First Edition: Oct. 13, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
Rare ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacterium Spreads North As Oceans Warm
Debbie King barely gave it a second thought when she scraped her right shin climbing onto her friend’s pontoon for a day of boating in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 13. Even though her friend immediately dressed the slight cut, her shin was red and sore when King awoke the next day. It must be a sunburn, she thought. But three days later, the red and blistered area had grown. Her doctor took one look and sent King, 72, to the emergency room. (O'Donnell, 10/13)
KFF Health News:
The New Vaccines And You: Americans Better Armed Than Ever Against The Winter Blechs
Last year’s “triple-demic” marked the beginning of what may be a new normal: a confluence of respiratory infections — RSV, influenza, and covid-19 — will surge as the weather cools each year. Like blizzards, the specific timing and severity of these outbreaks are hard to forecast. But their damage can be limited in more ways than ever before. More protective vaccines against influenza are on the horizon. And new vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, were approved this year, as were updated covid vaccines. Although the first days of rollout for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines saw hiccups, with short supplies at some pharmacies and billing confusion with some insurers, the shots now are generally available at no cost. (Maxmen, 10/13)
KFF Health News:
Goody Gumdrops! It's Freakin' Time To Submit Your Scariest Halloween Health Care Haikus
Ghosts, ghouls, and readers, beware: Your health care scare is around the corner. Submissions are now open for KFF Health News’ fifth annual Halloween Haiku competition. KFF Health News has been publishing reader-submitted health care haikus for years and is dying to read how this spooky season inspires you. We want your best scary health care or health policy haiku. Submissions will be judged by a body of experts from our newsroom. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and members of our skeletal staff will pick the winners, announced on Tuesday, Oct. 31. (10/13)
KFF Health News:
Health Funding In Question In A Speaker-Less Congress
A bitterly divided Congress managed to keep the federal government running for several more weeks, while House Republicans struggle — again — to choose a leader. Meanwhile, many people removed from state Medicaid rolls are not finding their way to Affordable Care Act insurance, and a major investigation by The Washington Post attributes the decline in U.S. life expectancy to more than covid-19 and opioids. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews physician-author-playwright Samuel Shem about “Our Hospital,” his new novel about the health workforce in the age of covid. (10/12)
The Hill:
Medicare Part B Premiums To Rise By 6 Percent In 2024
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the monthly Medicare Part A and B premiums for 2024 on Thursday, with the costs set to go up by 6 percent next year. The premiums would increase by $9.80 from $164.90 to $174.70 in 2024 and the annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries will go up from $226 to $240 as well. This price increase comes after Medicare Part B premiums went down for the first time in more than 10 years in 2023. (Choi, 10/12)
Modern Healthcare:
PBM Reform Bills Likely To Pass Congress In 2023, Lawmakers Say
Historic levels of dysfunction and infighting may be roiling Congress these days, but there is at least one area where lawmakers appear primed to act as soon as they can: Cracking down on pharmacy benefit managers. Members of Congress, Capitol Hill staffers and industry stakeholders put high odds on some suite of healthcare bills winding up on President Joe Biden's desk before the legislative session ends. ... And lawmakers are always eager to brag to voters that they took action against high prescription drug prices. (McAuliff, 10/12)
Stat:
States Are Taking Their Own Steps To Lower Drug Costs
