Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Nebraska Rushed Medicaid Work Rules. Then a Cancer Patient Was Told He’d Lost Coverage.
Nebraska budgeted $8.2 million for contractors to comply with Medicaid changes under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Health clinics and organizations advocating for poor and working-class Nebraskans say the rollout of Medicaid work requirements has been rife with problems.
The Ultimate Adulting Task: Signing Up for Health Insurance
Buying health insurance can be overwhelming, but there are people who can help you figure it out — free of charge. HealthQ sits in as one 22-year-old speaks with an “independent assister.”
When a Gun Owner Shows Early Signs of Dementia
Public health experts are finding ways to encourage firearm safety practices for older adults who own guns, especially when there are indications of cognitive decline.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
SICK WITH NOWHERE TO GO
Rural kids beware:
— Kathleen Lawlor
No hospital beds for you.
Try not to get sick.
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Note To Readers
The Morning Briefing will not be published tomorrow, Nov. 11, in honor of the Veterans Day holiday. Look for us again in your inbox Thursday.
Summaries Of The News:
Administration News
States Receive Second Installment Of Funds From Rural Health Transformation Program
Politico: States Get Another $10B For Rural Health As Far Bigger Medicaid Cuts Loom
The Trump administration on Monday announced a $10 billion disbursement divided among all 50 states to shore up struggling rural health care systems, with some states receiving millions more than last year and others getting millions less. “States have already put these resources to work bringing better care closer to home for their rural communities,” Mehmet Oz, the leader of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement, adding that his agency “looks forward to helping them build on that progress in the coming year.” (Ollstein, 11/9)
In other Trump administration news —
ProPublica: Firm Tied To Trump Sons Won Federal Funds To Screen For Ebola, Other Diseases
The Trump administration awarded a small biosecurity company nearly $40 million to screen for Ebola and other infectious diseases just months after a firm linked to President Donald Trump’s elder sons invested in its parent company, according to records and interviews. The contracts, one to screen for Ebola in several U.S. airports and the other to respond to disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are seven times the total value of government contracts the company had directly received before. (Lerner, Barry-Jester and Faturechi, 11/9)
The New York Times: Scientists Sue To Block Trump Administration Changes At National Science Foundation
American researchers and advocacy groups sued the National Science Foundation on Monday to halt the erosion of government funding for social sciences. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Massachusetts, seeks to block the N.S.F. from dismantling its social science funding division, known as the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. The division is “dedicated to understanding human behavior and improving people’s quality of life,” according to the science foundation’s website, and it typically funds research in topics ranging from brain mapping to economics. (Sella, 11/9)
Stat: BIO Sues Over Trump's GLOBE Drug Pricing Model For Medicare
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization is joining the legal fight against the Trump administration’s pilot program aimed at aligning drug prices in Medicare with prices charged in peer countries. (Wilkerson, 11/7)
Politico: Top RFK Jr. Ally Bashes Trump Admin After Quitting
Calley Means, former senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., torched now-former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and several of President Donald Trump’s top advisers, laying the blame at their feet for stalled progress on populist platforms like the Make America Healthy Again movement. (Haslett, Brown and Gardner, 11/6)
Health news from the Supreme Court —
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Seems Likely To Limit Prisoners’ Ability To Sue Over Claims Of Poor Medical Care
The Supreme Court appeared likely Monday to curtail lawsuits by federal inmates who claim they have received inadequate medical care from prison officials, which would further erode a legal precedent that has allowed people to hold federal law enforcement accountable for alleged constitutional violations for decades. The justices seem inclined to nix a lawsuit brought by Kekai Watanabe, a former inmate who alleged that a prison nurse failed to give him proper treatment after his tailbone was broken in a gang-related assault during a riot at the federal detention center in Honolulu. (Jouvenal, 11/9)
