First Edition: Aug. 12, 2022

KHN: Abortion Is Just The Latest Dividing Line Between The Twin Cities Of Bristol And Bristol 
The community of Bristol is proud to straddle the border between two states. Tennessee flags fly on the south side of State Street, Virginia flags on the north. A series of plaques down the middle of the main downtown thoroughfare mark the twin cities’ divide. A large sign at the end of town reminds everyone they’re right on the state line. (Whitehead, 8/12)

KHN: Big Pharma Went All In To Kill Drug Pricing Negotiations 
For decades, the drug industry has yelled bloody murder each time Congress considered a regulatory measure that threatened its profits. But the hyperbole reached a new pitch in recent weeks as the Senate moved to adopt modest drug pricing negotiation measures in the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill “could propel us light-years back into the dark ages of biomedical research,” Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, president of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, said last month. Venture capitalists and other opponents of the bill said that it “immediately will halt private funding of drug discovery and development.” (Allen, 8/12)

KHN: Democrats Didn’t Achieve All Their Goals, But Inflation Reduction Act Makes Historic Medicare Changes
The giant health care, climate, and tax bill expected to pass the House on Friday and be sent to the president for his signature won’t be as sweeping as the Democrats who wrote it had hoped, but it would help millions of Americans better afford their prescription drugs and health insurance. The Inflation Reduction Act is estimated to spend about $485 billion over 10 years on health and alternative energy programs while raising about $790 billion through tax revenue and savings. The difference would be used to help reduce the deficit. (McAuliff, 8/12)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: A Big Week For Biden 
Health policy was front and center as Congress rushed to pass major legislation before leaving for its summer break. President Joe Biden signed a bill this week providing health benefits to military veterans who were sickened by exposure to toxic burn pits and will likely soon sign a measure allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs and extend enhanced subsidies for those who buy their insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces. (8/11)

The Washington Post: CDC Loosens Coronavirus Guidance, Signaling Strategic Shift 
The CDC is putting less emphasis on social distancing — and the new guidance has dropped the “six foot” standard. The quarantine rule for unvaccinated people is gone. The agency’s focus now is on highly vulnerable populations and how to protect them — not on the vast majority of people who at this point have some immunity against the virus and are unlikely to become severely ill. (Sun and Achenbach, 8/11)

AP: CDC Drops Quarantine, Distancing Recommendations For COVID 
The changes, which come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the pandemic, are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected, agency officials said. “The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” said the CDC’s Greta Massetti, an author of the guidelines. (Stobbe and Binkley, 8/11)

CNN: House To Vote Friday To Pass Democrats' Sweeping Health Care And Climate Bill
The House of Representatives is on track to vote on Friday to pass Democrats' $750 billion health care, energy and climate bill, in a significant victory for President Joe Biden and his party. (Foran and Wilson, 8/12)

AP: House Dems Set To Overcome GOP For Climate, Health Care Win 
A flagship Democratic economic bill perched on the edge of House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on his climate, health and tax goals that could energize his party ahead of November’s elections. Democrats were poised to muscle the measure through the narrowly divided House Friday over solid Republican opposition. They employed similar party unity and Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote Sunday to power the measure through the 50-50 Senate. (Fram, 8/12)

AP: In Biden's Big Bill: Climate, Health Care, Deficit Reduction 
The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors in the Medicare program. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share. And billions left over to pay down federal deficits. All told, the Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act” may not do much to immediately tame inflationary price hikes. But the package heading toward final passage in Congress and to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature will touch countless American lives with longtime party proposals. (Mascaro, 8/12)

AP: Iowa Governor Asks Court To Allow Blocked 2018 Abortion Ban 
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds asked the state courts on Thursday to allow her to implement a law banning most abortions that a judge permanently blocked in 2019.Reynolds previously said she would turn to the courts instead of calling a special session to hold a divisive abortion debate and vote just months before she and several other Republican leaders run for reelection. The court filing is just the first step in a legal battle that could take months to resolve and end up before the Iowa Supreme Court again. (Pitt, 8/11)

Bloomberg: ACLU Asks Florida Supreme Court To Review 15-Week Abortion Ban
Health-care providers backed by the American Civil Liberties Union asked the Florida Supreme Court to review their challenge to the state’s new ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which took effect July 1. (Larson, 8/11)