Anticipation may be high that Medicare can wring lower prices out of drugmakers, but a handful of states are moving aggressively to slash costs for their residents, a clear sign the battle over affordable medicines in the U.S. is only going to escalate further. (Silverman, 10/11)
Reuters:
Over 7 Million Americans Have Gotten Updated COVID Vaccines
More than 7 million Americans had rolled up their sleeves for the updated COVID-19 vaccines as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, despite reports that some people are still finding it difficult to book vaccination appointments or find the shots at no cost. ... Distribution of the Pfizer and Moderna shots began after the U.S. Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention recommended them on Sept. 12. Last year's booster targeting the original virus and another variant was rolled out about 10 days earlier. By Sept. 28, 2022, almost 7.6 million Americans had received the updated shots. (Wingrove, 10/12)
Bay Area News Group:
CDC Director Mandy Cohen Visits Bay Area COVID Vaccine Clinic
Carrying the torch for the new COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s top official on Thursday visited an East Bay assisted living facility to urge Americans, and especially seniors, to get the latest shot before the virus spikes again this winter. ... CDC Director Mandy Cohen said that at least 7 million Americans have received the new formulation in the past several weeks. That’s a tiny percentage of the hundreds of millions who are eligible, and a far cry from the uptake of the first booster doses released in 2021. (Blair Rowan, 10/12)
NBC News:
Getting Covid Several Times Can Have An Outsize Effect On Black People, Doctors Say
While there seems to be a range of experiences each time a person gets Covid, Dr. Geoffrey Mount Varner, an emergency room physician in Maryland and Virginia, said Black people should be vigilant about avoiding multiple Covid infections. Left unchecked, the effects of the virus could devastate Black communities. ... According to a wide-reaching meta-analysis published in 2021, Black people diagnosed with Covid were more likely to be admitted to intensive care units. (Bunn, 10/12)
NBC News:
Paxlovid May Prevent Long Covid, But Doctors Don't Prescribe It Much
A consensus has emerged among experts who study and treat long Covid: Paxlovid seems to reduce the risk of lingering symptoms among those eligible to take it. The idea is intuitive, experts say. Paxlovid prevents the coronavirus from replicating, so researchers think it may also reduce the risk of an infection causing inflammation or organ damage, which in turn can lead to chronic illness. (Bendix, 10/12)
CIDRAP:
CDC Study Characterizes 2022-23 Flu Season As Highly Severe, Particularly For Kids
Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a study finds that the 2022-2023 influenza season in the United States was severe, especially for children and adolescents. (Van Beusekom, 10/12)
The Washington Post:
New ‘Brain Atlas’ Maps The Highly Complex Organ In Dazzling Detail
Scientists on Thursday unveiled the most detailed and complex portrait yet of the human brain in a dazzling catalogue of more than 3,000 types of brain cells that collectively give rise to emotion, thought, memory and disease. The painstaking work is part of the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative, a $3 billion government-funded effort to develop tools and technology to understand and map the human brain. The results, published in 21 papers across multiple journals, are starting to open up the black box of the brain by providing an initial parts list for the most complex organ scientists have ever studied. (Johnson, 10/12)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Brain Death Guidance Updated For First Time In A Decade
The American Academy of Neurology recently updated the guidelines for determining brain death in adult and pediatric patients. The guidelines, published Oct. 11 in Neurology, are the first updates in more than a decade. The 85 consensus practice guidelines were developed by a panel of 20 experts from various specialities and institutions. It included a three-page checklist to use in evaluations. (Taylor, 10/12)
The Washington Post:
Some Coma Patients May Be Conscious. New Research Could Identify Them.
