Thursday, November 7, 2024
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Face Lift?'" by Scott Hilburn .
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In Trump's Health Care Agenda, No Policy Will Likely Remain UntouchedNews outlets explore what the next administration could do — or undo — to programs such as the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and Medicare, as well as hot-button issues such as abortion and prescription drug costs.
ABC News:What A 2nd Trump Term May Look Like For Health Care Issues Including ACA, Abortion Donald Trump has been inconsistent on what his plans are regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark law signed in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama. During his first term, Trump tried several times to repeal the ACA but was unsuccessful. In November 2023, he also vowed to replace it in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. Since then, he has shifted course. In March, Trump said is "not running to terminate" the ACA but said he wanted to make it "better" and "less expensive," in a post on Truth Social. There could also be changes to Medicare, a federal health insurance program for people aged 65 or older and younger people with disabilities. (Kekatos, 11/6)
Politico:The Trump Agenda: Here's What To Expect From His Second Term Though some of Donald Trump's largest agenda items — tax breaks and Affordable Care Act changes — will take congressional approval, many won't. The Trump administration will be able to change immigration enforcement, impose tariffs, change health regulations, intervene in overseas wars and shape the education system without help from the Hill. (Payne, 11/6)
Modern Healthcare:What Trump's Healthcare Policies On Medicare, ACA Might Look Like Bipartisan groups in Congress have been pursuing greater transparency across the health sector, ways to reduce prescription drug prices and tougher oversight of pharmacy benefit managers as they seek to trim hospital spending in Medicare, boost pay for physicians, and curb prior authorizations in Medicare Advantage. Donald Trump did not talk much about such issues in the campaign, but in his previous term he supported price transparency rules for hospitals, sought to ban PBMs from keeping drug rebates and proposed linking U.S. pharmaceutical prices to international benchmarks. (McAuliff, 11/6)
The New York Times:Trump Will Return to Power With a More Expansive Agenda Few agencies face a future quite as uncertain as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is responsible for gun regulations. And Mr. Trump's return to power could lead to significant upheaval for millions of Americans dependent on the Affordable Care Act, after record levels of enrollment under Mr. Biden. Increased subsidies could expire next year without action from congressional Republicans and Mr. Trump, causing premiums to spike. (Baker and Savage, 11/6)
Stat:Trump Could Make Medicaid Spending A Target For Cuts With former President Trump headed back to the White House, the U.S. Medicaid program, which covers medical care for people with low incomes, could face cuts. But Medicaid's transformation to a program mostly run by private insurers adds an influential industry to its list of guardians, alongside the rural hospitals that rely on the program to balance their budgets. (Wilkerson, 11/6)
The Guardian:With Trump Returning To The Presidency, Everything From Abortion To Immigration Is Under Threat Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a second Trump term, proposes using the 1873 Comstock Act, which outlaws the mailing of abortion-related materials, to ban people from shipping abortion pills. These pills account for about two-thirds of US abortions. If enacted to its fullest extent, the Comstock Act could not only ban pills but the very equipment that clinics need to do their jobs, and Trump could use the legislation to implement a nationwide de facto abortion ban. Donald Trump could also weaken the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that protects emergency abortion access. (11/6)
Under Trump, Privately Run Health Care Plans Favored Over ACA And MedicaidIn the aftermath of the election, health care companies that offer federally funded plans, like ACA and Medicaid, are likely to suffer, while private ones, like Medicare Advantage, will likely benefit from the Republican win. Also, more about what to expect from the Trump presidency.
