First Edition: July 22, 2024

KFF Health News: Rescue From Above: How Drones May Narrow Emergency Response Times
The drones are coming. Starting in September, if someone in Clemmons, North Carolina, calls 911 to report a cardiac arrest, the first responder on the scene may be a drone carrying an automated external defibrillator, or AED. “The idea is for the drone to get there several minutes before first responders,” such as an emergency medical technician or an ambulance, said Daniel Crews, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office in Forsyth County, where Clemmons is located. (Andrews, 7/22)

KFF Health News: Harris, Once Biden’s Voice On Abortion, Would Take An Outspoken Approach To Health
Throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, he leaned on the outspoken former prosecutor and senator he selected as his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the White House’s voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights. Now, as Democrats rebuild their presidential ticket just a few months before Election Day, Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access if she became the party’s new presumptive nominee — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory. (Armour, Appleby and Rovner, 7/21)

KFF Health News: Biden Administration Tightens Broker Access To Healthcare.Gov To Thwart Rogue Sign-Ups
The Biden administration on Friday put in place stringent curbs aimed at thwarting rogue insurance brokers from switching consumers’ Affordable Care Act plans without their consent. The announcement came in response to mounting complaints from consumers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Friday that, in the first six months of the year, more than 200,000 people reported to the agency that they were either enrolled in Obamacare plans or switched from one plan to another without their permission. (Appleby, 7/19)

KFF Health News: Journalists Discuss Abortion In GOP Platform And How Idaho's Ban Drove Away OB-GYNs
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last couple of weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (7/20)

Stat: Kamala Harris Healthcare Positions Are More Liberal Than Biden's
President Biden is ending his bid for a second term in office and backing Vice President Kamala Harris to take the nomination, he announced Sunday. While Harris shares similar views as Biden on many issues, she is to the left of the president on health care. (Zhang and Owermohle, 7/21)

Politico: How Kamala Harris’ Platform Could Differ From Joe Biden’s
President Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris means that Harris could soon become the standard-bearer for the Democratic Party’s biggest priorities — including abortion rights, climate change and student debt relief. Her track record as a California attorney general, a U.S. senator and Biden’s No. 2 provides only so many clues about how she might lead. (7/21)

Stat: Kamala Harris' Health Care Views Win Backing From Progressives 
President Biden’s announcement Sunday that he would be dropping out of the presidential race left Democrats scrambling to rally around the next likely candidate on the 2024 ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris. The former California senator and attorney general found swift support from progressive and reproductive rights groups that championed her record on abortion policy and maternal health care, two longtime Harris policy priorities that Democrats hope will resonate with voters. (Owermohle and Zhang, 7/21)

The New York Times: The Promise, and Risks, in Turning to Kamala Harris
Unlike the 81-year-old Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, 59, is not old — and just that fact neutralizes what has been one of the most potent Trump lines of attack. Polls have consistently shown that voters have not been overly concerned with the 78-year-old Donald Trump’s age. But simply taking the issue off the table may be enough of a victory for Democrats. They were facing the stiff headwinds of three-quarters of Americans thinking Mr. Biden was too old — a view shared widely even before his doddering debate. (Goldmacher, 7/22)

Politico: Dem Ticket Shakeup Breathes New Life Into Abortion-Rights Fight 
The country’s biggest abortion-rights groups quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, either explicitly backing her bid for president in the wake of Joe Biden's announcement or, at the very least, praising her record. All argued that Harris’ ability to speak bluntly and forcefully on abortion rights — and her record on the issue as California attorney general, senator and vice president — give her an edge, particularly as her GOP opponents seek to dodge the issue. (Ollstein, 7/21)

AP: Abortion Rights Supporters Report Having Enough Signatures To Qualify For Montana Ballot 
An initiative to ask voters if they want to protect the right to a pre-viability abortion in Montana’s constitution has enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, supporters said Friday. County election officials have verified 74,186 voter signatures, more than the 60,359 needed for the constitutional initiative to go before voters. It has also met the threshold of 10% of voters in 51 House Districts — more than the required 40 districts, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights said. (Hanson, 7/19)

