First Edition: Oct. 19, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News and Cox Media Group:
Under Fire, Social Security Chief Vows ‘Top-To-Bottom’ Review Of Payment Clawbacks
The head of the Social Security Administration said Wednesday the agency has been sending about 1 million people a year notices that they were paid benefits to which they were not entitled, and she said she has ordered a “top-to-bottom, comprehensive review” of how the agency deals with such overpayments. Kilolo Kijakazi, the acting commissioner, testified at a congressional hearing at which House members faulted the agency for issuing billions of dollars of payments in error and then, often much later, demanding that beneficiaries pay the money back. (Hilzenrath and Fleischer, 10/18)
KFF Health News:
Health Care ‘Game-Changer’? Feds Boost Care For Homeless Americans
The Biden administration is making it easier for doctors and nurses to treat homeless people wherever they find them, from creekside encampments to freeway underpasses, marking a fundamental shift in how — and where — health care is delivered. As of Oct. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began allowing public and private insurers to pay “street medicine” providers for medical services they deliver anyplace homeless people might be staying. (Hart, 10/19)
KFF Health News:
Suzanne Somers’ Legacy Tainted By Celebrity Medical Misinformation
Before there was Gwyneth Paltrow or Jenny McCarthy or Dr. Oz, there was Suzanne Somers. Somers, who died from complications of breast cancer Oct. 15 at age 76, pioneered the role of celebrity wellness guru, using her sitcom television fame as a springboard to a second career as a self-professed health and beauty expert. (Szabo, 10/18)
KFF Health News:
Feds Try To Head Off Growing Problem Of Overdoses Among Expectant Mothers
When Andria Peterson began working as a clinical pharmacist in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, in 2009, she witnessed the devastating effects the opioid crisis had on the hospital’s youngest patients. She recalled vividly one baby who stayed in the NICU for 90 days with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a form of withdrawal, because his mother had used substances while pregnant. The mother came in every day, Peterson said. She took three buses to get to the hospital to see her baby. Peterson watched her sing to him some days and read to him on others. (Rodriguez and Houghton, 10/19)
Stat:
NIH Confirmation Hearing Shows Politicization Of Research
Monica Bertagnolli, President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health, spent her confirmation hearing Wednesday stuck in the middle of Republicans’ and Democrats’ bickering over her agency’s role in high drug costs, ultimately refusing to commit to either party’s approach. (Owermohle, 10/18)
Nature:
NIH Director Hearing Highlights Science’s Politicization In Wake Of COVID Pandemic
Bertagnolli hinted at what her priorities will be for the biomedical agency if she is confirmed. At the top of the list is improving the diversity of clinical-trial participants, enhancing collaboration among the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers and restoring public trust in scientists and the agency. (10/19)
Stat:
Senate Finance Targets Medicare Advantage Brokers
Senate Finance Committee members from both parties took aim Wednesday at insurance brokers that sell plans for large Medicare Advantage insurers. Older adults at times have more than 100 plan options, and brokers help them choose the right one. But brokers can be incentivized by large insurance companies to aggressively sell plans that are a poor fit for the Medicare beneficiaries they’re supposed to help. (Wilkerson, 10/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer Prices Covid Drug Paxlovid At $1,400 For A Five-Day Course
Pfizer told the pharmacies and clinics that will dispense Paxlovid, in a letter dated Wednesday that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, that a five-day course of the antiviral will list for $1,390. The U.S. government had paid $529. Health plans will probably pay much less than the list price for the pills, and most patients will have a small or no out-of-pocket cost because Pfizer is expected to offer price discounts and help patients with their out-of-pocket charges. (Rockoff and Hopkins, 19/18)
The Washington Post:
U.S. Halts Collection On Some Past Due Covid Small-Business Loans
The U.S. government has halted some efforts to collect an estimated $62 billion in past-due pandemic loans made to small businesses, concluding that aggressive attempts to recover the money — a portion of which may have been lost to fraud — could cost more than simply writing off the debt. The Small Business Administration, which manages the program, adopted the policy in April, prompting the agency’s watchdogs to compute the potential losses in a September report that found the practice “risks” violating federal law. The internal directive since then has sparked an outcry on Capitol Hill, where House Republicans on Wednesday opened an investigation and joined their Senate GOP counterparts in demanding documents from the SBA. (Romm, 10/18)
CNN:
How To Tell If You Are Still Contagious After Having Covid-19, The Flu Or RSV: A Doctor Explains
It’s fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and the weather is getting cooler. Many people have cold-like symptoms, and some may have tested positive for Covid-19, influenza or the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). With winter on the way and viral infections increasing, a lot of people may wonder how long they will be contagious after infection and how long they should take precautions and avoid contact with others. (Hetter, 10/18)
CIDRAP:
