General
Democrats Push Elizabeth Warren for Plan to Pay for Medicare for All
Joshua Jamerson and Tarini Parti, The Wall Street Journal
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been dogged from the debate stage to town halls to late-night TV shows by questions about whether she plans to unveil a signature health-care proposal—and how she would pay for expanding government-run insurance.
Buttigieg elbows Warren and Sanders on health care — and Biden too
Daniel Strauss, Politico
The South Bend mayor is trying to chart a course between the three rivals, betting a lot of voters would like to be somewhere in between.
‘Our medical bills were 2 feet high’: How families grapple with medical debt
Annie Nova, CNBC
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is proposing to wipe out an estimated $81 billion in past-due medical debt. Up to 80 million Americans could be impacted.
In the rush to harvest body parts, death investigations have been upended
Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times
When 69-year-old Marietta Jinde died in September 2016, police had already been called to her home several times because of reports of possible abuse. A detective described conditions at the woman’s home in Gardena as “horrendous.”
E-Cigarettes Went Unchecked in 10 Years of F.D.A. Inaction
Katie Thomas and Sheila Kaplan, The New York Times
A decade after Congress gave the F.D.A. the power to regulate tobacco products like e-cigarettes, the federal government has repeatedly delayed or weakened efforts that could have protected teenagers.
Heads Up: A Ruling On The Latest Challenge To The Affordable Care Act Is Coming
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News
A decision in the latest court case to threaten the future of the Affordable Care Act could come as soon as this month. The ruling will come from the panel of judges in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments in the Texas v. Azar lawsuit.
Wasted health care spending in the U.S. tops annual defense budget, study finds
Megan Cerullo, CBS News
The administrative tasks required of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals are so complex and time-consuming that they squander hundreds of billions of dollars each year, according to a new analysis of health care spending in the U.S.
US Appeals Court Skeptical of Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, The Associated Press
A federal appeals court on Friday sharply questioned the Trump administration’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, casting doubt on a key part of a governmentwide effort to place conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer-financed assistance.
Some patients with vaping-related lung injuries are being hospitalized a second time
Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post
Federal health officials investigating mysterious vaping-related lung injuries said Friday that some patients are being hospitalized for a second time, a disturbing new development in the ongoing national outbreak that has spread to every state except Alaska.
Abortion medication to be available at California’s college health centers under new law
Melody Gutierrez, Los Angeles Times
California will become the first state in the nation to require public universities to provide access to abortion pills on campus under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday.
Malaysia considers total vaping ban after reports of U.S. deaths
Rozanna Latiff, Reuters
Malaysia is considering banning the sale of electronic cigarettes, its health minister said on Monday, citing growing reports of deaths in the United States linked to e-cigarettes and vaping.
U.S. health officials say vaping illness may have multiple causes
Julie Steenhuysen and Saumya Joseph, Reuters
U.S. health officials said on Friday there may be more than one cause behind the nationwide outbreak of serious lung illnesses linked to vaping, and that they have not yet seen a meaningful drop in new cases.
Your Paycheck May Impact Your Heart Health
Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times
The risk for cardiovascular disease may increase when a person’s income goes down, and decrease when it goes up.
Half of millennials and 75% of Gen Zers have left their job for mental health reasons
Todd Wasserman, CNBC
Cases of burnout have been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years among millennials and Gen Zers. It’s a growing problem in today’s workplace because of trends like rising workloads, limited staff and resources and long hours.
Stocks Decline as Investors Weigh Trade Prospects: Markets Wrap
Todd White, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures dropped alongside stocks in Europe after China appeared to pour cold water on a partial trade deal touted by Donald Trump, saying it wanted to iron out details before signing it. European bonds gained.
Payers
The Medicaid Experiment in Arkansas: Thousands Lost Coverage, Few Gained Jobs
Arian Campo-Flores and Stephanie Armour, The Wall Street Journal
Many recipients were confused by mandate, had technical trouble complying or were already working.
Colorado has a new plan to bring a “public option” of sorts to the state level
Tara Golshan, Vox
As Congress fails to act, Colorado has an idea to expand the Affordable Care Act.
Medicaid and the Health-Care Policy Debate Ahead of 2020 Elections
Stephanie Armour, The Wall Street Journal
Trump has called for Medicaid work requirement, while Democrats support single federal health system.
Providers
Overzealous in preventing falls, hospitals are producing an ‘epidemic of immobility’ in elderly patients
Melissa Bailey, The Washington Post
Falls remain the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for older Americans. Hospitals face financial penalties when they occur. Nurses and aides get blamed or reprimanded if a patient under their supervision hits the ground. But hospitals have become so overzealous in fall prevention that they are producing an “epidemic of immobility,” experts say.
