Overnight Health Care — Presented by Partnership for America’s Health Care Future — Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy | Measles outbreak slows | House to investigate private equity firms over surprise medical bills
Welcome to Monday’s Overnight Health Care.
Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy, part of a proposed settlement to deal with the thousands of lawsuits over the company’s role in the opioid crisis.
Also today, House lawmakers are looking into private equity firms and their connection to “surprise” medical bills. And there are worries the Trump administration’s moves on flavored e-cigarettes could hurt adult smokers trying to quit.
But we’ll start with some good news on the measles front…
Measles outbreak slows with no new cases reported last week
No new measles cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week, indicating that the spread of the highly contagious disease is slowing in the U.S.
It marks the first week since January that no new measles cases were reported to the CDC.
In all, 1,241 measles cases have been confirmed in 31 states between Jan. 1 and Sept. 12, the highest number of cases since 1992.
But the cases appeared to drop off this summer, with only 24 cases being reported to the CDC in August.
For comparison, more than 300 cases were reported in March alone.
What this means: 75 percent of the cases this year were linked to outbreaks in New York. And New York City declared an end to its outbreak Sept. 3. State health officials were diligent in cracking down on low-vaccination rates, particularly in ultra-conservative orthodox Jewish communities. Still, there are two ongoing outbreaks, defined as three or more measles cases, in Rockland and Wyoming counties in New York.
What’s next: The U.S. is still on the verge of losing its “measles-free” designation from the World Health Organization.
“At the moment, the CDC and the New York state health department are still monitoring the current outbreak in New York, and if no new cases of measles are tied to that outbreak in roughly the next month the U.S. would retain its measles elimination status,” a CDC spokesperson told The Hill.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma announced late Sunday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of an agreement to settle landmark opioid litigation.
“This settlement framework avoids wasting hundreds of millions of dollars and years on protracted litigation, and instead will provide billions of dollars and critical resources to communities across the country trying to cope with the opioid crisis,” it said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with state attorneys general and other plaintiff representatives to finalize and implement this agreement as quickly as possible.”
The settlement, estimated to be worth between $10 billion and $12 billion, will be split between the thousands of plaintiffs, mostly state and local governments, that have sued Purdue over its alleged role in the opioid epidemic.
What’s next: The committee of attorneys who negotiated the settlement with Purdue on behalf of the thousands of governments said the bankruptcy filing was part of the agreement and it will not stop them from finalizing the settlement.
While 24 states and five U.S. territories have agreed to the settlement, some states, including New York, oppose it, and may continue pursuing legal action.
From New York Attorney General Letitia James (D): “In no uncertain terms, any deal that cheats Americans out of billions of dollars, allows the Sacklers to evade responsibility, and lets this family continue peddling their drugs to the world is a bad one, which is why New York remains opposed to it,” she said.
“My office will not be deterred in its lawsuit against the Sackler family, and will continue fighting to make this family pay for the death and destruction they inflicted on the American people.”
Read more Purdue Pharma’s moves here.
House panel investigating private equity firms’ role in surprise medical billing
Physician staffing companies owned by private equity firms are running ads against bipartisan legislation to protect patients from surprise bills. Now, lawmakers are pushing back on private equity.
The bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are launching an investigation into what role private equity firms may play in the problem.
What’s the connection between private equity and surprise medical bills?: Hospitals sometimes contract out the staffing of their emergency room or other departments to physician staffing companies owned by private equity firms, who then can send massive bills to patients because the staffing company might not be in their insurance network even though the hospital as a whole is.
Investigating AND legislating: The investigation comes at the same time that the Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as bipartisan members of the Senate, push legislation to protect patients from being stuck with these surprise medical bills.
That legislation has hit a buzzsaw of opposition from doctors and hospitals, who supporters of the bill say are just trying to protect their profits.
Read the letters to private equity firms here.
Trump move on flavored e-cigarettes may hit adults trying to quit
The Trump administration’s looming ban on flavored e-cigarette sales is aimed at stopping kids from vaping, but it could have unintended consequences for adults who use those products to quit smoking tobacco.
Tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes can still be sold after the ban takes effect, but the most popular flavors, such as menthol, mint and mango, will all be removed from the market. They will need to be resubmitted for Food and Drug Administration approval.
In his announcement of the ban, President Trump cited rising youth vaping rates and a spate of vaping-related illnesses that have killed six people and sickened hundreds. “We can’t allow people to get sick. And we can’t have our kids be so affected,” he said.
But that frustrates experts who think the administration is conflating commercially sold e-cigarettes, which are regulated by the government, with the illicit black-market products that are linked to the illnesses.
The irony: Banning the sale of flavored e-cigarettes runs the risk that illicit versions will pop up on the black market. That could lead to more illnesses in addition to those that have been linked to black-market THC vapes.
Striking a balance: The move to ban flavors could reduce youth vaping rates, experts say, but it could also mean adults who vape might begin using more cigarettes. Health officials have long said they don’t want to take products off the market that could help adults stop smoking traditional, and more harmful, cigarettes. While there are debates about whether vaping is an effective tool to help people quit cigarettes, experts argue it is almost certainly better than smoking, which kills 480,000 per year, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sponsored Content – Partnership for America’s Health Care Future
Families deserve quality care they can afford. But unaffordable proposals like Medicare for All, Medicare buy-in and the public option could cost hardworking families $32 trillion in higher taxes. Learn more.
What we’re reading
Wholesale drug prices have been falling, and so have net prices (Stat News)
How Elizabeth Warren has stayed out of the Medicare-for-all fray (Vox.com)
Planned Parenthood and fired former chief mired in escalating dispute (The New York Times)
Amazon’s battle for corner pharmacy is fought over phone and fax (Bloomberg)
State by state
Inspector general investigates Virginia Medicaid contract (Associated Press)
Vaping bad: were 2 Wisconsin brothers the Walter Whites of THC oils? (The New York Times)
California tax collectors to target e-cigarettes in vaping crackdown ordered by Newsom (Sacramento Bee)
From The Hill’s Opinion Page:
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