Some brain injury patients may appear to be in a coma, but they are not. They are processing at least some of what is happening around them but cannot physically respond. Without a physical response, a physician might assume that a patient hasn’t understood, said Sudhin Shah, a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. And, she said, referring to the patient, “Unfortunately, it could be that you were processing, you were understanding, you were wanting to talk to me. You just can’t.” (Jones, 10/12)
Becker's Hospital Review:
HCA Hospital 1st To Test New Brain Cancer Treatment
HCA Healthcare's Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond, Va., is the first in the nation to provide a new treatment for patients with brain metastases from lung cancer. The clinical trial is investigating the potential benefit of combining noninvasive focused ultrasound with systemic immunotherapy, according to an Oct. 12 system news release. The treatment opens the blood-brain barrier, which defends the brain against harmful substances, to help critical medications reach the critical lesions in the brain. Two patients have begun the six-treatment cycles. (Taylor, 10/12)
The New York Times:
Mary Lou Retton Crowdfunded Her Medical Debt, Like Many Thousands Of Others
When Mary Lou Retton, the decorated Olympic gymnast, accrued medical debt from a lengthy hospital stay, her family did what countless Americans have done before them: turned to crowdfunding to cover the bills. On Tuesday, Ms. Retton’s daughter started a fund-raising campaign on social media for her mother, who she said was hospitalized with a rare pneumonia. ... The public swiftly responded, with thousands donating $350,000 in less than two days, shattering the goal of $50,000. (Kliff, 10/12)
Axios Raleigh:
A Dispute Between UNC Healthand United Healthcare Could Leave Many Out-Of-Network
UNC Health is notifying nearly 200,000 of its patients that their coverage could be affected by a dispute with UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurance companies in the U.S. UNC Health is in the middle of a contract negotiation with UnitedHealthcare, and the hospital network said in a letter it is sending to patients that the two parties are far apart over reimbursement policies and rate increases. (Eanes and Graff, 10/13)
Fierce Healthcare:
Walgreens Outlines $1B Cost Saving Plan, Will Close 60 Clinics
Drugstore chain Walgreens plans to close 60 underperforming VillageMD clinics and exit five markets as part of an aggressive $1 billion cost-saving strategy as it looks to boost profitability in its healthcare business. The pharmacy retail giant posted weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and offered a soft profit outlook for 2024 amid falling demand for COVID-19 vaccines and testing in the U.S. and lower consumer spending. (Landi, 10/12)
Reuters:
Kaiser Permanente Resumes Talks With Healthcare Workers Union Week After Strike
Kaiser Permanente and the union representing healthcare workers resumed negotiations on Thursday, more than a week after contract talks broke off at the start of a 72-hour strike by 75,000 nurses, medical technicians and support staff. Company and union spokespersons said the two sides met in person late in the day at a San Francisco Bay-area hotel. Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su was present, as previously announced, to play a role as mediator, a spokesperson said. (Gorman, 10/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Kaiser Agrees To Spend $150M To Improve Mental Health Care Services
“In addition to paying the highest fine the DMHC has ever levied against a health plan, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to make significant improvements to the plan’s operations, processes and procedures and business model to better assist enrollees with accessing care,” Mary Watanabe, the department’s director, said in a statement. “The DMHC is committed to using its full authority to hold Kaiser accountable and ensure enrollees have access to behavioral health care when they need it.” (Egelko, 10/12)
The Boston Globe:
Frontline Workers Detail Low Wages, Poor Staffing At Providence Community Health Centers
On any given morning, Teresa Peixoto said she might have to call a handful of patients who were supposed to come in that afternoon and ask them to reschedule their appointment. Many of the patients who seek care at her clinic, the Providence Community Health Center on Allens Avenue in Lower South Providence, are low-income or don’t have health insurance at all. While standing on a picket line Thursday morning, Peixoto said many patients often have to take time off work, schedule child care, and plan for some form of transportation just to get to their doctor’s appointments. (Gagosz, 10/12)
Modern Healthcare:
North Dakota Rural Hospitals Form Clinically Integrated Network