The Wall Street Journal:Trump Will Create New Winners And Losers In Healthcare For healthcare companies, Donald Trump's victory means very different things depending on which part of the sector they operate in. For firms offering plans in the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), as well as Medicaid plans, it could be bad news. That explains why Oscar Health, which derives most of its business from Obamacare marketplaces, was down 8% Wednesday morning while Centene, a big Medicaid operator, was down 5%. But for businesses operating in Medicare Advantage, the privately run system that mainly serves seniors, a Republican victory is expected to provide major regulatory benefits. (Wainer, 11/6)
Bloomberg:UnitedHealth, Humana Soar On Trump Election Victory Donald Trump's re-election rippled through the health-care landscape as the new administration is expected to pull back on Biden-era measures affecting US health insurers, drug prices and public-health leadership. Insurers focused on the Medicare market jumped on the expectation that the government will pay higher rates to companies that provide private versions of the US health program for seniors. (Tozzi, Mufarech, and Smith, 11/6)
Stat:What Trump's Win Means For Biotech And Pharma With Donald Trump now poised to become U.S. president for the second time in January, biotech and pharmaceutical leaders are preparing for the shift to an administration with a complicated history. Trump has positioned himself as business-friendly, but has criticized "Big Pharma" over high drug costs. During the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was supportive of the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to develop vaccines, but his campaign has more recently embraced vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (DeAngelis, Herper, Joseph, Mast and Silverman, 11/6)
Los Angeles Times:Trump Victory Puts California Climate And Pollution Goals At Risk In the last four years, California has adopted some of the nation's most innovative air regulations, including a ban on new gasoline-powered car sales by 2035 and a prohibition against diesel-fueled trucks visiting state ports and railyards in 2036. However, many of these rules, which were approved by the California Air Resources Board, have not been approved by the Biden administration and now face outright rejection by the incoming Trump administration. (Briscoe, 11/6)
RFK Jr. Says Parts Of FDA Will 'Go'; DeSantis Urges Ladapo For HHS ChiefDonald Trump's confidante Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who will likely play a large role in the next administration, has pledged to gut "cronyism" and corruption in the public health bureaucracy. On Wednesday, he said "entire departments" will likely be cut from the FDA.
The Hill:RFK Jr. Says 'Entire Departments' At FDA 'Have To Go' Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is slated to hold a potentially big role in a new Trump administration, said Wednesday there are "entire departments" within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that "have to go." "In some categories ... there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA ... that have to go, that are not doing their job, they're not protecting our kids," Kennedy said during an interview on MSNBC. (Ventura, 11/6)
The New York Times:Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Foe Of Drug Makers And Regulators, Is Poised To Wield New Power As an independent presidential candidate and as a surrogate for Mr. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to upend the nation's agriculture system and public health bureaucracy, effectively gutting whole swaths of the regulatory state, under the rubric of rooting out "cronyism" and corruption. Some have speculated that Mr. Trump will make him a "health czar" inside the White House, to guide the president on public health matters; a person familiar with the transition said Mr. Kennedy was at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday and spoke with Trump insiders about the public health agenda. (Stolberg and O'Brien, 11/6)
Bloomberg:Trump Win Gives RFK Jr. Free Rein To Shape Public Health Donald Trump's election win opens the door for vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to play a significant role in the administration and drastically change the nation's public health practices. The former presidential candidate emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he challenged the safety of preventive shots. He's also an opponent of drinking water fluoridation, a measure that has improved oral health for millions of Americans. (Mufarech, 11/6)
Contenders to lead HHS, the VA, and other departments —
The Washington Post:Trump And Allies Prepare To Take Power, Zero In On Cabinet Contenders President-elect Donald Trump and his allies prepared Wednesday to take power after a decisive election victory that could hand Republicans unified control of government and give Trump a broad mandate to pursue an agenda of radical change. (Alemany, Dawsey, Knowles, LeVine and Stein, 11/6)
Florida Phoenix:Lobbying For Ladapo: DeSantis Wants To See Florida Surgeon General Head U.S. Health Agency Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday endorsed his own controversial State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for a top health care position in the next Trump administration. DeSantis went on social media, where he called on his followers to repost a picture of Ladapo if they want to see him serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. (Sexton, 11/6)
Military.com:The Trump Cabinet: Who Will Be VA Secretary? If the past is any indication, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs is anyone's game. In 2017, just 10 days before his inauguration, Trump chose Dr. David Shulkin, then the VA's under secretary for health under President Barack Obama, for the top spot. When Trump dismissed Shulkin a little over a year later, he nominated his White House physician, then-Navy Adm. Ronny Jackson, for the post. (Kime, 11/6)
Stat:Who To Know In The 'Make America Healthy Again' Movement MAGA, meet MAHA. The sweeping election victory for President-elect Donald Trump this week also marks the start of an ambitious anti-chronic disease campaign, "Make America Healthy Again," that has become central to Trump's health agenda. (Cueto, 11/7)
Abortion Rights Are Not Certain Under Trump, Despite Wins At State LevelAlthough the president-elect has said he won't sign a federal abortion ban, Donald Trump's second administration has the will and the tools to undo reproductive health policies. News outlets offer a preview of what could happen and how quickly things could change.
