First Edition: Nov. 16, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News and MTPR:
It’s Getting Harder To Find Long-Term Residential Behavioral Health Treatment For Kids
Connie MacDonald works for the State Department at the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It’s a dream job, and she loved living abroad with her two sons. But earlier this year, MacDonald said, her 8-year-old son started to become aggressive. At first the family thought it was ADHD. Her son was indeed eventually diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — as well as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, which makes it difficult for her son to control his emotions, particularly anger. (Bolton, 11/16)
KFF Health News:
Compensation Is Key To Fixing Primary Care Shortage
Money talks. The United States faces a serious shortage of primary care physicians for many reasons, but one, in particular, is inescapable: compensation. Substantial disparities between what primary care physicians earn relative to specialists like orthopedists and cardiologists can weigh into medical students’ decisions about which field to choose. Plus, the system that Medicare and other health plans use to pay doctors generally places more value on doing procedures like replacing a knee or inserting a stent than on delivering the whole-person, long-term health care management that primary care physicians provide. (Andrews, 11/16)
The New York Times:
U.S. Presses China To Stop Flow Of Fentanyl
President Biden pressed the Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday to crack down on the Chinese firms that are helping to produce fentanyl, a potent drug that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. ... China is home to a thriving chemical industry that pumps out compounds that are made into pharmaceuticals, fragrances, textile dyes and fertilizers. Some of those same compounds can also be combined to create fentanyl, an opioid that can be 100 times as potent as morphine. (Swanson and Bradsher, 11/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Xi Says China ‘Sympathizes Deeply’ With Americans Over Fentanyl Crisis
Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking at the Hyatt Regency in downtown San Francisco, said a fentanyl deal between China and the United States would help crack down on the manufacturing and export of the deadly opioid that is devastating San Francisco and the rest of the U.S. “I would like to let you know that China sympathizes deeply with the American people, especially the young, for the sufferings that fentanyl has inflicted upon them. President Biden and I have agreed to set up a working group on counternarcotics to further our cooperation and help the United States tackle drug abuse,” Xi said. (Toledo, Li, Mishanec, Ravani and Munce, 11/15)
The Washington Post:
Senate Passes Bill To Avert Government Shutdown, Sending It To Biden To Sign
The Senate on Wednesday passed legislation to extend funding for federal agencies, sending the bill to avert a government shutdown to President Biden’s desk just days before the weekend deadline. The bill, which passed by an 87-11 vote, represents a marked de-escalation between congressional Democrats and new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Without the new spending measure, called a continuing resolution or CR, the government would have shut down just after midnight Saturday, forcing federal workers — including military members and airport security agents — to work without pay or go on furlough on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday. (Bogage, 11/15)
Stat:
PBM Reforms Clear House Panel
Panels in both the House and Senate have now passed restrictions to drug middlemen business practices, increasing the chances of those measures being included in future government spending bills. (Wilkerson, 11/15)
Stat:
Gain Of Function Research Would Be Limited Under House Proposal
House lawmakers late Tuesday voted to attach a U.S. ban on controversial infectious disease research to legislation that could ultimately fund federal health agencies like the National Institutes of Health. The bill would bar any federal agencies from funding so-called gain-of-function research, which involves altering a pathogen to study its spread, potentially making it more transmissible or severe in the process. (Owermohle, 11/15)
Stat:
FDA Reorg Will Put New Emphasis On Investigations, Sources Say
There’s about to be a new acronym in town. The Food and Drug Administration is in the final stages of cementing sweeping changes to the Office of Regulatory Affairs, which oversees inspections and compliance for all its regulated products, according to three people familiar with the planning. That overhaul includes a new name: Meet the Office of Inspections and Investigations. (Owermohle, 11/15)
Military.com:
Veteran Psychedelic Therapy Gets Cautious Support At First House Hearing Of Its Kind Since 1960s
Lawmakers and Veterans Affairs officials on Tuesday touted the potential for psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions and prevent veteran suicide, but they said additional research and FDA-approval is needed before the therapies could be available. In one of the first hearings in Congress on psychedelics since 1966, when Dr. Timothy Leary testified on the therapeutic potential for LSD, a House Veterans Affairs panel drilled VA physicians and advocates on psychiatric treatments that use MDMA, known recreationally as molly or ecstasy, and psilocybin, or magic mushrooms. (Kime, 11/15)
Reuters:
Senators Demand Documents From Meta On Social Media Harm To Children
