First Edition: January 22, 2019

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.

Kaiser Health News: New House Democrats’ Focus On Abortion Rights Could Stymie Work With Senate

For the first time since the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the House of Representatives has a majority supporting abortion rights. And that majority is already making its position felt, setting up what could be a series of long and drawn-out fights with a Senate opposed to abortion and stalling what could otherwise be bipartisan bills. Democrats have held majorities in the House for more than half of the years since abortion became a national political issue in the 1970s, but those majorities included a significant number of Democrats who opposed abortion or had mixed voting records on the issue. A fight among Democrats over abortion very nearly derailed the Affordable Care Act as it was becoming law in 2010. (Rovner, 1/22)

Kaiser Health News: County By County, Researchers Link Opioid Deaths To Drugmakers’ Marketing

Researchers sketched a vivid line Friday linking the dollars spent by drugmakers to woo doctors around the country to a vast opioid epidemic that has led to tens of thousands of deaths. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, looked at county-specific federal data and found that the more opioid-related marketing dollars were spent in a county, the higher the rates of doctors who prescribed those drugs and, ultimately, the more overdose deaths occurred in that county. (Knight, 1/18)

Kaiser Health News: Analysis: Can States Fix The Disaster Of American Health Care?

Last week, California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, promised to pursue a smörgåsbord of changes to his state’s health care system: state negotiation of drug prices, a requirement that every Californian have health insurance, more assistance to help middle-class Californians afford it and health care for undocumented immigrants up to age 26. (Rosenthal, 1/22)

The New York Times: Shutdown’s Pain Cuts Deep For The Homeless And Other Vulnerable Americans

Ramona Wormley-Mitsis got welcome news in December: After years of waiting, the federal government had approved a subsidy that allowed her to rent a three-bedroom house, bracketed by a white picket fence to keep her two autistic sons from bolting into traffic. A few days later, the dream was deferred. The Department of Housing and Urban Development — one of the federal agencies hit hardest by the shutdown — would not be able to pay her new landlord until the government reopened. (Thrush, 1/21)

The New York Times: Trump Proposals Could Increase Health Costs For Consumers

Consumers who use expensive brand-name prescription drugs when cheaper alternatives are available could face higher costs under a new policy being proposed by the Trump administration. The proposal, to be published this week in the Federal Register, would apply to health insurance plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. Health plans have annual limits on consumers’ out-of-pocket costs. Under the proposal, insurers would not have to count the full amount of a consumer’s co-payment for a brand-name drug toward the annual limit on cost-sharing. Insurers would have to count only the smaller amount that would be charged for a generic version of the drug. (Pear, 1/21)

Stat: Medicare Experiment Could Pressure Insurers To Save On Prescription Drugs

The federal government is giving health insurance companies that run Medicare prescription drug plans new tools it hopes will save money for patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a voluntary program Friday that will allow Medicare Part D plans, which share the cost of prescription drug insurance with the federal government, to keep more of the savings they negotiate — with the caveat that if they don’t save enough money, they have to pay the government back for it. (Swetlitz, 1/18)

The New York Times: For Trump Administration, It Has Been Hard To Follow The Rules On Rules

Ever since President Trump took office, his appointees have directed federal agencies to draft regulations meant to delay or reverse policies of the Obama administration. Nearly all the proposals have been tripped up by the same arcane 1946 law governing administrative policies. Just last week, two signature administration actions — to add a question about citizenship status to the 2020 census, and to allow employers to avoid covering birth control for their workers if they object to it — have been stymied by rulings under the law. (Sanger-Katz, 1/22)

Politico: Democrats’ Plan To Neuter Medicare For All Irks Liberals

Medicare for All may be progressives' rallying cry. But it’s Medicare for More that’s likely to wind up becoming reality. Several likely 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are pushing plans for something short of universal health care, a move already creating friction within the party's empowered left wing, which has panned any attempt to water down the progressive dream of a single-payer system. (Ollstein and Cancryn, 1/22)

