First Edition: July 13, 2023

KFF Health News: Got Milk In School? Farmers Fight Health Advocates Over The Creamy ‘Whole’ Variety
Amanda Condo works at her family’s Pennsylvania dairy farm, but her son often won’t drink milk at school. He doesn’t like the flavor. That’s because the cafeteria at his elementary school serves only skim milk and 1%, which he contends tastes too watered-down, she said. “It’s a bad experience for kids who are our future milk drinkers, and it’s leaving a bad taste in their mouths.” (Galewitz, 7/13)

The New York Times: E.P.A. Proposes Tighter Limits On Lead Dust In Homes And Child Care Facilities
The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint dust in homes and child care facilities built before 1978, an effort to eliminate exposure to lead that could require millions of property owners to pay for abatement. Lead is a neurotoxin and exposure can damage the brain and nervous system, particularly in babies and small children. (Davenport, 7/12)

AP: EPA Moves To Reduce Childhood Exposure To Lead-Based Paint Dust 
Declaring that “there is no safe level of lead,” the administration estimates that the proposed rule would reduce lead exposure for approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under the age of six each year. That’s important because health scientists have said for some time there is no safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Lead’s damage to the brain is well known: It takes points off IQ, deprives kids of problem-solving abilities, and can make it harder to learn to read. But it also affects other organs, including the liver and kidneys. (Lobet and Stobbe, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: ​What AT&T And Verizon Knew About Toxic Lead Cables
At a gathering of telecom officials more than a decade ago, John Malone, a senior AT&T manager, cautioned the group about a little-known danger crisscrossing the nation. (Ramachandran, Gryta, Jones, Pulliam and West, 7/12)

AP: Dangerous Heat Wave Baking US Southwest Brings Triple Digit Temperatures, Fire Risk To California
After a historically wet winter and a cloudy spring, California’s summer was in full swing Thursday as a heat wave that’s been scorching much of the U.S. Southwest brings triple digit temperatures and an increased risk of wildfires. Blistering conditions will build Friday and throughout the weekend in the central and southern parts of California, where many residents should prepare for the hottest weather of the year, the National Weather Service warned. (7/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Record-Breaking Heat Waves Set To Bake South And Southwest
A dangerous heat wave was building across the southwestern U.S. this week as millions of people there and in the South brace for record-breaking, and potentially deadly, temperatures. (Lukpat, 7/12)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Activates Heat Emergency Plan As Extreme Heat Returns
Houston activated its heat emergency plan Wednesday with the National Weather Service forecasting heat index values as hot as 109 degrees through Sunday. From the Wednesday afternoon alert through Sunday, the city intended to provide extra resources for residents, especially those without air conditioning, to take relief from the extreme heat, according to a statement from the Houston Health Department. (Breen, 7/12)

Houston Chronicle: Saharan Dust Cloud Arrives In Houston As Highs Near 100 This Weekend
Over the next couple of weeks, several surges of Saharan dust are likely to affect Southeast Texas. The one forecast to arrive locally Friday could create some problems for people with asthma or lung issues. While the vast majority of residents won’t notice any adverse health effects from the Saharan dust, sensitive groups could feel allergy-like symptoms such as itchy eyes, sneezing, or coughing. (Ballard, 7/12)

The Wall Street Journal: The Air-Conditioning Boom Comes To San Francisco And The Northwest 
The hum of air conditioners is getting louder and more expensive in parts of the U.S. where people used to open a few windows to stay cool in summer. (Carpenter and De Leon, 7/12)

The New York Times: Mayor’s Response To Wildfire Smoke Was Sluggish, New York Officials Say 
As a carpet of acrid smoke darkened New York City’s skies and turned them orange last month, many New Yorkers looked to their city’s leaders for immediate guidance on how to stay safe, but were frustrated when they received none. Mayor Eric Adams and other officials have reacted defensively to accusations that they were not proactive enough during a crisis that brought historically unhealthy air to the city. They have repeatedly said that New York had never faced anything like the smoke conditions, and that they did their best to respond to a threat they could never have anticipated. (Gold, 7/12)