The New York Times:How The Trump Administration Could Enact A Federal Abortion Ban As support for abortion rights has grown in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, President-elect Donald J. Trump has distanced himself from a proposed federal ban on abortion, saying that he supports leaving regulation of the issue to the states. But Republicans and opponents of abortion rights will put pressure on him to enact one. While Republicans do not have the supermajority they need in the Senate to pass the 15-week ban they have proposed, groups that oppose abortion rights have written road maps that would allow Mr. Trump to effectively ban abortion without help from Congress. (Zernike, 11/6)
NBC News:What Trump's Victory Could Mean For Abortion Rights President-elect Donald Trump has said he would not sign a federal abortion ban. But there are ways a new Trump administration could restrict abortion nationwide. One option is via Trump's appointees to the Food and Drug Administration. Those leaders could try to get the agency to roll back certain changes made from 2016 to 2021 (in three presidential administrations, including Trump's) that expanded access to the abortion medication mifepristone. Another path is for Trump appointees to the Justice Department to choose not to defend abortion pill access when legal challenges arise. Although the Supreme Court dismissed a case in June that sought to restrict access to mifepristone, the attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri filed a similar suit last month. Both cases were filed in a federal court in Amarillo, Texas, where the sole judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, is a Trump appointee. (Bendix and Richardson, 11/7)
Slate:The Next Trump Administration's Crackdown on Abortion Will Be Swift, Brutal, and Nationwide These victories for abortion are about to crash into the reality of a ruthlessly anti-choice administration. Although Trump claims he wants to leave abortion to the states, the reality is that abortion policy is set, in substantial part, at the federal level. Even if he rejects a congressional push for a new ban, which is uncertain, his appointees will still have the tools to enact devastating anti-abortion policies. (Stern, 11/6)
Guttmacher Institute:10 Reasons A Second Trump Presidency Will Decimate Sexual And Reproductive Health When President-Elect Donald Trump takes office again, in January, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) will face unprecedented threats from the federal level. The second Trump administration will not only reenact many hostile policies from the first but also almost certainly expand its assaults on SRHR in the United States and abroad. Guided by the detailed agenda for dismantling civil rights outlined by conservatives in Project 2025, the Trump-Vance administration will work quickly to implement new measures that erode bodily and reproductive autonomy. Our analysis highlights just a handful of the many attacks to expect in the first several months of his term. (Bernstein, Friedrich-Karnik and Damavandi, 11/6)
Stat:Post-Roe Effort To Protect Abortion Rights Hits Its Limit, For Now Advocates mounted a massive push to protect abortion rights at the state level in Tuesday's election, but several notable defeats, and a new Trump presidency, leave abortion rights advocates staring down their biggest setbacks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (Owermohle, 11/6)
On the Supreme Court's role —
The Washington Post:With Trump Win, Focus Turns To Older Supreme Court Justices Some prominent voices on the left called earlier this year for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire while Joe Biden was still president, so a Democrat could nominate her replacement regardless of who won the election. Sotomayor, 70, is the oldest liberal justice and has Type 1 diabetes. Advocates feared a repeat of what happened with liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who declined to retire during President Barack Obama's tenure and died on the bench in 2020, while Donald Trump was in office. The vacancy allowed Trump to nominate Amy Coney Barrett, cementing a powerful 6-3 conservative supermajority. (Jouvenal and Raji, 11/6)
On the electoral abortion divide —