AP: South Dakota Anti-Abortion Group Appeals Ruling That Dismissed Its Lawsuit Over Ballot Initiative 
An anti-abortion group in South Dakota has appealed to the state’s Supreme Court after a judge dismissed its lawsuit to take an abortion rights initiative off the November ballot. In a statement, Life Defense Fund Co-Chair Leslee Unruh said the group has asked for an expedited order from the court “because there are absolutely no legal grounds for this dismissal.” The appeal was filed Wednesday. “We will do everything we can to move this case as fast as possible,” she said. (7/19)

Kansas Reflector: Political Rhetoric About Third Trimester Abortion Is Misleading, Experts Say 
It’s an oft-repeated talking point of anti-abortion rights groups and Republican politicians, before and after the June 2022 Dobbs decision — that those who are supportive of abortion rights also must be in favor of abortions that happen during the last weeks of pregnancy, or even “after birth.” Former President Donald Trump brought it up in the June debate against President Joe Biden, saying Biden’s position on restoring abortion access would lead to doctors being able to “take the life of the baby in the ninth month, and even after birth.” (Moseley-Morris, 7/20)

Politico: Biden, Allies Dismiss Calls For Resignation Before End Of Term 
Joe Biden is dismissing Republican calls to step down as president — including from the speaker of the House — now that he’s abandoned his reelection bid, charging headlong this week into high-stakes conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other major priorities. The White House confirmed Sunday that Biden will remain commander-in-chief even as he abandons his pursuit of another four years, saying he “looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people.” (Cancryn, 7/21)

Axios: Biden's Fragile Legacy On Health Care
President Biden — who was propelled into office in no small part by his health care agenda — realized Democrats' decades-long dream of allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and came closer to achieving his party's equally elusive goal of universal health coverage than any other Democratic president before him. (Owens and Bettelheim, 7/22)

The Hill: Joe Biden Faces Heavy Lift With Pledge To End Medical Debt
President Biden’s promise to eliminate medical debt at a rally earlier this month was welcomed by advocates and will likely appeal to plenty of indebted voters — but it won’t be easy given Americans currently owe about a quarter trillion dollars in medical arrears. Earlier this month in Detroit, Biden issued the campaign promise during a speech in which he laid out his plans for his first 100 days in office if he’s reelected to a second term. (Choi, 7/20)

USA Today: How Nursing Home Staffing Mandate From Biden Saves Lives
A new federal rule could save nearly 13,000 lives a year, researchers say, despite pushback from nursing home officials who argue the updated staffing standards could lead to home closures. At the request of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, University of Pennsylvania researchers estimated the number of lives that would be saved under the Biden administration's finalized minimum staffing rule for nursing homes. The researchers said fully implementing the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' staffing rule would result in 12,945 fewer deaths yearly. (Alltucker, 7/20)

The Hill: Rep. Jackson, Former White House Physician, Shares Trump Gunshot Wound Update  
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former White House physician, shared an update on former President Trump’s gunshot wound in a Saturday memo. ... “I have been with President Trump since that time, and I have evaluated and treated his wound daily,” Jackson said in his memo. ... “The bullet passed, coming less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear,” Jackson continued. (Suter, 7/20)

Stat: Trump Ear Wound Treatment Detailed By Former White House Doctor
Former President Donald Trump is doing well and required no stitches after a gunshot at his campaign rally last weekend grazed his ear, his former White House doctor said in a memo released Saturday by Trump’s campaign. (Owermohle, 7/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Are Guns To Blame? Trump’s Shooting Ignites More Debate
Assassination attempts against U.S. presidents have led to major gun laws, but the July 13 shooting at a rally for former President Donald Trump appears unlikely to be a pivotal moment in the divisive U.S. gun debate. In the days since Trump narrowly escaped a bullet fired from a would-be assassin’s rifle, the two sides in America’s argument over gun rights remain at odds over whether firearms are the major problem leading to such violence. (McWhirter and Elinson, 7/21)