NBC News: The Year Of Wildfire Smoke: Why The U.S. Faces A Brutal Season
The June haze events were a wake-up call to communities unprepared for wildfire smoke, delaying hundreds of flights on the East Coast, shuttering outdoor events like baseball games and increasing hospital visits for ailments like asthma. But they’re likely just the start of the nation’s smoke troubles this season, according to wildfire experts, who expect Canada’s fires to belch smoke all summer and who also see conditions brewing for wildfire in parts of the U.S., including in the Pacific Northwest and the upper Midwest. (Bush, 7/12)

The Hill: Abortion Providers Sue To Block Iowa’s New Abortion Ban 
Abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Iowa’s just-passed bill that would ban most abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Emma Goldman Clinic and the ACLU of Iowa filed the challenge in district court less than 12 hours after the bill passed. (Weixel, 7/12)

AP: Iowa Republicans Passed A Strict Abortion Bill Last Night. A Legal Challenge Was Filed By Morning
The challenge, brought by the ACLU of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic, requests that a district court temporarily put the soon-to-be law on hold as the courts assess its constitutionality. A hearing is scheduled for Friday afternoon, according to court documents, just before the governor’s bill signing. (Fingerhut, 7/12)

The Hill: Almost 3 In 4 In New Poll Support Abortion Access In First Six Weeks Of Pregnancy
Seventy-three percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal six weeks into pregnancy, including 88 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans, according to the poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. Americans were more divided when asked about whether abortion should be legal at 15 weeks and 24 weeks into the pregnancy, with 51 percent and 21 percent in support of it, respectively. (Sforza, 7/12)

Reuters: Factbox: U.S. State Abortion Legislation To Watch In 2023
State legislatures are wrestling with how much to restrict or expand abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023. (Borter and Bernstein, 7/12)

Politico: House Panel Approves Bills Targeting Pharmacy Benefit Managers For More Disclosure
The House Education and the Workforce Committee advanced four health care bills focused on transparency for hospitals and pharmacy benefit managers with bipartisan support Wednesday. Some of the package seeks to bolster the No Surprises Act, a 2020 law aimed at protecting patients from receiving surprise medical bills, Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said, and lower health care costs. (Leonard and Wilson, 7/12)

Politico: Chamber Of Commerce Requests Preliminary Injunction In Drug Price Negotiation Lawsuit
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its subsidiaries asked a federal court on Wednesday to grant a preliminary injunction to halt implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions. The new motion “focuses solely on the due process clause” and asks the court to “preserve the status quo” while further litigation plays out. CMS plans to publish a list of the first up to 10 drugs selected for negotiations by Sept. 1 — an action the Chamber of Commerce argues has already harmed the manufacturers of drugs expected to be selected. (Lim, 7/12)

The Hill: Chamber Of Commerce Files Motion For Preliminary Injunction On Medicare Drug Negotiation
“We’re seeking timely relief before the government can further implement its illegal and arbitrary price control scheme. If allowed to go into effect, the scheme would harm not only U.S. businesses but U.S. patients — limiting access to medicine, deterring needed investment, and stifling innovation,” Andrew Varcoe, deputy chief counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, said in a statement. (Choi, 7/12)

Politico: Priority Review Voucher Reauthorization Likely Falling Off PAHPA
An FDA program intended to incentivize development of new drugs to prevent or treat biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear threats is likely to lapse in early October despite support from some Republicans and the pharmaceutical industry. A House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee package to reauthorize the nation’s pandemic preparedness law set to be marked up Thursday did not include the FDA program, which is implemented through vouchers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Lim, 7/12)

