First Edition: Nov. 2, 2022

KHN: Cash For Colonoscopies: Colorado Tries To Lower Health Costs Through Incentives 
State employees in Colorado are being asked to be better consumers when shopping for health care services. And if they choose lower-cost and higher-quality providers, they could get a check in the mail for a portion of the savings. It’s part of an initiative known as the Colorado Purchasing Alliance, through which employers in the state are banding together to negotiate lower prices for health care services. The state government is one of 12 employers that have agreed to join the alliance and will be the first to use the newly negotiated rates and consumer incentives. (Hawryluk, 11/2)

KHN: Hurricane Ian’s Deadly Impact On Florida Seniors Exposes Need For New Preparation Strategies
All kinds of natural disasters — hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, dangerous heat waves — pose substantial risks to older adults. Yet, not enough seniors prepare for these events in advance, and efforts to encourage them to do so have been largely unsuccessful. The most recent horrific example was Hurricane Ian, the massive storm that in September smashed into Florida’s southwestern coast — a haven for retirees — with winds up to 150 mph and storm surges exceeding 12 feet in some areas. At least 120 people died, most of them in Florida. Of those who perished, two-thirds were 60 or older. Many reportedly drowned and were found in their homes. (Graham, 11/2)

KHN: Hospital Investigated For Allegedly Denying An Emergency Abortion After Patient’s Water Broke
The federal government has launched its first confirmed investigation of an alleged denial of an abortion to a woman experiencing a medical emergency. In late October, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services opened an investigation at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, Missouri, under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, department spokesperson Lisa Cox told KHN. It was authorized by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which contracts with state agencies to conduct EMTALA surveys. (Meyer, 11/1)

CNN: After Roe V. Wade Overturned, Travel Time To Abortion Facilities Grew Significantly
The average travel time to an abortion facility increased significantly for women in the United States after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and revoked the federal right to an abortion, according to a new study published Tuesday in JAMA. More than a dozen states enacted complete or partial bans on abortion after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, and researchers considered abortion facilities in those states to be inactive – cutting the number of active facilities by a tenth. (McPhillips, 11/1)

NBC News: Effects Of Supreme Court Abortion Ruling: Longer Travel Time, More Requests For Pills
One of the newly published studies showed that it took people 100 minutes, on average, to travel to abortion facilities in September, compared to an average of 30 minutes before the Dobbs decision. The share of women of reproductive age who lived more than an hour away from an abortion facility rose from 15% to 33%. (Bendix, 11/1)

Axios: Study: Requests For Mail-Order Abortion Pills Surged After Roe Reversal
Requests for self-managed abortions via pills increased in 30 states following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with the largest surges seen in states with total or near-total bans on abortion, according to a new study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Chen, 11/1)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Mail-Order Abortion Requests Nearly Doubled After Bans
Texas saw the sixth highest jump in weekly requests among states reviewed, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The state is among a handful that now prohibit abortions in almost all cases, following the court's decision to roll back federal abortion protections. (Blackman, 11/1)

Politico: State Abortion Bans Prove Easy To Evade 
Abigail Aiken, associate professor at the University of Texas School of Public Policy, who wrote the research letter, said that the findings are consistent with her past work, which showed that abortion restrictions lead people to figure out how to get abortions despite the legal risks. “Those who self-manage may have more financial hardship or live in rural areas,” said Aiken. (Reader, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Women Who Got Secret Abortions Before Roe V. Wade Are Speaking Out 
An abandoned building. A nurse’s apartment. A clinic in New York. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. These are the places where women received abortions before Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized the procedure nationally. Some women have long kept the stories of their secretive abortions to themselves. Now, with Roe overturned, they feel the need to speak out. Here, in their own words, four women share their experiences. (Brockell and Koh, 11/1)

The Atlantic: The Worst Pediatric-Care Crisis In Decades
At Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, in Maryland, staff has pitched a tent outside the emergency department to accommodate overflow; Connecticut Children’s Hospital mulled calling in the National Guard. It’s already the largest surge of infectious illnesses that some pediatricians have seen in their decades-long careers, and many worry that the worst is yet to come. (Wu, 10/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: Orange County Declares Health Emergency Due To Viruses
A health emergency has been declared in Southern California’s Orange County due to rapidly spreading viral infections that are sending more children to the hospital, health officials said Tuesday. (Vaziri, Buchmann and Asimov, 11/1)

NPR: RSV Is Surging. Here's What To Watch For And Answers About Treatment Options
Very young children born just before or during the pandemic did not benefit from regular or early exposure to common viruses, including RSV, which would have helped build up an immunity. (Romo, 11/2)

USA Today: RSV Vaccines Are 'Long Overdue,' But Here's Why That Could Soon Change
Preventing that first serious respiratory infection might also pay off later in life, said Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, vice president of vaccine R&D for Pfizer. "If you're able to avoid that damage that you have from the first infection, you may be able to have healthier lungs," potentially avoiding problems like asthma later on, she said. (Weintraub, 11/2)

