Daily on Healthcare: Study shows Obamacare boosted ambulance wait times

Obamacare increased wait times for ambulances. That’s according to a study published Monday in the National Bureau of Economic Research. Authors concluded that this is because more people began using medical services they otherwise wouldn’t have. The estimates show that ambulance response times slowed by almost two minutes, or about 19 percent, after Obamacare was implemented. Researchers concluded that ambulance response times “increased substantially” and noted that they did not find evidence that the slowed response time could be attributed to traffic congestions or economic conditions. They also wrote that emergency medical providers may not have had enough time or money to increase the number of ambulances they operate in the short term, but could make changes to accommodate greater demand. “In the long run, providers could, in theory, respond to increased demand by employing more EMS workers and ambulances,” they wrote. NBER also released a study that showed adult children were more likely to live with their parents because of Obamacare’s provision that allowed them to stay on their parents’ plan until age 26.”

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Healthcare bills aim to remedy racial disparities in the shadow of Charlottesville. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus for years have sought to add to Obamacare through healthcare provisions targeting racial disparities, but now they are focused on more narrow efforts. The group that studies and advances legislation on health disparities in the House, known as the Health Braintrust, was focused early in the year on staving off Republican efforts to repeal and replace portions of Obamacare. The Braintrust is now working on the latest draft of the Health Equity and Accountability Act, but aren’t optimistic about the prospects for the bill, whose previous version was 786 pages long. The Braintrust has introduced it every year since 2007, and some of it helped inform Obamacare. Democrats had hoped it might someday be supplemented. “We know we are not going to get a comprehensive bill passed,” said James Lewis, spokesman for Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., chairwoman for the Braintrust. “We know there is no appetite for that. We are focusing on trying to tweak around the edges and on finding partners.” Efforts have focused on sickle cell disease, childhood trauma and maternal mortality.

Charities pulling out of events at Mar-a-Lago. The exits started several days after President Trump made controversial remarks in response to violence in Charlottesville, Va. On Friday, Susan G. Komen, the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross decided to pull events at the Palm Beach, Fla. resort. Trump has been widely criticized for his reaction after the violence at a white nationalist and supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Several other charities decided last week to pull events at Mar-a-Lago including the American Cancer Society, the Israeli Red Cross and the Cleveland Clinic.

Obamacare architect settles Vermont fraud complaint. Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan has settled a fraud investigation over the billing practices of Jonathan Gruber, one of the architects of Obamacare who was advising the state over its a now-abandoned single-payer plan. Under his $450,000 contract with the state, Gruber was supposed to submit monthly invoices describing the work he did and how much he was billing for his work. The attorney general’s office said Gruber filed at least two invoices that were false that pertained to work performed by a research assistant who was working for him. Gruber, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist, has denied committing fraud. To resolve the case, he agreed to forgo additional payments the state owed him, a total of $90,000 in outstanding payments. The case was settled under the state’s Civil False Claims Act, which the attorney general’s office determined he had violated. According to state documents, the attorney general’s office determined the assistant would have had to work 12 hours a day during the first period billed and more than 16 hours a day for the second period billed. The documents state that the assistant was salaried but should have specified the actual number of hours worked. An inquiry to Gruber was not immediately returned.

Trump signs FDA funding bill that also takes steps to lower drug prices. The president signed into law the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 on Friday. It reauthorizes a program in which drug and device makers pay the FDA a fee for every new product application, and the agency uses that money to hire more people and speed up approvals. The law also includes a measure that lets the FDA hasten development of a generic drug if an off-patent product with no competition is being sold at an egregiously high price. The user fee program must be reauthorized every five years. The current program expires at the end of September, and if it hadn’t been signed into law before then, the agency would have had to lay off workers.

Sen. John McCain completes first round of cancer treatment. The Arizona Republican was diagnosed with a brain tumor last month soon after having surgery to remove a blood clot above his eye. Meghan McCain tweeted Friday that the Arizona senator’s “resilience & strength is incredible.” McCain tweeted photos of himself on Saturday hanging out with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. “The three amigos together again!” tweeted McCain.

Melania Trump encouraged president to respond more aggressively to opioid epidemic: Report. While sitting in on a meeting this month with the president and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, the first lady advocated for the administration to call the epidemic a national health emergency. Trump declared a national emergency on Aug. 10, two days after Price told reporters the president wouldn’t be making such a declaration. “[Melania has] been researching the issue,” a senior administration official told the Daily Beast. “She’s been reading stories and meeting families. And when the time came, she was engaged.” Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said the first lady offers her advice to the president “on a variety of subjects. As has been evidenced since the president took office, Mrs. Trump cares very much about children’s health and wellness, which certainly includes all forms of drug abuse.”

Opioid maker settles lawsuit with Illinois. Drug maker Insys Therapeutics agreed to pay Illinois $4.45 million to settle a lawsuit charging it deceptively marketed an addictive painkiller. Illinois is among several states, cities, and counties that have sued opioid makers over how the painkillers have been marketed. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Insys in 2016 for the sale of Subsys, a drug significantly more powerful than morphine and intended for cancer pain, according to a statement. The lawsuit said the company promoted and sold the drug for other uses such as back and neck pain, even though it wasn’t approved for them.

Sen. Joe Manchin says thanks, but no thanks to joining Cabinet. The centrist West Virginia Democrat on Friday rejected the idea that he would join the Trump administration as energy secretary. He told a town hall crowd at the West Virginia State Fair that he won’t leave to join Trump’s Cabinet, a Senate aide confirmed. Manchin is up for re-election in 2018. A decision to join the Trump administration would have opened the door for the GOP to try again on Obamacare repeal since Gov. Jim Justice, who recently switched to the Republican Party, likely would appoint a Republican to fill the seat. Manchin’s name has been floated as a replacement for Rick Perry, who may leave the energy post to become the director of the Department of Homeland Security. That post is open after Gen. John Kelly left to serve as White House chief of staff. There is a 52-48 GOP majority in the Senate. The GOP can afford only two defections on any legislation, as Vice President Mike Pence could break a 50-50 tie.

RUNDOWN

STAT News As White House appoints pro-vaccine officials, plan for safety commission appears stalled
Modern Healthcare With Congress deadlocked, Iowa and Oklahoma seek to reform the ACA through waivers
Politico Obamacare survives its latest threat — bare counties
Washington Post Dying at home in pain doesn’t keep relatives from stealing the pills
RealClearHealth Is Obamacare fueling the opioid overdose death rate?
News-Medical.net Walnuts reduce hunger by activating a certain brain region, say researchers

MONDAY | Aug. 21

Aug. 21-22. NIH Task Force meeting on Research Related to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women. Details.

Noon. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., to hold town hall. Details.

9 p.m. House Speaker Paul Ryan to appear in CNN town hall. Details.

TUESDAY | Aug. 22

Noon HST. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, to hold town hall. Details.

THURSDAY | Aug. 24

9 a.m. Reporter conversation with congressional staff, hosted by the Alliance for Health Policy. Details.