Stateline: Abortion Ballot Measures Seen As Critical — But Tricky — Strategy
Two more initiatives opposing abortion rights and three supporting it are slated for ballots in November — the most on record in a single year. And state lawmakers and advocates already are preparing ballot initiatives in a handful of states for the 2023 and 2024 elections. But legal and political experts on both sides of the issue remain circumspect about what the Kansas vote may mean for future elections in the rest of the country. (Vestal, 8/11)

The New York Times: Progressives Push Democrats To Make Their Fight About Freedom, Too
Democrats at every level of the party and of varying ideological stripes — including President Biden, abortion rights activists in Kansas and, now, a constellation of left-leaning groups — are increasingly seeking to reclaim language about freedom and personal liberty from Republicans. It is a dynamic that grew out of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, and one that is intensifying as more states navigate abortion bans while Republicans nominate election deniers for high office. (Glueck, 8/12)

Bloomberg: Johnson & Johnson Drops Talcum Powder Globally As Lawsuits Mount
J&J said Thursday that it had made the “commercial decision” to transition all its baby powder products to use cornstarch instead of talcum powder after conducting an assessment of its portfolio. The health conglomerate, which maintains the product is safe, has for almost a decade faced lawsuits accusing it of hiding cancer risks tied its talc-based baby powder. (Griffin and Feeley, 8/11)

The Baltimore Sun: Emergent Dumped More Than A Half Billion Doses Of COVID Vaccines, Congressional Panel Finds
The tally of wasted COVID-19 vaccine continues to climb at the troubled Emergent BioSolutions plant in East Baltimore and now exceeds a half-billion doses, according to findings a congressional panel released Thursday on the manufacturer once central to the U.S. coronavirus pandemic response. (Cohn, 8/11)

AP: J&J COVID Vaccine Factory Forced To Trash Even More Doses 
About 135 million more doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine from a troubled Baltimore factory will have to be destroyed due to quality problems, Congressional panel leaders said Thursday. The announcement follows a report in May that detailed how more than 400 million vaccine doses made at an Emergent BioSolutions plant had to be trashed. The doses more recently slated for destruction were made between August 2021 and February, the House members said. (8/11)

ABC News: Only Half Of Eligible Americans Have Gotten Their First COVID Booster
Although over 61 million people, over the age of 50, are eligible to receive their second COVID-19 booster shot, just a third have actually done so, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Similarly, less than half of Americans, over the age of 5, who are eligible to receive their first booster have received their supplemental shot. (Mitropoulos, 8/12)

AP: FDA: Take 3 Home Tests If Exposed To COVID To Boost Accuracy 
If you were exposed to COVID-19, take three home tests instead of two to make sure you’re not infected, according to new U.S. recommendations released Thursday. Previously, the Food and Drug Administration had advised taking two rapid antigen tests over two or three days to rule out infection. But the agency says new studies suggest that protocol can miss too many infections, and could result in people spreading the coronavirus to others, especially if they don’t develop symptoms. (Perrone, 8/11)

Becker's Hospital Review: Reinfection With BA.2.75 Unlikely After Bout With BA.5, Experts Say
Countries in the middle or just past the peak of a surge driven by the BA.5 omicron subvariant, such as the U.S., likely won't experience a subsequent wave from BA.2.75, another omicron relative, some experts predict. "We're coming to a point where these variants are sort of competing with each other and they're almost equivalent," Dr. Shahid Jameel, a virologist at the University of Oxford in the U.K., told Nature in an Aug. 10 report. (Carbajal, 8/11)

NBC Bay Area: Pharmacists Can Directly Prescribe Paxlovid, But There’s A Catch 
The antiviral drug that treats COVID-19, Paxlovid, must be taken within five days after symptoms begin. To expand quick access to the medication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revised the Emergency Use Authorization for Paxlovid in July to authorize state-licensed pharmacists to directly prescribe it. “We were seeing some really low uptake and even within the pharmacy we were seeing just the medication sit on shelves because prescriptions weren't coming in,” said Richard Dang, president of the California Pharmacists Association. (Nguyen and Carroll, 8/10)

WUSF Public Media: Florida Is Leading 23 States Against Mask Requirements On Planes, Other Transportation
State Attorney General Ashley Moody and other Republican politicians from across the country urged an appeals court this week to uphold a Florida federal judge’s ruling that blocked a mask requirement on airplanes and in other transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Saunders, 8/11)

CBS News: U.S. Monkeypox Cases Surpass 10,000 As CDC Still Aims For "Containment"
Cases have been reported in every state but Wyoming while 15 states and the District of Columbia have reported more than a hundred cases. The largest numbers are in New York, California and Florida. No U.S. deaths have so far been reported, out of the 12 monkeypox fatalities the World Health Organization has tallied so far this year. (Tin, 8/11)