Politico:Harris Hoped To Ride Abortion To Another Post-Dobbs Democratic Victory. It Didn't Work. The issue failed to stop Donald Trump, who on Tuesday overcame a large gender gap — and Democrats' relentless focus on women's reproductive health — to win back the White House. (Ollstein and Messerly, 11/6)
Bloomberg:Millions Of Voters Backed Trump And US Abortion On Election Day For an issue that was considered central to the US presidential race, abortion rights turned out to be largely untethered to national politics. Case in point: At least 2.6 million voters cast ballots in favor of both Donald Trump and state-level abortion protections. (Butler, Tartar, Griffin, Meghjani, and Kao, 11/6)
Axios:Trump's Election Win Reveals America's Abortion Divide Voters sent conflicting signals about abortion access on Tuesday, approving ballot proposals in seven states to expand abortion rights while also electing Republicans who could provide the margins to pass a nationwide ban next year. (Goldman, 11/7)
Patchwork Of State Abortion Laws Gets Even More Complex After ElectionsDespite historic results in Tuesday's elections, abortion-rights advocates are warning that opportunities for more ballot measures might be dwindling.
The New York Times:How Ballot Measures Will Change Abortion Access The 2024 election broke a ballot measure winning streak for abortion rights advocates. Voters in seven states, including Republican-led ones, had previously sided with abortion rights in every contest since the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022. Advocates for abortion rights caution that opportunities to protect those rights through ballot measures may be dwindling. Most remaining states with abortion bans do not allow citizen-initiated measures to be placed on the ballot, and their Republican leaders are unlikely to put the issue to voters. (McCann and Schoenfeld Walker, 11/6)
The Washington Post:For Abortion Ballot Measures, Strong Success Or Guarded Victory? Both supporters and opponents of abortion rights are calling Tuesday's election historic, but the lasting impact on the national landscape won't be clear until after president-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Supporters scored notable victories, passing ballot measures to enshrine abortion rights or protect reproductive rights in seven states' constitutions, including Montana, Arizona, Nevada and deeply conservative Missouri. The outcome in Missouri overturned a total ban for the first time anywhere in the country and could affect more than 1.2 million women of reproductive age. Yet those wins could be blunted by the next Trump administration's actions or policies. (Hennessy-Fiske, Gowen, Rozsa and Gilbert, 11/6)
Politico:Anti-Abortion Forces Broke The Left's Post-Roe Winning Streak, But 7 More States Enacted Protections Many of the measures won — and in Florida, came close to winning — despite widespread efforts by GOP state officials, Republican-appointed judges and anti-abortion advocacy groups to prevent them from passing or from reaching the ballot, using legislation, lawsuits and public pressure campaigns. But the losses in GOP-controlled states highlighted the left's struggle to keep voters' focus on the issue as well as the right's evolving strategies to kneecap the ballot measure process. And abortion opponents have vowed to keep fighting initiatives that have already passed, with plans to file legal challenges and, should those fail, pursue additional ballot measures to wind back the clock. (Ollstein, 11/6)
KFF Health News:7 Of 10 States Backed Abortion Rights. But Little To Change Yet Voters backed abortion rights in seven of the 10 states where the issue appeared on ballots Tuesday — at first glance, seemingly reshaping the nation's patchwork of abortion rules. Colorado, Maryland, Montana, and New York — states where abortions are already permitted at least until fetal viability — all will add abortion protections to their state constitutions. Nevada voters also favored protections and can enshrine them by passing the measure again in the next general election. (Sable-Smith, 11/6)
Massachusetts and California vow to defend abortion rights —
