Top Stories

  • Santa Clara County, Calif., and San Francisco officials have sued the Trump administration regarding its new rule that could deny legal immigrants who use public aid, such as Medicaid or food stamps, from obtaining permanent residence with green cards or even entering the United States, calling the rule “unlawful.” The new requirements, set to go into effect mid-October, will not be applied retroactively but could reduce the likelihood that foreign-born residents who have used public benefits gain approval if they apply to change their legal status. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • The Health and Human Services Department’s internal watchdog found that federal health officials failed to meet the standard for required visits of independent living programs administered by The Administration for Community Living, which provides aid to people with intellectual and physical disabilities. The law mandates that officials complete compliance reviews of 15 percent of federally funded programs in a third of the states that accept funding, but ACL has not done so since the programs came under its jurisdiction five years ago, attributing the failure to limited funds for travel. (The Washington Post)
  • According to a new survey of employers’ health care strategies and plans, large, self-insured employers plan to give workers more choice with their coverage in 2020, with 25 percent of employers offering high-deductible plans with an attached savings account as the sole option next year. That share is down from 30 percent in 2019 and 39 percent in 2018 in the same annual survey, which also found health care costs for employers are rising at a slower pace, with a growth of 3.6 percent in 2018. (Modern Healthcare)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

08/14/2019
The National Press Club hosts “Fundamental tools for journalists with Google News Lab” 10:00 am
08/15/2019
2019 CMS National Training Program workshop: Chicago, Illinois
View full calendar

Understanding Gen Z: The Definitive Guide to the Next Generation

Based on nearly 1,000 survey interviews with 18-21 year-olds, Morning Consult’s ‘Understanding Gen Z’ report digs into the values, habits, aspirations, politics, and concerns that are shaping Gen Z adults and the ways they differ from the generations that came before them.

Download the full report →

General

‘Cadillac Tax’ On Generous Health Plans May Be Headed To Congressional Junkyard
Julie Rovner, NPR News

The politics of health care are changing. And one of the most controversial parts of the Affordable Care Act — the so-called “Cadillac tax” — may be about to change with it.

Texas almost mandated an HPV vaccine before politics got in the way. Now, the state has one of the country’s highest rates of cervical cancer.
Edgar Walters, The Texas Tribune

The state’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of Australia, where leaders have successfully pushed a nationwide program that has made a sizable dent in cervical cancer rates.

‘Juul-alikes’ Are Filling Shelves With Sweet, Teen-Friendly Nicotine Flavors
Sheila Kaplan, The New York Times

The purveyors of Strawberry Milk, Peach Madness and Froopy (tastes like Froot Loops) e-cigarette pods are having a very good year. After Juul Labs, under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration, stopped selling most of its hugely popular flavored nicotine pods in stores last fall, upstart competitors swooped in to grab the shelf space. 

Why doesn’t the United States have universal health care? The answer has everything to do with race.
Jeneen Interlandi, The New York Times Magazine

The smallpox virus hopscotched across the post-Civil War South, invading the makeshift camps where many thousands of newly freed African-Americans had taken refuge but leaving surrounding white communities comparatively unscathed. 

Opponents warn a Tennessee abortion ban will cost taxpayers
Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press

Tennessee lawmakers were warned Tuesday that, should the GOP-controlled Legislature choose to pass one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation, taxpayers will likely be forced to pick up cost of the losing battle.

Air Pollution May Be As Harmful To Your Lungs As Smoking Cigarettes, Study Finds
Allison Aubrey, NPR News

Emphysema is considered a smoker’s disease. But it turns out, exposure to air pollution may lead to the same changes in the lung that give rise to emphysema.

Abortion support remains steady despite growing partisan divide, survey finds
Ariana Eunjung Cha and Scott Clement, The Washington Post

At a time when antiabortion measures are sweeping the United States, one of the largest-ever surveys on abortion attitudes finds support for legal abortion has held steady. No more than a quarter of residents in any state supports a total ban despite the increasing political divide on the issue.

Stocks Slide, Bonds Flash Warning After Weak Data: Markets Wrap
Laura Curtis, Bloomberg

American equity-index futures slumped alongside stocks in Europe as weak data from two of the world’s biggest economies overshadowed an apparent de-escalation in the trade war. Treasuries and European bonds rallied, with key parts of both the U.S. and U.K. yield curves inverting.

