First Edition: July 16, 2024

KFF Health News: Before Michigan Legalized Surrogacy, Families Found Ways Around The Ban
The first time Tammy and Jordan Myers held their twins, the premature babies were so fragile that their tiny faces were mostly covered by oxygen masks and tubing. ... It was an incredible moment, but also a terrifying one. A court had just denied the Myers’ parental rights to the twins, who were born via surrogate using embryos made from Jordan’s sperm and Tammy’s eggs. (Tammy’s eggs had been frozen before she underwent treatment for breast cancer.) (Wells, 7/16)

KFF Health News: 5 Cases Of Bird Flu Reported In Colorado Poultry Workers, Doubling This Year’s US Tally
Five people who work at a poultry farm in northeastern Colorado have tested positive for the bird flu, the Colorado public health department reported July 14. This brings the known number of U.S. cases to nine. The five people were likely infected by chickens, which they had been tasked with killing in response to a bird flu outbreak at the farm. (Maxmen, 7/15)

KFF Health News: Despite Past Storms’ Lessons, Long-Term Care Residents Again Left Powerless
As Tina Kitzmiller sat inside her sweltering apartment, windows and doors open in the hope of catching even the slightest breeze, she was frustrated and worried for her dog and her neighbors. It had been days since Hurricane Beryl blew ashore from the Gulf of Mexico on July 8, causing widespread destruction and knocking out power to more than 2 million people, including the Houston senior independent living facility where Kitzmiller lives. Outdoor temperatures had reached at least 90 degrees most days, and the heat inside the building was stifling. (West, 7/15)

Reuters: Bird Flu Found In Oklahoma Dairy Herd, Showing Bigger US Outbreak 
Oklahoma has become the 13th U.S. state to detect bird flu in dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday, though the state said the infection happened months ago. The confirmation shows the outbreak was more widespread than U.S. authorities knew after the virus was first found in dairy cattle in late March. Bird flu has since been detected in more than 150 dairy herds nationwide. (Polansek and Patel, 7/15)

Stat: Bird Flu Outbreak At County Fair Time: Precautions In The Dairy Barns 
It was livestock check-in day at the Winneshiek County Fair, and the dairy barn was consumed with a kind of pre-prom anxiety. A cow named Daiquiri was lumbering back from the milking parlor, adjusting to a new schedule that would have her “mammary system” bulging for showtime. (Boodman, 7/16)

Reuters: US CDC Sends Field Team To Aid Colorado's Bird Flu Response
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deployed a nine-member field team to Colorado to help the state manage a bird flu outbreak in humans and poultry. Colorado confirmed four infections and a suspected fifth case on Sunday.The CDC, in a statement dated July 14, said its team of epidemiologists, veterinarians, clinicians and an industrial hygienist was working to support Colorado's assessment of the outbreak and the human cases. (7/15)

Stateline: Angry Patients Spur New State Watchdogs To Bring Down Drug Prices
Spurred by fed-up consumers, states are trying to curb spiraling prescription drug costs by assembling special public boards to investigate and regulate pricing. The idea is similar to a local utility board: a public group that sets rules or makes recommendations to ensure that what they’re regulating — in this case, prescription medications — is affordable. (Vollers, 7/16)

NBC News: Corporate Landlords’ Actions Affect Tenants’ Health, Report Says
Miriam de Santiago says she worries about the rent on her home every day, doing the math to make sure she can meet her obligations without compromising the health of her son, who has epilepsy. “Epilepsy medication costs between $780 and $1,000 [a month], and we have to have it at home and at school. With the rent increases, I have to decide which medicine to request first, see which one is more urgent and find a balance,” De Santiago said in an interview. (Linares, 7/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Curing Sleep Apnea Would Push Insurers To Pay For Weight-Loss Drugs
Whether millions of people will be able to afford one of the hot new weight-loss drugs could hinge on whether they cure the sleep apnea of people like Damon Sedgwick. Sedgwick, a technology business analyst in Sydney, enrolled in a clinical trial in 2022 to test whether taking weekly injections of Eli Lilly’s anti-obesity drug Zepbound would alleviate the sleep apnea that had plagued his nights for years. (Loftus, 7/15)

Reuters: Oklahoma Not Entitled To Federal Family Planning Grants, US Court Rules
A U.S. appeals court on Monday said Oklahoma cannot access federal family-planning grants that were withdrawn after the Republican-led state refused to refer pregnant women to neutral counseling services that included information about abortion and other options. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' requirement that Oklahoma refer patients to a national hotline in order to receive grant funding did not violate a federal law barring grants from being used to encourage abortion. (Wiessner, 7/15)

