First Edition: Jan. 9, 2024

KFF Health News: These Patients Had To Lobby For Correct Diabetes Diagnoses. Was Their Race A Reason? 
When Phyllisa Deroze was told she had diabetes in a Fayetteville, North Carolina, emergency department years ago, she was handed pamphlets with information on two types of the disease. One had pictures of children on it, she recalled, while the other had pictures of seniors. Deroze, a 31-year-old English professor at the time, was confused about which images were meant to depict her. Initially, she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, as shown on the pamphlet with older adults. It would be eight years before she learned she had a different form of diabetes — one that didn’t fit neatly on either pamphlet. (Sable-Smith, 1/9)

KFF Health News: Rising Malpractice Premiums Price Small Clinics Out Of Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
After Iowa lawmakers passed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in March, managers of an LGBTQ+ health clinic located just across the state line in Moline, Illinois, decided to start offering that care. The added services would provide care to patients who live in largely rural eastern Iowa, including some of the hundreds previously treated at a University of Iowa clinic, saving them half-day drives to clinics in larger cities like Chicago and Minneapolis. (Cecelia, 1/9)

The Washington Post: Here’s What You’re Really Swallowing When You Drink Bottled Water
The new study found pieces of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is what most plastic water bottles are made of, and polyamide, a type of plastic that is present in water filters. The researchers hypothesized that this means plastic is getting into the water both from the bottle and from the filtration process. (Osaka, 1/8)

CBS News: Red Cross Declares Nationwide Emergency Due To Critically Low Blood Supply
The American Red Cross has declared an emergency blood shortage, saying patients are at risk of not getting lifesaving transfusions. ... Donors are needed now more than ever as the Red Cross faces a national emergency shortage, with the number of donors at a 20-year low. Medical director Dr. Eric Gehrie says the Red Cross has experienced a loss of 300,000 donors since the COVID-19 pandemic alone. "It means that hospitals will order a certain number of units of blood, and those orders are not being filled fully," he said. "So hospital blood banks are low on blood." (Brand, Carullo, Moniuszko, 1/8)

The Washington Post: Austin Leaves Intensive Care Amid Growing Scrutiny Of Pentagon Secrecy
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose failure to disclose his need for emergency hospitalization has ignited a firestorm, was moved out of intensive care on Monday, as Democrats and Republicans intensified their calls for accountability, and senior officials at the White House and Pentagon struggled to defuse the uproar. Austin, 70, remains under doctors’ supervision at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. He was taken there by ambulance Jan. 1, while in “severe pain” with undisclosed complications from a Dec. 22 medical procedure that included an overnight stay, administration officials said. (Lamothe, Viser and Ryan, 1/8)

The Hill: Marine Corps Commandant Undergoes Open Heart Surgery
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith on Monday underwent open heart surgery to repair a defect valve that caused his heart attack in late October, the Marine Corps announced. Smith had successful surgery at an unnamed hospital “to repair a bicuspid aortic valve in his heart, which was the cause of his cardiac arrest on Oct. 29,” according to a Marine Corps statement.   (Mitchell, 1/8)

CIDRAP: Care-Seeking For Heart-Related Illness Fell Amid Pandemic—With Long-Term Fallout Likely
In a related commentary, Rishi Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, warned not to interpret the drop in cardiovascular hospitalizations as a decline in the actual incidence of CVEs. "Clinicians, health systems, and public health leaders will need to prepare for the tsunami of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases that will likely emerge in the years that follow the pandemic," he wrote. (Van Beusekom, 1/8)

The Washington Post: Why The ApoB Cholesterol Test Is A Better Predictor Than Standard Tests
For decades, primary physicians and cardiologists have focused on two numbers: LDL or low-density lipoproteins, known as “bad cholesterol,” and HDL or high-density lipoproteins, a.k.a. “good cholesterol.” The two numbers are considered key determinants of a patient’s cardiovascular disease risk. But a growing number of physicians and researchers are saying that it’s time to move beyond this timeworn emphasis on “good” or “bad” cholesterol. Instead, there’s a potentially more accurate marker of heart attack risk: apolipoprotein B (“apoB” for short). (Gifford, 1/8)

