First Edition: April 23, 2024

KFF Health News: Unsheltered People Are Losing Medicaid In Redetermination Mix-Ups
On a cold February morning at the Flathead Warming Center, Tashya Evans waited for help with her Medicaid application as others at the shelter got ready for the day in this northwestern Montana city. Evans said she lost Medicaid coverage in September because she hadn’t received paperwork after moving from Great Falls, Montana. She has had to forgo the blood pressure medication she can no longer pay for since losing coverage. She has also had to put off needed dental work. (Bolton, 4/23)

KFF Health News: California Legislators Debate Froot Loops And Free Condoms
California state lawmakers this year are continuing their progressive tilt on health policy with dozens of proposals including a ban on a Froot Loops ingredient and free condoms for high schoolers. As states increasingly fracture along partisan lines, California Democrats are stamping their supermajority on legislation that they will consider until they adjourn at the end of August. But the cost of these proposals will be a major factor given the enormity of the state’s deficit, currently estimated at between $38 billion and $73 billion. (Thompson, 4/23)

KFF Health News: Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don’t Meet Them
The Biden administration finalized nursing home staffing rules Monday that will require thousands of them to hire more nurses and aides — while giving them years to do so. The new rules from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are the most substantial changes to federal oversight of the nation’s roughly 15,000 nursing homes in more than three decades. But they are less stringent than what patient advocates said was needed to provide high-quality care. (Rau, 4/22)

McKnight's Senior Living: Federal Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Will Siphon Workers From Senior Living, Groups Fear 
A federal nursing home staffing mandate will siphon workers from assisted living and other long-term care settings, in the long run limiting access to care and services, according to senior living experts reacting to Monday’s issuance of the finalized rule. ... “A federal mandate to hire more workers will not create more workers,” American Seniors Housing Association Vice President of Government Affairs Jeanne McGlynn Delgado told McKnight’s Senior Living. “And without additional funding to subsidize this new requirement, it sets up the system for failure.” (Bonvissuto, 4/23)

Reuters: VP Harris To Unveil Nursing Home Rules In Battleground State Of Wisconsin 
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to the political battleground state of Wisconsin on Monday to announce two final rules aimed at improving access to long-term care and ensuring the quality of care-giving jobs, a White House official said. The White House said Monday's announcements finalized two rules first announced in September as part of U.S. President Joe Biden's pledge to crack down on nursing homes that endanger resident safety, and to improve access to high-quality care. (Shalal, 4/22)

Stat: Biden Administration Strengthens HIPAA To Protect Abortion Privacy 
Biden officials are still pressing to shore up abortion protections amid an onslaught of legal challenges, one of which is slated for Supreme Court arguments this week. The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday released a final rule that would put abortion services under the same federal privacy protections as other health care data covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The rule effectively allows providers to deny access to health care data that could be used to prosecute people in abortion-restrictive states. (Owermohle, 4/22)

The New York Times: Supreme Court Seems Poised to Allow Local Laws That Penalize Homelessness
A majority of the Supreme Court appeared inclined on Monday to uphold a series of local ordinances that allowed a small Oregon city to ban homeless people from sleeping or camping in public spaces. The justices seemed split along ideological lines in the case, which has sweeping implications for how the country deals with a growing homelessness crisis. In a lengthy and, at times, fiery argument that lasted almost two and a half hours, questioning from the justices reflected the complexity of the homelessness debate. (VanSickle, 4/22)

The Washington Post: Activists At Supreme Court Protest Move To Penalize Homelessness
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Monday outside the U.S. Supreme Court, waving signs that read “Housing Not Handcuffs” and “Housing Dignity” as they protested moves to legally penalize homelessness while justices heard oral arguments on a case that experts say could change how the country treats its homeless people. (Swenson, 4/22)

Reuters: Drug Distributor Cardinal Health To Lose UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx Contracts 
Cardinal Health said on Monday its contracts with UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx, one of its largest customers, will not be renewed after they expire at the end of June, sending the drug distributor's shares down about 6%. At least two analysts said rival McKesson would get Optum's contracts. McKesson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Sunny, 4/22)

Stat: Accreditation Agencies Launch New Telehealth Care Standards 
In the early days of the pandemic, as social distancing forced patients out of doctors’ offices, health care organizations scrambled to offer care online. In turn, health care accreditation organizations rushed to tweak their standards, filling a void in best practices for virtual visits. (Palmer, 4/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: Kaiser Nurses Protest Use Of AI That Could Put Patient Safety At Risk
More than 100 Northern California nurses marched outside Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center on Monday to protest what they say is hospitals’ use of unproven artificial intelligence that could put patients at risk. Registered nurses represented by the California Nurses Association who work at Kaiser say Kaiser and other health care systems are rushing to implement AI technology but are not being transparent with nurses about what it’s being used for or how it benefits patients or staff. (Ho, 4/22) 