Risk Of Guillain-Barre Syndrome 6 Times Higher After COVID Infection, Study Suggests
A new study from Israel ties COVID-19 infection to an increased risk of a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks, while mRNA vaccination was linked to a decreased risk of the rare but serious autoimmune disease. The study was published today in Neurology. (Van Beusekom, 10/18)
The New York Times:
Rite Aid Is Closing 154 Stores
The branches set to be shuttered were detailed in a filing on Tuesday in bankruptcy court in New Jersey. The store closings are meant to help Rite Aid save money on rent and improve its financial footing. Rite Aid stores in Pennsylvania, California and New York will take the brunt of the closures. About 40 locations in Pennsylvania will be shut. More closings are expected as the company works to rid itself of billions of dollars in debt. It has about 45,000 employees, including 6,100 pharmacists. (Young, 10/19)
CNBC:
Rite Aid Lost More Than $1 Billion Before Bankruptcy Filing
Rite Aid lost more than $1 billion in the months before it filed for bankruptcy, the failed drugstore chain revealed in a Wednesday regulatory filing, as it warned investors it may not be able to keep its business running. The warning, which came three days after Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy protection, was contained in a late quarterly filing that showed the company racked up more losses in the 13 weeks ending Sept. 2 than it did during its entire previous fiscal year. (Fonrouge, 10/18)
Reuters:
U.S. Income Inequality Grew Through Pandemic Years, Fed Survey Shows
American families on average saw large gains in income and wealth from 2019 to 2022 and households became less fragile during a period marked by the severe disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and massive subsequent government spending, a Federal Reserve survey published Wednesday showed. But the income gains were largest among the highest-earning families, and fastest among white families, with income at the median actually registering small declines for both Hispanic and Black families, the Fed found in its latest Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted every three years. (Saphir, 10/18)
AP:
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Takes His Fight For Abortion Access National With A New Self-Funded Group
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is taking his abortion-rights advocacy nationwide, introducing on Wednesday a political organization to fund similar efforts outside Illinois, a state that legalized abortion by statute even before the Supreme Court invalidated the right to undergo the procedure. Think Big America has already funded support for constitutional amendments favoring abortion access in Ohio, Arizona and Nevada. The effort also enhances the profile of the Democratic governor and multibillionaire equity investor and philanthropist. Pritzker has said he’s focused on serving as a Midwest governor, but speculation is rampant that he harbors presidential ambitions. (O'Connor, 10/18)
The 19th:
Domestic Violence Calls About ‘Reproductive Coercion’ Doubled After The Overturn Of Roe
Reports of abuse involving reproductive coercion — actions that prevent someone from making crucial decisions about their body and reproductive health — nearly doubled in the yearlong period after Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to new data from the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH). (Gerson, 10/18)
Modern Healthcare:
Henry Ford Health, Ascension Michigan Plan To Combine
Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan plan to form a combined $10.5 billion health system with 13 hospitals in the Detroit area, the nonprofit health systems said Wednesday. Detroit-based Henry Ford and the Michigan division of St. Louis-based Ascension described the agreement as a joint venture, although the eight Ascension Michigan acute-care hospitals and an addiction treatment center involved in the no-cash deal would be rebranded as Henry Ford facilities and run by Henry Ford president and CEO Robert Riney. (Kacik, 10/18)
Stat:
CZI To Create Biohub To Build Anti-Disease Cellular Machines
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, pediatrician and philanthropist Priscilla Chan, announced on Wednesday plans to invest $250 million over 10 years to establish a new “biohub” in New York City focused on building a new class of cellular machines that can surveil the body and snuff out disease. (Mast, 10/18)
Fierce Healthcare:
Wash. Hospitals Sue To Block Updated State Charity Care Policy
Washington hospitals are looking to take their state’s Department of Health to court over a September notice requiring certain providers to offer charity care to poor patients regardless of where in the world they live. (Muoio, 10/18)
Axios Cleveland:
Cleveland Clinic Spent 1.5% On Charity, While Paying CEO $6.6 Million
Cleveland Clinic is once again in the spotlight for its limited investments in the community. The Clinic is one of 12 major nonprofit hospitals that dedicated less than 2% of their total revenue to charity care in 2021, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recently found. (Allard, 10/18)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Shuttered North Carolina Hospital Failed To Submit Compliance Reports For 5 Years
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health acknowledged that it failed to provide compliance reports to the state of North Carolina for shuttered Martin General Hospital for five years, local news outlet WITN reported Oct. 18.The Williamston, N.C.-based hospital closed Aug. 3 due to financial challenges. Quorum Health owns Williamston Hospital Corp., which operated Martin General. The revelations came about after an investigation from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.(Schwartz, 10/18)
