First Edition: May 15, 2023

KFF Health News: As More Hospitals Create Police Forces, Critics Warn Of Pitfalls 
When Destiny heard screams, she raced to a hospital room where she saw a patient assaulting a care technician. As a charge nurse at Northeast Georgia Health System, she was trained to de-escalate violent situations. But that day in spring 2021, as Destiny intervened, for several minutes the patient punched, kicked, and bit her. And by the time a team of security guards and other nurses could free her, the patient had ripped out chunks of Destiny’s hair. (Rayasam, 5/15)

KFF Health News: New Mexico Program To Reduce Maternity Care Deserts In Rural Areas Fights For Survival 
Thirteen weeks into her pregnancy, 29-year-old Cloie Davila was so “pukey” and nauseated that she began lovingly calling her baby “spicy.” Davila was sick enough that staffers at the local hospital gave her 2 liters of IV fluids and prescribed a daily regimen of vitamins and medication. This will be Davila’s third child and she hopes the nausea means it’s another girl. (Tribble, 5/15)

KFF Health News: Journalists Give Status Reports On The ‘Personhood’ Debate And The HIV Epidemic
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Bram Sable-Smith discussed personhood laws in Missouri and beyond on “Texas Standard” and KCUR’s “Kansas City Today” on May 11. He discussed the expansion of personhood laws also on KMOX’s “Total Information AM” on May 8. (5/13)

KFF Health News: ER Doctors Vow To Pursue Case Against Envision Even In Bankruptcy
If Envision Healthcare files for bankruptcy, a group of emergency room doctors would seek permission to continue their federal lawsuit that claims the private equity-backed company is violating California’s ban on corporate control of medical practices. “I anticipate that we would ask the bankruptcy judge to let our case proceed,” said David Millstein, an attorney representing the Milwaukee-based American Academy of Emergency Medicine Physician Group. “Among other things, Envision’s practices violate the law, are continuing, and need to be addressed.” Still, the future of the lawsuit is uncertain since it’s unclear how a judge might rule. (Wolfson, 5/12)

AP: Kansas Governor Vetoes Measures To Aid Anti-Abortion Centers, Limit Health Officials' Power 
Kansas’ Democratic governor on Friday vetoed Republican legislation that would have provided a financial boost to anti-abortion pregnancy centers and prevented officials fighting outbreaks of contagious diseases from prohibiting public gatherings or ordering infected people to isolate themselves. The two measures were part of a wave of conservative policies passed by GOP-controlled state legislatures this year, including ones in Kansas rolling back transgender rights and establishing new restrictions on abortion providers. But Gov. Laura Kelly’s two vetoes will stand because lawmakers have adjourned for the year, barring any attempt at overriding them. (Hanna, 5/12)

AP: Montana Supreme Court Decides Registered Nurses And Midwives Can Continue Providing Abortion Care
Montana’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday that advanced-practice registered nurses can continue to provide abortion care in the state, likely setting up legal clashes with the 2023 Legislature, which passed restrictive laws saying only physicians can perform abortions. The state failed to prove that an abortion performed by a family nurse practitioner or certified nurse-midwife presents more risk to the patient than abortions provided by physicians or physician assistants, according to the opinion written by Justice Laurie McKinnon. (Hanson, 5/12)

Axios: Scoop: Planned Parenthood Calls For Major Judicial Reform
Planned Parenthood is calling for the major reform of the federal judiciary less than a year after the fall of Roe v. Wade, including expanding the Supreme Court and adding term limits. Driving the news: The organization is also demanding an end to single-judge divisions, such as the Amarillo division in the Northern Texas District Court, where its sole judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, issued a ruling halting the Food and Drug Administration's approval of a widely used abortion pill. (González, 5/14)