Los Angeles Times: Graphic Imagery Online Can Lead To Psychological Harm, UCI Experts Say
UC Irvine researchers say repeated exposure to graphic photos and videos is being linked to psychological distress. Experts say it’s important to understand how these images can affect your mental health and recognize when to take a break or reduce your exposure. (Garcia, 7/19)

The New York Times: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Champion For Progressive Causes, Dies At 74 
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas who was a leading voice for racial justice and progressive causes during three decades in the House, died on Friday in Houston. She was 74.Her death was announced in a statement by her family that did not list a cause. She said in June that she had pancreatic cancer. “By God’s grace, I will be back at full strength soon,” she told constituents at the time. (Yoon, 7/19)

The Boston Globe: How The Microsoft, CrowdStrike Outage Affected Health Care Industry
A technology outage rippled around the world Friday, grounding planes, knocking out radio and TV stations, disrupting countless business transactions, and returning Boston’s health care industry to a pre-technology era when everything was written by hand and delivered in person. The outage was triggered by a faulty software update from Texas-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to devices running Microsoft Windows. (Piore, Ellement and Andersen, 7/19)

Axios: Health System's Tech Vulnerabilities Exposed Again
The CrowdStrike internet meltdown that wrecked havoc with some health systems' procedures and billing on Friday could be a harbinger of future threats and disruptions to medical facilities, experts said. (Goldman, 7/22)

San Francisco Chronicle: Vital San Jose Hospital Reverses Course On Trauma Center Closure
Regional Medical Center, which operates one of just three adult trauma centers in Santa Clara County, has reversed course on its previous plans to close its trauma center on Aug. 12, and will instead remain open — but with fewer services than before. (Ho, 7/19)

Stat: Mass General Lab Aims To Make More Hearts Eligible For Transplant
It seems like organized chaos. Five lab members move around a room the size of a galley kitchen. On this day, three high school students also squeeze into the medical lab, closely peering at a pig heart barely beating in a box. Tubes connected to the heart from a rhythmic, speaker-like pump push warm red blood cells through its chambers. It looks like a scene out of Frankenstein. (Balthazar, 7/22)

Modern Healthcare: DaVita To Pay $34.5M To Resolve False Claims Act Violations
Dialysis provider DaVita agreed to pay $34.5 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations. DaVita allegedly paid a competitor to induce referrals to its pharmacy services provider, DaVita Rx, the Justice Department said in a news release Thursday. In addition, the company allegedly paid kickbacks to physicians to induce patient referrals to its dialysis centers, according to the agency. (Kacik, 7/19)

Stat: Express Scripts Overcharged Postal Workers By $45 Million, Audit Says
Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country, overcharged U.S. Postal Service employees by a whopping $45 million for their prescription drugs during a recent five-year period, according to a federal audit. (Herman and Silverman, 7/22)

NPR: A Popular Asthma Medication Is Discontinued, Leaving Some Patients Scrambling
When Jacqueline Vakil needed a refill for Flovent, her 4-year-old son’s asthma medicine, she couldn’t get it. The drugmaker GSK had stopped making the popular inhaler, back in January. To make matters worse, Vakil’s insurance provider wouldn’t cover the alternative drug their doctor suggested. “It got to the point that I was on the phone constantly with our doctor to try to find a substitute,” Vakil says. (Yu, 7/22)

The Colorado Sun: Extreme Heat May Have Led To Colorado Bird Flu Outbreak In People
The outdoor temperature flirted with 100 degrees and heat advisories blanketed the region earlier this month as workers arrived at a commercial poultry operation in Weld County to start killing chickens. Of the 1.8 million egg-laying hens inside the operation’s barns, at least some were infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza — bird flu. (Ingold, 7/22)

USA Today: Worldwide Risk Of Animal-To-Human Disease Spread Remains High
Regardless of how the COVID-19 pandemic started, it's clear that deadly diseases can jump from animals to humans ‒ and a new report from Harvard Law School and New York University finds we're not doing enough to prevent another animal-borne virus from becoming the next global pandemic. The study, which looked at common forms of animal-human interactions in 15 countries including the United States, found dozens of examples where viruses could make the leap. Researchers argued that simple policy changes could dramatically reduce the risk of such disease crossover. (Weintraub, 7/21)

