First Edition: July 2, 2024

KFF Health News: Mississippi Lacks Black Doctors, Even As Lawmakers Increasingly Target Diversity Programs
Jerrian Reedy was 9 when his father was admitted to the hospital in Hattiesburg, about two hours northeast of New Orleans, after sustaining three gunshot wounds. Reedy recalled visiting his dad in the intensive care unit that summer in 2009, even though children weren’t typically permitted in that part of the hospital. “Just seeing him laid up in bed, in a hospital bed, it was traumatizing, to say the least,” Reedy said. (Sausser, 7/2)

KFF Health News: Fake Therapist Fooled Hundreds Online Until She Died, State Records Say 
Hundreds of Americans may have unknowingly received therapy from an untrained impostor who masqueraded as an online therapist, possibly for as long as two years, and the deception crumbled only when she died, according to state health department records. Peggy A. Randolph, a social worker who was licensed in Florida and Tennessee and formerly worked for Brightside Health, a nationwide online therapy company, is accused of helping her wife impersonate her in online sessions, according to an investigation report from the Florida Department of Health. (Kelman, 7/2)

The Hill: Biden Proposes First-Ever Nationwide Worker Protections From Heat
As the nation sizzles, the Biden administration is proposing the nation’s first-ever standards aimed at protecting workers from extreme heat. If finalized, the proposal would mandate that employers provide rest breaks and access to shade and water for workers who face extreme heat risks. They would also be required to identify heat hazards and develop heat illness and emergency response plans. However, it’s not clear whether the standards will ever actually take effect: they’re unlikely to be finalized by the end of Biden’s term, and a Trump administration is not expected to move them past the finish line. (Frazin, 7/2)

The Washington Post: FTC Opens Investigation Into Teva, Escalating Patent Fight With Pharma Industry
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Teva Pharmaceuticals, citing the company’s refusal to take down about two dozen patents for its asthma and COPD inhalers, according to confidential agency documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The FTC last week sent a civil investigative demand — effectively a subpoena — ordering Teva to provide internal communications, analysis and financial data related to the contested patents listed in a federal registry known as the Orange Book. The agency has argued that pharmaceutical companies such as Teva have wrongly made minor tweaks to their products to keep patents in the Orange Book and fend off generic competition. Teva charges hundreds of dollars for inhalers in the United States that the company sells for a fraction of the price overseas. (Diamond, 7/1)

Reuters: Judge Won't Block Mississippi Law On Discounts For Hospitals' Contract Pharmacies 
A federal judge in Mississippi on Monday refused to block a Mississippi law requiring drugmakers to offer discounts on drugs dispensed by third-party pharmacies that contract with hospitals and clinics serving low-income populations. U.S. District Judge Halil Ozerden in Gulfport, Mississippi, denied motions for preliminary orders blocking the law in separate lawsuits by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the nation's leading drug industry group, and by Novartis. (Pierson, 7/1)

USA Today: Drug Coverage Changes Put Americans In A Medical (And Monetary) Bind
Paying more for less is a recurring theme for Americans these past few years, and it’s even true in health care, a new study shows. Health insurers are covering fewer drugs, putting more restrictions on their drug coverage, but still raising costs for consumers, prescription drug comparison site GoodRx found after reviewing more than 3,700 Medicare Part D plans from 2010 to 2024. (Lee, 7/1)

AP: Some Nebraskans Say Misleading Words Led Them To Sign Petitions On Abortion They Don't Support
Tea Rohrberg was heading into her county’s treasurer’s office in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday when she says she was approached by a man and asked if she wanted to sign a “pro-choice petition.” Because she believes access to abortion is a right all women should have, she readily signed. But Rohrberg soon learned from a different volunteer that she had actually signed a petition being circulated by Protect Women and Children, which seeks to ask voters in November to codify Nebraska’s new 12-week abortion ban in the state constitution. (Beck, 7/1)

The New York Times: Abortion Rights Supporters Put A Winning Strategy To The Test In Arkansas 
In states like California, Ohio and Michigan, supporters of abortion rights have been undefeated in using ballot measures to ensure constitutional access to the procedure. But their approach is about to face perhaps its toughest test yet in Arkansas, a state with a near-total abortion ban and where conservative and evangelical values run deep. ... Organizers have until Friday to gather enough signatures to get their initiative on the November ballot, and are optimistic of at least passing that first hurdle. (Cochrane, 7/1)