ABC News: Respiratory Illnesses Elevated In 38 States, According To CDC
Respiratory illness activity is elevated or increasing across most areas of the country, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some 38 states plus New York City are experiencing "high or very high" levels of respiratory illness activity, according to the CDC. Of those states, 21 are experiencing "very high" activity. Last week, 31 states were experiencing "high or very high" activity. (Benadjaoud, 1/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Wastewater Data Reveals Alarming COVID Spike
The Bay Area is seeing the highest levels of COVID-19 infections recorded in wastewater surveys since they began in mid-2022. But unlike previous waves of the pandemic, fewer people are becoming severely ill with the disease. Data collected by the public health company Verily indicate elevated concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 particles, the virus responsible for COVID-19, in nearly all Bay Area sewer sheds. Throughout December, these levels more than tripled in most cities, reaching highs at treatment plants in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Novato around Christmas day. (Vaziri, 1/8)

CBS News: San Francisco Health Officials Report 1st Flu Death Of Season; Urges Shots
Health officials in San Francisco announced Monday the city's flu death of the season and urged residents to get their shots. The city's Department of Public Health received word of the flu-related death last week. The person was an adult under the age of 65 who was not vaccinated and had pre-existing medical conditions. SFDPH officials recommended several actions to stay healthy this winter, including vaccinations against the flu, COVID-19 and RSV. (1/8)

Bloomberg: Exercise Could Be Harmful For Some People With Long Covid, Study Shows 
Exercise is good for health, but it can be harmful for some long Covid sufferers, new research shows. Those experiencing debilitating crashes after strenuous activity — a condition known as post-exertional malaise — risk severe tissue damage from hardcore exercise, scientists in the Netherlands found. (Gale, 1/9)

The Hill: Fauci Sits Through First Seven Hours Of Questioning With COVID Select Subcommittee
Former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci sat for a seven-hour closed-door meeting Monday, facing questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and offering his expertise on preparing for potential outbreaks in the future. The former government official last year agreed to two days of transcribed interviews back-to-back with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The first meeting Monday ran about an hour long. (Choi, 1/8)

Bloomberg: Moderna Sales Were $6.7 Billion Last Year On Rising Vaccine Share
Moderna Inc.’s sales for 2023 modestly beat analyst estimates as it eked out a bigger US market share for Covid shots, though the biotech giant reiterated a downbeat outlook for the year ahead. The company reported $6.7 billion in unaudited Covid vaccine sales ahead of its presentation Monday at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. That includes includes $6.1 billion from its coronavirus shots — which have a 48% market share in the US — and $600 million in deferred revenue related its work with GAVI, a global health initiative to boost immunization. (Langreth and Smith, 1/8)

CBS News: Gov. Walz Open To Constitutional Amendment Protecting Abortion Rights On November's Ballot
Minnesota is seeing a dramatic surge in patients coming here from other states to get abortions. Planned Parenthood officials have told Gov. Tim Walz they expect a surge to continue as more states move to restrict abortion access. "Since Roe was overturned a year and a half ago, Minnesota has become an island with access for abortion care," Minnesota Planned Parenthood CEO Ruth Richardson said Monday. Officials estimate that there has been a 25% increase in abortions in Minnesota in that time. (Murphy, 1/8)

AP: More Women Join Lawsuit To Challenge Tennessee's Abortion Ban 
More women on Monday joined a Tennessee lawsuit challenging the state’s broad abortion ban that went into effect shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The legal challenge is part of a handful of lawsuits filed across the U.S. in Republican-dominant states seeking clarity on the circumstances that qualify patients to legally receive an abortion. (Kruesi, 1/8)

The Washington Post: Pope Francis Calls Surrogacy ‘Deplorable,’ Calls For Global Ban 
Pope Francis called Monday for a global ban on surrogate motherhood, equating it with child trafficking in remarks at a meeting with ambassadors to the Vatican and adding fuel to efforts in Italy to pass the West’s most restrictive law on a practice used by infertile and same-sex couples to become parents. “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” Francis said in prepared remarks. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.” (Faiola and Pitrelli, 1/8)

CBS News: Studies Find Using Ozempic May Not Put People At Higher Risk Of Two Potential Side Effects
A new study published in JAMA looking at more than half a million people with Type 2 diabetes found that these drugs are not associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to insulin. (Marshall, 1/8)

CNBC: Post-Ozempic Patients May Eat More Calories, Deutsche Bank Survey Finds
Investors have cheered a new class of weight loss drugs for their ability to help people shed unwanted pounds, but the findings of a recent poll underscore the challenges patients face if they cease treatment. (Berk, 1/8)