USA Today: KP.3 COVID Variant Holds Strong, KP.3.1.1 Emerges: Symptoms, CDC Data
As many people look to enjoy the warmer summer months, COVID cases are rising across the United States. Although the KP.3 COVID-19 variant continues to lead as the dominant variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows that another variant, KP.3.1.1, is not too far behind the leading strain. (Forbes, 7/20)

Reuters: China's Philippines Embassy Demands Answers For Propaganda Against COVID Vaccine 
The Chinese embassy in the Philippines said on Monday the United States should give an explanation to the Filipino people as soon as possible for its false propaganda against China's COVID-19 vaccine. The remarks centered around a Reuters investigative report that said the U.S. military launched a clandestine programme during the COVID pandemic to discredit China's Sinovac inoculation in the Philippines. (7/21)

CIDRAP: Lower COVID Vaccine Uptake Tied To Unequal Access To Vaccination Sites
A Boston Children's Hospital–led study reveals that COVID-19 vaccine uptake lagged among US children with more social vulnerability, lower socioeconomic status (SES), and greater household composition and disability (HCD) as of July 2022. The study, published today in Pediatrics, also identified longer travel times to vaccination sites for rural, uninsured, White, and Native American families. (Van Beusekom, 7/19)

CIDRAP: No Increase In Birth Defects Found Following COVID Vaccination In Pregnancy
A new study adds to the growing body of literature demonstrating the safety of COVID-19 vaccine use in pregnant women. The study, published in BMJ, showed no connection between COVID vaccination or infection in the first trimester of pregnancy and congenital birth defects. The study is based on outcomes seen among 343,066 live-born single infants in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway with an estimated first trimester of pregnancy occurring from March 1, 2020, to February 14, 2022. (Soucheray, 7/19)

The Hill: Sununu Signs Bill Barring Gender-Affirming Surgeries For Youth Into Law
Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.) signed a bill into law on Friday that bans health professionals from performing gender-affirming surgeries for minors. Sununu signed another bill that will ban transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. (Irwin, 7/20)

AP: Tennessee Will Remove HIV-Positive People Convicted Of Sex Work From Violent Sex Offender List 
HIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work under a decades-old aggravated prostitution law will no longer be required to face a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” under a lawsuit settlement finalized this week. Last year, LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Volunteer State’s aggravated prostitution statute, arguing that the law was enacted in response to the AIDS scare and discriminated against HIV-positive people. (Kruesi, 7/19)

Los Angeles Times: Heat-Related Texas Deaths Climb After Beryl Left Millions With No Power
As the temperature soared in the Houston-area home Janet Jarrett shared with her sister after losing electricity in Hurricane Beryl, she did everything she could to keep her 64-year-old sibling cool. But on their fourth day without power, she awoke to hear Pamela Jarrett, who used a wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube, gasping for breath. Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the medical examiner saying her death was caused by the heat. (Stengle and Oyekanmi, 7/21)

The Mercury News: Northern California Town Lifts Fluoride Requirement It Once Fought For In 1950s
The legacy of a public health achievement in Oroville — adding fluoride in drinking water — is now on its way to being reversed as Oroville councilors pleaded for personal choice over its widely-researched public health benefits, leaving health experts worried on dental care costs likely increasing for rural children. The City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday and passed an ordinance to begin working with the California Public Utilities Commission on lifting its fluoride requirement with Cal Water. (Weber, 7/19)

New Hampshire Public Radio: By Relaxing English Requirements, NH Aims To Train More LNAs 
A new law will make it easier for people who speak English as a second language to become licensed nursing assistants in New Hampshire. This comes as a shortage of LNAs is taxing the state’s health care system. In April, one in five LNA positions at hospitals were vacant, according to a survey by the New Hampshire Hospital Association. (Cuno-Booth, 7/22)