The Hill: Abortion Pill Battle Threatens America’s ‘Gold Standard’ Drug Approval Process
The legal battle over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion pill mifepristone could undermine a drug approval process considered to be the “gold standard” around the world. With oral arguments in the Texas lawsuit set to begin next week, the implications of how the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rules are far-reaching. (Meyn and Choi, 5/14)

Politico: Nikki Haley: Federal Abortion Ban Is Unrealistic
Instituting a federal abortion ban is not “realistic,” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Sunday. “I’m not going to lie to the American people. Nothing’s going to happen if we don’t get 60 votes in the Senate. We’re not even close to that on the Republican or the Democrat side.” Haley said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” when pressed about what kind of limits on abortion she would seek if elected president. (Garrity, 5/14)

USA Today: Menopause Drug Veozah Approved By FDA To Treat Hot Flashes
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a once-a-day pill for dealing with uncomfortable hot flashes brought on by menopause. The new drug, Veozah (fezolinetant), differs from the traditional treatment of boosting the hormones estrogen and progestin to reduce menopause symptoms, which include sweating, flushing and chills. Developed by Astellas Pharma, Veozah blocks a chemical in the brain called neurokinin B (NKB), which regulates body temperature. (Snider, 5/13)

The Washington Post: FDA Blocks Marketing On 6,500 Flavored E-Cigarette Products 
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday blocked 10 companies from marketing or distributing 6,500 flavored e-liquid and e-cigarette products, part of its campaign against tobacco products being marketed to youths. The agency said the product applications covered a variety of flavored e-cigarettes, including some with flavors such as Citrus and Strawberry Cheesecake, as well as Cool Mint and Menthol. The FDA said the companies in question did not provide sufficient evidence that marketing the products would be appropriate for public health. (Werner, 5/12)

Reuters: Eisai, Biogen Alzheimer's Drug Leqembi Would Cost US Medicare Up To $5 Bln A Year, Study Finds
Wide coverage of Alzheimer's drug Leqembi would raise future costs for the U.S. Medicare health plan by $2 billion to $5 billion a year, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Leqembi, sold by partners Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc at an annual list price of $26,500, was approved this year under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's accelerated pathway. Trial results later showed it slowed the rate of cognitive decline by 27% compared with a placebo in patients with early disease. (Beasley, 5/12)

Stat: Compounding Pharmacies Can Help Address Drug Shortages
In the early days of the Covid pandemic, gravely ill patients began to fill America’s hospitals. Hospitals ran short of essential treatment medications and were unable to source those drugs from manufacturers or from the outsourcing facilities that had been authorized by Congress in 2013 to “fill the gap” in such situations. At the urging of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, the trade association I lead, the Food and Drug Administration in April 2020 issued temporary guidance allowing traditional compounding pharmacies, within tight regulatory guardrails, to prepare 13 Covid drugs from pure ingredients to meet hospitals’ urgent need. (Brunner, 5/15)

Politico: How The Supreme Court Might View The Debt Limit Fight
If Joe Biden and House Republicans fail to reach a debt deal, the crisis could get tossed to the Supreme Court — where it would scramble the usual priorities of the court’s conservatives. The court’s current approach to most cases is overwhelmingly pro-market and business-friendly. The justices would be wary of stoking economic calamity. (Swan, 5/14)

The Hill: Social Security COLA To Drop Significantly In 2024, Senior Group Predicts 
Social Security recipients shouldn’t expect 2024’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to be as significant as 2023’s, despite warnings that beneficiaries are losing their purchasing power. “The 2024 COLA could be around 3.1%,” Mary Johnson, the Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for the Senior Citizens League, said in a news release issued last week. (Bartiromo, 5/14)

NPR: Long COVID Research After The Public Health Emergency Ends
Estimates show that more than 65 million worldwide have the condition, which encompasses a wide range of symptoms that are worsened or appear after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. But three years after the first people with persistent symptoms were documented, there is no biomarker for the disease — no test or swab that can diagnose someone with Long COVID. A group of researchers is looking to change that. (Oza, Ramirez, Kwong, Spitzer, Cirino and McCoy, 5/15)