CIDRAP: GAO Releases Recommendations Aimed At Future Pandemics
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on key COVID-19 findings and recommendations, with the aim of helping federal agencies better prepare for future emergencies, according to a GAO press release. The report is a continuation of the GAO's series on the accountability and effectiveness of the federal government's $4.7 trillion pandemic response since 2020. (Soucheray, 7/12)

The New York Times: E.R. Visits For Teenage Girls Surged During The Pandemic
As the coronavirus pandemic dragged through its second year, an increasing number of American families were so desperate to get help for depressed or suicidal children that they brought them to emergency rooms. A large-scale analysis of private insurance claims shows that this surge in acute mental health crises was driven largely by a single group — girls aged 13 to 17. (Barry, 7/12)

CIDRAP: More Emergency Visits For Teen Girls' Mental Health Seen During Second Year Of Pandemic
A new study in JAMA Psychiatry shows emergency department (ED) visits and stays for mental health needs soared for adolescent females in the United States in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising by 22% when compared to the year before the pandemic. In general, the authors of the study also found a significant increase (72%) in the percentage of youth in EDs with long onboarding (waiting in an ED or medical inpatient unit) times. (Soucheray, 7/12)

CBS News: Nearly 1 In 10 U.S. Children Have Been Diagnosed With A Developmental Disability, CDC Reports
The share of American children who have ever been diagnosed with a developmental disability increased again in 2021, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and now more than 1 in 10 boys have had an intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder or another developmental delay. Among kids ages 3 to 17 years old, 8.56% have ever been diagnosed with any developmental disability as of 2021, according to the latest results from the agency's ongoing National Health Interview Survey. (Tin, 7/13)

Politico: Fatal Drug Overdoses Remain At Record Levels, CDC Data Shows
The number of people dying of drug overdoses in the U.S. was nearly the same between February 2022 and February 2023 as it was during that period the previous year, provisional data released by the CDC Wednesday showed. The CDC estimated that 109,940 people died of an overdose in that 12 month period, compared to 110,043 the previous year. (Paun, 7/12)

Reuters: How Aspartame Made The Agenda Of The WHO's Cancer Research Arm
The imminent move to label aspartame as a possible carcinogen comes after years of advocacy from a leading consumer group in the United States and a handful of cancer scientists hoping to settle a decades-long debate over the sweetener's safety. Reuters reported last month that the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was set to make that declaration on July 14, according to two sources with knowledge of the process. (Rigby, 7/13)

CIDRAP: Global Groups Warn Of Ongoing H5N1 Avian Flu Threat To People
Three global health groups today warned that, with H5N1 avian flu outbreaks continuing to devastate animal populations and increasing detections in mammals, the virus could adapt to more easily infect humans. The joint statement came from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). They urged countries to work together across sectors to protect both animals and people. (Schnirring, 7/12)

Reuters: Surging Bird Flu Outbreaks Raise Human-Infection Risk, UN Agencies Warn 
Three UN agencies on Wednesday warned that an ongoing rise in avian flu outbreaks globally raised concerns that the virus might adapt to infect humans more easily, and urged countries to strengthen disease surveillance and improve hygiene at poultry farms. Earlier this year, a new H5N1 strain of bird flu that is highly contagious among wild birds explosively spread to new geographical regions, infecting and killing a variety of mammal species and raising fears of a pandemic among humans. (7/12)

The Hill: Musk Predicts ‘Digital Superintelligence’ Will Exist In 5–6 Years 
Elon Musk said he believes “digital superintelligence” would exist in the next five or six years, during a conversation with Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) hosted on Twitter Spaces Wednesday. “I think it’s five or six years away,” the Twitter owner and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla said in the conversation about artificial intelligence. (Fortinsky, 7/12)

Bloomberg: Google's Med-PaLM AI Product For Medical Industry Isn't Ready For Patients Yet
One day in February 2022, two AI researchers at Alphabet Inc.’s Google found themselves engrossed in conversation about artificial intelligence and its potential for real applications in healthcare. As Alan Karthikesalingam and Vivek Natarajan discussed adapting Google’s existing AI models to medical settings, their conversation stretched for hours and into dinner over dosas at a restaurant near the tech giant’s Mountain View headquarters. By the end of the evening, Natarajan had written a first draft of a document that described the possibilities for large language models in health care, including research directions and its challenges. (Alba and Love, 7/12)

