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Highlighted Studies of the Week

News At A Glance

National Enrollment deadline for Affordable Care Act (ACA) is extended for a few days– The president’s administration extended the enrollment deadline to December 18th after determining that the enrollment website experienced technical glitches that may have obstructed people from signing up for their healthcare. As of December 7th, enrollment was 6 percent less than last year. Congress to allocate $25 million for firearm violence research– After nearly two decades since the Dickey amendment was passed that prohibited the use of federal funds for the advocacy or promotion of firearm control, the new spending bill that was approved by both the House and the Senate has allocated funding for researching ways to prevent firearm violence. Pharmacy groups declare support for the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act– Representing eight pharmacy associations, the coalition declared support for the latest version of a new prescription drug bill. Specifically, the coalition is in support of the component that addresses the backdoor fees that are charged by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The bill is currently on the Senate Legislative Calendar. In similar news, Congress removed a market exclusivity provision for ten years for biologic drugs in a trade agreement among the US, Mexico, and Canada. Appeals court rules that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowed to regulate e-cigarettes in the same way that conventional cigarettes are regulated– The judges ruled that the FDA is allowed to require e-cigarette companies to indicate that their products are “consistent with public health” before marketing and that banning free samples of tobacco products does not violate the First Amendment. In other FDA news, the Senate confirmed Dr. Stephen Hahn to lead the agency. Dr. Hahn is a cancer specialist and hospital executive who will be succeeding Dr. Scott Gotlieb.

Public health and LGBTQ groups write letter to Facebook about pre-exposure prophylaxis medication advertisements– The letter states that Facebook is allowing personal injury attorneys to pay for ads that falsely state that taking HIV medications lead to adverse health effects and that it can put peoples’ lives at risk.

December 18, 2019 | Issue 89

1. Study in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association (JAMA) finds thathospital costs for neonatal abstinencesyndrome (NAS) increased from $316million in 2012 to $573 million in 2016.The average cost per infant was $22,550in 2016 and Medicaid paid for more than80 percent of hospital births with NAS.

2. Study in Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Science finds that there is apotential inhibitory interaction betweenthe common cold and flu virus,suggesting that people who have alreadyhad the common cold may be less likelyto get the flu.

3. Study in the American Journal ofPreventive Medicine finds that the odds ofhaving lung disease from using e-cigarettes alone increase by a factor of 1.3while the odds of developing lungdisease for people who are dual users ofe-cigarettes and conventional cigarettesincrease by 3.3.

4. Study in Health Affairs finds that fourspecialties are responsible for 3.4 percent($40 billion) of the employer-sponsoredhealth care spending due to out-of-network bills.

Healthcare

National Suicide Prevention Hotline Update

Suicide is currently the tenth leading cause of death in the US. The Federal

Communications Commission approved the three-digit code 9-8-8 as a suicide

prevention hotline.

California

Other States Walmart stores in Louisiana to offer free hepatitis C screening in new pilot program– Until February 1,2020, ten Walmart stores in the state will be screening for hepatitis C, educating patients about the disease, and providing free treatment if necessary. The program will be offered in rural areas. In this program, only those that meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines will be screened. Analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that some Oregon families could receive massive premium tax credits– According to the KFF insurance-marketplace calculator, a family of four with a household income of $50,000 who purchase their health insurance coverage through the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace may receive premium tax credits that equate to 60 percent of their monthly premium costs. The foundation also determined that some individuals could receive enough of a tax credit to cover the entire cost of their monthly premiums. Gunmen, police officer, and three others killed during a shootout in New Jersey– Last week, two gunmen engaged in a lengthy shootout with police officers in Jersey City. The gunmen shot and killed three civilians and one police officer and injured two other police officers. Schools in the area were placed on lockdown. In other New Jersey news, the State Assembly passed a bill to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccines but the State Senate postponed the vote. If the bill passes, New Jersey would be one of few states, alongside New York and California, to eliminate religious exemptions. South Carolina receives approval from the federal government to impose Medicaid work requirements– The state will suspend health insurance for those who do not meet the work requirements for three consecutive months. The insurance may be reinstated after the individual proves compliance. Single parents will be exempt from the requirements. According to the state’s own analysis, up to 7,100 beneficiaries could potentially lose coverage. The state is one of two that did not expand Medicaid and received approval for Medicaid work requirements. In similar news, the newly-elected governor of Kentucky rescinded the former governor’s plan that sought to impose work requirements for working-age adults without physical limitations. Supreme Court refuses to take up Boise, Idaho’s appeal of the 9th Circuit’s decision to overturn an ordinance that bans people from sleeping in public spaces– Judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the local ordinance was cruel and unusual punishment, thereby making it unconstitutional under the Eight Amendment. The Supreme Court refused to take up the case. The ruling will affect California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. Partners HealthCare, soon to be called Mass General Brigham, embarks on $100 million digital health initiative– The health system’s five-year initiative will allow online booking for appointments, video and text appointments, online doctor’s notes, cost estimates for procedures, publicized emergency department and urgent care center wait times, and sharing of medical records with providers outside of the network. The system will also utilize artificial intelligence and analytics to track patient flow.

