First Edition: April 29, 2024

KFF Health News: Exposed To Agent Orange At US Bases, Veterans Face Cancer Without VA Compensation
As a young GI at Fort Ord in Monterey County, California, Dean Osborn spent much of his time in the oceanside woodlands, training on soil and guzzling water from streams and aquifers now known to be contaminated with cancer-causing pollutants. “They were marching the snot out of us,” he said, recalling his year and a half stationed on the base, from 1979 to 1980. (Norman and Kime, 4/29)

KFF Health News: What Florida’s New 6-Week Abortion Ban Means For The South, And Traveling Patients
Monica Kelly was thrilled to learn she was expecting her second child. The Tennessee mother was around 13 weeks pregnant when, according to a lawsuit filed against the state of Tennessee, doctors gave her the devastating news that her baby had Patau syndrome. The genetic disorder causes serious developmental defects and often results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or death within one year of birth. (O’Donnell, 4/29)

KFF Health News: Journalists Drill Down On Bird Flu Risks, Opioid Settlement Payouts, And Fluoride In Drinking Water
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media over the past two weeks to discuss recent stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (4/27)

Reuters: Bird Flu: US Tests Show Pasteurized Milk Is Safe
Additional tests of milk showed that pasteurization killed the bird flu virus, federal health officials said on Friday, as Colorado became the ninth U.S. state to report an infected dairy herd. Federal lawmakers urged the Biden administration to further contain the virus' spread as tests showed one in five U.S. commercial milk samples contained remnants of the virus, suggesting the outbreak is more widespread than previously thought. (Steenhuysen and Polansek, 4/26)

Stat: H5N1 Bird Flu Testing In Cows Will Be More Limited Than USDA Said 
New federal rules aimed at limiting the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus among dairy cattle go into effect Monday, but detailed guidance documents released Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveal its mandatory testing order is less stringent than initially described. (Molteni, 4/26)

NBC News: Bird Flu Cases Are Likely Being Missed In Dairy Workers, Experts Say
Dr. Barb Petersen, a dairy veterinarian in Amarillo, Texas, had been caring for sick cows for several weeks in March when she and a colleague finally pinned down the cause of the illness among the herd: the H5N1 strain of the bird flu. It was the first time the virus had been detected in cattle. ... During that same time, she said, dairy workers — including those who were never in close contact with the sick cows — also fell ill. (Edwards, 4/27)

AP: Flu Season Winds Down In US 
The U.S. flu season appears to be over. It was long, but it wasn’t unusually severe. Last week, for the third straight week, medical visits for flu-like illnesses dipped below the threshold for what’s counted as an active flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Other indicators, like hospitalizations and patient testing, also show low and declining activity. No state is reporting a high amount of flu activity. Only New England is seeing the kind of patient traffic associated with an active flu season right now, but even there flu impact is considered modest. (Stobbe, 4/26)

CIDRAP: US Respiratory Virus Levels Continue To Decline As Officials Track Shift In SARS-CoV-2 Proportions
Though COVID-19 indicators continue to decline, estimates of new variant proportions show some notable shifts in SARS-CoV-2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its weekly updates today. In its weekly snapshot for flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the CDC said no states are reporting high activity. Only one—North Dakota—is reporting moderate activity. (Schnirring, 4/26)

Axios: Hospital Reporting Of Respiratory Disease To Lapse
Hospitals starting this week will no longer have to report data on admissions, occupancy and other indicators of possible system stress from respiratory diseases to federal officials as another COVID-era mandate expires. (Bettelheim, 4/29)

CIDRAP: Study Reveals Promising Results For Abatacept For Severe COVID
A new study shows good results in patients with severe COVID-19 for abatacept, an anti-inflammatory immunomodulating drug used to treat psoriatic arthritis, according to findings published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. The study was based on results seen among 395 hospitalized patients in the ACTIV-1 IM randomized clinical trial, designed to assess the efficacy of abatacept, which inhibits T-cell activation, reducing multiple inflammatory cytokines. A previous ACTIV-1 trial showed the drug decreased mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, but optimal dosing of the drug based on body weight is still unknown, the authors said. (Soucheray, 4/26)

