First Edition: June 21, 2023

KFF Health News: Drugmakers Are Abandoning Cheap Generics, And Now US Cancer Patients Can’t Get Meds 
On Nov. 22, three FDA inspectors arrived at the sprawling Intas Pharmaceuticals plant south of Ahmedabad, India, and found hundreds of trash bags full of shredded documents tossed into a garbage truck. Over the next 10 days, the inspectors assessed what looked like a systematic effort to conceal quality problems at the plant, which provided more than half of the U.S. supply of generic cisplatin and carboplatin, two cheap drugs used to treat as many as 500,000 new cancer cases every year. Seven months later, doctors and their patients are facing the unimaginable: In California, Virginia, and everywhere in between, they are being forced into grim contemplation of untested rationing plans for breast, cervical, bladder, ovarian, lung, testicular, and other cancers. Their decisions are likely to result in preventable deaths. (Allen, 6/21)

KFF Health News: What You Need To Know About The Opioid Settlement Funds 
The money, which comes from companies like Purdue Pharma, McKesson, CVS, and others that made, distributed, and sold opioid painkillers,  is meant as restitution for their roles in fueling the epidemic. KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani breaks down the money’s path – from when it lands to how it’s spent. (Pattani, Norman and Tempest, 6/21)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’ 
On the KFF Health News Minute this week: Doctors face hurdles seeking the mental health support they sometimes need, and the pitfalls of using an AI chatbot to help people with eating disorders. (6/20)

The New York Times: Judge Strikes Down Arkansas Law Banning Gender Transition Care For Minors
A federal judge in Arkansas on Tuesday struck down the state’s law forbidding medical treatments for children and teenagers seeking gender transitions, blocking what had been the first in a wave of such measures championed by conservative lawmakers across the country. The case had been closely watched as an important test of whether bans or severe restrictions on transition care for minors, which have since been enacted by 19 other states, could withstand legal challenges being brought by activists and civil liberties groups. It is the first ruling to broadly block such a ban for an entire state, though judges have intervened to temporarily delay similar laws from going into effect. (Rojas and Cochrane, 6/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Confirms Abortion-Rights Lawyer To U.S. Appeals Court 
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed abortion-rights lawyer Julie Rikelman to a U.S. appeals court, resolving a high-profile nomination by President Biden that had been pending nearly a year. Rikelman, 51 years old, will join the Boston-based First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over four northeastern states, plus Puerto Rico. She has worked as an advocate for abortion rights for more than a decade, most recently leading U.S. litigation for the Center for Reproductive Rights.  (Kusisto, 6/20)

Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Revives South Carolina Planned Parenthood Defunding Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a lower court ruling that blocked South Carolina from ending public funding to Planned Parenthood, giving the Republican-governed state another chance to defend its bid to deprive the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider of government money. (Chung, 6/20)

The New York Times: New York Passes Bill To Shield Abortion Providers Sending Pills To States With Bans 
The New York State Legislature gave final approval on Tuesday to legislation that provides legal protection for New York doctors to prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed abortion. The measure, along with similar new laws in several other states controlled by Democrats, could significantly expand medication abortion access by allowing more patients in states that restrict abortion to end pregnancies at home, without traveling to states where abortion is legal. (Belluck and Bazelon, 6/20)

AP: Kansas Won't Enforce Its New Law On Medication Abortions For At Least 5 Weeks
Kansas officials have agreed not to enforce a new restriction on medication abortions for at least five weeks before a state court judge decides whether to put it on hold until he decides a lawsuit challenging it and other existing rules. Providers and their attorneys announced the agreement Tuesday. For now, providers won’t have to tell patients that they can stop a medication abortion using a regimen that providers and major medical groups consider unproven and potentially dangerous. The new rule was set to take effect July 1. (Hanna, 6/20)

AP: Missouri Judge Orders End To GOP Officials' Standoff Over Proposed Abortion Rights Ballot Measure
A constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights in Missouri will move forward after a judge on Tuesday broke a standoff between two Republican officials that had halted the process. Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem ordered Attorney General Andrew Bailey to approve fellow Republican Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s estimated $51,000 price tag on the proposal within 24 hours. Bailey had refused to approve the price estimate, arguing that if the proposal were to succeed, it could cost the state as much as a million times more than that figure because of lost Medicaid funding or lost revenue that wouldn’t be collected from people who otherwise would be born. (Ballentine, 6/20)