Politico: ‘A Battle To The Death’: The Next Abortion Cases En Route To The Supreme Court 
The Supreme Court’s decision to sidestep key legal questions in its abortion decisions this term sets up another showdown as early as next year. And the next wave of lawsuits around the procedure — including challenges targeting the ability of patients to cross state lines for abortions, the regulation of abortion pills, and minors’ ability to get an abortion without parental consent — is already moving toward the high court. (Ollstein, 7/1)

Reuters: Scientists Wary Of Bird Flu Pandemic 'Unfolding In Slow Motion' 
Scientists tracking the spread of bird flu are increasingly concerned that gaps in surveillance may keep them several steps behind a new pandemic, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen leading disease experts. Many of them have been monitoring the new subtype of H5N1 avian flu in migratory birds since 2020. But the spread of the virus to 129 dairy herds in 12 U.S. states signals a change that could bring it closer to becoming transmissible between humans. Infections also have been found in other mammals, from alpacas to house cats. (Steenhuysen and Rigby, 7/2)

Bloomberg: Bird Flu Shot Hopes Dim As Tracing Woes Undercut Covid Lessons
US scientists haven’t gotten a handle on how to effectively track bird flu, three months after a Texas dairy worker was diagnosed with the virus. That’s impeding the ability to create a vaccine to protect against the spread among people. Bird flu’s health risk to the general public remains low, according to US officials. But if the virus becomes more dangerous, it’s unclear we’ll have a shot that works, according to Kate Broderick, a vaccine developer at Maravai LifeSciences Holdings, who’s helped develop shots against Ebola and Zika. (Smith and Nix, 7/1)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Has Nation's Worst Outbreak Of Bird Flu Among Dairy Cattle
Colorado’s outbreak of bird flu among dairy cattle is now the worst in the country, with more cases in the past month than any other state, according to the latest state and federal data. (Ingold, 7/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Mini-Strokes, Gut Problems: Scientists See Links to an Old Bout of Covid
Scientists suspect that one culprit behind your new illness might be the infection you got a couple of years ago. The link between new health problems and your past health history appears to be particularly prevalent with Covid. A new Nature Medicine study found that health problems stemming from even mild Covid infections can emerge as many as three years afterward. The study found a greater risk three years later of problems in the gut, brain and lungs, including irritable bowel syndrome, mini-strokes and pulmonary scarring. This is different from what most people think of as “long Covid,” the debilitating chronic condition that can include fatigue, brain fog and racing heartbeat. (Reddy, 7/2)

USA Today: COVID 2024: Current Guidelines On Vaccines, Symptoms, Isolation Period
As cases of COVID-19 are on the rise and with a new variant of the disease emerging this summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending updated vaccines ahead of the fall and winter virus season. "Make a plan now for you and your family to get both updated flu and COVID vaccines this fall, ahead of the respiratory virus season," CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement Thursday. (7/1)

CIDRAP: New ADHD Diagnoses Doubled During COVID-19, Study Suggests 
New diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Finland doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the largest increase in females aged 13 to 30 years, University of Helsinki researchers report in JAMA Network Open. The team analyzed nationwide data on new ADHD diagnoses, prevalence, and medication use among 5.6 million participants from registries in 2015, 2020), and 2022. The average participant age was 44.1 years, and 50.6% were female. (Van Beusekom, 7/1)

CBS News: Dengue Fever Alert Issued In Florida Keys After Confirmed Cases 
Health officials have issued an alert in the Florida Keys after two people were confirmed to have dengue fever. The local alert comes days after the CDC issued a health advisory warning of an increased risk of dengue infections in the country. The two confirmed dengue cases in the Keys were locally acquired, which means the people didn't get sick while traveling. (7/1)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak From Backyard Poultry Expands To 38 States 
In a new update on a multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to backyard poultry—first announced in May—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 86 more illnesses and 9 more affected states, raising the national total to 195 cases from 38 states. (Schnirring, 7/1)