Modern Healthcare: Providence Lawsuit Results In $98M For Employees Alleging Wage Theft
A jury awarded more than $98 million to Providence Health and Services employees in a class action lawsuit over claims the health system illegally denied meal breaks and pay for time worked. King County Superior Court Judge Averil Rothrock, who presided over the case, also ruled Thursday that the health system willfully withheld wages, which under Washington state law could entitle workers to double the amount of damages awarded. (DeSilva, 4/22)

NBC News: Women Are Less Likely To Die When Treated By Female Doctors, Study Suggests
Hospitalized women are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital if they are treated by female doctors, a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine found. In the study of people ages 65 and older, 8.15% of women treated by female physicians died within 30 days, compared with 8.38% of women treated by male physicians. Although the difference between the two groups seems small, the researchers say erasing the gap could save 5,000 women’s lives each year. (Szabo, 4/22)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Plans Must Adjust 340B Drug Pay: Hospitals
Hospitals’ fight to boost Medicare Advantage reimbursement has extended to plans' pay for 340B drugs. The hospitals’ plea to adjust Medicare Advantage pay stems from regulation aimed at making providers that participate in the drug discount program whole after the Supreme Court reversed 340B rate cuts that were in place from 2018 to 2022. (Kacik, 4/22)

NPR: Study: Drug Rep Meetings With Doctors Don't Improve Survival For Cancer Patients
When drug company reps visit doctors, it usually includes lunch or dinner and a conversation about a new drug. These direct-to-physician marketing interactions are tracked as payments in a public database, and a new study shows the meetings work. That is, doctors prescribe about five percent more oncology drugs following a visit from a pharmaceutical representative, according to the new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research this month. But the researchers also found that the practice doesn't make cancer patients live longer. (Lupkin, 4/22)

Houston Chronicle: Houston's Memorial Hermann Planning Drone Deliveries Of Meds, Supplies
Memorial Hermann Health System said last week it would work with drone delivery system Zipline to bring specialty prescription and medical supply deliveries directly to patients' homes beginning in 2026. The Houston health care provider said it would be the first in the area to use this system, in which autonomous red-winged aircraft called Zips make deliveries in urban and suburban areas. (Mizan, 4/22)

Bloomberg News: Ozempic ‘Oops’ Babies Spark Debate About Weight-Loss Shot Use As Fertility Drugs 
A surprising thing is happening to some women on weight-loss drugs who’ve struggled with fertility issues: They’re getting pregnant. That’s leading to questions about the safety of medications from Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. during pregnancy. “I thought I couldn’t have any more kids,” said Torria Leggett, 40, who had been trying for another after her first child was born in 2018. (Muller, 4/22)

ABC News: Possible Measles Exposure At Indiana Children's Museum During Total Eclipse Event, Officials Say
People who attended a total solar eclipse event at a children's museum in Indiana may have been exposed to measles, according to museum and health officials. An infected individual traveled to the event at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis on April 8 from out of state, the Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD) said in a news release late Friday afternoon. (Kekatos, 4/22)

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Solving The Puzzle: Autism Diagnosis Often Takes Longer For Girls, Whose Symptoms Can Differ From Boys’
Donning one of her favorite unicorn-themed nightgowns and perched comfortably in an extra large beanbag chair, Alyssa Tracy watches videos on her tablet. It’s a quiet, early April morning at the Lakeside, California, home where the 10-year-old lives with her parents, Dustin and Debra Tracy, and older sister Grace Tracy, age 12. But just a few minutes earlier, Alyssa was a little fussy. Being on spring break means her school routine is disrupted. Plus, there’s a reporter and photographer visiting. (Mapp, 4/22)

The Washington Post: Some 11 Percent Of U.S. Children Have Been Diagnosed With ADHD
More than 1 in 10 children in the United States — about 11 percent of those ages 5 to 17 — have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics. The report data was drawn from interviews, conducted in person and by phone from 2020 through 2022, with members of a representative sample of U.S. households. (Searing, 4/22)

