First Edition: Jan. 17, 2024

KFF Health News: ‘I’m Not Safe Here’: Schools Ignore Federal Rules On Restraint And Seclusion 
Photos show blood splattered across a small bare-walled room in a North Carolina school where a second grader repeatedly punched himself in the face in the fall of 2019, according to the child’s mom. His mother, Michelle Staten, said her son, who has autism and other conditions, reacted as many children with disabilities would when he was confined to the seclusion room at Buckhorn Creek Elementary. “I still feel a lot of guilt about it as a parent,” said Staten, who sent the photos to the federal government in a 2022 complaint letter. “My child was traumatized.” (Clasen-Kelly, 1/17)

KFF Health News: America’s Health System Isn’t Ready For The Surge Of Seniors With Disabilities 
The number of older adults with disabilities — difficulty with walking, seeing, hearing, memory, cognition, or performing daily tasks such as bathing or using the bathroom — will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s. But the health care system isn’t ready to address their needs. (Graham, 1/17)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: A national shortage of Adderall leaves people with narcolepsy struggling to live normal lives. and researchers find little evidence that mental health courts are keeping those who need them most out of lockup. (1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Congress' Latest Funding Plan Leaves Hospitals Uncertain
Congressional leaders have made another tentative deal to keep the government open and fund key health programs into March, but hospitals and other healthcare industries continue to await action on vital matters. Congress will act this week to advance a third stopgap appropriations bill, which would prevent a partial government shutdown from commencing Friday and fund operations until March 8. The legislation offers only short-term relief for a healthcare sector that needs Congress to approve funding for the rest of fiscal 2024. (McAuliff, 1/16)

The Washington Post: Memory-Care And Assisted-Living Industry Will Be Investigated By Senate
The chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging is launching a review of safety lapses in the assisted-living industry, saying an investigation by The Washington Post into the deaths of dementia-care residents who have wandered from facilities had revealed “horrific” neglect and a “violation of trust.” In response to The Post’s finding that nearly 100 seniors have died over the past five years after leaving facilities unnoticed or being left unattended outside, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) sent letters Tuesday to the nation’s three largest assisted-living chain owners seeking information about their practices. The Post’s report is the first nationwide accounting of such deaths. (Rowland, 1/16)

The Hill: Grassley Hospitalized To Treat Infection
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has been admitted to a local Washington hospital to treat an infection, his office announced Tuesday. “Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is receiving antibiotic infusions at an area hospital to treat an infection,” Grassley’s office said in a statement. “He is in good spirits and will return to work as soon as possible following doctors’ orders.” Grassley, 90, is the chamber’s oldest member. He earned that distinction after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) passed away in September after health troubles that consumed her final years in office. (Weaver, 1/16)

The Washington Post: Lloyd Austin 911 Call Audio Shows Aide Asked For No Lights Or Sirens
An aide for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asked during a 911 call on Jan. 1 that an ambulance arrive to pick Austin up without lights or sirens, according to audio of the call. The 70-year-old’s trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, and his ensuing hospitalization, remained secret for days — with even President Biden kept in the dark. “Can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said on the recording, which was obtained by Reuters and heard by The Washington Post. The aide’s name was redacted from the recording. (Ables, 1/17)

Military.com: Free Surgeries And Prescriptions: Trump White House Staff Got Access To Military Health Care Despite Being Ineligible 
Under the Trump administration, the White House Medical Unit -- a joint Defense Department team that provides medical care for the president, vice president and family members and also manages health services for certain high-level officials -- sent ineligible staff members to military hospitals for specialty care and surgeries, the DoD inspector general has found. The medical unit also dispensed hundreds of free prescriptions, including controlled substances, to people in the White House, the DoD inspector general said in a report released Jan. 8. (Kime, 1/16)

NPR: 2024's Drug Price Hikes Are Rolling In — And Some Decreases
Drug companies often increase prices at the start of the new year, and 2024 seems to be no exception. There have been about 600 price hikes so far in January, according to the drug price nonprofit 46Brooklyn Research. But the increases haven't been as steep as they were in some previous years. In the 2010s, drug price hikes were typically much bigger — up to 10% on average (Lupkin, 1/17)

The Hill: Supreme Court Won’t Review School Transgender Bathroom Policies
The Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling allowing transgender students in Indiana to access school restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity Tuesday. The justices in a brief order denied a request from a central Indiana school district to hear the case, which centers around a now-teenage transgender boy, identified in court documents as A.C., who was barred from using the boys restrooms at his former middle school. (Migdon and Schonfeld, 1/16)