The Associated Press: Pelosi 'Playing Chess On 3 Boards' With Health Care

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is laying out her strategy on health care and first up is improvements to "Obamacare" and legislation to lower prescription drug costs. "Medicare for all" will get hearings. Pelosi and President Donald Trump have been sounding similar themes about the need to address the high drug costs. But her plans to broaden financial help for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are unlikely to find takers among Republicans. (1/22)

The Associated Press: Democrats Lurch Left On Top Policies As 2020 Primary Begins

Democratic presidential contender Julian Castro launched his campaign by pledging support for "Medicare for All," free universal preschool, a large public investment in renewable energy and two years of free college for all Americans. That wasn't enough for some of his party's most liberal members. (Peoples, 1/22)

The Washington Post: Sen. Kamala Harris’s 2020 Policy Agenda: $3 Trillion Tax Plan, Tax Credits For Renters, Bail Reform, Medicare For All

Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) will run for president proposing a nearly $3 trillion tax plan, billions in tax credits to low-income renters, a Medicare-for-all health-care system, and a reduction in cash bail for inmates charged with criminal offenses, her aides said. Harris announced her candidacy Monday. (Stein, 1/21)

The New York Times: Study Links Drug Maker Gifts For Doctors To More Overdose Deaths

A new study offers some of the strongest evidence yet of the connection between the marketing of opioids to doctors and the nation’s addiction epidemic. It found that counties where opioid manufacturers offered a large number of gifts and payments to doctors had more overdose deaths involving the drugs than counties where direct-to-physician marketing was less aggressive. The study, published Friday in JAMA Network Open, said the industry spent about $40 million promoting opioid medications to nearly 68,000 doctors from 2013 through 2015, including by paying for meals, trips and consulting fees. (Goodnough, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Drug Company Payments To Doctors May Influence Opioid Overdose Deaths, Study Finds

“What seems to matter most wasn’t the amount of money doctors were paid, it was the number of times they were paid,” said Magdalena Cerdá, an associate professor of population health and director of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy at the NYU School of Medicine. Michael Barnett, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who has studied the role of physicians in the opioid epidemic, called the findings “deeply concerning for the raging [opioid] crisis that we’re all quite aware of.” (Bernstein, 1/18)

Politico: ‘I’m Trying Not To Die Right Now’: Why Opioid-Addicted Patients Are Still Searching For Help

The Trump administration, Congress and states are pouring billions of dollars into addiction treatment to fight the opioid crisis, but accountability for the burgeoning industry hasn’t kept pace with those efforts — leaving patients vulnerable to ineffective care, fraud and abuse. Interviews with patients in recovery and nearly two dozen advocates, officials and public health and addiction experts in and out of government reveal a fragmented addiction care industry, with a patchwork of state regulations and spotty oversight. (Ehley and Roubein, 1/20)

The Associated Press: Ohio Health Department Investigates Doctor For Deaths

The state Department of Health is investigating a doctor accused of ordering potentially fatal doses of the powerful painkiller fentanyl for 27 gravely ill patients who died at an Ohio hospital system. The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Health Department is investigating Dr. William Husel, a former Columbus-based Mount Carmel Health System physician, on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (1/19)

The Washington Post: In Alexandria, Four Apparent Opioid Overdoses Leave Two Dead

Four people are said to have overdosed on opioids — two fatally — over the holiday weekend in Alexandria, prompting city officials to warn on Monday about the dangers posed by the illegal use of narcotics. The overdoses occurred within a 72-hour period in different parts of the city, said Capt. Gregg Ladislaw of the Alexandria Police Department’s criminal investigations division. One of the people who fatally overdosed was a 50-year-old woman who died in the west end of Alexandria; the other was an Alexandria resident who was brought to a hospital but could not be revived, he said. (Barrios and Sullivan, 1/21)

The Associated Press: Arizona Is Only State Where Tribes Avoid Medicaid Work Rules

Arizona has become the only state in the country where members of federally recognized tribes are exempt from work or volunteer requirements for Medicaid benefits, while 120,000 state residents risk losing health coverage if they don't comply. The announcement came Friday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which said it believes the exemption is consistent with the tribes' status as political entities. Early last year, the agency wrote to tribes saying exempting all Native Americans from work requirements could violate equal protection laws. (Fonseca, 1/18)

