Top Stories

  • The U.S. Digital Service, a group of software developers and designers employed by the White House, said in an independent review that an eligibility software tool being developed by AbleVets LLC for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ private care program contains so many flaws that it could compromise health care services for about 75,000 veterans daily. In response to an article about the review, which recommended abandoning the tool and starting over, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said his panel will host a hearing to discuss the $5.6 million funding request from the VA for the software. (ProPublica)
  • Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he has filed a lawsuit against OptumRx that accuses the pharmacy benefit manager, a unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc., of overcharging the state by about $16 million for prescription drugs. The lawsuit contends that for almost three years, OptumRx did not provide negotiated discounts for generic drugs that were purchased by injured workers who submitted claims to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. (Reuters)
  • A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults who were prescribed medications asked their doctor for cheaper drugs, according to 2017 health survey data. The study showed that about 11 percent of prescribed patients didn’t take their medications as prescribed as a way to save money on drug costs, with more than 33 percent of uninsured adults saying the same. (Stat News)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

03/19/2019
2019 National HIV Prevention Conference
2019 State Healthcare IT Connect Summit
FDA Science Advisory Board to the National Center for Toxicological Research Meeting
Brookings hosts FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to discuss his tenure and policy reforms 2:30 pm
03/20/2019
2019 National HIV Prevention Conference
2019 State Healthcare IT Connect Summit
FDA Science Advisory Board to the National Center for Toxicological Research Meeting
FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee Meeting
AHA event on building coordinated networks of care in the digital age 9:00 am
03/21/2019
2019 National HIV Prevention Conference
Financial Times Digital Surgery Summit
The Atlantic Innovators Lab: San Diego
FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee Meeting
FDA Neurological Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee Meeting
Dialogue About the Workforce for Population Health Improvement: A Workshop 8:00 am
Cato Institute hosts “Harm Reduction: Shifting from a War on Drugs to a War on Drug-Related Deaths” 8:15 am
Bipartisan Policy Center event: Overcoming Health Care Challenges in Immigrant Communities 10:00 am
03/22/2019
FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting
Brookings Institution: Emerging policy solutions to surprise medical bills 9:30 am
View full calendar

The State of the Democratic Primary

On a daily basis, Morning Consult is surveying over 5,000 registered voters across the United States on the 2020 presidential election. Each week, we’ll update this page with the latest survey data, offering an in-depth guide to how the race for the Democratic nomination is shaping up.

General

Medicare for All Is Divisive (in the Democratic Party)
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Robert Pear, The New York Times

No issue animated the Democrats’ 2018 congressional campaigns like health care and the promises to expand access to insurance and to lower costs. But as House Democrats sit down to draft their vision of governance in the coming weeks, lawmakers find themselves badly divided on the issue that delivered their majority.

Methadone Helped Her Quit Heroin. Now She’s Suing U.S. Prisons to Allow the Treatment.
Abby Goodnough, The New York Times

About to enter a federal prison, a Massachusetts woman is not permitted to continue taking the opioid as a treatment to block cravings and withdrawal from heroin addiction.

Medicare for America, Beto O’Rourke’s favorite health care plan, explained
Dylan Scott, Vox

In his early days as a presidential candidate, Beto O’Rourke has walked away from supporting single-payer Medicare-for-all and into the arms of another health care plan: Medicare for America. That plan, introduced last year by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), was founded on the previous work of the Center for American Progress and Yale professor Jacob Hacker.

US government uses several clandestine shelters to detain immigrant children
Aura Bogado and Patrick Michels, Reveal

The federal government is relying on secret shelters to hold unaccompanied minors, in possible violation of the long-standing rules for the care of immigrant children, a Reveal investigation has found.

The Fertility Doctor’s Secret
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic

The first Facebook message arrived when Heather Woock was packing for vacation, in August 2017. It was from a stranger claiming to be her half sibling.

