General
U.S. cuts vaping-related illness total under refined case definition
Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters
U.S. health officials on Thursday cut the number of lung illnesses linked to e-cigarettes and vaping products under investigation to 380 as states began assessing patients based on a narrower case definition issued late last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Julián Castro Hits Hard At Biden On Health Care And Immigration During Debate
Daniel Marans, HuffPost
The former housing secretary did not hold back against former Vice President Joe Biden at the Democratic presidential debate in Houston.
The Health-Care Debate Gets Nasty
Olga Khazan, The Atlantic
In the latest Democratic presidential debate, the candidates stopped being polite and started getting real.
New Jersey expected to announce vaping restrictions within weeks
Gabriella Borter and Matthew Lavietes, Reuters
Within weeks, New Jersey could become the latest state to restrict e-cigarette use, with the governor on Thursday launching a task force to find ways to curb vaping, linked by U.S. health officials to hundreds of respiratory illnesses and a half-dozen deaths.
Nursing Homes Are a Breeding Ground for a Fatal Fungus
Matt Richtel and Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times
Drug-resistant germs, including Candida auris, prey on severely ill patients in skilled nursing facilities, a problem sometimes amplified by poor care and low staffing.
Alcohol taxes not close to covering cost of drinking harms in the U.S.
Linda Carroll, Reuters
The sum total of taxes on alcohol doesn’t come close to paying the bills associated with excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S., researchers say.
Suicide rates highest and rising fastest in U.S. rural communities
Lisa Rapaport, Reuters
Suicide rates are rising across the U.S., especially in rural communities and places with high poverty and a proliferation of gun shops, a new analysis suggests.
Harris, O’Rourke lament lack of abortion questions at Houston debate
Jessica Campisi, The Hill
Within minutes of stepping off the primary debate stage in Houston, 2020 Democrats were criticizing the lack of questions about abortion or reproductive rights.
Group aims to stop Illinois from becoming the “abortion capital of the Midwest”
Kate Smith, CBS News
It hasn’t been a good year for anti-abortion activists in Illinois. While other states across the Midwest and South were busy passing abortion bans this spring, Illinois went the other direction.
Stocks Set for Weekly Gain as Bonds Extend Retreat: Markets Wrap
Laura Curtis, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures rose with Asian and European stocks as shares globally headed for a third weekly gain thanks to easing trade fears and a new round of central bank stimulus. Treasury yields climbed and the dollar slipped.
Payers
Employer-based health insurance costs will grow 6.5% in 2020
Michael Brady, Modern Healthcare
High-cost specialty drugs, increases in care costs and declining care utilization will spark a 6.5% hike in employer-sponsored health benefits costs in 2020, according to a new report Thursday.
Democrats Spar Over Private Health Insurance At Presidential Debate
Jeffrey Young, HuffPost
Leading Democratic presidential candidates sought to differentiate themselves on health care at a Houston debate Thursday by vying to find out what scares voters more: the potential for higher taxes or to continue to be subject to the whims of the private health insurance system.
Would a ‘Medicare for All’ plan help you save money on your family’s health-care costs? It’s complicated
Megan Leonhardt, CNBC
The current health-care system is failing too many Americans. A staggering number of people are being forced into bankruptcy over their medical bills, or perhaps worse, avoiding treatment in order to stay afloat financially.
Whole Foods to cut health-care benefits for 1,900 part-time employees starting next year
Jasmine Wu, CNBC
Amazon-owned Whole Foods will be withdrawing medical benefits for hundreds of its part-time workers starting Jan. 1, 2020, the company said Thursday. In the past, employees needed to work at least 20 hours a week to buy into the health-care plan.
Missouri governor won’t ‘necessarily’ sign Medicaid petition, but expects question on 2020 ballot
Kurt Erickson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Republican Gov. Mike Parson said it is likely that a group trying to expand Medicaid in Missouri will be successful in collecting enough signatures to put the question to voters in the 2020 election.
Providers
Price hikes, upcoding drive Massachusetts inpatient spending
Alex Kacik, Modern Healthcare
Commercial inpatient healthcare spending has increased in Massachusetts despite declining volumes, reinforcing other analyses that determined price increases are driving spending growth, a new report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission found.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
A Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes Would Sharply Cut Sales
Julie Creswell and Sheila Kaplan, The New York Times
Companies and trade groups are weighing the risks of fighting a proposed ban on most flavored vaping products, to protect mint and menthol varieties.
Amid U.S. vaping crackdown, Juul enters China with online store openings
Josh Horwitz, Reuters
U.S. e-cigarettes maker Juul Labs Inc, which faces a widening crackdown on vaping at home, has entered China, with online storefronts on e-commerce sites owned by Alibaba Group (BABA.N) and JD.com (JD.O) to tap the world’s largest market of smokers.
U.S. officials worried about Chinese control of American drug supply
Ken Dilanian and Brenda Breslauer, NBC News
“Basically we’ve outsourced our entire industry to China,” retired Brig. Gen. John Adams told NBC News. “That is a strategic vulnerability.”
Historians push to create public archive of documents from massive opioid litigation
Andrew Joseph, Stat News
In settling lawsuits against them, companies often insist that all of the documents and depositions gathered as part of the cases be locked away or destroyed. To head that off — and to ensure a full accounting of the origins of the prescription opioid crisis — a group of historians is asking that any settlement in the massive opioid litigation require all collected documents be preserved and made public.
Juul says it will keep running ‘Make the Switch’ ad campaign despite FDA concerns
Megan Graham and Angelica LaVito, CNBC
Before President Trump’s proclamation on Wednesday that flavored e-cigarettes should be banned, Juul was already under attack this week from federal regulators, who were concerned about an ad campaign from the vaping company that recommended consumers switch from regular cigarettes.
Aurora Cannabis executive says he is ‘very worried’ about vaping situation in the US
Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC
Aurora Cannabis Executive Chairman Michael Singer said Thursday that he is concerned about the uncertain situation around vaping in the United States.
Health IT
Geisinger, IBM develop new predictive algorithm to detect sepsis risk
Mike Miliard, HealthcareITNews
Geisinger and IBM this week announced this week that they’ve co-created a new predictive model to help clinicians flag sepsis risk using data from the integrated health system’s electronic health record.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Fix Surprise Billing and Make Health Care More Affordable
Taylor and James Gelfand, Morning Consult
Employers provide health benefits to over 181 million Americans who overwhelmingly like and want to keep this coverage. We recognize, however, that rising prices – particularly out-of-pocket prices that patients and families pay – are an increasing problem.
Research Reports
Non-Pharmacological Therapies in Alzheimer’s disease: A Systematic Review
UsAgainstAlzheimers
The report catalogues and assesses the scientific rigor around non-pharmacological interventions for Alzheimer’s disease, which could slow, delay, or possibly even prevent the disease and related dementias.
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