Bloomberg: Terror Suit Against Drugmakers Draws US Supreme Court Inquiry
The US Supreme Court asked the Trump administration for input on an appeal from pharmaceutical and medical-device companies that are trying to stop a lawsuit accusing them of helping to finance terrorist attacks in Iraq. The companies are seeking review of a ruling that let American terrorism victims sue the companies for allegedly paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure medical-supply contracts with the Iraqi Ministry of Health from 2004 to 2013. The victims say the money went to Jaysh al-Mahdi, a militant group that controlled the ministry. (Stohr, 11/9)
On gun ownership and mental health —
The Washington Post: ‘No Business Having A Gun’: Some ICE Recruits Had A Record Of Red Flags
A Post review of records exposed in a DHS hack found that some immigration officers quickly hired last year were involved in past misconduct or criminality. (Hesson, Sohyun Lee, Nakhlawi, Sacchetti and Schaffer, 11/10)
KFF Health News: When A Gun Owner Shows Early Signs Of Dementia
He was 72, a retired health administrator who lived alone near Seattle. Laura Prater, a firearms researcher at Ohio State, was interviewing him via Zoom. She’d administered a questionnaire that indicated he had mild cognitive impairment, which is often, but not always, a precursor to dementia. His doctor had also diagnosed him with depression. As part of a study of firearm safety for older adults, Prater asked if he kept a gun in his home. (Span, 11/10)
Elections
California Wealth Tax Intended To Defray Healthcare Costs Is Rejected By Voters
The New York Times: California Voters Reject Prop. 40 Billionaire Tax Measure
California voters rejected a billionaire tax, The Associated Press determined on Monday, rebuking a measure that would have created the nation’s first wealth tax by targeting the assets of residents with a net worth beyond $1 billion. Under the tax measure, Proposition 40, the state would have imposed a one-time, 5 percent tax on the personal assets of billionaires and devoted most of the revenue to health care. (Rosenhall, 11/10)
Los Angeles Times: Voters Approve Prop. 38 Medical Research Bond Measure
California voters have passed Proposition 38, authorizing the state to issue $8.4 billion in bonds to fund immunology and immunotherapy research aimed at curing and preventing certain chronic diseases. The measure, which the Associated Press called on Monday evening, requires at least $4.2 billion of the funds to be used for immunology research on cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. It also authorizes the state to enter into a partnership with an unnamed immunology and immunotherapy research institute selected by the California Department of Public Health, and to allocate half of the bond revenue to it. (Garcia, 11/9)
Election updates from Colorado and Wyoming —
The Colorado Sun: Proposition 135 Results: Ban On Gender-Related Surgeries For Youth Passes
Colorado voters approved Proposition 135, a measure banning certain gender-related surgeries for minors, following a campaign that featured debates about medical independence and appropriate care for young people. (Ingold, 11/6)
Jackson Hole Community Radio: Teton County Voters Provide 'Relief' To Local Hospital
Election night could have dealt a near-fatal blow to St. John’s Health’s finances. But instead, two ballot measure outcomes doubled the property tax allotment for the valley’s largest year-round employer. (McMurtry, 11/9)
Also —
Axios: Democrats Face A Tough Sell With MAHA Voters
The potential for partnership between newly ascendant Democrats and the "Make America Healthy Again" movement is already threatened by their deep disagreements over Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Owens, 11/9)
The 19th: 2026 Midterms Energized A Powerful Constituency: Abuse Survivors
When Leanna Rocheleau saw the ad that Ohio gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy created, weaponizing his opponent Dr. Amy Acton’s childhood sexual abuse, the Columbus-area mother and small business owner felt “triggered.” Rocheleau, like nearly half of all U.S. women, is a survivor of sexual violence, and the ad hit at a gut level. (Becker, 11/6)
Pharma and Tech
GLP-1s Get New FDA Warning Label About Rare Sudden-Blindness Side Effect
NBC News: FDA Orders New Warning On GLP-1s Over Rare Eye Condition Linked To Sudden Blindness
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that GLP-1 drugmakers must add a warning label about a rare eye condition that can cause sudden blindness. The condition, called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, affects the optic nerve, which carries signals from the eye to the brain. When blood flow to the nerve is reduced or blocked, it can cause sudden vision loss. The condition is permanent with no known treatment. (Lovelace Jr., 11/9)
