General
Obamacare Alternative Gets New Shot With Labor Chief Acosta Out
Ben Penn and Madison Alder, Bloomberg Law
A powerful coalition of GOP state attorneys general is lobbying the Labor Department for a directive that would give them flexibility to expand cheaper alternatives to Obamacare. They’ll get a second chance with Patrick Pizzella about to take over the department when Alex Acosta departs on July 19.
20 million children miss out on life-saving vaccines, U.N. warns
Kate Kelland, Reuters
More than one in 10 children – or 20 million worldwide – missed out last year on vaccines against life-threatening diseases such as measles, diphtheria and tetanus, the World Health Organization and the UNICEF children’s fund said on Monday.
Top strategist says it’s time to buy health care, the worst-performing sector this year
Berkeley Lovelace Jr., CNBC
Investors should look to buy stocks in the underperforming health-care sector because concerns about “Medicare for All” have already been priced in, longtime bull Julian Emanuel said Monday.
Joe Biden, Echoing Obama, Pledges to Shore Up the Affordable Care Act
Reid J. Epstein and Abby Goodnough, The New York Times
It was the singular promise that doomed the public perception of President Barack Obama’s health care law — and now former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is using it on the campaign trail. “If you like your health care plan, your employer-based plan, you can keep it,” Mr. Biden told an AARP forum on Monday. “If you like your private insurance, you can keep it.”
As Temperatures Climb, A New Push To Keep Workers Safe
Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Kaiser Health News
For years, labor leaders have called on the federal government to create national regulations laying out steps employers must take to keep workers safe when it’s hot. On Wednesday, U.S. Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced legislation that for the first time would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create heat-related workplace standards.
Going Quiet: More States Are Hiding 911 Recordings From Families, Lawyers and the General Public
Lynn Arditi, The Public’s Radio and ProPublica
Troy Phillips has tried everything to piece together his brother’s final moments and figure out if he received CPR. Rhode Island’s secretive 911 laws have gotten in the way.
The Vaccine That Could Prevent Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
Shayla Love, Vice
As mental health disorders run rampant, scientists are trying to make an immunization from bacteria that could help.
Stocks Edge Up as Big Banks Report; Dollar Gains: Markets Wrap
Yakob Peterseil, Bloomberg
U.S. futures and European stocks climbed following a mixed session in Asia as investors looked to earnings and policy makers for the rally’s next catalyst. Treasuries were steady and the dollar strengthened.
Payers
Medicare Advantage Overbills Taxpayers By Billions A Year As Feds Struggle To Stop It
Fred Schulte and Lauren Weber, Kaiser Health News
Health insurers that treat millions of seniors have overcharged Medicare by nearly $30 billion the past three years alone, but federal officials say they are moving ahead with long-delayed plans to recoup at least part of the money. Officials have known for years that some Medicare Advantage plans overbill the government by exaggerating how sick their patients are or by charging Medicare for treating serious medical conditions they cannot prove their patients have.
Medicare proposal would cover acupuncture to treat lower back pain for patients in studies
Andrew Joseph, Stat News
The Trump administration on Monday proposed a plan to cover acupuncture for Medicare patients with chronic low back pain, framing it as a step that could safely treat pain without supplying more patients with opioids.
Insurance lobby chief confronts storm over Medicare for All
Peter Sullivan, The Hill
At the first Democratic presidential debates last month, the threat to private health insurance was stark, with multiple leading candidates indicating they would eliminate it entirely in their quest to provide universal health care. It’s Matt Eyles’s job to make sure they don’t.
Georgians accused of registering for Tennessee Medicaid coverage
Ariel Hart, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tennessee may have a problem: Georgia health care thieves. Sixteen people alleged to live in Georgia are under investigation by Tennessee authorities who say they received coverage under TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, possibly trying to get health coverage there that they couldn’t get here.