The Boston Globe:Gov. Maura Healey Promises State Will Protect Women's Rights After Trump Election Victory Governor Maura Healey vowed Wednesday that Massachusetts will continue to protect women's rights and other priorities after Donald Trump's election victory Tuesday night, giving the Republican a second term to advance his political agenda. During an afternoon news briefing, Healey said that Massachusetts is "a place where we will always stand up for people's rights and freedoms, where women will have control over their own health care decisions, and where every person is respected, valued, and heard, whoever you are, wherever you were born, whoever you love." (Andersen, 11/6)
Politico:Gavin Newsom Vows California Will 'Defend Our Constitution' In Wake Of Trump Win California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave his first statement today on the presidential election results, echoing the defiant remarks of other leading Democrats across the state, eager to again cast themselves as a counterweight to the next Trump administration. Like Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, Newsom did not mention Donald Trump by name but echoed Vice President Kamala Harris who in her concession speech vowed to continue the "fight for freedom." (Holden, 11/6)
KFF Health News:Prepared For A Trump Win, California's Attorney General Is Ready To Fight If President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican Senate try to roll back reproductive health rights or pursue a widely prophesied national abortion ban, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is poised to challenge him. Two years ago, Bonta, a Democrat who heads the state justice department, directed his staff to draft legal analyses against a possible national abortion ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 50 years of abortion protections under Roe v. Wade. Bonta said they thought through arguments, even going so far as to decide in which court they would file suit. (Castle Work, 11/6)
Ban Overturned, Missouri's Abortion Fight Enters Tricky Legal TerritoryResidents voted to undo the state's strict abortion ban, but they also voted to stack the state government with Republicans who oppose abortion. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood workers on Wednesday filed paperwork to begin the process of invalidating the state's ban.
Missouri Independent:Missouri Voted For Abortion-Rights Amendment — And Republicans Who Vow To Overturn It Missourians voted Tuesday night to protect abortion rights, raise the minimum wage and guarantee paid sick leave for workers. They also voted by wide margins to send Republicans to Jefferson City who vehemently oppose those proposals and may try to roll them back. It's become a familiar pattern in Missouri — progressive ballot measures like Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization finding success in a state where Republicans have dominated for more than a decade. Exactly why this seems to play out cycle after cycle is a matter of debate. (Hancock, 11/7)
AP:Abortion Rights Amendment's Passage Triggers New Legal Battle In Missouri Planned Parenthood affiliates that operate in Missouri filed in a state court Wednesday seeking to invalidate the state's abortion ban and several laws that regulate the care. The Missouri amendment, which is to take effect Dec. 5, does not specifically override any state laws. Instead, the measure left it to advocates to ask courts to knock down bans that they believe would now be unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood leaders said Wednesday on a Zoom call with reporters that they want to start offering abortions at clinics in Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis if they get the judicial ruling they're requesting — starting with blocking enforcement of laws on the book. (Fernando and Mulvihill, 11/6)
KSDK.com:Amendment 3 In Missouri Was Passed By 9 Of The State's Counties Amendment 3, the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, legalizes abortion and reverses Missouri's strict abortion ban that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Data showed nine of the state's 114 counties and the City of St. Louis voted in favor of the amendment, while 105 counties voted against it. (Clancy and Somers, 11/6)
LGBTQ+ Crisis Hotlines See Huge Increase In Calls, TextsAll across the country, LGBTQ+ hotlines, focused on the mental health and well-being of the community, have received an extraordinary influx of calls and texts in the days leading up to and since the election.
