First Edition: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024

KFF Health News: Maryland Is Training More Health Workers To Offer Abortion Care 
In the two counties around nurse practitioner Samantha Marsee’s clinic in rural northeastern Maryland, there’s not a single clinic that provides abortions. And until recently, Marsee herself wasn’t trained to treat patients who wanted to end a pregnancy. “I didn’t really have a lot of knowledge about abortion care,” she said. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, she watched state after state ban abortion, and Marsee decided to take part in the first class of a new training program offered by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland-Baltimore. (Varney, 11/13)

KFF Health News: 'An Arm And A Leg' Podcast: Fight Health Insurance — With Help From AI
Meet Holden Karau: a San Francisco Bay Area software engineer who created an AI tool to help appeal insurance denials. Her project, Fight Health Insurance, is a labor of love. It draws on her tech expertise and years of experience fighting health insurance: for gender-affirming care, for rehab after getting hit by a car, and even for her dog, Professor Timbit.  (11/13)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News Sues To Force Disclosure Of Medicare Advantage Audit Records
KFF Health News has sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to compel it to release a range of Medicare Advantage health plan audits and other financial records. The suit, filed Nov. 12 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, seeks documents from the HHS inspector general’s office, which acts as a watchdog over federal health insurance programs run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (Schulte, 11/12)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: DACA recipients can sign up for health plans under the Affordable Care Act for the first time, and some insurers and health care facilities are paying for ride-hailing services to get patients to appointments. (11/12)

The New York Times: US Regulators Seek To Block UnitedHealth’s $3.3 Billion Purchase Of Home Care Company 
The Justice Department and four Democratic state attorneys general on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit against the giant UnitedHealth Group in an attempt to block its $3.3 billion deal to take over Amedisys, a large home health company. “Unless this $3.3 billion transaction is stopped, UnitedHealth Group will further extend its grip to home health and hospice care, threatening seniors, their families and nurses,” Jonathan Kanter, the assistant attorney general who heads the department’s antitrust division, said in a statement on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group argued that its merger would give consumers more choices: “We will vigorously defend against the D.O.J.’s overreaching interpretation of the antitrust laws.” (Abelson, 11/12)

Modern Healthcare: AMA Calls For Tougher Oversight Of Nonprofit Hospitals
The American Medical Association will lobby Congress to enforce greater oversight on how nonprofit hospitals comply with the community benefit requirements that accompany their tax-free status after adopting a new policy during its semiannual meeting. The 700-member AMA House of Delegates met in Orlando, Florida, from Friday through Tuesday to consider hundreds of policy recommendations, including some related to nonprofit hospitals and health insurance prior authorizations. (Early, 11/12)

The Washington Post: Trump Taps Musk, Ramaswamy To Oversee ‘Drastic’ Changes To U.S. Government
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is appointing business executives Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new commission on cutting government spending and regulation, handing an enormous portfolio to the tech billionaire who gave political and financial support to his presidential bid. In a statement, Trump said that his billionaire ally and his former Republican primary rival will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an idea championed by Musk. Trump said the department would operate outside of government to drive “drastic change,” while partnering with the White House and its budget office to provide recommendations to slash regulations, cut staff and overhaul federal operations. Musk has adopted the nickname “DOGE” for the commission, a reference to a meme-based cryptocurrency he also touted. (Stein and Dwoskin, 11/12)

Fox News: Elon Musk Says The Department Of Government Efficiency's Actions Will Be Online 
Elon Musk said that the department will take suggestions and concerns from everyday Americans regarding how the government spends money. "Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!" Musk said in part in the X post. Musk also said all the department's actions "will be posted online for maximum transparency." (Pritchett, 11/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Names Fox News Host Pete Hegseth To Head Pentagon
President-elect Donald Trump has named Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and Fox News host, as his choice for secretary of defense. ... Hegseth, 44, is a National Guard veteran from Minnesota who has been a commentator on Fox News for the past decade. He once led an advocacy group that sought to privatize healthcare provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, leading Trump to consider him as VA secretary during his first term. (Ward and Salama, 11/12)