S an Francisco to open Vehicle Triage Centers soon– To address the issue that homeless individuals face when liv ing in their cars such as sanitation and safety, the city has allotted a parking lot for up to 30 vehicles to be parked for a 90-day period. The area will have case managers, portable showers and toilets for three days of the week. This pilot program is only expected to last until fall of next year when the lot will be turned into affordable housing units. The projected cost of providing these services is nearly $1.5 million. The Vehicle Encampment Resolution Team has been tasked with selecting the individuals or families that will be occupying the lot. Number of Californians purchasing health insurance increases by 16 percent compared to last year– Roughly 130,000 new Californians purchased health insurance and 1.13 million renewed their plans through Covered California, the health exchange marketplace. The plans that were purchased by Sunday will go into effect on January 1, 2020, while plans purchased afterwards until January 31 will go into effect on February 1, 2020. California is the only state in the nation to provide assistance for premiums for families earning up to 600 percent of the federal poverty level or a household income of $154,500 for a family of four. The subsidies will be paid for from the general fund as well as from a tax penalty on those that refuse to buy health insurance. To learn more about this mandate, read our policy brief. Covered California’s executive director believes this penalty will generate between $300 and $400 million.

Oral Health

Hunger as a Health

Issue

Mental/Behavioral

Health

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Newsbytes Relevant to Our Strategic Priorities

Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistant Services finds that a large number of Medicaid recipients are attending emergency rooms (ER) for non-serious dental conditions– According to the analysis, 16,000 Medicaid beneficiaries visited an ER roughly 19,000 times last year with more than 50 percent of the visits for less serious issues such as toothaches and loose teeth.

United Health Foundation: America’s Health Ranking

To bring focus to our work, the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership has identified three strategic priorities: oral health, mental health and hunger as a health issue. This segment highlights news articles relevant to these priorities.

Since 1990, the United Health Foundation has been publishing America’s Health Rankings Annual Report. The report indicates short-and long-term public health successes and challenges at the state and national level. Here were some key findings:

United Nations report finds high levels of food insecurity in Asia-Pacific– According to the report, nearly 500 million people in the Asia-Pacific suffer from food insecurity. More than 33 percent of the children in South Asia suffer from malnutrition and more than 1 in 5 children in India are wasting from malnutrition. Countries are beginning to make investments to provide for resources within a child’s first 1,000 days of life to improve future productivity.

Have you checked out our latest resources from December 2019?

Policy Briefs: New 2020 California Public Health Law Round Up New 2020 Health Care Law Round Up

Issue Brief: The High Cost of Prescription Drugs in the United States

Blogs: Bargain Hunters: Hospital Edition Shortcomings in Healthcare for Incarcerated Pregnant Women

• Success: Child poverty continues to decrease, supply of mental health providers continues to increase,infant mortality rate is at a 30-year low, and air pollution declined by 36 percent since 2003.

• Challenges: Suicide rates, drug death rates and chlamydia rates continue to increase, diabetesprevalence is greater than ever, obesity increased by 166 percent since 1990, and premature death hasbeen increasing for the fifth consecutive year.

• From most healthy to least healthy, Vermont, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, and Utah wereranked as the healthiest states while Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi wereranked as the least healthy states.

Major League Baseball updates drug policy after a pitcher dies from overdose– The new policy calls for the testing of every player for opioids and cocaine. Those who test positive for such drugs will be referred to treatment. Prior to this policy, players were only tested for drugs if there was any reason to suspect potential drug use. With the new policy, players will only be disciplined if they refuse to follow-through with treatment.