First Edition: February 22, 2023

KHN: A Bitter Battle Over The ‘Orphan Drug’ Program Leaves Patients’ Pocketbooks At Risk
A prescription drug that helps Lore Wilkinson walk and talk despite a rare muscle disease cost her so little for more than a decade that she didn’t even use her insurance to pay for it. But now, her Medicare insurance is shelling out about $40,000 for a one-month supply of the drug, and she fears she’ll be slammed with a $9,000 copayment. (Tribble, 2/22)

KHN: California Says It Can No Longer Afford Aid For Covid Testing, Vaccinations For Migrants
All day and sometimes into the night, buses and vans pull up to three state-funded medical screening centers near California’s southern border with Mexico. Federal immigration officers unload migrants predominantly from Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, and Peru, most of whom await asylum hearings in the United States. (Thompson, 2/22)

KHN: In Tennessee, A Medicaid Mix-Up Might Land You On A ‘Most Wanted’ List
Life was upended for LaShonia Ingram over the past year, and a shadow still follows her around. Search her name online, and the first result includes the words “fraud” and “most wanted.” “It was horrible. I couldn’t get a job,” said the 42-year-old mother from Memphis, Tennessee. “All doors were being closed in my face.” (Farmer, 2/22)

KHN: Listen To The Latest ‘KHN Health Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KHN newsroom to the airwaves each week. (2/21)

Reuters: Merck's COVID Pill Fails To Prevent Infection Among Household Members
Merck & Co Inc said on Tuesday its COVID-19 pill was not effective at cutting the risk of coronavirus infections in people living with someone infected with the virus. The results were similar to data from rival Pfizer Inc, whose COVID pill Paxlovid also failed to prevent infections among household contacts. (2/21)

FiercePharma: Slump Of Merck's COVID-19 Pill Continues With Trial Failure
Initially hyped as a game-changing COVID-19 treatment, the shine was off Merck and Ridgeback’s oral antiviral Lagevrio (molnupiravir) even before it was authorized for use in the United States. Nevertheless, the pill generated more than $6.6 billion in sales over its first five quarters on the market, despite mounting evidence of its limited effectiveness. (Dunleavy, 2/21)

Fox News: Post-COVID, Many Parents Are Giving Kids Fever-Reducing Medicine When It's Not Necessary: Study
Parents might want to think twice before reaching for aspirin or ibuprofen to bring down a child’s fever. One in three parents give their kids fever-reducing medicine when it’s not really needed, a new study from Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan found. (Rudy, 2/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Ohio Abortion-Rights Coalition Begins Push For Constitutional Amendment
An effort to place a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights on the ballot is brewing in Ohio. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights filed paperwork with the state’s attorney general Tuesday in one of its first steps to try to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. (Calfas, 2/21)

Reuters: U.S. Groups Suing To Ban Abortion Pill Lose Bid For Early Trial
A Texas federal judge on Tuesday refused to set an accelerated trial schedule for a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups seeking to end U.S. sales of the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could severely disrupt access to medication abortion nationwide. (Pierson, 2/22)

AP: NC GOP Lawmakers Seek To Defend Abortion Pill Restrictions
North Carolina Republican legislative leaders asked on Tuesday to participate in litigation to defend state restrictions on dispensing abortion pills because Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein has made clear he won’t. Lawyers for Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore filed papers in federal court asking to enter the case as new defendants, saying someone must be in place to rigorously defend state abortion laws. (Robertson, 2/21)

CBS News: Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Could Have Big Implications For Abortion, Election Laws
Wisconsin voters winnowed a field of four state Supreme Court candidates to two on Tuesday in a critical race to determine which party will hold the majority on the state's highest court. Liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz and the conservative former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly have advanced to the general election, The Associated Press reported. (Navarro, 2/21)

AP: Mississippi Governor Vows To Sign Limit On Transgender Care
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves confirmed Tuesday that he plans to sign a bill to ban gender-affirming care in the state for anyone younger than 18 — part of a broad effort in conservative states to restrict transgender athletes, gender-affirming care and drag shows. House Bill 1125 won final approval Tuesday in the Republican-controlled Mississippi Senate, and it will be sent in the coming days to Reeves, a Republican who is running for reelection. (Wagster Pettus and Goldberg, 2/21)

The Hill: Nikki Haley: Bernie Sanders Is ‘Exactly The Reason’ Mental Competency Tests Are Needed
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley defended her proposal for mental competency tests here on Tuesday — in startlingly personal terms. Haley said that one critic of the proposal, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was “exactly the reason we need it.” Sanders, 81, had told Stephen Colbert of CBS’s “Late Show” Monday that Haley’s plan for mandatory tests of the mental acuity of politicians over the age of 75 was “nothing more than old-fashioned ageism” and “not acceptable.” (Stanage, 2/21)

