Top Stories

  • Conservative leaders are sharing with White House staffers data that claims President Donald Trump will jeopardize his re-election if he moves ahead with his plan to ban flavored electronic cigarettes, according to documents obtained by a media organization. The rationale is that because Trump’s 2016 margin of victory in battleground states such as Michigan and Florida was so narrow, if voters who vape turn on him in 2020, it could be sufficient to tip the scales. (Axios)
  • Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has introduced a plan to eliminate an estimated $81 billion in existing medical debt and alter the current system of debt collection and bankruptcy, in part by overhauling credit reporting agencies and installing one “public credit registry.” Along with negotiating and canceling past-due medical bills, the new registry would not take medical debt into consideration when calculating credit scores. (The New York Times)
  • The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments today from a coalition of health groups, including Planned Parenthood, and state governments attempting to block the Trump administration’s changes to the federal family planning program. The rule, which bars clinics that provide abortion referrals from accepting federal dollars, has already taken effect, but the court’s decision on whether it can stay in place amid ongoing litigation could have implications for a case that many expect will see the Supreme Court. (The Hill)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

09/23/2019
AHIP National Conferences on Medicare, Medicaid & Dual Eligibles
The MedTech Conference
12th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved
ASTHO 2019 Annual Meeting and Policy Summit
09/24/2019
AHIP National Conferences on Medicare, Medicaid & Dual Eligibles
The MedTech Conference
ASTHO 2019 Annual Meeting and Policy Summit
Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) participates in a Politico event on oral health and dental insurance 7:45 am
Bipartisan Policy Center hosts “HIV in America: Insights from the Frontline” with HHS Assistant Secretary for Health 9:00 am
Partnership for Safe Medicines Congressional House Briefing on drug importation 9:00 am
AEI and the Brookings Institution cohost a discussion titled “A New Vision for Health Reform” 9:15 am
Seema Verma delivers keynote address at AHIP 2019 National Conference on Medicare. 12:00 pm
HCUP Data User’ Workshop 8:30 am
09/25/2019
AHIP National Conferences on Medicare, Medicaid & Dual Eligibles
AcademyHealth 2019 Health Data Leadership Institute
ASTHO 2019 Annual Meeting and Policy Summit
The MedTech Conference
AHIP 2019 Annual State Issues Retreat
Partnership to Empower Physician-Led Care policy summit on the role of physicians in value-based care 8:00 am
House Committee on Energy & Commerce oversight subcommittee hearing on public health risks of e-cigarettes 10:00 am
House Committee on Appropriations hearing on medical research 10:00 am
The House Committee on Energy & Commerce health subcommittee will host a hearing on drug pricing legislation, including Pelosi’s Medicare negotiation bill 10:30 am
09/26/2019
AHIP National Conferences on Medicare, Medicaid & Dual Eligibles
AcademyHealth 2019 Health Data Leadership Institute
2019 AHIP Annual State Issues Retreat
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission public meeting
AHIP 2019 Annual State Issues Retreat
FDA Meeting of the Pediatric and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committees 9:00 am
Brookings event on data disaggregation as a means to improved health research and policy-making 9:30 am
HHS Sec. Alex Azar speaks at The Atlantic Festival 9:30 am
House Education and Labor Committee health subcommittee hearing on lowering drug prices 2:00 pm
USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy event at USC: “Moving Toward Universal Coverage: Policy Approaches” 2:00 pm
09/27/2019
2019 AHIP Annual State Issues Retreat
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission public meeting
AHIP 2019 Annual State Issues Retreat
FDA Meeting of the Pediatric and Drug Safety and Risk Management Committees 8:30 am
View full calendar

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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.

 

Morning Consult