Patients Eligible For Charity Care Instead Get Big Bills
Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News
Nonprofit hospitals admit they sent $2.7 billion in bills over the course of a year to patients who probably qualified for free or discounted care.
‘Executive physicals’ at top-ranked hospitals may lack recommended screenings
Lisa Rapaport, Reuters Health
Executive physicals may lure corporate clients and wealthy individuals with the promise of personalized attention and comprehensive preventive care, but a new study suggests many of these pricey exams may skip recommended screenings.
Researchers Try A Genetic Diabetes Test To Prevent Emergency Hospitalizations
Richard Harris, NPR News
Nearly half of all children who develop Type 1 diabetes don’t know they have the disease until they end up in a coma in the hospital.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
Massive opioid case may end with huge settlement. Where would the money go?
Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times
The largest civil trial in U.S. history is scheduled to begin in a matter of days, putting those who made, marketed, distributed and dispensed prescription painkillers under the legal spotlight. But those on the front lines of the opioid epidemic are already looking beyond the courtroom to the massive settlement they expect will ultimately resolve the case.
Sun Pharma is accused of distributing medicines in Washington state without a license
Ed Silverman, Stat News
The Washington Department of Health is reviewing a complaint that Sun Pharmaceuticals (SUNPHARMA) has been distributing samples of medicines in the state for more than two years without the necessary license, the second time one of the world’s largest generic drug makers has been probed for such an infraction amid scrutiny of several of its business practices.
John Cornyn garners both criticism and credit for wading into fractious debate over drug-pricing legislation
Tom Benning, Dallas Morning News
The cost of medication is sure to come up in the 2020 elections, particularly among voters who are older or who have limited financial means.
Reynolds American files for FDA review of e-cigarette
Tamara Mathias and Nivedita Balu, Reuters
British American Tobacco Plc unit Reynolds American Inc said on Friday it had filed for a review of its Vuse e-cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug administration, giving it a lead over its main rival Juul Labs Inc.
FDA approves new Eli Lilly drug to ‘resolve’ migraine pain in two hours
Elijah Shama, CNBC
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug to treat migraines that’s proven to resolve their pain and other symptoms within two hours, the agency said Friday.
An updated guide to the changing science of flu shots
Helen Branswell, Stat News
Flu shot season is upon us. Three years ago, STAT laid out some of the questions surrounding flu vaccination in an article you can find here.
Health IT
These telemedicine doctors are getting licenses in all 50 states to treat patients in most remote areas
Christina Farr, CNBC
Blake McKinney is a doctor with medical licenses in 49 states and a 50th likely on the way. That would put him into a small but growing group of physicians who see a big future online.
Dozens Of YouTube Videos Are Showing People How To Make Potentially Dangerous Vape Oil
Stephanie M. Lee and Dan Vergano, BuzzFeed News
As health agencies scramble to control a rash of mysterious vaping-related lung injuries, YouTube is playing host to dozens of videos that offer step-by-step instructions on how to make black-market THC vape oil.
Congress Probes Bot-Generated Social-Media Messages About E-Cigarettes
John D. McKinnon, The Wall Street Journal
A congressional committee and the Massachusetts attorney general are investigating whether millions of bot-generated social-media messages about e-cigarettes have been misleading consumers about safety and health issues.
A Message From Better Medicare Alliance:
Congress: Co-sponsor H.R. 1398 and S. 172 and talk to leadership to stop the Health Insurance Tax on seniors. In previous years, Congress has recognized the serious consequences of reinstating the Health Insurance Tax and has suspended it from going into effect. Allowing the tax to return would impact seniors who rely on Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage keeps costs low, provides additional benefits and protects seniors. Click here to learn more.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Synthetic opioid crisis still growing, often among unwitting users
Bryce Pardo and Beau Kilmer, Axios
Although opioid prescriptions in the U.S. have fallen, opioid overdose deaths — 47,000 in 2018 — remain at historic levels. The continued spread of fentanyl and other illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids suggest the problem could still get worse.
My Years in the Florida Shuffle of Drug Addiction
Colton Wooten, The New Yorker
Cycling through relapse and recovery, and the industry that enables both.
Research Reports
All Medicaid Expansions Are Not Created Equal: The Geography and Targeting of the Affordable Care Act
Craig Garthwaite et al., National Bureau of Economic Research
We use comprehensive patient-level discharge data to study the effect of Medicaid on the use of hospital services. Our analysis relies on cross-state variation in the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, along with within-state variation across ZIP Codes in exposure to the expansion.
Effects of Drug Price Negotiation Stemming From Title 1 of H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, on Spending and Revenues Related to Part D of Medicare
Congressional Budget Office
This letter describes a preliminary estimate of the effects of title I of the bill on federal direct spending and revenues related to Part D of Medicare, the outpatient drug benefit. CBO is working on analyses of other effects of that title and of other titles of the bill, but that work is not complete.
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