The New York Times: Scientists Are Gaining On RSV, A Persistent Threat To Children
Of the three respiratory viruses Americans are grappling with this winter, two — the coronavirus and the flu — are well-known threats. The third, respiratory syncytial virus, which already has sent thousands of children to hospitals, is a mystery to many. “It is, unfortunately, one of those large killers that nobody knows about,” said Dr. Keith Klugman, who directs the pneumonia program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Mandavilli, 11/1)

AP: Strong RSV Vaccine Data Lifts Hopes After Years Of Futility 
A tragedy in the 1960s set back the whole field. Using the approach that led to the first polio vaccine, scientists made an experimental RSV vaccine by growing the virus in a lab and killing it. But testing in children found not only was the vaccine not protective, youngsters who caught RSV after vaccination fared worse. Two died. “For a period of 20 years, even though science was advancing, nobody wanted to go near development of an RSV vaccine,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. Even today’s modern RSV vaccine candidates were tested first in older adults, not children, he noted. (Neergaard, 11/1)

The Boston Globe: Hate Needles? Flu Vaccines Of The Future Could Be Skin Patches Delivered To Your Door
On Wednesday, Vaxess announced that it raised $27 million in series B funding led by the Boston biotech investor RA Capital Management. The money helped the company finally begin the first clinical trial of its technology in August. Results from the 45-person study of a flu vaccine patch are expected by the end of the year. (Cross, 11/2)

AP: Education Secretary Tests Positive For COVID-19
President Joe Biden’s education secretary has tested positive for COVID-19. Miguel Cardona, who has been vaccinated and boosted against the virus, tested positive Tuesday and has mild symptoms, the Education Department said in a statement. (11/1)

CNN: FDA Panel Examines Evidence That Pulse Oximeters May Not Work As Well On Dark Skin
A panel of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee met Tuesday to review clinical data about the accuracy of pulse oximetry in patients with darker skin and to discuss recommendations on using these devices on people with dark skin tones and whether they should have labels – such as a black box warning – noting that inaccurate readings may be associated with skin color. (Howard, 11/1)

CIDRAP: Study: US Political Divide May Help Explain Shrinking Racial COVID Death Gap 
New evidence suggests that the shrinking gap in US COVID-19 racial death disparities is being driven by political division and increasing total deaths—mostly among White people—rather than by decreasing deaths among Black Americans, according to a new study published in PLOS One. (Van Beusekom, 11/1)

Los Angeles Times: How L.A.'s Sprawl Fueled COVID Deaths
Having so many people in such tight quarters has had deadly consequences for the people who live there. The neighborhood’s COVID-19 mortality rate — 825 per 100,000 residents — is the second highest in the county. (The top spot belongs to Little Armenia, where there have been 1,172 deaths per 100,000 residents.) (Kaplan, 11/1)

Des Moines Register: Iowa School Mask Mandate Ban Must Yield To ADA, Federal Judge Rules
Iowa school districts must consider medically sensitive students' requests to require mask wearing of those around them, notwithstanding a state law that banned school mask mandates, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. (Morris, 11/1)

The Boston Globe: Active Case Of Tuberculosis Confirmed At Dartmouth College, Officials Say 
New Hampshire health officials have identified an active case of tuberculosis at Dartmouth College, according to a community advisory issued Monday by the Ivy League school. The statement did not say if the person diagnosed is a student or staff member. (Fonseca, 11/1)

CIDRAP: WHO Keeps Monkeypox Public Health Emergency In Place
The World Health Organization (WHO) monkeypox emergency committee met for the third time on Oct 20 to discuss the latest developments, concluding that the situation still warrants a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).In a statement today on their deliberations, the group said progress has been made, such as behavioral interventions and increasing vaccine uptake. However, they raised concerns about ongoing transmission in some regions, health inequities in a number of countries, and impacts on vulnerable populations, especially in those with HIV and in countries with weak health systems. (11/1)

CIDRAP: Monoclonal Antibody Infusion 88% Effective Against Malaria 
Yesterday the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a phase 2 trial showing 88% efficacy for a monoclonal antibody against malaria. The antibody infusion, CIS43LS, was protective against Plasmodium falciparum infection over a 6-month malaria season in Mali without evident safety concerns, with participants performing blood-smear tests every 2 weeks during the phase 2 trial. (Soucheray, 11/1)

NBC News: CDC Warns Of Bacteria In Dental Waterlines After Disease Outbreaks In Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday issued a health advisory about waterborne bacteria in dental plumbing systems after children who visited pediatric dental clinics were infected with nontuberculous Mycobacteria. (Alsharif, 11/1)

Modern Healthcare: Health Insurance Markets Lack Competition, AMA Reports
Large health insurance companies dominated the commercial and Medicare Advantage markets in 2021, with consolidation shrinking competition and inflating premiums, the American Medical Association reports in a study published Tuesday. (Tepper, 11/1)

