, from complications of a stroke, was confirmed by his brother Douglas, his only immediate survivor. Mr. Pear went about his reporting meticulously and, to the wider public, inconspicuously. Appearances as a talking head reporter on cable news were not for him. Colleagues described him as almost sphinxlike in the Washington bureau newsroom, where he worked standing up at a specially built desk that he had gotten used to after undergoing back surgery. (Roberts, 5/8)

Pear's last story looked at Republicans' promises to protect patients with preexisting conditions —

The New York Times: Republicans Offer Health Care Bills To Protect Patients (And Themselves)
President Trump and Republicans in Congress say they are committed to protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions. But patients with cancer, diabetes and H.I.V., for example, would have significantly less protection under Republican proposals than under the Affordable Care Act. The proposals may provide some political cover for Republicans on an issue likely to figure prominently in the 2020 elections. But a close inspection of the Republican bills shows that their protections are undercut by a combination of imprecise language, explicit exceptions and “rules of construction” that explain how the legislation is to be interpreted. (Pear, 4/20)

Reuters: 77% Of Americans Say Kids Should Get Measles Shot Even If Parents Object: Reuters Poll
Three out of four Americans believe children should be vaccinated against measles even if their parents object, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found, showing little sympathy for the anti-vaccination movement that U.S. officials blame for the ongoing outbreak. Some 764 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the United States so far this year, the most seen in 25 years, in an outbreak that public health officials have called "completely avoidable" and largely linked to misinformation campaigns against the vaccines. (5/7)

The Associated Press: Health Officials Say NYC Measles Cases Reach 466
The number of measles cases in New York City has reached 466 since the outbreak began in October. The city's health department said Tuesday that 43 new cases were recorded since it last reported figures in April. (5/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Measles Cases In New York City Climb To 466
The newly reported cases continue to be concentrated in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Eight cases were added to the tally for the Borough Park area, a neighborhood where health officials had seen declines. The majority of cases continue to be among children under 4 years of age. Though the outbreak has primarily occurred within insular Orthodox Jewish communities, three of the new cases are among residents of the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn who aren’t members of the Orthodox Jewish community, health officials said. (West, 5/7)

Reuters: WHO Issues Warning As Measles Infects 34,000 In Europe This Year
More than 34,000 people across Europe caught measles in the first two months of 2019, with the vast majority of cases in Ukraine, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday as it urged authorities to ensure vulnerable people get vaccinated. The death toll among 34,300 cases reported across 42 countries in the WHO's European region reached 13, with the virus killing people in Ukraine - which is suffering a measles epidemic - as well as in Romania and Albania. The risk is that outbreaks may continue to spread, the WHO warned. (5/7)

Sacramento Bee: School Nurses On Front Line Against Anti-Vaxxers, Measles Outbreaks. Why Aren’t There More Of Them?
Experts say nurses play a key role in containing communicable diseases by spotting and isolating infected students and keeping track of children who haven’t been vaccinated. Nurses also can more easily detect whether parents are using a bogus medical exemption to prevent their children from getting vaccinated. (Finch II, 5/8)

The New York Times: What To Say (And Not To Say) To Someone Grieving A Suicide
It can be hard to know what to say to a person in the thicket of grief; when someone is grieving a loved one’s suicide, the right words — any words, even — can feel all the more elusive and fraught. Suicide can leave survivors racked with anger, confusion and guilt, and in this state, sometimes even well-intentioned words can hurt. (Brandeis, 5/8)

NPR: For Domestic Violence Survivors, Finding Strength To Leave Abusers Is A Process
Many women have a hard time admitting — even to themselves — that they're being abused by their husband or partner. Suzanne Dubus' first husband hit her, but still, she didn't initially identify herself as a victim of abuse. "I attributed it to alcohol," Dubus says. "I knew that his father abused his mother. And I thought, 'Well, this is just poor learning, and I can help him with this.' " (Gross, 5/7)

USA Today: Mental Health: Talking To Your Pets Is Good, Combats Loneliness
Owning a pet increases human interaction and combats the increasing health concerns around loneliness, prompting some researchers Tuesday to suggest the government should do more to encourage it. Researchers released new data Tuesday that show about 40% of people support a government push to increase interaction with pets. The research was presented at the first Summit on Social Isolation and Companion Animals by Mars Petcare and its Human Animal Bond Research Institute. (O'Donnell, 5/7)

