First Edition: Jan. 3, 2024

KFF Health News and Tampa Bay Times: Patients With Narcolepsy Face A Dual Nightmare Of Medication Shortages And Stigma
Nina Shand couldn’t stay awake. She had taken afternoon naps since she was a teenager to accommodate her “work hard, play hard” attitude, but when she was in her mid-20s the sleepiness became more severe. Menial computer tasks put her to sleep, and a 20-minute drive across her city, St. Petersburg, Florida, brought on a drowsiness so intense that her eyelids would flutter, forcing her to pull over. She knew something was really wrong when she no longer felt safe behind the wheel. In 2021, she received a diagnosis: narcolepsy, a rare disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness. (Peace, 1/3)

KFF Health News: California Is Poised To Protect Workers From Extreme Heat — Indoors 
The stifling heat inside some warehouses where workers might spend 10-hour days isn’t just a summer problem. In Southern California, it can feel like summer all year. It’s easy to break into a sweat and grow tired, workers say. The ventilation feels inconsistent, they say, and workers have testified in a public hearing about nosebleeds, nausea, and dizziness. In some warehouses, the walk to find a place to cool down is at least half a mile. (Young, 1/3)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: Decision-makers are awash in slick marketing and gimmicky products from companies looking to cash in on opioid settlement funds. Self-driving cars could be a lifeline for people with disabilities living in rural America. (1/2)

The Texas Tribune: Emergency Rooms Not Required To Perform Life-Saving Abortions, Federal Appeals Court Rules
Federal regulations do not require emergency rooms to perform life-saving abortions if it would run afoul of state law, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent hospitals guidance, reminding them of their obligation to offer stabilizing care, including medically necessary abortions, under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). (Klibanoff, 1/2)

The New York Times: Texas Can Ban Emergency Abortions Despite Federal Guidance, Court Rules 
The appeal was heard by Judge Leslie H. Southwick, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, and judges Kurt Engelhardt and Cory Wilson, who were appointed by President Donald Trump. Judge Engelhardt wrote that the federal guidance does not mandate physicians to provide emergency abortions, adding that the guidance “does not mandate any specific type of medical treatment, let alone abortion.” (Jimenez, 1/2)

USA Today: More Abortions Pills Ordered Ahead Of Possible Pregnancy And Bans
The number of Americans who weren't pregnant and wanted abortion pills increased nearly 10 times in the days after the Supreme Court's 2022 decision leaked, according to new research published this week in a medical journal. A research letter published Tuesday in the JAMA internal medicine reported more than 48,000 requests for abortion pills were made between September 2021 and April 2023, based on data provided through a telemedicine provider. (Robledo, 1/2)

Politico: Abortion Wins At The Ballot Box. But It Doesn’t Provide An Automatic Win For Democrats
Democrats are scrambling to put state abortion-rights initiatives on the ballot this year in the hope that the measures will drive turnout and boost their candidates in national and local elections. But those initiatives may not give Democrats the lift they are aiming for, according to a POLITICO analysis of five abortion-related measures that have appeared on the ballot since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. (Ollstein, Piper and Fernandez, 1/3)

Axios: Over 500 Drugs Expected To See Rise In Prices In January 2024
More than 500 drugs are expected to see price increases early this month, according to a new analysis. Drugmakers are more likely to raise or lower drug prices around the start of a new year, but the practice may get more scrutiny as the Biden administration conducts the first-ever Medicare drug price negotiations and cracks down on companies that hike drug prices faster than inflation. (Millman, 1/2)

Reuters: US FDA Approvals Bounce Back In 2023, Sparking Hopes Of A Biotech Recovery 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved nearly 50% more novel drugs in 2023 than in 2022, putting it back on pace with historical levels, an improvement analysts and investors said could lead to increased investment in biotech firms. FDA nods for innovative therapies containing an active ingredient or molecule not previously approved, rose to 55 in 2023, up from 37 in 2022 and 51 in 2021. Historical data shows the FDA typically green lights about 45-50 new drugs a year and hit a peak of 59 in 2018. (Mishra and Jain, 1/2)