Payers

As States Strive To Stabilize Insurance Marketplaces, Insurers Return
Steven Findlay, Kaiser Health News

Felicia Morrison is eager to find a health plan for next year that costs less than the one she has and covers more of the medical services she needs for her chronic autoimmune disease.

Employee health benefits’ costs expected to rise 5% in 2020, new survey says
Bertha Coombs, CNBC

The total cost of worker health benefits is expected to increase 5% in 2020, topping $15,000 per employee, according to the National Business Group on Health annual survey of nearly 150 of the nation’s largest employers.

Kansas to KanCare contractor: Your improvement plan isn’t good enough
Jonathan Shorman, The Wichita Eagle

A Kansas Medicaid contractor facing allegations that it’s not living up to the terms of its $1 billion a year contract insists it’s doing better. The state says the company still isn’t doing well enough.

Providers

Myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery — and are still believed by doctors today.
Linda Villarosa, The New York Times Magazine

The excruciatingly painful medical experiments went on until his body was disfigured by a network of scars. John Brown, an enslaved man on a Baldwin County, Ga., plantation in the 1820s and ’30s, was lent to a physician, Dr. Thomas Hamilton, who was obsessed with proving that physiological differences between black and white people existed. 

Hospitals call for overhauling Medicare Advantage prior authorization rules
Susannah Luthi, Modern Healthcare

Hospitals and health systems are demanding that the CMS set national rules for how insurers manage prior authorization and payment for pre-approved claims in Medicare Advantage.

Pharma, Biotech and Devices

U.S. lawmakers push Mylan, Teva over drug pricing probe: statement
Susan Heavey, Reuters

The head of the U.S. House of Representative’s oversight panel on Wednesday called on three drugmakers to turn over documents as part of an ongoing congressional review over generic drug price increases and accused the companies of “apparent efforts to stonewall” the probe.

Memo to the Novartis CEO: When in doubt, give the FDA a heads-up
Ed Silverman, Stat News

For someone who has made a point of trying to steer Novartis (NVS) away from scandal, Vas Narasimhan has committed a puzzling blunder.

AstraZeneca scores win in race to treat ovarian cancer
Ludwig Burger, Reuters

AstraZeneca has made further headway in the race with larger competitor GlaxoSmithKline’s to use a promising new class of drugs to treat ovarian cancer.

Health IT

With brain trauma, surgeons don’t always know if an operation will help. Could AI change that?
Jacquelyn Corley, Stat News

A paramedic gurney flies through the trauma bay carrying an unconscious elderly gentleman. He is already intubated and has a hive of doctors and nurses running alongside, placing intravenous lines and injecting medicine into his blood stream. 

Doctors say most metrics provided by your Apple Watch, Fitbit aren’t helpful to them
Dalvin Brown, USA Today

We use wearables to count calories, measure heart rates and even rate our quality of sleep. With healthier living in mind, we purchase kid-friendly versions for our children and step-counting options for grandparents. 

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Marijuana Safety Up in Smoke: How High Is Too High on the Road and on the Job?
David Sampson, Morning Consult

The growing use of marijuana across the United States has cast a haze on a critical fact: Although states are rapidly legalizing the drug, we need to better understand impairment and its impact on driver and workplace safety. 

The ‘Public-Charge’ Ploy
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board

A new rule looks like another effort to limit legal immigration.

Novartis violated FDA’s sacred principle: In God we trust, all others must bring data
Robert M. Califf, Stat News

A common saying at the Food and Drug Administration is: “In God we trust, all others must bring data.” The independent evaluation of science is an essential element of the FDA’s dual role of protecting the public health and promoting innovation to bring new therapies into practice.

Research Reports

Health co-benefits of sub-national renewable energy policy in the US
Emil G. Dimanchev et al., Environmental Research Letters

State and local policy-makers in the US have shown interest in transitioning electricity systems toward renewable energy sources and in mitigating harmful air pollution. However, the extent to which sub- national renewable energy policies can improve air quality remains unclear.

Prescription Drug Use Among Adults Aged 40–79 in the United States and Canada
Craig M. Hales et al., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nearly 7 in 10 adults aged 40–79 used at least 1 prescription drug in the past 30 days in the United States (69.0%) and Canada (65.5%), and around 1 in 5 used at least 5 prescription drugs (22.4% in the United States and 18.8% in Canada).

Morning Consult