The Hill: Trump Administration Approves Medicaid Work Requirements In Arizona

The work requirements can take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2020, and will impact about 120,000 people. Under the rules, beneficiaries ages 19 through 49 will have to engage in “qualifying community engagement activities” for at least 80 hours per month, and report monthly that they are meeting the community engagement requirements. (Weixel, 1/18)

Stateline: Rural Hospitals In Greater Jeopardy In Non-Medicaid Expansion States

It’s not just Texas: Nearly a hundred rural hospitals in the United States have closed since 2010, according to the Center for Health Services Research at UNC Chapel Hill. Another 600-plus rural hospitals are at risk of closing, according to an oft-cited 2016 report by iVantage Health Analytics. Texas had the most hospitals in danger of closing (75), the health metrics firm said. And Mississippi had the largest share of hospitals at risk (79 percent). (Ollove, 1/22)

The Associated Press: Trump Promises March For Life Crowd That He Stands With Them

President Donald Trump sought to assure opponents of abortion rights on Friday that he stands with them and would veto any legislation from a Democratic-controlled House that "weakens the protection of human life." Trump spoke via video to participants at this year's March for Life on the National Mall. Thousands of people across the country braved the cold to attend the event. "As president, I will always defend the first right in our Declaration of Independence, the right to life," Trump said. (Freking, 1/18)

The Hill: Trump Vows To Veto Bills Expanding Abortion Rights In Video Address To March For Life

Vice President Pence spoke in person at the march, calling Trump a “champion” for abortion opponents. “President Donald Trump is the most pro-life president in American history,” Pence told the crowd. He touted the slew of conservative judges that Trump has named to the courts, as well as actions like reinstating the Mexico City policy, which restricts U.S. foreign aid dollars from going to nongovernmental organizations that promote or provide abortions. (Sullivan, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Hammers California Over Defunct Crisis Pregnancy Center Law Before March For Life Rally

As thousands of activists gathered for the country’s largest antiabortion rally on Friday, the Trump administration announced the first enforcement action by its year-old Conscience and Religious Freedom Division — a finding that the state of California violated federal conscience protections. The action appeared symbolic, since the state law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to provide women with information on how to access free and low-cost abortion services was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-to-4 ruling in June. Its announcement came as the administration made a series of overtures to antiabortion activists to promote its track record of advancing anti-abortion judges and regulations and expanding protections for doctors, nurses and others opposed to providing such services. (Johnson, 1/18)

The Associated Press: No Rehearing For Louisiana Abortion Law

A divided federal appeals court has refused to reconsider a decision upholding Louisiana's law requiring that abortion providers have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, despite a dissenting judge's insistence that the decision is in "clear conflict" with a Supreme Court decision striking down a similar Texas law. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in September, in a 2-1 decision, that the Louisiana law did not impose the same burdens on women as the Texas law. On Friday, the court said the full court decided in a 9-6 vote against a rehearing. (McGill, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Court Rules Against Planned Parenthood In Texas ‘Sting Videos’ Case, Bringing It A Step Closer To Getting Defunded

When Texas tried to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program based on “sting" videos produced by undercover antiabortion activists, a federal judge in Austin said the whole case sounded more as if it belonged in a “best-selling novel.” “Yet, rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas’s efforts to expel a group of health care providers from a social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources,” U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote in February 2017. (Flynn, 1/18)

The Hill: FDA Threatens To Pull E-Cigarettes Off The Market

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that e-cigarettes face an uncertain future in U.S. markets unless youth smoking rates drop over the next year. Speaking at a public hearing Friday in Silver Spring, Md., FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he could see the entire category of e-cigarette and vaping products removed from store shelves if companies don’t stop marketing such products to youth. (Bowden, 1/19)

The Hill: FDA: Level Of Young People Addicted To Vaping May Require Drug Therapies

The Trump administration's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner says levels of e-cigarette use among young people are reaching new heights even as traditional cigarette use drops to historic lows. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb remarked at a public hearing Friday in Silver Spring, Md., that it was shocking to him that the rate of young people addicted to e-cigarettes use, commonly referred to as "vaping," had reached levels where FDA-approved methods for quitting e-cigarettes could be necessary. (Bowden, 1/18)

Reuters: CVS, Walmart Resolve Pharmacy Contract Impasse

Walmart Inc, the world's largest retailer, will remain part of CVS Health Corp's network for commercial and Medicaid pharmacy customers, the companies said on Friday, breaking a contract impasse disclosed earlier this week. The companies did not provide financial terms of the new contract.