The Washington Post:LGBTQ+ Crisis Hotlines Report Uptick In Calls After Trump Victory Across the country, organizations and crisis hotlines catering to LGBTQ+ youths and adults have reported a staggering uptick in calls in the run-up to the election and since Donald Trump's resounding victory. The Trevor Project was struggling to keep up with the number of people in crisis. "TrevorText and TrevorChat are currently experiencing long hold times due to the election," a banner on the group's site said Wednesday. (Javaid, 11/6)
Call the Trevor Project LGBTQ+ crisis hotline —
The Trevor Project Lifeline provides counseling support for LGBTQ+ young people 24/7. Call them at 1-866-488-7386.
Portsmouth Herald:NH LGBTQ+ Leaders See 'Dark Times' With Trump Presidency Alice Wade, a 2024 college graduate who won Tuesday in her first run for the New Hampshire House of Representatives, struck a somber rather than celebratory tone Wednesday. She was asked to reflect on the future of transgender rights in the Granite State. "It is a very dark time for trans people and queer people in general," Wade said. Wade, a transgender woman and Dover Democrat, is concerned about Republican President-elect Donald Trump, whose campaign relentlessly targeted transgender people in TV advertisements, as well Republican Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte, who endorsed Trump. (Lenahan, 11/7)
Pink News:How Project 2025 – A Right-Wing Wish List For Trump's Second Term – Threatens LGBTQ+ Rights The handbook's authors claim that one of the biggest problems facing the US today is the "toxic normalisation of transgenderism with drag queens and pornography invading school libraries." Project 2025 goes on to say that "transgender ideology" is one form of "pornography" linked to the "sexualisation of children". In total, "gender" is mentioned 111 times, and "LGBT" or "LGBTQ" 18 times, in the handbook. (11/6)
Also —
CBS News:Taking A Break From Social Media Can Help With Post-Election Emotions, Expert Says No matter who you voted for, election fallout has many voters still feeling a wide array of emotions, and social media has been busy with many people voicing their opinions on the election results. Social media has transformed politics and how we discuss them. It's where many folks air their political opinion. On days like today, the day after the presidential election, the internet can be a place of rage and resignation. (Guidotti, 11/6)
If you need help —
Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.
Nebraska Allows Medical Marijuana; Colorado Springs Likely To Ban Recreational PotAfter voters rejected ballot measures in three states, recreational cannabis advocates are shifting their focus to state legislatures and the federal government. Also, Jelly Roll weighs in on how a little weed keeps him sober.
USA Today:Nebraska Voters Approve Legalization Of Medical Weed Medical marijuana is now legal in the state of Nebraska, approved by voters on Tuesday. Two ballot measures dealing with medical marijuana were on the Nebraska ballot. Initiative Measure 437 establishes a new statute that will allow the use, possession and acquisition of up to 5 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes by a qualified patient with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner. The statue will also allow for a caregiver to assist a qualified patient with these activities. Initiative Measure 438 establishes a new statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state law for the possession, manufacture, distribution, delivery and dispensing of cannabis for medical purposes by registered private entities. The statute will also establish a Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate such activities. (Cross, 11/6)
Gazette.com:Recreational Marijuana Ban Likely In Colorado Springs Amid Split Vote A charter ban on recreational marijuana establishments in Colorado Springs was likely to take precedence over a competing ballot question that would have approved retail cannabis sales in city limits, unofficial returns show Tuesday night. (Jent, 11/6)
AP:Trio Of Ballot Failures Leads Marijuana Backers To Refocus Their Efforts For Recreational Weed The movement to legalize recreational marijuana has run into a wall of resistance, failing in all three states where it was on the ballot this year and leading proponents to weigh a tactical shift focused more on state legislatures and the federal government. It's "going to be a potentially tougher hill to climb going forward to enact legalization in the other 26 states," Paul Armentano, deputy director of the marijuana advocacy organization NORML, said Wednesday. (Lieb, 11/6)
Also —
The Washington Post:They Smoke Pot, Drink Booze And Consider Themselves Sober In January, country singer Jason DeFord, better known as Jelly Roll, testified before Congress about the dangers of fentanyl. "I have firsthand witnessed this in a way most people have not," he said, referring to his past as a convicted drug dealer and addict and to the impact addiction has had on his family's life. Today, Jelly Roll is sober. Sort of. Jelly Roll — who declined through a representative to participate in this story — abstains from cocaine and opiates, which wreaked havoc on his life and landed him in prison. But he smokes weed. "Marijuana has kept me sober," he said in an interview with the website Taste of Country. (O'Neill, 11/6)
Novo Nordisk CEO Flags 10 Deaths That Might Be Related To Compounded SemaglutideThe pharmaceutical company says data on 10 deaths and more than 100 hospitalizations comes from the FDA's adverse event reporting database for semaglutide — the key ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, which are manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Compounded versions of the drug are made by other companies in times of shortages. FDA adverse event reports aren't verified and don't mean the drugs have caused the harms documented.