CIDRAP: Long-COVID Patients More Likely To Report Psychiatric Symptoms, Cost Barriers To Therapy 
A study in JAMA Network Open finds that while US adults with long COVID have a higher rate of psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety and are just as likely to receive treatment, many cite cost as a reason for not seeking care. A team led by University of British Columbia researchers parsed data on 25,122 US adults with and without long COVID (or post-COVID condition [PCC]) from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative interview-based survey, from October 2023 to February 2024. (Van Beusekom, 4/26)

CIDRAP: Risk Of Uveitis Recurrence Higher In Year After COVID Vaccination
The incidence of uveitis in the year after COVID-19 was 17% among nearly 474,000 Korean adults with a history of the inflammatory eye condition, according to a report in JAMA Ophthalmology. Uveitis is a potentially serious inflammation of the eye's middle layer of tissue that can cause symptoms such as pain, redness, and blurry vision. (Van Beusekom, 4/26)

USA Today: Abortion Travel Could Get Harder, Easier With These Ballot Measures
The year began with nationwide conservative efforts to shrink abortion access. Advocates for the procedure hope to end 2024 by reversing some of these restrictions, via the ballot box. And the outcome of their efforts could have major implications for something opponents have long waged war on − interstate abortion travel. (Kuchar, 4/28)

USA Today: Mitch McConnell Says He Doesn't See Path For National Abortion Ban
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., said on Sunday that he does not believe a nationwide ban on abortions would pass in his chamber, but McConnell declined to comment on whether he would personally support such a measure. “I don't think we'll get 60 votes in the Senate for any kind of national legislation,” McConnell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press" when asked whether he would back a federal abortion ban if it came to a vote. “It's going to be sorted out at the state level,” McConnell, 82, said. (Waddick, 4/28)

Fierce Healthcare: FTC Finalizes Changes To Health Breach Notification Rule
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a rule Friday that aims to tighten the reins on digital health apps sharing consumers' sensitive medical data with tech companies. The agency issued a final version of its revised Health Breach Notification Rule to underscore the rule’s applicability to health apps in a bid to protect consumers' data privacy and provide more transparency about how companies collect their health information. (Landi, 4/26)

The Texas Tribune: State’s Premature Release Of Bid Documents Touches Off New Battle Over Medicaid Contracts
Aetna, which is set to win a multibillion Texas Medicaid contract, got a peek at sensitive information submitted by 17 rival health plans during the bidding process after the state Health and Human Services agency erred and sent competitors’ proposals to the health insurance giant too early, according to emails and documents obtained by The Texas Tribune. The early release of documents throws into doubt the legitimacy of a procurement worth about $116 billion over the next 12 years because it gave a single competitor a look at the other bidders’ playbooks while the procurement game was still on, several bidders argue. (Harper, 4/26)

Crain's Chicago Business: St. Anthony's Medicaid Pay Lawsuit Can Proceed, Court Rules
St. Anthony Hospital's lawsuit challenging slow payment by Illinois Medicaid plans can go forward, following a divided federal appeals court ruling yesterday. The nonprofit Chicago safety-net hospital sued the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services, or HFS, over allegations the state failed to adequately oversee the seven insurance companies it contracted as managed-care organizations. (Asplund, 4/26)

CBS News: Oregon Medicaid Patients Get Air Conditioning, Mini Fridges As Climate Change Drives Health Concerns
Oregon is shipping air conditioners, air purifiers and power banks to some of its most vulnerable residents, a first-in-the-nation experiment to use Medicaid money to prevent the potentially deadly health effects of extreme heat, wildfire smoke and other climate-related disasters. The equipment, which started going out in March, expands a Biden administration strategy to move Medicaid beyond traditional medical care and into the realm of social services. (Young, 4/29)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser, Aetna To Cover Wegovy For Medicare Advantage Enrollees
Medicare Advantage insurers are weighing coverage of pricey new anti-obesity drugs after federal regulators last month announced traditional Medicare would cover Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy for patients with heart disease. Kaiser Permanente’s Kaiser Health Plan and CVS Health’s Aetna will cover Wegovy for eligible Medicare Advantage enrollees, companies’ spokespeople confirmed in emailed statements. (Tepper, 4/26)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Finishes Prior Authorization Update: CEO Sarah London
Centene has updated its prior authorization system with an eye toward speeding pre-approval decisions for patients and providers. “We completed an important initiative to simplify our prior authorization process by automating our real-time source data,” CEO Sarah London said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Friday. “This simplification improves the timeliness of prior authorization decisions, ensuring our members get the care they need quickly and removing friction from the process overall for both members and providers.” (Tepper, 4/26)

