First Edition: Aug. 3, 2022

KHN: They Lost Medicaid When Paperwork Was Sent To An Empty Field, Signaling The Mess To Come 
Three years ago, Mason Lester, a rambunctious toddler, tumbled off his family’s porch and broke his wrist. His mother, nine months pregnant, rushed him to a nearby hospital, where she made a confounding discovery: Their health insurance had vanished. Alarmed, Katie Lester called the Tennessee Medicaid agency, TennCare, which had covered her during a prior pregnancy and insured Mason since the day he was born. (Kelman, 8/3)

KHN: Music Festivals Embrace Overdose Reversal Drugs, But Fentanyl Testing Kits Remain Taboo
A 26-year-old was found dead at his campsite during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2019. The toxicology report linked his death to a grim trend that has only worsened since. In his system were both ecstasy and fentanyl — a dangerous combination, especially if people don’t know the party drug contains the highly potent synthetic opioid. (Farmer, 8/3)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: Her Bill For A Prenatal Test Felt Like A ‘Bait-And-Switch’ Scheme 
Can a health care company make enough people mad about its billing practices that its business is hurt? For one genetic testing company, maybe. An “Arm and a Leg” listener got a test that has become routine in early pregnancy: noninvasive prenatal testing. It was supposed to be $99. But then — after she took the test — that turned into $250. And when she asked questions, she was told it could go up to $800 if she didn’t pay up quickly. The patient looked up the testing company and found that lots of people had experienced what she called “the genetic testing bait-and-switch.” (Weissmann, 8/3)

KHN: Two-Thirds Of Americans Disapprove Of Ending ‘Roe,’ But It’s Not A Top Voting Issue
Barely a month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade’s federal guarantee of access to abortion, two-thirds of Americans said they disapprove of the court’s decision and 6 in 10 said they want their states to make abortion legal, a new poll finds. Yet despite that interest, abortion is not top of mind for many voters, the poll released Aug. 2 by KFF found. Three-quarters of registered voters said inflation and gas prices were their top concerns when considering decisions in the upcoming midterm elections. Abortion access was a key priority for 55% of voters, about the same as health care costs and gun violence. That was up from the 46% recorded by a KFF poll in February, after the Supreme Court had heard arguments in the case. (Verdon, 8/2)

The Hill: US Uninsured Rate Hits Record Low Of 8 Percent, Biden Admin Report Says 
The U.S. uninsured rate fell to a record low of 8 percent in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report from the Biden administration.  President Biden touted the number on Tuesday, saying it showed the success of his efforts to build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  (Sullivan, 8/2)

AP: Number Of Uninsured Americans Drops To Record Low
The drop in uninsured Americans began last year, when Congress and Biden signed off on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that lowered premiums and out-of-pocket costs for new or returning customers purchasing plans through the Affordable Care Act’s private health insurance markets. ... Prior to last year, the uninsured rate had consistently remained in the double digits for decades. (Seitz, 8/2)

Roll Call: Veterans Toxic Exposure Bill Clears Senate After Tortuous Path
President Joe Biden is certain to sign the bill into law in the coming days. The legislation, long sought by veterans groups, means that millions of veterans suffering health problems will no longer have to prove their illnesses were caused by exposure to toxic substances from military deployments. Many served at bases that used open-air burn pits to dispose of trash and hazardous waste. The bill would make servicemembers who contracted any of 23 conditions — from brain cancer to hypertension — after being deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones automatically eligible for VA benefits. (Lerman, 8/2)

The Washington Post: Congress Passes Bill Inspired By Jan. 6 Recognizing Officer PTSD, Suicide
Inspired by the mental health toll that the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot took on first responders, the U.S. Senate passed a bill Monday night that creates a pathway for families of officers who die by suicide to access death benefits. The unanimous passage of the Public Safety Officer Support Act means it now heads to President Biden’s desk, following prolonged advocacy by the partners of multiple officers who were on duty at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 assault and died by suicide in the aftermath. The bill also would amend the federal Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program to make it easier for officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to their work to access disability benefits. (Flynn, 8/2)

Politico: Kansas Voters Block Effort To Ban Abortion In State Constitutional Amendment Vote
Turnout for the primary also soared above usual levels Tuesday, and in some counties was closer to the participation usually seen in a presidential election. The in-person early vote, which tends to favor Democrats, was also nearly 250 percent higher than the last primary midterm election in 2018, when both Democrats and Republicans had competitive governors’ races, while the number of mail-in ballots was more than double. (Ollstein, 8/2)

AP: Kansas Voters Resoundingly Protect Their Access To Abortion 
The proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution would have added language stating that it does not grant the right to abortion. A 2019 state Supreme Court decision declared that access to abortion is a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights, preventing a ban and potentially thwarting legislative efforts to enact new restrictions. (Hanna and Stafford, 8/3)

The Hill: Biden Praises Kansas Vote To Protect Abortion Rights 
President Biden on Tuesday hailed a vote in Kansas rejecting a state constitutional amendment that would have eliminated abortion protections and given the state legislature more power to regulate access to the procedure. ... "This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions,” Biden said. (Vakil, 8/3)

