• Younger, healthier patients may be able to avoid open-heart surgery and instead opt for a minimally invasive procedure to replace heart valves, called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, according to two large clinical trials. TAVR, which is expected to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration for lower-risk patients, also comes with a reduced risk of stroke and death, and heart doctors expect the results could fundamentally change how providers approach patients with failing aortic valves. (The New York Times)

• Amazon.com Inc. will announce a new feature giving consumers the option to use their flexible savings accounts or health savings accounts to score discounts on over-the-counter medical supplies such as glucometers and some eligible medications, such as cold treatments. Some health experts believe the move reflects the company’s desire to learn about consumers’ health spending behavior as the e-commerce giant increasingly moves into the health sector. (CNBC)

• After new research suggested the Apple Watch does not often misdiagnose atrial fibrillation, Apple is launching into another study with Johnson & Johnson, assessing how the device impacts the health of people over the age of 65. The study, called HEARTLINE, is expected to begin in late 2019 and aims to evaluate whether using the Apple Watch affects prevention of a stroke, heart attack and death from any cause, and if the atrial fibrillation feature positively affects the health of seniors with high risk of developing atrial fibrillation. (Stat News)

Ohio gets OK from Trump administration to mandate work for able-bodied Medicaid recipients
Catherine Candisky, The Columbus Dispatch

Federal regulators Friday approved Ohio’s request to require thousands of Medicaid recipients to work, attend classes or train for a job to qualify for benefits. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified state officials that they could impose work requirements on able-bodied adults up to age 50 enrolled in the tax-funded health insurance program.

Death by a Thousand Clicks: Where Electronic Health Records Went Wrong
Erika Fry, Fortune, and Fred Schulte, Kaiser Health News

The U.S. government claimed that turning American medical charts into electronic records would make health care better, safer, and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the system is an unholy mess: Inside a digital revolution gone wrong. A joint investigation by Fortune and Kaiser Health News.

Red States Seek to Remake Medicaid
Stephanie Armour, The Wall Street Journal

Republican-led states are stepping up their efforts with the Trump administration to pursue work requirements and other changes to Medicaid, in the face of legal challenges and Democratic opposition.

Democrats Pledged to Lower Health Costs. They Just Haven’t Figured Out How.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg And Robert Pear, The New York Times

Democrats are at odds over how to fulfill their promise to lower health costs, with centrists opposing the “Medicare for all” plan favored by progressives.

Online abortion pill provider ordered to cease delivery by FDA
Jessica Ravitz, CNN

A European organization that provides doctor-prescribed abortion pills by mail is under order by the US Food and Drug Administration to stop deliveries. The federal agency sent a warning letter to Aid Access this month requesting that it “immediately cease causing the introduction of these violative drugs into U.S. Commerce.”

A huge trove of medical records and prescriptions found exposed
Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch

A health tech company was leaking thousands of doctor’s notes, medical records, and prescriptions daily after a security lapse left a server without a password. The little-known software company, California-based Meditab, bills itself as one of the leading electronic medical records software makers for hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies.

In Iowa, Beto O’Rourke works to find his footing on health care
Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune

Beto O’Rourke has long advocated for “universal, guaranteed, high-quality health care for all.” But how exactly does he think the country should get there?

Agency: 13K didn’t meet Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement
The Associated Press

More than 6,400 people on Arkansas’ Medicaid expansion will lose coverage next month if they don’t comply with a work requirement. The Department of Human Services said Friday more than 13,000 people didn’t comply in February with the state’s requirement that they work 80 hours a month.

Ebola Epidemic in Congo Could Last Another Year, C.D.C. Director Warns
Denise Grady, The New York Times

Returning from a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency chief also worried that vaccine supplies could run out.

Healthcare breaches reported in February exposed data on 2 million people
Jessica Kim Cohen, Modern Healthcare

Providers, health plans and their business associates reported 31 data breaches to HHS’ Office for Civil Rights in February. All in all, these breaches compromised data from more than 2 million people. That’s up more than 500% from the 309,644 people affected by healthcare breaches reported in February 2018.

Ending HIV In Mississippi Means Cutting Through Racism, Poverty And Homophobia
Ari Shapiro and Dave Blanchard, NPR News

Ending HIV transmission in America within the next decade — a stated goal of the Trump Administration — isn’t a question of coming up with new medication. The medicines to prevent and treat HIV infections already exist.

Stocks, Bonds Hold Gains at Start of Busy Week: Markets Wrap
Yakob Peterseil, Bloomberg

U.S. equity futures and European stocks posted modest gains at the start of a week filled with potentially significant catalysts from central bank meetings, geopolitical developments and economic data. Treasuries were little changed and the dollar drifted lower.

What’s in a name? For the newly christened Haven, maybe another legal fight
Casey Ross and Kate Sheridan, Stat News

By naming their company Haven, leaders of the health venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. sought to create a brand unlike anything else in American medicine — a business uniquely capable of sheltering customers from insurance hassles and unreasonable costs.

Medicare wellness visits are supposed to be free — unless you call it a physical.
Michelle Andrews, The Washington Post

When Beverly Dunn called her new primary care doctor’s office last November to schedule an annual checkup, she assumed her Medicare coverage would pick up most of the tab. The appointment seemed like a routine physical, and she was pleased that the doctor spent a lot of time with her.

