First Edition: Friday, Jan. 3, 2025

KFF Health News: Stimulant Users Are Caught In Fatal 'Fourth Wave' Of Opioid Epidemic
In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, near a storefront advertising “free” cellphones, J.R. sat in an empty back stairwell and showed a reporter how he tries to avoid overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine. KFF Health News is identifying him by his initials because he fears being arrested for using illegal drugs. It had been several hours since his last hit, and the chatty, middle-aged man’s hands moved quickly. In one hand, he held a glass pipe. In the other, a lentil-size crumb of cocaine. (Arditi, 1/3)

KFF Health News: Syringe Exchange Fears Hobble Fight Against West Virginia HIV Outbreak
More than three years have passed since federal health officials arrived in central Appalachia to assess an alarming outbreak of HIV spread mostly between people who inject opioids or methamphetamine. Infectious disease experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a list of recommendations following their visit, including one to launch syringe service programs to stop the spread at its source. (Sisk, 1/3)

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?' Podcast: Francis Collins On Supporting NIH And Finding Common Ground
Francis Collins led the National Institutes of Health for 12 years, under three presidents. During the Biden administration, he added White House science adviser to his long list of roles. Now he runs his own lab on the NIH campus, and his latest book, “The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust,” came out in September. (Rovner, 1/2)

Axios: Use Of Diabetes And Anti-Obesity Drugs Surges Nationwide
The number of prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs jumped roughly 10% in 2024, according to insurance claims data provided to Axios by health analytics company PurpleLab. The data, which shows double-digit growth in 23 states, offers a snapshot of the sustained growth in demand across the U.S. for the drugs hailed as game-changers in the fight against obesity. (Reed, 1/3)

Stat: Ozempic's Logistical Challenges Have Doctors Look To Team Approach 
Life was getting better for Carlos Campos, 72, a retired machinist who lives with his wife and daughter in Tukwila, Wash. Diagnosed about 20 years ago with type 2 diabetes, he was delighted to see his blood sugar levels improve dramatically about a year ago, when he started taking Ozempic. (Cooney, 1/3)

AP: West Virginia Patients Are Left In Limbo Over Changing Insurance Coverage Of Obesity Medications
Citing a gross cost of $1.4 million a month, West Virginia abruptly announced in March it would indefinitely pause a pilot program covering weight loss drugs for 1,000 public employees, leaving patients ... scrambling. West Virginia’s Public Employee Insurance Agency (PEIA) will continue covering the popular and expensive GLP-1 drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes. Other state and private insurers have adopted similar stances for the drugs, which can cost patients more than $1,000 monthly out-of-pocket. (Willingham, 1/2)

Minneapolis Star Tribune: As Bird Flu Increases, Officials Add Biosecurity Requirement For Farmers Looking For Reimbursement
Federal officials are cracking down on poultry operations looking for taxpayer relief from bird flu losses and will now require a biosecurity audit before insuring birds against future avian influenza outbreaks. The new requirement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an effort to stamp out the nearly 3-year-old outbreak that has claimed 128 million birds nationwide. Infections continue in several places, driving up the cost of eggs and meat. (1/2)

Newsweek: Bird Flu Warning Over New Virus Risk: 'Significant Public Health Concern'
Combined infection with bird flu and human flu could lead to mutations of new viruses that could have dangerous public health consequences, agencies have warned. ... The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises on their website that Americans, particularly those at high risk of bird flu such as farmworkers, should get the flu vaccine this season, even though it only prevents seasonal flu. (Willmoth, 1/2)

The New York Times: Biden Officials Prepare For Potential Bird Flu Outbreak With Added Money
The Biden administration, in a final push to shore up the nation’s pandemic preparedness before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office, announced on Thursday that it would nearly double the amount of money it was committing to ward off a potential outbreak of bird flu in humans. Federal health officials have been keeping a close eye on H5N1, a strain of avian influenza that is highly contagious and lethal to chickens, and has spread to cattle. The virus has not yet demonstrated that it can spread efficiently among people. (Gay Stolberg, 1/2)

Reuters: Protecting Reproductive Health Data: State Laws Against Geofencing
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and the subsequent rise in state-based legislation limiting individuals' access to abortion, contraceptive methods, and gender-affirming care, over a dozen states have enacted laws protecting or expanding individuals' reproductive health care rights. ... New state laws aimed at curbing the use, sale, or other disclosure of individually identifiable health data reflect growing concerns that existing federal privacy regulations fail to adequately protect such personal health data, and particularly reproductive health data, from third-party access and criminal investigation. (Xavier, Frey and Phillips, 1/2)

