First Edition: Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024

KFF Health News: Errors In Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions And Take Years To Fix
The computer systems run by the consulting giant Deloitte that millions of Americans rely on for Medicaid and other government benefits are prone to errors that can take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to update. While states wait for fixes from Deloitte, beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food. Changes needed to fix Deloitte-run eligibility systems often pile on costs to the government that are much higher than the original contracts, which can slow the process of fixing errors. (Liss and Pradhan, 9/5)

KFF Health News: Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay For Outside Care
When the Indian Health Service can’t provide medical care to Native Americans, the federal agency can refer them elsewhere. But each year, it rejects tens of thousands of requests to fund those appointments, forcing patients to go without treatment or pay daunting medical bills out of their own pockets. In theory, Native Americans are entitled to free health care when the Indian Health Service foots the bill at its facilities or sites managed by tribes. (Zionts and Houghton, 9/5)

KFF Health News: Boom, Now Bust: Budget Cuts And Layoffs Take Hold In Public Health
Even as federal aid poured into state budgets in response to the covid-19 pandemic, public health leaders warned of a boom-and-bust funding cycle on the horizon as the emergency ended and federal grants sunsetted. Now, that drought has become reality and state governments are slashing budgets that feed local health departments. Congress allotted more than $800 billion to support states’ covid responses, fueling a surge in the public health workforce nationwide. (Orozco Rodriguez, 9/5)

Reuters: Hunger In US Continued Multi-Year Rise In 2023, Government Report Says 
Hunger reached its highest point in the United States in nearly a decade last year, with 18 million households, or 13.5%, struggling at some point to secure enough food, a Department of Agriculture report released on Wednesday said. Hunger has been on the rise in the country since 2021, after years of decline. U.S. Census Bureau data last year showed a rise in food insecurity after the end of programs that expanded food aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report did not provide an explanation for the increase. (Douglas, 9/4)

AP: Teen Charged With Killing 4 At Georgia High School Had Been Focus Of Earlier Tips About Threats 
More than a year ago, tips about online posts threatening a school shooting led Georgia police to interview a 13-year-old boy, but investigators didn’t have enough evidence for an arrest. On Wednesday, that boy opened fire at his high school outside Atlanta and killed four people and wounded nine, officials said. ... The sheriff’s office interviewed the then-13-year-old and his father, who said there were hunting guns in the house but the teen did not have unsupervised access to them. The teen also denied making any online threats. The sheriff’s office alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the teen, but there was no probable cause for arrest or additional action, the FBI said. (Amy, 9/5)

AP: A List Of Mass Killings In The United States This Year
It was the country’s 30th mass killing this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 131 people have died this year in those killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI. Last year ended with 217 deaths from 42 mass killings in the U.S., making 2023 one of the deadliest years on record. (9/4)

Vox: How To Stop Mass Shootings Before They Start: What Experts Say Can Help
“One of the big stereotypes, or myths we have about mass shootings in general, is that perpetrators who do this go crazy and just snap,” says Mark Follman, author of the book Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America, and an editor at Mother Jones. “That’s not the reality at all of how this works.” Mass shootings are almost never random, according to Follman. The vast majority of mass shooters don’t spontaneously decide to pull out a gun in public and start shooting. Learning to identify who’s most at risk for committing mass violence, identifying warning signs and finding ways to intervene, can save lives. (Cogan, 9/4)

CIDRAP: Study Puts Understanding Of Long COVID And Vaccination Into Question 
A new study from researchers at the Mayo Clinic suggests that being vaccinated against COVID-19 does little to prevent long COVID. The findings contradict what has become conventional wisdom in the last 3 years—that vaccines offer a chance to significantly reduce the risk of long COVID, or new or persistent symptoms 3 months or more after infection, most likely by reducing the severity of infection. (Soucheray, 9/4)

CIDRAP: Wearable Activity Trackers Could Offer Early Clues On COVID-19 
A new study from researchers at the University of South Australia reveals that wearable activity trackers, such as Apple Watches and Fitbits, show promise in detecting early signals of disease—particularly atrial fibrillation associated with stroke and COVID-19. The study is published in the journal JMIR mHealth and uHealth. ... For COVID-19 diagnosis, wearables were accurate 87.5% of the time. The authors said the wearables were as accurate as rapid antigen tests, or lateral flow devices. (Soucheray, 9/4)

The Guardian: ‘A Ton Of Covid Out There’: US Summer Wave Not Taken Seriously Enough – Experts 
Infectious disease experts say many people are not taking the latest Covid-19 wave in the US seriously enough and are not getting vaccinated or using antiviral drugs when sick, despite a summer wave that was larger and came earlier than anticipated. Epidemiologists are saying that while symptoms of this wave are more mild than earlier strains, the virus remains a threat – particularly for older adults and people with underlying health conditions. (Berger, 9/4)