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has written to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding documents about its research into the harm to children from its social media platforms. A whistleblower's release of documents in 2021 showed Meta knew Instagram, which began as a photo-sharing app, was addictive and worsened body image issues for some teen girls. (11/15)
The Washington Post:
Meta Wants Apple, Google Responsible For Teens Downloading Unwanted Apps
Meta is pushing for rival tech giants such as Google and Apple to play a bigger role in keeping teens off potentially harmful sites, calling for the first time for legislation to require app stores to get parental approval when users age 13 to 15 download apps. The proposal, which the Facebook and Instagram parent company is set to announce Wednesday, counters mounting calls by state and federal policymakers for individual sites to proactively screen kids to limit their use of social media platforms over safety concerns. (Lima and Nix, 11/15)
Axios:
Pandemic Prep Bill Falls Victim To COVID Politics
Congress appears destined to end the year without renewing expired federal pandemic preparedness programs after questions about emergency stockpiles, drug shortages and cracks in the nation's health security system got subsumed in COVID-19 politics. Reauthorizing the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act was billed as a must-do early this year, after the pandemic exposed gaps in countermeasures and disease surveillance. (Knight, 11/16)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Reports First Flu Death Of Season, Renews Call For Residents To Get Vaccinated
Los Angeles County has confirmed its first flu death of the season, and with the bulk of the season still ahead, health officials are reminding residents to get vaccinated. The person who died was elderly and had multiple underlying health conditions, according to the county Department of Public Health. There was no record of the person being vaccinated for flu this season, officials added. (De Leon, 11/15)
USA Today:
A Flu Shot Is Still Worth It Before The Holidays. Here's Why
It's not too late to get that annual flu shot before Thanksgiving. Experts say it's safe to get the vaccine one week ahead of time, and it's wise to consider it if you're traveling to visit friends and family. Interactions across the generations, for example, between school-age children with their grandparents, are ripe moments for the influenza virus to spread. Different strains of the virus can combine under one roof when groups get together during the chilly months, said Dr. Jonathan Temte. (Cuevas, 11/16)
The Boston Globe:
RSV Cases Rise In Massachusetts As Hopes Dim For Broad Access To New Drug For Babies
The seasonal surge in the respiratory illness RSV has begun in Massachusetts, as prospects dim for adequate supplies of a drug that experts had touted as a lifesaver for babies. “The surge is on its way,” said Dr. Laura J Cardello, director of inpatient pediatrics at South Shore Hospital. “We’re not at the peak, but we’re definitely on the upswing.” In the last two weeks, RSV was diagnosed in half of children seen at the hospital for respiratory illness, and it is expected to soon become the dominant virus, Cardello said. (Freyer, 11/15)
CIDRAP:
CDC Updates Advice For Preventing, Treating Anthrax
The updates to the 2014 guidelines on naturally occurring anthrax, published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, include an expanded list of alternative antimicrobial drugs to use if first-line drugs are contraindicated, not tolerated, depleted, or ineffective after a bioterroristic release of aerosolized B anthracis or a multidrug-resistant genetically engineered strain of the bacterium. (Van Beusekom, 11/15)
AP:
Hearing Thursday In Religious Leaders' Lawsuit Challenging Missouri Abortion Ban
A St. Louis judge on Thursday will hear arguments in a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortion ban on the grounds that lawmakers who passed the measure imposed their own religious beliefs on others who don’t share them. The lawsuit was filed in January on behalf of 13 Christian, Jewish and Unitarian Universalist leaders who support abortion rights. It seeks a permanent injunction barring the state from enforcing its abortion law, and a declaration that provisions of the law violate the Missouri Constitution. (Salter, 11/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
National Abortion Rights Group Endorses Barbara Lee For Senate
A leading national abortion rights organization endorsed Rep. Barbara Lee for Senate on Wednesday. Reproductive Freedom for All, which changed its name from NARAL Pro-Choice America in September, backs Lee because she has “loudly, proudly, and boldly” been a “driving force in our fight for abortion rights and access,” the organization’s president, Mini Timmaraju said. (Garofoli, 11/15)
Modern Healthcare:
2025 Benefit And Payment Parameters Proposed Rule Issued
State-run health insurance exchanges would have to ensure that provider networks are at least as adequate as those required on the federal marketplaces under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Wednesday. Beginning in 2025, insurance policies sold through full-featured state-based exchanges and through state-operated marketplaces that use the federal HealthCare.gov enrollment platform would have to meet the time-and-distance measure of provider access that is applied to plans sold via fully federal exchanges. States can seek exemptions. (Young, 11/15)
Modern Healthcare:
Home Health Providers Seek Workplace Violence Solutions
A trade group representing the home health industry is developing recommendations on how home health agencies can protect employees from dangerous situations as more care moves into the home. The National Association for Home Care and Hospice convened a task force in January to address growing concerns over workplace violence. It is recommending training for staff by law enforcement officers, sending security escorts with nurses into homes and, when necessary, doubling the number of nurses making in-home visits. (Eastabrook, 11/15)
