Billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's philanthropic arm announced plans on Tuesday to spend $160 million over 3 years in an attempt to ban flavored e-cigarettes in the U.S., saying tobacco companies "are preying on America's youth."
Why it matters: Though Bloomberg Philanthropies has backed efforts to curb tobacco use around the world before, this is reportedly the organization's first time financing an anti-tobacco initiative in the U.S., per the Washington Post. The pledge follows state and federal investigations into multiple deaths from an unknown lung illness linked to vaping.
Roughly 27.5 million people, or 8.5% of the U.S. population, had no health insurance at some point in 2018, according to new figures from the Census Bureau.
Why it matters: Last year's uninsured rate increased from 7.9% in 2017 — the first time the uninsured rate has gone up since the Affordable Care Act has been in effect.
A draft of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing plan obtained by Bloomberg Law confirms that she's working on an aggressive proposal that would give the government vast new authority.
Between the lines: The proposal would give Medicare the authority to negotiate the prices of 250 drugs, limit how high these prices could be based on how much other countries pay, and establish harsh penalties for drugmakers who refuse to comply.
Air ambulances have become a lucrative business over the last few decades, at patients' expense, fueled by private equity and aided by the industry's relationships with providers, John Hopkins' Marty Makary writes in a new book out today.
Why it matters: The rise of the air ambulance industry has resulted in massive surprise medical bills and a spike in unnecessary use.
U.S. measles cases have been dropping over the past couple of weeks, with 7 cases reported the week ending Sept. 5. Only 2 of those cases were new illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday.
Why it matters: Most cases are in unvaccinated people, whose infections often originated from travelers from countries where "large measles outbreaks are occurring," CDC said. And while the numbers here have dropped, it only takes one unvaccinated group for the extremely contagious virus to establish a new foothold.
The FDA sent a warning letter to Juul on Monday threatening fines and/or product seizure for misleadingly marketing its vaping technology — especially in its outreach to youths — as less harmful than cigarettes.
Why it matters: After a spate of respiratory illness reports, the CDC issued a formal warning last month against the broad use of e-cigarettes and recommended that users avoid buying bootlegged vaping products. State attorneys general are also targeting the vaping startup through investigations and lawsuits designed to prevent youths from using the product.