The Associated Press: NFL Concussion Fund Pays Out $485M, But Legal Fights Resume
The NFL concussion fund has paid out nearly $500 million in its first two years, but some players’ lawyers say there aren’t enough doctors in the approved network to evaluate dementia claims. They went to court Tuesday to oppose a rule to require retired players to be tested by doctors within 150 miles of home to prevent “doctor shopping” and suspected fraud. Fund administrator Orran Brown said ex-players from around the country had flocked to four doctors now dismissed from the program who had “high-volume” traffic and some suspect findings. (Dale, 5/7)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: More Blood Pressure Medications Recalled Over Cancer-Causing Impurity
Vivimed is recalling 19 lots of losartan potassium tablets of 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg because of the detection of an impurity — N-Nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid (NMBA) — that is above the Food & Drug Administration’s interim acceptable exposure limit of 9.82 ppm. Based on the available information, the FDA wrote in its recall summary, the risk of developing cancer in a few patients following long-term use of the product containing high levels of the impurity NMBA cannot be ruled out. (Clanton, 5/7)

Kaiser Health News: Effects Of Surgery On A Warming Planet: Can Anesthesia Go Green?
It was early morning in an operating theater at Providence Hospital in Portland, Ore. A middle-aged woman lay on the operating table, wrapped in blankets. Surgeons were about to cut out a cancerous growth in her stomach. But first, an anesthesiologist — Dr. Brian Chesebro — put her under by placing a mask over her face. (Foden-Vencil, 5/8)

The New York Times: Track And Field Tries To Understand New Rules For Intersex Athletes
The 800-meter women’s race in the Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, on Friday included only the best of the best female middle-distance runners. And it was the last chance for athletes affected by a new ruling on testosterone levels to run in a women’s race without medical intervention. That ruling, which requires these athletes to take hormone-suppressing drugs and goes into effect Wednesday, began a week unlike any other in track and field history when it was delivered on May 1. (Kolata, 5/8)

The New York Times: The Stoner As Gym Rat
Defying stereotypes, many people who frequently use cannabis also seem to be people who frequently exercise, according to the first large study of legal marijuana and exercise habits. The study finds that many people who report using cannabis in the hours before or after a workout believe that it makes their exercise more enjoyable and may help motivate them to get out and be active. Fewer of those who exercise and use pot maintain that it actually improves their physical performance while exercising. (Reynolds, 5/8)

The New York Times: Eating Nuts During Pregnancy Tied To Brain Benefits In Baby
Eating nuts during pregnancy may lead to improved cognitive ability in children, Spanish researchers report. Their study, in the European Journal of Epidemiology, included 2,208 children. Mothers filled out food questionnaires during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, and researchers administered tests of motor and intellectual ability when the children were 1 and a half, 5 and 8 years old. (Bakalar, 5/7)

The New York Times: School Shooting In Colorado Leaves 1 Student Dead And 8 Injured
Last month, as the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting approached, STEM School Highlands Ranch joined hundreds of schools near Denver in closing temporarily amid security concerns. The anniversary came and went, and schools returned to their routines. But on Tuesday afternoon, the STEM school’s worst fears were realized when nine of its students were shot, one fatally, and two fellow students were being held as suspects. (Healy and Stack, 5/7)

CNN: Highlands Ranch Shooting: Just Minutes Away From Columbine, Students Tried To Stop Another Deadly School Shooting
Two suspects, believed to be students at the school, had made their way inside and were shooting inside two classrooms. Within minutes, an 18-year-old student was dead and eight students were wounded. It was a scene disturbingly familiar for this suburban Denver community, which just marked the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in which two students opened fire on their classmates, killing 12 of them and a teacher. (Maxouris and Jones, 5/8)

In other news —

The Associated Press: Texas Seeks More Armed School Personnel After Mass Shooting
Nearly a year after a mass shooting at a Texas high school in which eight students and two substitute teachers were killed, lawmakers in the gun-friendly state are close to passing measures that they say would harden campuses by adding more armed school personnel, beefing up security plans and boosting student mental health resources. As for restricting gun sales or access to weapons, there's likely no chance of that happening in a state where the Republican leadership has long pledged to protect gun rights. Texas allows the licensed carry of handguns and the unlicensed open carry of long guns, such as assault-style rifles. (5/7)

