Happy Friday! Today is the day I鈥檓 going to challenge you to stretch those creative muscles and enter our Halloween Health Care Haiku Competition. Yes, it is going to be exactly as awesome as it sounds! The entries are already pouring in, check out the rules here. To kick things off, KHN鈥檚 very own talented and brilliant haiku master-in-residence Stephanie Stapleton wrote this one: 鈥�Goblins wear white coats, and not much is spookier, than the health system.鈥�
Now on to what you might have missed this week.
Democrats packed themselves onto a crowded stage this week for what already feels like the umpteenth debate but was only the fourth or the sixth (depending if you count the two-nighters separately).
Going by the amount of heat she took, it seems safe to say Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is considered by her rivals to be one of the race鈥檚 front-runners. With that spotlight, though, comes a target on her back.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) 鈥� who are both vying to become the alternative for former Vice President Joe Biden鈥檚 moderate voters 鈥� were particularly sharp in their demands for Warren to reckon with the costs of 鈥淢edicare for All.鈥� The question of how she would pay for such a plan has been one she鈥檚 been managing to dodge, but her rivals tried to hold her feet to the fire on Tuesday. 鈥淎t least Bernie鈥檚 being honest,鈥� Klobuchar said at one point in reference to Sen. Bernie Sanders鈥� (I-Vt.) admission that the proposal will raise taxes.
FWIW: Despite being pressed to answer the direct question: 鈥淲ill you raise taxes on the middle class to pay for it? Yes or no?鈥� Warren still didn鈥檛 let herself be pinned down. Something that, the day after the debate, Biden jumped on as well.
Health care is possibly the broadest (or at least one of the broader) topics that the candidates could talk about, and yet all it seems they鈥檝e been discussing at the debates is health care coverage. Friends, you are not alone if you鈥檙e frustrated by not seeing a more diverse range of questions. Even Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was fed-up enough to redirect the conversation toward abortion rights and reproductive health. Considering it鈥檚 such a viscerally hot-topic at the moment, the omission seems glaring.
But it鈥檚 not just reproductive health that the moderators could ask about. Axios came up with at least four great questions that I think a lot of people in the field would like to have answered. Like: Many of the things that make people sick are not the fault of bad health care 鈥� they鈥檙e social factors like poverty, low-quality housing, etc. Should it be part of the health care system鈥檚 job to address them? (Hint, hint moderators.)
Don鈥檛 get me wrong, there were a few other health-related moments beyond 鈥淢edicare for All鈥� bickering鈥� including one of the more heated exchanges of the night. Beto O鈥橰ourke said Democrats need to be courageous in their policies and not be scared of polls, to which Buttigieg responded: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 need lessons from you on courage.鈥�
Meanwhile, amid all this focus on 鈥淢edicare for All,鈥� a new study counsels that there are many paths toward universal coverage鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 have to be 鈥淢edicare for All鈥� or bust.
A big decision on the constitutionality of the health law is expected to drop sometime in the coming weeks. Although in theory, the Trump administration wants a certain outcome, if the court decides the ACA is unconstitutional, it could be a big ole headache for the White House heading into 2020. A ruling like that could not only foster confusion right around open enrollment, but also allow the Democrats to re-frame the health narrative in a way that could appeal to independent and moderate voters more than the current back and forth about 鈥淢edicare for All.鈥�
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) passed away this week at 68 from complications of longstanding health problems. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that she鈥檒l be renaming her signature drug pricing policy after Cummings as he was a long-time champion of reigning in such costs.
Some might remember that it was Cummings who took Martin Shkreli, of 鈥減harma bro鈥� fame鈥� to task at a hearing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not funny, Mr. Shkreli,鈥� Cummings said as Shkreli smirked. 鈥淧eople are dying, and they鈥檙e getting sicker and sicker.鈥�
In a high-stakes, eleventh hour gambit Judge Dan A. Polster is summoning the drug CEOs involved in the massive, nationwide opioid trial to try to agree to a massive $50 billion settlement. Although the talks center around the big players involved 鈥� like AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson 鈥� plaintiffs鈥� lawyers say they hope such a deal would have a domino effect on the remaining defendants.
Although the reports seem hopeful, those familiar with the talks say that the cities and counties are hesitant because they鈥檙e worried they鈥檙e not going to see their fair share of the money.
(This is as of press time! It鈥檚 happening today, so there could be developments depending when your read this鈥�ah, the excitement of live news!)
In a sea of heartbreaking stories on the opioid epidemic, this one stands out. The Washington Post took a look at West Virginia鈥檚 crisis and how court victories against drug companies aren鈥檛 really the panacea they鈥檙e sometimes made out to be.
These two court stories feel like they happened ages ago, but really it was just last Friday post-Breeze. If you caught them happening in real time, there鈥檚 nothing to update, but I wanted to make sure I included them for anyone who wasn鈥檛 glued to their computer on a Friday evening.
This binge-worthy story needs no other introduction than the one ProPublica already wrote for it, so I鈥檓 going to quote them: 鈥淲elcome to Coffeyville, Kansas, where the judge has no law degree, debt collectors get a cut of the bail, and Americans are watching their lives 鈥� and liberty 鈥� disappear in the pursuit of medical debt collection.鈥�
And, on a related note, if you鈥檝e missed my colleague Jay Hancock鈥檚 coverage of UVA鈥檚 lawsuits against their patients, make sure to check out all the developments here.
Meanwhile, in the miscellaneous story file this week:
鈥� Melody Petersen of LAT won the holy cannoli award this week with her investigation into the practice of harvesting body parts鈥攁nd the coroners that go along with it. My face when reading the entirety of the article was an exact replica of the 鈥渟hocked and distressed鈥� emoji.
鈥� Deaths, poor quality of care, and other problems have absolutely plagued the Indian Health Service for years, and Native Americans are sick of it. They want to take over running their own health care system, but the task would be daunting.
鈥� You can鈥檛 swing a cat these days without hitting some new CBD product. It seems inevitable that that kind of lucrative, thriving marketplace would draw pharma鈥檚 attention. Here鈥檚 a look at what companies are developing new drugs to tap into those profits. (PSA: but don鈥檛 actually swing any cats, please.)
鈥� If you want a fentanyl drug ring story that reads like a thriller, check this article out.
That鈥檚 it from me! Have a great weekend and don鈥檛 forget to