First Edition: April 13, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
The Drug Company That Prospered Without Creating Any Drugs
The new drug looked so promising — except for that one warning sign. At the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting in 2008, Duke University’s Dr. John Sundy proudly announced that pegloticase, a drug he’d helped develop, was astoundingly effective at treating severe gout, which affects perhaps 50,000 Americans. In about half of those who had taken it, the drug melted away the crystalline uric acid deposits that encrusted their joints to cause years of pain, immobility, or disfigurement. But Sundy also disclosed an unsettling detail: In one clinical trial, patients who got the drug were more likely to develop heart problems than those who didn’t. The day after Sundy’s talk, the stock price of Savient Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug with Duke scientists, plunged 75%. (Allen, 4/13)
KFF Health News:
The Rate Of Older Californians Dying Of Malnutrition Has Accelerated
A growing number of California’s oldest residents are dying of malnutrition, a yearslong trend that accelerated during the covid pandemic. Deaths attributed to malnutrition more than doubled, from about 650 in 2018 to roughly 1,400 in 2022, according to preliminary death certificate data from the California Department of Public Health. The same trend occurred nationwide, with malnutrition deaths more than doubling, from about 9,300 deaths in 2018 to roughly 20,500 in 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Reese, 4/13)
The New York Times:
Appeals Court Says Abortion Pill Can Remain Available But Imposes Temporary Restrictions
A federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday that the abortion pill mifepristone could remain available, but the judges blocked the drug from being sent to patients through the mail and rolled back other steps the government had taken to ease access in recent years. The three-judge panel said its ruling would hold until the full case is heard on appeal. (Belluck, 4/13)
Reuters:
US Appeals Court Preserves Limited Access To Abortion Pill
Wednesday's ruling came from a panel of three 5th Circuit judges, two appointed by then-President Donald Trump and one by George W. Bush, both Republicans. Judge Catharina Haynes, the Bush appointee, partly dissented, saying she would have temporarily blocked Kacsmaryk's order entirely. The emergency stay is meant to remain in place until the 5th Circuit can hear the Biden administration's appeal of Kacsmaryk's order more fully. That appeal may be heard by a different panel. (Pierson, 4/13)
NBC News:
Biden Officials Propose Tightening Privacy Rules Around Abortion
The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new health privacy protections to prevent protected health information from being used to investigate or sue people who facilitate abortions. The changes, put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, would bolster reproductive health care privacy. (Richards, 4/12)
ABC News:
With Mifepristone In Limbo, Harris Reaffirms White House Commitment To Abortion Access
With Americans' access to the abortion pill mifepristone still in limbo, Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday convened a meeting of a White House task force on reproductive health care during which Cabinet officials expanded on a new way they intend to protect a person's privacy when it comes to abortion access. The meeting fell just hours after the Department of Health and Human Services announced it had drafted a new federal rule intended to make clear to doctors and other medical professionals that divulging details of a person getting an abortion violates the privacy law HIPAA. (Cathey, 4/12)
Axios:
Why A 19th-Century Law Is At Center Of Abortion Pill Fight
In the post-Roe era, conservatives have seized on the long-dormant Comstock Act against medication abortion — with a high-profile case involving it potentially headed to the Supreme Court. The law isn't "a slam dunk," in court, Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California at Davis, told Axios, but "there's an argument you could make that a court that's conservative enough may buy," she said. (Doherty, 4/12)
AP:
Nebraska Lawmakers Advance Bill To Vastly Restrict Abortion
Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would ban abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which is generally around the sixth week of pregnancy and before most women even know they are pregnant. Thirty-three lawmakers voted to end debate on the bill — just enough needed to set up an identical 33-16 vote to advance the bill. If just one other lawmaker had voted not to end debate, the bill would likely have been declared dead for the year. It must survive two more rounds of debate before the end of the 90-day session to pass. (Beck, 4/13)
AP:
Maine Abortion Bill Has Enough Co-Sponsors To Ensure Passage
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ bill to expand abortion access in Maine will generate emotional debate in coming weeks, but its eventual passage is virtually assured. There were enough co-sponsors on her bill, formally introduced this week, to ensure passage with a majority. All told, there were 76 sponsors and co-sponsors in the House and 20 in the Senate, all Democrats or independents. (4/12)
Reuters:
July Goal Set For Final US Medicare Drug Negotiation Guidance
The U.S. government aims to publish the final guidance for its Medicare drug price negotiation program in early July and is currently talking to companies about its contents, a top health official said on Wednesday. The guidance will finalize the details of how President Joe Biden's signature drug pricing reform will be carried out. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released a draft in March and gave a 30-day window for public comments. It is unclear how much will change in the final guidance. (Aboulenein, 4/12)
Stat:
Senate Hashing Out Policy Details On Generics, PBMs, Insulin
