If you’ve been glued to your most well-liked climate service (as I’ve) over the previous few days watching Hurricane Florence lumber towards the East Coast, you might have missed that it was a reasonably big information week for well being. So, let’s get proper to it!
President Donald Trump shocked and angered each allies and critics with accusations that the newest dying toll from Hurricane Maria was inflated by the Democrats to make him look unhealthy.
Bloomberg: Trump Defies Science With Rejection of Puerto Rico Death Toll
4 Takeaways On Puerto Rico’s Death Toll, In The Wake Of Trump’s Tweet Storm
For the primary time since 2010, the decline within the uninsured price stalled. Some blame the Trump administration’s whacks on the well being regulation, however others say it’s simply leveling off.
The Washington Post: For First Time Since 2010, America’s Progress on Health Insurance Stalls
The undeniable fact that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is utilizing well being care whereas campaigning in a deep-red state that loves Trump exhibits simply how far politics has advanced on the difficulty. (Even although he’s actually not mentioning “Obamacare” by identify.)
The New York Times: Manchin Counts on Health Care to Stave Off Republican Tide in West Virginia
But a take a look at tweets on the subject exhibits it doesn’t matter to Russian trolls which method that recognition pendulum swings — they acknowledge the well being regulation as a plank positive to sow discord and pit sides towards one another.
The Wall Street Journal: Nearly 600 Russia-Linked Accounts Tweeted About the Health Law
Baltimore well being commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency room doctor with a fame for fiercely taking up the Trump administration, has been tapped as Planned Parenthood’s subsequent president. Wen brings firsthand expertise with the group as a toddler of a low-income household.
The New York Times: Planned Parenthood Names Leana Wen, a Doctor, Its New President
More than four,300 beneficiaries in Arkansas have been kicked off the state’s Medicaid rolls after failing to report their required work hours. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson targeted on the 1,000 or so residents who’ve discovered employment below the brand new laws, however critics have been fast to level to the quantity as affirmation of their worst fears that the brand new fervor for work necessities will result in plenty of Americans shedding insurance coverage.
The Associated Press: Arkansas Drops 4,300 From Medicaid Plan Over New Work Rules
A letter alleging a sexual misconduct incident in Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s previous, which Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has turned over to the FBI, is including gasoline to an already fiery battle on the Hill.
Meanwhile, accusations of bribery are popping out of Maine, the place advocates have assured $1 million in fundraising pledges to Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ 2020 opponent if she votes to substantiate Kavanaugh.
The Associated Press: $1 Million Pledged Against Collins If She Backs Kavanaugh
A pharma exec’s protection that elevating drug costs 400 % was a “moral requirement” raised quite a lot of eyebrows. It was a daring declare in an period the place most corporations are attempting to not less than seem involved in regards to the subject.
Financial Times: Pharma Chief Defends 400% Drug Price Rise As a ‘Moral Requirement’
Want to understand how these pharmacy profit managers (yup, those now getting numerous fingers pointed at them for the excessive price of medicine) can pocket virtually $200 for a bottle of capsules that’s valued at $6? Check out Bloomberg’s explainer.
In the curiosity of creating this “breezy,” listed here are another huge information tales from the week: Apple kills two birds with one stone with its new watch: convincing folks they should purchase a low-selling product and edging into the well being care business; the variety of immigrant teenagers being held by the federal government has ballooned; and lawmakers might carry out what is perhaps referred to as, on this partisan panorama, a miracle and truly fund the federal government on time. (See, I used to be not exaggerating in regards to the quantity of stories this week!)
Stat: The New Apple Watch, With FDA’s Blessing, Comes With an EKG App
The New York Times: Detention of Migrant Children Has Skyrocketed to Highest Levels Ever
Stat: Trump Wants Drug Prices in TV Ads. The Latest Roadblock? Republicans
Politico: Congress Dares Trump To Shut Down The Government In New Spending Deal
In a narrative you could’t make up: A member of the household that owns Purdue Pharma (the maker of OxyContin and topic of greater than 1,000 lawsuits relating to its position within the opioid epidemic) has been awarded a patent for a therapy for opioid use dysfunction.
Stat: Richard Sackler, Member of Clan Behind OxyContin, Has Patent for Opioid Treatment
If all of that wasn’t sufficient for you, listed here are just a few must-read miscellaneous tales from the week: Nearly 20 years after Kendra Webdale was pushed to her dying within the subway, the regulation named in her honor designed to shore up psychological well being programs is performing extra like a band-aid than a treatment; advocates are shifting gears on gun security by going after bullets, that are largely unregulated; latest transparency controversies have some asking: Why do medical journals nonetheless take authors at their phrase?; and a take a look at the folks behind suicide hotlines.
The New York Times: A Horrific Crime on the Subway Led to Kendra’s Law. Years Later, Has It Helped?
The New York Times: California Tries New Tack on Gun Violence: Ammunition Control
Stat: Why Do Medical Journals Keep Taking Authors at Their Word?
CNN: When Someone Is Thinking of Suicide, These Are the People Who Talk Them Out of It
If you had a gloomy 2017, not less than take coronary heart in the truth that it wasn’t simply you.
Please have a secure weekend if you happen to’re in Florence’s path!