Highlighted Healthcare Studies

News At A Glance

National State of the Union speech included some healthcare points– Last night’s speech contained a few healthcare-related points: (1) the need to reduce pharmaceutical costs is a priority, (2) the administration aims to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, (3) the Right-to-try legislation is underway, and (4) the opioid crisis is still occurring. Reports highlight potential conflict of interest between public health agency and Coca-Cola– A report in Milbank Quarterly says that Coca-Cola had been exchanging emails with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 2011 and 2016 with information that could be a potential conflict of interest. In one exchange, an official from the CDC allegedly tried to leverage their position to request an employment opportunity at Coca-Cola for a colleague. The authors of the report stress the need for transparency, especially as it relates to relationships between public health agencies and food industries. Some researchers find that e-cigarettes are a more effective harm reduction technique than nicotine patches or gum– A new research study finds that e-cigarettes may be more effective at helping a smoker quit than nicotine patches or gum. The researchers randomly assigned 900 middle-aged smokers to various cessation strategies and tracked their progress for one year. The study found that fifty percent more of the participants who were smoke-free by the end of the study used e-cigarettes rather than nicotine replacement products. The study was sponsored by the British government and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study did not address the fact that e-cigarettes may act as a gateway to cigarette use among youngpeople; this has been a major reason for the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) crackdown of e-cigarette companies.Department of Veterans Affairs releases new rules to increase number of veterans eligible for private care– In the new rules, veterans who have to wait more than 20 days for care or drive more than 30 minutes for a VA appointment will be eligible to receive care through a private healthcare provider. In comparison, the prior rule required veterans to wait 30 days and had a 40-mile drive in order to qualify. The officials estimate that 2.1 million more veterans could potentially be eligible. Opponents believe this rule will increase the costs and spending on care by the VA. The department is currently accepting public comments.

February 6, 2019 | Issue 47

1. Study in the Journal of the AmericanHeart Association estimates that therewill be 7,000 additional cases ofcongenital heart defects (CHDs)between 2025 and 2035 due to risingtemperatures as a result of climatechange.

2. Study in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association (JAMA) reports thatwhen switching elderly patients withdiabetes from new insulin drugs to lessexpensive older insulin products, thecompany decreased the number ofpatients reaching the Medicare coveragegap by 27.7 percentage points whilemaintaining a similar quality of care.

3. Study in the Journal of Parenteral andEnteral Nutrition finds that nearly 33percent of patients in over 245 UShospitals are at risk of malnutritionwhile they are hospitalized.

4. Study in Health Affairs finds that whencomparing claims on four high-volumeinpatient services from 2007 to 2014, theprices for hospitals grew 42 percentwhile the prices for physicians grew 18percent.

Healthcare

State of Tobacco Control Report 2019

The American Lung Association released its national report and ranked states according to where they stand on various tobacco prevention categories such as level of taxes, coverage of quitting service, and minimum legal age. States like AK, CA, HI, ME, and MA had the highest scores while MS, MO, TX, and VA had the lowest scores.

California

California Future Health Workforce Commission outlined the need for $3 billion to be spent towards increasing the healthcare workforce in California that is currently experiencing a shortage– The Governor of California has taken measures to expand access to healthcare. This will require an increased workforce to be able to provide care. The Commission’s recommendations include more loan forgiveness programs, expansion of residency slots for physicians, and a proposal to allow nurse practitioners to work without physician oversight.

San Francisco’s attempt to place warning labels on soda advertisements is blocked by US Circuit Court of Appeals– In 2015, the city of San Francisco passed a law that would require soda companies to have warnings on advertisements within city limits that state that sugary beverages can lead to obesity and other diseases when consumed in excess. The federal court said that such an act would be a violation of protected commercial speech, especially because the law requires the companies to cover 20 percent of the ad space with the warning.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) lays out restrictions and incentives to help clean up air in San Joaquin Valley– San Joaquin Valley has the worst particle pollution in California. The recommendations such as the restrictions on heavy-truck emissions and oil refineries are expected to help reverse some of the damage.