The Hill: Donald Trump Says Project 2025 Goes 'Way Too Far' On Abortion As RNC Convention Kicks Off In Milwaukee
Former President Trump says Project 2025 goes “way too far” in its abortion policy recommendations, his latest attempt to distance himself from the plan drafted by many former members of his administration. In an interview with Fox News’s Harris Faulkner that aired Monday, as the Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, Trump said Project 2025 was written by “a group of extremely conservative people” with whom he disagrees. (Weixel, 7/15)

North Carolina Health News: Increased Abortion Restrictions Complicate Training 
Rachel Jensen was excited to embark on the next phase of her training in obstetrics and gynecology — a fellowship in complex family planning in North Carolina. But when it came time for her to pack her bags and move from Baltimore, Maryland, to the Triangle last summer, Jensen found a legal landscape much different than what she had signed on for. (Crumpler, 7/16)

Politico: The Man Behind The Effort To Limit Gender Care
A wave of Republican-led states have restricted care for children with gender dysphoria, and they’re turning to Dr. Stanley Goldfarb and his organization, Do No Harm, for legislative strategy and hand-picked medical experts, POLITICO’s Daniel Payne reports. Goldfarb, a former dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school and a retired kidney doctor, has become a go-to source of medical information in making the case to restrict gender-affirming care. (Leonard and Cirruzzo, 7/15)

The 19th: JD Vance, Trump’s VP Pick, Has Opposed Abortion And LGBTQ+ Rights
Former President Donald Trump has selected as his running mate first-term Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who has opposed abortion rights and some LGBTQ+ rights in his time in political office. (Panetta, 7/15)

Stat: What To Know About Trump VP Pick J.D. Vance’s Health Care Views And Investments
Sen. J.D. Vance, who was tapped to be former President Trump’s running mate on Monday, has a history of investing in health care companies — and of pursuing health care policies that are sometimes at odds with his party’s base. (Zhang and Owermohle, 7/15)

The Hill: Biden Campaign: Kamala Harris Prepared To Debate JD Vance
Vice President Harris is prepared to debate former President Trump’s vice president pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the Biden campaign said Monday. Biden campaign spokesperson TJ Ducklo noted on a call with reporters that Harris has been on the campaign trail focusing on reproductive health, gun violence and the economy, arguing she is ready for a debate. (Gangitano, 7/15)

Reuters: Vertex Sues US Over Fertility Support Program For Casgevy Gene Editing Therapy
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX.O) sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday, seeking a court declaration that a fertility support program for patients who are prescribed its gene editing therapy Casgevy does not violate federal anti-kickback laws. Casgevy is approved for the treatment of two genetic disorders - sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia - in the United States. (7/15)

Health News Florida: Steward Health Faces A Federal Fraud Probe Tied To Operation Of Malta Hospitals
Financially troubled Steward Health Care, which operates eight hospitals in Florida, is under federal investigation over fraud and corruption allegations related to public hospitals it manages in Malta. (Mayer, 7/15)

Modern Healthcare: Chevron Ruling Cited In Hospital Graduate Medical Education Suit
Academic health systems are targeting graduate medical education funding in a new lawsuit, signaling how providers may challenge more regulations in the wake of recent Supreme Court rulings. Hospitals belonging to the UNC Health, UChicago Medicine and Yale New Haven Health systems sued Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra Friday, alleging the federal government underpaid hospitals for graduate medical education under an allegedly flawed reimbursement calculation. (Kacik, 7/15)

AP: A Law Passed Last Year Made Assault In An Emergency Room A Felony. Did It Help Curb Violence?
A year-old law seems to have done little to curb a surge in violence against health care workers that began during the pandemic, despite increasing charges for assaults on nonmedical staff — such as custodial, security or administrative workers — who are providing emergency medical care. According to Maine’s Judicial Branch, there have been 12 charges of “assault on an emergency medical care provider” in 2024 — on track to meet similar numbers as the last five years. There were 27 charges in 2023 and 25 in 2022, for example. (Foust, 7/15)