The Associated Press: Emails: Purdue Executive Cast Blame On Opioid Victims
A member of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, maker of the painkiller OxyContin, cast blame on victims of the opioid epidemic in nearly 20-year-old emails, saying “abusers aren’t victims,” according to a court filing announced Tuesday in Connecticut. The emails from Richard Sackler were made public through a complaint brought by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, one of about 2,000 lawsuits that have been filed around the country against the Connecticut-based pharmaceutical giant. (Melia and Mulvihill, 5/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Sacklers Discussed Selling Purdue In 2000
Members of the billionaire Sackler family, who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, discussed selling the company in 2000, according to a court filing made public on Tuesday. It is unknown what prompted the discussion, and the Sacklers never sold their stake. The new details emerged in portions of a complaint previously filed by Connecticut by Attorney General William Tong against the company and certain family members. The lawsuit is one of more than 1,600 from cities, counties and states against Purdue and other companies for their alleged role in sparking the opioid crisis through deceptive and aggressive marketing. (Hopkins, 5/7)

In other news on the opioid crisis —

The Associated Press: Louisiana Tests Unapproved Anti-Addiction Implant On Inmates
Some Louisiana inmates struggling with opioid addictions may soon find themselves sporting addiction fighting implants that haven't yet been approved by federal regulators. The Advocate reports prison officials announced the pilot program last week and the first implant was inserted Wednesday. Officials say the surgical implant releases the opioid and alcohol addiction fighting drug naltrexone and is slowly metabolized by the body over several months. (5/8)

The Associated Press: Electronic Implants Studied For Treatment Of Drug Addition
Patient Number One is a thin man, with a scabby face and bouncy knees. His head, shaved in preparation for surgery, is wrapped in a clean, white cloth. Years of drug use cost him his wife, his money and his self-respect, before landing him in this drab yellow room at a Shanghai hospital, facing the surgeon who in 72 hours will drill two small holes in his skull and feed electrodes deep into his brain. (5/7)

Stat: California Cites Cardinal Health For Shipments To Dead Pharmacist 
As the opioid crisis continues unabated, California authorities are taking one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical wholesalers to task for failing to oversee shipments of controlled substances, including instances where deliveries were accepted by a pharmacist — who was already dead. In a March 1 complaint that was posted late last month on its website, the California Board of Pharmacy accused Cardinal Health (CAH) of delivering controlled substances to Lane Medical Pharmacy, where at times, someone other than the licensed pharmacist signed for the shipments. (Silverman, 5/7)

CQ: Lawmakers Aim To Double Down With More Opioids Legislation
Lawmakers are showing renewed interest in continuing bipartisan work to combat the opioid epidemic, less than a year after the president signed a legislative package into law. While the law focuses on various aspects of the crisis such as curbing prescription drug abuse, new efforts would double down on policies to curb illegal fentanyl use and authorize additional funding. (Raman, 5/8)

The Baltimore Sun: UMMS Scandal: Medical System Board Chairman, Two Others Resign As Additional Contract Revealed
The chairman of the embattled University of Maryland Medical System board of directors announced his resignation Tuesday — along with two other board members — as an additional contract with one of the departing board members was revealed. Board Chairman Stephen Burch, who attended a contentious meeting in March with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Democratic state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller over the board’s contracting practices, announced his resignation effective July 1. (Broadwater and Rector, 5/7)

The Associated Press: 3 More Maryland Medical Board Members Resign Amid Scandal
(Catherine) Pugh resigned as mayor last week amid investigations into whether she sold self-published children's books to disguise hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. She's called her book deal with the medical system a "regrettable mistake." The FBI and IRS agents raided Pugh's homes and City Hall offices last month. Pugh has not been charged with a crime. Roughly one-third of more than two dozen of the system's board members received compensation through the medical system's arrangements with their businesses. (5/7)