The Associated Press: Walmart, CVS Health Hammer Out New PBM Pharmacy Network Deal

CVS executive Derica Rice said in a statement Friday that the companies had reached a "mutually agreeable solution" that would allow customers with pharmacy benefits managed by CVS Health's Caremark business to still have their prescriptions filled at Walmart locations. CVS and Walmart didn't disclose the terms of their new deal. They also didn't say what changed since Tuesday, when CVS said Walmart's requested rates would lead to higher costs for its customers. (1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: CVS Health Settles Pricing Fight With Walmart

The companies’ dispute centered on pricing, an area where PBMs like CVS Caremark are under scrutiny amid concerns about the rising cost of drugs and opaque pharmaceutical pricing methodology. Pharmacy-benefit managers administer drug coverage for employers, health insurers and others. They negotiate with drugmakers and pharmacies on the prices to be paid for prescriptions and say they wring out better deals for their clients. CVS Caremark said Monday that Walmart had demanded increased pay for filling prescriptions. The PBM reimburses pharmacies when shoppers with CVS Caremark prescription coverage buy medicine. (Wilde Mathews and Nassauer, 1/18)

The New York Times: Scientists Are Teaching The Body To Accept New Organs

It was not the most ominous sign of health trouble, just a nosebleed that would not stop. So in February 2017, Michael Schaffer, who is 60 and lives near Pittsburgh, went first to a local emergency room, then to a hospital where a doctor finally succeeded in cauterizing a tiny cut in his nostril. Then the doctor told Mr. Schaffer something he never expected to hear: “You need a liver transplant.” (Kolata, 1/22)

The New York Times: Yoga And Veterans: A Different Kind Of Warrior

To casual observers of either military service or the practice of yoga, the path from Oorah to Om may not seem obvious. But the intersection of yogi and veteran is natural if unexpected, beginning with the five classic yoga poses known as warriors. While veterans make up a small percentage of yoga instructors, their ranks are growing. Many members of the military now often include yoga — sometimes taught by veterans — as an element of their workout routine, and veterans turn to the practice for therapeutic applications. The Department of Veterans Affairs has successfully used yoga to help treat opioid addiction and post-traumatic stress. (Steinhauer, 1/19)

The New York Times: Hospitals Stopped Readmitting So Many Medicare Patients. Did That Cost Lives?

It was a well-intended policy. Almost all parties agree on that much. A decade ago, when Medicare beneficiaries were discharged from hospitals, one in five returned within a month. Older people faced the risks of hospitalization all over again: infections, deconditioning, delirium, subsequent nursing home stays. And preventable readmissions were costing Medicare a bundle. (Span, 1/18)

The New York Times: A Rising Threat To Pregnant Women: Syphilis

Syphilis continues to make a dismaying comeback in the United States. Between 2012 and 2016, the rate of primary and secondary syphilis among women increased 111 percent. Over the same period, the rate of congenital syphilis increased by 87 percent. The sexually transmitted disease is caused by infection with the bacterium Treponema pallidum. The bacterium also can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy or birth. (Bakalar, 1/21)

The Washington Post: Suicides Among Veterinarians Has Become A Growing Problem

Pushed to the brink by mounting debt, compassion fatigue and social media attacks from angry pet owners, veterinarians are committing suicide at rates higher than the general population, often killing themselves with drugs meant for their patients. On a brisk fall evening in Elizabeth City, N.C., Robin Stamey sat in her bed and prepared to take her own life. (Leffler, 1/19)

The Washington Post: Vaginal Mesh Has Caused Health Problems Including Chronic Inflammation, Scarring, Infection And Pain That Can Resist Treatment.