Politico: Older Voters Balk At Nikki Haley’s Competency Test 
Older Republicans say they aren’t opposed to Nikki Haley’s call for a new generation of politicians leading their party. But when she calls for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75, some of them start to feel insulted. (Kashinsky and Allison, 2/21)

The Wall Street Journal: FTC Alleges Supplement Company ‘Hijacked’ Amazon Reviews To Boost Sales
Nutritional supplement company Bountiful Co. will pay $600,000 following Federal Trade Commission allegations that it made products on Amazon look like they had more reviews and higher average ratings than they really did. The FTC said the case marks its first enforcement action against a practice called “review hijacking,” in which a marketer makes reviews for one product appear to apply to another. (Graham, 2/21)

Politico: FTC Won't Challenge Amazon's One Medical Deal
“The FTC’s investigation of Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical continues,” said FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar. “The commission will continue to look at possible harms to competition created by this merger as well as possible harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical.” (Sisco, 2/21)

Politico: Suit Seeks To Force EPA Action On Incinerator Compliance
The stakes could be high: There are more than 330 incinerators covered by the standards that collectively release thousands of tons of carbon monoxide, lead, mercury and other pollutants each year, according to EPA figures cited in the suit. The agency's alleged foot-dragging thus "prolongs and increases the hazardous air pollutant exposure of local communities, wildlife, plant, water, land, and ecosystems," the filing adds. (Reilly, 2/21)

Reuters: J&J Loses Challenge To $302 Million Judgment Over Pelvic Mesh Marketing
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a $302 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) in a lawsuit brought by the state of California accusing the company of concealing the risks of its pelvic mesh products. The court, following its usual practice, did not give any reason for refusing to hear J&J's appeal. (Pierson, 2/21)

Fortune/AP: FDA Tries To Tackle Online Health Misinformation
The government agency responsible for tracking down contaminated peanut butter and defective pacemakers is taking on a new health hazard: online misinformation. It’s an unlikely role for the Food and Drug Administration, a sprawling, century-old bureaucracy that for decades directed most its communications toward doctors and corporations. (Perrone, 2/21)

Fierce Healthcare: CMS Data: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Now More Than 31M
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) is nearing 31.2 million following the annual enrollment period, about half of the total Medicare population, according to recent data from the Biden administration. (Minemyer, 2/21)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Growth Slowed For 2023
Medicare Advantage growth slowed for the 2023 plan year, according to a report the Chartis Group published Tuesday. Enrollment increased 5.5% for this year, down from a record 9% the prior year, driven by California and a handful of other states where the number of people signed up for private Medicare plans actually fell, said Nick Herro, a principal at the Chartis Group and co-author of the study. (Tepper, 2/21)

Fierce Healthcare: Senators Urge CMS To Rethink Coverage For Alzheimer's Drugs
A group of senators is urging the Biden administration to rethink its restrictive coverage determination for emerging Alzheimer's disease treatments. The letter (PDF) to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is signed by 20 senators comprising 18 Republicans and two Democrats. (Minemyer, 2/21)

Fierce Healthcare: CMS: Tighter Price Transparency Enforcement On The Horizon
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services leaders say the agency has handed out nearly 500 warnings to hospitals falling short on price transparency, as of January, and plans to streamline enforcement and standardize hospital reporting requirements. (Muoio, 2/21)

The Hill: Sanders: Medicare-For-All ‘Ain’t Going To Happen’ In Divided Congress
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said “Medicare for All,” a system that would establish government-run health care for all U.S. citizens, “ain’t going to happen” during the next two years amid a divided Congress. (Gans, 2/21)

CIDRAP: Trial Finds Prophylactic Doxycycline Doesn’t Reduce STIs In Cisgender Women
A clinical trial in Kenya found that taking the antibiotic doxycycline after sex did not prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in cisgender women, researchers reported at this week's Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). (Dall, 2/21)

CIDRAP: Brain Changes May Be Linked To Anxiety, Depression In Long COVID
People who have long COVID and experience anxiety and depression following a mild infection may have brain changes that affect its structure and function, Brazilian researchers reported yesterday at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting in Boston. (Schnirring, 2/21)

CIDRAP: CIDRAP Unveils Roadmap For Advancing Better Coronavirus Vaccines
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the warning signs for newly emerging and deadly coronaviruses were already flashing bright red. Researchers were still working on SARS-CoV studies in 2012 when the even deadlier MERS-CoV arrived on the scene in the Middle East, repeatedly jumping from camels over the years and sparking large healthcare-related outbreaks. (Schnirring, 2/21)

