Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Aug. 16, 2023
KFF Health News: North Carolina Hospitals Have Sued Thousands Of Their Patients, A New Report Finds
North Carolina hospitals — led by the state’s largest public medical system — have sued thousands of their patients since 2017, according to a new analysis that sheds additional light on the aggressive tactics U.S. hospitals routinely use to collect from people who fall behind on their bills. The report, produced by the state treasurer and Duke University School of Law researchers, and related patient interviews offer harrowing accounts of people pursued for tens of thousands of dollars and often surprised by liens that hospitals placed on family homes. (Levey, 8/16)
KFF Health News: Funyuns And Flu Shots? Gas Station Company Ventures Into Urgent Care
When Lou Ellen Horwitz first learned that a gas station company was going to open a chain of urgent care clinics, she was skeptical. As CEO of the Urgent Care Association, Horwitz knows the industry is booming. Its market size has doubled in 10 years, as patients, particularly younger ones, are drawn to the convenience of the same-day appointments and extended hours offered by the walk-in clinics. (Sable-Smith, 8/16)
KFF Health News: Feds Say Hospitals That Redistribute Medicaid Money Violate Law
The Biden administration wants to crack down on private arrangements among some hospitals to reimburse themselves for taxes that help fund coverage for low-income people. It contends the practice violates federal law. Federal regulators say these arrangements “appear designed to” redirect Medicaid dollars away from facilities that treat the poorest patients to those that “provide fewer, or even no, Medicaid-covered services,” according to a proposed enforcement plan released May 3 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (Young, 8/16)
KFF Health News: How A Surprise Bill Can Hitch A Ride To The Hospital
How did three siblings who took identical ambulance rides (from the same car wreck to the same hospital) end up with three wildly different bills? The answer lies in the No Surprises Act. That law has protected patients from some of the most outrageous out-of-network medical bills since it took effect in 2022 — except when it comes to ground ambulances. Host Dan Weissmann and producer Emily Pisacreta unpack the story with Bram Sable-Smith of KFF Health News and PIRG’s Patricia Kelmar and share what to do if you get hit with an out-of-network ambulance bill. (8/16)
KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: A Black Olympic swimmer almost drowned when he was a child. Now, he’s working to reduce racial disparities in drowning deaths by getting Black families excited about swimming. (8/15)
The New York Times: ADHD Medication Shortage Continues As The School Year Begins
Parents and caregivers across the country are spending hours each month hunting down pharmacies with A.D.H.D. medication in stock and asking their doctors to either transfer or rewrite prescriptions, a process many equate to having a second job. Others pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for name-brand drugs that are sometimes more readily available but, unlike generics, are not covered by their insurance. Some children end up taking similar but less effective medications or go without medication for months at a time because their families do not have the extra time or cash. (Caron, 8/15)
NBC News: Emergency Room Doctors Beg For Help Treating Children With Mental Health Illnesses
Three influential groups of pediatricians and emergency medicine providers are pleading for more support and resources as the number of children and teenagers with mental health concerns overwhelm emergency departments nationwide. "The scope of this problem is really great," said Dr. Mohsen Saidinejad, a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "But our ability to solve it is not there." Saidinejad is the lead author of a joint policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association released Wednesday. (Edwards, 8/16)
NBC News: Latino Kids In Anti-Immigrant States Linked To Poorer Health: Study
Latino children living in states with more anti-immigrant laws and policies — and the resulting inequities in access — were linked to higher odds of chronic physical or mental health conditions, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal Pediatrics. (Flores, 8/15)
CBS News: COVID Hospitalizations Accelerate For Fourth Straight Week
A total of 10,320 patients in the U.S. were newly hospitalized with COVID-19 for the week ending August 5, according to the figures published Monday, an increase of 14.3% from the week before. Levels remain far below the summer peak that strained hospitals at this time last year, when 42,813 admissions were reported for the week of August 6, 2022. (Tin, 8/15)
CIDRAP: COVID Shots In Same Arm May Elicit Better Immune Response
Sequential vaccines, like those used for COVID-19, may elicit a greater immune response if the recipient has the same arm injected, called ipsilateral vaccination, as opposed to contralateral vaccination, in which the primary vaccination is delivered in one arm and booster dose is delivered to the opposite. The research is published in EBioMedicine. (Soucheray, 8/15)
USA Today: Medical Misinformation: 52 Doctors Misled Public During The Pandemic
"This was actually comforting to see that they didn't find more," said Dominique Brossard, chair of the department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved in the new study but studies medical misinformation. Roughly 1 million Americans hold medical licenses in the United States, so 52 is a tiny fraction of the total. (Weintraub, 8/15)
