Weekly Edition: August 30, 2019
They Got Estimates Before Surgery — And A Bill After That Was 50% More
Rachel Bluth
Patients are often told to be smart consumers and shop around for health care before they use it. What happens when people actually take that advice?
Beset By Lawsuits And Criticism In U.S., Opioid Makers Eye New Market In India
Sarah Varney
What began in India as a populist movement to bring inexpensive morphine to the diseased and dying poor has paved the way for a booming pain management industry. Now, new customers are being funneled to U.S. drugmakers bedeviled by a government crackdown back home.
In India’s Slums, ‘Painkillers Are Part Of The Daily Routine’
Sarah Varney
As the Indian government reluctantly loosens its prescription opioid laws after decades of lobbying by palliative care advocates desperate to ease their patients’ pain, the nation’s sprawling, cash-fed health care system is ripe for misuse.
Pharma Cash Rolls Into Congress To Defend An Embattled Industry
Emmarie Huetteman and Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas
Congress has a variety of reforms in mind that could roil the drugmaking business and potentially slash prices.
Judge Cites Opioid ‘Menace,’ Awards Oklahoma $572M In Landmark Case
Jackie Fortiér, StateImpact Oklahoma and Brian Mann, North Country Public Radio
The state judge ruled that drugmaker Johnson & Johnson contributed to the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of 6,000 Oklahomans.
Shopping At The Apotheke: Compare German Pharmacies With Your Corner Drugstore
Shefali Luthra
Germany’s pharmacies provide insights into the country’s low drug prices and strict regulations. But they’re still businesses.
In Rural Utah, Preventing Suicide Means Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
Erik Neumann, KUER
In Utah, 85% of deaths from firearms are suicides. To help people who might be vulnerable, outreach workers are discussing suicide prevention at gun shows and firearms classes.
Governor’s ‘Mental Health Czar’ Seeks New Blueprint For Care In California
Rob Waters
Thomas Insel, who ran the National Institute of Mental Health for 13 years before casting his lot with Silicon Valley, is taking a temporary break from his senior position at a health care startup to advise Gov. Gavin Newsom on how to remake mental health care in the Golden State.
Coming Out About Mental Health On Social Media
Tarena Lofton
Talking about your mental health on social media is a thing, and it could actually help.
California Requires Suicide Prevention Phone Number On Student IDs
Mark Kreidler
The new law, a response to escalating suicide rates among teens, is intended to ensure students know that immediate help is available if they need it.
Why Red Wyoming Seeks The Regulatory Approach To Air Ambulance Costs
Markian Hawryluk
Wyoming is taking on expensive air ambulance bills by trying to expand Medicaid to cover transport for all patients. This is a big change: a red state seeking to control what's been a growing free-market bonanza.
‘Locally Grown’ Insurance Companies Help Fortify Washington State Market
Donna Gordon Blankinship
The individual insurance market in Washington is dominated by companies that do business only in the Pacific Northwest, and the state’s insurance commissioner credits them with helping keep premium rates lower than in other states.
Mysterious Vaping Lung Injuries May Have Flown Under Regulatory Radar
Sydney Lupkin and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Doctors who saw patients with a mysterious lung illness in the past suspected vaping as the cause but didn’t know where to report such cases.
How And When Immigrants’ Use Of Government Benefits Might Affect Their Legal Status
Ana B. Ibarra
Confusion about a new federal rule to restrict legal immigration based on the use of public benefits may dampen sign-ups for health care, housing and food aid even among immigrants not directly targeted by the rule. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions that will help clear up some of the misunderstanding.
Doctors Fight Legislation Prompted By Sex Abuse Scandals
Anna Almendrala
In response to recent high-profile sex abuse cases, some California lawmakers want doctors to give patients more information about pelvic exams, and then get a signature proving they did. Doctors in the Golden State and beyond are pushing back.