First Edition: April 26, 2024

KFF Health News: California Is Investing $500M In Therapy Apps For Youth. Advocates Fear It Won’t Pay Off
With little pomp, California launched two apps at the start of the year offering free behavioral health services to youths to help them cope with everything from living with anxiety to body acceptance. Through their phones, young people and some caregivers can meet BrightLife Kids and Soluna coaches, some who specialize in peer support or substance use disorders, for roughly 30-minute virtual counseling sessions that are best suited to those with more mild needs, typically those without a clinical diagnosis. (Castle Work, 4/26)

KFF Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast: Abortion — Again — At The Supreme Court 
For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case. This time, the justices are being asked to decide whether a federal law that requires emergency care in hospitals can trump Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. (4/24)

NBC News: Bird Flu: 1 In 5 Samples Of Pasteurized Milk Contained Virus Fragments, FDA Finds
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that traces of the bird flu virus have been found in 1 in 5 samples of pasteurized milk, providing a more detailed picture of how much of the milk supply has been affected. ... As of Thursday, bird flu had been detected in 33 herds in eight states: Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio and Texas. (Lovelace Jr., 4/25)

Politico: The ‘Milk Supply Is Safe’: Biden Administration Scrambles To Reassure Americans As Bird Flu Spreads 
The Biden administration and dairy industry are racing to convince the public not to worry about the spread of the disease among the nation’s cattle. (Cadei, Brown and Lim, 4/25)

BBC: 'Unprecedented': How Bird Flu Became An Animal Pandemic
Bird flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading in cows. In the handful of human cases seen so far it has been extremely deadly. (Bourke, 4/26)

NBC News: CDC Describes First Known Cases Of HIV Transmitted Via Cosmetic Injections
Three women were likely infected with HIV while receiving so-called vampire facials at a New Mexico spa, marking the first known HIV cases transmitted via cosmetic injections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report Thursday. The first HIV case linked to the VIP Spa in Albuquerque was discovered in 2018 and prompted the New Mexico Department of Health to offer free testing to anyone who got injections at the facility. (Bendix, 4/25)

The Washington Post: How ‘Vampire Facials’ At An Unlicensed Spa Left Three Women With HIV
The woman’s HIV diagnosis was puzzling. Her only recent sexual partner tested negative. She didn’t report injecting drugs or undergoing a blood transfusion. But she did receive a cosmetic rejuvenating procedure known as a vampire facial, in which a person’s face is injected with their own blood through microneedles. In the coming years, disease detectives discovered that’s how she and two other women who went to the same unlicensed New Mexico spa with unsanitary practices probably contracted HIV. This marks the first known transmission of the virus through nonsterile cosmetic injection services. (Nirappil, 4/25)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Data Breach Hits 13M Consumers
A data breach at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan affected the information of more than 13 million individuals, according to a report filed with the federal government. The nonprofit insurance company, part of Oakland, California-based Kaiser Permanente, on April 12 notified the Health and Human Services Department of the breach. The report was made public Thursday. (Tepper, 4/25)

AP: 17 States Challenge Federal Rules Entitling Workers To Accommodations For Abortion 
Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging new federal rules entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions, calling the rules an illegal interpretation of a 2022 federal law. The lawsuit led by Tennessee and Arkansas comes since finalized federal regulations were published April 15 to provide guidance for employers and workers on how to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The language means workers can ask for time off to obtain an abortion and recover from the procedure. (DeMillo, 4/25)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Abortion Transfer Proposal Worries Doctors, Lawyers
Doctors who perform life-saving abortions may soon be required to document whether they first tried to transfer the patient to another facility to avoid terminating the pregnancy, a move some say goes beyond the language of the law. Health lawyers and doctors worry this proposed requirement further disincentivizes doctors from performing medically necessary, but legally risky, abortions. (Klibanoff, 4/25)