Nearly two dozen critical access hospitals in North Dakota have formed a clinically integrated network, bucking the historical trend of rural hospitals seeking acquisitions by larger health systems. The alliance of 23 hospitals is designed to allow the facilities to reduce costs through group purchasing, aggregating shared services and collaborating to add specialty care, executives said. It could also improve negotiating leverage with commercial insurers and keep patients in their respective communities as the hospitals share clinicians. (Kacik, 10/12)
Stat:
Takeaways From AdvaMed, The Largest Medical Devices Conference
Thousands of workers in the medical device industry gathered here this week for the MedTech Conference, creating an eerie dissonance with Disneyland tourists clad in Mickey Mouse ears and fanny packs. Device makers and analysts at the conference, hosted by device lobby AdvaMed, came together to discuss medical technology’s innovation problem, the industry’s deepening relationship with the Food and Drug Administration, and the growing opportunities in digital health. (Lawrence, 10/11)
Stat:
Life Sciences Deals On Track To Hit Lowest Point Since 2017
It’s no secret that biotech industry funding has fallen from its Covid highs. But with just a few months left in the year, it’s on track to hit lows that predate the pandemic. New data from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association show that both the number of deals and the amount of money that’s being invested in life science companies are down significantly. (DeAngelis, 10/12)
Reuters:
Novo Nordisk Warns Online Offers Of Fake Ozempic, Wegovy Are Rising
Novo Nordisk warned on Thursday of a surge in counterfeit versions of its weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic offered online, as German authorities gave more details of complex European trades in a fake drug case. "Novo Nordisk has seen a significant increase in illegal online sales," the company said in a statement, referring to products that contain the active ingredient semaglutide. (Fick and Burger, 10/12)
Reuters:
Wegovy, Other Weight-Loss Drugs Scrutinized Over Reports Of Suicidal Thoughts
Dawn Heidlebaugh felt trapped in a disturbing pattern while taking Ozempic, the popular drug used to treat diabetes and obesity. Each Sunday for more than a year, the 53-year-old Ohio real estate agent took her weekly injection to help control her blood sugar. Then every Tuesday, she felt lethargic, depressed and sometimes suicidal, thinking her husband and four children might be better off without her. These feelings would last a few days, and the cycle repeated every week — except when she skipped a dose. (Respaut and Terhune, 10/12)
Reuters:
Lilly's Bowel Disease Drug Succeeds In Late-Stage Study
Eli Lilly said on Thursday its experimental drug met the main goals of a late-stage study to test it as a treatment for moderately to severely active Crohn's disease, a disorder that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Treatment with the drug, mirikizumab, helped 54.1% patients to achieve a state where they were no longer experiencing any gastrointestinal symptoms, after 52 weeks, compared with 19.6% who received placebo. (10/12)
Reuters:
US FDA Blocks Some Flavors Of British American Tobacco's Key Vape Brand Vuse
The U.S. health regulator on Thursday blocked the sale of six flavors of British American Tobacco's (BAT) main vape brand, Vuse Alto, in the market including the menthol flavor that makes up a large portion of its sales. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) marketing denial orders (MDOs) for R.J. Reynolds, owned by BAT, include three menthol-flavored and three mixed berry-flavored e-cigarette products, with each flavor being offered in three nicotine strengths. (10/12)
The Guardian:
Philip Morris Lobbying To Stop WHO ‘Attack’ On Vapes And Similar Products
Philip Morris International (PMI), the tobacco and vaping company behind Marlboro cigarettes, is waging a big lobbying campaign to prevent countries from cracking down on vapes and similar products as part of a global treaty, a leaked email reveals. ... In a message sent by the PMI’s senior vice-president of external affairs last month and seen by the Guardian, staff were told to find “any connection, any lead, whether political or technical” before a meeting of delegates from 182 countries. He described the agenda for the meeting of the World Health Organization as a “prohibitionist attack” on smoke-free products. (Marsh, 10/12)
Axios Phoenix:
Arizona Sees Second-Largest Birth Rate Decrease In U.S. Since 2007
The national birth rate fell substantially between 2007 and 2022, and in almost no state did it decrease as much as in Arizona. Arizona's birth rate in that period dropped 36.1%, second only to Utah's 36.2%, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. That's well above the national decrease of nearly 23%, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj reported. (Duda, 10/12)
Axios Seattle:
Washington State's Birth Rate Dropped 22% Over 15 Years
Washington state's birth rate fell dramatically between 2007 and 2022, mirroring a national trend. The state's rate dropped from 13.77 births per 1,000 people to 10.70 — a decline of more than 22%. In King County, the birth rate dropped by a similar percentage from 2011 to 2022, according to the state health department. (Fitzpatrick, Beheraj and Santos, 10/12)