Stat: Making AI In Medicine Accessible To Smaller, And Rural Hospitals
In Kingman, Ariz., a windswept city of 35,000 at the eastern edge of the Mojave desert, data scientists are about as rare as a drenching rain. The local health clinic doesn’t have a stable internet connection, much less the software to support the latest, greatest artificial intelligence. But the clinic, a federally qualified health center called North Country HealthCare, has plenty of problems AI could help with. (Ross, 4/29)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Homes May Use International Nurses To Meet Staffing Rule
The nursing home staffing mandate, finalized by the Biden administration earlier this week, will require long-term care facilities to provide residents with 3.48 hours of care daily. To adhere to registered nurse staffing requirements outlined in the rule, about 3,200 facilities across the country would have to hire nearly 13,000 additional registered nurses, according to estimates from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Devereaux, 4/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Millions Of American Kids Are Caregivers Now: ‘The Hardest Part Is That I’m Only 17’ 
Leo Remis goes to high school, plays videogames, and helps take care of his disabled mom. Three afternoons a week, he flexes his mom’s legs and arms to keep muscles from deteriorating and blood clots from forming. He does about 20 repetitions of each exercise. When her hands shake, he helps her eat and brushes her teeth. “It is my normal,” says Leo, a tall, lanky 15-year-old high-school freshman. There are an estimated 5.4 million children under the age of 18 providing care to parents, grandparents or siblings with chronic medical conditions or functional decline, up from about 1.3 million nearly 20 years ago, according to two reports from the National Alliance for Caregiving and others. (Ansberry, 4/27)

Reuters: CVS Omnicare Staff In Las Vegas Vote To Join New Union
Staff at CVS Health's unit Omnicare in Las Vegas voted to join the Pharmacy Guild, becoming the first location at the national pharmacy chain to join the union. About 87% of workers at CVS Omnicare, a provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, in Las Vegas voted on Thursday in favor of unionization. The vote comes months after some employees at CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance's U.S. pharmacies launched a walkout, to push the companies to improve working conditions and add more staff to their stores. (4/26)

FiercePharma: Pfizer Will Charge $3.5M For Its First FDA-Approved Gene Therapy
The FDA has endorsed Beqvez (fidanacogene elaparvovec-dzkt) for adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B. It becomes the first FDA-approved gene therapy for Pfizer and the second in the indication following CSL and uniQure’s hemophilia B treatment Hemgenix, which became the world’s most expensive drug at $3.5 million when it was approved in 2022. Pfizer had the chance to undercut its rival on price but decided to charge the same $3.5 million for Beqvez. The therapy will be available to patients this quarter, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday to Fierce Pharma. (Dunleavy, 4/26)

Stat: MorphoSys Faces Serious Safety Risk Related To Cancer Drug, Pelabresib
MorphoSys is dealing with an emerging safety issue related to pelabresib, the experimental treatment for myelofibrosis and centerpiece of its proposed $3 billion acquisition by Novartis, STAT has learned. (Feuerstein, 4/28)

CBS News: Superbug From Human Eye Drops Outbreak Spread To Dogs
Two dogs treated at a veterinary hospital in New Jersey last year have tested positive for a rare, drug-resistant strain of bacteria linked to a fatal outbreak blamed on now-recalled eye drops that had been used in humans, a CDC investigator said Friday. The animals were infected by a bacteria known as carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, found in swabs of the lung and ear of two dogs from different owners at the hospital. (Tin, 4/26)

Roll Call: White House Drops Plan To Ban Menthol Cigarettes 
The Biden administration on Friday announced it is dropping — for now ― a plan to ban menthol cigarettes after months of speculation about the proposal’s future. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra did not say when or if the administration would revisit the issue, nor did he mention the fate of a related proposal to ban flavored cigars. (Clason, 4/26)

Reuters: Colorado Paramedic Sentenced To 14 Months Of Work Release In Elijah McClain's Death
A Colorado judge on Friday sentenced a paramedic convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain to 14 months in a work-release program and four years of probation. The Black 23-year-old died after police slammed him to the ground soon after stopping him and put him in a chokehold at least twice. Paramedics injected him with an excessive dose of ketamine, an anesthetic used for sedation, after police said he was in a state of "excited delirium." McClain was not suspected of wrongdoing when he was walking on the street and police stopped him. (Brooks, 4/27)