Senators are slightly delaying their latest legislative push on health care, but as they do, a clearer picture is emerging about what’s in — and out — of the mix. The Senate health committee was expected to mark up legislation related to generic drugs, pharmacy benefit managers, and some leftovers from the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee agreements next week, but leaders are planning to reschedule the meeting, several sources told STAT. (Cohrs and Wilkerson, 4/12)
Stat:
Sen. Sanders Plans To Haul In Insulin CEOs To Testify In Senate
Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to call the chief executives of the country’s largest insulin manufacturers to testify before his health committee, according to insulin maker Eli Lilly and two sources familiar with the plans. The move will keep the pressure on the companies over their prices despite the fact that they have said they plan to lower the list price of their older insulin products. (Cohrs and Wilkerson, 4/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Suicide Rates Rose In 2021 After Two Years In Decline
Suicide rates rose in 2021 after two years in decline, federal data showed, driven by more deaths among men in nearly every age group. Suicides rates increased 4% in 2021 from a year earlier to 14.1 deaths per 100,000 people, the National Center for Health Statistics said on Thursday, the largest one-year increase in data collected from 2001 to 2021. For men, the rate was 22.8 deaths per 100,000, roughly four times that for women. (Wernau, 4/13)
ABC News:
Suicides Increased In 2021, Reaching Highest Level Since 2018: CDC Report
There were 48,183 people who died by suicide in 2021, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It comes after two consecutive years of declines and is an increase of 4.7% from the 45,979 deaths recorded in 2020. It's also the highest number recorded since 2018, when 48,344 Americans died by suicide. (Kekatos, 4/13)
The New York Times:
Juul Reaches $462 Million Settlement With New York, California And Other States
New York, California and several other states announced a $462 million settlement with Juul Labs on Wednesday, resolving lawsuits claiming that the company aggressively marketed its e-cigarettes to young people and fueled a vaping crisis. The agreement brings many of the company’s legal woes to a conclusion, with settlements reached with 47 states and territories, and 5,000 individuals and local governments. Juul is in the middle of a trial in Minnesota, an unusual case in which a settlement has not been reached. (Jewett and Creswell, 4/12)
AP:
Juul Labs Agrees To Pay $462 Million Settlement To 6 States
Like some other settlements reached by Juul, this latest includes restrictions on the marketing and distribution of the company’s vaping products. For example, it is barred from any direct or indirect marketing that targets youth, which includes anyone under age 35. Juul will also limit the amount of purchases customers can make in retail stores and online. ... A spokesperson for Juul said with Wednesday’s settlement, the Washington D.C.-based company was “nearing total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future.” (Matthews, 4/12)
KQED:
Walmart, CVS Set To Pay San Francisco $19 Million In Opioid Settlements
San Francisco will receive up to $18.8 million to abate the opioid overdose epidemic thanks to settlements with Walmart and CVS Pharmacy for their alleged negligent oversight of opioid prescription practices. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved the two settlement agreements, both part of nationwide opioid-related lawsuits, which include up to $6.8 million from Walmart (PDF) over the next six years and up to $12 million over 10 years from CVS Pharmacy (PDF). (Johnson, 4/12)
Fox News:
Family Of Suspected Louisville Bank Shooter Connor Sturgeon Says He Suffered 'Mental Health Challenges'
The suspected gunman behind Monday's shooting at Old National Bank in Louisville, 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, had "mental health challenges" but there were "never any warning signs" he was capable of carrying out the attack that left five dead and eight injured, his family said in a new statement. (Richard, 4/12)
AP:
Dad Says University Failed To Treat NFL Veteran Who Shot 6
The father of a former NFL player who fatally shot six people before killing himself two years ago is suing the alma mater where his son played football. An autopsy eventually diagnosed Phillip Adams with an unusually severe form of the degenerative brain disease commonly known as CTE that has been shown to cause violent mood swings and memory loss. Now, Alonzo Adams says South Carolina State University did not follow safety protocols or properly train employees to treat the sustained head trauma that his son suffered during a college career that lasted from 2006 to 2009. (4/12)
CIDRAP:
Study Notes High Rate Of COVID-Infected Healthcare Workers Still Caring For Patients
Half of all healthcare workers (HCWs) with symptomatic COVID-19 continued to go to work, even if they were involved with direct patient care, according to the results of a study yesterday on presenteeism among HCWs in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. (Soucheray, 4/12)
CIDRAP:
Babies Exposed To Mild COVID-19 In Womb Show Normal Brain Development
The infants of mothers who had asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infections during pregnancy showed no neurodevelopment delays compared to peers with no exposures, according to new work from Columbia University researchers. The research is published in JAMA Network Open. (Soucheray, 4/12)
Reuters:
Exclusive: China Out Of UN's Wildlife Survey For Pandemic Controls
China is not participating in a United Nations project to survey Asian wet markets and other facilities at high risk of spreading infectious diseases from wild animals to humans, despite long-running talks with Beijing, a UN official told Reuters. China's hesitancy to join the UN project involving other Asian nations may compound frustration by global researchers who have been pressing Beijing to share information about the origins of COVID-19, as they seek to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease transmission. (Guarascio, 4/13)
