First Edition: Jan. 16, 2024
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
Federal Program To Save Rural Hospitals Feels ‘Growing Pains’
Folks in this Mississippi River town hope a new federal program can revive the optimism engraved long ago in a plaque on the side of their hospital. “Dedicated to the Future of Health Care in the Tri-State Area,” the sign declares. “May 11, 1981.” More recent placards posted at the facility’s entryways are ominous, however. “Closed,” they say. “No Trespassing.” The Keokuk hospital, which served rural areas of Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, closed in October 2022. But new owners plan to reopen the hospital with the help of a new federal payment system. The Rural Emergency Hospital program guarantees hospitals extra cash if they provide emergency and outpatient services but end inpatient care. (Tribble and Leys, 1/16)
KFF Health News:
What Would A Second Trump Presidency Look Like For Health Care?
On the presidential campaign trail, former President Donald Trump is, once again, promising to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — a nebulous goal that became one of his administration’s splashiest policy failures. “We’re going to fight for much better health care than Obamacare. Obamacare is a catastrophe,” Trump said at a campaign stop in Iowa on Jan. 6. (Rovner, 1/16)
Reuters:
US Congressional Leaders Unveil Stopgap Bill To Avert Shutdown
Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress on Sunday unveiled a short-term spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown and keep federal agencies operating into March. The agreement aims to avert short-term chaos and buy more time to craft the complex spending legislation that funds government activity. Government agencies that oversee transportation, housing, and other services are due to run out of funding by midnight on Friday and would have to scale back activity if new funding is not signed into law. (Sullivan and Morgan, 1/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
Lloyd Austin Released From Hospital After Surgery Complications
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital Monday, Pentagon officials said, after a two-week stay due to complications from prostate surgery last month. Austin is now recuperating at home, according to a Pentagon statement. “The Secretary continues to recover well and, on the advice of doctors, will recuperate and perform his duties remotely for a period of time before returning full-time to the Pentagon,” according to the statement. “He has full access to required secure communications capabilities.” (Lubold, 1/15)
Health News Florida:
The ACA Enrollment Period Ends Tuesday, And Florida Again Leads The Nation In Sign-Ups
With the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday approaching, Florida has more than 4 million Obamacare enrollees. Nationally, the ACA added 3.7 million for a record tally of about 20 million. (Pederson, Cabrera and Mayer, 1/12)
NBC News:
Florida Plan To Import Cheaper Drugs Faces Outrage In Canada
The plan to allow Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada is already facing outrage from Canadians who claim it could make their own drug supply shortages worse. And experts in the U.S. have doubts the program will ever help people in Florida get a cost break on medications for conditions like heart disease and diabetes. ... “The U.S. needs to solve its own drug pricing problem, and not rely on other countries to do it for them,” said Dr. Joel Lexchin, a professor emeritus at the School of Health Policy and Management at York University in Toronto. (Lovelace Jr., 1/12)
Stat:
The New NIH Director Is Walking A Tightrope On Biden’s Drug Pricing Vision
President Biden has promised to require fair prices from drugmakers that use federally funded research — and now, in a major recent move, said he’ll trigger government march-in on patents for drugs that run afoul of that goal. “It’s a simple principle. You shouldn’t pay the highest price in the world for drugs that your tax dollars have already helped create,” Biden said last month as he touted the move at the National Institutes of Health. But the new NIH director, locked in the center of this debate, isn’t taking any big steps yet. (Owermohle, 1/16)
The New York Times:
Federal Scientists Recommend Easing Restrictions On Marijuana
Marijuana is neither as risky nor as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances and has potential medical benefits, and therefore should be removed from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs, federal scientists have concluded. The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued Health and Human Services officials for its release and published it online on Friday night. An H.H.S. official confirmed the authenticity of the document. The records shed light for the first time on the thinking of federal health officials who are pondering a momentous change. (Jewett and Weiland, 1/12)
CBS News:
Colorado, 11 Other States Ask Feds To Reclassify Cannabis
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a group of attorneys general from a dozen other states who sent a letter this week to the federal government asking that cannabis be reduced from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance. ... This would allow states to bring in revenue from a legal cannabis businesses and consumers' sales tax, the letter claimed. That revenue could then be applied to public health and safety measures such as education and further research into the drug's impacts. (Smith, 1/12)
Axios:
Tripledemic May Have Peaked Around The Holidays
Key indicators for respiratory illness declined for the first time in weeks after the holidays, signaling that the tripledemic of flu, COVID-19 and RSV may have peaked nationwide, according to updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. (Bettelheim, 1/12)
Stat:
Flu Vaccine Reformulation Won't Be Easy, Manufacturers Warn
Last fall, the World Health Organization and some national drug regulators urged influenza vaccine manufacturers to drop the component known as B/Yamagata from flu vaccines as quickly as possible, citing the fact that this lineage of flu B viruses appears to have been snuffed out during the Covid-19 pandemic. It might seem like that request would be as simple as deciding to leave blueberries out of a mixed-fruit smoothie. It turns out it is not. (Branswell, 1/16)
The Washington Post:
Officials Warn Of Possible Measles Exposure At Dulles, Reagan Airports
Virginia health officials said Saturday that a person passing through D.C.-area airports in early January after returning from international travel has come down with measles, warning that others may have been exposed to the disease. The Virginia Department of Health urged unvaccinated travelers who were at Dulles International Airport from 4 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 3 to be on the lookout for signs of measles. Health officials also issued a warning for people who were at Reagan National Airport between 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 4. (Diaz, 1/14)
Bloomberg:
What Is Disease X? Davos Leaders Among Experts Preparing For Next Pandemic
It sounds like something Elon Musk might have cooked up: “Disease X.” In fact ... it’s the somewhat mysterious name for an illness caused by a currently unknown, yet serious microbial threat. The World Health Organization added Disease X in 2017 to a short list of pathogens deemed a top priority for research, alongside known killers like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Ebola. The issue made it onto the agenda of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joining other health officials to discuss it. (Gale, 1/15)
The New York Times:
Workplace Wellness Programs Have Little Benefit, Study Finds
Employee mental health services have become a billion-dollar industry. New hires, once they have found the restrooms and enrolled in 401(k) plans, are presented with a panoply of digital wellness solutions, mindfulness seminars, massage classes, resilience workshops, coaching sessions and sleep apps. These programs are a point of pride for forward-thinking human resource departments, evidence that employers care about their workers. But a British researcher who analyzed survey responses from 46,336 workers at companies that offered such programs found that people who participated in them were no better off than colleagues who did not. (Barry, 1/15)
WJCT:
More Organ Donors Needed Despite Record Number Of Transplants, Mayo Doc Says
A record number of organ transplants were completed nationwide in 2023, but a surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville says more organ donors are needed. Doctors did 46,632 transplants last year, up from 42,880 the year before, according to a news release this week from the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing, which serves as the nation’s transplant system under contract with the federal government. (Ponson, 1/13)
Stat:
Independent Physicians Launch A New Lobbying Group
Private equity gets a bad rap in health care. But some doctors see that kind of cash and consolidation as the only way for their practices to survive — and now, they’re taking that message to Washington. (Trang, 1/16)
Stat:
Why Doctors Need Education On FDA Device Approval Process
In her final presentation for health policy class at the University of Chicago, first-year medical student Robin Ji informed her classmates that the Food and Drug Administration does not require randomized controlled trials of most medical devices. Her peers’ immediate reaction was disbelief. (Lawrence, 1/16)
The Boston Globe:
Mass General Brigham Is Testing An AI 'Black Box' For Surgeries
The operating room has long functioned in secrecy, a sanctum where a team works in quiet synchrony to cut open and, hopefully, repair an unconscious patient’s body. ... But now an AI-powered technology may put an end to the mystery, by recording what goes on in the OR in the finest detail — every move each person makes, every word uttered, every instrument used, every shift in the patient’s vital signs, more than a half-million data points from each OR over the course of each day. (Freyer, 1/13)
Modern Healthcare:
CarePoint Health, Hudson Regional Hospital To Form Hudson Health
CarePoint Health and Hudson Regional Hospital have signed a letter of intent to form a new healthcare system—Hudson Health. The new system in New Jersey would include CarePoint’s Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Hoboken University Medical Center and Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus. (DeSilva, 1/12)
Bloomberg:
Hospitals Are Back To The Municipal-Bond Market As Labor Costs Ease
Hospitals are returning to the municipal-bond market as they aim to pivot from survival to revival. So far this year, hospitals are tapping the market with more than $1.7 billion to expand and upgrade facilities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of Jan. 12. That figure outpaces $390.7 million of issuance by hospitals last January. (Coleman-Lochner, 1/12)
Houston Chronicle:
TCEQ Approves Permit For Concrete Crusher Near LBJ Hospital
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said his office plans to take legal action after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved a permit for a concrete crushing facility near LBJ Hospital, officials said Friday. ... The project has faced intense pushback from community leaders, state lawmakers and county hospital officials who say the presence of dust and other pollutants will endanger already vulnerable patients and residents. (Gill, 1/12)
AP:
UnitedHealth Shares Tumble After Health Care Giant Reports Soaring Medical Costs In 4Q
UnitedHealth Group turned in a better-than-expected fourth quarter but surprised Wall Street with medical costs that soared 16%. Shares of UnitedHealth and other major health care and insurance providers slipped Friday after the company announced results. Health insurers dealt with rising medical costs for much of last year. UnitedHealth has said claims jumped from its Medicare Advantage business as more seniors got heart and orthopedic outpatient procedures. (Murphy, 1/12)
Reuters:
Record Budget For Gates Foundation As Wider Global Health Funding Stalls
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to spend more this year than ever before -- $8.6 billion -- as wider health funding for the lowest income countries stutters after the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024 budget agreed by the foundation’s board is up 4% on last year and $2 billion more than in 2021.In a statement, the foundation said global health budgets were in decline overall and contributions to health in the lowest-income countries were stalling. (Rigby, 1/15)
The Boston Globe:
New Biomedical Institute Launching In Cambridge