The New York Times: Arizona Republicans Who Supported Repealing An Abortion Ban Face Blowback 
State Representative Matt Gress, a Republican in a moderate slice of Phoenix, was in line at his neighborhood coffee shop on Thursday when a customer stopped and thanked him for voting to repeal an 1864 law that bans abortion in Arizona. “I know you’re taking some heat,” he told Mr. Gress. More than some. Shortly after the repeal bill squeaked through the Arizona House on Wednesday with support from every Democrat, as well as Mr. Gress and two other Republicans, anti-abortion activists denounced Mr. Gress on social media as a baby killer, coward and traitor. The Republican House speaker booted Mr. Gress off a spending committee. And some Democrats dismissed his stance as a bid to appease swing voters furious over the ban during an election year. (Healy, 4/25)

CBS News: People With Breast Cancer More Likely To Develop Second Cancer Over Time, Study Finds
A new study finds that people with breast cancer are more likely to develop a second cancer over time. Researchers at the University of Cambridge analyzed data on more than 583,000 female and male breast cancer survivors and found females were at significantly higher risk of developing cancer in the unaffected breast as well as cancer of the uterus, ovary, and a type of leukemia. (Marshall, 4/25)

USA Today: Mpox Outbreak Reported In Cuyahoga County, Ohio: Symptoms, Risks, More
Health officials in Ohio have announced an mpox outbreak after 11 cases have been reported in recent months. Since February, there have been 11 reported cases within Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. ... Joyous Van Meter, disease and emergency preparedness supervisor, at Cuyahoga County Board of Health told USA TODAY all of the reported cases are men. (Forbes, 4/25)

CIDRAP: COVID May Have Eroded Doctors' Belief That They Are Obligated To Treat Infectious Patients 
A systematic review posted in Clinical Infectious Diseases reveals that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians felt less ethically obligated to provide care to infectious-disease patients if they fear contracting the disease. A Duke University–led team reviewed 155 published studies exploring treatment obligation and refusal, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and pandemics up to October 25, 2022. The included studies examined ethical treatment obligations for patients with HIV/AIDS (72.2%), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS; 10.2%), COVID-19 (10.2%), Ebola (7.0%), and flu (7.0%). (Van Beusekom, 4/25)

CIDRAP: Impaired Sense Of Smell Still Common 1 Year After COVID-19
Sense of smell—but not taste—was still impaired in some COVID patients at 1 year, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open. The US-based cross-sectional study compared 340 people with and 434 without prior COVID-19, recruited from February 2020 to August 2023 from the social media website Reddit. (Soucheray, 4/25)

Reuters: GlaxoSmithKline Sues Pfizer And BioNTech Over Covid-19 Vaccine Technology 
GlaxoSmithKline sued Pfizer and BioNTech in Delaware federal court on Thursday, accusing them of infringing GSK patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in the companies' blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. GSK said in the lawsuit that Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccines violate the company's patent rights in mRNA-vaccine innovations developed "more than a decade before" the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Brittain, 4/25)

Reuters: Acuitas, CureVac Settle Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Rights 
Biotech company Acuitas Therapeutics and Germany-based CureVac have settled Acuitas' lawsuit demanding credit for inventions related to COVID-19 vaccines, according to a filing on Thursday in Virginia federal court. Acuitas sued CureVac last year in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, claiming its scientists should have been named as co-inventors of CureVac patents covering technology used in messenger RNA (mRNA)-based shots. CureVac told the court on Thursday that they had settled their dispute and will ask to dismiss the case. (Brittain, 4/25)

Reuters: US FDA Sends Warning Letter To Cardinal Health For Marketing Unapproved Devices 
The U.S. health regulator has sent a warning letter to Cardinal Health after an inspection of its facility in Illinois found the company was marketing and distributing unapproved devices made by a Chinese manufacturer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023 recommended against the use of some China-made syringes as it investigated reports of leaks, breakages and other quality problems with such products and last month expanded the guidance. (4/25)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Virtua Health Sued Trinity Health For $12 Million Related To Lourdes Health Deal
Virtua Health sued Trinity Health in New Jersey federal court Wednesday, seeking reimbursement for more than $12 million in legal fees and other costs related to a 2019 transaction between the two nonprofit health systems. The dispute originated with Virtua’s 2019 acquisition of the two-hospital Lourdes Health System from Trinity. Another South Jersey hospital, Deborah Heart & Lung Center in Browns Mills, sued Trinity to block the deal. (Brubaker, 4/25)