Military.com: VA Set To Add Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma To List Of Conditions Linked To Burn Pits 
The Department of Veterans Affairs has started the process to designate multiple myeloma and acute and chronic leukemias as linked to military service in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and elsewhere, a change that will give affected veterans quicker access to disability compensation. During his last Veterans Day address as commander in chief, President Joe Biden announced the update to the list of diseases presumed to be related to exposure to burn pits and other airborne pollutants according to the PACT Act. (Kime, 11/12)

The Washington Post: Trump Pledged To Close The Education Department. What Would That Mean?
The department does not dictate curriculum or have a hand in most school policies. But the federal agency plays an important role. It administers federal grant programs, including the $18.4 billion Title I program that provides supplemental funding to high-poverty K-12 schools, as well as the $15.5 billion program that helps cover the cost of education for students with disabilities. (Meckler and Timsit, 11/12)

CBS News: Kraft Heinz Removes Lunchables From School Meals Program
Kraft Heinz is pulling Lunchables — prepackaged boxes of deli meat, cheese and crackers — from the program that provides free and discounted meals to about 30 million low-income school children, the food conglomerate said on Tuesday. Consumer Reports applauded the move, months after the advocacy group sounded alarms about the product popular with kids, saying its tests found troubling levels of lead and sodium in them. (Gibson, 11/12)

Bloomberg: ‘Make America Healthy Again’: RFK Jr. Wins Over Fans by Stoking Food Toxin Fear
“Make America Great Again” has long been a signature phrase at Donald Trump’s rally speeches. Its recent offshoot, “Make America Healthy Again” or MAHA, is now spreading on social media as fitness influencers and parents embrace a push by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to clean up US food production. (Mufarech, 11/12)

The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Claims Canadian Froot Loops Have 3 Ingredients. They Have 17.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is fiercely critical of the federal government’s handling of child health, including rising childhood obesity rates, has wrongly claimed that Froot Loops sold in Canada have just a few ingredients, compared with those sold in the United States. “Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada and it’s got two or three?” he said in an interview with MSNBC’s Vaughn Hillyard last week while criticizing the Food and Drug Administration. Kennedy, known for his debunked medical claims, was wrong about the numbers of ingredients in Canadian and American Froot Loops, which are similar: 17 and 16, respectively. The biggest difference is the dyes, which in the American version are known as Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 1. Canadian authorities limit the use of those dyes. (Brasch and Lee, 11/12)

The New York Times: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s FDA Wish List: Raw Milk, Stem Cells, Heavy Metals
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been unflinching in his attacks on the Food and Drug Administration in recent weeks, saying he wants to fire agency experts who have taken action against treatments that have sometimes harmed people or that teeter on the fringe of accepted health care practice. ... Some of Mr. Kennedy’s priorities are relatively standard, such as focusing on the health effects associated with ultraprocessed foods. Yet others threaten to undermine F.D.A. authority to rein in inappropriate medical treatments or to warn about products that can damage the public health. (Jewett, 11/12)

The Wall Street Journal: The Siblings Behind RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Campaign
They are pushing for healthier school meals, sustainable agricultural practices and banning some food colorings—and they are about to shape President-elect Donald Trump’s health agenda. Meet Calley Means and Dr. Casey Means, the brother-sister duo who have built a wellness empire by questioning some traditional medical expertise and vaccine mandates, but who have also tapped ideas more recognizable to the political left to fuel the Trump-aligned Make America Healthy Again movement. Means, a former food-industry lobbyist, and his sister, Casey, a Stanford-educated surgeon, have pushed for a radical overhaul of the country’s food and health systems, driven by a deep distrust of the pharmaceutical and food industries. They have also espoused some disputed medical theories. (Peterson and Whyte, 11/13)