Stat: Eli Lilly GLP-1 Pill Foundayo Helped Alleviate Sleep Apnea, Studies Show
Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 pill Foundayo helped alleviate sleep apnea in two late-stage studies, but it doesn’t appear as effective as Lilly’s injectable drug Zepbound. (Chen, 11/9)
More pharma and tech news —
Stat: Bayer's Novel Drug For Stroke Recurrence Wins FDA Approval
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Bayer’s drug to reduce recurrence of stroke, making available the first in a novel class of medications that hold the promise of preventing blood clots more safely. (Chen and Cooney, 11/9)
The Guardian: New Drug Could Be Cure For Common Cause Of High Blood Pressure
Millions of people with high blood pressure stand to benefit from a new drug that has stunned doctors by reversing a common cause of the condition for years after patients stopped taking the medication. Patients who took the drug, called baxdrostat, saw their blood pressure improve during a six- to 12-month course of the daily pills, but unexpectedly the benefits remained up to two years later, with some patients no longer on any hypertension drugs and potentially cured of the condition. (Sample, 11/8)
CNN: Pelacarsen, A Promising Drug For An Inherited Heart Risk, Flops, Stunning Doctors
In the course of scientific discovery, there are triumphant moments when researchers present their findings to a rapt audience that jumps to its feet for a standing ovation. It happened in a conference room full of doctors in May after they learned a new drug, daraxonrasib, nearly doubled survival time for pancreatic cancer patients. Then there’s the reaction that Dr. Steven Nissen expects at the American Heart Association’s annual conference on Saturday, when he reveals the results of a large study testing an experimental drug meant to lower risk of heart attack and stroke risk. (Goodman, 11/7)
The Washington Post: Why The Simple Flu Shot Could Be A Surprise Weapon Against Cancer
The humble flu shot may have a hidden talent: fighting cancer. In a small clinical trial in Ohio, doctors injected an ordinary flu vaccine straight into patients’ skin tumors, hoping to fool the immune system into mistaking the cancer for an infection. The ruse seemed to take. Immune cells flooded into most of the injected tumors. By the time surgeons cut the cancers out, more than a third of patients showed signs that their tumors were in retreat. In a few, no trace of cancer remained. (Dolgin, 11/8)
MedPage Today: Smartwatch Detection Of Reduced LVEF? Not So Fast, Study Says
The enthusiasm for smartwatch detection of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) was tempered by a Korean study indicating difficulties with the technology in its current state. Using an artificial intelligence (AI)-ECG model trained to detect LVSD, researchers set a threshold for a result of LVSD versus no LVSD when applied to Apple Watches and Samsung Galaxy Watches. (Lou, 11/9)
The New York Times: Biotech Firm Claims Some Credit For Groundbreaking Virus Research
A tech start-up made a splash last month with a remarkable announcement: Its researchers had used artificial intelligence to design viruses tailored to kill the bacteria causing a dangerous infection. Those viruses were used to treat a sick patient. The disclosure, in a blog post on the company’s site, drew cautious curiosity from experts and coverage in The New York Times. But now the company, Radical Numerics, has acknowledged that it did not work alone. (Zimmer, 11/06)
Stat: Bill Ackman Launches New Brain Research Institute
If you’re blind, Bill Ackman wants to help you see again. That is the ambitious plan the billionaire is pursuing with the Ackman Oxman Institute, a new institution in New York City that will act as a hub for brain injury research, including brain-computer interfaces that can help people move, speak, and connect to digital devices through brain activity. (Broderick, 11/9)
Medicaid
Florida Medicaid Notices Did Not Adequately Explain Why Enrollees Lost Coverage, Court Rules
Florida Phoenix: Federal Appeals Court Finds That Florida’s Medicaid Termination Letters Were Insufficient
Florida has lost another round in a long-running legal battle over how the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis removed people from Medicaid. A federal appeals court ruled this week that the DeSantis administration did not provide adequate notice to people it claimed were no longer financially eligible before dropping them from the safety net program following the end of the public health emergency caused by COVID-19. (Sexton, 11/9)
Modern Healthcare: Minnesota, Oregon Target Medicaid Work Requirements In New Lawsuit
