The Stubborn Resilience Of The Affordable Care Act
Despite Republicans' efforts to chip away at the law, experts say, "The market is in a better position now than it has ever been since the exchanges have opened."
The New York Times:
Obamacare Is Proving Hard To Kill
As health insurers across the country begin filing their proposed rates for 2019, one thing is clear: The market created by the Affordable Care Act shows no signs of imminent collapse in spite of the continuing threats by Republicans to destroy it. In fact, while President Trump may insist that the law has been “essentially gutted,” the A.C.A. market appears to be more robust than ever, according to insurance executives and analysts. A few states are likely to see a steep spike in prices next year, but many are reporting much more modest increases. Insurers don’t appear to be abandoning markets altogether. In contrast to last year, regulators are not grappling with the prospect of so-called “bare” counties, where no carrier is willing to sell A.C.A. policies in a given area. (Abelson, 7/3)
In other national health care news —
The Hill:
HHS Enters Damage-Control Mode Over Family Separations
President Trump's “zero tolerance” immigration policy has left the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) scrambling to contain what’s quickly becoming a public relations nightmare. While HHS didn't write the policy, the agency is responsible for implementing the most controversial aspect: housing the children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Weixel, 7/3)
The Hill:
HHS Tries To Clamp Down On Unannounced Lawmaker Visits To Child Detention Centers
The Department of Health and Human Services is urging lawmakers to schedule visits to detention centers housing migrant children instead of showing up at the facilities unannounced. In a letter sent Tuesday to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the agency asked the lawmakers to help coordinate congressional visits to HHS-funded detention facilities. (Weixel, 7/3)
The Washington Post:
HPV Test Is Better Than Pap Smear At Detecting Precancerous Cervical Changes, Study Says
A test for HPV detects precancerous changes of the cervix earlier and more accurately than the Pap smear, according to a large clinical trial published Tuesday. The randomized, controlled study — the kind of trial considered the “gold standard” of research — showed that the human papillomavirus test is more sensitive than the Pap smear, a widely used test that has been a standard part of women's preventive health care for decades but has drawbacks. (McGinley, 7/3)
Stat:
As Drug Resistance Grows, Combining Antibiotics Could Yield New Treatments
Combining certain antibiotics could help them pack a one-two punch against harmful bacteria, according to a new study published Wednesday in Nature. Nassos Typas and his colleagues at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany tested 3,000 different combinations of antibiotics with each other or with drugs, food additives, and other compounds on three common types of bacteria that infect humans. (Thielking, 7/4)
Stat:
Did Pandemic Flu Vaccine Trigger An Increase In Narcolepsy Cases?
Nearly a decade on from the 2009 influenza pandemic, scientists are still trying to solve what is proving to be an intractable medical mystery: Did some of the vaccines used to protect against the new flu virus trigger an increase in narcolepsy cases? A major attempt to unravel the mystery — a study that’s still in the publication pipeline — did not find evidence that vaccines containing a boosting compound called an adjuvant sparked a rise in cases of narcolepsy, a serious but rare sleep disorder. (Branswell, 7/5)
NPR:
Carbon Dioxide Increase Could Lead To Nutritional Deficiencies And Disease
The rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means that crops are becoming less nutritious, and that change could lead to higher rates of malnutrition that predispose people to various diseases. That conclusion comes from an analysis published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine, which also examined how the risk could be alleviated. In the end, cutting emissions, and not public health initiatives, may be the best response, according to the paper's authors. (Chisholm, 7/3)