Stat: FDA Commissioner Suggests RFK Jr. And Trump Might Compromise An Agency ‘At Peak Performance’
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said he’s unsure about the future of the agency under the incoming Trump administration and “disappointed” about the election’s outcome. “I think we just don’t know what’s going to happen,” Califf said at a conference hosted by the nonprofit Friends of Cancer Research on Tuesday. “The gist of this administration, from everything that’s been said, is that they want to change a lot of things, and how it gets changed depends on who gets appointed into key positions.” (Lawrence, 11/12)

AP: Women Suing Over Idaho's Abortion Ban Describe Dangerous Pregnancies, Becoming 'Medical Refugees' 
Four women suing over Idaho’s strict abortion bans told a judge Tuesday how excitement over their pregnancies turned to grief and fear after they learned their fetuses were not likely to survive to birth — and how they had to leave the state to get abortions amid fears that pregnancy complications would put their own health in danger. “We felt like we were being made refugees, medical refugees,” said Jennifer Adkins, one of the plaintiffs in the case. (Boone, 11/12)

AP: A Pregnant Woman Sues For The Right To An Abortion In Challenge To Kentucky's Near-Total Ban 
A pregnant woman filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to restore the right to an abortion in Kentucky in the latest challenge to the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. The suit, filed in state court in Louisville, claims that Kentucky laws blocking abortions violate the plaintiff’s constitutional rights to privacy and self-determination. It asks that both state laws be struck down by a judge in Jefferson County Circuit Court. The woman, a state resident identified by the pseudonym Mary Poe to protect her privacy, is about seven weeks pregnant, the suit said. She wants to terminate her pregnancy but cannot legally do so in Kentucky, it said. (Schreiner, 11/12)

The New York Times: At Long Last, The Surge In S.T.I.S May Be Leveling Off 
After decades of unrelenting increases, rates of sexually transmitted infections in the United States are showing hints of a downturn. Diagnoses of gonorrhea dipped in nearly all age groups last year, compared with 2022, and new cases of syphilis and chlamydia remained about the same, according to data released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results are not yet cause for celebration. (Mandavilli, 11/12)

NBC News: Decrease In Syphilis Diagnoses Among Gay Men Most Likely Linked To Preventive Antibiotic Use
And importantly, diagnoses of primary and secondary syphilis — the most infectious stages of the infection — dropped 10% last year, to 53,000 cases. The decline was driven by a 13% drop in such syphilis diagnoses among gay and bisexual men, who are about 2% of the adult population but have historically accounted for nearly half of such cases. The half-dozen other infectious disease experts who spoke with NBC News about the CDC report said they believed the sudden turnaround in syphilis diagnoses among gay and bisexual men was likely to be an early signal of such men’s eager adoption of a new, proven protocol in which the oral antibiotic doxycycline is used for STI prevention. (Ryan, 11/12)

Modern Healthcare: Cardinal Health To Acquire Two More Specialty Companies
Cardinal Health has entered definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in GI Alliance, a gastroenterology management services organization, and the entirety of Advanced Diabetes Supply Group, a diabetes medical equipment supplier. Cardinal expects to acquire Advanced Diabetes Supply for an estimated $1.1 billion and 71% ownership of GI Alliance for an estimated $2.8 billion. Both deals are expected to close by early 2025, pending regulatory approvals. (DeSilva, 11/12)

The Colorado Sun: UCHealth Agrees To $23 Million Settlement Over False Billing Claims
UCHealth, the state’s largest medical provider, has reached a $23 million settlement with federal authorities over allegations that it overbilled for emergency care at its hospitals, the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday. (Ingold, 11/13)

Stat: Johnson & Johnson Sues HHS Over 340 B Payment Terms 
Johnson & Johnson has sued a U.S. government agency over a closely watched dispute focusing on payment methods for some hospitals that participate in a federal drug discount program. (Silverman, 11/12)