Modern Healthcare: Advocate Aurora Health To Sell MobileHelp 2 Years After Buying It
Advocate Aurora Health, now part of Advocate Health, is selling remote patient monitoring company MobileHelp two years after acquiring it. The sale is expected to close later this year, according to a financial report made available on Tuesday. The report did not share details on the buyer. (Hudson, 4/25)

Modern Healthcare: Oracle’s Headquarters Move Surprises Nashville, State Officials
Officials in Tennessee were as surprised as everyone else when Oracle Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison said the technology giant planned to move its world headquarters to Nashville. Economic development leaders said the company has become more engaged with the city’s healthcare community in recent years but they were caught off guard by Ellison’s announcement of the pending move on Tuesday. (Turner, 4/25)

Modern Healthcare: Molina’s Medicaid Advantage May See Boost From New DSNP Rule
Molina Healthcare will benefit from new federal rules that aim to make coverage more seamless for individuals enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, executives said Thursday during the company's first-quarter earnings call. If an insurance company operates both a Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plan in a single state, all new Dual Special Needs Plan enrollment must be limited to the same carrier by 2027, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a final rule this month. (Tepper, 4/25)

Stateline: You’ve Covered Your Copayment; Now Brace Yourself For The ‘Facility Fee’
Even if you have health insurance, you might expect to be charged a copayment for some routine care, like office-based exams and consultations. But you probably don’t expect to receive a bill a few weeks later charging you an extra $100 or more. That’s the situation an increasing number of state lawmakers are looking to change. In most states, a “hospital facility fee” can legally appear on your bill if your doctor is affiliated with a large hospital system — even if you never set foot on the hospital’s campus. (Claire Vollers, 4/25)

Reuters: Cigna To Offer Humira Rivals With $0 Copay At Specialty Pharmacy 
Cigna plans to make close copies of AbbVie's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira available with no out-of-pocket payment to eligible patients in the U.S. using its specialty pharmacy beginning in June, the health insurer said on Thursday. Cigna said it will stock high- and low-concentration biosimilar versions of Humira from drugmakers including Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva and Alvotech at its Accredo pharmacy. (Wingrove and Niasse, 4/26)

Reuters: Bankruptcy Allowed Mallinckrodt To End Acthar Royalties, 3rd Circ. Rules 
Mallinckrodt's bankruptcy permitted the drug company to end a perpetual royalty agreement with Sanofi-Aventis involving the best-selling medication Acthar, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday. Affirming a lower court decision, the 3rd Circuit found that Mallinckrodt's termination of royalty payments after it filed for bankruptcy in 2020 created, at best, a claim by Sanofi-Aventis for damages under the sales contract. (Knauth, 4/25)

The Hill: Fetterman, Warren Lead Democrats In Urging DEA To ‘Swiftly’ Take Marijuana Off Schedule I 
A coalition of Democrats called on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to quickly remove marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), signaling impatience over the agency’s ongoing review of cannabis’s designation. The lawmakers were led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and John Fetterman (Pa.) and Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) in a letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. (Choi, 4/25)

Bloomberg: Illegal Vapes Rising, Altria Asks FDA For More Enforcement
Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is calling on the US Food and Drug Administration to do more to crack down on the illegal vape products that compete with its own authorized product, NJOY. “We believe the FDA’s enforcement approach is not of the scale or scope needed to bring about fundamental change in the marketplace,” Altria Chief Executive Officer Billy Gifford said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call, according to a transcript. He described the proliferation of e-cigarettes that haven’t been authorized by the agency as a “threat to public health.” (Kary, 4/25)