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Nursing Home Ownership Disclosure Final Rule Issued
Nursing homes will be required to disclose their owners and other affiliated businesses to federal authorities under a final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Wednesday. The regulation seeks to shed light on an often opaque industry. Many skilled nursing facilities have complex corporate structures that make it difficult for government agencies to hold owners, operators and other parties accountable for violations of laws governing such matters as safety and quality. (Bennett, 11/15)
The Boston Globe:
Massachusetts Legislators Weigh Nursing Home Reform
Massachusetts legislators are eyeing reforms to the long-term care industry, with a bill that would increase oversight and help ease access issues. Long-term care, which includes nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, is a critical component of the health care system, and staffing challenges have led to a shortage of beds for patients needing to be discharged from a hospital. Hospitals have subsequently faced a capacity crisis, as patients have stayed in hospital beds longer. (Bartlett, 11/15)
Boston 25 News:
Salem Hospital Alerts Hundreds To Possible Exposure To HIV, Hepatitis Infections
Salem Hospital warned some patients who may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis due to incorrectly administered IVs. The hospital says about 450 endoscopy patients may have been exposed to HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C over a two-year period. Salem Hospital says the possibility of infection from the incident is “extremely small” and that there are no reported instances of infection yet. (Brace, Morelli and Lambert, 11/15)
Stateline:
The ‘Doctor Of Nursing Practice’ Will See You Now
When Vernon Langford sees patients, he typically wears a white lab coat with his title — “Dr.” — and his credentials as a nurse practitioner stitched on the front. ... A Florida bill lawmakers considered this year would have barred Langford and others with similar credentials from using the “Dr.” title in clinical settings. The bill was amended to exclude nurse practitioners before it reached the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who vetoed it without explanation. But Langford, who is president of the Florida Association of Nurse Practitioners, expects the legislation to reemerge. (Claire Vollers, 11/15)
Stat:
At-Home Test For Chlamydia, Gonorrhea Cleared By FDA For 1st Time
The Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval to a home test for chlamydia and gonorrhea on Wednesday, the first such authorization of a home test to detect the two most common sexually transmitted infections in this country. (Branswell, 11/15)
Stat:
World's First CRISPR-Based Medicine Wins Approval In U.K.
Regulators in the U.K. on Thursday approved a CRISPR-based medicine to treat both sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, making it the world’s first therapy built on the revolutionary gene-editing technology and ushering in a new phase of genetic medicine. (Joseph, 11/16)
The Washington Post:
Amazon Removes 7 Eye Drop Products After FDA Warning
Amazon is removing seven eye-drop products from its e-commerce site after the Food and Drug Administration warned the company that the products were unapproved, the company announced Wednesday. The FDA listed these products: Similasan Pink Eye Relief; The Goodbye Company Pink Eye; Can-C Eye Drops; Optique 1 Eye Drops; OcluMed Eye Drops; TRP Natural Eye Floaters Relief;
Manzanilla Sophia Chamomile Herbal Eye Drops. (Mark, 11/15)
Stat:
More Drug, Device Patents Invalidated For Bad Info Than Those Filed By Other Industries
The patents on medicines and devices approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were more frequently invalidated due to information misrepresented or withheld from patent examiners than any other industry sector, according to a new analysis. (Silverman, 11/15)
Stat:
Astellas Still Sees Hope In Its Gene Therapy After Four Deaths
A gene therapy study, halted when four children with a rare neuromuscular disorder died after treatment, showed enough promise to merit finding a path forward, according to the medicine’s manufacturer. The treatment, made by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas, led to severe and fatal liver problems for four of the 24 treated children with X-linked myotubular myopathy, or XLMTM, a genetic disease that severely degrades muscle function and kills most patients before the age of 10. (Garde, 11/15)
Bloomberg:
Wegovy: Novo Nordisk Staff Get Free Drug As A Perk If They Need It
If you’re a Novo Nordisk A/S employee with obesity, you will have access to a unique company perk: Free Wegovy. Novo offers to reimburse staff who have been prescribed the expensive weight-loss drug by a doctor in its homeland Denmark, the company said by email. The perk, which is still taxable, is also available to employees diagnosed with conditions that other Novo drugs treat, such as diabetes and hemophilia. (Wass, 11/15)
AP:
Progress In Childhood Cancer Has Stalled For Blacks And Hispanics, Report Says
Advances in childhood cancer are a success story in modern medicine. But in the past decade, those strides have stalled for Black and Hispanic youth, opening a gap in death rates, according to a new report published Thursday. Childhood cancers are rare and treatments have improved drastically in recent decades, saving lives. Death rates were about the same for Black, Hispanic and white children in 2001, and all went lower during the next decade. But over the next 10 years, only the rate for white children dipped a little lower. (Johnson, 11/16)