Politico: PhRMA Snags Avalere President To Helm Policy Team
Elizabeth Carpenter, president of consulting firm Avalere Health, will take over as the head of policy at PhRMA, the advocacy group announced on Wednesday. The role, which is part of the group’s leadership team, manages the legislative, regulatory and political strategies and oversees the research department that works alongside its lobbying team. She begins her new role on Sept. 5. (Wilson, 7/12)

Stat: More Hospitals Are Billing Patients As Online Messages Surge
Health systems drowning in messages from patients are grasping for new ways to manage the deluge — including charging for especially time-consuming responses. In recent months, health systems including Cleveland Clinic and University of Washington have trotted out new billing policies for when patient portal questions require more than just a few minutes of a provider’s time — an attempt to compensate for staff time spent while also stanching the breakneck response pace patients have come to expect in the consumer world. (Ravindranath, 7/13)

CNN: European Regulator Expands Investigation Into Risks Of Suicidal Thoughts In Users Of Popular Weight-Loss Medications Like Ozempic
European regulators said Tuesday that they’d broadened an investigation started last week into the risk of suicidal thoughts among patients taking popular drugs for weight loss, like Ozempic, to include more potential cases and other medicines in the class. The European Medicines Agency is now evaluating about 150 reports of possible cases of self-injury and suicidal thoughts, the regulator said in a statement Tuesday. (Tirrell, 7/12)

CIDRAP: Melinta To Seek Approval Of 2 Antibiotics For Use In Kids, Against Biothreats
Drugmaker Melinta Therapeutics announced yesterday that it will receive funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance two antibiotics targeting multidrug-resistant infections for use in children. (Dall, 7/12)

Modern Healthcare: HonorHealth To Buy 26 FastMed Urgent Care Centers In Arizona
HonorHealth is taking ownership of 26 FastMed urgent care centers in the Phoenix area. Scottsdale, Arizona-based HonorHealth operates the urgent care locations through a joint venture with FastMed. The nonprofit system said it plans to fully take over operations this summer. Financial terms were not disclosed. (Hudson, 7/12)

AP: Giant Rabid Beaver Attacks Georgia Girl Swimming In Lake
A rabid beaver bit a young girl while she was swimming in a northeast Georgia lake, local news outlets reported. Kevin Beucker, field supervisor for Hall County Animal Control, told WDUN-AM that the beaver bit the girl on Saturday while she was swimming off private property in the northern end of Lake Lanier near Gainesville. (7/12)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee Receives $20 Million Donation From Zilber Family Foundation
A record-breaking $20 million gift to the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health, announced Wednesday by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will support faculty and research, create new student scholarships and further the college's work to combat health disparities in Milwaukee and around the state. (Shastri, 7/12)

Columbus Dispatch: 'Dr. Roxy' Loses Medical License For Livestreaming Surgeries On TikTok
Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe, a Powell plastic surgeon accused of injuring patients while livestreaming some procedures online, will never again work as a doctor in Ohio. The State Medical Board of Ohio on Wednesday voted to permanently revoke the medical license of Grawe, who also goes by "Dr. Roxy." Grawe's license had been suspended since Nov. 18, with further action pending a hearing that took place in May and a final decision Wednesday by the full medical board. (Filby, 7/12)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Doctor Charged With Giving Contaminated Fentnayl To Patients
A Las Vegas pain management doctor indicted in Southern California on charges of giving adulterated fentanyl to patients and scheming to defraud Medicare will go before the Nevada medical board to defend his license in December. Dr. David James Smith, who is licensed and has practiced in both states, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that also include over-prescribing fentanyl and other opioids. (Hynes, 7/12)