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Sanders Promises He’s Feeling Healthy Following Heart Attack That Threw A Spotlight On The Issue Of Candidates’ Age

Morning Briefing

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and former Vice President Joe Biden were all left defending their health after a question about Sanders’ heart attack this month. The issue of age could be a thorny subject in the campaign where three of the leading Democrats, and the presidential incumbent himself, are septuagenarians.

Harris Takes A Stand: ‘It’s Outrageous’ None Of The Previous Debates Have Focused On Reproductive Health Care

Morning Briefing

Sen. Kamala Harris had an impassioned moment during the night when she called out the fact that after several Democratic debates little had been said about abortion and women’s access to health care. “It’s not an exaggeration to say women will die because these Republican legislatures in these various states who are out of touch with America are telling women what to do with their bodies,” she said.

Warren Feels The Heat As Rivals Pile-On Over Her Alleged Hedging On ‘Medicare For All’ Costs

Morning Briefing

The latest Democratic debate on Tuesday night highlighted the rising popularity of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the polls as many of her rivals went on the attack. Most notably South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who struck a more aggressive tone than in previous debates, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is fighting for her place in the 2020 presidential race, had sharp words for the scope of Warren’s health plans. “I don’t understand why you believe the only way to deliver affordable coverage is to obliterate private plans,” Buttigieg said. Klobuchar joined in with, “At least Bernie’s being honest here and saying how he’s going to pay for this, and that taxes are going to go up.”

Experts Weigh In On The Great Hopes For Artificial Intelligence In Medicine And The Ethical Pitfalls That Come With It

Morning Briefing

Artificial intelligence has the potential to better patient care while creating cost-efficiencies that would be impossible without it. But it could also worsen racial disparities, have profit outweighing patient care, or simply lead to mistakes that a human wouldn’t make. In other news at the intersection of health care and technology: video games, virtual reality for nursing home patients and ways to identify bacteria’s genetic makeup.

Women Fill Many Lower-Ranking Positions In Health Care Industry. Yet They’re Notably Absent From Executive Offices.

Morning Briefing

It’s “not because they don’t want the positions, it’s not because they don’t work hard enough, it’s not because they’re not qualified for the positions,” says Julie Silver, a physician and director of Harvard’s leadership course. But at the very early stages of health careers, opportunities for mobility decline, in part because of strict credential requirements for jobs in clinical care and patient management. In other health industry news: Amazon’s efforts to control health spending on employees, Johnson & Johnson’s legal woes, executive pay at big insurers and more.

‘This Is Truly A Nightmare Situation’: Where There’s No Substitute, Drug Shortages Cripple Life-Saving Care

Morning Briefing

A shortage of a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer in children highlights the serious perils of the rampant shortage problem facing the industry. “It’s our bread and butter,” said Dr. Yoram Unguru, a pediatric oncologist. “There is no substitution … You either have to skip a dose or give a lower dose — or beg, borrow or plead.” While the FDA has been trying to address the issue of shortages it’s fallen short in its efforts to grant addition approval of generics. Meanwhile, companies are trying other methods to combat the problem.

How A Small-City West Virginia Lawyer Became One Of The Attorneys Leading National Opioids Lawsuit

Morning Briefing

Lawyer Paul Farrell Jr. helped mastermind the use of the “public nuisance” code that lies at the heart of the consolidated cases against the drug companies and distributors. “They broke it. So they need to fix it,” Farrell said. “I want them to stop killing people. I want mothers to stop giving birth to babies addicted to opium. … I want to stop going to funerals.” Meanwhile a new poll finds that nearly half of Americans have someone in their family affected by substance abuse.

‘It’s The Athletes. It’s The Nerds. It’s Everybody’: Vaping Is A Culture For Teens, Which Can Make Addiction Harder To Break

Morning Briefing

“It’s infiltrated every social clique, every type of person knows someone — or maybe they are that person — who is vaping,” said Phoebe Chambers, a junior at a Maryland high school. Meanwhile, a study finds that although vaping has seen a sharp rise among young people, the same trend isn’t reflected in adults. In other news: an update on the deaths related to the vaping illness, local bans, and more.

‘Medicare For All’ Talk Likely To Be Center Stage At Dem Debate. But What About Other Health Topics?

Morning Briefing

While much of the health campaigning in the primaries has focused on how the different candidates will ensure health care coverage, there’s large swaths of the cost conversation that haven’t been touched — such as hospital spending, health care deserts and even decisions over drug development. Abortion, as well, has been one of the least talked about topics in the previous debates. Will that change at Tuesday night’s debate in Ohio when 12 Democratic presidential candidates take the stage?