Stocks Gain as Traders Await Fed; Dollar Steadies: Markets Wrap
Samuel Potter, Bloomberg

U.S. equity futures climbed alongside European stocks on Tuesday, while Asian shares drifted as investors marked time ahead of this week’s slew of central bank decisions. The dollar steadied and Treasuries edged higher.

Payers

Some insurer CEOs see bigger paychecks in 2018
Shelby Livingston, Modern Healthcare

Many of the largest publicly traded health insurers saw their bottom lines soar in 2018. Their CEOs’ paychecks were no different.

Medicare wellness visits are supposed to be free — unless you call it a physical.
Michelle Andrews, The Washington Post

The appointment seemed like a routine physical, and she was pleased that the doctor spent a lot of time with her. Until she got the bill: $400.

Providers

What Medicare for all means for doctors and hospitals
Tami Luhby, CNN

Americans generally don’t like the idea of giving up their private health insurance. Hospitals and doctors don’t want them to, either.

Pharma, Biotech and Devices

Biotech startup raises $68 million to further work on its treatment for schizophrenia
Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe

Karuna Therapeutics, a Boston-based biotech startup, said Monday it has raised $68 million in venture capital to advance clinical development of a radically different drug for schizophrenia.

Efforts to import drugs from Canada advance at state level, with Florida latest to get in line
Ed Silverman, Stat News

Amid the heated debate over the cost of medicines, various state lawmakers are pushing ahead with legislation that would allow Americans to import drugs from Canada.

Group with consumer-friendly vibe pushes drugmakers’ message
Richard Lardner, The Associated Press

As ominous music plays in the background, the narrator of a radio ad warns that a Trump administration proposal to apply international pricing to certain Medicare drugs would be a nightmare for seniors. The one-minute spot is the handiwork of the Alliance for Patient Access, a nonprofit group that gives off a consumer-friendly vibe but is bankrolled by the powerful pharmaceutical industry.

Health IT

Bill Gates talked with Google employees about using A.I. to analyze ultrasound images of unborn children
Jordan Novet, CNBC

Bill Gates, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, says he talked to Google researchers on Monday about the application of artificial-intelligence technology in health care. The intersection of AI and health care is a longtime area of interest for Google.

Why The Promise Of Electronic Health Records Has Gone Unfulfilled
Fred Schulte, NPR News

A decade ago, the U.S. government claimed that ditching paper medical charts for electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the digital revolution has gone awry, an investigation by Kaiser Health News and Fortune magazine has found.

Apple’s groundbreaking heart study signals a new era of medicine, and doctors are debating the results
Christina Farr, CNBC

Apple and researchers from Stanford Medicine released some new results from an eight-month study of more than 400,000 participants, who had access to Apple Watches to monitor their heart rhythm for signs of a medical condition known as atrial fibrillation. The watches are not the newest version, which has an electrocardiogram built-in, but are able to detect abnormal heartbeats.

A fertility app bills itself as contraception, raising questions about marketing and efficacy
Kate Sheridan, Stat News

A new fertility tracking app, Dot, is billing itself as a form of contraception — and touting the results of a new efficacy study that shows the app may be up to 99 percent effective as a form of birth control. With statistics like that, Dot — part of a surge in fertility and contraception apps — would appear to be one of the most effective birth control tools available.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Striving for steady progress is key to lasting change in fight for mental health equity
Former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I), The Hill

In both my political career and in my personal life, I have learned that when faced with complex challenges, what matters most is putting one foot in front of the other, steadfast and walking the path to change. There are no quick-fixes to anything, regardless of how much they are needed.

Research Reports

Prices for and Spending on Specialty Drugs in Medicare Part D and Medicaid
Congressional Budget Office

In recent years, the prices charged for certain types of drugs—referred to as specialty drugs—have become a source of concern for many policymakers. Such drugs typically treat chronic, complex, or rare conditions, frequently have high prices, and may require special handling or patient monitoring.

Morning Consult