Four states are challenging Medicaid work requirements, arguing Congress violated the Constitution and is coercing states to implement unforeseen Medicaid policies. Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon arguing the Medicaid work requirement provisions in President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax law violate the spending clause of the Constitution. (Early, 11/6)
KFF Health News: Nebraska Rushed Medicaid Work Rules. Then A Cancer Patient Was Told He’d Lost Coverage
Eli McCreary of Omaha, Nebraska, said he had recently been diagnosed with kidney cancer when he got a call from a local hospital run by CHI Health. He said he was informed that he wasn’t insured anymore under Medicaid — and that the hospital would cancel his appointments unless he paid out-of-pocket. McCreary, who was 64 at the time, said he phoned a call center for help. He said he was told his benefits under Medicaid, the government health program for people with low incomes or disabilities, now required that he have a job. (Pradhan, 11/10)
The Texas Tribune: Hinojosa Can’t Use Executive Order To Expand Medicaid In Texas
A week ago, expanding Medicaid health insurance coverage to more low-wage Texans was the quixotic dream of health policy advocates in a state where conservatives have soundly blocked it for years. Writing it off as a wasteful expense, Gov. Greg Abbott once called Medicaid expansion “a tax increase waiting to happen.” But Abbott last week was swept out of office, along with every other Republican on the statewide ballot. Expanding Medicaid could bring up to $10 billion a year in federal funds to Texas and mean health care coverage for more than 1 million additional Texans. (Langford, 11/9)
Stat: Health Care After The Midterms: Medicaid Expansion Now In Play
Three of the 10 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid could reconsider their holdout status now that Democrats have secured more power in state government. (Wilkerson, 11/10)
In other news from across the U.S. —
Axios: Homeless Veteran Numbers See Long-Term Decline In Most States
U.S. veteran homelessness declined more than 50% over the past 15 years, according to the latest federal housing data. The widespread declines represent significant progress in addressing homelessness among those who served, although some states continue to struggle. (Jennings, 11/9)
The New York Times: 138,000 New York City Students Were Homeless Last School Year
More than 138,000 students in New York City public schools were homeless at some point during the last school year, according to new data released on Tuesday — the first decrease since the start of the pandemic. (Haag, 11/10)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Council Approves Agency For Nonviolent 911 Calls
The Baltimore City Council approved a new $16.8 million agency Monday night to divert nonviolent 911 calls to crisis responders. The Department of Neighborhood Safety, proposed by Mayor Brandon Scott and City Council President Zeke Cohen, still requires Scott’s signature. (Pryce, 11/9)
From California —
Fox News: California Bans Some Weight Loss And Muscle Supplement Sales To Minors
Gavin Newsom has signed legislation banning the sale of some "muscle-building supplements" to Californians under 18 years of age. The legislation (AB 2030), which was signed on Sept. 28, covers over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building. It will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. (Rudy, 11/9)
CalMatters: California Climate, El Niño Conditions Fuel West Nile Virus Fears
When temperatures rise above 70 degrees, tiny West Nile viral particles begin to rapidly replicate in the gut of Culex mosquitoes, which then go hunting for their next “blood meal,” injecting virus-laden saliva into their prey when they feast. This year, California’s warm, wet summer and fall produced the most West Nile activity in five years. As of Nov. 6, the virus has seriously sickened 528 people and killed 32, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Hwang, 11/9)
AP: Santa Barbara Police Investigate After 27 Half Marathon Runners Felt Sick
Police in California are investigating after more than two dozen participants in the Santa Barbara Half Marathon ended up at the hospital on Sunday. The Santa Barbara Police Department said in a statement it opened an investigation after receiving reports from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital about multiple half-marathon participants seeking medical treatment for “unusual symptoms.” Cottage Health said in a statement Sunday that it had a “larger than expected number of emergency visits ... a number of them with similar symptoms of undetermined cause.” (11/10)
Health Industry
Push Toward More Automation At The VA Has Brought More Errors On Veterans’ Claims, Employees Say
The Beam: As Automation Expands, VA Commits More Errors On Veterans’ Claims