Regina Stepherson needed surgery for rectocele, a prolapse of the wall between the rectum and the vagina. Her surgeons said that her bladder also needed to be lifted and did so with vaginal mesh, a surgical mesh used to reinforce the bladder. Following the surgery in 2010, Stepherson, then 48. said she suffered debilitating symptoms for two years. An active woman who rode horses, Stepherson said she had constant pain, trouble walking, fevers off and on, weight loss, nausea and lethargy after the surgery. She spent days sitting on the couch, she said. (Berger, 1/20)

The Washington Post: JAMA Opinion Piece Slams Our Addiction To ‘Unnecessary’ MRIs, CT Scans

When the Food and Drug Administration approved magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners in 1984, the machines seemed incredible. They offered an inside view of the human body, making it easier to diagnose disease, injuries and physical abnormalities. Today, they’re part of a multibillion-dollar industry: In 2016, 118 out of every 1,000 Americans got an MRI. The use of CT scans was even higher: 245 per 1,000 people in 2016. But was all of that testing actually necessary? (Blakemore, 1/20)

The New York Times: Your Sweat Will See You Now

Someday soon, perhaps within a year, you’ll be able to slap a soft, stretchy patch on to your arm that tells you if you’re dehydrated. Or that your electrolytes are dangerously out of balance. Or even that you have diabetes. Fitness trackers such as Fitbit and Apple Watch already track step counts, heart rate and sleep rhythms. But they tend to be rigid and bulky, and mostly gather mechanical metrics, rather than assess a person’s underlying biology. (Mandavilli, 1/18)

The Wall Street Journal: High Cholesterol? It Must Be January

Is your cholesterol high? The answer may depend on whether it’s January or June. An observational study of 25,764 Danes found that after gorging on traditional holiday foods throughout December, their bloodstreams were swimming with low-density-lipoprotein—the “bad” cholesterol commonly known as LDL. (McGinty, 1/18)

The Washington Post: Semen Injection: A Man Tried To Treat His Back Pain With His Semen

A 33-year-old man who had been suffering from back pain decided to treat himself by resorting to an unusual remedy not supported by scientific research: he injected himself with a dose of his own semen every month for a year and a half. The “alternative therapy” baffled doctors at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin, where the man showed up recently with severe back pain and a swollen arm, according to a case report published this month in the Irish Medical Journal. (Phillips, 1/20)

The New York Times: Stuck And Stressed: The Health Costs Of Traffic

Sometimes the seemingly small things in life can be major stressors. Nobody likes sitting in traffic, for example. According to one study, commuting is one of the least pleasant things we do. But it’s not just an annoying time waster — there’s a case that it’s a public health issue. (Frakt, 1/21)

The Washington Post: Women Seem To Need More Cooling During And After Exercise

When the body heats up during exercise, it copes in several ways. There are involuntary systems, such as sweating that help it cool off, and voluntary measures, such as dousing with cold water or wearing (and switching) hats filled with ice, as American Galen Rupp did every five kilometers during the Rio 2016 Olympic marathon. (He won a bronze medal.) Voluntary actions are known as “thermal behavior.” (Cimons, 1/19)

The New York Times: Can A Nice Doctor Make Treatments More Effective?

In the age of the internet, it’s easier than ever to pull together lots of information to find the best doctor. And if you’re like most patients, the metric you probably rely on most is the doctor’s credentials. Where did she go to school? How many patients has he treated with this condition? You might also read some Yelp reviews about how nice this doctor is; how friendly and how caring. But all that probably seems secondary to the doctor’s skills; sure, it would be great to have a doctor whom you actually like, but that’s not going to influence your health the way the doctor’s competence will. (Howe and Leibowitz, 1/22)

The New York Times: Helping Children Conquer Chronic Pain

Acute pain that calls out to warn you — “Hey, don’t walk on this broken leg!” — may be unpleasant, but it’s also protective. That acute pain is letting you know that a part of your body needs to heal, or in some other way needs extra attention, said Dr. Neil Schechter, the director of the chronic pain clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital. That’s very different, he said, from chronic pain that goes on over the course of months, whether abdominal pain or headache or musculoskeletal — it may persist and be incapacitating, because “the pain has become the disease.” (Klass, 1/21)

The New York Times: Scientist Who Edited Babies’ Genes Is Likely To Face Charges In China