The New York Times: Addiction Treatment Eludes More Than Half Of Americans In Need
Roughly three in 10 adults have been addicted to opioids or have a family member who has been, and less than half of those with a substance use disorder have received treatment, according to a new survey conducted by KFF, a health policy research group. The survey, which polled more than 1,300 adults in July, underscores the broad and often harmful influence of opioid addiction across the nation, which recorded around 110,000 fatal drug overdoses last year alone. (Weiland, 8/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Drug Overdoses In 2023 Could Surpass Deadly 2020, Data Shows
More people died from accidental fentanyl overdoses in San Francisco in July than almost any other month since the city began releasing overdose death data three years ago, according to preliminary figures released by the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office Tuesday. (Ho and Toledo, 8/15)
Reuters: Drugmaker Mallinckrodt Moves Toward Second Bankruptcy Filing
Mallinckrodt on Tuesday said it was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years after struggling to make a required $200 million settlement payment to opioid victims. The drugmaker, one of the largest makers of opioids, said it is negotiating a restructuring support agreement with its stakeholders, while deferring deadlines for missed debt payments and opioid settlement payments to next week. (Jain and Knauth, 8/15)
Bloomberg: Amazon Pharmacy Automates Insulin Discounts
Rather than manually entering a coupon code to lower insulin costs to $35 a month, Amazon will provide eligible patients with immediate discounts on more than 15 insulin and diabetes care brands, including insulin vials, pens, continuous glucose monitors and pumps, the online retail giant company said Tuesday in a statement. (Rutherford, 8/15)
Stat: Cancer Drug Shortages' Outsize Impact On Ovarian Cancer Patients
Sarah Evans considers herself a lucky ovarian cancer patient, though she is dealing with the second recurrence of the disease since she was first diagnosed in February 2018. She is grateful that, even by her third round of chemo in March of this year, her cancer was still responding to carboplatin treatment — the most common first line of treatment for ovarian cancer, and one Evans tolerates without unbearable side effects. But in May of this year, Evans, who at age 68 has stage three cancer, received a call from the hospital: Due to a national shortage of generic drugs, there was no carboplatin available for her. She was going to be treated with cisplatin this time. (Merelli, 8/16)
Stat: FDA Warns AstraZeneca Over Misleading Promotional Materials
The Food and Drug Administration scolded AstraZeneca for making misleading claims about the effectiveness of a key medicine used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In an Aug. 4 warning letter, the agency admonished the company for a promotional sales aid that suggested the treatment, called Breztri, had a positive impact on death rates and reduced the risk of death in COPD patients. But the suggestions were not supported by a clinical trial cited in the promotional material, according to the FDA. (Silverman, 8/15)
Stat: For Stroke Patients, America's ERs Struggle To Provide Timely Care
In the world of stroke care, time is everything. At stroke onset, a clot or ruptured blood vessel interrupts blood flow to the brain. Within minutes, brain cells starved of oxygen and nutrients begin to die. Every additional second that passes without blood flow increases the chance that the brain suffers irreparable damage, leading to permanent disability. With enough time, strokes become fatal, and sadly this is not uncommon. Nearly 800,000 Americans die from stroke every year nationwide, making it the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. (Bree Iskandar, 8/15)
Military.com: Veterans Health System Surpasses 400K Employees As Record Hiring Continues
The Veterans Health Administration has added nearly 49,000 new employees this fiscal year as demand spikes amid a deluge of claims and new enrollment from the PACT Act. It is closing in on a total goal of 52,000 hires by Sept. 30. The majority are in occupations that Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal calls the "Big Seven" -- jobs that directly affect patient care and services, including physicians, nurses, licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants, medical support, food service workers and housekeepers. (Kime, 8/15)
Modern Healthcare: Pitchbook: Private Equity Deals Slow Amid High Interest Rates
Private equity deals in healthcare services fell nearly 24% during the second quarter, to the lowest point since 2020, according to PitchBook's latest Healthcare Services Report. The report estimated 164 dealsoccurred in the quarter, up from 75 in the same period in 2020 but down substantially from a 362-deal peak in 2021's fourth quarter. The second quarter was the sixth-straight quarter for declining deal counts, the report found. (Hudson, 8/15)
Fox News: As AI Shows Up In Doctors' Offices, Most Patients Are Giving Permission As Experts Advise Caution
Artificial intelligence has been used "behind the scenes" in health care for decades, but with the growing popularity of new technologies such as ChatGPT, it’s now playing a bigger role in patient care — including during routine doctor’s visits. Physicians may rely on AI to record conversations, manage documentation and create personalized treatment plans. And that raises the question of whether they must get patients’ permission first to use the technology during appointments. (Rudy, 8/16)