A team of high-powered scientists and billionaire investors said Friday that they’re launching a biomedical institute in Cambridge’s Kendall Square with $500 million in private funding with the aim of shortening the path from research breakthroughs to life-saving medicines. The institute, called Arena BioWorks, will put drug discovery and company creation under one roof, upending the traditional model where academic research and venture-backed drug development are separate. (Weisman and Saltzman, 1/12)
Reuters:
Global Tobacco Use Tumbles Despite Industry Lobbying
Global tobacco use has tumbled in a generation with one in five people smoking versus one in three in 2000, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The drop comes despite what the U.N. global health agency said were ongoing efforts by Big Tobacco to seek to influence global health policies to its own advantage. (Farge, 1/16)
AP:
Dangers Of Vaping: Public Health Experts Call For Surgeon General Report
Sixty years ago, the U.S. surgeon general released a report that settled a longstanding public debate about the dangers of cigarettes and led to huge changes in smoking in America. Today, some public health experts say a similar report could help clear the air about vaping. Many U.S. adults believe nicotine vaping is as harmful as — or more dangerous than — cigarette smoking. That’s wrong. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and most scientists agree that, based on available evidence, electronic cigarettes are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. (Stobbe, 1/15)
USA Today:
Cancer Care Improves In Medicaid Expansion States
A study published last week led by American Cancer Society researchers compared cancer patients in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act with patients in states that did not. In states that expanded Medicaid, about 1 in 5 college- or working-age adults diagnosed with cancer were insured by Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income families and the disabled. Just 2% of cancer patients in these states were uninsured as of 2019. (Alltucker, 1/14)
News Service of Florida:
Florida House Panel Backs Health Care Plan; Medicare Expansion Unlikely
The Florida House on Friday began moving forward with its version of a plan aimed at boosting the number of physicians in the state and taking other steps to expand access to health care. (1/13)
The Mercury News:
Alameda County Seeking New Ambulance Contract, With New Requirements
Calling 9-1-1 for a medical emergency typically leads to a trip in an ambulance to a nearby emergency room. ... Now, Alameda County wants to change that wasteful practice so ambulance providers are more accountable for providing an appropriate level of care. ... The county will require its next provider to develop an “appropriate tiered system” for their responses, offering things like at-home telehealth appointments when appropriate, instead of just transporting people to the hospital. (Blair Rowan, 1/12)
The New York Times:
Diabetes Is Fueling An Amputation Crisis For Men In San Antonio
At a medical facility on the west side of San Antonio, the patients show up with disturbing regularity — most of them men. They have sores on their feet that won’t go away. And they leave with the same devastating news: Their diabetes has progressed to the point that their leg must be amputated to save their lives. Diabetes has been on the rise around the world, and Latino communities in the United States have been especially hard hit. A lethal combination of genetics, poor access to health care, diets high in processed foods and sedentary lifestyles has created a crisis in places like San Antonio, a majority Mexican American city in Southern Texas, that is costing a growing number of men their feet and legs — and eventually, for some, their lives. (Sandoval, 1/16)
Fox News:
Ear Infections In Kids Could Lead To Delayed Speech, Study Shows
Chronic ear infections could delay a child’s language development, new research suggests. University of Florida researchers launched a study about how the common childhood infection could impact speech. Early ear infections (otitis media) have the potential to impair hearing due to fluid buildup behind the eardrum, according to the study, which was published in the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology in November 2023. (Stabile, 1/15)
The Washington Post:
Which Proteins Contain The Most Microplastics?
If you’re eating protein, you could be ingesting hundreds of tiny pieces of plastic each year, research finds. A new study by researchers with the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto found microplastics — tiny particles ranging from one micrometer (one thousandth of a millimeter) to half a centimeter in size — in nearly 90 percent of protein food samples tested. (Chiu, 1/12)
The Baltimore Sun:
What You Should Know About Healthy Eating After Watching ‘You Are What You Eat’
Maybe you have already watched the show, “You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment.” This new documentary-style Netflix show is based on the Stanford twin nutrition study, a pioneering research study led by Dr. Christopher Gardner. Gardner and his team aimed to compare the cardiometabolic effects of an omnivore diet and a vegan diet. (Weintraub, 1/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Battle Over What Medical Equipment Needs to Be on Your Plane
Treatment for a life-or-death midair medical emergency can depend on which plane you happen to be on. More than 20 million Americans are estimated to have food allergies, based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics, yet not every commercial plane is stocked with epinephrine autoinjectors. The devices, commonly referred to by the brand name EpiPen, are the most critical treatment for potentially life-threatening allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis, doctors say. (Passy, 1/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Apple Set To Pull Blood-Oxygen Sensor From Watch. But It’s Not Conceding Defeat Yet.
Apple is readying itself to remove a blood-oxygen sensor from some of its smartwatches in an effort to avoid an import ban over a patent dispute. However, the consumer-technology giant hasn’t given up its fight yet. Apple has made plans for technical changes to the watches, including the removal of the blood-oxygen sensor, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a legal filing. (Clark, 1/16)