Six cases of HIV have been confirmed in an outbreak from intravenous drug use in Boston– The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been working in coordination with the Boston Public Health Commission and health care providers in the area to ensure that patients are being asked about risky behavior and tested for HIV. The departments are particularly cautious after dealing with a cluster of HIV outbreaks from 2015 to 2018 that caused 153 people to get infected. The state recently doubled the number of field epidemiologists to perform outreach and monitoring.

Report finds industrial facilities in Texas caused millions of pounds of unauthorized air pollution in 2017– A research division of a pro-environment group in Texas found that 275 companies caused the release of 63 million pounds of hazardous pollutants. The number indicates an increase of 27 percent from 2016. The companies blame unplanned equipment malfunctions or other unexpected errors as the cause of these “emission events.” The report also indicated that the regulatory agencies were only fining 0.05 percent of what could be fined.

Massachusetts investing in student housing for homeless students– The state plans to fund a pilot program at four state universities with an initial investment of $120,000. State estimates indicate that 13 percent of community college students and 10 percent of public four-year college/university students in Massachusetts were homeless in 2017. The requirement for students who wish to partake are that they are under 25 years of age, enrolled full time, and in good academic standing. The population of college-age students in the state has been declining.

New York passes six new firearm control bills– In 2013, the state of New York passed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Act (SAFE) in response to the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Six years, later, the state passed six more pieces of legislation. Among them is the Red Flag law that allows a judge to remove somebody’s firearm if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others around them. The other bills further banned bump stocks, allowed the state to move forward with a buy-back program, extended the amount of time that is allowed for the processing of a background check, and banned non-law enforcement officials from carrying firearms in schools.

State Attorney (SA) of Baltimore declares that she will not be prosecuting marijuana possession cases even if a person has a criminal record– The SA stated that she doesn’t find any public safety value in prosecuting such cases that lead to further erosion of trust among communities of color. She hopes to divert those resources to investigating homicides; there is nearly one homicide case every day, but only 27 percent of the investigations have resulted in arrests.

Utah lawmakers seek to limit a ballot initiative that expanded Medicaid in 2018– The bill to decrease Medicaid eligibility to those earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty line as opposed to 138 percent passed the Utah Senate. Additionally, the bill contains work requirement provisions. The state is hoping to acquire a waiver from the federal government. In other Medicaid-related news: (1) a report finds that if Tennessee successfully enacts the work requirements, 68,000 people may lose their Medicaid coverage; and (2) Kentucky’s plans to roll out the “community engagement” requirements for Medicaid coverage have been delayed again.

Other States

Oral Health

Hunger as a Health

Issue

Mental/Behavioral

Health

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Newsbytes Relevant to Our Strategic Priorities

CVS and Walgreens will be adding oral health services in new pilot program– CVS is partnering with SmileDirectClub to provide 3D scans and create and fit customers with invisible braces in six of its store. In one of its locations, Walgreens opened an Aspen Dental clinic that offers oral health services such as cleanings and crown placements. The company plans to open another by the end of this year. Walgreens’ targeted demographics are senior citizens.

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Report

To bring focus to our work, the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership has identified three strategic priorities: oral health, mental health and hunger as a health issue. This segment highlights news articles relevant to these priorities.

Supermarket chain Kroger creates Zero Hunger Zero Waste Innovation Fund– The company has invested $1 million to distribute as grants for projects that are designed to end hunger and eliminate waste, specifically through emerging technologies and innovative ideas. The company will accept applications until March 4, 2019. Ideas will be judged based on their positive potential impact, ease of implementation, location, ability to be measured, and the ability to be scaled.

Studies finds that mindfulness may help entrepreneurs overcome exhaustion from lack of sleep– The findings were published in the Journal of Business Venturing. One study examined 105 entrepreneurs and the other consisted of 329 entrepreneurs. The studies found that that 10 minutes of mindfulness every day confers the same benefits as 44 minutes of sleep. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between the number and length of mindfulness exercises and levels of self-reported exhaustion.

38.8% Percentage of Nevada adults who reported that they did not have a personal physician.

A KFF report utilized data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to determine which states had the greatest and least percentage of adults who did not have access to a personal physician. The average percent of US adults who lacked a healthcare provider was 22.5 percent. Below are the highest and lowest ranked states and California.

24.5% Percentage of California adults who reported that they did not have a personal physician.

12.2% Percentage of Rhode Island adults who reported that they did not have a personal physician.