New York Moves To Import Cheaper Canadian Drugs In Bulk

Politico: Following Florida’s Lead, New York Wants A Taste Of Canada’s Medicine
New York is making a rare move in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ footsteps. State legislators are pressing forward with creating a program to import drugs in bulk from Canada, emboldened by federal approval of a similar plan in Florida earlier this year. The bill directs New York health and education officials to develop a list of medications that are “expected to generate substantial savings for consumers in the state” if acquired from Canadian suppliers. (Kaufman, 6/7)

Reuters: Texas Bird Flu Strain Kills Ferrets Used To Mimic Disease In Humans, US CDC Says
The bird flu virus strain that infected a Texas dairy farm worker in March was lethal to ferrets in experiments designed to mimic the disease in humans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Friday. Seasonal flu, by contrast, makes ferrets sick but does not kill them, the CDC said. Ferrets are considered the best small mammal for studying influenza virus infection and transmission and are commonly used as a tool to inform public health risk assessments of emerging influenza viruses, according to the CDC. (Lapid, 6/7)

Modern Healthcare: Texas Rejects Centene, Elevance Protests Over Alleged Aetna Leak
Texas denied requests by Centene, Elevance Health and six other insurers to reconsider which managed care companies it will rely on to run its $116 billion Medicaid program over the next six years, rejecting allegations that local officials’ process improperly advantaged rival CVS Health. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission in March announced it intended to award new, six-year Medicaid and Children Health Insurance Program managed care contracts to 14 companies including CVS Health’s Aetna, Centene, Elevance Health, Humana, Molina Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare. (Tepper, 6/7)

Reuters: Lawsuits Over Change Healthcare Data Breach Centralized In Minnesota
A federal panel on Friday centralized 49 lawsuits accusing UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare payment processing unit of failing to protect personal data from February's cyber attack in Minnesota. The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said in an order on Friday that Minnesota, where UnitedHealth is based and where several cases are already pending, is the most logical venue. (Pierson, 6/7)

In other news from across the country —

Modern Healthcare: Oregon Health And Science University Layoffs Impact Hundreds
Oregon Health and Science University said Friday it plans to lay off at least 500 employees in the coming months. The academic health center attributed layoffs to financial pressures from rising labor and supply costs, according to a message sent to employees Thursday. (Hudson, 6/7)

The Hill: Midwest Health Departments Warn Of New Deadly Animal Tranquilizer’s Emergence
Health departments in the Midwest are warning of the emergence of a new deadly animal tranquilizer that’s linked to overdose deaths. The drug, medetomidine, is a powerful sedative used in veterinary medicine to keep dogs sedated and comfortable during exams and medical procedures, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said when it approved the drug in 2022. (Irwin, 6/7)

The Wall Street Journal: ‘Tranq’ Turns More Illicit Drug Users Into Amputees
As a boy, Nathan Clark developed a fear that he would lose his limbs and be unable to fish and crab with his grandfather. Today, Clark is a triple amputee. He lost his limbs after using fentanyl and xylazine, an animal tranquilizer also known as “tranq” that rots flesh and bone. Less than five years after xylazine showed up in his dope bag, the 29-year-old can’t bathe or use the toilet on his own. (Wernau, 6/9)

The Colorado Sun: A Car Crash Devastated A Colorado Family. Amputation Turned It Around.
At the dinner table the night before she died, Judy Rohwer told her daughters and grandson that they were all working too hard on the family farm. They must stop working seven days a week, take breaks and do fun things. “She wanted us each to come up with two things we wanted to do away from the farm,” Angela Rohwer said. About 12 hours later, they were forcibly torn from their work when their pickup was struck head-on as they traveled May 21, 2022, to the Durango Farmers Market from their southwestern Colorado farm hauling a trailer full of seedlings and produce. (McMillin and Carey, 6/9)

The CT Mirror: CT's Black Mothers Face More Risks During Childbirth, Data Shows
Besides facing greater mortality rates due to heart disease, cancer and overdoses, Connecticut’s Black residents also face higher rates of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. (Martinez, 6/7)

Also —

Charlotte Ledger: Charlotte-Area Urgent Care Center Stays Open Late
On a Friday night in late May, a soccer ball struck 12-year-old Dhruvtej Karande in the face, driving the edge of his glasses into his eyebrow and opening up a two-inch gash. His parents rushed to the nearest urgent care center, but it was already closed when they arrived, said his mom, Priyanka Karande. Then it was off to another urgent care in Charlotte’s University City area. It, too, was closed. (Crouch, 6/10)

St. Louis Public Radio: Advocates Allege Missouri Prison's Health Care Is In Decline
Health care services in Missouri state prison facilities are deteriorating according to activists and groups like the Missouri Prison Reform. The nonprofit has been receiving concerns from prison residents, their families and current medical staff about the health care conditions for years, but Executive Director Lori Curry said conditions have been getting worse. She said the organization has received complaints from both staff and residents as recently as this week. (Holcomb, 6/10)

Wyoming Public Radio: The White Buffalo Recovery Center Grounds Intergenerational Healing In Culture And Connection 
At a white plastic table in an office in Arapahoe, Lance Oldman is pounding a mix of ground-up cedar, water and honey into something a bit unexpected: an empty Chapstick tube. “Fill it up with cedar and use a stick, push them out and they come out perfect little cylindrical circles,” he said. Oldman is Northern Arapaho and is a certified peer specialist at the White Buffalo Recovery Center, an outpatient addiction treatment facility in Riverton and on the Wind River Reservation. He’s making sticks of cedar incense. Cedar, he said, is traditionally used to heal the mind, body and spirit. (Habermann, 6/7)

St. Louis Public Radio: Drug Treatment Tool To Protect Missouri Kids Is Underutilized 
Elisha Griffith directly experienced the positive impact of a tool that steers parents to drug rehabilitation. Griffith is a Franklin County resident and the mother of four children. Eight years ago, her daughters were placed in foster care for four years as she struggled with substance use. “They were super traumatized from it, and I'm traumatized from thinking back to that moment,” Griffith said. “My daughter broke out in blotches and was freaking out and didn't know what was happening or where she was going with strangers.” (Rosenbaum, 6/10)