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CONGRESS CONSIDERS ‘RED FLAG’ LEGISLATION: Legislation that would flag gun owners who act violent, mentally disturbed, or suicidal; as well as a bill to expand background checks, are at the top of possible measures Congress could consider in the wake of mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Rep. Pete King, a Republican from New York, held a joint press conference in Long Island this week calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to convene the Senate in August and call up a vote on legislation that would require a background check for every gun purchase, including now-excluded gun shows and private sales.
Other lawmakers want Congress to take up “red flag” legislation that would permit the seizure of guns from people deemed dangerous to themselves or to others, reports chief congressional correspondent Susan Ferrechio. These laws let a family member, friend, or police officer petition a court to have guns taken away from people who show dangerous behavior. Medical advocates have rallied behind these “extreme risk protection orders” as a way to prevent suicides, two-thirds of which are carried out using firearms, as well as accidents and deaths caused by people with a mental illness or dementia.
President Trump so far has signaled he’s interested in both the background check expansion and red flag proposals.
“We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms and that if they do, those firearms can be taken through rapid due process,” Trump said Monday at the White House.
Both parties have introduced red flag legislation but neither chamber has voted on a bill. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, announced bipartisan legislation that would provide grants to states to help implement and incentivize red flag laws.
Another Senate bill from Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, and Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, introduced a similar but separate red flag measures earlier this year. Rubio is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance his measure at the next meeting.
Schumer wasn’t enthusiastic about red flag legislation, insisting on Tuesday the background check bill is the most important legislation to pass in the wake of the two shootings.
“The idea of a red flag law is OK, but it’s not enough,” Schumer said.
Red flag laws have been implemented in 17 states, and such a proposal is being considered in Ohio.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Daily on Healthcare will be taking a break on Thursday, Aug. 8, and Friday, Aug. 9. We’ll see you back here on Monday, Aug. 12.
PUBLIC HEALTH ADVOCATES PUSH FOR RED FLAG LAWS EVEN THOUGH MENTAL ILLNESS ISN’T A FACTOR IN MOST MASS SHOOTINGS: A study released Wednesday of causes and possible solutions to mass violence, which includes shootings, found that about 4% of attackers were diagnosed with a mental illness, including schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Still, with two-thirds of gun deaths being suicides, red flag laws could help reduce overall gun deaths, and address the subset of violence that is carried out by people with serious, untreated mental illness. The report finds that mass shooters tend to feel victimized or harbor grievances related to work, relationships, school, or finances. The Medical Director Institute and the National Council for Behavioral Health, the authors of the report, listed a series of other recommendations other than red flag laws, including supporting research on gun violence and fully implement the existing federal background check requirement for firearms purchases.
CDC: PEOPLE WHO NEED OPIOID OVERDOSE ANTIDOTE AREN’T GETTING IT: Nine million more prescriptions for naloxone could have been prescribed last year if medical providers had followed federal guidelines, according to a study out Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found that rural areas are particularly less likely to have access to naloxone, and that, in all, medical providers tend to prescribe naloxone once for every 70 high doses of prescription painkillers.
Still, that’s a far cry from just a few years ago: The study showed that naloxone prescriptions doubled from 270,000 in 2017 to more than 556,000 in 2018, while high doses of opioid prescriptions fell by 21%. In 2012, naloxone prescriptions were only 1,282.
FDA APPROVES WORLD’S PRICIEST DRUG USING FAULTY DATA: The Food and Drug Administration is taking action against pharmaceutical giant Novartis for failing to report faulty data to government regulators about its $2.1 million drug Zolgensma that treats spinal muscular atrophy in children under 2. The FDA plans to “use its full authorities to take action, if appropriate, which may include civil or criminal penalties” against the company’s gene therapy subsidiary, AveXis Inc., FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in a statement Tuesday. The FDA approved Zolgensma in May and said Tuesday that AveXis at that point knew about a “data manipulation” issue with the drug’s testing on animals but didn’t report it until June 28.
TRUMP’S PLAN TO IMPORT DRUGS FROM CANADA — HOW IT WOULD OR WOULD NOT WORK: Health and Human Services and the FDA proposed a plan to give states, wholesalers, and pharmacists the opportunity to draw up pilot programs to begin importing prescription drugs from Canada, part of the president’s promise to lower drug costs. Members of both parties favor drug importation, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic presidential candidate (and independent senator) Bernie Sanders especially. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry and Canada, a country that has a small pharmaceutical market, relative to the U.S., as it is, are both opponents of the plan.
VETERANS BENEFIT FROM USING TABLETS TO VIRTUALLY CONNECT WITH THERAPISTS: As part of a plan to improve access to mental healthcare for veterans, the Veterans Health Administration Program gave tablets to vets struggling to afford or physically access mental health treatment. Veterans could use video-enabled tablets to virtually visit with psychotherapists. Most of the veterans who benefitted lived in rural areas with less access to healthcare, but veterans who received the tablets were nearly 20% more likely to receive care and continue receiving care long-term.
RODENTOLOGIST SAYS HUMANS DETERMINE HOW MANY RATS LIVE IN THEIR CITIES: While there is no study to gauge how many rats live in each major city, rodent expert Bobby Corrigan says the socioeconomic status of different areas in a city determine how many rats live there. Faulty sewage systems and food left in public, like in garbage cans along the street, invite rats. “Sanitation is rat control,” said Corrigan. “If you do not want rats, do not give them food. The public thinks just put out some bait in my yard and take care of this, please. They don’t want to hear a lecture on, you know, you could use a better trash can.” As cities get older and their infrastructure systems get older simultaneously, rats have a better chance at squeezing through sewage systems and construction sites.
The Rundown
The Hill Conservatives buck Trump over worries of ‘socialist’ drug pricing
The Wall Street Journal Medical schools Are pushed to train doctors for climate change
KCUR Every year, half Of Missouri’s workers who care for the developmentally disabled quit
The Boston Globe Three hospitals team up on $3m plan to help low-income families pay the rent
NPR Mass shootings can be contagious, research shows
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | Aug. 7
Congress in August recess.
11 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. National Press Club. Report to be released on “U.S. Fertility Industry Crisis.”
