Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
GUIDELINES IN THE WORKS FOR EATING DURING PREGNANCY: The U.S. government is preparing to dish out more advice than ever before about how women should eat during pregnancy.
Scientists appointed by the government are reviewing questions and looking at studies about weight gain and the effects of supplements, beverages, and seafood. They’re evaluating whether eating certain foods during pregnancy will cause a child to be more prone to allergies later in life and how eating patterns could make pregnant women more likely to develop gestational diabetes or high blood pressure.
The latest focus comes as a result of the 2014 Farm Bill, which mandated that officials lay out more specific dietary guidelines for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.
The new edition will come at a time when many U.S. women are in poor health when they become pregnant. Because most people living in the U.S. are overweight, and because half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, many women are above the recommended weight when they conceive. Data show half of U.S. women gain too much weight during pregnancy, an issue the guidelines could help draw attention to.
“An increasing number of pregnant women in this country have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease,” said Dr. Christopher Zahn, vice president of practice activities for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “The impact of diet quality on maternal health is a public health concern and an area in which there is a knowledge gap with respect to the correlations between diet and maternal health outcomes.”
That knowledge gap is something that scientists looking at these questions will need to contend with. The scientists will issue a report to the government next year, but because there’s a shortage of studies about pregnancy, they may not be able to answer all of the outstanding questions they’ve been asked.
Read more from my latest magazine piece.
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.
ENROLLMENT DROPS WITHOUT AUTO-RENEW: STUDY: Doing away with the auto-renew option for health insurance in the Obamacare marketplaces is associated with a 30 percentage point decrease in enrollment, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. To arrive at their findings, researchers used data from California and assessed what happened to people who didn’t have an option to renew because their insurers left the market.
In 2019, 3.4 million of the 11.4 million people who enrolled in the Obamacare marketplaces had been auto-enrolled. The Trump administration has asked for feedback in getting rid of this feature. The auto-re-enrollment appears to help people stay in coverage, but when people actively shop around they tend to get a better deal.
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PREMIUMS SET TO DROP: Average Medicare Advantage premiums will fall by 14% in 2020, to $23 a month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. The cost will be the lowest it has been since 2007. Enrollment next year is expected to increase to 24.4 million from its current enrollment of 22.2 million.
56 HEALTH GROUPS JOIN FORCES TO ENCOURAGE TRUMP TO IMPLEMENT E-CIGARETTE RESTRICTIONS: A total of 56 public health groups have joined together to push President Trump to quickly enact his plan to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarette products. Among the groups are the American College of Cardiology, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The groups cite data from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which says youth e-cigarette use has climbed from 20.8% in 2018 to 27.5% in 2019, meaning about 5 million teens nationwide use e-cigarettes now.
The House Oversight’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy is holding a hearing on the issue right now. Tune in. There’s a second House hearing happening Wednesday in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, where Dr. Ned Sharpless, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration, will testify.
THOUSANDS OF VETS HAVE DIED BY SUICIDE ANNUALLY FOR ALMOST A DECADE: About 6,000 veterans have lost their lives to suicide annually between 2008 and 2017, according to the Veterans Affairs’ 2019 suicide prevention report. The suicide rate among veterans, the report finds, is 1.5 times that of civilians. The VA identified some major contributing factors that drive veterans to take their own lives, especially homelessness and major isolation, particularly among those who are widowed or divorced.
The VA has been under scrutiny for years: Deaths of recently discharged veterans from VA facilities have prompted questions as to how VA providers care for their patients both during and after their stays. A few examples close to DC: In three deaths investigated by NBC 4 Washington earlier this year, patients’ families alleged substandard care and follow-up led to family members’ deaths. A 2018 VA Office of Inspector General report found deficiencies at the D.C. VA Medical Center, including a lack of clean storage facilities for supplies and equipment, protected patient health information stored in unsecured areas, and a failure to accurately track and trend patient safety data.
AZAR TELLS UNITED NATIONS THERE’S NO INTERNATIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar challenged other United Nations members Monday over healthcare terminology, saying that the verbiage promoted abortion.
“There is no international right to an abortion, and these terms [in a UN declaration] should not be used to promote pro-abortion policies and measures,” Azar said a U.N. conference on universal health coverage.
Azar said the U.S. does not accept the U.N.’s official declaration terms, including “sexual and reproductive health” and “reproductive rights.” Azar said that including this language to apply to all U.N. member nations implies that there is “an international right to abortion.”
The U.S. joined 18 other nations, including Brazil, Poland, and Iraq, in signing a document saying that abortion is not a right established under the “ambiguous” language surrounded reproductive rights.
Trump echoed Azar’s remarks in his own address to the General Assembly Tuesday morning: “Americans will never tire of defending innocent life… We are aware that many United Nations projects have attempted to assert a global right to taxpayer-funded abortion on demand right up until the moment of delivery,” he said. “Global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life.”
MEASLES CASES ARE HIGH, BUT THE COUNT HELD STEADY FOR TWO WEEKS: The number of confirmed measles cases as of Sept. 19 was 1,241, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the same as that number confirmed on September 5. It’s still the highest number of cases since 1992, but the standstill that has remained for 14 days offers some hope that the outbreak is slowing.
The Rundown
The Wall Street Journal “The bells start going off.” How doctors uncovered the vaping crisis.
KETV Omaha Comparison shopping for healthcare? Online tool isn’t helpful, say hospitals
CNN Second vaping-related death in Kansas brings nationwide total to 9
Chicago Tribune In search of age-friendly health care, finding room for improvement
Kaiser Health News As off-label use spreads, supplies of niche drugs and patients’ patience grow short
North Carolina Health News Foster care case numbers continue to climb in NC, as opioid crisis affects families
Calendar
TUESDAY | Sept. 24
Sept. 22-26. AHIP National Conference on Medicare, Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles. Agenda.
Sept. 24-26. Atlantic Festival. Agenda.
10 a.m. 2154 Rayburn. Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy hearing on “Don’t Vape: Examining the Outbreak of Lung Disease and CDC’s Urgent Warning Not to Use E-Cigarettes.” Tune in.
WEDNESDAY | Sept. 25
10 a.m. 2123 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on “Sounding the Alarm: The Public Health Threats of E-cigarettes.” Details.
10:30 a.m. 2322 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health hearing on “Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable: Legislation to Negotiate a Better Deal for Americans.” Details.
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 562. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on “Promoting Healthy Aging: Living Your Best Life Long Into Your Golden Years.” Details.
THURSDAY | Sept. 26
2 p.m. 2175 Rayburn. House Committee on Energy and Labor’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing on “Making Health Care More Affordable: Lowering Drug Prices and Increasing Transparency.” Details.
FRIDAY | Sept. 27
Noon. Hart 216. Alliance for Health Policy event on “Unpacking Policy Options to Promote Prescription Drug Affordability.” Details.