The New York Times: Ordeal Of Woman Who Gave Birth In Florida Jail Cell Prompts Internal Investigation
The ordeal of a woman who gave birth in an isolation cell in a Florida jail has prompted an internal investigation, and has set off a wave of outrage after her lawyers said her repeated cries for help were ignored. The woman, Tammy Jackson, 35, woke up with painful contractions around 3 a.m. on April 10 and started to bang on the door of her Broward County jail cell, screaming for help, said a lawyer representing her, Gordon Weekes Jr. She ended up spending seven hours without medication or seeing a doctor, he said. (Garcia, 5/7)

The Associated Press: California Set To Change Sex Education Guidance For Teachers
California is close to overhauling its guidance for teaching sex education in public schools, offering teachers a framework for talking to kindergarteners about gender identity, discussing masturbation with middle-schoolers and recommending books that teach healthy practices for LGBT high schoolers. The proposal the California State Board of Education is scheduled to consider Wednesday offers advice on teaching health topics including nutrition, injury prevention and alcohol and tobacco use. (5/8)

Sacramento Bee: Gavin Newsom Wants To End CA Sales Taxes On Tampons, Diapers
Californians would no longer pay sales taxes on tampons and diapers under a plan backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He announced the new policy Tuesday flanked by female lawmakers who have tried to end sales taxes on diapers and tampons for years, arguing they should not be taxed because they are medically necessary. (Bollag, 5/7)

The Associated Press: Proposed Tobacco Ban Sparks Fiery Debate In Beverly Hills
A fiery debate is breaking out across Beverly Hills as people at tony hair salons, gas stations and stores weigh in on whether the city of the rich and famous should become the first in the U.S. to outlaw the sale of tobacco products everywhere except a few cigar lounges. The council decided Tuesday night to make some changes to the proposal, such as allowing guests in the city's luxury hotels to acquire cigarettes through their concierge or room service. (5/7)

Arizona Republic: World Asthma Day: Arizona Schools Can Stock Inhalers; Why That Matters
A law passed in 2017 empowered the state's districts and charter schools to stock inhalers and allow trained staff to administer the medication to children in respiratory distress without a prescription in the case of emergency. "I was just really glad that they have that at the school," she said. "It really seemed to help him." This year, the Legislature is considering a bill to allow private schools to administer medication, including inhalers for asthma. (Altavena, 5/7)

NPR: Denver Considers Telling Law Enforcement To Let 'Magic Mushrooms' Be
Douglas rattles around a collection of glass jars in the storage closet of his Denver apartment. They're filled with sterilized rye grains, covered in a soft white fungus — a mushroom spawn. Soon, he'll transplant it in large plastic bins filled with nutrients such as dried manure and coconut fiber. Over the course of two weeks, a crop of mushrooms that naturally contain psilocybin, a psychoactive ingredient, will sprout. The species he grows include psilocybe cubensis. (Honig, 5/7)

Arizona Republic: 5 Things To Know About The Controversies Surrounding Arizona Prisons
The Arizona Department of Corrections has been hit with several accusations concerning the safety and health of inmates and corrections officers. Critics of the department have held protests and are calling for the director's removal. Now, a judge has issued an order that could cost the state — and taxpayers — millions of dollars. (Castle, 5/7)

The CT Mirror: Auditors: Access Health Handed Out Hefty Severance Payments
Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars in severance payments to departing employees without board approval, awarded $45 million in no-bid contracts and did not appear to run criminal background checks on workers who handle client information, state auditors wrote in a report released Tuesday. The auditors analyzed financial records, meeting minutes, policies, procedures and other documents for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal years. (Carlesso and Megan, 5/7)

California Healthline: A Plan To Cover Immigrants Would Divert Public Health Dollars
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to provide health coverage to low-income young adults who are in the country illegally, but his plan would siphon public health dollars from several counties battling surging rates of sexually transmitted diseases and, in some cases, measles outbreaks. Public health officials describe the proposed reallocation of state dollars as a well-meaning initiative that nonetheless would have “dire consequences” to core public health services. (Young, 5/7)

Stat: Third Rock Set To Launch Cancer Diagnostics Company 
Third Rock Ventures is launching a new cancer diagnostics company called Thrive Sciences, according to a new corporation registration filed in Massachusetts last month. The documents are vague about the new company’s specific targets. But the long list of directors listed on the form — many of whom have substantial expertise in liquid biopsy work — send a strong signal that Thrive will be working around that technology. (Sheridan, 5/8)

