SIGN UP! If you’d like to continue receiving Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare newsletter, SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://newsletters.washingtonexaminer.com/newsletter/daily-on-healthcare/

Medicaid expansion repeal fails in Idaho. Two measures that would have repealed the voter-approved Medicaid expansion in Idaho failed to advance out of committee on Thursday. One bill was an outright repeal and the other would have repealed the expansion if projected savings didn’t occur. Idaho voters during the November election passed a ballot measure to expand Medicaid to low-income people under Obamacare, but lawmakers still have to find a way to fund the state’s portion.

Welcome to Philip Klein’s Daily on Healthcare, compiled by Washington Examiner Executive Editor Philip Klein (@philipaklein), Senior Healthcare Writer Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL), and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). Email [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list.

Facebook considers burying anti-vaccine posts after pressure from Congress. Facebook is considering making it harder to find anti-vaccine content in its search results and excluding organizations pushing anti-vaccine messages from groups it recommends to users after a lawmaker suggested those kinds of steps, according to a person familiar with the company’s possible response. Facebook is aware of the potential danger of the so-called anti-vax movement, and the person familiar with the company’s plans said the company appreciated U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff backing vaccinations. A company representative declined to speak on the record about possible anti-vax policies but said Facebook is working to curb the spread of “health-related misinformation.” “We’ve taken steps to reduce the distribution of health-related misinformation on Facebook, but we know we have more to do,” the representative said. “We’re currently working on additional changes that we’ll be announcing soon.” Platforms operated by the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social media giant and search-engine provider Google have displayed and sometimes recommended posts and sites that discourage parents from obtaining immunization shots for their children, which many say increase the threat posed by highly infectious but preventable diseases. Last week, Schiff wrote to both companies to suggest that they make it harder for people to see those posts. Without adequate vaccination, diseases such as measles, which caused the deaths of hundreds of Americans a year, and rubella, which killed 15,000 U.S. residents in 1921 — can return. In late January, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency after 26 cases of measles in the state.

Patients’ greatest roadblocks: travel and wait times. Wait and travel times for healthcare services on average are higher than those of any other professional service, from vehicle repair to getting a driver’s license, according to a new study released today by the nonprofit research and consulting group Altarum. The industry has failed to lower travel and wait times over the 11 years between 2006 and 2017. In the study, Altarum found that time spent traveling and waiting for medical care exceeded the time spent actually receiving care by about 50 percent. The value of work or leisure time foregone in order to travel to or wait for healthcare professionals amounts to about $89 billion annually. Everyone, rich or poor, suffers lengthy waiting times. Those in poor health, however, spend on average 37.6 percent more time per day than healthy individuals on health-related activities, partly because of the time they spend traveling. Corwin Rhyan, the study’s author, said that high travel and wait times impede individuals from getting access to quality healthcare, making it even harder for those in poor health to get better. Rhyan advocates for greater use of in-home and tele-healthcare, which would do away with the burden of traveling and would simplify scheduling and paperwork.

Google to show users where to drop off unused pills. Google Maps is working with federal agencies to create a tool that will show people where they can drop off prescription drugs they haven’t used. The company is starting with 3,500 locations in seven states but will be spreading elsewhere. The tool is mainly aimed at fighting the opioid crisis, which claimed the lives of 47,600 people in 2017. Roughly half of people who get hooked on prescription painkillers don’t get them from their doctor but from friends and family members. Under Google’s new tool, people can find the drop-off locations by typing “drug drop off near me” or “medication disposal near me.” Most of the locations are pharmacies, hospitals, or government buildings. Companies such as CVS Health and Walgreens are participating, and the tool is run with the support of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

FDA moves to require higher SPFs and clearer labels on sunscreen. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it will move to make sunscreen manufacturers display clearer labels as well as increase SPF values from 50+ to 60+, with a max SPF of 80. If a formula contains an SPF above 60 but below 80, the manufacturer must submit a New Drug Application. With this measure, the FDA will be able to regulate companies that claim their product will offer the best possible protection by promoting higher SPF. Of the 14 active ingredients in sunscreen formulas, only two are FDA approved. The administration has called upon manufacturers to supply safety data for the remaining 12 ingredients for full evaluation. Labels on sunscreens will clearly display ingredients as well as call attention to the risk of sun damage. The measure encourages transparency for the consumer and proof of efficacy.

Democrats call on Trump administration to stop approving Medicaid work requirements. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, and House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., wrote a letter to the Trump administration Thursday asking for an end to the approval of Medicaid work requirements, saying they “threaten to impede access to critical care for millions of Americans.” They pointed to the experience in Arkansas, where more than 18,000 people were kicked off Medicaid because they didn’t work, volunteer, or take classes for 80 hours a month as required.

Ernst signals GOP leadership will prioritize drug pricing. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who is now the fourth-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, has co-sponsored four bills aimed at clamping down on prescription drug prices. She has co-sponsored the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act, the Creating and Restoring Equal Access To Equivalent Samples Act, the Right Rebate Act, and the Preserving Access to Cost Effective Drugs Act. “In this Congress, I’m working with lawmakers across the aisle on legislation to increase competition in the marketplace, to drive down prescription drug prices, and to close loopholes that allow bad actors to take advantage of the system, Ernst said in a statement.

AMA calls for more work to fight doctor burnout. The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest doctor group, is calling on leaders in the healthcare industry to combat the rate of physician burnout through policy changes, better technology, research, and better support. While the group praised progress in the area, pointed to a study from Mayo Clinic Proceedings showing a modest decline in burnout rate in 2017 from its peak in 2014, it said more needed to be done. “The tide has not yet turned on the physician burnout crisis,” AMA President Barbara McAneny said in a statement. “Despite improvements in the last three years, burnout levels remain much higher among physicians than other U.S. workers, a gap inflamed as the bureaucracy of modern medicine interferes with patient care and inflicts a toll on the well-being of physicians. There is a strong economic  and public health case for prioritizing a comprehensive strategy to reduce the work-induced syndrome of burnout and caregiver fatigue that is pushing physicians out of medicine. An energized, engaged, and resilient physician workforce is essential to achieving national health goals.”

RUNDOWN

Politico Utah officials moved fast to shrink voter-approved Medicaid expansion, documents show

Stat Purdue’s Sackler embraced plan to conceal OxyContin’s strength from doctors, sealed deposition shows

The New York Times Measles outbreak: Your questions answered

The Topeka Capital-Journal Kansas Senate passes Farm Bureau health-plan bill, dodges Medicaid expansion

Los Angeles Daily News LA hides healthcare costs for individual employees in apparent violation of state law

CNBC Amazon exec says A.I. in health care is finally moving beyond hypeNashville Public Radio Tennessee Republicans unveil healthcare plan focusing on ‘free-market concepts’