First Edition: Aug. 8, 2024

KFF Health News: The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion In Some Southern States
For Roderick Givens, a radiation oncologist, the expansion of Medicaid isn’t just a policy issue. He practices medicine in a rural area in the Mississippi Delta and he sees daily how Medicaid coverage could help his uninsured patients. “I can’t tell you the number of patients who I see who come in with advanced disease, who have full-time jobs,” Givens said. “They haven’t seen a physician in years. They can’t afford it. They don’t have coverage.” (Hawkins, 8/8)

KFF Health News: How Little Denmark Got Homegrown Giant Novo Nordisk To Lower Ozempic Prices
On May 13, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) published an open letter to Novo Nordisk on the front page of a leading Danish newspaper, urging the hometown company to live up to its altruistic standards by lowering U.S. prices for its blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs. What Sanders didn’t realize was that Denmark, a country of 6 million, was enduring its own crisis over how to pay for the Novo Nordisk drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. (Allen, 8/8)

CNN: Monthly Abortions Continue To Trend Up In The US In 2024, New Report Shows
Despite restrictions and bans that have taken effect in the two years since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion, the average number of abortions provided each month in the United States continues to rise, a new report shows. (McPhillips, 8/7)

Bloomberg: 1 In 5 US Abortions Are Now Through Telehealth
More women in the US are seeking abortion care through telehealth than before the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, according to a new report. One in five clinician-provided abortions performed in the first quarter of 2024 were obtained through telehealth services, the analysis from abortion advocacy group the Society of Family Planning showed. That contrasts with the second quarter of 2022, during which only one in 20 abortions were obtained through telehealth. (Ceron, 8/7)

NPR: Meet The People Sending Abortion Pills To Places With Bans
The packages, no bigger than a hardcover book, line the walls of the nondescript office near Boston. It's not an Etsy retailer or a Poshmark seller or, as the nearby post office workers believe, a thriving jewelry business. These boxes contain abortion pills. "Welcome to modern abortion care," says Angel Foster, as she holds up a box for mailing. Foster, who has an M.D. degree, leads operations at what's known as the MAP, a Massachusetts telehealth provider sending pills to people who live in states that ban or restrict abortion. (Nadworny, 8/7)

The New York Times: Health Officials Urge Doctors To Address IUD Insertion Pain 
In recent years, the process of getting an intrauterine device, or IUD, has become infamous on social media. Videos of women writhing and crying while the T-shaped contraceptive device is inserted have become macabre online staples. “Unless you’re living under a rock, you’re aware of the issue,” said Dr. Beverly Gray, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University. Doctors have been accused of ignoring the discomfort. For the first time, federal health officials recommended on Tuesday that physicians counsel women about pain management before the procedure. (Rosenbluth, 8/7)

The Wall Street Journal: Doctors Can Now Save Very Premature Babies. Most Hospitals Don’t Try. 
After her water broke early, doctors told Fatima Goines to prepare for her newborn’s death. Goines was 22 weeks into her pregnancy, just past the halfway mark. Doctors at Methodist Hospital in suburban Minneapolis said they couldn’t save such a premature baby and that no hospital could. They told her that once the baby girl was born, Goines could hold her until the infant died. (Whyte, 8/7)

The New York Times: Trump Campaign Criticizes Walz For State Law Providing Tampons In Schools 
As part of their effort to portray Tim Walz, the new Democratic vice-presidential candidate, as a far-left liberal, the Trump campaign attacked the Minnesota governor on Tuesday for signing a bill last year that provides access to menstrual products for transgender students. At issue is broadly inclusive language in the law, which states that products like pads, tampons and other products used for menstruation “must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12.” Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota had tried — and failed — to amend that bill so that it would apply only to “female restrooms,” though some Republicans went on to vote for the final version of the bill. (Cameron, 8/6)

The New York Times: What Causes Dangerous Inflammation In Children With Covid? 
When exposed to a virus, the human body marshals the immune system to fend off the intruder. Sometimes, the defense goes awry, and the body mistakenly turns against itself instead of the attacker. This sort of friendly fire drives multi-inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a mysterious condition that in rare cases strikes children who have had a severe bout of Covid-19, according to a new study. (Mandavilli, 8/7)

