Congress turns to lapsed CHIP funding
One month after funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program lapsed, the House is gearing up for a vote on extending funding for the federal program, which insures nine million children in the U.S.
Both parties have been negotiating for weeks. Earlier this month, a House committee approved a measure to fund CHIP for five years. But the bill didn’t have any support from Democrats — who didn’t agree with cutting dollars from Obamacare’s public health fund
to pay for the measure — so it wasn't sent to the floor for a vote. But The Hill
reports the GOP is now moving forward as the clock keeps ticking: Several states are slated to run out of CHIP money in the next few weeks.
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Does delayed cord clamping make a difference?
A new
study finds that delayed cord clamping for preterm newborns doesn’t reduce the risk of death or major complications — a conclusion that contradicts current recommendations. Right now, most professional groups
recommend waiting anywhere between 30 and 180 seconds to clamp the umbilical cord in preterm infants, because studies have suggested big benefits. In the new trial, researchers assigned 782 infants born prematurely to
immediate cord clamping and another 784 to delayed cord clamping. There wasn’t any significant difference in the rate of major problems like chronic lung disease between the two groups.
Another interesting finding: Providers who were supposed to delay clamping in the trial stuck to the treatment plan just 73 percent of the time, compared to 95 percent adherence in the immediate clamping
group. The study’s authors say that reflects the widespread, longstanding concerns among doctors about the possible hazards of waiting to clamp the cord in preterm infants.
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Carfentanil's growing role in overdose deaths
(CDC)
The CDC is out with new
data from nearly a dozen states that are tracking the role of fentanyl and synthetic opioids like carfentanil in overdose deaths. It’s been difficult for health officials to put hard numbers on fentanyl analogs, which
are chemically similar to fentanyl but require special toxicology testing. But the new report — which details expanded opioid overdose data from 10 states — found that 720 overdose deaths in those states between July and December 2016 involved one of fentanyl’s
cousins. The most common: carfentanil. The drug was strikingly prevalent in Ohio — of the 389 deaths involving carfentanil, 354 occurred in Ohio.
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Sponsor content by AMGEN AND NOVARTIS
Turning a life with migraine into a call to action
For more than 50 years, Sallie Parker has lived with the debilitating effects of migraine. But now she's using her voice — and her creativity — to advocate for new understanding and awareness of the disease.
Read her story.
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Inside STAT: A case study in Trump's pharma frustrations
Fw companies better embody the president's frustrations with pharma than Celgene: It keeps a significant chunk of change overseas, does some manufacturing abroad, and has hiked a cancer drug's price three
times this year. And while Celgene exec Bob Hugin isn’t alone in any of these actions — many other biopharma execs have done the same — he’s also seen as widely aligned with the Trump administration. He’s a major GOP donor. He sat next to Trump during a White
House meeting and then praised the president on Fox Business. He’s an interesting case study in why the president is so outraged by drug makers , but still hasn’t taken any concrete steps to rein in their actions. STAT’s Rebecca Robbins has more
here.
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Uganda confirms second case of Marburg disease
Health officials in Uganda have confirmed a second death due to Marburg virus, which causes an acute hemorrhagic fever. The 38-year-old man was the brother of a 50-year-old woman who died earlier this
month and was the first confirmed case of Marburg disease. She had cared for another brother who died in late September and showed similar symptoms. Health officials are eyeing the situation closely — there have already been a handful of additional suspected
or likely cases. The news of the second case came as a global summit on outbreak preparedness wrapped up in the East African country.
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What a former drug czar thinks of the opioid declaration
There's an ongoing debate about the actual impact of President Trump's decision to declare the opioid crisis an emergency, particularly because it didn't include any additional funding. In a new First
Opinion, former drug czar Michael Botticelli weighs in on what's still needed to curb the crisis. Here's a look at his recommendations, which you can read
here.
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Set aside more money for naloxone.
The price of the drug, which can reverse an opioid overdose, is rising, as are overdoses related to fentanyl, which require more than one dose.
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Increase access to medication-assisted treatment.
Most traditional drug treatment facilities don't provide MAT for opioid use disorder, and access is severely limited in some rural regions and in prisons.
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Make prescriber education mandatory.
The opioid commission found there's a significant lack of education about opioid prescribing for medical students and practicing clinicians, but the president's declaration
didn't mandate any prescriber education programs.
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What to read around the web today
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The governor blocked Medicaid expansion. Now Maine voters may overrule him.
New York Times
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California is spending millions to advertise the ACA to Latinos.
NPR
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She signed up to be a surrogate mother — and unwittingly gave her own child away.
Washington Post
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