Weekly Edition June 21, 2019

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.

Surgeons’ Opioid-Prescribing Habits Are Hard To Kick
By Julie Appleby and Elizabeth Lucas A new data analysis by KHN and Johns Hopkins researchers shows that even as the CDC issued warnings, surgeons handed out many times the number of opioid pills needed for post-op pain.

Opioid Operators: How Surgeons Ply Patients With Painkillers
By Elizabeth Lucas Even as awareness of the opioid crisis grew, prescribing habits of surgeons changed very little from 2011 to 2016, found a data analysis by KHN and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Use this interactive tool to search by doctor or practicing hospital.

Federal Grants ‘A Lifesaver’ In Opioid Fight, But States Still Struggle To Curb Meth
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez and Elizabeth Lucas and Orion Donovan-Smith The federal government has doled out at least $2.4 billion in state grants since 2017 to address the opioid epidemic, which killed 47,600 people in the U.S. that year alone. But local officials note that drug abuse problems seldom involve only one substance.

A Year After Spinal Surgery, A $94,031 Bill Feels Like A Back-Breaker
By Jon Hamilton, NPR News A service called neuromonitoring can cut the risk of nerve damage during delicate surgery. But some patients are receiving unexpected and large bills for the service.

Texas Is Latest State To Attack Surprise Medical Bills
By Ashley Lopez, KUT A new state law says hospitals and insurers will have to work it out among themselves when they can’t agree on a price -- instead of sending huge bills to patients. “Bill of the Month” patient Drew Calver galvanized attention on the issue after he told his story to KHN, NPR and "CBS This Morning."

Senators Agree Surprise Medical Bills Must Go. But How?
By Rachel Bluth The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled next week to mark up a massive legislative package on curbing health costs, but some of the details remain unresolved, including what formula to use to pay doctors and hospitals involved in surprise medical bills.

Sen. Alexander Details His Plan To Fix Surprise Medical Bills
By Rachel Bluth A legislative package from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would handle surprise medical bills by having insurers pay them the “median in-network rate,” meaning the rate would be similar to what the plan charges other doctors in the area for the same procedure.

1 In 6 Insured Hospital Patients Get A Surprise Bill For Out-Of-Network Care
By Rachel Bluth On average, 16% of inpatient stays and 18% of emergency visits left a patient with at least one out-of-network charge, most of those came from doctors offering treatment at the hospital, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Stem Cell Company Persuades Employers To Steer Workers Toward Controversial Therapy
By Liz Szabo Regenexx, which runs a string of clinics, says stem cell injections can save employers a lot of money, but critics say there’s no proof.

Miracle Machine Makes Heroic Rescues — And Leaves Patients In Limbo
By Melissa Bailey The use of ECMO, the most aggressive form of life support in modern medicine, has skyrocketed — but along with miraculous rescues, it can leave patients in limbo, kept alive with machines but with no prospect of survival outside the ICU.

Vaccine Drama On Display In California’s Capitol
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Harriet Blair Rowan Hundreds of protesters descended on the state Capitol on Thursday, warning against government tyranny and corporate greed. Their target: not taxes, not high-tech surveillance, but a bill that would determine which kids must get their routine shots.

California Vaccine Bill Amended To Appease Governor
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester In the wake of concerns from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Medical Board of California, a state senator on Tuesday unveiled significant amendments to his bill to tighten vaccine requirements. A hearing on the measure is likely to draw hundreds of people to the state Capitol on Thursday.

Curing Cancer: Easy Politics, Difficult Science
By Shefali Luthra As the 2020 campaign season kicks off, both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden say they’ll cure cancer. If only it were that simple.

Democratic Voters Want To Hear Candidates’ Views On Health, But Priorities Vary
By Shefali Luthra Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents said it is very important for candidates to discuss health issues. But they are sharply divided among the goals of lowering costs, increasing access, protecting the Affordable Care Act or moving to a “Medicare for All” plan, a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation reported.

‘An Arm And A Leg’: Can You Shop Around For A Lower-Priced MRI?
By Dan Weissmann Doctors routinely order MRIs, but the price patients pay can be unpredictable. Hear how one determined woman scanned her options to find the best deal.

Why You Should Take A Peek At Your Doctor’s Notes On Your Health
By Victoria Knight Some patient advocates say your doctor’s notes offer insights you might never hear from your physician, putting patient and provider on the same page.

Legal Weed’s A Growing Danger To Dogs, So Keep Your Canine Out Of Your Cannabis
By Laura Klivans, KQED As more states legalize recreational and medical marijuana, dogs are accidentally ingesting the drug and becoming highly intoxicated.

Study: Arkansas Medicaid Work Requirement Hits Those Already Employed
By Phil Galewitz More than 95% of the Arkansas residents targeted by the state’s Medicaid work requirement were already working or met the criteria to be exempted from the mandate, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Good Health Goes Beyond Having A Doctor And Insurance, Says AMA’s Equity Chief
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Dr. Aletha Maybank was recently named the first chief health equity officer for the American Medical Association. In an interview, the pediatrician spoke about how racism’s impact on health affects everyone and what practices could help doctors end disparities.