General
Flailing On Fentanyl Katie Zezima and Colby Itkowitz, The Washington Post
As fentanyl deaths soared among their constituents, Congress failed to act despite dire warnings about the powerful opioid.
Dick Durbin, Longtime Anti-Smoking Advocate, Turns Sights on Vaping
Thomas M. Burton, The Wall Street Journal
Five days before the Trump administration moved to ban the sale of fruit- and candy-flavored vaping products, acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless received a sharply worded letter from Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.).
Vaccine Law Targeted in Potential Maine Ballot Question Jon Kamp, The Wall Street Journal
Voters likely to decide whether to toss new state law limiting vaccine exemptions.
The hidden battle over California’s new vaccine law Melody Gutierrez et al., Los Angeles Times
Most everyone who heard Gov. Gavin Newsom’s words had the same reaction: He’s finally on board.
Warren comes under new pressure over Medicare for All and higher taxes Naomi Jagoda and Jonathan Easley, The Hill
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is coming under increasing pressure from her 2020 rivals to spell out how she’d pay for her “Medicare for All” proposal.
Biden mocks voter: ‘You got the right candidate in Bernie … and Elizabeth’ Emily Larsen, Washington Examiner
Joe Biden mocked an Iowa woman, telling her she should back Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren after the voter defended “Medicare for all” health plans against Biden’s criticisms.
Why Can’t We Stop Pancreatic Cancer? Jane E. Brody, The New York Times
There is little a person can do to prevent it, and there is nothing comparable to mammography or colonoscopy to screen for it when it is most amenable to cure.
Tennessee abortion clinics hope to defeat waiting period Travis Loller, The Associated Press
A federal judge will hear opening statements Monday in a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period before abortions.
Juul Tried to Position Itself As a Responsible Actor. It Backfired. Jennifer Maloney and Stephanie Armour, The Wall Street Journal
Juul Labs Inc. pursued a strategy to win over Washington. But the e-cigarette maker wound up further alienating regulators, helping to thrust the once-soaring startup into a crisis that threatens its business.
Sales of Illicit Vaping Products Find Home Online Daniela Hernandez, The Wall Street Journal
As concerns about the health hazards of vaping mount, a market for illicit cannabis-vaping products and the tools to create counterfeits is thriving online.
How One School Is Tackling the Youth Vaping Epidemic Christine Vestal, Stateline
The hallways at South Portland High School were buzzing last week with talk of the mystery disease that has struck hundreds of young adults who vape. Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram have been filled with grisly photos of severely damaged lungs and stories about vaping-related deaths.
New editor says NEJM’s mission won’t change, but its execution will Elizabeth Cooney, Stat News
In his first piece published as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Eric Rubin leads with a joke: An international search for a successor to Dr. Jeffrey Drazen found its match a mere 100 yards away from the journal’s home in Harvard Medical School’s Countway Library.
Gloomy European Data Hits Stocks as Bonds Advance: Markets Wrap Samuel Potter, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures fluctuated and European stocks retreated as disappointing data in the euro area overshadowed easing concern about trade relations between America and China. Treasuries rose and the common currency slid.
Payers
Many union workers really love their health benefits. That’s a problem for Bernie Sanders. Tami Luhby, CNN
Health care benefits are really important to many union workers — important enough to give up pay raises or even to walk off the job to keep the coverage they’ve negotiated.
U.S. Voters Support Expanding Medicare but Not Eliminating Private Health Insurance John McCormick, The Wall Street Journal
Democratic presidential candidates are presenting policy ideas that are broadly popular with Americans, including tuition-free state colleges, but other proposals—such as Medicare for All—could complicate the party’s prospects next year, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.
Medicare quality measures need improvement, says government watchdog Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare
CMS quality measures might not indicate the actual care patients receive, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Providers
Want To Reduce Suicides? Follow The Data — To Medical Offices, Motels And Even Animal Shelters Maureen O’Hagan, Kaiser Health News
For medical examiners, it’s a mission. Their job is to investigate deaths and learn from them, for the benefit of us all. Repp, however, isn’t a medical examiner; she’s a Ph.D. microbiologist.
Nurses in Four States Strike to Push for Better Patient Care Aimee Ortiz, The New York Times
Registered nurses with National Nurses United say current nurse-to-patient ratios do not allow for the best possible care.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
To speed drug development, Mass. General to begin ALS trials that test several compounds at once Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe
Massachusetts General Hospital will soon start the first clinical trial that simultaneously tests multiple potential ALS medicines in the hopes of getting results faster at lower costs.
Carcinogen in Zantac Leads to Another Shipment Halt, Recall Anna Edney, Bloomberg
A global effort to remove gastrointestinal medication tainted with a potential carcinogen from the market gained momentum, as one of India’s largest generic drugmakers halted shipments to customers worldwide and Italy ordered a recall of some medicine that originated in India.
3 Are Dead And 4 Hospitalized From Drug Overdoses, Pittsburgh Police Say Gabriela Saldivia, NPR News
What Pittsburgh police first called a medical situation that left three people dead and four hospitalized is now believed to be an isolated drug overdose incident.
RA Capital launches Carnot, an incubator for early-stage biotechs Kate Sheridan, Stat News
Noted biotech investment firm RA Capital has quietly launched an incubator program. The incubator, called Carnot, will serve as a place where the firm’s partners can stress-test and develop ideas that could someday become independent companies.
Health IT
Paging Dr. Robot D.T. Max, The New Yorker
A pathbreaking surgeon prefers to do his cutting by remote control.
Behind the scenes at Humana’s new digital health unit in Boston Bertha Coombs, CNBC
Humana’s new digital health hub in Boston has the look and feel of a tech start-up, and that is very much the point. The Medicare giant’s CEO has told his managers digital engagement has to be at the heart of everything they do.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Protecting Health Care Data: Balancing Patient Privacy, Control and Consent in a Time of Increasing Access Daniel Barchi, Morning Consult
Delivery of good health care depends on free and honest communication between patient and practitioner, and providers have long respected patient privacy. Yet, as Americans grow accustomed to the convenience of instant and portable access to their health care records, we must understand the inherent compromise in this arrangement.
Research Reports
A National Survey of Marijuana Use Among US Adults With Medical Conditions, 2016-2017 Hongying Dai et al., JAMA
This survey study using data from 169 036 participants in the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys found that, compared with adults without medical conditions, adults with medical conditions had a significantly higher prevalence of current and daily marijuana use, were more likely to report using marijuana for medical reasons, and were less likely to report using marijuana for recreational purposes.
How Will Medicaid Work Requirements Affect Hospitals’ Finances? Randy Haught et al., The Commonwealth Fund
The results show that Medicaid work requirements could weaken hospitals’ financial positions, especially rural hospitals, in states that implement these requirements as a condition of coverage. However, the design of states’ Medicaid work requirement programs will play a key role in how many beneficiaries lose coverage and the resulting financial impact on hospitals.
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