Health Headlines for Tuesday, May 16

New York county sues Purdue, J&J over opioid marketing

Reuters

A county in New York state has sued Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and other drugmakers, accusing them of engaging in fraudulent marketing that played down the risks of prescription opioid painkillers, leading to a drug epidemic.

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Rising costs, Trump’s Obamacare repeal vow signal big rate hikes for N.Y. state insurance market

New York Daily News

The state’s health insurers are submitting their proposed rate hikes for the individual market — and an expert predicts a significant increase.

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Secret Republican Senate Talks Are Shaping Health Care Legislation

NPR

The Senate is negotiating its own legislation to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act in secret talks with senators hand-picked by party leaders and with no plans for committee hearings to publicly vet the bill.

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Red Meat Increases Risk of Dying From 9 Diseases

New York Times

The more red meat you eat, the greater your risk of dying from one of nine diseases, according to a new report.

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Bipartisan bill will be reintroduced to force pharma to justify price hikes

Stat News

A bipartisan group of lawmakers will re-introduce a bill on Tuesday that would require drug makers to justify their pricing and provide a breakdown of their expenses before raising prices on some medicines.

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Texas Seeks Medicaid Money It Gave Up Over Planned Parenthood Ban

New York Times

Four years after Texas gave up millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funds so it could ban Planned Parenthood from participating in a family planning program for low-income women, the state is asking the Trump administration for the money back.

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De Blasio’s war on cigarettes should focus on smugglers too

New York Post

Retailers throughout New York have been getting illegal kickbacks from some cigarette distributors desperate to pick up business in a tough market, sources tell me.

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Many NY hospitals perform too many C-sections for low-risk births, report says

Syracuse Post Standard

Crouse Hospital has the lowest cesarean section rate for low-risk deliveries of any big U.S. hospital, according to an investigation by Consumer Reports.

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Biotech company Athenex to seek $100 million in initial public offering

Buffalo News

The Buffalo biotech company Athenex is seeking to raise $100 million in an initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange to help pay for its work to develop potential cancer drugs.

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GOP bill would cut low-cost NY health plan

Democrat & Chronicle

A low-cost health insurance option used by more than 600,000 New York residents would shut down if the Republican health care plan becomes law.

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