Modern Healthcare: New Physical, Occupational Therapy Rule May Ease Hospital Burden
A policy change enabling physical and occupational therapy practitioners to treat Medicare beneficiaries with less oversight could benefit health systems and other providers. Tucked inside the Physician Fee Schedule final rule for 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services relaxed supervision requirements for physical and occupational therapist assistants from “direct” to “general.” (Early, 11/12)

Stat: A Scrap Of Data On Amgen's Obesity Drug MariTide Wipes Out $12B In Market Value
On Tuesday, a tiny shred of data on Amgen’s lead obesity candidate — not yet verified — erased $12 billion in market value. The data, spotted by an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, focused on concerns about potential side effects with the drug, called MariTide. Once they were shared widely in an investor note, the company’s shares fell 7%, a reminder that its stock is in a highly precarious position ahead of a critical readout of the therapy. (Chen, 11/12)

The Baltimore Sun: Health Insurance Subsidy Extension Sought For Young Adults
Health advocates and elected officials are urging the Maryland General Assembly to extend health insurance subsidies to young adults during the upcoming legislative session. The Young Adult Health Insurance Subsidy Pilot Program has subsidized premiums for 67,000 young adults enrolled in the state’s health exchange, making it easier for them to get coverage and afford plans. Adults aged 18 to 37, a group that is least likely to have health coverage, make up nearly a third of all private-plan enrollments on the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, an all-time high. (Mirabella, 11/12)

Minnesota Public Radio: St. Paul To Wipe Out Medical Debt For 32,000 Residents
St. Paul officials are sending letters to 32,000 people this week alerting them that their medical debt will be erased. Residents didn’t have to apply to be eligible. Instead, the city analyzed resident incomes and debt levels and prioritized those with the highest need. (Ferguson, 11/12)

Capitol News Illinois: Illinois To Receive $40M Opioid Settlement From Kroger 
Illinois will receive a $40 million share of a $1.4 billion bipartisan national settlement with Kroger over the grocery chain’s role in the opioid crisis, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced. The settlement is the latest contribution to the 2021 Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement steered by Raoul and state’s attorneys. (Johnson, 11/12)

North Carolina Health News: NC Overdose Deaths Seem To Be Dropping. Why? 
Just as substance use experts celebrated a somewhat mysterious drop in drug overdose deaths across North Carolina, Hurricane Helene blew through the western part of the state, causing death and widespread property damage. In the storm’s aftermath, many residents found themselves without homes and businesses and facing an uncertain future. (Knopf, 11/13)

CIDRAP: Canadian Teen With Suspected Avian Flu In Critical Condition 
A British Columbia (BC) teen from the Fraser Health region who was hospitalized with an earlier announced presumptive positive H5 avian flu infection is in critical condition, the province's top health official said today. In a media briefing streamed live on Canada's Global News, Bonnie Henry, MD, BC's health officer, shared the latest investigation findings, noting that the patient's symptoms began on November 2, and he or she was seen that day at a hospital emergency room. She said initial symptoms included conjunctivitis, fever, and cough. (Schnirring, 11/12)

Axios: Cases Hit Pre-COVID Lows As Virus Season Begins
The U.S. may be heading into Thanksgiving with respiratory disease levels at lows not seen since before the pandemic, and with few immediate signs of another tripledemic. Instead of seasonal flu, COVID-19 or RSV, the big public health concern at the moment is walking pneumonia — a bacterial infection of the lungs that's hitting kids and adults at levels not seen in years. (Reed, 11/13)

CIDRAP: FDA Removes Clinical Trial Hold On Novavax COVID-Flu Combo And Flu Vaccines
Novavax yesterday announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a clinical hold on its new drug application for its COVID-flu combination and standalone flu vaccines. In a statement, the company said the step paves the way for it to begin enrolling participants for a phase 3 trial. (Schnirring, 11/12)