The Hill: Pregnancy Complications Spiked During Early Months Of Pandemic: Study
The COVID-19 pandemic caused more women to suffer serious health issues during their pregnancies than previously known, according to a new study.  ... The study, published Wednesday in the journal Epidemiology, shows a connection between the pandemic and an increase in rates of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders and gestational weight gain among pregnant women. (O'Connell-Domenech, 9/4)

NBC News: Flu Shots Are Here. When's The Ideal Time To Get One, And Should You Get It With The Covid Vaccine?
Flu shot season is upon us. Pharmacies began giving out the vaccines — which are recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older — last month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting a flu shot either this month or next, since flu activity typically picks up in the fall, with cases reaching their peak sometime from December to February. It takes around two weeks for the vaccine to become fully effective. (Bendix, 9/4)

Bloomberg: Potential Outbreak-Causing Viruses Found In China’s Animals Farmed For Fur
Novel and potentially dangerous viruses, including coronaviruses and influenza, are harbored in raccoon dogs, mink and other animals farmed for fur in China, scientists found in the first in-depth investigation of the seldom-studied critters. Researchers scoured for viruses in the lungs, intestines and other tissues of 461 individual fur animals that were found dead due to disease across China. They identified 125 virus species, including 36 that were novel and 39 at potentially-high risk of crossing the species barrier, including spilling over to infect humans. (Gale, 9/5)

Wyoming Public Radio: Anthrax Detected In Multiple Beef Herds And A Dead Moose In Carbon County
Anthrax has been detected in multiple beef herds in Carbon County near Elk Mountain. The State Veterinary Laboratory confirmed the cattle diagnosis late afternoon on Aug. 31. A dead moose in the area also tested positive for the bacterial disease, according to lab results received by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department on Sept. 3. The Wyoming Livestock Board says these are the first confirmed cases of anthrax in Wyoming cattle since the 1970s. Game and Fish says the last confirmed case in wildlife occurred in 1956 in Sublette County. (Ouellet, 9/4)

AP: Judge Blocks Ohio From Enforcing Laws Restricting Medication Abortions
Two more Ohio laws restricting abortions have been blocked by the courts as the legal impacts of a 2023 constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to the procedure continue to be felt. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway issued a preliminary injunction Aug. 29 that extends an existing order temporarily halting enforcement of a law banning use of telemedicine in medication abortions. It also blocks another law prohibiting non-doctors — including midwives, advanced practice nurses and physician assistants — from prescribing the abortion pill mifepristone used in the procedure. (Smyth, 9/4)

NBC News: States With Strictest Abortion Laws Offer The Least Support For Women And Families
New research from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago compared state abortion laws to public programs meant to help families, such as paid parental leave and state-funded nutrition programs for families with children. “States with the most severe abortion restrictions have the least public infrastructure to support families,” said Dr. Nigel Madden, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who led the study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health. (Sullivan, 9/4)

Politico: Trump Pivoted On Florida’s Abortion Ban. Here’s What Anti-Abortion Leaders Want Next
The anti-abortion activists celebrating Donald Trump’s vow to vote no on Florida’s upcoming abortion-rights amendment have their sights on a bigger target: extracting a promise from the former president to staff his administration with staunch abortion opponents if he wins in November. (Ollstein and McGraw, 9/5)

Roll Call: Once A Liability For Democrats, Abortion Gets New Life With Harris As Nominee 
Reproductive rights groups say they are more confident that Vice President Kamala Harris will be able to appeal to voters, with some citing frustration with President Joe Biden’s abortion messaging. Abortion access and reproductive rights have been a central theme in Harris’ campaign since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket, with reproductive rights groups hopeful that the Harris campaign can use her message on the issue to further fuel voters’ enthusiasm for her. (Heller, 9/4)

The Wall Street Journal: How America’s Baby Bust Became An Election Issue 
America’s falling birthrate is becoming a bigger issue in this year’s election. A small but dedicated cadre of advocates has pushed the topic to the forefront of conservative policy agendas in Washington and Silicon Valley, warning that U.S. economic growth and the solvency of Social Security depend on lifting fertility from its record-low levels. Democrats, meanwhile, are offering more support for new parents through Vice President Kamala Harris’s Opportunity Economy plan without explicitly tying it to incentivizing childbearing. (Whyte, 9/5)

