General
Where Tourism Brings Pricey Health Care, Locals Fight Back
Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health Care
In an area where average emergency room claims reached 842% of Medicare rates, residents of a Colorado county found relief by joining forces and negotiating prices directly with the local hospital.
Senate Will Discuss Gun Proposals In September, McConnell Says
Jessica Taylor, NPR News
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will discuss measures aimed at addressing gun violence in September. He said he expects background checks, assault weapons and “red flag” laws to be part of the debate.
Appeals court panel hears high-stakes Kentucky abortion case
Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press
Federal appeals judges should restore a Kentucky law at the heart of a licensing fight that threatened to close the state’s last abortion clinic, an attorney for Gov. Matt Bevin argued Thursday. Pointing to the high stakes involved, however, the clinic’s attorney warned that the law’s application by the anti-abortion governor’s administration would be “tantamount to a ban on abortion” in Kentucky.
‘We should be terrified’: What Michigan women should know if abortion becomes illegal
Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press
If the Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, Michigan and other states could see a patchwork of abortion laws in the nation.
How The CDC’s Reluctance To Use The ‘F-Word’ — Firearms — Hinders Suicide Prevention
Nell Greenfield, NPR News
The nation’s foremost public health agency shies away from discussing the important link in this country between suicide and access to guns. That’s according to documents obtained by NPR that suggest the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instead relies on vague language and messages about suicide that effectively downplay and obscure the risk posed by firearms.
$1.7-billion jail project could be scrapped by L.A. County to focus on mental health
Matt Stiles, Los Angeles Times
The Board of Supervisors might cancel a $1.7-billion contract to replace the dungeon-like Men’s Central Jail downtown amid growing unease about whether Los Angeles County’s incarceration policy focuses enough attention on mental health treatment.
CBD to US for clinical trials on alcohol and PTSD
Angelica LaVito, CNBC
Tilray has begun shipping CBD to researchers at New York University to study alcohol and post-traumatic stress disorders, the Canadian pot company announced Thursday. It’s the second time it has received the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s approval to send the compound to U.S. scientists.
Stocks Fall on Trade Worries; Italian Bonds Tumble: Markets Wrap
Todd White, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures fell with European shares while Asian stocks were mixed as positive sentiment from Wall Street’s rebound Thursday was offset by resurfacing trade tensions. Italy’s sovereign bonds tumbled as the government coalition teetered.
Payers
Losing bidder on Louisiana Medicaid deal to dispute decision
Melinda DeSlatte, The Associated Press
A Louisiana Medicaid managed care contractor that wasn’t chosen to continue the job next year intends to challenge that decision, as some lawmakers question the wisdom of reshuffling one-third of the program’s patients to new health plans.
Providers
Trump Team Hits Brakes On Law That Would Curb Unneeded Medicare CT Scans, MRIs
Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News
Five years after Congress passed a law to reduce unnecessary MRIs, CT scans and other expensive diagnostic imaging tests that could harm patients and waste money, federal officials have yet to implement it.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
Drug Shortage Leaves Patients Without Immune-Disorder Treatment
Peter Loftus, The Wall Street Journal
A shortage of immune globulin has forced hospitals to ration treatments. ‘For the patients affected, it’s been very significant.’
Better Birth Control Could Exist, But It Wouldn’t Pay for Big Pharma
Naomi Kresge and Cynthia Koons, Bloomberg
Evofem’s contraceptive gel is a big advance, but also a case study in why such innovation is so rare.
Amarin now says FDA plans outside panel review of its Vascepa heart drug, delaying approval decision
Adam Feuerstein, Stat News
Remember when Amarin (AMRN) said, a little more than one week ago, that the Food and Drug Administration was “unlikely” to convene an advisory committee meeting to review data on an expanded use of its heart drug Vascepa?
Bayer soars on report of proposed $8 billion Roundup settlement
Ludwig Burger, Reuters
Bayer shares soared as much as 11% on Friday on a report that the German company has proposed to pay up to $8 billion to settle more than 18,000 U.S. lawsuits related to its weedkiller Roundup.
Sarepta says adverse event report for DMD gene therapy erroneously submitted
Manojna Maddipatla and Tamara Mathias, Reuters
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (SRPT.O) said on Thursday it was informed that an adverse event report was erroneously submitted to the U.S. health regulator regarding an ongoing study of the company’s gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
Bayer Buys Out BlueRock, Betting at Least $240M More on Cell Therapy Work
Ben Fidlerm, Xconomy
Versant Ventures and Bayer have started several biotechs together. But today marks the first time the German drug maker takes a step further and buys one of them: cell therapy developer BlueRock Therapeutics.
Health IT
Q&A: The FDA’s digital health chief on how to regulate futuristic AI products
Andrew Joseph, Stat News
The Food and Drug Administration has allowed medical devices that rely on artificial intelligence algorithms onto the market, but so far, the agency has given the green light only to devices with “locked algorithms” — those that remain the same as the product is used until they’re updated by the manufacturer.
Health tech companies are swallowing up consumers’ DNA. Can Congress safeguard what they do with it?
Andrew Joseph, Stat News
Apps and tech companies often provide employers and advertisers with information about your search histories, where you go, and your efforts to get pregnant. What if they also shared information about your very personal, very unchangeable DNA?
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Regulations and Research Need to Catch Up to CBD Products’ Popularity
Elizabeth Jalazo, Morning Consult
There is no question that products made with hemp-based cannabidiol have achieved an extraordinary level of popularity. Independent surveys tell us that as many as 64 million people over the past two years have tried non-Food and Drug Administration-approved foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics and products billed as health aids that contain CBD.
Research Reports
Association of Perioperative Opioid Prescriptions With Risk of Complications After Tonsillectomy in Children
Kao-Ping Chua et al., JAMA
In this cohort analysis of 15 793 children who underwent tonsillectomy, having 1 or more perioperative opioid prescription fills was not associated with fewer or more return visits for pain or dehydration or secondary hemorrhage than nonopioid use, but it was associated with increased risk of return visits for constipation.
Global Tobacco Control: U.S. Efforts Have Primarily Focused on Research and Surveillance
U.S. Government Accountability Office
We reviewed U.S. global tobacco control efforts for 2015-2018. We found U.S. funding mainly supported research and surveillance—for example, tracking tobacco use.
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