NBC News:
Common Knee Injury May Heal Without Surgery, New Research Finds
It’s long been thought that a torn ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, has limited ability to heal on its own and requires surgery. Recent research suggests that a nonsurgical treatment, including physical therapy, could be as effective, sparking controversy among surgeons who perform dozens of ACL reconstructions every year. The study, published in June in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that 90% of ACL tears in 80 participants showed signs of healing on an MRI after they followed a new bracing protocol. (Camero and Herzberg, 11/15)
Reuters:
Two Former NBA Players Are Convicted Over Roles In Health Care Fraud
A federal jury in Manhattan on Wednesday convicted two former National Basketball Association players over their roles in a scheme to defraud a league healthcare plan into paying millions of dollars for bogus medical procedures. Glen Davis, 37, who played for three NBA teams and won a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, was convicted on four counts including wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiring to commit fraud, and conspiring to make false statements. Will Bynum, 40, who played for three teams including the Detroit Pistons, was found guilty of conspiring to make false statements, but acquitted on a fraud conspiracy charge. ... Examples of the alleged fraudulent medical procedures included Davis and another player receiving crowns on the same six teeth on the same day, and Davis receiving crowns on eight teeth in Beverly Hills though he was in Nevada. (Stempel, 11/15)
Reuters:
New York Sues PepsiCo Over Plastics It Says Pollute, Hurt Health
New York state sued PepsiCo (PEP.O) on Wednesday, accusing the beverage and snack food giant of polluting the environment and endangering public health through its single-use plastic bottles, caps and wrappers. The lawsuit filed in state court in upstate Erie County is among the first by a U.S. state to target a major plastics producer. New York Attorney General Letitia James said such pollution can enter drinking water after breaking down, contributing to health problems. (Mindock and Stempel, 11/15)
NBC News:
Influencers Warned By FTC Over ‘Inadequate’ Disclosures Of Artificial Sweetener Promotions
A dozen social media influencers and two trade associations received warnings from the Federal Trade Commission on Monday for endorsing the safety of aspartame, an artificial sweetener, or for promoting the consumption of products containing sugar. By using health and diet creators, many of whom have large platforms on Instagram and TikTok, to market these products without adequately disclosing their connection to the advertiser, the American Beverage Association and the Canadian Sugar Institute may have violated FTC rules, according to warning letters the commission sent the two groups. (Yang, 11/15)
Axios:
Natural, Green, Clean Beauty Product Labels Mean Nothing
The words "clean" and "natural" might look appealing on cosmetic labels, but those adjectives mean squat when it comes to what's in the product and how it's made. There's little stopping manufacturers and marketers of cleansers, makeup and other grooming products from using misleading language to sell to consumers concerned about harmful ingredients and the environment. (Mallenbaum, 11/15)
Fox News:
Eating One Popular Fruit Could Help Reduce Your Chances Of Developing Dementia, Study Finds
Can a strawberry a day keep dementia away? A study published in the journal Nutrients last month suggests that could be possible. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) studied a total of 30 patients between 50 and 65 years of age who had experienced symptoms of mild cognitive decline. The participants were told to avoid eating any berry fruit — and instead added a packet of supplement powder to their water each morning, according to a press release from UC. For half the group, the powder contained strawberries. (Rudy, 11/15)
The New York Times:
For Health, More Nuts, Beans And Whole Grains In Your Diet
The case has never been clearer: Eat less bacon and more beans. An analysis published Wednesday in the journal BMC Medicine, drawing on data from 37 studies, adds to the evidence that eating fewer animal-based foods — especially processed meats — and replacing them with whole grains, legumes and nuts is linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. The study is particularly useful because it details which dietary changes are most strongly linked to better health, said Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was not involved with the study. (Callahan, 11/15)
Axios:
Number Of People Walking Declines Steeply In The U.S.
There's been a staggering decline in the number of trips Americans take by putting one foot in front of the other, per a new report. The number of annual average daily walking trips dropped a whopping 36% in the contiguous U.S. between 2019 and 2022, per a new StreetLight Data report. (Fitzpatrick and Beheraj, 11/16)
CIDRAP:
CWD Confirmed In Yellowstone National Park For First Time
Yellowstone National Park and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) announced yesterday that chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed for the first time in the park, which involves an adult mule deer found dead. ... So far, no infections in humans have been found, but health officials urge people to avoid eating meat from infected animals and to take precautions when field-dressing or butchering animals. (Schnirring, 11/15)