Reuters: Challenge To N.Y. Abortion Bias Law Revived By US Court
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said a judge must reconsider his dismissal of a lawsuit by a pregnancy crisis center and others seeking to strike down a New York law that prohibits retaliation against employees who receive abortions. A unanimous three-judge panel, opens new tab of the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the plaintiffs, including crisis center operator CompassCare, would be able to proceed with claims that the 2019 state law is unconstitutional if the judge ultimately finds that it threatens their "very mission." (Wiessner, 1/2)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Is One Of The Last States To Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage To 12 Months. Here’s What To Know 
Starting this month, pregnant Iowans on Medicaid have 12 months of coverage after giving birth, a significant increase from the previous cutoff of 60 days. Iowa lawmakers approved the change in the last legislative session, making the state one of the last to approve the extension after the federal government started offering permanent matching funds in 2021 to states that extended coverage to 12 months. (Krebs, 1/2)

The Wall Street Journal: What RFK Jr.’s Dislike For Drug TV Commercials Could Mean For The Ad Industry
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s stated desire to ban drug commercials from TV seems unlikely to become reality, according to advertising experts, but even pressure from Washington that falls short of an outright ban could lead to changes in the multibillion-dollar advertising sector. Absent new rules or a ban, drugmakers could update their own voluntary guidelines on advertising to address government scrutiny, as they have in the past. Feeling the heat, they could also shift some of their budgets toward digital advertising or marketing directly to healthcare providers. (Graham, 1/2)

Politico: At EPA, Trump’s Second Term Is Already Having Consequences
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is just weeks away, and many of the staff at the Environmental Protection Agency are eyeing the exits rather than trying to hunker down to withstand the coming onslaught. ... Now, ahead of a second term that Trump and his advisers have said will be more aggressive in targeting the “deep state,” many EPA employees are considering whether now is the time to leave. (Snider and Guillén, 1/2)

Politico: Trans Rights To Be Marquee Fight For House Republicans
Believing voters in the 2024 elections rejected Democrats’ more inclusive positions on transgender rights, Republicans appear ready in 2025 to double down in support of executive orders and provisions in spending bills that would make it harder for transgender individuals to get health care, serve in the military or participate in school activities. President-elect Donald Trump signaled on the campaign trail that he would pursue new restrictions in the military and in schools, and pledged in December to make U.S. policy reflect that there are only “two genders.” (Adragna, 1/2)

The Washington Post: More Children Are Getting Kidney Stones. Experts Think It’s Their Diet
When Annabelle Pleskoff was 15, she woke up before school one morning with severe pain radiating from her right side. ... Now 25, Pleskoff, a Seattle native who has endured more than 30 kidney stones, is part of a troubling trend in pediatric health. Kidney stone cases are rising among children, and some medical professionals implicate a familiar culprit: ultra-processed foods. Other experts trace the increase to genetics, poor diet and insufficient water intake. (Malhi, 1/2)

Fortune Well: Norovirus Test Positivity In U.S. Surged 340% From August To December 2024
Norovirus, informally dubbed the “winter vomiting disease,” is making its rounds this winter. Weekly test positivity rates have so far surged by 340% during the 2024–25 season, according to a Fortune analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data recorded as three-week moving averages. Norovirus test positivity reached a season high of 22% the week ended Dec. 21, up from 5% the week ended Aug. 3. Just since the week ended Nov. 16, the rate had jumped from 11%, a 109% increase in five weeks. (Leake, 1/2)

AP: 5 Things We Know And Still Don't Know About COVID After 5 Years
Five years ago, a cluster of people in Wuhan, China, fell sick with a virus never before seen in the world. ... It wound up setting off a pandemic that exposed deep inequities in the global health system and reshaped public opinion about how to control deadly emerging viruses. The virus is still with us, though humanity has built up immunity through vaccinations and infections. It’s less deadly than it was in the pandemic’s early days and it no longer tops the list of leading causes of death. But the virus is evolving, meaning scientists must track it closely. (Neergaard, Ungar and Stobbe, 1/2)

The Washington Post: How Does Alcohol Affect Sleep? Here’s What The Science Says
Are you thinking of trying Dry January? Here’s one good reason: It could do wonders for your sleep. In studies over the years, researchers have surveyed people who did Dry January and other sobriety challenges to find out how a month of abstaining from alcohol affected their health. They have found that better sleep is consistently one of the most common benefits that people experience. Saving money is the other top benefit that people report — which might also help you sleep more easily at night. (O’Connor, 1/3)