Reuters: FDA Chief Backs Alternate Method For Injecting Bavarian Nordic's Monkeypox Shot
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief on Thursday defended a plan to administer Bavarian Nordic's (BAVA.CO) monkeypox shot intradermally after the company raised doubts about the safety of the method, citing a lack of data. The company had on Tuesday said there was some evidence that a shot of Jynneos between the layers of the skin could result in increased reactions compared to the approved method of injecting it underneath the skin. (8/11)

Stat: New Data From States Show Racial Disparities In Monkeypox Infections
New data emerging from some states and localities closely tracking monkeypox outbreaks show extreme racial disparities that are alarming experts. In Georgia, 82% of people with the disease are Black. In North Carolina, it’s 70%. But in other places that have released detailed demographic data, there are fewer and sometimes no apparent racial or ethnic disparities in monkeypox cases. (McFarling, Gilyard and Muthukumar, 8/11)

Bloomberg: Monkeypox: Colleges Lacking Vaccines, Tests Rely On Education To Prevent Virus
Lack of access to monkeypox vaccines and tests threatens to hinder colleges and universities in the hardest-hit US states as they plan to beat back a feared campus surge later this year. Health administrators at schools nationwide are largely relying on educational measures as they prepare for the return of students for the fall semester. Some campuses have testing available at their medical centers, yet none reported requirements for students to get shots or undergo testing. (Taylor, 8/11)

Modern Healthcare: AMA Initiative To Increase HIV, STI Screenings
A select group of community health centers will follow best practices and quality-improvement strategies outlined by the American Medical Association as part of a nationwide effort to boost the number of visits and routine screenings for HIV, viral hepatitis, latent tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections. (Devereaux, 8/11)

Modern Healthcare: Amazon Expanding Amazon Care With Behavioral Health
Amazon is adding behavioral health services to Amazon Care, a medical care service it sells to employer health plans. Care coordinators will refer patients to in-network behavioral health specialists for acute and moderate behavioral health concerns, according to an Amazon Care webpage that describes the program. (Kim Cohen, 8/11)

Stat: One Medical’s Offers From Amazon, CVS Signal Health Tech Bidding Wars
It’s health tech hunting season for some of America’s biggest brand names. Over the last year, companies like Amazon, CVS Health, and Walmart have made significant plays to beef up their health care infrastructure. (Herman and Palmer, 8/11)

Stat: Federal Judge Dismisses Doctor’s Case Against Surprise Billing Law
A federal judge has ruled that the federal law outlawing many types of surprise medical bills does not violate the constitutional rights of a New York surgeon. (Herman, 8/11)

Houston Chronicle: UnitedHealthcare Donates $2.5 Million In Grants To Texas Nonprofits
The funding will go to organizations that address social determinants, which are nonmedical issues, such as food, housing, transportation and the financial means to pay for basic daily needs. These factors influence about 80 percent of a person’s physical health, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (Carballo, 8/11)

AP: Seattle Hospital To Refuse Some Patients Due To Capacity
Harborview Medical Center in Seattle will temporarily stop accepting less acute patients and will divert them to other health care systems as capacity challenges worsen, according to the hospital’s CEO. “All hospital systems (are) very much over capacity with very high census numbers, particularly because of an inability to discharge patients into post-acute care settings,” Harborview CEO Sommer Kleweno Walley said in a media briefing Thursday. “This morning … Harborview reached an unprecedented census level.” (8/12)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Following A Long Line Of N.H. Hospitals, Frisbie Memorial Hospital In Rochester Announces Plans To Close Birth Center
Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester recently announced plans to close its birth center, citing financial problems. The move is on hold pending a review from the New Hampshire Attorney General, which said the hospital promised to keep its birthing center open for at least five years after it was acquired by HCA Healthcare in 2020. (Bratton, 8/11)

Crain's Chicago Business: Northwestern Memorial Hit With Meta Pixel, Patient Data Lawsuit
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that Northwestern Memorial allows Meta’s Pixel tracker to “unlawfully” collect private medical information from the hospital’s patient portal to use for its own profit. (Davis, 8/11)

Becker's Hospital Review: Johns Hopkins Debuts Free Course On Infectious Disease Transmission
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has launched a free virtual course on infectious disease transmission models for public health officials and practitioners who make policy decisions. The three-hour course is available for free on Coursera, and those who pass the exam will receive a certificate. (Carbajal, 8/11)