Reuters: Lilly CEO Says Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound Weekly Prescriptions Hit 25,000 In December 
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks on Monday said the company's powerful weight-loss drug Zepbound hit 25,000 new prescriptions per week at the end of December and that its 2024 supply may not be enough to meet demand. "I think it's important to set expectations, but we're working hard to fulfill demand," he told Reuters at the annual JPMorgan health conference in San Francisco. (Wingrove, 1/8)

Reuters: Pfizer To Remain Aggressive On Obesity Market After Setback
Pfizer will remain aggressive in trying to break into the lucrative obesity market, even after dropping a high profile weight-loss drug candidate late last year due to strong side effects, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Monday. "Pfizer's position is that we believe that obesity is a place that we have the ability to play and win. So we will have to play," Bourla told reporters ahead of his presentation at the JPMorgan healthcare conference in San Francisco. (Erman, 1/8)

The Hill: Sanders, Democrats Launch Investigation Into Asthma Inhaler Pricing
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a group of Senate Democrats on Monday announced an investigation into the high costs of asthma inhalers. Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent letters to the CEOs of the four biggest manufacturers of inhalers sold in the United States — AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Teva — demanding information and documents on internal strategic communications, patient assistance programs and the costs involved in the manufacturing of inhalers. (Weixel, 1/8)

Stat: GSK To Buy Asthma-Focused Aiolos Bio In $1 Billion Deal
GSK said Tuesday it would purchase the asthma-focused drug developer Aiolos Bio for $1 billion upfront, the latest in a string of pharma acquisitions that are bolstering hopes for the industry’s year ahead. The deal includes up to another $400 million in payments if certain milestones are met. (Joseph, 1/9)

Reuters: Walgreens To Pay $360 Million To Humana In Drug Pricing Settlement 
Walgreens has agreed to pay $360 million to healthcare insurer Humana to settle a lawsuit claiming that the retail pharmacy giant for years overcharged for prescription drug reimbursements. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Friday dismissed the Washington, D.C., federal court lawsuit after Walgreens disclosed the settlement in a court filing. The amount was shown in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (Scarcella, 1/8)

Reuters: Canada Says Bulk Importation Not An Effective Solution To High Drug Prices In US 
The Canadian government thinks bulk importation will not provide an effective solution to the problem of high drug prices in the United States after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed Florida to import cheaper drugs from Canada, Health Canada said on Monday. (Singh, 1/8)

Bloomberg: J&J To Pay $700 Million To Settle States’ Talc Baby Power-Marketing Probe
Johnson & Johnson has tentatively agreed to pay about $700 million to resolve an investigation by more than 40 US states into claims that it wrongfully marketed its talc-based baby powder by not warning about possible health risks, according to people familiar with the deal. The settlement would avert potential lawsuits alleging that J&J hid any links between the talc in its powder and various cancers, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the pact isn’t yet public. (Feeley, 1/8)

Reuters: Bayer Plans US Expansion Despite Blood Thinner Drug Setback 
Germany's Bayer will continue its expansion into the U.S. despite its November announcement that its promising blood thinner candidate failed to demonstrate superiority over a competing medicine, the drugmaker's pharmaceuticals head Stefan Oelrich said on Monday. Bayer's experimental anticoagulant asundexian could still be a blockbuster if its second trial for stroke prevention reads out positively, Oelrich told Reuters at the JPMorgan health conference in San Francisco. (Wingrove, 1/8)

Reuters: Drugmakers Kick Off Industry Conference With Two Cancer Deals
Johnson & Johnson and Merck on Monday announced plans to buy cancer therapy developers on the first day of a major U.S. healthcare conference, igniting what industry participants hope will be a strong year for deals after a solid end to 2023. Deals announced on Monday had a combined equity value of more than $6 billion, including one by medical device maker Boston Scientific for Axonics Inc. That follows roughly $25 billion worth of U.S.-listed biotech deals last month, according to data provider LSEG Deals Intelligence. (Satija and Roy, 1/8)

Stat: JPM 2024: Biotech’s Most Prolific Dealmaker Sees A Rosy 2024
Eric Tokat, biotech’s most prolific dealmaker, believes 2024 will be another strong year for acquisitions, driven by Big Pharma’s need to restock pipelines with medicines that can generate sales in the coming years. (Feuerstein, 1/8)