The New York Times: Fund To Aid Children Harmed At Birth Hasn’t Kept Promises, Families Say 
The birth had been long and difficult. Denise Olivio requested a cesarean section, she said, but was rebuffed until a doctor decided it was an emergency. The baby, GianRaul, came out purple, and it took doctors 15 minutes to locate his heartbeat. Hours later, Ms. Olivio and her husband — exhausted but relieved that their son had survived — said they saw their doctor and midwife being pulled aside by a man in a suit who they believed was the hospital’s lawyer. “We locked eyes,” Ms. Olivio recalled, “like, ‘Oh, I think we need to talk to someone in a suit, too.’” (Ashford, 7/20)

The New York Times: Could Mobile Methadone Clinics Help People Quit Fentanyl?
Before he started taking methadone, Vinny Parisi had overdosed 16 times from using street drugs, including fentanyl. Eating out of garbage cans and sleeping under a bridge in Harlem, he finally hit bottom, he said. Now, Mr. Parisi goes every weekday morning to an R.V.-size white van parked at a Days Inn in the South Bronx. Within a few minutes, he drinks a bright pink fluid — a dose of methadone — saving him the hours of commuting and waiting it often takes to visit a brick-and-mortar clinic to get the drug. (Otterman, 7/21)

Carolina Public Press: Advocates: Alcohol Monitoring For Some N.C. Parents Could Save Lives
For months now, Michael Dean Smith said, he has feared his infant daughter will be hurt or killed in a drunk-driving related accident with the mother of his child behind the wheel. Smith, 34, of Waynesville, shares joint custody of his now 15-month-old daughter with Valery Francis, who has primary physical custody. Going back to September, Smith said he warned Haywood County DSS that Francis would drive under the influence of alcohol with their daughter in the car. (Thomae, 7/20)

Stat: Trans Adults Face 'Shocking' Risk Of Alcohol-Driven Cirrhosis
People under 45 have been driving an increase in liver-related deaths, especially those caused by alcohol. But a sliver of that young adult population is being hit disproportionately hard by alcohol-associated liver disease: transgender people. (Cueto, 7/22)

NPR: FDA Misses Deadline To Propose Ban On Formaldehyde From Hair Relaxers
The Food and Drug Administration’s proposal to ban the use of formaldehyde as an ingredient in hair relaxers and hair straighteners on the market in the U.S. has been pushed back yet again. The deadline for the agency's proposal, at this time, still remains unclear. The FDA's proposed rule takes a large step in shedding light on the potential harm that formaldehyde — a highly toxic, colorless gas — can cause to the many Black women and other women of color who typically use straightening products. (Franklin, 7/20)

USA Today: US Deli-Meat Listeria Outbreak In 11 States: 2 Dead, 28 Hospitalized
A listeria outbreak linked to sliced deli meat has led to two deaths and 28 hospitalizations across the Midwest and East Coast, federal health officials revealed. People have reportedly become ill from the bacteria that can lead to foodborne illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday. The case sampled were collected between May 29 and July 5. One person died in Illinois, as the state's sole reported case, and another person died in New Jersey, according to CDC data. (Robledo, 7/20)

AP: Pig Transplant Research Yields Pork Safe For Some With Red Meat Allergy Caused By Lone Star Tick
Some people who develop a weird and terrifying allergy to red meat after a bite from a lone star tick can still eat pork from a surprising source: Genetically modified pigs created for organ transplant research. Don’t look for it in grocery stores. The company that bred these special pigs shares its small supply, for free, with allergy patients. “We get hundreds and hundreds of orders,” said David Ayares, who heads Revivicor Inc., as he opened a freezer jammed with packages of ground pork patties, ham, ribs and pork chops. (Neergaard, 7/21)

Reuters: Paris 2024-Branded Metal Bottles Recalled For Health Reasons
French authorities have recalled Paris 2024-branded metal water bottles containing excessive levels of the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A, less than a week before the start of the Olympics. The bottles made by French company Vilac contain levels of the chemical that are "not in compliance with regulations", the government website Rappel Conso said. (7/21)