Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Advocates Aren't Satisfied With Juul's New Marketing Campaign That Shifts Away Targeting Teens
The young models and the candy-colored graphics that helped propel Juul to the top of the e-cigarette market are gone. In their place are people like Carolyn, a 54-year-old former smoker featured in new TV commercials touting Juul as an alternative for middle-age smokers. "I don't think anyone including myself thought that I could make the switch," Carolyn says, sitting in a suburban living room as piano music quietly plays in the background. (Perrone, 5/9)
In other news from the health care industry 鈥�
The nation's largest insurer, UnitedHealthcare, has launched a nationwide bundled-payment model for maternity care, closely following the lead of Cigna and Humana, which have had the option since early last year. The Minnetonka, Minn.-based payer announced Thursday that its new bundled-payment program already has two provider groups participating, and plans to add as many as 20 by year-end. (Castellucci, 5/9)
Johnson & Johnson failed to get 2,400 state-court cancer lawsuits tied to its baby powder immediately transferred to a federal court in Delaware, where it could forge a single defense strategy. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Wilmington dismissed J&J鈥檚 request on Thursday, noting that the world鈥檚 largest maker of health care products is partly responsible for the boomlet of litigation over its transfer strategy that it now characterizes as a crisis. (Feeley and Fisk, 5/9)