Georgia Health News: Challenges And Successes: Conference Looks At Rural Health Care
Financial problems have led seven rural Georgia hospitals to close since 2010. That’s the third-highest total among states, trailing only Texas and Tennessee. In addition, large areas of rural Georgia struggle with a scarcity of physicians, notably ob/gyns and pediatricians. Many parts of rural Georgia lack mental health providers as well. (Miller, 5/7)

San Jose Mercury News: County Approves $325 In Bonds To Finance Hospital Purchases
Santa Clara County supervisors on Tuesday approved spending $325 million in bonds to finance the county’s recent purchase of O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and DePaul Health Center in Morgan Hill and and to pay for upgrades to all three. The county acquired the three medical facilities in March for $235 million after the former owner, nonprofit Verity Health Systems, filed for bankruptcy in August. The county was the only bidder for the two hospitals and urgent care clinic. (Vo, 5/7)

Des Moines Register: State, ISU May Pay $28,000 To Settle Transgender Health Discrimination Claim
A transgender Iowa State University employee will be paid nearly $28,000 to settle a claim that the school discriminated against her because its health insurance policy failed to cover reassignment surgery and other associated care under a proposal state officials are expected to vote on Wednesday. Elyn Fritz-Waters, 34, was assigned with the male gender at birth. She was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2016, legally changed her first name from Eric to Elyn and was shortly thereafter denied care by her employee health insurance though ISU. (Clayworth, 5/7)

The Star Tribune: $10M Gift Will Help Hennepin Healthcare Target Anxiety, Depression Among New Mothers 
The undertreated problem of depression among new mothers is getting intensified focus at Hennepin Healthcare, which is building a center to support women who are suffering, often in silence, and avert the damage it can cause to them and their families. Supported by a $10 million gift from the Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation, the Minneapolis-based health care provider unveiled plans on Tuesday for a center that will offer not only treatment and therapy, but also child care for parents during appointments, classroom space and even a kitchen for cooking classes. (Olson, 5/7)

Stateline: This State Has A Bundle Of Ideas To Lower Drug Prices 
For Big Pharma, a lion’s den might seem more hospitable than the Maine legislature this year. The animus begins at the top, in the office of Senate President Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Aroostook County on the Canadian border. Jackson isn’t shy about much, and that includes his feelings about drug companies and the prices they charge his Maine constituents. Drugmakers have been gouging “people since Christ,” Jackson, a Democrat, said — using a more colorful verb — during an interview last month. He openly refers to the drug industry as “the anti-Christ.” (Ollove, 5/7)

Stat: Pharma Companies Court Pro-Business Democrats
Facing hostility from nearly every corner of Capitol Hill, drug makers have spent recent weeks aggressively courting a group of business-friendly Democrats. PhRMA and BIO, the two major drug industry trade groups, met last week with the New Democrat Coalition, according to multiple Democratic aides. The group, which includes more than 100 members and describes itself as politically moderate and “pro-growth,” has also scheduled meetings with the drug companies Pfizer and Genentech, as well as the California Life Sciences Association (CSLA), which represents drug makers including AbbVie and Allergan. (Facher and Florko, 5/8)

Stat: Should U.S. Peg Medicare Drug Prices To What Other Countries Pay?
If the U.S. wants a better deal on some medicines, the federal government could try pegging prices to what is paid by Japan, the U.K., and the Canadian province of Ontario. Why? A new study finds that prices paid for 79 different brand-name prescription drugs averaged 3.2 to 4.1 times higher in the U.S. and that if Medicare Part D had used the same pricing as in those other locations, the federal health care program could have saved nearly $73 billion last year. The analysis also found that the longer a drug was on the market, the larger the difference in pricing grew. (Silverman, 5/7)

Marketplace: The Messaging War Over Drug Prices
On top of the ad campaign, AARP spent more than $8 million lobbying Congress last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the industry’s main lobbying group, spent nearly $28 million. The multibillion-dollar industry, which according to PhRMA employs more than 800,000 people, has a lot on the line in any potential legislation and is grappling with an image problem. (Adams, 5/1)