CNN:Compounded Semaglutide Associated With At Least 10 Deaths, Novo Nordisk CEO Warns Compounded versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in approved diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, have been associated with at least 100 hospitalizations and 10 deaths, the chief executive of Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk warned Wednesday. "Honestly, I'm quite alarmed by what we see in the US now," Novo Nordisk President and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told CNN. "Patients who believe that they're getting access to a safe product, and they believe they're getting semaglutide ... I know for a fact that they are not getting semaglutide, because there's only one semaglutide, and that's produced by Novo Nordisk, and we don't sell that to others." (Tirrell, 11/6)
Stat:6 AI Companies Streamlining Clinical Trials For Pharma In the last year, drugmakers have talked up the prospect of medicines discovered or designed by artificial intelligence. AI could accelerate the pace of new drugs approved to treat everything from rare diseases to cancer to antibiotic-resistant infections, they tout. (Palmer, 11/7)
Stat:The Emotional Toll Of Unnecessary Radiation Therapy Tattoos Tattoos are often seen as powerful expressions of individuality. In the medical world, however, they can serve as unwanted reminders of a difficult past. For cancer patients who require radiation therapy, permanent tattoos have long been necessary to help doctors accurately target and deliver treatment. While seemingly insignificant, these permanent spots can remind many patients of their cancer journey every time they see themselves in the mirror. It's time to put ink and needles in the rear view, because radiotherapy tattoos do more than mar the skin; they can mar the survivorship mindset. (William Chun-Ying Chen and Louis Potters, 11/7)
In health industry developments —
The Wall Street Journal:CVS Names Former UnitedHealth Executive As Head Of Aetna CVS Health's new chief executive, David Joyner, moved quickly to put his stamp on the company, promising a reorganization and new leadership at Aetna, its troubled insurance unit. In his first public call with analysts on Wednesday, Joyner focused extensively on his plans to fix Aetna, saying its performance was unacceptable and tied to significant past missteps. Aetna has seen higher-than-expected medical costs tank its performance, particularly in its Medicare business, where the insurer had bet on a big expansion this year. (Mathews, 11/6)
Modern Healthcare:Pacs Group Delays Earnings Release Amid Fraud Investigation Nursing home operator Pacs Group is delaying the release of its third quarter earnings as it faces a government investigation into fraud allegations, the company said Wednesday. Pacs Group CEO Jason Murray said in a news release, the company would release financial results for the three months ending Sept. 30 after the company's audit committee and an external counsel investigate allegations made in a Hindenburg Research report that Pacs Group was "scamming" the government and investors. (Eastabrook, 11/6)
Modern Healthcare:Marketplace Open Enrollment: What To Know In 2014, the very first open enrollment period for the health insurance exchanges had a disastrous start. HealthCare.gov was broken, frustrating eager shoppers and lending credence to critics who said the Affordable Care Act of 2010 was destined to fail. The early years of the marketplaces brought other challenges that threatened to unravel the new system for subsidized health insurance. President Barack Obama's administration struggled to ensure there were enough insurers participating as some major companies saw the initiative as a money-loser. (Tepper, 11/6)
UK Identifies 4 Cases Of New Mpox Variant, The First Cluster Outside Africa British health officials say they have identified four cases of the new, more infectious version of mpox that first emerged in Congo, marking the first time the variant has caused a cluster of illness outside of Africa. Scientists said the risk to the public remains low. Authorities announced the first case of the new form of mpox in the U.K. last week, saying the case was being treated at a London hospital after recently traveling to countries in Africa with ongoing outbreaks. (11/6)AP:UK Introduces A Bill That Would Eventually Make The Purchase Of Cigarettes Illegal Legislation intended to ban today's British children from ever legally being able to smoke began its journey through Parliament on Tuesday. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also bar smoking and vaping in some outdoor spaces such as playgrounds and the entrances to schools and hospitals. But a proposed ban on smoking in pub beer gardens has been dropped after opposition from bar owners. (11/5)