AP: Dozens Of Deaths Reveal Risks Of Sedating People Restrained By Police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Based on thousands of pages of law enforcement and medical records and videos of dozens of incidents, the investigation shows how a strategy intended to reduce violence and save lives has resulted in some avoidable deaths. (Foley, Johnson and Lum, 4/26)

AP: At Least 16 People Died In California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Encounters With Police 
At least 16 people died in California over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Several of the deaths happened in the San Francisco Bay Area, including two in recent years involving people restrained by the Richmond Police Department. Other places with cases included Los Angeles, San Diego and cities in Orange and San Bernardino counties. (Foley and Johnson, 4/26)

AP: At Least 15 People Died In Texas After Medics Injected Sedatives During Encounters With Police 
At least 15 people died in Texas over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Several of the fatal incidents occurred in Dallas and its nearby suburbs. Other cases were documented across the state, from Odessa to Austin to Galveston. (Foley and Johnson, 4/26)

The Washington Post: Study Looks At Teens Who Deny Suicidal Thoughts, But Later Die By Suicide 
Nearly 1 in 3 teens with depression who deny having thoughts of suicide or self-harm on a commonly used mental health screening questionnaire go on to kill or harm themselves in the following months, a new analysis suggests. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, looked at 13-to-17-year-olds with depression diagnoses who answered Question 9 of the Personal Health Questionnaire (PHQ), which is used to screen for depression severity, before intentionally harming or killing themselves between 2009 and 2017. (Blakemore, 4/28)

The Washington Post: Agony Over Ecstasy: FDA Bid Shows It’s Hard To Test Psychedelics
The first attempt to win government approval of a psychedelic drug for mental health treatment is generating skepticism about its clinical trials, a case that reveals the unique challenges of bringing mind-altering, illegal drugs into mainstream medical care. A recent independent analysis questioned the integrity of patient studies that are being used to support the Food and Drug Administration application for MDMA — also known under the street name ecstasy — to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, citing a host of problems. (Ovalle and Gilbert, 4/27)

CNN: Doctors Warn They’re Seeing Syphilis Patients With Unusual And Severe Symptoms 
Disease detectives in Chicago say they have been seeing a worrisome trend: Patients complaining of unusual symptoms like vision and eye problems, headaches and hearing loss or dizziness caused by the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. (Goodman, 4/26)

ABC News: More Than 150 People In West Virginia Exposed To Measles: Health Officials
About 152 people across 30 counties in West Virginia have been exposed to measles, state health officials said Friday. Earlier this week, the first confirmed case of measles in the state since 2009 was identified, according to the West Virginia Department of Health (WVDH). The patient was someone who was undervaccinated and had a history of recent international travel, the department said. (Kekatos, 4/26)

CNN: Global Measles Cases Nearly Doubled In One Year, Researchers Say
The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries. (Dillinger, 4/27)

The New York Times: U.S. Lags Behind Other Countries In Hepatitis-C Cures 
Despite an arsenal of drugs, many Americans are still unaware of their infections until it’s too late. A Biden initiative languishes without Congressional approval. (Alcorn, 4/28)

CIDRAP: Monoclonal Antibody Offers Strong Malaria Protection In Children
Today in the New England Journal of Medicine a study demonstrates that a single subcutaneous (just-under-the-skin) injection of an experimental malaria monoclonal antibody offered up to 77% protection against malaria for children in Mali during a 6-month malaria season. (Soucheray, 4/26)

Reuters: Wiping Out Polio 'Not Guaranteed', Support Needed, Bill Gates Says 
Success in the fight to wipe out polio is not guaranteed, according to tech billionaire turned philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation has poured billions into the effort. Gates warned against complacency in tackling the deadly viral disease as he welcomed a $500 million pledge from Saudi Arabia on Sunday to fight polio over the next five years, bringing it in line with the U.S. as one of the biggest national donors. (Rigby, 4/28)

The Boston Globe: Norway Banned Smartphones In School. Here’s What Happened After
This week, social media was abuzz about a study published earlier this year out of Norway that tested the argument: How would student outcomes and mental health be affected if schools banned smartphones? The research found the impacts were positive, including decreased bullying and improved academic performance among girls. Author and organizational psychologist Adam Grant highlighted the findings on X, formerly Twitter, saying “smartphones belong at home or in lockers.” (Larson, 4/27)