CIDRAP: Severe Obesity Poses 76% Higher Risk Of Poor COVID-19 Outcomes, Study Suggests 
Obesity accelerates the loss of COVID-19 vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody capacity, concludes a University of Cambridge study published yesterday in Nature Medicine. The researchers used the Early Pandemic Evaluation and Enhanced Surveillance of COVID-19 platform to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and infection-related hospitalization and death among 3.6 million adults in Scotland. Participants had received a second primary vaccine dose or a first booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from December 8, 2020, to March 19, 2022. (Van Beusekom, 5/12)

Military.com: Homeless Veterans Will Receive Less Help As Pandemic Aid Dries Up, Democrats And Veterans Groups Warn 
At a news conference Friday at the Washington, D.C., chapter of a nonprofit that provides housing and employment assistance to veterans, Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and advocates for homeless veterans warned that fewer veterans will be able to find help now that emergency authorities have ended and called on Republicans to move forward with a bill to renew the aid. "The rate that we receive for servicing a homeless veteran went from, last night, $164.67 to $64.52," said Clifton Lewis, executive director of U.S. Vets D.C., where the press conference was held. "How can you provide services to a veteran with just $64.52? Housing, food, case management services -- all the things that we do to service homeless veterans." (Kheel, 5/12)

Stat: United Colonoscopy Coverage Change 'May Cost Lives,' Doctors Say
When gastroenterologists learned in March that UnitedHealthcare plans to barricade many colonoscopies behind a controversial and complicated process known as prior authorization, their emotions cycled rapidly between fear, shock, and outrage. The change, which the health insurer will implement on June 1, means that any United member seeking surveillance and diagnostic colonoscopies to detect cancer will first need approval from United — or else have to pay out of pocket. (Chen, 5/15)

Stat: UnitedHealth Tussle With Arizona Hospital Centers On Care Denials
UnitedHealthcare and Phoenix Children’s Hospital are embroiled in a bitter contract dispute that would lock out families and children from care at the hospital by June if the two sides don’t come to a new agreement. And at least according to the hospital, the fight isn’t over prices, which is the traditional sticking point. (Herman, 5/15)

Bangor Daily News: Staff Criticize Closure Of Fort Kent Hospital’s Maternity Ward
The impending closure of the obstetrics unit at Maine’s northernmost hospital could be disastrous for patients who will have to seek care elsewhere, according to current and former staff members. Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent announced this week that it will close its obstetrics unit on May 26. The nonprofit hospital cited a decline in maternity patients and a lack of physicians to maintain services. (Potila, 5/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: State Bans Stanford-Affiliated Hospital From Treating Some Of California’s Sickest Children After Finding Dozens Of Violations
California health regulators have barred John Muir Medical Center from treating some of the state’s most seriously ill children after flagging dozens of wide-ranging and serious issues in the Walnut Creek hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, The Chronicle has learned. (Gafni and Dizikes, 5/12)

Modern Healthcare: SEIU Workers At 5 California HCA Hospitals Vote To Strike
Workers at five HCA Healthcare facilities in California have voted to authorize a five-day strike as the two sides continue contract negotiations. The strike, set to start May 22, would involve around 3,000 SEIU-UHW members working at HCA’s Good Samaritan Hospital and its Regional Medical Center in San Jose; Los Robles Medical Center in Thousand Oaks; West Hills Hospital in West Hills; and Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside. (Devereaux, 5/12)

Politico: How A Green Card Freeze Will Exacerbate The Nursing Crisis
The stream of international nurses coming to work in the United States could soon slow to a trickle because of a backlog of green card petitions at the State Department. The department announced in its May bulletin it moved the cut-off date for visa eligibility to June 1, 2022 — meaning only those who filed petitions before that date will be able to continue with their applications this fiscal year — because of soaring demand. Anyone who filed a green card petition in the past year, which could include thousands of nurses, won’t be able to proceed with their applications. (Hooper, 5/14)