An investigation by the Washington Bureau of The Beam, an accountability newsroom at Arizona State University’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, found that the VA’s push to use automation more often has coincided with a surge in errors made while collecting medical records needed to process veterans’ claims. (Hogan, 11/9)
More healthcare industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: Oscar Health, AmeriHealth Caritas Expands As ACA Rivals Exit 2027
As prominent health insurance exchange carriers such as Cigna and Molina Healthcare pull back, others see an opportunity to make gains during open enrollment. Companies such as Oscar Health, AmeriHealth Caritas and Antidote Health are rolling out strategies to attract more members during this open enrollment period. Some are directing consumers to new lifestyle- and condition-focused plans. (Tepper, 11/9)
Fierce Healthcare: Aetna Sues To Challenge 2027 MA Star Ratings
Elevance Health is the latest insurer to sue the feds over its performance in the latest round of star ratings for the Medicare Advantage program. The company sued the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in District of Columbia federal court on Friday, arguing that the 2027 star ratings calculations violated the Administrative Procedure Act in using 11 measures that it says were adopted unlawfully. (Minemyer, 11/9)
Modern Healthcare: Elevance Health Sues CMS Over Medicare Advantage Star Ratings
Elevance Health has joined the chorus of health insurance companies suing the federal government over the insurers’ 2027 Medicare Advantage Star Ratings. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee sued the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Health and Human Services Department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, alleging the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 by failing to follow the proper rulemaking process. The company asserts this alleged misstep cost it $516 million in bonus payments, which CMS is scheduled to pay in 2028. (Tepper, 11/9)
Bloomberg: Private Credit Lenders In Talks To Fund $1.3 Billion Loan For Fullscript Deal
A group of private credit lenders is in talks to provide a $1.3 billion loan to finance L Catterton’s acquisition of healthcare platform Fullscript, after the deal was unable to drum up enough interest in the leveraged loan market. The acquisition is expected to close Tuesday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley had underwritten the debt, meaning they are on the hook to fund the transaction, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The direct lending option would replace the banks’ commitments. (Seligson and Arroyo, 11/9)
Capitol News Illinois: BJC HealthCare, Aetna Extend Access For Metro East Retirees
Thousands of Illinois retirees will maintain in-network access to BJC HealthCare hospitals and providers through the end of next year after BJC and insurer Aetna reached a one-year agreement. The deal, announced Friday, Nov. 6, applies specifically to members enrolled in the TRAIL program through the end of 2027. Discussions remain ongoing between Aetna and WashU Medicine. (Ritter, 11/9)
KFF Health News: The Ultimate Adulting Task: Signing Up For Health Insurance
Not many 22-year-olds share DJ Mikunda’s enthusiasm for health insurance coverage. “You know what sounds like a good Friday night? It’s looking at health insurance,” he joked. But Mikunda has a reason to be eager. He has gone without coverage since he left home and started working in 2023. He’s now a manager at a gas station in St. Louis. (Farmer and Anthony, 11/10)
Also —
Chicago Tribune: Nurses At Edward Hospital In Naperville Vote To Unionize
Nurses at Endeavor Health Edward Hospital in Naperville have voted to unionize. Sixty-five percent of the ballots cast were in favor of the hospital’s 1,200 nurses being represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, according to results announced Friday. (Stein, 11/6)
Lake County News-Sun: Waukegan Mayor Calls For Sale Of Vista Medical Center East
Amid new reports of payroll delays at Vista Medical Center East and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) no longer allowing ambulances to transport patients there, Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said he has run out of patience with Vista owner American Healthcare Systems (AHS). (Sadin, 11/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: Major New Cancer Treatment Center About To Open In Oakland
Sutter Health and Stanford Medicine on Monday unveiled a new, five-story cancer center in Oakland that they hope will be a regional “one-stop shop” for outpatient oncology care in the East Bay. The center aims to accommodate the projected growth in cancer patients, which Stanford estimates will double in the next decade. Many patients must currently drive long distances to receive various components of cancer treatment. (Ho, 11/9)
On AI in healthcare —