AP:Australia Plans A Social Media Ban For Children Under 16 The Australian government announced on Thursday what it described as world-leading legislation that would institute an age limit of 16 years for children to start using social media, and hold platforms responsible for ensuring compliance. "Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. (McGuirk, 11/7)
Axios:Cancer Disparities Will Grow By 2050 The burden of cancer around the world will become even more uneven by 2050, according to a new study. Cancer cases and deaths will increase most in low- and middle-income countries that may have less access to health care or face competing priorities for allocating resources. (Goldman, 11/6)
Reuters:Food Companies Sell Products That Are Less Healthy In Poorer Countries, Says Report The world's biggest food and beverage companies on average sell products in low-income countries that are less healthy than what they sell in high-income countries, according to a new report. Products sold by companies including Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever were assessed as part of a global index published by the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), its first since 2021. The non-profit group found that across 30 companies, the products sold in low-income countries scored lower on a star rating system developed in Australia and New Zealand than those sold in high-income countries. (11/7)
Bloomberg:Global Wellness Industry Is Now Worth $6.3 Trillion The global wellness industry was worth $6.32 trillion in 2023, according to a new report from the Global Wellness Institute, a leading industry group. That's 25% larger than it was in 2019, making it bigger than the sports and pharmaceutical industries. ... The wellness industry was boosted by the focus on health and well-being as a result of the pandemic. Research from the nonprofit argues that trends such as an aging population, chronic disease and an increased focus on mental health are helping drive growth. (Rappaport, 11/5)
Viewpoints: Did Voters Consider Health Care In This Election?; RFK Jr. Wants To Destroy The FDA And HHS.Opinion writers tackle these public health topics.
Stat:The New Trump Administration Will Erode The Medical Profession Unlike the first, Donald Trump's second campaign was not focused on the Affordable Care Act or health care policy. An Associated Press poll found that most voters did not consider health care very motivating, with only 8% of voters surveyed ranking it as a top issue. Nevertheless, the results of this election will damage the medical profession. (Carmel Shachar, 11/7)
Stat:How Will Trump's Election Change The FDA? History Yields Some Clues What will a second Donald Trump presidency mean for the regulation of medicines in the U.S.? History isn't likely to repeat itself, but it will rhyme. The first Trump presidency was marked by repeated efforts to change or influence the Food and Drug Administration, from the moment Trump was elected through the pandemic. The biggest changes were generally averted because institutional forces inside the FDA and in Congress muted the administration's most radical impulses. (Matthew Herper, 11/6)
Bloomberg:The Irony Of Women Voting For Abortion Rights - And Trump Trump's position on abortion has been all over the board since he aligned himself with evangelical Christians in his first term and appointed the Supreme Court justices who reversed 54 years of legal precedent. (Mary Ellen Klas, 11/7)
Bloomberg:AI Will Transform Medicine. There's Just One Catch While most AI-enabled devices approved by US regulators today are diagnostic, the potential uses of the technology in health care are vast, from automating tedious administrative tasks to accelerating drug discovery. By some estimates, broad adoption of AI could save up to $360 billion in annual health spending. (11/7)