The New York Times: Promised Cures, Tainted Cells: How Cord Blood Banks Mislead Parents
Millions of pregnant women get the pitch through their OB-GYN: Put a bit of your newborn’s umbilical cord on ice, as a biological insurance policy. If your child one day faces cancer, diabetes or even autism, the precious stem cells in the cord blood could become a tailor-made cure. Many families are happy to pay for the assurance of a healthy future. ... But the leading banks have consistently misled customers and doctors about the technology’s promise, an investigation by The New York Times found. (Kliff and Ghorayshi, 7/15)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fine, White Hairs On Your Nose? Could Indicate Cancer, Doctor Warns 
A recent social media video highlights an unusual but potentially critical cancer indicator that often goes unnoticed — the sudden growth of fine, white hair on typically hairless areas of the body. Dr. Scott Walter, a board-certified dermatologist, recently highlighted this issue in a TikTok post. This condition is known as acquired hypertrichosis lanuginosa and affects fewer than 1,000 people in the United States, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. (Newmark, 7/15)

The New York Times: How Sleep Affects Your Risk Of Dementia
Getting too little sleep later in life is associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. But paradoxically, so is getting too much sleep. While scientists are confident that a connection between sleep and dementia exists, the nature of that connection is complicated. It could be that poor sleep triggers changes in the brain that cause dementia. Or people’s sleep might be disrupted because of an underlying health issue that also affects brain health. And changes in sleep patterns can be an early sign of dementia itself. (Smith, 7/15)

AP: Celebrities Are Getting $2,000 MRI Scans To Learn About Their Health. Should You?
What if there was a way to peer into your body and spot early signs of cancer and other life-threatening ailments before they became serious? ... These whole-body MRI scans aren’t cheap. Startup companies like Prenuvo charge between $1,000 to $2,500 for various scanning options, none of which are currently covered by insurance. Proponents say consumer-driven medical scans are the next logical step in preventive medicine. (Perrone, 7/15)

Newsweek: Mystery Of Gulf War Syndrome Finally Solved By Immunologists
In a study published in the journal PLOS One, the research team said that molecules involved in transporting calcium into our cells were defective in veterans with Gulf War Illness. Calcium plays a crucial role in cellular signalling, helping to regulate a range of essential functions, including muscle contraction, nerve function and hormone secretion. (Dewan, 7/15)

CNN: Mediterranean Diet Found To Improve Children’s Heart Health, Study Finds
The Mediterranean diet has been linked to many health benefits for adults. Now, a new study suggests it could be beneficial to children’s heart health as well. An analysis of nine earlier studies including 577 participants from the ages of 3 to 18 has found incorporating the Mediterranean diet for at least eight weeks had a significant association with lowering blood pressure and total cholesterol, according to the study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open. (Nicioli, 7/15)

CNN: Teens Feel Less Emotional Support Than Their Parents Think They Do, New Report Shows
As a youth mental health crisis persists in the US, a new report highlights a significant gap between the level of support that teenagers feel and the amount that parents think their children have. (McPhillips, 7/16)

Newsweek: Autism Study Reveals 'Valuable' Benefits Of Board Games
It's no coincidence that board games are popular among people with autism. And yet, we are only just learning about how they could help in the design of future wellbeing initiatives and social enrichment activities for those with autistic traits. ... New research from the University of Plymouth in the U.K. has, for the first time, explored the association scientifically, and uncovered important reasons for this link. (Dewan, 7/15)

The Washington Post: Study: Nearly 18 Million U.S. Adults Had Long Covid As Of Early 2023
About 7 percent of U.S. adults — nearly 18 million people — had suffered from long covid as of early last year, according to a recent report in JAMA Data Brief. The paper, published in June, drew on 2023 data gathered in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), an analysis sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (McMahan, 7/15)

Newsweek: Massage Treatment Debunked By Scientists
While getting a massage might feel great, scientists have found that there isn't strong evidence that they actually help with pain. Analyzing the results of more than 100 studies, researchers discovered that only a few of the studies found that massages help reduce pain, according to a new paper in the journal JAMA Network Open. (Thomson, 7/15)

CIDRAP: Higher MRSA Rate In Cats, Dogs Than People May Signal Need For More Vet Antibiotic Oversight
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was much more prevalent in lab samples from cats and dogs (17.8%) than from people seeking outpatient care (5.4%) in Germany, reveals a study published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. The Freie Universitat Berlin–led research team said the results suggest the need for validation of restriction and regulation of veterinary antibiotic use with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance. (Van Beusekom, 7/15)

AP: Aetna Set To Run North Carolina Worker Health Care As Blue Cross Will Not Appeal Judge's Ruling
Aetna is poised to manage health coverage plan benefits for North Carolina state workers and teachers starting early next year because Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina said Monday it won’t appeal a judge’s decision that upheld Aetna as the next contract winner. An administrative law judge last week determined evidence showed that the State Health Plan conducted properly the procurement process for a third-party administrator, which has been Blue Cross for over 40 years. (7/15)