Reuters:
Texas Defends Whistleblower Suit Against Planned Parenthood Challenge
Texas and an anonymous anti-abortion activist are urging a federal judge to uphold federal and state whistleblower laws against a challenge by Planned Parenthood, which has said the laws are unconstitutional in a bid to defeat a $1.8 billion fraud lawsuit they have filed against it. Planned Parenthood has argued in the case in Amarillo, Texas, federal court that the federal False Claims Act and a similar Texas law improperly allow private individuals to act as prosecutors, a role that it says the U.S. and Texas constitutions reserve for government officials. (Pierson, 10/12)
NPR:
Irth App Helps Black Parents Report Bias In Birth And Delivery Care
Like any savvy mother-to-be, Harlem-based journalist Kimberly Seals Allers made an informed decision when it came to selecting a hospital in which to give birth. ... Seals Allers arrived with high expectations, but what happened next was jarring. ... Seals Allers, who has a background in health communications, says she wanted to do something to make it easier for African Americans and other people of color to navigate the health care system during pregnancy and birth. She partnered with MIT's Solve social impact incubator to create the mobile app Irth, which collects and shares health care reviews from parents of color. (Muraskin, 10/13)
The Denver Post:
No Longer Just “Hippie” Moms-To-Be: More Women Delivering Babies At Home With Midwives
The number of women who birthed at home from 2020-21 rose 12%, “the highest level since at least 1990” at more than 51,600 births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, from 2016-21, more certified midwives — who have faced misconceptions about their educations and care historically — have joined the profession to meet the boost in demand. (Ulu Lani Boyanton, 10/12)
The New York Times:
Younger Women Get Lung Cancer At Higher Rates Than Men
Over the last several decades, the rates of new cases of lung cancer have fallen in the United States. There were roughly 65 new cases of lung cancer for every 100,000 people in 1992. By 2019, that number had dropped to about 42. But for all that progress, a disparity is emerging: Women between the ages of 35 and 54 are being diagnosed with lung cancer at higher rates than men in that same age group, according to a report published Thursday by researchers at the American Cancer Society. The disparity is small — one or two more cases among every 100,000 women in that age range than among men — but it is significant enough that researchers want to know more. (Blum, 10/12)
Fox News:
Ovarian Cancer Could Be Detected Early With A New Blood Test, Study Finds
A new blood test could help diagnose cancer cases earlier. Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) developed a blood test to detect early onset ovarian cancer. The test, called OvaPrint, is described as a "cell-free DNA methylation liquid biopsy for the risk assessment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer," according to the report published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. ... The researchers are looking into a follow-up study to validate results, according to Medical Press. This validation could lead to OvaPrint's commercial availability within the next two years. (Stabile, 10/13)
Inside Climate News:
Texas Moves To Formalize Cancer Risk Threshold From Industrial Air Pollution
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has quietly proposed maintaining a target cancer-risk level for air pollution permits that scientists and public health officials consider inadequate to protect public health, especially for communities like those east of Houston that are exposed simultaneously to many sources of industrial emissions. (Baddour, 10/13)
Stat:
CRISPR-Edited Pig Kidneys Kept Monkeys Alive For Two Years
Scientists at a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company and their academic research partners reported Wednesday that an engineered breed of miniature pig containing up to 69 genetic changes produced kidneys that functioned well in monkeys for an average of 176 days and in one animal for more than two years. The results, published in Nature, are an encouraging sign that the long-struggling science of xenotransplantation might one day become a medical reality. (Molteni, 10/11)
CIDRAP:
Foodborne Illness Outbreak In Utah Linked To Raw Milk
Health officials in Utah are investigating a cluster of campylobacteriosis cases linked to raw milk. In a press release, officials with the Salt Lake County Health Department say they have identified 10 people in the county with campylobacteriosis, a gastrointestinal illness caused by the bacterium Campylobacter, with four additional cases reported statewide. Twelve of the 14 patients have confirmed raw milk consumption, the source of which has not yet been identified. (Dall, 10/12)