Axios: The Newest Employer Perk: Disability Coverage For Your Kids
Soon, your employer may help cover your bills in case your kid gets seriously sick or disabled. A company called Juno said it's selling the first workplace benefit in the U.S. that kicks in cash assistance for caregiving-related expenses if a child develops a debilitating condition. (Reed, 4/22)

The Hill: Louisiana Education Chief Tells Schools To Ignore New Title IX Rules For Transgender Students 
Louisiana’s top education official on Monday instructed schools to ignore new Title IX rules unveiled by the Biden administration, warning that extending the civil rights law’s protections to transgender students may violate existing state and federal law. The Education Department last week issued a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX — which prohibits sex-based discrimination at federally funded schools — including an expanded definition of sex discrimination that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. In a letter sent Monday to school system leaders and board members, Cade Brumley, Louisiana’s superintendent of education, said the new Title IX rules likely conflict with Louisiana law, and schools “should not alter policies or procedures at this time.” (Migdon, 4/22)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri House OKs Bill Expanding Access To Birth Control
A year’s supply of contraception would have to be covered by the state’s private health insurers under a proposal that passed the Missouri House on Monday. Rep. Tara Peters, R-Rolla, who is sponsoring the bipartisan measure, has said that because Missouri is a non-abortion state, women should have the tools they need to prevent unintended pregnancy. (Pfeil, 4/22)

The Colorado Sun: Rural Colorado’s “Cowboy Up” Culture Has Led To High Suicide Rates
San Luis Valley cattle rancher George Whitten was halfway through a mental health workshop when he let himself tally up a figure he had never wanted to know — the number of people in his life who had died by suicide. It was eight. (Brown, 4/22)

The Wall Street Journal: They Hoped Opioid Settlement Money Would Heal Their Community. It’s Just Not Enough.
A detox center. Aid for an overflowing jail. An extra detective’s salary. These are a few of the things people in Whitley County, Ky., would like to fund with their small share of billions of dollars in settlement money from companies accused of fueling the opioid crisis. But county leaders are confronting a dispiriting reality: The funds cover a fraction of their wish list. Some of their projects likely aren’t even eligible because of confusion over restrictions on how the money can be used. As a result, Whitley County’s funds are sitting unspent. (Campo-Flores and Kamp, 4/22)

NBC News: When Does 'Old Age' Begin? Study Shows Perception Has Shifted Over Time
A study published Monday suggests that people in their mid-60s believe old age starts at 75 — but the older people get, the later they think it begins. The research, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychology and Aging journal, examined data from around 14,000 participants in the German Aging Survey, which studies old age as a stage of life in Germany. The participants were born between 1911 and 1974 and entered the survey at ages 40 to 85. (Bendix and Mogg, 4/22)

NPR: New U.S. Heat Forecast Tool Predicts Health-Damaging Heat Risks
This summer, people across the U.S. will have a new way to keep track of dangerous heat headed their way through a new heat warning system called HeatRisk. The tool, developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will be used by National Weather Service offices across the country to give people an understanding of when heat goes from uncomfortable to dangerous. (Borunda, 4/22)

The Washington Post: Nestlé Adds More Sugar To Baby Food In Poorer Countries, Report Finds
Nestlé adds more sugar to baby food sold in lower- and middle-income countries, while more affluent markets get healthier versions, according to a recent report released by a nonprofit group. The Swiss food giant’s products in lower-income countries contained up to 7.3 grams of added sugar per serving, while the same food sold in Europe often contained none, according to the findings of an investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), based on data from the market analysis company Euromonitor. (Jeong, 4/23)

Reuters: Contaminated Cough Syrup In Africa No Longer Available - WHO 
A contaminated batch of Benylin Paediatric Syrup is no longer available in the African countries where it was sold, the World Health Organization said on Monday. Earlier this month, Nigeria recalled a batch of the children's cough and allergy medicine after tests found that it contained unacceptable levels of the toxin, diethylene glycol. Five other African countries have also pulled the product from shelves - Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where the drug was made. (4/22)

The New York Times: Joel Breman, Who Helped Stop An Ebola Outbreak In Africa, Dies At 87 
Dr. Joel Breman, a specialist in infectious diseases who was a member of the original team that helped combat the Ebola virus in 1976, died on April 6 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. He was 87. His death was confirmed by his son, Matthew, who said his father died of complications from kidney cancer. “We were scared out of our wits,” Dr. Breman, recollecting his pioneer mission, told a National Institutes of Health newsletter in 2014, as a new and even deadlier Ebola outbreak raged that year. (Nossiter, 4/22)