Pharma & Tech: April 6, 2023

States Try to Obscure Execution Details as Drugmakers Hinder Lethal Injection
By Renuka Rayasam Pharmaceutical companies have put the brakes on many states’ ability to execute prisoners using lethal injections. Lacking alternatives, states are trying to keep the public from learning details about how they carry out executions.

Sen. Sanders Shows Fire, but Seeks Modest Goals, in His Debut Drug Hearing as Health Chair
By Arthur Allen The Vermont independent and former presidential candidate was all fire and brimstone at his first hearing on drug prices as head of the Senate HELP Committee. He also pursued a more modest goal of covid vaccine price reductions. It isn’t clear whether Sanders will succeed in even that, but he has put affordability front and center.

Judge Signals He Could Rule to Halt Sales of Common Abortion Pill
By Sarah Varney A U.S. District Court case is being widely followed because the judge’s decision could overturn the FDA’s approval of mifepristone two decades ago. With abortion rights polling well even in red states, anti-abortion activists are increasingly turning to the courts to achieve their aims.

California Picks Generic Drug Company Civica to Produce Low-Cost Insulin
By Angela Hart Gov. Gavin Newsom, who blasted pharmaceutical companies for gouging Californians, is moving ahead with state-branded insulin. He’s also eyeing other generic drugs.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Biden Budget Touches All the Bases
Very little in the proposed budget released by the Biden administration is likely to become law, particularly with Republicans in charge of the U.S. House. Still, the document is an important statement of the president’s policy priorities, and it’s clear health programs are among those he feels are important. Meanwhile, five women who were denied abortions when their pregnancies threatened their lives are suing Texas. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the two latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” features. Both were about families facing unexpected bills following childbirth.

Readers and Tweeters Are Horrified by Harm Tied to Dental Device
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Judging the Abortion Pill
Any day now a conservative federal judge in Texas could upend the national abortion debate by requiring the FDA to rescind its approval of mifepristone, a drug approved in the U.S. more than 20 years ago that is now used in more than half of abortions nationwide. Meanwhile, a controversial study on masks gets a clarification, although it may be too late to change the public impression of what it found. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

Fresh Produce Is an Increasingly Popular Prescription for Chronically Ill Patients
By Carly Graf Fresh produce prescription programs are getting a boost in Montana as a way of helping people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The approach may be a model for other rural states to promote healthy eating in food deserts.

FDA Looks Into Dental Device After KHN-CBS News Investigation of Patient Harm
By Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News The FDA’s interest in the AGGA dental device follows a KHN-CBS News investigation, according to a former agency official.

Mental Health Care by Video Fills Gaps in Rural Nursing Homes
By Tony Leys In-person mental health care is hard to arrange in rural nursing homes, so video chats with faraway professionals are filling the gap.

Congressman Seeks to Plug ‘Shocking Loophole’ Exposed by KHN Investigation
By Sarah Jane Tribble A federal lawmaker has introduced a House bill that would close one of a laundry list of oversight gaps revealed in a recent KHN investigation of the system regulators use to ban fraudsters from billing government health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

Truly Random Drug Testing: ADHD Patients Face Uneven Urine Screens and, Sometimes, Stigma
By Arielle Zionts Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.

$50 Billion in Opioid Settlement Cash Is on the Way. We’re Tracking How It’s Spent.
By Aneri Pattani Spending the money effectively and equitably is a tall order for state and local governments, and a lack of transparency in the process is already leading to fears of misuse.

FDA Evaluates ‘Safety Concerns’ Over Dental Devices Featured in KHN-CBS Investigation
By Anna Werner, CBS News and Brett Kelman A KHN and CBS News investigation found that a dental appliance called the AGGA has been used by more than 10,000 patients, and multiple lawsuits allege it has caused grievous harm to patients.

Minnesota Overhauled Substance Use Treatment. Rural Residents Still Face Barriers.
By Christina Saint Louis A recent policy change in Minnesota promotes quick evaluations and care for people with substance use disorders. But because of gaps riddling rural treatment systems nationwide, the promise of swift care isn’t reaching rural Minnesotans.

New CDC Opioid Guidelines: Too Little, Too Late for Chronic Pain Patients?
By Sam Whitehead and Andy Miller In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain, allowing physicians more flexibility. But doctors, patients, and advocates wonder if the updated standards will be too little, too late to help chronic pain patients in a country still focused on fighting the ongoing opioid crisis.

Raincoats, Undies, School Uniforms: Are Your Clothes Dripping in ‘Forever Chemicals’?
By Hannah Norman The full health risks of wearing apparel made with PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are still unknown. But states are taking action so clothing makers will remove them.

States Step In as Telehealth and Clinic Patients Get Blindsided by Hospital Fees
By Markian Hawryluk At least eight states have implemented or are considering limits on what patients can be billed for the use of a hospital’s facilities even without having stepped foot in the building.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Policy, and Politics, of Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, is embroiled in a growing controversy over whether insurers are being overpaid and what it would mean to reduce those payments. Meanwhile, even as maternal mortality in the U.S. continues to rise, providers of care to pregnant women say they’re leaving states with abortion bans that prevent them from treating pregnancy complications. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Journalists Delve Into Insulin Costs and Prior Authorization Policy
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

¿Ayudan las nuevas guías sobre opioides a los pacientes con dolor crónico?
By Sam Whitehead and Andy Miller Las recomendaciones dejaron a muchos pacientes lidiando con las consecuencias para la salud mental y física de la reducción rápida de la dosis o la suspensión abrupta de los medicamentos que habían estado tomando durante años, lo que conlleva riesgos de abstinencia, depresión e incluso suicidio.

California eligió a la compañía de genéricos Civica para producir insulina de bajo costo
By Angela Hart Civica está desarrollando tres tipos de insulina genérica, conocida como biosimilar, que estarán disponibles tanto en viales como en plumas inyectables, a un costo de entre $30 y $55.