Modern Healthcare:
Hospital Price Transparency Data Helping Employers Negotiate Costs
Employers across the country are using price transparency data to tweak health plan benefits and push legislation to pressure hospitals to lower prices. Historically, employers have been reluctant to limit employees’ choice by cutting inefficient healthcare providers from their health plan networks. But that sentiment has changed as employers continue to see costs rise. (Kacik, 10/18)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Penn Medicine, IBX Report Shows Savings From Mental Health Care In Primary Care
Research by Penn Medicine and Independence Blue Cross has found that a new model for providing and paying for mental health services at primary care practices doesn’t increase overall costs for insurers. The two institutions have been studying a new billing code created to help health-care providers address mental health issues since 2018. Their work previously showed that linking primary care and mental health services increased the number of patients receiving needed behavioral health care and led to mental health improvements. Researchers have long found strong ties between physical and mental health. (Brubaker, 10/18)
News Service of Florida:
Plaintiffs Push Back In Fight Over Florida's Medicaid Unwinding
Saying that notices sent by the state “border on incomprehensible,” attorneys for Medicaid beneficiaries fired back this week in a potential class-action lawsuit alleging Florida has not provided adequate information before dropping people from the health care program. (Saunders, 10/18)
AP:
Amazon Will Start Testing Drones For Medication Deliveries
Amazon will soon make prescription drugs fall from the sky when the e-commerce giant becomes the latest company to test drone deliveries for medications. The company said Wednesday that customers in College Station, Texas, can now get prescriptions delivered by a drone within an hour of placing their order. The drone, programed to fly from a delivery center with a secure pharmacy, will travel to the customer’s address, descend to a height of about four meters — or 13 feet — and drop a padded package. (Murphy and Hadero, 10/18)
Stat:
Ozempic-Type Drugs Don't Always Work. Scientists Are Asking Why
Treatments like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have been hailed for showing 15% to over 20% weight loss in trials, but those are just averages. In reality, there are big variations in how much weight people lose on the therapies, and it’s unclear what explains those differences. One way researchers are trying to figure this out is by focusing on genes. (Chen, 10/18)
Reuters:
Merck Shingles Vaccine Appeal Will Test Controversial Mass Torts Case Management Tool
The federal trial judge overseeing a four-year-old multidistrict litigation over Merck’s Zostavax shingles vaccine decided in March 2022 that it was time for plaintiffs to put up or shut up. The judge, U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle of Philadelphia, had already granted summary judgment to Merck (MRK.N) in five bellwether cases by plaintiffs who claimed that the Zostavax vaccine caused them to develop shingles instead of protecting them from the virus. Bartle ruled that the bellwether plaintiffs’ expert failed to offer scientifically reliable evidence that their illness was specifically triggered by Merck’s vaccine and not instead linked to the far more common strain of virus that lingers in the nerve cells of people who have had chicken pox. (Frankel, 10/18)
Reuters:
Religious Liberty May Bar Defendant's Forced Medication, US Court Says
A Mississippi man's religious objections to being forcibly treated with psychiatric medication must be considered first before he can be involuntarily medicated and made to stand trial for threatening a judge, a federal appeals court has concluded. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reached that conclusion in a Tuesday opinion that replaced their own earlier, less-expansive ruling in August in favor Bryant Lamont Harris. (Raymond, 10/18)
CBS News:
New Research Underway Links Breast Cancer And Drinking Alcohol
The American Cancer Society said women who have one alcoholic drink a day have a seven to 10% increase in risk. If you're up to three drinks a day, the risk jumps to 20% higher. And while cancer prevention guidelines say it's best not to drink alcohol, it's recommended women limit their intake to no more than one drink a day. (Stahl, 10/18)
USA Today:
Snoozing Your Alarm Might Not Be Bad For You, Study Finds
A new report published Wednesday in the Journal of Sleep Research found no evidence that using the snooze feature on your alarm negatively impacts sleep and cognitive processes. And while morning drowsiness and shorter sleep were more common in those who snoozed, it could even have benefits if used shortly. The research even found that a brief snooze period could alleviate sleep inertia, the disorientation and performance or mood decline that occurs when waking up, without drastically disturbing sleep. (Robledo, 10/18)
CIDRAP:
Investigation Links Salmonella Outbreak To Wild Songbirds
An outbreak of salmonellosis that sickened people in 12 states during winter 2020-21 has been linked to wild songbirds, researchers reported today in Emerging Infectious Diseases. The outbreak of illness caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was first identified by public health officials in eight people in Oregon and Washington state in February 2021. ... Of the 22 patients interviewed, 14 reported having a bird feeder on their property, 7 had contact with living or dead songbirds in the week before illness onset, 18 had pet dogs, and 7 had pet cats. (Dall, 10/18)