FiercePharma: Teva's Flagship Drug Austedo Scores New Approval At The FDA
Attuned to the burdens of people living with Huntington’s disease (HD) chorea and tardive dyskinesia (TD), Teva has been eager to cut the amount of pills patients need to take in half. Now, it's scored an FDA approval to do just that. (Kansteiner, 2/21)

CNBC: Pfizer RSV Vaccine For Infants Could Receive FDA Approval This Summer
Pfizer’s vaccine that protects infants from respiratory could receive Food and Drug Administration approval by the end of this summer. Pfizer on Tuesday said the FDA is reviewing the vaccine on an expedited basis. The agency is expected to make a decision on whether to clear the shot in August, just before respiratory virus season. (Kimball, 2/21)

Reuters: Eli Lilly's Diabetes Drug Back To Shelf After Two-Month Shortage
Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N) said on Tuesday all doses of its new diabetes drug Mounjaro were now available with wholesalers having inventory on hand after a two-month-long shortage. "Because Mounjaro is still a launch product with dynamic demand, some pharmacies may continue to experience intermittent delays from time to time," Eli Lilly told Reuters in an emailed statement. (2/22)

Fierce Healthcare: Program Promises To Take A Team Approach To Tackling Severe Kidney Disease
Kidney disease often advances quietly and then falls on patients, providers and payers like an avalanche of complex medical conditions that cost a lot of money to control. To address this, Providence Health Plan is teaming up with Interwell Health, a company that focuses on care for patients with severe kidney complications, to mitigate these challenges before they become costly, life-disrupting emergencies. (Diamond, 2/21)

Fierce Healthcare: UnitedHealth's $5.4B LHC Group Buy Set To Close This Week
Another controversial UnitedHealth Group acquisition is set to close this week. According to a notice filed with the Nasdaq, home health provider LHC Group will halt trading on the exchange after markets close Wednesday, and its merger with UHG is "tentatively scheduled" to close the following morning before trading begins. Should the deal close as planned, LHC's shares will be suspended on Friday, Feb. 24. (Minemyer, 2/21)

Politico: CDC Expects To Launch Probe Into Derailment Aftermath
CDC epidemiologists and environmental health scientists are in Ohio this week, Krista has learned. They’re helping assess and investigate the health risk after a 150-car train derailed in the small town of East Palestine earlier this month carrying dangerous chemicals. (Mahr and Payne, 2/21)

Politico: Exclusive: Patients Are Languishing In New York Hospitals At A Cost Of Millions
Long delays in discharging patients cost dozens of New York hospitals an estimated $169 million over a three-month period last year, according to a new report from the Healthcare Association of New York State, which was shared first with POLITICO. Each emergency department delay cost hospitals $18,000 on average, while inpatient discharge delays cost about $168,000 per case — but the report concluded those estimates were likely conservative. (Kaufman, 2/21)

The New York Times: E.P.A. Orders Norfolk Southern To Pay All Cleanup Costs In East Palestine, Ohio
The operator, Norfolk Southern, will not only be compelled to identify and clean contaminated soil and water, but also must reimburse the E.P.A. for the costs of cleaning private homes and businesses, according to the agency. If the E.P.A. deems that Norfolk Southern has failed to complete any of the tasks it has been ordered to do, the agency will conduct the cleanup itself and charge the company triple the cost, it said. (Robertson, 2/21)

AP: Medical Marijuana Advances Again At North Carolina Senate
Marijuana legalization in North Carolina for medical purposes is advancing again within the state Senate, less than a year after a very similar measure setting a structure for its sale and consumption passed the chamber by a wide margin. (Robertson, 2/21)

The Hill: These Cities Are Home To The Happiest Americans
To uncover the happiest places in America, SmartAsset analyzed the 200 largest cities, 164 of which had available data. This analysis looked at 13 different metrics across three categories: personal finance, well-being and quality of life. For details on our data sources and how SmartAsset put all the information together to create final rankings, read the Data and Methodology section below. (Solum, 2/21)

The Hill: Florida ‘Reverse Woke Act’ Would Make Employers Liable For Detransition Care
Companies offering coverage for gender-affirming health care in Florida may soon find themselves responsible for the total costs of an employee’s detransition care under a new state Senate bill filed this week. Florida’s proposed “Reverse Woke Act,” introduced Monday by Republican state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, would require businesses that cover gender-affirming medical care to be financially responsible for any subsequent detransitions — even for individuals that it no longer employs. (Migdon, 2/21)

The Washington Post: Pregnant Woman's Fetus Should Be Released From Jail, Writ Argues
A few months after becoming pregnant, Natalia Harrell sat in a corrections van without air conditioning, according to a recent petition in Florida’s appellate courts. It was more than 100 degrees inside the van, the petition says, and a Miami-Dade County jail employee opened a door only after hearing Harrell banging against the walls. (Melnick, 2/22)