Providers
Some providers fear ‘brave new world’ of freed patient health data
Mohana Ravindranath, Politico
Hospital executives, with some support in Congress, are lobbying for more regulation to protect health information from unscrupulous data mongers. But HHS is pushing forward with rules that leave that responsibility in patients’ hands.
Sanders protests planned Philadelphia hospital closure as example of corporate greed
Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday attacked the pending closure of a Philadelphia hospital as an example of corporate greed taking priority over people’s health. During a rally to save the 171-year-old Hahnemann University Hospital from bankruptcy, Sanders said his “Medicare for All” plan would guarantee healthcare to every American and save them from corporations that are just seeking to make a profit.
Pharma, Biotech and Devices
How pharma, under attack from all sides, keeps winning in Washington
Nicholas Florko and Lev Facher, Stat News
It does not seem to matter how angrily President Trump tweets, how pointedly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lobs a critique, or how shrewdly health secretary Alex Azar drafts a regulatory change. The pharmaceutical industry is still winning in Washington.
U.S. judge slashes Roundup jury award to $25.3 million; Bayer still plans to appeal
Jonathan Stempel, Reuters
A federal judge on Monday slashed a damages award Bayer AG owed a California man who blamed Roundup weed killer for his cancer, to $25.27 million from $80.27 million, while rejecting the company’s bid for a new trial.
Following ‘CRISPR babies’ scandal, senators call for international gene editing guidelines
Andrew Joseph, Stat News
A bipartisan trio of senators on Monday introduced a resolution underscoring their opposition to the experiments last year in China that led to the birth of the world’s first genome-edited babies.
Amid opioid crisis, audit raises questions about whether Maryland was properly delivering substance abuse services
Rachel Chason, The Washington Post
A Maryland state agency failed to adequately monitor groups to which it provided funding to treat opioid and gambling addictions and care for severely disabled children, according to a state audit released last week, raising questions about whether clients received proper treatment and how millions of taxpayer dollars were spent.
Rick Scott: PhRMA hasn’t provided ‘a single answer’ on lower drug prices
Alex Gangitano, The Hill
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is calling out the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), accusing the nation’s top lobby for drugmakers on Monday of failing to provide “a single answer or solution to our questions” on lowering prescription drug prices.
FDA ‘stands ready’ to accelerate review of e-cigarettes
Angelica LaVito, CNBC
The Food and Drug Administration “stands ready” to start reviewing e-cigarettes amid a teen vaping “epidemic,” acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless said Monday in a statement. The FDA’s review process calls for the agency to weigh the net public health benefit — meaning it needs to weigh how many adults will benefit from them versus how many teens might be harmed — when deciding whether to allow products to stay on the market.
Health IT
AI Drug Hunters Could Give Big Pharma a Run for Its Money
Robert Langreth, Bloomberg
Alphabet’s DeepMind cracked a problem that long vexed biologists, heating up a technological arms race in health care
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
All Medicare Patients Deserve Access to Brain Tumor Treatment
Matthew Ballo, Morning Consult
Cancer care has improved rapidly in recent decades, and one of the more promising breakthrough treatments is tumor treating fields, also known as TTFields. TTFields is a Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer that claimed the life of Sen. John McCain.
Lower Health Care Costs Act aims to end surprise billing
Lamar Alexander, The Tennessean
One out of five times Americans visit a hospital emergency room, they are surprised several months later to receive a bill that could run into thousands of dollars. Last month, the U.S. Senate health committee by a vote of 20-3 approved legislation to end such surprise billing and to take other steps to reduce the amount of money Americans pay for their health care out of their own pockets.
Research Reports
2019 Telemedicine and Locum Tenens Opportunities Study: Measuring Physician Interest in Emerging Employment Areas
Doximity
In 2018, the global telemedicine market was valued at over $38.3 billion. By 2025, it’s projected that this market will exceed $130.5 billion. This hyper-growth is powered by a convergence of factors, but mainly, by the growing need to access medical care matched with the introduction of technologies that make it possible for physicians to do clinical work remotely.
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