ABC News: High Levels Of Bacteria In Water Lead To Multiple Beach Closures Across The US
Beaches in several states across the country have been closed to swimmers over the last few days due to harmful levels of bacteria in the water. In Massachusetts, at least 37 beaches were closed as of Monday afternoon due to "bacterial exceedance," according to the state's Department of Public Health (MDPH). Many of the beaches tested positive for high levels of a type of fecal bacteria, and beachgoers were warned not to swim or enter the water in those locations to avoid risk of illness, according to the health agency. (Kekatos, 7/1)

Security Affairs: Monti Gang Claims The Hack Of The Wayne Memorial Hospital In Pennsylvania
Another critical infrastructure healthcare suffered a security breach, this time the victim is the Wayne Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania. Wayne Memorial Hospital is a 114-bed not-for-profit hospital located in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, United States. The Monti ransomware gang claimed the hack of the healthcare structure and added it to its Tor leak site. The extortion group claimed the theft of data and announced it would leak it at 07.8 2024. (Paganini, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare: Geisinger Data Breach May Have Hit 1.2M Patients
A data breach at Geisinger could have affected the personal information of more than 1.2 million individuals. A former employee at Nuance Communications, which provides information technology services to Geisinger, allegedly accessed patient data two days after being terminated, the health system said in a news release. (Hudson, 7/1)

The Boston Globe: Steward Health Care Spent Millions Monitoring Critics During Crisis
One night last year, a surveillance team camped outside a financial analyst’s English country home and videotaped him as he watched television with his partner. The team — contracted through a British private intelligence agency — put a tracker on the analyst’s car, watched his daughter go to school, and followed him into pubs and on errands, even during a bike ride. (Kruger, Bartlett, Arsenault and Koh, 7/1)

Health News Florida: Steward Health Calls Off Sale Of Physician Network To Optum In Bankruptcy Setback 
Steward Health Care’s proposed deal to sell its nationwide physician network to UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum is off, raising more questions about the company's efforts to bring its finances under control through bankruptcy. Dallas-based Steward owns more than 30 hospitals in eight states, including eight in Florida. (Mayer, 7/1)

Military.com: Express Scripts' Tricare Pharmacy Contract Could Be Costing Military Families Money, Lawmakers Warn 
Two dozen Democrat and Republican lawmakers have raised issues about Express Scripts, the company that oversees the U.S. military's pharmacy program, charging that the benefits manager engages in tactics that squelch competition and raise prices. The lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., wrote Defense Department leadership last week questioning the DoD's sole-source contract with Express Scripts, which manages the Tricare retail pharmacy network and prescription home delivery programs. (Kime, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare: Cano Health Emerges From Bankruptcy
Primary care provider Cano Health emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware accepted the company’s reorganization plan that reduced its debt obligations and provided more than $200 million in new capital to support its business operations, according to a news release. (Turner, 7/1)

Axios: Biden Administration Invests In Geriatric Care Training
The Biden administration is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to train primary care clinicians to better serve older adults, officials announced Monday. America faces a shortage of geriatricians, who specialize in health care for patients over 65 years old. (Goldman, 7/2)

The 19th: Nursing Parents Are Suing Employers To Get PUMP Act Accommodations
When Jasmine Emery wasn’t driving the #400/405 bus, she’d use her short breaks to gingerly attach her breast pump under her uniform and hope passengers wouldn’t barge in or hear its suctioning over the hiss and clatter of metro Detroit. The milk went into a cooler, tucked under a frozen water bottle. There was nowhere to clean her pump when she was done. It was 2021, and Emery was just back from maternity leave after the birth of her third child. (Carrazana, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare: AMA’s Dr. Bruce Scott To Prioritize Physician Burnout
Dr. Bruce Scott, the new president of the American Medical Association, has a one-year term to make a difference and has already identified a priority: making the industry less reliant on non-physician providers. In an interview, the Kentucky-based otolaryngologist said he is concerned about the increase in providers who have not attended medical school, and one way to slow that trend is by addressing physician burnout. He also is targeting prior authorization. (DeSilva, 7/1)