CNN: More Popsicles, Please: Your Tonsils Can Grow Back
In the summer of 1983, Katy Golden’s mom had stocked their kitchen in the suburbs of Detroit with Popsicles and bubble gum. Golden was 5 years old and about to have her tonsils removed to help with some ear issues she’d had since she was an infant. The procedure seemed to go well; her recovery was similar to that of many other kids she knew who also had their tonsils removed, and she was back to her talkative self in what felt like no time. But just a few weeks ago, Golden stopped at a supermarket to pick up two packs of grape bubble gum because she was about to have her tonsils removed – again. (McPhillips, 1/2)

Newsweek: Cancer Breakthrough As 'Speckles' May Reveal Best Treatment
Patterns of "speckles" in the heart of tumor cells could help predict how patients with a common form of kidney cancer will respond to different treatment options, according to research. Nuclear speckles—microscopic structures found in the nucleus of a cell—were first identified more than a century ago. They are believed to intermingle with DNA and play a role in regulating gene activity. "We found that different therapies are more or less effective depending on how the speckles look," said Professor Katherine Alexander of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in a statement. (Randall, 1/2)

The Wall Street Journal: The Mystery Of What’s Causing Young People’s Cancer Leads To The Gut
Researchers have identified a focal point for the forces they suspect of driving up cancer cases in young people: the gut. They are searching people’s bodies and childhood histories for culprits. Rates of gastrointestinal cancers among people under 50 are increasing across the globe. In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men under 50 and second for women behind breast cancer. Each generation born since the 1950s has had higher risk than the one before. (Abbott, 1/3)

Newsweek: These Foods Could Help Your Body Fight COVID
Licorice is one of a number of foods that might benefit people with COVID-19, according to research from Iran. A five-day randomized controlled trial tested the effects of taking licorice root extract versus a placebo on 51 adults who were critically ill with COVID-19 and receiving standard treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) of Alzhahra Teaching Hospital, Iran. The group taking licorice left the ICU after an average of 13.1 days while the placebo group stayed for 25 days, suggesting that licorice might be effective against COVID-19. (Willmoth, 1/2)

CIDRAP: California Probe Ties Cat's Avian Flu Illness To Raw Pet Food
On New Year's Eve the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) urged pet owners to avoid feeding pets raw food after tests found links between a cat's H5 avian flu illness and raw food sold by Monarch Raw Pet Food at California farmer's markets. The announcement marks the second raw pet food company tied to related illnesses in cats. Last week, Oregon officials reported similar findings involving one type of frozen raw pet food from Northwest Naturals that was marketed nationally. (Schnirring, 1/2)

CIDRAP: Paxlovid Tied To Lower Risk Of Hospital Stay, Heart Problems, Death In Adults With Kidney Disease And COVID
The antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was linked to a lower risk of hospitalization within 30 days and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and death at 1 year in adults with COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease (CKD) or kidney failure, finds a study this week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 1/2)

CIDRAP: Survey Finds High Hesitancy Toward Mpox Vaccination In Africa
A survey of African adults found a significant level of hesitancy toward mpox vaccination, both for themselves and for their children, researchers reported this week in eClinicalMedicine. The survey, conducted among 1,832 adults from Uganda, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa from October 1 to 10, 2024, found that 32.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25.4% to 40%) were reluctant to receive the mpox vaccine, and 38.9% (95% CI, 30.2% to 47.6%) of parents were reluctant to have their children vaccinated against mpox. (Dall, 1/2)

Stat: Neumora’s Antidepressant Stumbles In First Phase 3 Trial Readout
A new depression treatment developed by startup Neumora Therapeutics failed in a Phase 3 clinical trial — the company’s first late-stage readout. The drug, navacaprant, failed to show a meaningful improvement in depression scores compared to placebo, the company reported Thursday. (DeAngelis, 1/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Sorting Opportunity From Hype In Healthcare AI
Venture capitalists increasingly must cut through hype to land the best startups in healthcare AI. Artificial intelligence’s healthcare potential is significant: faster diagnostics, novel treatments, streamlined administration and less burnout. But obstacles to success are sizable and startups face pressure to deliver on their promises. (Gormley, 1/2)