Politico: Abortion Still Dominates Democratic Politics: 3 Takeaways From Virginia’s Primary Night 
Aird's victory is just the latest in a series of small but significant data points that show Democratic voters are still motivated by abortion rights at the ballot box. Earlier this year, Democrats flipped a state Senate seat in Virginia after a campaign that drew outsized attention from both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion groups. And Wisconsin saw unrivaled turnout in an April state Supreme Court race that was very much about abortion. (Montellaro, 6/20)

AP: Abortion Rights Groups Drop Suit Challenging Kentucky's Ban But Continue Legal Fight 
Abortion-rights groups filed a court motion Tuesday to dismiss their lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban but signaled that the legal fight is far from over. The groups’ strategy will focus on the next legal challenge expected to come from pregnant women who were denied abortion services in Kentucky. “We will be back in court when we have a patient plaintiff,” Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said in a statement. (Schreiner, 6/21)

The Hill: Democrats Fed Up With Tuberville Want To Change Senate Rules 
Senate Democrats say they’re ready to take another look at rules reform to break through the blockade Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has put in place against more than 200 military promotions to protest the Pentagon’s abortion policy. (Bolton, 6/20)

ABC News: Majority Of OBGYNs Believe Overturning Roe Led To More Maternal Deaths: Survey
A majority of OBGYNs say the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer is linked to more maternal deaths, according to a new survey released early Wednesday from KFF. The decision -- known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization -- determined there is no constitutional right to an abortion and gave individual states full power to regulate abortion. Since then, at least 15 states have ceased nearly all abortion services, according to an ABC News tally. (Kekatos, 6/21)

The Washington Post: White House Meets With Drug Firms On Cost Of Overdose-Reversal Drugs 
White House officials met with pharmaceutical company representatives Tuesday in an effort to address long-standing concerns about the affordability of overdose-reversal drugs that the Biden administration views as crucial to saving lives amid the nation’s raging opioid crisis. The meeting was held with representatives from 10 companies, including Emergent BioSolutions, which later this summer will start selling without a prescription an overdose-reversal drug called naloxone. Critics have slammed Emergent for plans to price the nasal spray, sold under the brand name Narcan, at “less than $50” per two-dose kit, which they say is too expensive for many people, let alone those who regularly use drugs. (Ovalle, 6/20)

Stat: Xylazine, Or ‘Tranq,’ Is Making Opioid Overdoses Harder To Reverse
For years, public health guidance about opioid overdoses has been relatively simple: Administer naloxone, then call 911. But the days of simply spraying naloxone into an overdose victim’s nose, then watching that person resume breathing and wake up within minutes, are over. (Facher, 6/21)

NBC News: Anxiety Screening Recommended For All Adults Under 65, Panel Says
All young and middle-age adults should be screened regularly for anxiety and depression, even if they don't have symptoms, an influential public health group said Tuesday. While the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended doctors assess patients for depression since 2002, it is the first time the group has advocated for routine screening of anxiety in adults. Pregnant women and those who gave birth within the past year were highlighted as people who should be screened. (Edwards, 6/20)

Stat: National Panel Rejects Calls For Broader Suicide Risk Screening
A panel of advisers is sticking with its recommendation that providers screen most adults for major depression, but, to the chagrin of mental health advocates, will not advise broad screening for suicide risk. (Owermohle, 6/20)

USA Today: Best Hospitals For Kids: US News Releases Rankings Amid Legal Scrutiny
U.S. News & World Report released its latest rankings for the country’s top children’s hospitals Wednesday, a day after a scathing letter criticized the media company for its annual rating system. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu alleged U.S. News’ rankings system is fraught with bias, questionable methodology and undisclosed financing, according to a letter obtained by USA TODAY Tuesday. Chiu said the letter is "more than a heads up." (Rodriguez, 6/21)