CBS News: Minneapolis City Council Passes Tobacco Ordinance That Sets $15 Minimum Price For Cigarettes
Smoking in Minneapolis is set to get more expensive thanks to a new ordinance passed by the City Council. ... The policy also bans price discounts and coupons for tobacco products, stops a sample loophole that allows indoor smoking and increases penalties for shops that violate city code. Council member LaTrisha Vetaw, who wrote the ordinance, said it will "protect youth and communities [of] color from tobacco industry targeting." (Bettin and Ali, 4/25)

The Hill: DeSantis: Florida ‘Will Not Comply’ With New Biden Title IX Rules 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Thursday his state “will not comply” with recently unveiled changes to Title IX by the Biden administration.“ Florida rejects [President Biden’s] attempt to rewrite Title IX,” DeSantis said in a video posted to the social platform X. “We will not comply, and we will fight back.” The Biden administration on Friday unveiled a final set of changes to Title IX that add protections for transgender students to the federal civil rights law on sex-based discrimination. The changes will take effect in early August. (Suter, 4/25)

AP: Selling Weight-Loss And Muscle-Building Supplements To Minors In New York Is Now Illegal 
It’s now illegal to sell weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in New York, under a first-in-the-nation law that went into effect this week. Experts say loose federal regulation of dietary supplements has resulted in these products sometimes including unapproved ingredients, like steroids and heavy metals, putting kids at risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversees the market, but it doesn’t test products before they’re sold. (Khan, 4/25)

CBS News: Colorado Lawmakers Light Up State Agencies Opposed To Paying For Weight Loss Drugs: 'Perhaps It's Time They Go On A Diet'
A bill that would require state-regulated insurers and Medicaid to cover weight loss drugs for people who are obese or prediabetic cleared a major hurdle at the Colorado State Capitol. The bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee despite opposition from the Division of Insurance and Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Both insist the measure is cost-prohibitive. According to legislative fiscal analysts it would cost the state Medicaid system $86 million the first year alone. (Boyd, 4/25)

NPR: The Flint Water Crisis And Lead Poisoning, 10 Years Later
Almost a decade ago, pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha took to a podium in Flint, Mich. and demanded that the world pay attention to an unfolding water crisis. ... To save money, officials decided to switch the municipal water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River on April 25th, 2014. Flint is a majority-Black city, and at the time, an estimated 40% of residents lived in poverty. Many immediately noticed a difference in their water quality. (Kwong, Huang, Carlson, and Ramirez, 4/26)

The Boston Globe: Primary Care Access Is On Voters' Minds, Says New Poll
About a third of Massachusetts residents are dissatisfied with their ability to access primary care doctors and specialists, according to a new poll. Public health experts say those numbers, revealed in a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll ... are just the latest to highlight a growing capacity crisis in the state. Among the primary causes: Falling federal, state and private insurance reimbursement rates and structural changes in the healthcare industry that favor high-cost medical procedures over payments for preventive care. (Piore, 4/26)

AP: USDA Tells Producers To Reduce Salmonella In Certain Frozen Chicken Products
Poultry producers will be required to bring salmonella bacteria in certain chicken products to very low levels to help prevent food poisoning under a final rule issued Friday by U.S. agriculture officials. When the regulation takes effect in 2025, salmonella will be considered an adulterant — a contaminant that can cause foodborne illness — when it is detected above certain levels in frozen breaded and stuffed raw chicken products. That would include things like frozen chicken cordon bleu and chicken Kiev dishes that appear to be fully cooked but are only heat-treated to set the batter or coating. (Aleccia, 4/26)

Axios: Food Recalls Through FDA And USDA Reach Highest Level In 2023 Since 2020
Food recalls reached their highest level last year since before the pandemic, according to a new report released Thursday. Outbreaks linked to recalled food products sickened 1,100 people and killed six in 2023, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund report found. (Tyko, 4/25)

USA Today: School Lunch Nutrition: USDA To Limit Added Sugars For First Time
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced updated nutrition standards for school meals that will be gradually updated to include "less sugar and greater flexibility with menu planning" between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. “The new standards build on the great progress that school meals have made already and address remaining challenges - including reducing sugar in school breakfasts," said USDA's Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long in the news release. (Hauari, 4/25)