The Washington Post: Summer Covid Surge Hits At Least 84 Countries And Continues To Climb 
A summer covid wave — and the accompanying fevers, coughs and general misery — continues to wash over the Americas and parts of Asia and Europe, including the Paris Olympics, offering the latest evidence that the coronavirus moves in ways distinct from other respiratory ailments. The World Health Organization said this week that the virus is increasing in at least 84 countries despite perceptions that the pathogen is a remnant of the past. Disease trackers sounded alarms that diminished testing and low vaccination rates could provide fertile terrain for more dangerous viral variants to take hold. (Malhi, Ortega and Keating, 8/7)

Newsweek: COVID Map Shows Highest Rates Across US As New Variant Rises 
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released an updated map highlighting which states have been the hardest hit. (Dwan, 8/7)

Central Florida Public Media: Amid A COVID Summer Spike, Why Are So Few Floridians Getting The Vaccine?
As the number of COVID-19 cases rises in Florida, vaccination rates lag behind, and that is concerning health experts. In 2021, the first full year a COVID-19 vaccine was available, 15 million Floridians received a vaccine. But this year, a little over 400,000 have received a booster, despite the virus's summer spike. (Pedersen, 8/7)

CNN: Rate Of Stroke Deaths Among Middle-Age US Adults Hit Two-Decade High During Covid Pandemic, Report Shows
Middle-age people in the United States are more likely to die from a stroke than they have been in about two decades, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (McPhillips, 8/8)

Hawaii News Now: Dengue Case Found On Maui Prompts Response From Vector Control Teams
The Department of Health has confirmed a travel-related case of the dengue virus in Hana, Maui. Officials say vector control teams are responding after highly dense populations of mosquitoes were found around the home and surrounding area. This is Hawaii’s 10th case this year; all patients had traveled to Central or South America or Asia. (8/6)

CNN: Deadlier Strain Of Mpox Spreads To More Countries, Raising Officials’ Alarm 
Cases of a deadlier strain of mpox have been confirmed in four countries in Africa, raising alarm among health officials around the world. (Davis, 8/7)

CIDRAP: Study: Dogs Can Detect Chronic Wasting Disease In White-Tail Deer 
Chronic wasting disease, a fatal prion disease found in cervids, can be detected by dogs trained to identify the scent, according to a new study published today in PLoS One. The dogs were able to identify infected deer through feces samples. Six dogs were trained using scent boxes and fecal samples from both farmed and wild white-tail deer (WTD). (Soucheray, 8/7)

Modern Healthcare: L.A. Care Health Plan Cuts Some Prior Authorization Requirements
L.A. Care Health Plan has cut 24% of its prior authorization requirements in what the insurance company characterized as an effort to lighten administrative burdens for providers, reduce discharge times and avoid care delays. Some specialty care visits, laboratory tests, medical equipment and catheter supplies will no longer require prior authorization, the insurer said in a news release Wednesday. (DeSilva, 8/7)

Modern Healthcare: What The No Surprises Act Ruling Means For Providers, Insurers
Providers notched another win in the legal battle over the No Surprises Act, forcing regulators to rework how the law is implemented. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on Friday upheld a lower court ruling and voided parts of the law related to settling out-of-network reimbursement disputes, since the process skewed negotiations in insurers’ favor. (Kacik, 8/7)

CBS News: McLaren Health Care Confirms Criminal Cyber Attack Caused Disruptions To IT, Phone Systems
McLaren Health Care confirmed on Wednesday that a criminal cyber attack caused disruptions to information technology and phone systems reported on Tuesday. Officials say it is unknown if any patient or employee data was compromised. The IT team is working with security experts to investigate the cyber attack. (Booth-Singleton, 8/7)

Modern Healthcare: Walgreens May Sell Entire VillageMD Stake
Walgreens is considering selling its entire majority stake in primary care provider VillageMD, a move that would be a dramatic about-face from its previous commitment to the care model. The company is evaluating "a variety of options" in light of "VillageMD’s substantial ongoing and expected future cash requirements," Walgreens said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday. Options include selling all or part of its stake in VillageMD, a restructuring or other opportunities, the company said. (Hudson, 8/7)