Stat: Thyme Care Raises $95 Million For Value-Based Oncology Services
A cancer care navigation startup has raised $95 million from prominent tech investors to help payers and providers spend less on cancer patients while improving their health — including by doling out incentive payments to providers and keeping a cut of insurers’ savings. (Ravindranath, 7/16)

Reuters: Healthcare Firm Concentra Eyes $3.3 Bln Valuation In US IPO
Concentra Group, a Select Medical unit, is eyeing a valuation of $3.30 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, joining a growing list of firms testing the market after a near two-year dry spell. The occupational health services company is aiming to sell 22.50 million shares in the offering, priced between $23 and $26 apiece, to raise as much as $585 million, it revealed in a regulatory filing on Monday. (7/15)

Reuters: ISS Recommends Masimo Investors Elect Activist Politan Candidates To Board
Institutional Shareholder Services on Monday recommended that Masimo shareholders elect both director candidates proposed by activist investment firm Politan, arguing change is needed at the medical device maker. ISS, the proxy advisory firm whose recommendations often influence how investors decide on proposed mergers and who serves on boards, wrote that change is necessary even after Politan won two board seats last year in a vote. (7/15)

Reuters: Novo Owner Backs Swiss Biotech Asceneuron In $100 Million Round
Swiss biotech company Asceneuron said on Tuesday it had raised $100 million from investors including the controlling shareholder of Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk to fund clinical development of its Alzheimer's disease drug. The Series C round was led by Novo Holdings, the investment arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which will hold a board seat on the Lausanne-based company. Asceneuron's lead experimental drug ASN51 is from a new class of drugs called O-GlcNAcase (OGA) inhibitors. (Fick, 7/16)

AP: Tuskegee Syphilis Study Whistleblower Peter Buxtun Has Died At Age 86
Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower who revealed that the U.S. government allowed hundreds of Black men in rural Alabama to go untreated for syphilis in what became known as the Tuskegee study, has died. He was 86. Buxtun died May 18 of Alzheimer’s disease in Rocklin, California, according to his attorney, Minna Fernan. Buxtun is revered as a hero to public health scholars and ethicists for his role in bringing to light the most notorious medical research scandal in U.S. history. (Stobbe, 7/15)

The New York Times: Bengt Samuelsson, Biochemist And Nobel Laureate, Is Dead At 90
Dr. Bengt Samuelsson, a biochemist who shared the 1982 Nobel Prize in medicine for helping to define the biological activities of potent hormone-like molecules in the body called prostaglandins, and whose breakthrough discoveries led to drugs that treat inflammation, glaucoma and allergies, died on July 5 at his home in Molle, on the west coast of Sweden. He was 90. His daughter Astrid Samuelsson Norhammar said the cause was heart disease. (Ricks, 7/15)

The Hill: Here Are The 10 States With The Poorest Quality Of Life
Texas is the state with the worst quality of life, according to data from CNBC’s America’s Top States for Business report. ... CNBC uses multiple factors like crime rates, health care, air quality and child care when determining quality of life of each state. Texas came in as the state with the worst quality of life, in part, due to its poor healthcare. The Lone Star State has one of the lowest primary care provider-to-patient ratios in the country, with 182 primary care providers per 100,000 residents, according to the United Health Foundation. (O’Connell-Domenech, 7/15)

Politico: Advisory Board Slams Opaque Opioid Settlement Spending
Members of the state’s Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board want greater insight into how New York is spending hundreds of millions of dollars flowing in from court agreements with companies accused of fueling the nationwide opioid crisis. The board approved a motion last week, specifically calling on New York City, Suffolk County and Nassau County to release more data on their opioid settlement expenditures. (Kaufman, 7/15)

Politico: An AI Education Is Becoming Easier To Get
The University of Miami has announced a new course on the ethics of artificial intelligence in medicine, the latest push to get doctors and nurses up to speed on the technology clinics and hospitals nationwide are rapidly deploying. The five-module course will cover informed patient consent, data protection and the harms of bias related to AI systems in health care. The course was developed in partnership with the University of the Andes in Colombia and is aimed at medical professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean. Instructors will teach in Spanish. (Payne, Reader, Schumaker and Odejimi,7/15)

Chicago Tribune: Northwestern, Rush Tie For Best Hospital In Illinois, Says U.S. News
Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center are among the top 20 hospitals in the nation and have again tied for best hospital in Illinois, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings. (Schencker, 7/15)