Roll Call: House GOP Plans Pregnancy-Related Bills Before Roe Anniversary 
House Republicans are teeing up two measures that signal their opposition to abortion ahead of the annual March for Life, but for the second year in a row are focusing not on abortion bans but on issues related to unwanted pregnancies in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. (Raman, 1/16)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Medical Board Asked To Clarify Medical Exception To Abortion Laws
Two attorneys have asked the Texas Medical Board to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws, following the Texas Supreme Court’s rejection last month of a Dallas woman’s attempt to terminate her nonviable pregnancy. (Rubin, 1/16)

Oklahoma Voice: OK Lawmaker Proposes Changing Constitution To Say Life Begins At Conception
An Oklahoma lawmaker wants voters to enshrine into the state Constitution that personhood begins at conception. Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, said House Joint Resolution 1046 would make it more difficult for the Oklahoma Supreme Court justices to “ignore the rights of the unborn” in their rulings. “The justices have this habit of when that issue comes before them, they consider the rights of the woman, which is proper, but they do not consider that the baby also has a right to life,” Olsen said. (Stecklein, 1/16)

Stateline: Experts Worry About At-Risk Women's Access To New Postpartum Depression Pill
The first pill for postpartum depression approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now available, but experts worry that minority and low-income people, who are disproportionately affected by the condition, won’t have easy access to the new medication. (Hassanein, 1/16)

Stat: Researchers Find A New Way To Test The Quality Of Embryos Used In IVF
Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine say a new method can better predict the quality of embryos used for in vitro fertilization, potentially raising the odds of a successful pregnancy for those relying on assisted reproductive technology. (Balthazar, 1/17)

The Boston Globe: Post-Dobbs, Signati Medical Is Looking To Reinvent The Vasectomy
At a time when increased abortion restrictions are stoking the demand for shared responsibility, Bill Prentice wants to reinvent the vasectomy. Prentice, 58, a Wall Street trader-turned-entrepreneur, has received regulatory clearance for his five-year-old company, Signati Medical, to test a device he says will bring “a new level of comfort, safety, and speed” to a procedure that’s seen little innovation in the past century. ... If the Food and Drug Administration green-lights Signati’s device, Prentice, the CEO, wants to broadcast the first approved use of the company’s procedure — on himself — on live television. (Weisman, 1/16)

CBS News: Doctors Say We're Not In The Clear From COVID, Flu, RSV Surge
"While rates of infections have been coming down - visits to emergency departments and so forth - we are seeing increased hospitalization rates for influenza, as well as for COVID," said Dr. Sharon F. Welbel, an infectious disease physician with Cook County Health. Dr. Larry Kociolek, an infectious diseases physician and the medical director for infection prevention and control at Lurie Children's Hospital, said it is not time right now to let down our guard. (Gonzalez, 1/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Updates COVID Guidance For Attending School, Work
California’s health department has changed its COVID-19 guidance, which could have significant implications for people of all ages statewide. The new recommendations, issued last week, reflect a more relaxed approach to isolation and testing, allowing people who test positive for COVID-19 but do not have symptoms to return to work and school. ... “Overall, I think this is reasonable given the high proportion of kids with immunity against COVID,” ... said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at UCSF. (Vaziri, 1/16)

Axios: "Good News For Health Care": RSV Shots Are Driving Seniors Back To Checkups
One side effect of the new RSV shots for older Americans: More are winding up getting other preventative tests and services during their vaccine appointments. That tidbit came from UnitedHealth Group's year-end earnings report that showed use of medical services were up, prompting health insurer stocks to dip on Friday. (Reed, 1/16)

WMFE: Ladapo's Questions On DNA Integration With COVID Vax Raise Experts' Eyebrows 
Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo has expressed concerns about the mRNA vaccine. Two Florida experts are confused by his questions, saying they don't make much sense. (Pedersen, 1/16)

CIDRAP: More Evidence Vaccination Reduces Risk Of Long COVID 
A large staggered cohort study from primary care patients in the UK, Spain, and Estonia finds that COVID-19 vaccination consistently reduced the risk of long-COVID symptoms. The study is published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The study used the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of post COVID condition, or long COVID, as new or persisting symptoms 3 months after infection that cannot be explained by alternative causes. The WHO recognizes 25 long COVID symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive dysfunction. (Soucheray, 1/12)

CIDRAP: Experiment Shows Mule Deer Could Spread SARS-CoV-2
A new study from the US Department of Agriculture shows that elk experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2 did not shed infectious virus but mounted low-level serologic responses, while mule deer shed and transmitted virus and mounted a more pronounced serologic response to the virus. The authors of the study, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the results suggest mule deer could spread COVID-19. (Soucheray, 1/16)