Modern Healthcare: Prospect Medical Holdings To Sell Crozer Health To CHA Partners
Prospect Medical Holdings signed a letter of intent to sell Crozer Health to CHA Partners, Crozer CEO Tony Esposito said Wednesday. The proposed transaction, which requires the execution of a definitive agreement and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in several months and would transition Upland, Pennsylvania-based Crozer to nonprofit status, Esposito said in a statement. Financial details were not disclosed. (Hudson, 8/7)

Stat: Orlando Health Expanding Into Alabama
As for-profit Tenet Healthcare slims its hospital portfolio, it found an unlikely buyer for its Alabama hospitals: Florida’s Orlando Health. (Bannow, 8/8)

Axios: Insurers’ Big Profits Stem From Care Delivery, Not Core Business
For insurers like UnitedHealth Group and Cigna, the road to ever-larger profits increasingly leads through anything but health insurance. (Reed, 8/8)

Stat: FDA OK's Purdue Pharma’s New Overdose-Reversal Medication
Purdue Pharma, the company best known for fueling the opioid crisis by misleadingly marketing the infamous painkiller OxyContin, received approval on Wednesday for a new auto-injector device used to reverse opioid overdoses. (Facher, 8/7)

Stat: CMS Finalizes Medicare Coverage Rule For Breakthrough Devices
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has finalized its rule easing reimbursement for medical device makers. Called Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies, the program gives device makers with products deemed “breakthrough” technology by the Food and Drug Administration a quicker way to secure Medicare coverage. The agency first introduced the rule last June. (Lawrence, 8/7)

Reuters: Third Trial Over Zantac Cancer Claims Ends With Hung Jury
The third trial over claims that discontinued heartburn drug Zantac ended in a mistrial on Wednesday when jurors could not agree about whether pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim was responsible for an Illinois man's cancer. Martin Gross alleged in his lawsuit in state court in Chicago that he developed prostate cancer from a carcinogenic contaminant called NDMA found in the drug. His lawyer, Sean Grimsley, said he would take his case to trial again. (Pierson, 8/7)

AP: After Baby's Death, Kentucky Parents Sue Infant Formula Maker At Center Of 2022 Crisis 
The parents of a Kentucky baby who died last fall after drinking bacteria-tainted infant formula are the latest to sue Abbott Nutrition, the manufacturer at the heart of a 2022 crisis that left millions of Americans scrambling to feed their children. Willow Jade Dellaquila, of Carrollton, Kentucky, was 13 days old when she died on Nov. 5, 2023. She was infected with cronobacter sakazakii, a dangerous germ traced to a can of Similac Total Comfort powdered formula used in the baby’s bottles, records show. (Aleccia, 8/7)

CBS News: Doctors Optimistic About Results From New Alzheimer's Drug Infusions
On Wednesday, Independence Health System held a press conference at the Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg to give people who may be diagnosed with or already have Alzheimer's disease new hope and a positive path forward. Between these healthcare systems' Westmoreland and Butler facilities, they have been treating Alzheimer's patients with infusions of two new drugs: lecanemab and donanemab-azbt. (DeRose, 8/7)

CBS News: AI Technology Could Help Detect Eye Conditions In Children
Smartphones could help identify eye disorders in children. In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers in China examined more than 1,400 facial photographs from nearly 500 children and developed an artificial intelligence model that can accurately detect three common pediatric eye conditions: myopia or nearsightedness, strabismus or "crossed eyes", and ptosis or drooping of the upper eyelid. (Marshall, 8/7)

Reuters: US Patients Take Wegovy Obesity Drug For Around Six Months, Novo Nordisk Says 
U.S. patients are on average staying on Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight-loss medication for just six months, an executive said on Wednesday, attributing the short time to the low availability of the wildly popular drug. (8/7)