The Washington Post: Health Care Start-Ups Are Trying To Open. An Old Law Stands In Their Way
N’da is part of a wave of litigants pressing to dismantle regulations that plaintiff lawyers say have fomented health care “cartels” in more than 30 states — limiting, for example, the number of methadone clinics in West Virginia, youth mental health beds in Arkansas and MRI centers in North Carolina. These certificate-of-need (CON) laws require certain health care and transportation businesses to demonstrate community need for their services before they can operate. The prerequisite is meant to contain costs and prevent oversaturation of the market, but it often comes with a catch: Would-be competitors can challenge applicants whose services could cut into their sales. (Najmabadi, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: Claimable, SmarterDx Automate Prior Authorization Appeals With AI
As more insurance companies use automation tools in coverage decisions, some providers and patients are turning to artificial intelligence to speed up their own approval-request processes. Several vendors have added capabilities to offer providers relevant medical and insurance policy information in an instant. A flurry of startups have also launched, promising clinicians and patients more seamless methods of limiting and challenging insurance denials. (Berryman, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: Pennant Group Closes Signature Healthcare At Home Deal
Home health and hospice provider Pennant Group completed the second phase of its $80 million acquisition of Signature Healthcare at Home assets in the Pacific Northwest. The deal, which was completed Jan. 1, includes seven home health and hospice locations across Oregon, Pennant Group said in a Thursday news release. The Eagle, Idaho-based company completed the purchase of six other Signature Healthcare locations in Washington and Idaho in August. (Eastabrook, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: Sanford Health, Marshfield Clinic Health System Close Merger
Sanford Health closed its merger with Marshfield Clinic Health System on Wednesday. The combined system, led by Sanford President and CEO Bill Gassen, has more than $10 billion in revenue and operates 56 hospitals across seven states, in addition to two health plans with roughly 425,000 members. It has almost 56,000 employees, including about 13,000 employees from Marshfield, according to a Thursday news release. (Hudson, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: CareSource Acquires ACA C-Op Common Ground Healthcare
CareSource has completed its acquisition of Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative, the nonprofit health insurers announced in a news release Thursday. Privately held CareSource, which has 2 million Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance exchange members, gains 54,000 marketplace customers in Wisconsin through the deal. Common Ground CEO Cathy Mahaffey remains as chief executive of Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative and was named CareSource market president for the Badger State. (Tepper, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: Ensign Group Acquires 9 Nursing Homes In Tennessee, Alabama
The Ensign Group has completed the acquisition of nine skilled nursing home operations in Tennessee and Alabama. The San Juan Capistrano, California-based company said in a press release Thursday eight of the facilities are located in Tennessee. (Eastabrook, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: Habitat Health Opens First PACE Center In California
Habitat Health opened Thursday its first integrated healthcare program for older adults in Sacramento, California, less than 10 months after Kaiser Permanente and Town Hall Partners launched the company. San Francisco-based Habitat Health is accepting applications from older adults to receive healthcare and wrap-around services through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, said Brad Oglevee, vice president and general manager of Habitat Health with Kaiser Permanente Sacramento. (Eastabrook, 1/2)

News Service of Florida: Florida Blue Sues Federal Health Agencies Over Star Rating System
The insurer Florida Blue has filed a lawsuit against federal health agencies, arguing that key quality ratings didn’t properly take into account disruptions caused by major flooding in 2023 in Broward County. (Saunders, 1/2)

Health News Florida: A Study Raises Complex Questions About Unconscious Patients
Questions about how aware brain-injured patients might be have always been wrenching for loved ones. A new study, while shedding light on the unconscious, unfortunately won’t make those questions any easier to handle. An international research team found that about 1 in 4 patients who appear completely unresponsive might, in fact, be conscious but unable to physically show that awareness. (Anderson, 1/2)

North Carolina Health News: Stylists, Barbers Key To Program Focused On Improving Black Health
Charlotte Sparks likes to get her hair done at Empire Beauty School. It gives students a chance to practice what they’re learning, the 84-year-old Greensboro resident said. On the weekend before Christmas, the school’s beauty salon also offered clients a chance to learn. The school was one of six sites in the South to take part in the Black Beauty & Barbershop Health Initiative. (Fernandez, 1/3)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Insurance Dispute Between Anthem And St. Joseph Hospital Could Impact Thousands
Thousands of patients may have to switch to new health care providers, due to a contract dispute between St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. St. Joseph Hospital and Anthem, the state’s largest insurer, are at odds over how much the hospital should be paid for its services. St. Joseph also alleges Anthem is regularly denying claims that should be covered, echoing complaints other hospitals have made about the company in recent years. (Cuno-Booth, 1/2)