USA Today: US News' Hospital Rankings Questioned By San Francisco City Attorney
U.S. News & World Report’s hospital ranking system is being investigated by the San Francisco city attorney’s office, which alleges the annual report is fraught with bias, questionable methodology and undisclosed financing. In a letter sent to the media company Tuesday, City Attorney David Chiu alleged U.S. News’ rankings incentivize hospital systems to focus on certain specialties, including treatments primarily used by white people, to score higher in its ranking system. (Rodriguez, 6/20)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S.-Funded Scientist Among Three Chinese Researchers Who Fell Ill Amid Early Covid-19 Outbreak
A prominent scientist who worked on coronavirus projects funded by the U.S. government is one of three Chinese researchers who became sick with an unspecified illness during the initial outbreak of Covid-19, according to current and former U.S. officials. The identity and role of the researchers is one piece of intelligence that has been cited by proponents of the judgment that the pandemic originated with a lab leak, though the nature of their illness hasn’t been conclusively established. (Gordon and Strobel, 6/20)

AP: Outgoing CDC Director Says Resignation Spurred By Sense Of Accomplishment And Exhaustion
The outgoing head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday her reasons for stepping down were complicated, driven in part by a desire to take a break from the frenetic pace of the job during a pandemic. Dr. Rochelle Walensky surprised many in public health circles last month by announcing her departure after two years and five months — one of the shortest tenures for a CDC director in recent decades. She resigned as the pandemic’s national public health emergency was winding down. “I did what I came to do — which was get us through the darkest days of a pandemic,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. (Stobbe, 6/20)

CIDRAP: Clinicians Describe Lack Of Support, Waning Motivation In Year 2 Of COVID-19
Interviews with clinicians who provided direct patient care at US healthcare facilities in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic describe a disconnect between official messaging about crisis conditions and their own experience, waning morale, and having to allocate scarce resources in the absence of system-level support. ... Three themes emerged from the interviews: isolation, in-the-moment decision-making, and eroding motivation. Clinicians said they had a limited view of events outside of their immediate practice area and observed a disconnect between official messaging about conditions and their own experience. (Van Beusekom, 6/20)

Axios: Scientists On Twitter Head For The Exit
A feud broke out on Twitter over the weekend between popular podcaster Joe Rogan and prominent vaccine researcher Peter Hotez, with the podcaster challenging the scientist to a debate about vaccines in an online skirmish that drew fire from a few billionaires. The incident — which ultimately resulted in individuals approaching the scientist outside his home — highlighted the potential risks for researchers and medical professionals using the platform, which saw a rise in hate speech after its acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk. (Reed, 6/20)

Modern Healthcare: UPMC, Washington Health System Plan To Merge
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Washington Health System said Tuesday they plan to merge. The nonprofit systems' boards signed a letter of intent this month agreeing to integrate Washington Health into UPMC, following more research and discussion, according to a news release. (Hudson, 6/20)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Dealmaking Slows In 2023: PwC Report 
Inflation, rising interest rates and uncertainty about changes to government heath programs could drag healthcare dealmaking in 2023, despite renewed interest in hospital and physician groups, according to an analysis the consulting firm PwC published Tuesday. (Tepper, 6/20)

The Washington Post: Charges Dropped Against 2 Hospital Workers In Irvo Otieno Murder Case
The Virginia prosecutor who filed second-degree murder charges against 10 sheriff’s deputies and hospital workers in the March death of Irvo Otieno at a state mental health facility dropped the cases against two defendants Tuesday. Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man whose family said he was experiencing a mental health crisis, was handcuffed and bound at the legs when Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and employees at Central State Hospital held him down for about 11 minutes until he died, according to surveillance video and the medical examiner. (Rizzo, 6/20)

Stat: Top Federal Lobbyist At PhRMA Leaves
The top federal lobbyist for the brand drug lobby PhRMA is leaving, two drug industry lobbyists and one health care lobbyist told STAT on Tuesday. Anne Esposito, who was the trade group’s senior vice president for federal advocacy, played an important role in shaping PhRMA’s lobbying strategy over her three and a half years at the organization. (Cohrs, 6/20)