A Chinese scientist who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies “seriously violated” state regulations, according to the results of an initial government investigation reported on Monday by Chinese state media. The investigators’ findings indicate that the scientist, He Jiankui, and his collaborators are likely to face criminal charges. (Ramzy and Wee, 1/21)

The Wall Street Journal: China Takes Steps Against Scientist Who Engineered Gene-Edited Babies

Officials told the Xinhua News Agency that the scientist, Shenzhen-based He Jiankui, “will be transferred to public security authorities,” and the people involved in the experiment “severely dealt with according to the law.” Xinhua didn’t elaborate. A spokesman for Dr. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The comments marked the first time Chinese authorities alluded to the possible fate of the scientist. It was also the first time China acknowledged the controversial births. (Rana, 1/21)

The Associated Press: China Seems To Confirm Scientist's Gene-Edited Babies Claim

Chinese authorities appear to have confirmed a scientist's unpublished claim that he helped make the world's first gene-edited babies and that a second pregnancy is underway, and say he could face consequences for his work. China's official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that investigators in Guangdong province determined that the scientist, He Jiankui, evaded supervision of his work and violated research norms because he wanted to be famous. The report said He acted alone and will be punished for any violations of the law, although it didn't say which regulations he may have broken. (1/21)

The Washington Post: Here's Why Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh Will Have A Hard Time Getting Money For Lead Paint Victims Swindled By Access Funding

A Chevy Chase company that made millions of dollars from deals with victims of lead poisoning targeted an “entire generation of youth coming of age in Baltimore” with its deceptive practices, Maryland’s top law enforcement official alleges. But even if a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) is successful, the amount of restitution those victims can receive is severely limited by a separate class-action claim. The settlement of that lawsuit, brought by two of Access Funding’s former customers, entitles victims of the company to receive about $750,000 — about 4 percent of what Frosh’s office asserts they are owed. (Chason, 1/21)

The New York Times: New York Passes A Ban On ‘Conversion Therapy’ After Years-Long Efforts

Between 2012 and 2018, 14 states and Washington, D.C., passed laws prohibiting “conversion therapy” for minors. Deep-blue New York was not among them. That finally changed this month when the State Legislature voted overwhelmingly to bar mental health professionals from working to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. (Gold, 1/21)

The Associated Press: 2 Doctors For Incapacitated Patient Who Gave Birth Leave

Two doctors who cared for an incapacitated woman who gave birth as a result of a sexual assault are no longer providing medical services at the long-term care center in Phoenix. Hacienda HealthCare says Sunday that one has resigned. The other has been suspended. The victim in her 20s had been in Hacienda’s care since she became incapacitated at age 3 after suffering a near-drowning. She gave birth Dec. 29. (1/21)

The Washington Post: Virginia Considers Hiking The Smoking And Vaping Age To 21

Some prominent legislators are backing a bill to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes and vapes from 18 to 21 in Virginia, a state where tobacco once loomed so large that images of the leaves adorn its stately Capitol. Alarmed by rampant vaping by teens, a group of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate rolled out legislation last week targeting an industry whose roots in the commonwealth stretch back four centuries to the Jamestown Colony. (Vozzella and Schneider, 1/20)

The Hill: Florida Mother Suing Caregiver After Developmentally Disabled Daughter Becomes Pregnant

A Florida woman is reportedly suing her daughter's former health care provider and three of its employees, alleging that her developmentally disabled daughter was raped and impregnated in their care. According to a lawsuit filed in Escambia County, Florida, the 23-year-old unidentified woman was attending Westgate School on weekdays when the employees noticed changes in her behavior and bruising on her hip, the complaint reads, according to the Pensacola News Journal. (Rodrigo, 1/19)

Reuters: Lack Of School Nurses Puts Los Angeles Students At Risk, Striking Teachers Say

Los Angeles teacher Natali Escobedo says she will never forget the image of a diabetic fourth-grader “wilting” at her school because there was no nurse on hand to administer his insulin. The episode, which followed years of tight budgets that left little money for medical staff, highlights the potential impact of a lack of nurses throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the key reasons Escobedo and her colleagues are on strike. (1/19)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription