General
Trump to meet with vaping industry as he mulls tighter regulation
Doina Chiacu, Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will be meeting with vaping industry representatives as his administration considers tightening e-cigarette regulations amid a nationwide outbreak of vaping-related injuries and deaths.
Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson, an advocate for racial justice and workplace diversity, dies at 60
Clare Duffy, CNN
Bernard Tyson, the CEO of Kaiser Permanente, died in his sleep early Sunday at the age of 60, the company confirmed to CNN Business. Tyson had served as chief executive since 2013 and chairman since 2014 after a more than 30-year career with the company.
E.P.A. to Limit Science Used to Write Public Health Rules
Lisa Friedman, The New York Times
The Trump administration is preparing to significantly limit the scientific and medical research that the government can use to determine public health regulations, overriding protests from scientists and physicians who say the new rule would undermine the scientific underpinnings of government policymaking.
More Adolescents Seek Medical Care For Mental Health Issues
Phillip Reese, Kaiser Health News
Less than a decade ago, the emergency department at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego would see maybe one or two young psychiatric patients per day, said Dr. Benjamin Maxwell, the hospital’s interim director of child and adolescent psychiatry.
Montana’s Medicaid expansion work requirements delayed
The Associated Press
The work requirements that state lawmakers added to Montana’s Medicaid expansion program as a compromise to keep the program alive won’t go into effect in January as planned.
Big Nurses Union Backs Bernie Sanders and His Push for ‘Medicare for All’
Reid J. Epstein, The New York Times
National Nurses United, the country’s biggest nurses union, also endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2016. This time, it chose him over Elizabeth Warren, who has laid out her own Medicare for all plan.
Voters Say Congress Needs To Curb Drug Prices, But Are Lawmakers Listening?
Emmarie Huetteman, Kaiser Health News
House Democrats are poised to pass sweeping legislation to lower drug prices using strategies President Donald Trump has endorsed. A Trump aide urged the Republican-controlled Senate to vote on a different package curbing drug prices that was drafted by a senior Republican.
Getting a Handle on Self-Harm
Benedict Carey, The New York Times
Cutting and other forms of self-injury are on the rise among adolescents. Researchers are beginning to understand the phenomenon, and how to treat it.
Vaping-Related Lung Transplant Performed at Detroit Hospital
Corey Williams, The Associated Press
Doctors at a Detroit hospital have performed what could be the first double lung transplant on a man whose lungs were damaged from vaping.
As Vietnam Veterans Age, Hospices Aim to Meet Their Needs
Julie Halpert, The New York Times
In addition to high rates of disability and psychological issues, some vets facing the end of life are confronting long-suppressed memories of the traumas of war.
Stocks Rise Amid Trade-War Lull; Treasuries Drift: Markets Wrap
Samuel Potter, Bloomberg
U.S. equity-index futures edged higher on Tuesday as European and Asian stocks rose amid a lull in trade-war headlines and simmering tension in Hong Kong. Treasuries fluctuated after a long weekend.
Payers
Blue Cross Blue Shield replaces United in health data-sharing deal
Bob Herman, Axios
Blue Health Intelligence, the company that houses medical and pharmacy claims data for 190 million people who have Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, has agreed to a multiyear deal to share its data with the Health Care Cost Institute.
Kaiser leaders vow to carry on Tyson’s legacy
Tara Bannow, Modern Healthcare
While most passengers were asleep on a recent red-eye to Chicago, Bernard Tyson was bouncing in his seat along to Whitney Houston’s “I want to dance with somebody.”
UnitedHealth Group promotes Optum CEO to group president
Shelby Livingston, Modern Healthcare
UnitedHealth Group has tapped the CEO of its Optum business, Andrew Witty, to serve as president of UnitedHealth Group. Witty will also continue to serve as Optum’s chief, the Minnetonka, Minn.-based health insurance giant said Monday.
Investors are shrugging off fear of Medicare for All – for now
Bertha Coombs, CNBC
Ending private health insurance has been one of the rallying cries of Elizabeth Warren’s presidential bid and her rise in the polls has made health care investors nervous.
Providers
Providence St. Joseph Health rebrands its system
Modern Healthcare
Three years after merging to create one of the largest Catholic systems in the country, Providence St. Joseph Health is changing its name to Providence while retaining the St. Joseph Health cross as its logo, the system announced Monday.
Hospital sticker prices can rise faster than inflation
Lisa Rapaport, Reuters
U.S. hospitals’ sticker prices for two common sources of surprise medical bills have climbed far faster than economic inflation, a new study suggests.
Chicago not-for-profit hospitals forced to defend hundreds of millions in property tax breaks
Stephanie Goldberg, Modern Healthcare
Chicago’s not-for-profit hospitals face new pressure to justify property tax exemptions worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
It’s tiny biotechs — not big drug makers — that fear ‘nuclear winter’ from Pelosi’s drug pricing bill
Nicholas Florko, Stat News
No one asked Paul Hastings what he thinks about Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s major new drug pricing legislation, or how it might affect his company, Nkarta Therapeutics. No one asked Bassil Dahiyat, the CEO of Xencor (XNCR), or Dr. Barbara Weber, who helms Tango Therapeutics, either.
China’s Drug Market Is Opening Up
Jacky Wong, The Wall Street Journal
Beijing’s health-care reforms are giving global pharmaceutical companies better access to the world’s second-largest drug market
Surgeons Transplanted Pig Skin Onto Humans for the First Time
Emily Mullin, OneZero
Genetically engineered pigs could be the solution to the world’s organ transplant shortage.
Health IT
Providers, payers and pharma must work together to thwart cyber criminals
Bill Siwicki, HealthcareITNews
Sharing of threat information across stakeholders helps create situational awareness – not just for individual organizations but for the healthcare industry as a whole, says one expert.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
A Simple Solution to Control Costs and Protect Our Nation’s Seniors
Andrea Baer, Morning Consult
No senior should go hungry at the expense of being able to afford the lifesaving medication needed to stay healthy. But many of America’s low-income seniors are having to make that very decision because there is no limit on out-of-pocket costs in Medicare Part D.
Research Reports
Trends in Lipid, Lipoproteins, and Statin Use Among U.S. Adults
Nirav Patel et al., Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Impact of 2013 cholesterol guidelines.
Emergency Department Risks: Through the Lens of Liability Claims
Tara Gibson et al., Coverys
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) are the fourth most common healthcare delivery location to trigger a malpractice claim. This report provides insight into the root causes.
Special report: Twenty extraordinary women in biopharma R&D who worked their way to the top
Endpoints
What differentiates a woman leader in biopharma R&D from a man? Not much, except there are fewer of them in senior posts.
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