Modern Healthcare: Epic’s Launching Third-Party Vendor Program With Nuance, Abridge
Epic is going to allow select third-party vendors to work more closely in its electronic health record platform, and one of the first participants is calling it a “stamp of approval” from the company. Epic’s Partners and Pals programs are scheduled to be introduced during the EHR company's annual user conference in Verona, Wisconsin, next week, a company spokesperson confirmed. (Perna and Turner, 8/15)
Stat: SEC Wants To Know If Key Supplier Of Research Monkeys Bribed Foreign Officials
A U.S. government probe into a monkey-smuggling operation emanating from Cambodia has gone in a new direction as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission examines whether Inotiv, a key importer, complied with a federal law that governs bribing foreign officials. (Silverman, 8/15)
Reuters: Walgreens Must Face US, Virginia Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit Over Hepatitis C Drugs
A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit in which the United States and Virginia accused Walgreens Boots Alliance of defrauding Virginia's Medicaid program by falsely representing that some patients were eligible for expensive hepatitis C drugs. In a 3-0 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, cleared the way for the nation's largest pharmacy chain to face claims it violated the federal False Claims Act and Virginia state law. (Stempel, 8/15)
AP: North Carolina GOP Seeks To Override Governor's Veto Of Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care For Youth
Transgender rights take center stage in North Carolina again Wednesday as GOP supermajorities in the General Assembly attempt to override the governor’s vetoes of legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors and limiting transgender participation in school sports. The state House will hold the first of two votes Wednesday afternoon in a bid to enact the bills over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition. If House Republicans quickly muster the votes needed, the Senate might aim to complete the override with a decisive final vote Wednesday evening, the Senate leader’s office said. (Schoenbaum, 8/16)
The Texas Tribune: In Texas Gender-Affirming Care Lawsuit, Doctors Say Treatments Are Safe
Medical experts pushed back against Texas lawmakers’ assertions that puberty blockers and hormone therapies are experimental and put young transgender patients at risk as they testified Tuesday in a hearing that seeks to block a new law banning such medical treatment for kids. Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a doctor who treats adolescents and has been providing gender-affirming care for 17 years, said the body of medical research demonstrates these treatments have a high success rate in improving mental health outcomes of trans youth. But in her clinical work, the evidence is more obvious. (Melhado, 8/15)
Health News Florida: Florida Expands Lawsuit On Release Of FDA Records Related To Canada Drug Imports
The state filed a revised lawsuit Monday adding to allegations that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not properly provided records about Florida’s attempt to get approval for a program to import prescription drugs from Canada. The filing expanded a lawsuit the state filed in April alleging the federal agency violated the Freedom of Information Act. The revised lawsuit includes allegations that the FDA did not properly respond to a records request submitted in May. (8/15)
The Boston Globe: Attorney General Awards $1.5 Million For Maternal Health Equity
Attorney General Andrea Campbell Tuesday announced $1.5 million in grants to 11 organizations that provide maternal care in Massachusetts as part of her office’s efforts to combat rising maternal health inequities in the state. “The goal was to reach organizations doing the real work and reach patients in real time,” Campbell said at an event hosted by the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, one of the grant recipients. “As much as we’re making progress, when it comes to racial disparities we still have work to do.” (Mohammed, 8/15)
Axios: Chicago Health Commissioner Allison Arwady Ousted
There's a leadership void in the Chicago Department of Public Health. Mayor Brandon Johnson fired health commissioner Allison Arwady on Friday, a day after the Chicago Board of Health urged him to keep her in the post. After leading the city through the pandemic, Arwady became Chicago's best-known health chief in recent memory. (Eng, 8/15)
Dallas Morning News: After Hearing Arguments, Future Of Planned Parenthood In Texas Rests With Federal Judge
A Texas judge will decide whether Planned Parenthood must pay the state of Texas Medicaid reimbursements and fines that could surpass $1 billion after hearing arguments from both sides in Amarillo on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, has not indicated when he will issue a ruling in the case, which could have severe consequences for Planned Parenthood. Kacsmaryk made headlines earlier this year for ordering a hold on the decades-old federal approval of the abortion medication mifepristone. (Wolf, 8/15)
The New York Times: Man Who Set Fire To Planned Parenthood Clinic Gets 10 Years In Prison
A man who told the authorities that he had set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Illinois after being reminded of an ex-girlfriend who he said had an abortion against his wishes was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison. (Jimenez, 8/15)