AP: EXPLAINER: How To Navigate Affordable Care Act Enrollment 
The vast majority of Americans will find multiple options for health insurance coverage for 2023 on HealthCare.gov after open enrollment began Tuesday under the Affordable Care Act. People searching for plans on the government marketplace should consider their budget, health, doctors and a variety of other factors before picking a plan. (Lewis and Seitz, 11/1)

Axios: Congress May Face A Reckoning On Health Care Costs
All signs point to a crushing surge in health care costs for patients and employers next year — and that means health care industry groups are about to brawl over who pays the price. (Owens, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Insurer Price Transparency Data Vex Developers
Alec Stein wanted to organize independent software developers to pour through health insurance data to determine what companies were paying to specific providers for particular services. Stein, a data bounty administrator at software company Dolthub, quickly ran into problems. (Tepper, 11/1)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Updates Medicare Shared Savings Program To Encourage ACOs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will invest in rural and underserved accountable care organizations and introduce more flexibility to the Medicare Shared Savings Program with the aim of kickstarting stalled enrollment and bridging health equity gaps. (Tepper, 11/1)

Becker's Hospital Review: Physicians Want To Keep Up, They Just Don't Have The Time: Report
Physicians overwhelmingly want to keep up with new clinical data to improve experiences for them and their patients, a Doximity report found. The problem is they are often too overwhelmed to do so effectively. Citing data from the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the report noted that physicians would have to perform clinical work almost 27 hours a day to provide guideline-recommended care.  (11/1)

Reuters: U.S. FDA Warns Of Tracheostomy Tube Shortage 
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday there was a shortage of tracheostomy tubes, a surgical device that helps patients to breathe, including those manufactured by ICU Medical. The agency said the shortage was due to difficulties in raw material procurement and would most likely impact pediatric patients. (10/31)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Drones Carrying Defibrillators Could Aid In Heart Emergencies
Autonomous flying drones could deliver life-saving defibrillators to people experiencing cardiac arrest, says a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who’s been involved in the research. (Barrett, 10/31)

NPR: Does Beta-Amyloid Cause Alzheimer's, Or Is Something Else To Blame?
Scientists are launching a study designed to make or break the hypothesis that Alzheimer's is caused by a sticky substance called beta-amyloid. The study will give an experimental anti-amyloid drug to people as young as 18 who have gene mutations that often cause Alzheimer's to appear in their 30s or 40s. (Hamilton, 11/1)

CNN: Opioid Settlement: CVS, Walgreens And Walmart Reach A Tentative $12 Billion Deal
Three major retailers – CVS, Walgreens and Walmart – have tentatively agreed to pay at least $12 billion to settle a number of lawsuits brought by states and local governments alleging the retailers mishandled prescriptions of opioid painkillers, according to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters. (Nottingham, 11/2)

Bloomberg: Nonaddictive Painkiller Development Sees Promise From Vertex
When it comes to alleviating pain, nothing beats opioids, which have been used for thousands of years to replace discomfort with euphoria. Users can easily get hooked, however, particularly with lab-made versions such as fentanyl. (Peebles, 11/1)

The New York Times: Alcohol Deaths Claim Lives Of Working-Age Americans 
An estimated one in eight deaths of Americans ages 20 to 64 in the years 2015-19 was the result of injuries or illness caused by excessive alcohol use, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, published on Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, assessed the effects of alcohol on people of working age, who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country’s annual average of 140,000 alcohol-related deaths. (Alcorn, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Aerosol Hair Products Tainted By Benzene May Still Be On Store Shelves 
It’s not clear how widespread the problem is, and the major companies involved have refused to answer questions or provide additional details. ... On Tuesday, the news got worse. Valisure, an independent lab in New Haven, Conn., published a new analysis testing 148 batches of dry shampoo products from 34 different brands, and found that 70 percent contained benzene. The highest level of benzene detected was 340 parts per million in 10 seconds of spray. By comparison the Food and Drug Administration has said that the acceptable level of benzene in a drug is two parts per million. (Amenabar, 11/1)

CNN: High Blood Pressure Went Up Even More Early In The Pandemic, Study Finds
People in the US with high blood pressure saw their levels rise during the first eight months of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new study says. ... Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the world, and well-controlled blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor, according to the researchers on the new study, published Tuesday in the journal Hypertension. (Christensen, 11/1)

Fox News: A Stressful Marriage May Harm Your Heart Health, Study Finds
There may be a link between distress in marriage and a poorer outcome after a heart attack for people who are under 55, according to a new study. "Our findings support that stress experienced in one’s everyday life, such as marital stress, may impact young adults’ recovery after a heart attack," said the study's lead author, Cenjing Zhu, in a press release published on Monday, Oct. 31, announcing the results. (Rousselle, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Just 11 Extra Pounds Can Ruin Healthy Knees 
Gaining even a small amount of weight may not only damage your knees — leading to pain, stiffness and mobility issues — but also increase your odds of needing knee replacement surgery, according to research presented last month at the International Congress on Obesity. (Searing, 11/1)