CIDRAP: Report Describes 3 Confirmed Cases Of Deer-To-Human TB Transmission In Michigan
Yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases, scientists report on three confirmed people in Michigan who contracted tuberculosis (TB) linked to wild deer and domestic cattle from 2019 to 2022, raising the total number of zoonotic cases in the state to seven since 2002. ... The three infected were a taxidermist, a woman who interacted with deer in the affected area, and a man with no obvious animal exposures and his female household contact. (Van Beusekom, 1/12)

Modern Healthcare: Allina Health Doctors Win Union Certification
The National Labor Relations Board has certified the union election of more than 130 Allina Health doctors, following its nearly yearlong investigation into objections raised by the health system. Although physicians at Mercy Hospital and its Unity campus in Fridley and Coon Rapids, Minnesota, voted to join Doctors Council SEIU in March 2023 by a margin of 2-to-1, the election was not certified until Jan. 10. (Devereaux, 1/16)

Becker's Hospital Review: Henry Ford Health System Files Lawsuit Over Work Visa Rejections
Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for denying two of its Canadian radiologic technologist employees U.S. work visas, according to a lawsuit obtained by Becker's. Tibor Hric, a Canadian citizen named in the lawsuit, has been with Henry Ford since 2009. ... "Their absence has created critical staffing issues that have negatively impacted Plaintiff's ability to deliver patient care," the lawsuit said. (Ashley, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Marshfield Clinic Furloughs Hit 3% Of Workforce
Marshfield Clinic Health System said Tuesday it plans to furlough about 3% of its workforce. A spokesperson for the Marshfield, Wisconsin-based health system said in a statement the furloughs will occur mostly in non-patient-facing departments, including leadership roles. The spokesperson did not provide details on when the furloughs would take effect or how long they would last. (Hudson, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Private Equity Ownership Report Aims To Hold Buyers Accountable
Lifepoint Health and ScionHealth's ownership by Apollo Global Management is the focus of a report by a nonprofit formed to hold private equity buyers accountable for the impact their acquisitions have on services and communities. The report released last week by the watchdog organization Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which criticized the systems' performance and Apollo, follows a recent academic study published in JAMA that raised concerns about higher rates of adverse patient safety events at private equity facilities. (Devereaux, 1/16)

Reuters: NJ Hospital, Investors To Pay More Than $30 Mln To Settle Medicare Fraud Claims 
A New Jersey long-term care hospital and some of its investors have agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle claims that the hospital fraudulently overbilled Medicare, with investors pocketing the extra funds, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Silver Lake Hospital in Newark will pay the government $18.6 million, plus interest, while the investors will pay $12 million, plus interest, according to New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger. The investors' share will come from Silver Lake's principal investor, Richard Lipsky, and from Columbus Management South, an entity through which other investors received cash from the hospital. (Pierson, 1/16)

Axios: Health Insurance Premiums Are Eating Into Workers' Wages
Families with workplace health insurance may have missed out on $125,000 in earnings over the past three decades as a result of rising premiums eating into their pay, according to a new JAMA Network Open study. (Owens, 1/17)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Roseman University Announces Plans To Add Medical School To Summerlin Campus
Roseman University is looking to expand and bring a medical degree program to Summerlin. The university on Tuesday unveiled a $500-$550 million three-phase plan to expand its campus in Summerlin from a few office buildings to a full-fledged medical school campus. The expansion will take place on the 32 acres of undeveloped land that Roseman University already owns. It could be completed by 2032, the university said. (Hemmersmeier, 1/16)

Modern Healthcare: Kansas City, Fort Worth’s Efforts To Become Innovation Hubs
Two cities are trying to become digital health hubs and create their own Silicon Valley. Economic development leaders in Kansas City, Missouri, and Fort Worth, Texas, want to foster an environment that will attract digital health entrepreneurs and investors, adding their municipalities to the list of cities building healthcare tech ecosystems. (Perna, 1/16)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Washington U. Creates Drug Research Company, Backed By $130 Million From New York Firm
Washington University has joined up with a New York investment firm to launch a new drug research and development business, the school announced Tuesday. Deerfield Management Co. has committed up to $130 million over the next decade. The new company will be called VeritaScience, a nod to the university’s motto, “Per Veritatem Vis,” or “Strength Through Truth.” (Merrilees, 1/16)