Bloomberg: Biden’s Justice Department Sues Idaho Over Six-Week Abortion Ban
The suit, filed in US District Court for the District of Idaho, is the Biden administration’s first legal action against states that have restricted access to abortion following the Supreme Court ruling eliminating the constitutional right to the procedure. The filing argues that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act -- which requires that doctors must perform medically stabilizing abortions in an emergency -- preempts the state law. (Stein and Strohm, 8/2)

Axios: Warren Says She Won't Back Bipartisan Abortion Rights Bill
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told NBC News Tuesday night she'll vote against a new bipartisan bill on federal abortion protections introduced in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. (8/3)

AP: Kentucky Clinics Appeal Order That Reinstated Abortion Ban
Kentucky’s two abortion clinics filed a quick appeal Tuesday aimed at restoring abortion services in the state, a day after an appellate judge reinstated a near-total statewide abortion ban. The clinics, both in Louisville, asked the Kentucky Supreme Court to vacate the ruling issued Monday evening by a judge on the state’s intermediate Court of Appeals. (Schreiner and Lovan, 8/2)

Billings Gazette: Governor Asks Montana High Court To Reverse 1999 Abortion Ruling
Montana’s governor is asking the state’s high court to consider his arguments that justices should reverse a previous decision upholding the right to access an abortion and instead put the matter in state legislators’ hands. (Michels, 8/2)

AP: Indiana Doctors Raise Worries About Proposed Abortion Ban
Doctors fear they could face criminal charges when they provide emergency treatment for pregnant women if a proposal aimed at banning nearly all abortions in Indiana becomes law, several physicians told state lawmakers Tuesday. That testimony came after an Indiana House committee changed the abortion ban proposal narrowly approved over the weekend by the Republican-dominated state Senate. The committee broadened the language to include an exception allowing abortions to protect the health of the mother and adjusted the time frame when abortions would be permitted in cases of rape and incest. (Rodgers and Davies, 8/2)

Voice of OC: California City To Consider Banning Abortions Within City Limits
San Clemente City Councilmembers are set to discuss making their city an abortion-free zone under a new resolution. The resolution states that San Clemente will be a “sanctuary for life,” and that the city council will “enforce this resolution by all means within its power and authority.”  ... The resolution has not yet been discussed by council members. They’re expected to debate the proposal at the Aug. 16 meeting, and it looks to be headed to a city council that’s split over the issue, based on interviews and past public statements. (Biesiada, 8/2)

CNN: Pharmacist Did Not Fill Morning-After Pill Prescription Because It Violated His Beliefs, Lawsuit Alleges
A pharmacist in McGregor, Minnesota, refused to fill a woman's morning-after pill prescription because it violated his "beliefs," a lawsuit alleges. When Andrea Anderson's first contraception method failed in January 2019, she turned to ella, otherwise known as the "morning after pill" or emergency contraception, to prevent a possible pregnancy, the suit filed in Atkin County, Minnesota, said. McGregor, Minnesota, is roughly 122 miles north of Minneapolis. (Watson, 8/2)

Axios: Biden Experiencing Return Of "Loose Cough" From COVID, Doctor Says
President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again on Tuesday and is also experiencing "a bit of a return of a loose cough," his physician said in a letter. (Gonzalez, 8/2)

NBC News: Covid Can Rebound Even In People Who Haven’t Taken Paxlovid, Study Finds
Around a third of people with Covid will experience a rebound of their symptoms, regardless of whether they’ve been treated with the antiviral Paxlovid, according to a study posted online Tuesday. The preprint study — meaning it hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal  — found that 27% of people with Covid saw a rebound in their symptoms after they had initially improved. (Lewis, 8/2)

USA Today: COVID Deaths: US Stuck In 'Horrible Plateau,' Experts Say. Here's Why
"COVID is over" might trend within social media circles, but weekly U.S. death tolls tell a different story. Despite a slight uptick in July, the pace of COVID-19 deaths has remained steady since May at about 400 a day, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. (Rodriguez, 8/3)

The Boston Globe: Data: Mass. Pandemic Shows Little Sign Of Quitting
Boston public health officials sounded a hopeful note Friday, saying COVID-19 metrics in the city had shown some improvement. But COVID-19 data from other sources last week continued to paint a picture of a pandemic that was refusing to fade in Massachusetts, thanks to the arrival of the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant. (Finucane and Huddle, 8/2)

CIDRAP: US BA.5 Omicron Subvariant Dominance Increases
The proportion of the more transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant continued to increase in the United States last week, rising to 85.5% of sequenced samples, up from 81.6% the week before, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meanwhile, the proportion of the BA.4 subvariant made up 7.7% of samples, down from 9.6% the previous week. (8/2)