Stat: Hospitals Try A New Pitch To Investors: Other Ways Of Making Money
If you learned anything about nonprofit hospitals on the first day of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, it’s that they’ve all but abandoned the prospect of making significant profit on patient care. Instead, they’re fully throwing their weight into other ways of making money — things like developing drugs or selling insurance. (Bannow, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Alignment Health Reports 35% Medicare Advantage Growth
Alignment Healthcare's Medicare Advantage enrollment spiked in 2023 with growth outpacing overall industry projections, the company disclosed Monday. Medicare Advantage membership rose 44% to 155,000 by year-end, for-profit Alignment Healthcare revealed in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Tepper, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: 2 Centene Medicare Advantage Plans Terminated Over Falling Stars
A pair of Centene Medicare Advantage plans must suspend enrollment and marketing because of poor star ratings, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified the company. Centene's WellCare Health Insurance of Arizona and WellCare Health Insurance of North Carolina recorded persistently low scores on quality measures and must exit Medicare Advantage, CMS wrote Centene Dec. 27. (Tepper, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Uber Health, Socially Determined To Integrate Platforms
Uber Health and analytics company Socially Determined have begun integrating their platforms and jointly marketing their products, which they expect mostly insurers to adopt to connect patients to supplemental benefits. The companies are collaborating to provide services to connect high-need patients to transportation, prescription and grocery delivery services, and aim to fully connect their capabilities in the future. (Hartnett, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: CVS Health Ventures Invests In WellBe Senior Medical
CVS Health's venture capital arm made an unspecified investment in WellBe Senior Medical, entering a strategic partnership with the senior primary care provider. A spokesperson for WellBe Senior Medical declined Sunday to disclose the funding amount from CVS Health Ventures. In a news release, WellBe CEO Dr. Jeff Kang said the money would be used to accelerate the company’s national expansion. (Eastabrook, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Rock Health: Digital Health Funding Sinks To 4-Year Low
Digital health funding suffered its worst year since 2019, according to a report released Monday from research and digital health venture firm Rock Health. Total venture capital funding for U.S.-based digital health companies dipped from $15.3 billion in 2022 to $10.7 billion in 2023. Rock Health blamed the drop off on broader economic challenges including higher interest rates and conservative investors. (Turner, 1/8)

Axios: Patients Are Hurt By Diagnostic Errors More Often Than You Think
Hospitalized patients who died or were transferred to the ICU during their stay experienced a diagnostic error nearly a quarter of the time — and in most cases the error caused harm, according to a new study that's prompting calls to rethink how health systems keep patients safe. (Reed, 1/9)

The Boston Globe: Dana-Farber Releases More Details About New Cancer Center
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has made its first official pitch to state regulators about its planned 300-bed freestanding hospital, saying the project will increase competition and is necessary to meet projected needs for cancer care regionally and nationally. The filing kicks off the Department of Public Health’s review of the plans, part of what is likely to be an extensive regulatory process on the $1.68 billion project. The hospital has already begun the process for land use approval with the city. (Bartlett, 1/8)

CBS News: 2 More Measles Cases Confirmed By Philadelphia Health Department, Bringing Total To 8
Two more measles cases were confirmed by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to eight since the outbreak began. The health department says seven of the eight cases are in Philly and the other case is outside the city. The city's health department also expanded the number of locations in the Philadelphia region that were potentially exposed to the virus. (Ignudo, 1/8)

Reuters: US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To California Flavored Tobacco Ban 
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's challenge to a voter-approved measure in California that banned flavored tobacco products in the most-populous U.S. state. The justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco, and other plaintiffs of a lower court's ruling holding that California's law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products. (Raymond, 1/8)

The Mercury News: Free Narcan: Santa Clara County Will Mail Fentanyl OD Medicine To Residents
With fentanyl and other opioids continuing to take a deadly toll on the country, Santa Clara County has begun distributing Narcan, the opioid overdose-reversing nasal spray, by mail to residents free of charge. ... .Santa Clara County has already stocked free Narcan in several of its libraries, making the mail-order effort just the latest initiative to combat the opioid crisis. (Hase, 1/8)

The Washington Post: Pets May Lower Your Dementia Risk
Good news — your dog might be good for your brain. Among adults 50 or older who live alone, those with a pet were found to have less decline in verbal memory and verbal fluency than those without one, according to research published in the journal JAMA Network Open based on data from 7,945 people in that age group. (Searing, 1/8)