What We're Reading: ACA Replacement Plan; Mystery Fungus; Protesters Slam FDA on Opioids

Trump Administration Plans to Release Affordable Care Act Replacement Plan

Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff, says the Trump administration will release a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act “fairly shortly,” CNN reported. HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma joined White House aides and administration officials at Camp David on Saturday to outline the next moves for Trump’s healthcare proposal. Topics discussed included lowering drug prices, individual health insurance marketplaces, and messaging strategies. Mulvaney told Fox News Sunday believes the plan under development will provide GOP candidates with a plan they can discuss with voters while campaigning.

Mysterious Drug-Resistant Fungus Causing Issues for Hospitals

Infections caused by the fungus Candida auris, which affects people with weakened immune systems and is resistant to antifungal medications, have been quietly spreading around the world for over 5 years, The New York Times reported. The fungus was recently reported in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois after causing serious issues in Venezuela, Spain, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, and South Africa. The invasive fungus was found everywhere in the room of a patient who passed away at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital from a related infection after being hospitalized for 90 days. The hospital required special cleaning equipment and had to replace floor and ceiling tiles to fully eliminate the fungus.

Protesters Criticize FDA Over Opioid Crisis

Nearly 100 protesters gathered Friday in Washington, DC, to protest Scott Gottlieb, MD, on his final Day as FDA commissioner with an 800-pound heroin spoon stamped with the FDA’s logo, STAT News reported. The group called for the FDA to stop approving opioids and urged the agency to shift its focus towards encouraging the development of more drugs to treat addiction. The protesters’ chant echoed “200 dead every day, we blame the FDA.” However, the group delivered the spoon to the HHS headquarters, the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, DC, not the FDA complex in Silver Spring, Maryland.