Modern Healthcare: Premier Selling Specialty Pharmacy Business To CVS Health
Premier announced Tuesday it is bowing out of the increasingly challenging specialty pharmacy market, a move that drew praise from analysts. The Charlotte, N.C.-based healthcare improvement company plans to sell its specialty pharmacy business, which currently serves 367 hospitals across 66 health systems, to a CVS Health subsidiary for $22.5 million plus up to $20 million for inventory. The companies expect to close the deal by June 30. (Bannow, 5/7)

The Hill: Trump Directs Health Chief To Work On Allowing Florida To Import Cheaper Drugs
President Trump has directed his health chief to work on a proposal for Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, and signaled his desire to approve the plan, according to a GOP lawmaker from the state. Trump met with officials including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) at the White House on Monday to discuss the governor’s proposal to lower drug prices by importing cheaper drugs from Canada. (Sullivan, 5/7)

FierceHealthcare: More Than 500 Drugs Saw Price Hikes In The First Quarter, Study Shows
More than 500 drugs saw price hikes at the beginning of 2019, including price increases of nearly 3% prices for generics, according to a new report. Researchers at GoodRx, an app and website that tracks drug pricing and offers coupons, found a 2.9% price hike across brand-name and generic drugs in the first quarter of 2019. Most of that was reported in the first week of January, when drugmakers often raise their prices, according to the report. (Minemyer, 5/3)

Reuters: Mylan Gives No Clear View On Strategic Options, Shares Plunge 17 Percent
Drugmaker Mylan NV on Tuesday reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue and failed to provide greater clarity on a potential revamp of the company's strategy, sending its shares down 17 percent to a more than six-and-a-half year low. The company in August announced that its board had launched a strategic review, citing tough pricing environment for generics and said last quarter that the review was nearing completion. (Joseph and B, 5/7)

Reuters: In Canada, A Little-Known Drug Regulator Shows Its Teeth
A tiny, little-known government agency is ramping up regulation of Canada's pharmaceutical industry, seeking to rein in prices for patented drugs that are among the highest in the world, according to industry sources and a Reuters analysis of government data. The federal Patented Medicine Prices Review Board is targeting an increasing number of expensive drugs, including a rare-disease medication made by Horizon Pharma that can cost $253,409 a year, documents reviewed by Reuters shows. (Martell and Mehler Paperny, 5/8)

Stat: Out-Of-Pocket Costs For MS Medicines Have Skyrocketed
Amid rising prices for multiple sclerosis medicines, a new study finds that out-of-pocket costs rose substantially in recent years, especially for people with high-deductible plans. And the findings add to growing concerns of the effects of increased spending on patients. Specifically, multiple sclerosis patients paid $15 a month average out-of-pocket costs in 2004, but that jumped to an average of $309 a month by 2016, a 20-fold increase over a 12-year period. Meanwhile, patients with a high-deductible plan paid an average of $661 per month compared to $246 a month for those not in a high-deductible plan two years ago, according to the study published in Neurology. (Silverman, 5/2)

Politico Pro: Poll: Swing Districts Support Bold Drug Pricing Moves
Voters in three swing congressional districts back big upheavals in the regulation of prescription drug costs regardless of political affiliation, new polling data released today and provided first to POLITICO shows. The polls reinforce previous research showing that drug pricing is a top-tier issue for Americans of all stripes. (Karlin-Smith, 5/1)

Axios: How Medicare Could Have Saved $80 Billion A Year On Prescription Drugs
Medicare could have saved almost $80 billion, just in 2018, by matching the U.K.'s prices for prescription drugs that don't have any competition, according to a new study released in Health Affairs yesterday. (Owens, 5/7)

Politifact and Kaiser Health News: The Money And Politics Of Prescription Drugs: What You Need To Know
If there’s one area of health care where Republicans and Democrats might strike a deal, it’s prescription drugs. President Donald Trump has floated a plan to cut drug prices. Democratic and Republican ideas abound in Congress, where lawmakers have put more than 40 bills on the table. In 2018, 39 states passed 94 laws targeting pricing and costs. Florida’s House recently approved a move backed by the state’s Republican governor to allow imports from Canada. So far, Vermont is the only state to take that step. (Greenberg, 5/8)