CNN: Cervical Cancer Screening Self-Collection Kits Now Being Shipped, As Some Patients Opt To Forgo The Pap Smear Speculum
The first shipments of some self-collection HPV tests for cervical cancer screening are currently on their way to doctors’ offices across the United States. In May, the US Food and Drug Administration gave the greenlight for patients to have the option to collect their own vaginal samples for cervical cancer screenings instead of undergoing traditional HPV tests or Pap smears, which involve a speculum to screen for the disease. Similar to how they may collect their own urine samples, patients can now collect their own vaginal samples in a health-care setting, such as a doctor’s office, urgent care or pharmacy clinic. (Howard, 9/5)

USA Today: Steward Health CEO Ralph De La Torre Refuses Senate Subpoena
The CEO of Steward Health Care told senators Wednesday that despite a subpoena he would not appear before a bipartisan Senate committee next week to answer questions about the financial dealings of his bankrupt hospital chain. In a bipartisan vote in July, a Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions authorized the subpoena mandating [Ralph] de la Torre to be present on Sept. 12 for testimony in Washington, D.C. (Alltucker, 9/4)

Reuters: Bankrupt Steward Health Approved To Sell Six Massachusetts Hospitals At A Loss 
Steward Health Care, the largest private hospital operator in the U.S., received a bankruptcy judge's approval on Wednesday to sell six Massachusetts hospitals, despite taking no profit from the $343 million sale. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the sales as "the best deal that's on the table," at a court hearing in Houston, Texas. The sale will allow Steward to stem its losses and minimize the disruption to patients, even though the company won't make any money from the sale, Steward's attorney Candace Arthur told Lopez. (Knauth, 9/4)

Crain's Detroit Business: Henry Ford Health To Take Over 8 Ascension Hospitals
A joint venture between Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan will launch on Oct. 1, a spokesperson for Henry Ford Health confirmed to Crain’s. Under the no-cash deal, eight Ascension and Genesys hospitals and an addiction treatment center will be rebranded under Henry Ford Health. (Walsh, 9/4)

Modern Healthcare: The Ensign Group Acquires 8 Skilled Nursing Facilities
Senior living company The Ensign Group acquired eight skilled nursing facilities across Colorado and Kansas in two separate deals, the company announced Tuesday. The Ensign Group acquired the operations of seven Colorado nursing homes for an undisclosed amount, according to a news release. (Eastabrook, 9/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: Sutter Health Charged 30% More Than Other Hospitals, New Study Finds
New research from University of Southern California health economists has found evidence that Sutter Health began implementing allegedly anticompetitive contracting practices in the early 2000s that resulted in prices 30% higher than at comparable hospitals. The findings echo some of the claims in recent lawsuits — including one that had been resolved in Sutter’s favor — accusing the health care giant of abusing its market power to charge insurers and consumers higher prices for medical care. (Ho, 9/4)

Fierce Healthcare: Humana Exiting Medicare Advantage In 13 Markets
Humana reaffirmed its full-year guidance but is leaving 13 Medicare Advantage (MA) markets next year, Chief Financial Officer Susan Diamond said during the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference on Wednesday. Other members will have fewer plans to choose from in certain geographies. Diamond explained around 560,000 members, or 10% of its individual MA membership base, would be impacted by the cutbacks, but Humana anticipates it will absorb about half of those members into other plans. (Tong, 9/4)

Military.com: VA Hospitals Earn High Marks In New Federal Ratings 
A new quality assessment of U.S. hospitals by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave nearly 58% of Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers the highest four- or five-star ratings -- down 9% from 2023. The VA scores were still significantly higher than private medical centers, only 40% of which earned four or five stars. The department announced Tuesday that its hospitals also outperformed non-VA facilities on patient satisfaction surveys, which gave 79% of VA hospitals four or five stars, compared with 40% of non-VA hospitals. (Kime, 9/4)

Stateline: Emergency Responders Struggle With Burnout, Budgets As Disasters Mount
Climate change has rewritten the script for disasters, leaving communities vulnerable to weather patterns that don’t abide by schedules or the rules of past behavior. As a result, hundreds of thousands of emergency responders are facing unprecedented challenges —from burnout to post-traumatic stress disorder to tighter budgets — as they battle hurricanes, windstorms, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters that are more frequent and intense than those in the past. (Montgomery, 9/4)

Reuters: US Pharmacy Chain Rite Aid To Operate As A Private Company As It Emerges From Bankruptcy 
Rite Aid will operate as a private company after it successfully completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the U.S. drugstore chain said on Tuesday. The pharmacy has used its bankruptcy to close hundreds of stores, sell its pharmacy benefit company Elixir, and negotiate settlements with its lenders, drug distribution partner McKesson and other creditors. (9/4)