The New York Times: More People Are Overdosing on Ozempic Alternatives
Three hours after Becky Cheairs injected herself with the first dose of compounded semaglutide, she started to vomit. Crouched over the toilet, reeling from nausea, she thought there was no way she would make it on the R.V. trip from Arkansas to San Antonio she had planned that weekend. She was right: She spent the next day throwing up at least once an hour. Like many others, Ms. Cheairs, 66, had taken the drug to lose weight. But she hadn’t taken the brand-name products Ozempic or Wegovy, which come in pens pre-filled with a specific dose. (Blum, 8/6)

Los Angeles Times: Phoning For Medi-Cal Help? You May Face Hourlong Waits And Hang-Ups
When Californians phone for help with their Medicaid coverage, they routinely face waits of nearly an hour — and are regularly disconnected without reaching anyone, researchers found in a newly released analysis. An audit released Wednesday by the Children’s Partnership, an advocacy group focused on child health, found the average wait when researchers phoned in dozens of counties was 55 minutes. More than half of children in California rely on Medi-Cal — the California Medicaid program — for their health insurance coverage, including 1.4 million children 5 and under. (Alpert Reyes and Gold, 8/7)

Southern California News Group: Lawmaker Wants To Ban California Schools From Serving Food With Red 40, Other Dyes
A state lawmaker from the San Fernando Valley has resumed his push for a bill that would ban public schools in California from serving food or beverages containing synthetic food dyes such as Red 40 that child health advocates say can harm developing brains and cause neurobehavioral problems. (Tat, 8/7)

Los Angeles Times: Jury Finds Stone Companies At Fault In Suit By Countertop Cutter
A Los Angeles County jury found businesses that make or distribute engineered stone at fault Wednesday for the suffering of a 34-year-old stonecutter afflicted with an incurable disease. In a decision watched closely by silicosis experts and the stone industry, jurors deliberating at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown L.A. decided largely in favor of Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez, who was diagnosed with silicosis and had to undergo a double lung transplant after years of cutting engineered stone countertops. (Alpert Reyes, 8/7)

The Boston Globe: Among Massachusetts Hospitals, The Gap Between Rich And Poor Widens
The latest state review of hospital payment data, released this month by the Center for Health Information and Analysis, underscores a persistent gap in the fortunes of acute care facilities. Community hospitals that see a high proportion of people with public insurance commanded prices that are 7 percent below the state average. It’s a twofold problem: Those insurance programs — such as Medicaid and Medicare — pay below-market rates. On top of that, private payers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tufts, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care pay less to community hospitals than they do academic facilities. (Lee, 8/7)

CBS News: Researchers Find Link Between High Diastolic Blood Pressure And Migraines In Women
Some women with high blood pressure may be at higher risk of migraine. Migraine sufferers are at higher risk of strokes and heart attacks, but does having risk factors for cardiovascular disease increase the risk of developing migraines? In a new study, researchers in the Netherlands found that women with higher diastolic blood pressure, the lower number in a blood pressure reading, were 16% more likely to have migraines than women with normal diastolic blood pressure. (Marshall, 8/7)

CNN: Sweetener In Stevia, Keto Products Linked To Blood Clots, Study Says
Consuming a drink with erythritol — an artificial sweetener used to add bulk to stevia and monk fruit and to sweeten low-carb keto products — more than doubled the risk of blood clotting in 10 healthy people, according to a new pilot study. (LaMotte, 8/8)

NBC News: Women Who Spend Time On TikTok Feel Less Satisfied With Their Bodies, Study Suggests
Women who spend time on TikTok are at a greater risk of disliking their own bodies and feeling worse about their appearance — especially if they’ve been exposed to pro-anorexia content, a study published Wednesday suggests. Australian researchers surveyed 273 women ages 18 to 28 from July 2021 to October 2021 about their TikTok use. As part of the study, the participants were then shown what was referred to as “pro-anorexia,” also known as “pro-ana,” images. (Rosenblatt, 8/7)

Stat: Scientists Learning How Neighborhood Can Affect Biology Of Cancer
Where you live has a relationship to your odds of getting cancer and surviving cancer. Epidemiologists studying this link they see in the data have focused on so-called social determinants of health — poor access to transportation, for example, could make it harder for residents to see a doctor. Places lacking grocery stores with fresh food could mean worse nutrition for locals. (Chen, 8/8)