The Texas Tribune: Texas WIC Could Run Out Of Money Without Congressional Action
More than 225,000 low-income Texas women and young children are in danger of losing federal nutrition assistance as Congress battles over government funding, activists and the White House warn. In Texas, nearly 800,000 pregnant women and children under 5 years old rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, which helps low-income families access tools to boost infant nutrition. That includes nutrition counseling, help with breastfeeding, fresh produce and other nutrition assistance. (Choi, 1/3)

CIDRAP: Study: Food Insecurity In US Dropped During Pandemic 
Through government programs that included the expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), food insecurity among low-income US adults dropped by nearly 5% during the pandemic but rose by 2022, according to a study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings were based on results from the 2019, 2021, and 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative survey from the National Center for Health Statistics; 2020 was excluded due to pandemic-related restrictions on conducting the survey. Adults aged 18 and older were included in the survey, and low-income adults were those with household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty limit. (Soucheray, 1/2)

CBS News: Doctors Have New Warnings As Post-Holiday Spike Of Respiratory Infections Are Expected To Rise
Hospitals are packed with sick patients, as the surge of respiratory infections continues to grow. It's the post-holiday spike of COVID, flu and RSV and it's expected to increase. Doctors have said now that people are back to work and school after the holidays, the infections are expected to become even more widespread. (Stahl and Nau, 1/2)

CIDRAP: COVID, Flu Severity Similar, But Omicron BA.5 Patients More Likely To Die, 2021-22 Study Suggests 
In 2021 and 2022, the proportion of hospitalized COVID-19 and influenza patients admitted to a US intensive care unit (ICU) were similar, but COVID-19 patients admitted during the Omicron BA.5 variant period were more likely to die in the hospital, according to a study published late last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 1/2)

CBS News: Whooping Cough Cases Popping Up Around Tri-State Area Prompt Doctors To Reiterate Need For Vaccines
"This COVID thing has done a doozy on people. They're avoiding even the flu shot. We already had a horrible flu season in pediatrics. These old illnesses are going to come back. These viruses and bacteria that we put the kibosh on are going to come back if people don't get vaccinated," Yazdi said. The doctor said all children should be vaccinated against pertussis, and recommends parents get a booster shot every 10 years. (Moore, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: Blue Shield Of California Layoffs To Hit 165 Workers 
Blue Shield of California will lay off 165 workers by Jan. 31. The nonprofit insurance company will shed employees across six counties, with the largest number of cuts coming from its office in Oakland, California, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification documents the insurer filed with the state Employment Development Department Friday. (Tepper, 1/2)

St. Louis Public Radio: BJC Closes Merger With Saint Luke’s In Kansas City
BJC Healthcare has formally closed the deal that merges the St. Louis-based company with Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, officials announced Tuesday. The $10 billion merger creates a system that comprises 28 hospitals across Kansas, Illinois and Missouri. (Fentem, 1/2)

Becker's Hospital Review: Tower Health Rejects 4th Purchase Offer; 'I'm Not Sure What They're Thinking,' StoneBridge CEO Says
West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health has turned down a $706 million offer from StoneBridge Healthcare, a hospital turnaround firm, making this the fourth purchase offer rejected by the system since 2021. StoneBridge received an email from Andrew Turnbull, a managing director at Houlihan Lokey, an investment bank that works with Tower Health, saying that there had been a board meeting and the firm's offer had been rejected, Joshua Nemzoff, CEO of StoneBridge Healthcare, told Becker's. ... "Given their cash position and given their extraordinary amount of debt, I think our plan is just to frankly to wait for them to go bankrupt and show up in court for the auction. I think that's going to happen next year," Mr. Nemzoff said. (Ashley, 1/2)

Modern Healthcare: The Ensign Group Acquires Facilities In Tennessee, Nevada
Senior living and skilled nursing home operator The Ensign Group kicked off 2024 with the acquisition of two skilled nursing facilities in Tennessee and Nevada. The company, one of the nation’s largest independent operators of skilled nursing and senior living facilities, said Monday it acquired TriState Health and Rehabilitation Center, a 116-bed skilled nursing facility in Harrogate, Tennessee, for an undisclosed amount. (Eastabrook, 1/2)

Becker's Hospital Review: New York Governor To Curb Hospitals Suing Patients
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vowed to protect New Yorkers from medical debt, limit hospitals' ability to sue patients and expand financial assistance programs as part of her 2024 State of the State. Ms. Hochul aims to introduce legislation that would curb hospitals' ability to sue patients earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level ($120,000 for a family of four). (Condon, 1/2)