Stat: Wyden Wants Details On Amgen's U.S. Taxes As Part Of Expanding Probe Into Pharma Practices
The head of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee is seeking details from Amgen about the taxes paid during a recent four-year period as part of an ongoing investigation into tax practices by multinational pharmaceutical companies and efforts made to avoid paying U.S. taxes. (Silverman, 8/11)

Stat: Novartis Reports Two Children Died From Acute Liver Failure After Treatment With Zolgensma Gene Therapy
Two children have died from acute liver failure after being administered Zolgensma, a pricey gene therapy sold by Novartis to treat a rare disease. (Silverman, 8/11)

MarketWatch: GSK Defends Zantac Ahead Of Trials That Have Cratered The Stock 
GSK on Friday put out a statement saying there’s no link between a withdrawn heartburn medication and cancer, helping to stem a slide in its stock that has wiped out billions of dollars in valuation from leading drugmakers. (Goldstein, 8/12)

AP: WVa AG Reaches Settlement With Rite Aid Over Opioid Supply 
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office has reached a settlement with Rite Aid that may total up to $30 million in a lawsuit alleging oversupply of opioids at pharmacies in the state, he said Thursday. “Money will not bring back the lives lost from this epidemic, but we are looking for accountability,” Morrisey said in a statement. (8/11)

The Washington Post: Florida To Bar Medicaid Coverage For Those Seeking Gender-Affirming Care 
Transgender Floridians of all ages will soon no longer be able to use Medicaid to help pay for gender-affirming care under a new state rule, a move that comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration pursues policies increasing restrictions on medical treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Florida joins at least 10 other states — including Arizona, Missouri and Texas — in barring residents from using Medicaid to pay for several often-prescribed medications and surgeries for those diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The rule was published Wednesday and is slated to go into effect August 21. (Branigin and Gowen, 8/11)

WLRN 91.3 FM: Appeals Court Upholds Safety Rules For So-Called 'Brazilian Butt Lifts' 
An appeals court Wednesday rejected a challenge to an emergency rule approved by the Florida Board of Medicine to place additional restrictions on procedures known as “Brazilian butt lifts.” (8/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Judge Declares Mistrial In Flint Water Crisis Civil Case 
A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors were unable to reach a verdict in a case involving companies that had been hired to help Flint, Mich., fix its water system—but were alleged to have instead contributed to the city’s lead-tainted water crisis. Multiple Flint residents had sued Veolia North America and Texas-based Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc., an engineering consulting firm also known as LAN, accusing them of being partially responsible for the water crisis that began in 2014. The civil case, which involved just a few plaintiffs, was seen as a bellwether for possible further litigation, according to legal experts.  (Ansari, 8/11)

The Wall Street Journal: California Bill Targeting Social-Media Giants For Harm To Children Dies In Legislature
California lawmakers killed a bill Thursday that would have allowed government lawyers to sue social-media companies for features that allegedly harm children by causing them to become addicted. The measure would have given the state attorney general, local district attorneys and city attorneys in the biggest California cities authority to try to hold social-media companies liable in court for features they knew or should have known could addict minors. Among those targeted could have been Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms Inc., Snapchat parent Snap Inc., and TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. (Donaldson, 8/11)

AP: Kentucky Launches Judicial Commission On Mental Health
Kentucky’s Supreme Court has launched a commission aimed at improving the judicial system’s approach to cases involving mental health, substance use and intellectual disabilities. The new Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health will work to improve the practice, quality and timeliness of the judicial response to cases involving those needs. (8/12)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Teen Suicides On Rise In Nevada, Health Officials Say
As numbers show that teen suicide in Nevada is once again on the rise, state officials and community advocates gathered Thursday to announce a new partnership aimed at reducing suicide across the state. (Longhi, 8/11)

Axios: Baby Food Made At Home Has Toxic Metals Like Products Sold In Stores
Homemade baby food contains as many toxic metals as food bought in the store, a report released Thursday found. (Doherty, 8/11)

NBC News: Eye Implant Made From Pig Protein Restored Sight In 14 Blind People
The patients, in Iran and India, all suffered from keratoconus, a condition in which the protective outer layer of the eye progressively thins and bulges outward. Fourteen of the patients were blind before they received the implant, but two years after the procedure, they had regained some or all of their vision. Three had perfect vision after the surgery. (Bendix, 8/12)