Reuters:
Novavax Cut $50 Million In Costs, Plans To Slash More, CEO Says
Novavax Inc cut about $50 million in costs in the first quarter of 2023 and plans to slash more, Chief Executive John Jacobs said in an interview on Wednesday. “We’re looking at everything from buildings, leases, land, headcount, and contractors, every aspect of our company and the way we work,” he told Reuters. ... Novavax, whose COVID-19 vaccine is its lone marketed product after 35 years in business, is relying on an updated COVID shot, cost cutting, and Phase 2 data on its COVID/influenza combination vaccine due in the coming weeks to stay afloat. (Wingrove, 4/12)
AP:
Bill Would Let Parents 'Opt Out' Of School Mask Mandates
Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation aimed at letting parents bypass requirements for students to wear face masks in school. The House Health Committee approved the legislation that harkens back to disputes over public health orders during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill says parents of a student at a K-12 school have the right to “opt his or her child out” of any policy for students to wear a face covering at school, at a school function, on a school bus or at a school bus stop. The bill now moves to the full Alabama House of Representatives for debate. (4/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
As An Adderall Shortage Continues, Some Patients Put Lives On Hold
Patients say not being able to find the drugs can mean the difference between being able to work, sleep or perform daily tasks such as shopping for groceries, or not. Dr. Kathryn Boling, a family medicine doctor with Mercy Personal Physicians in Lutherville, Md., says she has combined smaller doses or swapped drugs for another stimulant. Doctors have been prescribing other stimulants such as Ritalin, Concerta and Vyvanse, to help tide over patients. “We try to help them get it in whatever way we can,” she says. (Janin, 4/13)
Stat:
With FDA Staff Opposed To Sarepta Therapy, Top Official Intervened
Reviewers at the Food and Drug Administration were leaning toward rejecting a closely watched gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy made by Sarepta Therapeutics, prompting a top official to intervene earlier this year, according to three people with direct knowledge of the agency deliberations. (Feuerstein and Mast, 4/13)
Stat:
Sickle Cell Gene Therapies Could Be Cost-Effective At $1.9 Million
As the U.S. health care system prepares for expensive gene therapies, a preliminary analysis suggests that a pair of forthcoming treatments for sickle cell disease would be cost-effective if priced as high as $1.9 million, depending upon certain variables. (Silverman, 4/12)
AP:
States Confront Medical Debt That's Bankrupting Millions
Cindy Powers was driven into bankruptcy by 19 life-saving abdominal operations. Medical debt started stacking up for Lindsey Vance after she crashed her skateboard and had to get nine stitches in her chin. And for Misty Castaneda, open heart surgery for a disease she’d had since birth saddled her with $200,000 in bills. ... Now lawmakers in at least a dozen states and the U.S. Congress have pushed legislation to curtail the financial burden that’s pushed many into untenable situations: forgoing needed care for fear of added debt, taking a second mortgage to pay for cancer treatment or slashing grocery budgets to keep up with payments. (Bedayn, 4/13)
AP:
Military Hospital Chided For Shift In Catholic Pastoral Care
The management of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has drawn criticism from a prominent archbishop — and some members of Congress — by choosing not to renew a contract for Franciscan priests to provide pastoral care, and instead hiring a secular firm to oversee provision of those services going forward. For nearly two decades, priests from the Holy Name College Friary in Silver Spring, Maryland, had ministered to service members and veterans hospitalized at Walter Reed, a renowned medical facility in nearby Bethesda. (Crary, 4/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Apparently Unhoused Woman Gives Birth On San Francisco Sidewalk
An apparently unhoused woman who gave birth in public on a sidewalk in San Francisco last week is in stable condition – along with her newborn – at a local hospital, officials said Wednesday night. San Francisco fire officials said the woman gave birth on April 6. Video posted on Instagram on April 8 showed a woman who had just given birth on a San Francisco sidewalk. (Umanzor, 4/12)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
How Mothers Say Philly Joy Bank, Which Gives $1,000 To Pregnant Parents, Could Be Transformative
Buy diapers or pay the bills? Spend money you don’t have for a babysitter so you can attend a job interview, or grind on at a job that barely pays enough? New and expecting parents struggling financially face impossible choices. Money worries even play a role in whether a baby thrives or dies, since mental wellbeing affects infant mortality. Philly, the poorest big city in the nation, has the highest rate of infant mortality among America’s 10 largest cities, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. (Laughlin and Jones, 4/12)
CBS News:
What Is Human Metapneumovirus, The Infectious Respiratory Disease Spiking This Year?
In the year 2000, Dutch scientists went on a mission of exploration – not to discover lands or riches, but to identify unknown causes of acute respiratory infections. These illnesses, from the common cold to pneumonia, have been a plague on mankind throughout history. Most are caused by viruses, so if you've ever been told "you probably have a virus" by a clinician, they were likely correct. However, respiratory illnesses can be much more severe than simple colds. (Williams, 4/12)