Charlotte Ledger: NC Wants To Offer Hospitals Federal Payouts To Forgive Medical Debt
In an initiative that appears to be the first of its kind nationwide, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper and state health officials unveiled a plan today to boost federal payouts to hospitals that take specific steps to ease the burden of medical debt for low-income patients. (Crouch, 7/1)

The Boston Globe: Mass. Bill Could Make Involuntary Medication Easier
Nick Craciun believes he talked to aliens and saw the devil himself. Yet despite criminal charges, homelessness, and inpatient psychiatric care for treatment of bipolar disorder, the 22-year-old denies having mental illness and refuses medication, his parents say. He’s now in a jail cell in Billerica, charged with assaulting his father. (Laughlin, 7/1)

Reuters: Scientist Defeats J&J Lawsuit Over Cancer Research
A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary against a scientist who published a paper linking talc-based consumer products to cancer, finding that the research was not fraudulent or libelous. U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner on Friday found that Dr. Jacqueline Moline, the chair of occupational medicine at Northwell Health, did not engage in fraud, libel or false advertising when she published an influential 2020 paper concluding that exposure to asbestos-contaminated talcum powder products can cause mesothelioma. Moline's conclusions were protected by her free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, and J&J's lawsuit did not show that the underlying research was "verifiably false," Caster wrote. (Knauth, 7/1)

CBS News: Students Now Permitted To Carry Guns On West Virginia College Campuses 
Starting Monday, students on West Virginia University's campus were allowed to carry guns on campus grounds and all college campuses throughout West Virginia. It's thanks to the West Virginia Campus Self-Defense Act. "Personally, I think it's a great idea. I was having a conversation with some of my buddies, and we all thought that was something that would occur in the near future, and we all thought that was a good idea," said West Virginia student Bryce Biggs. (Pintar, 7/1)

Reuters: Mississippi Law Restricting Children's Social Media Use Blocked 
A federal judge on Monday blocked Mississippi from enforcing a new law that requires users of social media platforms to verify their ages and restricts access by minors to their sites if they lack parental consent, saying it was likely unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden in Gulfport, Mississippi, sided with tech industry trade group NetChoice in finding the law unduly restricted its users' free speech rights in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. (Raymond, 7/1)

WGCU: Potassium Chloride Capsules Recalled For Potentially Deadly Medical Risk
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is voluntarily recalling 114 batches of potassium chloride extended-release capsules because of failed dissolution. Information from the Mahwah, N.J., company posted on the PR Newswire said the failed dissolution of the capsules may cause high potassium levels, also known as hyperkalemia, which can result in irregular heart beat that can lead to cardiac arrest. (7/1)

The Washington Post: Fewer Than 1 In 5 Eligible Americans Up To Date With Lung Cancer Screenings
Only about 18 percent of eligible Americans were up to date with their lung cancer screenings in 2022, with compliance rates varying by state and region, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. American Cancer Society researchers analyzed data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a population-based, nationwide survey of Americans. (Docter-Loeb, 7/1)

Axios: Hoarding Concerns Rise As America Ages
The rise in hoarding disorder as America ages requires a national response, a new Senate report shared first with Axios says. The prevalence and severity of hoarding disorder increases with age — and the U.S. population is growing older, making this a crucial moment for policymakers to address the condition. (Goldman, 7/2)

NPR: Advocates Are Suing The EPA To Enforce Noise Pollution Law
Last June, an anti-noise advocacy group, Quiet Communities, sued the Environmental Protection Agency for not doing its job to limit the loud sounds people are exposed to in everyday life. The group is now waiting to hear if it will be able to argue its case in front of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. If the judge ultimately rules in the group’s favor, the EPA will have to do what Congress told it to do more than half a century ago, when it passed the Noise Control Act: protect public health and the environment from harmful noise pollution. (Silberner, 7/1)

Stat: Prosthetic Leg Performance Enhanced By Electrode-Implant Surgery
A novel surgical technique could dramatically improve walking for people with below-the-knee amputations and help them better control their prosthetics. A study published Monday in Nature Medicine showed that trial participants who received the procedure could walk faster, were more stable on uneven terrain, and had an increased spatial awareness, or proprioception, in their residual limb. Phantom pain in their limbs lessened, too. (Broderick, 7/1)