Stat: AI Chatbots Offer Intriguing Middle Ground For Men's Mental Health
It was mid-morning when Matteo got the phone call. His wife and children were asleep in New York City, and he was at work in Trieste, Italy, a new city in a home country that felt foreign after decades abroad. He knew what his brother was going to say, on the other end of the line: Their ailing father was nearing the end. (Merelli, 11/9)
Newsweek: AI Companies Stand To Gain From Medicare Savings As Patients Fear Care Cuts
Traditional Medicare has never paid every bill on faith. Claims must meet coverage rules, and contractors review them before and after payment. But for most procedures, doctors have not had to ask permission in advance. Prior authorization has been reserved for a short list, among them certain hospital outpatient procedures, including implanted spinal stimulators, and recurring ambulance rides. On January 1, the list grew in six states, and so did the role of private technology. (Hanson, 11/9)
Reproductive Health
Common Antibiotic Doxycycline Linked To Increased Risk Of Pregnancy Loss
MedPage Today: Common Antibiotic Tied To Pregnancy Loss Risk
Women exposed to doxycycline in early pregnancy had an increased risk of pregnancy loss compared to other antibiotics, a cohort study showed. (Robertson, 11/9)
More news about pregnancy and infant care —
ProPublica: Texas ER Did Not Provide Vitamin K Shot That Could Have Saved Newborn’s Life
The emergency room was a mile from their Texas home. Stephanie and Eric Biesenbach took comfort in that when their newborn daughter, Gwen, wouldn’t stop bleeding from her belly button. They buckled Gwen into her car seat and made the drive over. Medical records from that warm August evening in 2023 described her condition as a “generic problem” of a bleeding umbilical cord stump. The doctor on duty, Nicole Malouf, had treated plenty of those as an emergency room specialist. She covered Gwen’s oozing belly button with a special gauze to stanch the flow, and when it appeared to stop, she sent Stephanie, Eric and Gwen on their way. (Eldeib, 11/8)
MPR News: One In 10 Minnesota Women Of Childbearing Age Live In Counties Without A Birthing Center
Newly released data shows that about 126,000 reproductive-aged women in Minnesota live in counties without hospital-based obstetrics care, increasing the health risks for those who are pregnant and having children. (Work, 11/8)
North Carolina Health News: Report Examines Why NC Women Are Dying During And After Pregnancy
Drug overdoses, infections and homicides were the top three causes of pregnancy-related deaths in North Carolina from 2018 to 2021. That’s according to a report released last month by North Carolina’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, a volunteer group of multidisciplinary experts that examines all deaths during pregnancy or within one year of the end of a pregnancy to understand the causes and make recommendations to prevent future deaths. (Crumpler, 11/9)
CIDRAP: Almost 1 In 4 Americans Believe Misinformation About Cause Of Autism
Nearly a quarter of Americans believe that childhood vaccines and taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy cause autism, despite no evidence to support those claims, a survey published late last week in JAMA Health Forum notes. The findings suggest that misinformation about autism persists and that better public health messaging is needed to combat it. (Holohan, 11/9)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Healthy Cooking Classes Don't Decrease Obesity; AI Health Advice Simultaneously Risky And Accurate
The Washington Post: This Solution To Obesity Doesn't Work. America Still Eats It Up.
Eat better. Exercise. And learn to cook? (Aaron Carroll, 11/9)
Stat: Accurate Medical Advice From AI Can Still Be Dangerous
Artificial intelligence is delivering health guidance at an unprecedented scale. Every week, more than 300 million people ask ChatGPT health questions. Now, the federal government is moving AI deeper into medical care to communicate directly and autonomously with patients. Chris Klomp, the nominee for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, has called AI in patient care the agency’s “holy grail” for improving the nation’s health. (Jessica Fishman and John L. Jackson Jr., 11/10)
Stat: U.S. Needs Plan To Strengthen Every Facet Of Biotech Ecosystem
China just announced a new five-year plan that designates biotechnology as a national “pillar industry” and aims to displace the United States as the world’s biotech leader. Those ambitions threaten one of America’s defining competitive advantages — and they demand an urgent response. (John F. Crowley, 11/10)
The New York Times: They Were Married For Decades. Then The Hallucinations Began.
After 50 years of marriage, John found himself caring for his wife, an art curator grappling with Parkinson’s. (Stephen P. Neary, 11/10)