AP: Historically Black Medical Schools Urge More Spending In Hearing With Bernie Sanders
To train more Black doctors, the federal government needs to bolster funding and make more training slots available for historically Black medical schools, leaders of those universities told U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday. “Our HBCU medical schools are the backbone of training Black doctors in this country.” Dr. Hugh Mighty, Howard University’s senior vice president of health affairs, said at a hearing in Atlanta. (Amy, 5/12)

USA Today: Women, Minorities Unhappy With Their Doctor's Treatment, Survey Says
When Kira, of Southborough, decided to undergo surgery to remove her fallopian tubes, she encountered a "subtle dismissive" response from her local obstetrician-gynecologist. "I felt like he was listening to me when I said, 'This is why I want the surgery,' but there was a sense that he was humoring me," said Kira, now a master of public health student at Boston University. When she made her surgery request at age 21, the surgeon advised her to "take some time to think about it" and return for consultation after graduation. (Yu, 5/15)

The Washington Post: Facing High Death Rates, Black Expecting Parents Seek Out Black Doulas
When Melissa Davis was a pregnant Black teenager in Baltimore more than 30 years ago, she felt that no one was interested in making sure she had an ideal birth experience. When Davis went to a hospital in the 32nd week of her pregnancy explaining that she was in labor, doctors and nurses wouldn’t believe her, she said. Hours later, she gave birth to her son, who was born blue from lack of oxygen and rushed to a NICU. After the delivery, Davis was left on a bed in a hallway for six hours. (Moyer, 5/14)

Politico: Sorry, The Government’s Not Paying For Your Therapy App 
New treatments for chronic conditions like opioid addiction, ADHD and insomnia are here and they’re on your smartphone — not in a pill bottle. But the government won’t pay for them, even as tech entrepreneurs insist to Congress and the Biden administration that their digital therapeutics are the next big thing. (Reader and Leonard, 5/14)

Houston Chronicle: Texas House GOP Votes To Bar Transgender Care For Minors
Senate Bill 14 would prohibit doctors from prescribing transition medications like puberty blockers or from performing surgeries on minors diagnosed with psychological distress about their gender identity. It passed easily, mostly along party lines, and is expected to get through the Senate, which already approved a similar version, en route to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. (Goldenstein, 5/12)

Los Angeles Times: Fentanyl Overdoses Fuel Surge In L.A. County Homeless Deaths
A devastating surge in drug overdoses drove up deaths among unhoused people in Los Angeles County in recent years, along with the rising toll of traffic collisions and homicides, according to a public health department report released Friday. The death rate increased 55% among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County between 2019 and 2021, a markedly sharper increase than in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials found. (Alpert Reyes, 5/12)

AP: New Hampshire Lab Error Incorrectly Resulted In Salad Greens Recall 
A laboratory error incorrectly caused a recall announcement for a brand of salad greens, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said. The products from lēf Farms are safe and the recall has been canceled, the department said in a news release Thursday. (5/12)

ABC News: Dangerous Heat Wave Continues Along West Coast
The temperatures could raise the risk of heat-related illness, especially as the majority of households in the region are not equipped with central air conditioning. High temperatures are cranking up even more further down the coast. Fresno, California, is forecast to be approaching 100 degrees on Sunday, with high temperatures of 95 degrees to 100 degrees for at least the next five days. (Jacobo and Amarante, 5/14)

NBC News: Lyme Disease Symptoms: Why Some Recover Fast And Others Do Not
Why some people recover from Lyme disease, while others experience months, years or even decades of chronic symptoms has long puzzled doctors. New research offers some clues to an immune system marker in the blood that is elevated among people with lingering Lyme disease symptoms, even after they’d received antibiotics. (Hopkins, 5/14)