Reuters: Omicron Better At Invading Young Noses Than Other Variants; Smell Loss May Predict Memory Issues
The Omicron variant may be more efficient at infecting children through the nose than previous versions of the coronavirus, a small study suggests. ... And severity of smell dysfunction after infection with the coronavirus may be a better predictor of long-term cognitive impairment than overall severity of COVID-19, according to an Argentinian study. (Lapid, 8/2)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Schools Drop Aggressive COVID-19 Safety Rules
Los Angeles Unified school leaders on Tuesday officially stepped back from COVID-19 safety protocols that have been among the most far-reaching in the country, choosing instead to mirror current county requirements and join most other school systems throughout the region, marking a reordering of priorities as the pandemic seeps into a third academic year. (Blume, 8/2)

Los Angeles Times: Long Beach Child Gets Monkeypox; L.A. County Declares Emergency
“While news of a pediatric case may cause alarm, please remember that monkeypox is still rare, is much more difficult to get than COVID-19 and other common childhood illnesses, and is rarely dangerous,” Dr. Anissa Davis, city health officer, said in Long Beach’s announcement Tuesday. (Toohey, 8/2)

CIDRAP: US Lyme Disease Diagnoses Increased Dramatically In Past 15 Years
A report today from FAIR Health reveals that, from 2007 to 2021, Lyme diagnoses rose 357% in rural regions of the United States and 65% in urban areas, according to private insurance claims. In the past 5 years, from 2016 to 2021, insurance claims increased 60% in rural areas and 19% in urban areas. (8/2)

Stat: Medicare Reverses Course On Plan To Hide Hospital Safety Data Next Year
Medicare will continue to report hospital safety data as usual next year after the program, apparently swayed by backlash from patient safety advocates, reversed course on its plan to keep some information under wraps. (Bannow, 8/2)

North Carolina Health News: Mergers Can’t Always Save Rural Hospitals 
When an independently owned rural hospital is in financial crisis, hospital leaders often say they’d be able to survive if only a big hospital system would come in and buy them. But new research recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, says affiliations with big systems might not always be as positive as hospital executives make them out to be. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 8/3)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Is Dirty. Hospitals Are Doing Something About It
The U.S. healthcare system emits the same amount of greenhouse gases every year as 100 coal-fired power plants. That’s according to Gary Cohen, founder and president of Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm. Cohen said two culprits account for nearly 80% of the healthcare industry’s carbon emissions: the supply chain and nonrenewable energy investments. The supply chain in particular—which includes anything from medical devices to food—is a pain point for all hospitals, because they cannot function without a reliable pipeline. (Abrams, 8/2)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania Health Insurers Requested Bigger Rate Increases For 2023
Pennsylvanians who plan to shop later this year on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange are unlikely to find shelter from the inflation that has engulfed other areas of the economy, according to a preview offered Monday by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. (Brubaker, 8/2)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Thousands In N.H. Risk Losing Medicaid Coverage Without Pandemic Protections
During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Hampshire and other states have been required to keep people enrolled in Medicaid throughout the ongoing federal public health emergency — even if they haven’t filed key paperwork or have lost eligibility due to a change in income, for example. It’s not clear when the federal public health emergency will end, but when it does, about 90,000 Granite Staters could risk losing Medicaid access. (Fam, 8/2)

WUFT: Nearly 1,000 Instances Of Florida Nursing Home Residents Exiting Without Supervision 
Between 2017 and 2021, there were 993 instances of residents of Florida nursing homes exiting their facility without proper authorization or supervision, according to Florida Agency of Health Care Administration (AHCA) records. (Carnell and Garcia, 8/2)

WLRN 91.3 FM: Florida Board Of Medicine Considers Whether To Block Gender-Affirming Care For Youth
The Florida Board of Medicine is slated Friday to consider a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to bar physicians from providing treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty-blocking medication to transgender youths. (Saunders, 8/2)

CIDRAP: Florida Reports Second Local Dengue Case
The Florida Department of Health on Jul 29 reported the state's second locally transmitted dengue case, also involving a resident of Miami-Dade County. Spread by Aedes mosquitoes, local cases aren't uncommon in south Florida. (8/2)

AP: Polio Virus Found In New York Wastewater, But No New Cases 
The polio virus was detected in wastewater samples from the suburban county near New York City where an unvaccinated adult recently contracted the life-threatening disease, but health officials said Tuesday they have not identified any additional cases. (Hill, 8/2)

CBS News: Overdose Nation: Deadly Drug Overdoses By State
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes annual data on drug-overdose death rates in every U.S. state. Here is a ranking of every state by overdose-related deaths for 2020, the most recent year available. (Learish, 8/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: How The New Georgia Mental Health Law Works For Patients With Insurance Coverage
There’s a new law on the books that should make accessing treatment for mental illness and addiction much easier. But some proponents of the new law fear that many Georgia residents may not know about the change. That means patients could continue to pay out of pocket for treatments that should be covered, or choose to forgo needed medical care entirely. (Landergan, 8/3)

Stat: Research Is Elusive On Patient Engagement With Mental Health Apps
As companies selling health care apps struggle to prove to a skeptical system that they really deliver results, we’re about to start hearing a lot more about “engagement.” (Aguilar, 8/2)

Axios: Why Baby Formula Shortage Is Here To Stay
The baby formula shortage that has plagued American families this spring isn't over yet, according to a report from the research firm Information Resources Inc. (IRI). (Scribner, 8/2)