Happy Friday! Yours truly is back from beautiful Vietnam and it seems I missed one or two … ahem … minor news events while traipsing around.
I come bearing no souvenirs but rather two health reminders (one via Sen. Bernie Sanders). Firstly, don’t forget your flu shot — Australia has had an unusually early and severe season, which rarely bodes well for our own. The second comes in the form of a hard-earned lesson from a 2020 candidate: Don’t ignore those heart attack warning signs! (This is especially directed at women, who are dying unnecessarily from cardiac events.)
Now enough mother-henning. (You missed me, didn’t you?) On to the news of the week!
The Supremes are back in action, and a look at the high court’s docket reveals a potentially doozy of a politically charged term (with rulings expected to land as the general election heats up in 2020).
In the health care sphere, a big case to watch is the Louisiana abortion suit. An essentially identical Texas law — which requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals — was ruled unconstitutional by the court in 2016, but that means little with two new justices appointed by President Donald Trump weighing in.
The New York Times: As the Supreme Court Gets Back to Work, Five Big Cases to Watch
Oral arguments in two other health-related cases were held this week. The justices grappled with the moral and legal complexities of the insanity defense. The case prompted questions such as this one from Justice Stephen Breyer: One defendant kills a victim he thinks is a dog. “The second defendant knows it’s a person but thinks the dog told him to do it,” Breyer said. “They are both crazy. And why does Kansas say one is guilty, the other is not guilty?”
The New York Times: Supreme Court Opens New Term With Argument on Insanity Defense
Tuesday was all about LGBTQ rights. Although most of the justices were divided along ideological lines on whether federal civil rights legislation applies to sexual orientation and gender identification, Justice Neil Gorsuch hinted his vote might be in play. As an avowed believer in textualism, he suggested that the words of Title VII are “really close, really close” to barring employment discrimination for those workers. But don’t go placing bets on the outcome yet. He also noted that he was worried about “the massive social upheaval” that would follow such a Supreme Court ruling.
The New York Times: Supreme Court Considers Whether Civil Rights Act Protects L.G.B.T. Workers
On that note, the 2020 Democratic candidates participated in an LGBTQ forum on the eve of National Coming Out Day. There were a handful of notable moments through the night (including a zinger from Sen. Elizabeth Warren that was met with loud applause), but much of the spotlight was on protesters who demanded the candidates pay attention to violence against black transgender women. “We are hunted,” said one member of the audience.
CNN: Protesters Interrupt CNN LGBTQ Town Hall to Highlight Plight of Black Transgender Women
Elsewhere on the campaign trail this week, controversy over a pregnancy discrimination talking point from Warren’s stump speech prompted women — including Warren rival Sen. Amy Klobuchar — to speak out on social media about their own and their mothers’ experiences.
Sanders’ campaign confirmed that the health scare from last week was indeed a heart attack. The 2020 candidate — who promised to return “full blast” to the race — said he hopes people learn from his “dumb” mistake of ignoring the warning signs. In true politician-running-for-office style, he also was able to use the scare as a way to emphasize the importance of his signature policy proposal, “Medicare for All.”
Reuters: Democratic Presidential Hopeful Sanders Says He Was ‘Dumb’ to Ignore Health Warnings
In a sign of what’s to come for Big Pharma, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, one of the field’s more moderate candidates, released a drug pricing plan that is decidedly not moderate. The move falls in line with a broader sense that there’s an ever-growing appetite among even middle-ground Dems for action to rein in drugmakers.
Stat: Buttigieg Unveils an Aggressive Plan for Lowering Drug Prices
And for you political wonks out there, this was an interesting read on the shifting political dynamics of doctors, who once used to be a sure thing for the GOP.
The Wall Street Journal: Doctors, Once GOP Stalwarts, Now More Likely to Be Democrats
A key ruling on the health law is expected in the next few weeks, but officials (on condition of anonymity, mind you) said that if the ruling is against the ACA, the Trump administration will ask the court to put any changes on hold — possibly until after the election. The reports further support the idea that the law, which has been, uh, politically fraught (to say the very least) over its entire life span, is at the moment viewed as an Achilles’ heel for Republicans.
The Washington Post: Trump Administration Plans to Delay Any Changes If the ACA Loses in Court
Two other major news items out of the administration this week to pay attention to:
The Associated Press: Trump Signs Proclamation Restricting Visas for Uninsured
The Associated Press: Overhaul Is Proposed for Decades-Old Medicare Fraud Rules
The first teenager’s death in the outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses drove home this week public health officials’ message that young people are “playing with their lives” when they partake. The number of cases jumped to 1,299 as of Oct. 8, with the number of deaths rising to 26.
The Wall Street Journal: New York City’s First Vaping-Related Death Is a Bronx Teen
Reuters: U.S. Vaping-Related Deaths Rise to 26, Illnesses to 1,299
Although Juul is facing a barrage of lawsuits, one filed this week was notable. It was believed to be the first from school districts, which claim that fighting the vaping epidemic has been a drag on their resources. While some legal experts are dubious about whether the school districts can establish their standing, others aren’t ruling it out.
And the ripple effect of the crisis is spreading to life insurance prices.
Bloomberg: Prudential Plans to Boost Life Insurance Prices for Vapers
Time for you to flex your ethical muscles for the week: Should there be boundaries to highly personalized medicine? A pricey drug designed — and named for! — just one patient sparked questions this week about how far researchers should go in the name of curing a single person. Especially when there are thousands of patients out there with rare diseases. Would only the wealthiest subset be given cures? Who would decide which patients deserve limited research hours over others?
The New York Times: Scientists Designed a Drug for Just One Patient. Her Name Is Mila.
And ProPublica shines a light on the practice of drug companies using flashy Facebook ads, cash incentives and other marketing techniques to woo Mexican residents over the border to donate plasma. It’s not as innocuous as it might seem — donating too much plasma can compromise the immune system. (Selling plasma has been banned in Mexico since 1987.)
In the miscellaneous file for the week:
- An Ohio doctor is being charged in 25 fentanyl-related deaths. How on earth was such a lapse allowed to occur? The New York Times peels back the curtain on years of lapses and missed warnings in one Columbus intensive care unit.
The New York Times: One Doctor. 25 Deaths. How Could It Have Happened?
- During the week of World Mental Health Day, research finds that Americans are starting to internalize all the political rhetoric (and myths) about the connection between mental health and violence. “People want simple solutions: They want to be able to neatly explain things,” said one expert.
Los Angeles Times: Americans Increasingly Fear Violence From People Who Are Mentally Ill
- There’s more than one way to keep a community healthy, and that goes beyond doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals. A growing number of medical professionals are embracing the notion that steady paychecks, stable housing and good food are crucial to supporting their patients before they get sick.
The New York Times: When a Steady Paycheck Is Good Medicine for Communities
- In a sad sign of the times, a muppet on “Sesame Street” is going to have a mother struggling with addiction. The storyline is meant to help an ever-increasing number of children affected by the opioid crisis.
Stat: ‘Sesame Street’ Launches Initiative to Help Explain Parental Addiction to Kids
- High levels of uranium were found in the blood of Navajo women and babies in a study that underscored the real costs of America’s atomic development. Lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would compensate those who have been exposed.
The Associated Press: US Official: Research Finds Uranium in Navajo Women, Babies
- And the Nobel Prizes are given out this week: In medicine, scientists who worked with oxygen and cells were honored. Their work has the potential to be the building blocks for things like cancer treatments.
The Washington Post: Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Discovery of How Cells Sense Oxygen
That’s it from me! It’s good to be back with you guys, and I hope you have a great weekend!