What Caught Our Eye: Health Care Repeal News; John McCain’s Diagnosis & Debate Over Cancer “Battle” Words; Drug Pricing; Cancer Screenings

“Analysis: GOP Failure to Replace the Health Law Was Years in the Making”

You really could see this coming if you looked hard enough. My latest: https://t.co/j0As7wf0pn

— julie rovner (@jrovner) July 19, 2017

By Julie Rovner, Kaiser Health News — Seven years of Republican vows to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act came to a crashing halt Tuesday, when it became clear that the Senate could not muster the necessary votes for any of three separate proposals that have been under consideration.
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“Podcast: What The Health? Senate Health Bill, Mostly Dead?”

confused by all the health care news this week? Our podcast (w/@sarahkliff, @sangerkatz, and @StephArmour1) can help https://t.co/trxljkMeqd

— julie rovner (@jrovner) July 21, 2017

From Kaiser Health News — The news about the Senate’s health care bill this week was hard to follow and seemingly changed by the minute. Check out Julie Rovner’s “What the Health?” podcast for a great explainer on where the bill stands. Her special guests this week are Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times.
Listen/download the episode »

“How hospitals got richer off Obamacare”

I … worked on this series for a year … and now I’m tweeting it out. How hospitals got richer off Obamacare. https://t.co/dZk63XlFTV

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) July 17, 2017

By Dan Diamond, Politico — A decade after the nation’s top hospitals used all their advertising and lobbying clout to keep their tax-exempt status, pointing to their vast givebacks to their communities, they have seen their revenue soar while cutting back on the very givebacks they were touting, according to a POLITICO analysis.
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“Grappling with Cancers like John McCain’s Glioblastoma that Break all the Rules”

Grappling with cancers like John McCain’s glioblastoma that break all the rules https://t.co/3Rfh7N7Sw2 via @statnews

— Fred Hutch/UW OCOE (@End_Disparities) July 21, 2017

By David F. Arons, Stat News — Arizona Sen. John McCain’s recent diagnosis of the hard-to-treat cancer glioblastoma stands in contrast to recent media reports that paint an optimistic picture of cancer treatment in America. A sampling of headlines includes “Cancer survival rates at all-time high” and “Cancer death rates continue to decrease in the United States.
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“He’s a Fighter”

"In cancers like this, the idea that a person’s survival is affected by their integrity cuts both ways." https://t.co/dPatban73C

— Adrienne LaFrance (@AdrienneLaF) July 20, 2017

By James Hamblin, The Atlantic — Eighty-year-old Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. The cancer that is being described in news reports as it is in medical texts, as an “aggressive brain tumor.”

The weight of that diagnosis hasn’t registered in all quarters. For the average man his age, the tumor means the odds of surviving five years are in the single digits. There are outliers, but a bet on many years of life for McCain is vanishing. Still, the message from past and present American leaders has been that McCain is no average man. He is a fighter.
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“Stop Saying John McCain will Beat Cancer Because He’s a Fighter”

Stop saying John McCain will beat cancer because he's a fighter https://t.co/dZfpiMmO5Y by @philipaklein pic.twitter.com/YX1D0Hymra

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 21, 2017

By Philip A. Klein, Washington Examiner — The news that Sen. John McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer has been greeted with a deserved bipartisan outpouring of sympathy. But in their efforts to honor the legacy and fighting spirit of an American hero, many well-wishers are reacting in a way that is counterproductive and unhelpful to those faced with a horrible disease.
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“Congress Squares Off Over Drug Pricing and A Controversial Drug Discount Program”

The controversial 340B drug discount program for hospitals came under fire at a Congressional hearing https://t.co/qh1VOYwAbl via @sjtribble

— Kaiser Health News (@KHNews) July 18, 2017

By Sarah Jane Tribble, Kaiser Health News — House Democrats are calling foul on Republican assertions that cuts to a little-known discount drug program will eventually reduce skyrocketing drug prices.
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“Fewer Cancer Cases, More Cancer Deaths in Rural America”

Fewer Cancer Cases, More #Cancer Deaths in Rural America https://t.co/NOtI9U2jYR pic.twitter.com/hiBCFqNi1P

— Healthline (@Healthline) July 20, 2017

By Ann Pietrangelo, Healthline — …A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) details cancer incidence and cancer death disparities in rural areas compared with urban areas.
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“With Cancer Screening, Better Safe than Sorry?”

With Cancer Screening, Better Safe Than Sorry? https://t.co/n7Mc48rOfW

— NYTimes Well (@nytimeswell) July 19, 2017

By Jane E. Brody, New York Times Well Blog — Doctors and medical organizations often advise that past a certain age, older adults can forgo various screening tests for cancer. But many patients, no matter how old or sick they may be are reluctant to abandon tests they’ve long been told can be lifesaving.
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