Reuters: Walgreens Hit With Lawsuit Claiming Generic Cold Medicine Has Cancer-Causing Chemical 
Walgreens is facing a proposed class action lawsuit brought on Wednesday by customers who say they weren’t warned that the pharmacy chain’s generic version of cold medicine Mucinex contains a cancer-causing chemical. The lawsuit, filed in Chicago federal court, claims Walgreens did not label the products or otherwise warn customers that they contained benzene, a known carcinogen. (Jones, 9/4)

The Hill: U.S. Allows Increased Vyvanse Production Amid ADHD Drug Shortage
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has allowed an increase in Vyvanse production of around 24 percent to help with the ADHD drug shortage nationwide. The DEA greenlighted the spike in production following a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) request, according to a notice first reported by Bloomberg News. The FDA’s request came in July. (Timotija, 9/4)

Reuters: Johnson & Johnson Adds $1.1 Billion To Proposed Talc Settlement 
Johnson & Johnson plans to pay an additional $1.1 billion to resolve tens of thousands of legal actions alleging its baby powder and other talc products caused cancer, two people familiar with the matter said. The increase would boost the size of the settlement to more than $9 billion paid over 25 years. J&J on Wednesday said it reached an agreement with a plaintiffs' lawyer representing 12,000 clients to recommend the settlement offer to them, adding to support already received from other claimants. (Spector and Knauth, 9/4)

Modern Healthcare: Ochsner Health Digital Program To Offer Wegovy, Other GLP-1s
Ochsner Health is expanding its digital medicine program to offer weight management, the health system said Wednesday. Some patients in the program will have access to popular weight loss medications including glucagon-like peptide agonists, Ochsner said in a news release. The digital medicine program has previously focused on patients with hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidemia. (Perna, 9/4)

Military.com: Military Obesity Policies Need To Catch Up With Science, Look At New Weight Loss Drugs, Think Tank Says
The U.S. military spends $1.24 billion each year to address obesity in the ranks, but Defense Department policies have been slow to adopt weight management treatments, including therapies and medications such as Wegovy or Zepbound, to address a major readiness concern, according to new research. Obesity is the main reason potential recruits are disqualified from serving -- preventing an estimated 52,000 from joining last year -- and is a leading cause of separation from duty, with roughly 101,000 troops leaving from 2018 to 2022 for weight-related reasons, according to a paper published Wednesday by the American Security Project think tank. (Kime, 9/4)

The Dallas Morning News: Fentanyl Vaccine Heads For Clinical Trials, With Goal Of Saving Lives
A fentanyl vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Houston is expected to head to clinical trials sometime in the middle of next year, with the hope of being a groundbreaking solution to a deadly crisis. The vaccine, which has shown success in animal studies, is designed to stop the highly addictive opioid from entering the brain and causing an overdose. Biopharmaceutical startup Ovax acquired the license to produce and test the vaccine in November 2023 and raised over $10 million toward that effort by June. (Fauzia, 9/4)

Politico: Democrats And Republicans Say Methadone Can End The Fentanyl Epidemic. Methadone Clinics Say That’s Naive
A plan to expand access to the drug treatment is hung up on fears of a black market, despite bipartisan support. (Paun, 9/5)

ProPublica: Judge Orders Guardianship Firm to Return Thousands It Took From an Elderly Woman for Services It Never Provided
A New York judge has ordered one of the city’s most prominent guardianship companies to return thousands of dollars to an elderly woman for the court-mandated care and oversight it failed to provide her. Supreme Court Justice Lee Mayersohn wrote in an Aug. 8 decision that the company, New York Guardianship Services, billed Judith Zbiegniewicz monthly but provided “minimal services, if any” for years, including at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. (Pearson, 9/5)

San Francisco Chronicle: Gavin Newsom Pushes Back Against Prop 36 Treatment Claims
Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted supporters of a measure to increase jail time for thieves and drug users, saying Wednesday their argument that it will lead to more treatment is wrong. In recent weeks, supporters of the measure, which will appear as Proposition 36 on California ballots in November, have said it will usher in an era of “mass treatment.” (Bollag, 9/4)

Stateline: Demand For Bilingual Spanish Health Care Services Is Growing — Can Utah Keep Up?
When social worker Jules Martinez met one teen client, it seemed like the boy had given up: He’d dropped out of school, started selling drugs and stopped speaking with his mother. He’d been hospitalized multiple times for aggression and suicidal ideation and, as it later came out, was developing schizophrenia. The teen and his mother, like a number of Hispanic Utahns, struggled to find health care that took into account their language, cultural background and experiences several years after immigrating to the United States. (Chapman Gonzalez, 9/4)