Did Your Doctor Disappear Without a Word? A Noncompete Clause Could Be the Reason
Michelle Andrews, The New York Times

Contracts with so-called restrictive covenants are now common in medicine, although some states limit their use. Noncompete clauses — common in many commercial sectors — aim to stop physicians and other health care professionals from taking patients with them if they move to a competing practice nearby or start their own.

HCA to acquire majority stake in nursing school’s parent company
Tara Bannow, Modern Healthcare

Nashville hospital giant HCA Healthcare has built-in protection against the nursing shortage: It owns nursing schools. HCA, one of the country’s largest health systems, announced this week it intends to buy a majority stake in the parent company that owns Galen College of Nursing, a private nursing school with five campuses.

Smaller Hospitals Press for Chance to Offer Heart-Valve Procedure
Peter Loftus, The Wall Street Journal

A battle has broken out among doctors, hospitals and medical-device makers over whether an increasingly popular but risky medical procedure for replacing defective heart valves should be offered more widely. The fight is over which hospitals can get paid by the federal government to perform the procedure, often referred to as TAVR, for transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Daily low-dose aspirin no longer recommended as heart attack preventative for older adults
Sandee LaMotte, CNN

If you’re a healthy older adult looking for ways to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke, don’t turn to that age-old standby: daily low-dose aspirin. It’s no longer recommended as a preventative for older adults who don’t have a high risk or existing heart disease, according to guidelines announced Sunday by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

Edwards, Medtronic heart valve systems prove worth in low-risk patients -studies
Tamara Mathias, Reuters

Non-invasive heart valve replacement systems from Medtronic Plc and rival Edwards Lifesciences Corp proved as good or better than open heart surgery in younger, more active patients for whom the surgical option was deemed low risk, according to trial results that had been scheduled to be presented on Sunday.

Curing HIV just got more complicated. Can CRISPR help?
Jon Cohen, Science

Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs have turned HIV infection from a death sentence to a chronic condition. In most people the drugs routinely tamp HIV levels so low that standard tests find no virus in blood samples. But inexplicably, in about 10% of infected people HIV remains easily detectable in the blood even though they take their daily pills and are not saddled with drug-resistant mutants of the virus.

FDA to launch scientific review of implant biocompatibility, following patient reactions to certain materials
Conor Hale, FierceBiotech

The FDA has begun to re-evaluate the state of the science around the materials used in long-term medical implants, pointing to a growing body of evidence that suggests a subset of patients may be predisposed to painful responses to the devices.

Apple Watch detects irregular heart beat in large U.S. study
Manas Mishra, Reuters

The Apple Watch was able to detect irregular heart pulse rates that could signal the need for further monitoring for a serious heart rhythm problem, according to data from a large study funded by Apple Inc (AAPL.O), demonstrating a potential future role for wearable consumer technology in healthcare.

These tech companies aim to cure pain without pills
Lora Kolodny and Katie Schoolov, CNBC

In 1992, doctors told Sana Health founder and CEO Richard Hanbury that he had just five years to live. A Jeep accident in Yemen at age 19 left him in a wheelchair and in such intense pain that he was rarely able to sleep, he recalls.

AI unready
Steve LeVine, Axios

In two years observing surgeons in teaching hospitals, social scientist Matthew Beane noticed something troubling: doctors were finishing their residencies licensed to use robots in the operating room, but most were barely trained to do so. At fault, Beane reported, is how hospitals have introduced machines and artificial intelligence to the workplace — a way that has left a large part of the new generation of doctors lacking crucial surgery skills.

Fitbit’s new trackers are cheap and work well, but they’re super basic
Todd Haselton and Angelica LaVito, CNBC

Fitbit recently released the Inspire HR and Versa Lite, two new wearables for budget-conscious buyers. CNBC tested both and we think Fitbit has a good approach to the market, at least among potential buyers who find the Apple Watch too pricey.

Precision Medicine Needs Research Dollars, Not Price-Fixing
Ross Marchand, Morning Consult

Thanks to cutting-edge investments in life-saving medicines, American companies continue to find cures for rare, devastating diseases. But America’s continued leadership in medical innovation depends on the federal government keeping sound, pro-innovation policies in place.

President Trump’s cuts to Medicare and Medicaid are disastrous for the Central Valley
TJ Cox, The Fresno Bee

President Trump just delivered his budget to Congress — and his plans were eye-opening. As the old political cliché goes, show me your budget, and I’ll show you your priorities.

Trends and Patterns of Geographic Variation in Opioid Prescribing Practices by State, United States, 2006-2017
Lyna Z. Schieber et al., JAMA

The amount of opioids prescribed decreased, but long-term prescriptions increased, and considerable variation among states existed.

Levels of Evidence Supporting American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and European Society of Cardiology Guidelines, 2008-2018
Alexander C. Fanaroff et al., JAMA

In this systematic review of 51 current guideline documents that included 6329 recommendations, 8.5% of recommendations in ACC/AHA guidelines and 14.3% of recommendations in ESC guidelines were classified as level of evidence A (supported by evidence from multiple RCTs), compared with 11.5% of recommendations in a systematic review of ACC/AHA guidelines conducted in 2009.