Reuters: Court Revives Anti-Abortion Groups' Free Speech Lawsuit Over D.C. Protests
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived part of a lawsuit claiming that the District of Columbia enforced an anti-graffiti law against anti-abortion protesters in Washington but not racial justice demonstrators in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a unanimous 3-0 decision, found that two anti-abortion groups had plausibly alleged that the D.C. government “discriminated on the basis of viewpoint in the selective enforcement of its defacement ordinance.” (Goudsward, 8/15)
AP: A Pennsylvania Study Suggests Links Between Fracking And Asthma, Lymphoma In Children
Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled western Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening. The taxpayer-funded research by the University of Pittsburgh adds to a body of evidence suggesting links between the gas industry and certain health problems. (Levy, 8/16)
Fox News: Dengue Virus Spreads Across Florida Counties, Health Officials Say
Florida health officials have placed Broward County under a mosquito-borne illness alert this month as dengue virus cases spread. Broward County – home to Fort Lauderdale – joins Miami-Dade County as the illness continues to spread. The Florida Department of Health reported two cases of locally acquired dengue in Broward County in its July 30-Aug. 5 arbovirus surveillance report. (Musto, 8/15)
WLRN 91.3 FM: How Deadly Is Florida Heat? Experts Say Official Numbers Don't Show The Whole Picture
Calculating the damage from a hurricane or wildfire is straightforward: simply add up the cost of destroyed buildings, disrupted business and livelihoods lost. For extreme heat — the kind that has gripped Florida and much of the nation for months now — the toll is harder to tally, because the real danger of heat isn’t to homes and power lines, it’s to human health. And, experts say, the official numbers likely don’t capture the whole picture. (Harris and Marchante, 8/15)
NPR: Heat Wave Will Strain The Pacific Northwest Through Thursday
"These temperatures combined with the duration of heat, expected to continue through this week, will increasingly pose a heightened health risk, especially for those without adequate air conditioning," the NWS short range forecast says. The greatest risk is for residents in western Oregon's interior valleys and lower elevations, which could see "one of the hottest four day stretches" on record. (Jones, 8/15)
AP: Southern Arizona Doctor Dies While Hiking In New Mexico With Other Physicians, Authorities Say
A southern Arizona doctor has died after suffering an apparent heart attack in New Mexico while on a hike with other physicians. Taos County sheriff’s officials said 61-year-old Renhick Guyer of Marana, Arizona, died Sunday close to the summit of Wheeler Peak near Taos. They said Guyer was hiking the steep trail with his wife and a group of friends who are all medical doctors. (8/15)
Bay Area News Group: More Mosquitos Test Positive For West Nile Virus In Santa Clara County
Sprayings aimed to reduce the adult mosquito population are set to be performed Wednesday and Thursday night after more insects tested positive for West Nile virus in Santa Clara County. The Santa Clara County Vector Control District confirmed the positive tests on Monday and Tuesday. According to the district, the infected insects were located in parts of San Jose and Sunnyvale, in ZIP codes 94086, 94087 and 95132. (Turner, 8/15)
AP: Two Connecticut Deaths Linked To Bacteria Found In Raw Shellfish
Two Connecticut residents have died this summer from infections linked to a bacteria found in raw shellfish or seawater, the state Department of Public Health said Tuesday. Three people in the state are known to have been infected with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which doesn’t make an oyster look, smell or taste any different. The state Bureau of Aquaculture said it does not believe any of the infections are linked to Connecticut shellfish. (8/15)
The Washington Post: ‘Asian Glow’ From Alcohol Isn’t Just A Discomfort. It’s A Severe Warning
The redness and other symptoms may be thought of as a severe warning from the body that alcohol is extremely toxic to this individual, much more so than to many others. The associated mutation, known as the ALDH2*2 variant, has been linked to a staggering number of diseases in those who consume moderate to large quantities of alcohol. (Kim, 8/15)
Bloomberg: Marijuana With High THC Levels Draws Scrutiny In Colorado, Washington
In Pueblo, Colorado, teenager Noah had smoked marijuana before. But most of his friends were using an extra-strong version, known as dabs. Thinking it might help with the insomnia that plagued him in his senior year of high school, Noah picked up a small torch, grabbed the glass smoking device known as a dab rig and heated a yellow, waxy substance into a vapor that he slowly inhaled. (Kary, 8/16)
The Washington Post: Study: Many Users Of Skin-Lightening Products Are Unaware Of Risks
Those who rely on skin-lightening products are largely unaware of their potential harm and don’t consult a doctor before trying them, according to an analysis in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. They’re also more likely to exhibit colorist attitudes — beliefs that those with lighter skin are more beautiful and socially advantaged than those with darker skin — than people who don’t use such products. (Blakemore, 8/14)