Houston Chronicle: MacKenzie Scott, Melinda Gates Donate $23 Million For Student Health Center
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and Pivotal Ventures, a company founded by Melinda French Gates, have donated a combined $23 million to School-Based Health Alliance. The national, non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., works to set up and expand healthcare service centers in schools that primarily serve students from low-income families. With the $16 million grant from Pivotal Ventures, SBHA will launch care coordination initiatives in Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami. (Elliott, 1/2)

Becker's Hospital Review: Duke Reports Success In World's 1st Partial Heart Transplant
Nearly a year after a newborn received the world's first partial heart transplant, the transplanted valves and arteries are functioning well and growing along with the child's heart — a key measure of success in the procedure paving the way for future advancements. A team at Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health performed the partial heart transplant in a newborn with truncus arteriosus last spring. The transplant involved fusing the arteries and valves from a freshly donated heart onto the patient's existing heart. On Jan. 2., Duke Health physicians who led the landmark transplant published a study that showed the approach led to functioning parts of the heart that are growing along with the patient. (Carbajal, 1/2)

Minnesota Public Radio: Earned Safe And Sick Time Goes Into Effect, Providing Minnesotans With Guaranteed Sick Leave
One of the new laws that will probably affect the most people is called Earned Safe and Sick Time. It requires employers in Minnesota to provide employees one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. It’s capped at 48 hours each year. That means after six weeks, a worker could be eligible for an eight hour day off. (Wurzer, 1/2)

CBS News: Minnesota Schools Now Required To Provide Free Menstrual Products To Students 
Minnesota schools are now required to provide access to free menstrual products to students in grades 4 through 12. It's one of several new laws now in effect in the new year. "It's been a long time coming," Erica Solomon Collins, executive director of the National Council of Jewish Women Minnesota, said. (Leone, 1/2)

Axios: Requiring Defibrillators At More Public Places Might Not Be Enough
A number of states require places like gyms and sports arenas to keep automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on hand, but those laws have made little difference in how often the life-saving devices are deployed in emergencies, a new JAMA Internal Medicine study finds. (Reed, 1/3)

The Washington Post: Seniors Using Marijuana Face Drug Interactions, Other Side Effects 
The 82-year-old dementia patient’s condition stumped his psychiatrist. His anxiety was overwhelming, she recalled him saying. He had repeatedly gone to the emergency room after intense abdominal pain and vomiting. He insisted he never drank or smoked tobacco. Then he told her medical assistant how he fell asleep: “Two hits of Burmese Kush, and I’m good to go. ”That’s when it clicked: His nightly marijuana habit could be causing problems. “I said, ‘I thought you said you don’t use drugs,’ and he said, ‘I don’t. That’s my medicine,’” said Libby Stuyt, the Colorado psychiatrist who treated the patient three years ago. (Nirappil, 1/2)

ABC News: 22 Hospitalized With Carbon Monoxide Poisoning After Attending Utah LDS Church
At least 22 people were hospitalized after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Utah on New Year's Eve, officials said. The Sevier County Sherriff's Office (SCSO) said it received two medical calls from the building in Monroe East, about 170 miles south of Salt Lake City. ... The cause of the carbon monoxide poisoning is currently unknown, but church officials said they are investigating and working to resolve the problem, according to the sheriff's office. (Kekatos, 1/2)

CBS News: Salmonella Found Inside Charcuterie Sampler Sold At Minnesota Retailers
State health officials are issuing a salmonella warning after a Minnesotan fell ill from eating a Busseto's Charcuterie Sampler, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. That person was not hospitalized but reported becoming sick after eating food from a package. Officials don't yet know what parts of the sampler were the source of contamination and whether other similar products might be affected. (Kahner, 1/2)

USA Today: 7,000 Pounds Of Ground Beef Recalled For E. Coli Contamination
About 7,000 pounds of ground beef products are being recalled due to E. Coli concerns, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDS) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The FSIS announced Wednesday that approximately 6,768 pounds of raw ground beef produced by Valley Meats, LLC on December 22, 2023, may be contaminated with E. coli. (Walrath-Holdridge, 1/2)