Happy Friday! Have drug prices gotten so bad that patients are now turning to ? It sounds like something out of a movie script, but it鈥檚 what a Utah man told police when he was accused of just that. While it鈥檚 unverified whether he, in fact, had any prescriptions, it doesn鈥檛 seem like much of a stretch for anyone paying attention to the state of drug prices in this country.
On to what you may have missed this week (including one of the wilder health stories I can recall reading in a while).
Lawmakers were busy, busy bees this week with hearings on health care issues.
The moment that drew perhaps the biggest spotlight was almost cinematic: A furious Jon Stewart took members to task in an almost nine-minute display of pointed, nonpartisan outrage over their feet-dragging on health care funding for 9/11 first responders and victims. Why is this 鈥渟o damn hard?鈥 the comedian asked. Firefighters, police and other first responders 鈥渄id their jobs with courage, grace, tenacity and humility,鈥 Stewart said. 鈥淓ighteen years later, do yours.鈥 A bill allocating money to the fund for 70 years passed the House panel following the hearing.
But it wasn鈥檛 just made-for-TV drama on Capitol Hill this week. There was a flurry of activity related to health care. Here are some of the highlights, including a hearing on universal health coverage, which was heavy on fiery political rhetoric and light on substance:
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Even if 鈥淢edicare for All鈥 were to overcome the daunting political hurdles lying in its path, it鈥檚 likely it would face so many legal challenges it could be bled out before it鈥檚 ever implemented. 鈥淭here could be a death by a thousand-lawsuits approach,鈥 Georgetown law professor Katie Keith told Politico. Other experts note, though, that there鈥檚 a difference between forcing someone to buy a product and banning something, which makes Medicare for All less vulnerable legally than the health law.
Over in Chicago at the American Medical Association鈥檚 annual meeting, a medical student-led push to get the organization to reverse its decades-long opposition to single-payer health care failed. But, there鈥檚 more to it than that! A fabulous thread on Twitter from of the American College of Physicians explains how the fact that the vote percentages were so close is remarkable in and of itself. The outcome would have been 鈥渦nimaginable鈥 in years past, he says.
And .
When premiums shot up over the past several years, more and more people turned to health care sharing ministries 鈥 which essentially connect people of similar faiths and set up a cost-sharing arrangement among the members. Because these models are not technically insurance, they鈥檙e allowed to skirt health law regulations and aren鈥檛 regulated by state commissioners. All of that was seen as a point in their favor from supporters at the time they joined them. But now it means that when bills aren鈥檛 paid on time, or at all, consumers have little recourse and officials鈥 hands are tied in holding the organizations responsible for their promises.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to chip away at the health law with its latest rule on health reimbursement arrangements, which will allow small firms to use tax-free accounts to help workers pay for insurance.
If you took anything away from last week鈥檚 drama over former Vice President Joe Biden鈥檚 stance on the Hyde Amendment it was probably that it seems the parties are dead set on their positions on abortion. But a look at how the public feels about the issue reveals blurred lines and nuance that doesn鈥檛 always fit into pat sound bites and political declarations. Many Americans struggle with the moral complexities surrounding abortion and their opinions can change from one question to the next, depending on the wording.
A new poll does show, however, that despite the ever-increasing threat to聽Roe v. Wade a strong majority of Americans don鈥檛 want to see it overturned.
Actress Jessica Biel ignited a firestorm of criticism after speaking out about a controversial California bill that would give a state official the final say on medical exemptions from vaccines. Once the blaze was lit, Biel tried to clarify that her issue was not with the vaccines themselves, but rather with the legislation introducing bureaucrats into the process. California鈥檚 governor has even hinted at similar concerns. The blowback, though, highlights how inherently inflammatory the topic has become as measles cases continue to climb across the country.
In New York 鈥 the state at the heart of the record-busting measles outbreak 鈥 lawmakers passed a bill banning religious exemptions to vaccines. The governor signed it minutes later.
I have kept you on tenterhooks long enough! One of the wilder health stories I鈥檝e read in a long time comes from gruesomely fascinating Arizona Republic reporting. It鈥檚 a look into the thriving for-profit world of whole-body donations following death. Critics deem the practice as no better than 鈥渂ack alley grave robbing.鈥 鈥淭here鈥檚 a price list for everything from a head to a shoulder, like they are a side of beef. They make money, absolutely, because there鈥檚 no cost in getting the bodies,鈥 lawyer Michael Burg told The Arizona Republic. Supporters, however, see it as an affordable way to dispose of the remains of loved ones (which can actually be very expensive for low-income families).
Either way, it garnered my favorite quote of the week, asked by one potential donor: 鈥淲ill I have a head in heaven?鈥
In a move that left Flint, Mich., residents stunned and frustrated, prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against officials over the city鈥檚 water contamination crisis. Although prosecutors said the old investigation was bungled and there will be new charges, the announcement came like a fist to the jaw to people who already have had their faith in the government shattered.
In the miscellaneous file this week:
鈥 If you ever think you鈥檙e having a bad day at work, read this story about how an employee鈥檚 small photocopier mishap triggered a series of events that undermined a pair of late-stage clinical trials and ultimately scrapped a development deal between pharma companies.
鈥 I am fascinated by the anatomy of pandemics, and this is a great tick-tock of the start of the last one. They don鈥檛 play out as they would in Hollywood, but, to me, the reality is even more interesting (I can鈥檛 be the only one, right?!).
鈥 World health officials have been begging farmers to stop using antibiotics on healthy farm animals in an effort to combat the ever-looming threat of resistance (which, as you know, terrifies yours truly). The farmer,s though, also have drugmakers whispering in their ears 鈥 despite a public facade from pharma of wanting to help combat the problem.
鈥 Are you a sufferer of 鈥渨hite coat hypertension鈥? You might think it鈥檚 just because you get stressed out when you visit the doctor (join the club!), but a study shows that those anxiety-induced numbers are linked to an increased risk of a cardiac event.
That鈥檚 it from me! Have a great and restful weekend. (!)