Stat: Exact Sciences Touts Data On Updated Cologuard Cancer Test
An updated version of Exact Sciences’ stool-based colorectal cancer screening test detected cancer accurately in a massive study, triggering fewer false alarms than its current product, the company announced Tuesday. While the biotech plans to use the data to apply for regulatory approval, cancer specialists say they’ll need to see more details before concluding the new test is a real and meaningful improvement over the current one. (Wosen, 6/20)

Fox News: Doctors Increasingly Using AR Smart Glasses In Operating Room: 'Potential To Revolutionize Surgeries' 
As artificial intelligence and other technologies continue to move into the medical field, a growing number of doctors are showing interest in how these innovations can transform all aspects of patient care — including surgery. Augmented reality (AR) smart glasses are wearable devices that enhance how people interact with the world around them. This is one such technology that's seeing wider use. (Rudy, 6/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gavin Newsom Unveils Plan For California To House The Mentally Ill
Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his plan on Tuesday to build housing for people with mental illness and addiction using $4.68 billion in new bond funding and some existing revenue from the state’s mental health services tax. (Bollag, 6/20)

The New York Times: Federal Policy On Homelessness Becomes New Target Of The Right
The bipartisan approach that has dominated federal homelessness policy for more than two decades is under growing conservative attack. The policy directs billions of dollars to programs that provide homeless people with permanent housing and offer — but do not require them to accept — services like treatment for mental illness or drug abuse. The approach, called Housing First, has been the subject of extensive study and expanded under presidents as different as George W. Bush and Barack Obama. President Biden’s homelessness plan makes Housing First its cornerstone and cites it a dozen times. But Housing First has become a conservative epithet. (DeParle, 6/20)

AP: Louisiana Lawmakers Regret Cutting $100M From Proposed State Health Department Budget Increase 
Lawmakers in Louisiana’s GOP-controlled Senate said Tuesday that they regretted their hasty passage of the state’s $45 billion budget — namely their decision to reduce a proposed funding increase for the state Department of Health by $100 million — and called on Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards to clean up the mess. ... The budget was passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature in the final 30 minutes of the session, with little to no explanation of the changes, minimal debate and in some cases a lack of testimony over how the amendments could affect services. (Cline, 6/21)

Los Angeles Times: Measles Cases Have Been Reported In California's Central Valley 
Two cases of measles have been reported in California’s Central Valley, prompting local officials to remind people to get their children vaccinated against the highly infectious disease. The infections were confirmed in a single household in Fresno County. County health officials said they are working with their counterparts at the state level and in neighboring Madera County to contact individuals who may have been exposed but believe at this point that the risk to the general population is low. (Lin II, 6/20)

Fox News: Breakthrough For Multiple Sclerosis Sufferers May Involve Helpful Hormone: ‘Patients Should Remain Optimistic’
A hormone released during pregnancy could help reverse damage in the cortex of the brain caused by multiple sclerosis (MS), a recent study led by UCLA has found. In people with MS, a potentially disabling autoimmune disease, immune cells attack and damage a protective coating called myelin, which surrounds nerves in the brain and spinal cord. When myelin is damaged, the nerve cells can no longer communicate with each other, which triggers symptoms of the disease. (Rudy, 6/21)

CNN: Heavy Drinkers Really Don’t ‘Handle Their Liquor,’ Study Says 
It’s a misnomer that heavy drinkers can “hold their liquor,” a new study found. Instead, people with alcohol use disorder — what used to be called alcoholism — were significantly impaired on cognitive and motor tests up to three hours after downing an alcoholic drink designed to mimic their typical habits. (LaMotte, 6/19)

Stat: Scientists Successfully Unfroze Rat Organs And Transplanted Them
The rat kidney was peculiarly beautiful — an edgeless viscera about the size of a quarter, gemstone-like and gleaming as if encased in pure glass. It owed its veneer to a frosty, minus 150-degree Celsius plunge into liquid nitrogen, a process known as vitrification, that shocked the kidney into an icy state of suspended animation. Then researchers at the University of Minnesota restarted the kidney’s biological clock, rewarming it before transplanting it back into a live rat — who survived the ordeal. (Renault, 6/21)