Stat: Chemo Hair Loss Is Focus Of Antibody Treatment In Development 
The chemotherapy Christine Ko was prescribed for her breast cancer is pretty much a guarantee for losing your hair. The intervention her doctors offered to prevent the hair loss was a cold cap that, cooled to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, would turn her scalp into an icy crown. But, to her, it wasn’t much of an option. (Chen, 1/17)

Reuters: ResMed Says Its Masks To Remain On Market Despite FDA Classification 
ResMed said its respiratory masks containing magnets will remain on the market even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classified a recall of the product as most serious as their use could cause major injuries or death. The California-based medical device maker, which started the recall process on Nov. 20, said the classification was due to a correction in the labeling and is not a product removal. (1/16)

Politico: Newsom Vows Veto For California Youth Tackle Football Ban
Gov. Gavin Newsom extinguished an effort to ban youth tackle football in California on Tuesday, vowing to veto a measure that was gaining support among Democrats but emerging as a new front in the culture wars. Newsom, in a statement shared exclusively with POLITICO, said he would not sign proposed first-in-the-nation legislation to ban the sport for children 12 and under because of concerns about head injuries. “I am deeply concerned about the health and safety of our young athletes, but an outright ban is not the answer,” Newsom said. (He, Bluth and Cadelago, 1/16)

CBS News: Colorado Agency Releases Plan To Improve Child Behavioral Health Access
Kelly Causey is the deputy commissioner of the BHA. "We can't just assume that they are mini-adults, and they experience our systems in that same way," Causey said. Working with several other state agencies, she says they've identified more than 100 action items to make immediate improvements. They include things like developing an early childhood mental health consultation program, enhancing school-based mental healthcare and a renewed focus on building a workforce. (Morfitt, 1/16)

Bridge Michigan: Michigan Disbands Racial Equity Group As Tension Mounts Over Opioid Money 
An advisory group formed to help Michigan tackle high rates of opioid  overdoses in communities of color has been disbanded by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, leading to hard feelings among some members who say their work is being buried. The Whitmer administration is “trying to…silence in a systematic way the voices of the Racial Equity Workgroup,” said Native American activist Banashee “Joe” Cadreau, a workgroup member. “For two years, we put our blood, sweat, tears, thoughts, time, to …. (come) up with these recommendations.” (Erb and French, 1/16)

The Hill: Colorado Club Q Shooter Charged With 50 Federal Hate Crimes  
The shooter who killed five people and injured 19 others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs in 2022 intends to plead guilty to 74 federal counts, including 50 federal hate crimes, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to 50 hate crime charges and 24 firearm violations, according to court documents filed in a U.S. District Court in Colorado. (Nazzaro, 1/16)

NPR: Anonymous Tip Lines In Schools Prevent Some Gun Violence, Study Finds
"If you see something, say something." ...A concept embraced by the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System, started by the non-profit Sandy Hook Promise Foundation. ... A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics Wednesday, evaluated the tip line as it was used by one southeastern state — North Carolina — to see how successful it was at catching firearm-related threats. Researchers found there were more than 18,000 tips submitted during the four years studied, from 2019 to 2023. "What we found is that 10% of tips contain reference to a firearm." (Chatterjee, 1/17)

CBS News: Colorado Father Urges Lawmakers To Limit Sale Of Food Preservative Being Used In Suicides
A Colorado father, driven by grief, is pushing to make Colorado among the first states in the country to regulate the sale of sodium nitrate. The preservative, used to cure meat, is deadly in its concentrated form, which is widely available online and in some sporting goods stores. Bruce Brown's son is among a growing number of people who have used it to end their lives. ... The 17-year-old suffered from long-term COVID and it exacted a toll, not only on his physical health but his mental health too. (Boyd, 1/16)

Bloomberg: Hong Kong No Longer Has The World’s Longest Life Expectancy
Hong Kong residents no longer have the world’s longest life expectancies, with the city relinquishing its crown to Japan as Covid and overall stress weighs on local lifespans. Women in Hong Kong were expected to live until 86.8 years old on average in 2022, compared with 87.1 for their Japanese counterparts, according to the latest statistics published this week by the city’s government. Data for 2023 has not yet been released. (Zhao, 1/17)

Bloomberg: Davos 2024: Bill Gates Says Global Health Spending Key To Halting Climate Change
Bill Gates believes a key way to combat climate change is improving access to health care in developing countries, an area the billionaire philanthropist worries that governments are neglecting. “Global health is a little bit off the radar right now,” he said on Tuesday in an interview at the Bloomberg House in Davos. “For the next ten years, where money is going to be so limited, if you want to care about climate impact, the health spending should go up, not down.” (Lacqua and Bergen, 1/16)