The Washington Post: There’s A High Cost To Making Drugs More Affordable For Americans
Americans’ outrage about prescription-drug prices is odd, in a way. Drugs account for less than 10 percent of the nation’s overall health-care spending, and while the price of some medicines has spiked, overall spending on prescription drugs has grown more slowly than broader health-care expenditures. In 2017, the increase didn’t even keep up with inflation. Yet polls show that pharmaceutical companies are one of the most hated private-sector industries, below the rest of the health-care industry — and below even lawyers. That’s why it has been such fertile territory for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who in April introduced a bill to control prescription drug prices, and last week tweeted that, once in the White House, he would “lower the outrageously high price of prescription drugs.” The idea has proven so popular that even Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.), are getting into the act. (Megan McArdle, 5/7)

Stat: More Signal, Less Noise About Industry Payments To Doctors 
How much drug companies pay doctors for meals, giving talks, and serving on corporate boards was once as opaque as how these companies now price prescription drugs. That changed several years ago with the creation of the Open Payments program, which makes this information publicly available. In an unsuspecting twist, this transparency program, which was meant to bolster trust, has actually decreased patients’ trust in their physicians, even those who have never taken a nickel from pharmaceutical companies. (Genevieve P. Kanter, 5/7)

Bloomberg: Mylan's Faceplant Is A Cautionary Tale For Allergan
Drugmakers Mylan NV and Allergan Inc. reported first-quarter earnings Tuesday, and their results had something in common:  they both got panned by investors. Mylan’s sales missed Wall Street targets and the company offered no update on a strategic review that’s been in progress since August. Its shares plunged 19 percent to their lowest point since 2012. Allergan’s quarter was saved by its blockbuster Botox, which helped the company raise its full-year guidance. But otherwise, sluggish growth and questions about the company’s static strategy saw the firm’s shares fall 5 percent on top of a 23 percent decline over the last 7 months. (Max Nisen, 5/7)

Forbes: Drug Prices Should Reflect Efficacy
People use a variety of heuristics to discern what might constitute an appropriate price for a medical treatment, but these can--and often do--lead people to reach confounding or irrational perspectives. I fear that this irrationality may ultimately hinder the development of new drugs or treatments, and that promise benefits that go beyond the patient. I have observed such contradictions in the work I have done with a group that would like the U.S. government to take steps to increases the supply of kidneys available for transplant called the Organ Reform Group And Network. (Ike Brannon, 4/30)

The Florida Times-Union: Remove Barriers To Lower Drug Prices
Florida is ground zero for issues that affect senior citizens. High on that list is the cost of prescription drugs, an issue that even affects those covered by Medicare. (5/7)

Boston Globe: US Can Contain Measles Outbreak With These Two Simple Steps 
The current measles outbreak — the largest in almost three decades — has resulted in more than 60 suspected cases this year in Massachusetts, and 764 across the United States. Measles’ revival is nothing less than a public-health tragedy: In 2000, the United States had declared the potentially fatal disease eliminated. Now that it’s back, states have been left scrambling to adjust to this unexpected new reality.There are two practical steps the Legislature should consider, especially if the outbreak continues to worsen. The first is to sharply limit or eliminate the religious exemptions that have allowed some parents to skirt mandatory vaccination rules for school-age children. The second is to allow teenagers to get vaccinations without parental consent, just as teens can already consent to a handful of other medical services on their own. (5/8)

The Washington Post: John Singleton’s Death Is Another Warning Sign For Black Men. It’s Time We Listen.
Five months into a plant-based whole-foods diet, I continue to experience the benefits. Weight, cholesterol, blood pressure — all down. Energy up. I’m glad I made the change. Diet-related diseases are crippling and killing black men at disproportionately high rates. Just last week, African American filmmaker John Singleton died after suffering a stroke. He also had high blood pressure. Few life-threatening conditions are more easily treated than high blood pressure. Eat plants instead of animal flesh, exercise and meditate — you’ll see improvements within days. (Courtland Milloy, 5/7)

Axios: The Silent Affordability Crisis Facing Sick People
People with major medical illnesses are having serious problems paying for the health care they need — a crisis that is flying under the radar while attention is focused on hot policy issues like the Affordable Care Act and Medicare for All. The big picture: A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Los Angeles Times shows that a strikingly large share of people with serious medical conditions are struggling to pay their medical bills, often wreaking havoc with their family budgets and causing them to cut back on care. (Drew Altman, 5/8)

The Hill: Trump's Comments On Late-Term Abortions Are Wildly Misleading And False 
“The baby is born. The mother meets with the doctor. They take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully. And then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.” Thus, President Trump grossly mischaracterized the painful complexity surrounding medical decision-making for infants with life-limiting conditions. And with these words, the president revealed his deep misunderstanding of the medical care of not just infants, but of all patients who are approaching the end of their lives. (Elisha Waldman and Christine Bishop, 5/7)

The Washington Post: How The U.S. Health-Care System Puts People With Diabetes In Danger
The blood sugar rises, and nausea and vomiting follow. The blood acidifies, the breath hastens, dehydration and then delirium ensue: That’s how ketoacidosis, a feared complication of diabetes, progresses. Diabetic ketoacidosis, which results in nearly 190,000 hospitalizations a year, is a condition I treat frequently as an ICU physician: We infuse intravenous insulin, saline and electrolytes, while carefully tracking sugar levels and blood chemistries and vital signs. If all goes well, the sugar normalizes, acid levels fall, the breath begins to slow, the appetite returns. Not always, however: Every year, hundreds of people die of the condition. (Adam Gaffney, 5/8)

JAMA: Filling In The Evidence About Sunscreen
Understanding the effectiveness and safety of sunscreen ingredients will require a collaborative effort by industry, clinicians, and scientists. The power of collaboration is exemplified by the significant influence of the pharmaceutical industry, patient advocacy, regulatory modernization, and professional effort by dermatologists, surgeons, and oncologists in the recent development of highly effective therapies for patients diagnosed with melanoma. A similar collaborative effort is needed with regard to sunscreen, because preventing skin cancer is superior to treating it after diagnosis. The FDA monograph process should also be reformed into an efficient, systematic process that ensures routine safety testing, generation of high-quality evidence of benefit, and improved labeling for OTC medications in a manner that preserves FDA autonomy in judging the balance of benefit and risk for intended uses of drugs. Industry and the biomedical community should partner to develop sunscreens with minimal systemic absorption that are proven to prevent skin cancer and melanoma. (Robert M. Califf and Kanade Shinkai, 5/6)

Stat: Cancer Is Nudging Me To Picture Dying As 'The Most Peaceful Sleep'
“It was the most peaceful sleep.” That’s how my paternal grandmother referred to the time she was technically dead for several minutes before doctors shocked her back to life. She lived another decade after that, but never once to my knowledge expressed a fear of dying.As I trained to become a physician-scientist with a focus on neuropsychiatric disorders, I often thought of my grandmother’s description of temporary death. I learned that there were credible physiologic explanations for her to have experienced death as an immensely restful sleep.It’s an idea that resonates even more strongly with me since I was diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer. (Adam Philip Stern, 5/8)

The Washington Post: The End Of The Everything May Be What We’ve Been Needing
A new United Nations report projecting the extinction of one-eighth of all animal and plant species should rattle the cages of any remaining skeptics regarding climate change and the central role humans have played in Earth’s accelerating destruction. ...Robert Watson, a British chemist who served as chair of the panel, wrote in a statement that “the health of ecosystems on which we and all species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.” (Kathleen Parker, 5/7)

Vox: The 3 Most Important Things I’ve Learned As A Health Care Reporter
You probably know that I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about the health care system — it is my job here at Vox, after all.But what you might not know is that, over the past year, I’ve have spent a lot of time as a patient of the American health care system — more than any year of my life. (Sarah Kliff, 5/6)

Sacramento Bee: Police Encounter Can Mean Death Sentence For The Disabled
The danger faced by people with disabilities in a police encounter is laid out in a 2016 study by the Ruderman Family Foundation, which found that one third to one half of those killed by police are people with disabilities. Individuals with physical, mental health, developmental or intellectual disabilities may not understand the shouted commands of law enforcement. (Astrid Zuniga and Doug Moore, 5/8)

The CT Mirror: Appreciating Nurses Starts With Protecting Them On The Job
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest union of registered nurses in the country and the largest in Connecticut. Collectively, we have the power to fight for the only thing we have ever asked for — the ability to safely and adequately care for our patients and their families. (John Brady, 5/8)