First Edition: June 12, 2024

KFF Health News: Many Young Adults Who Began Vaping As Teens Can’t Shake The Habit
G Kumar’s vaping addiction peaked in college at the University of Colorado, when flavored, disposable vapes were taking off. “I’d go through, let’s say, 1,200 puffs in a week,” Kumar said. Vaping became a crutch for them. Like losing a cellphone, losing a vape pen would set off a mad scramble. “It needs to be right next to my head when I fall asleep at night, and then in the morning, I have to thrash through the sheets and pick it up and find it,” Kumar recalled. (Daley, 6/12)

KFF Health News: ‘I Try To Stay Strong’: Mom Struggles To Get Diagnosis For Son’s Developmental Problems
Four-year-old Ahmeir Diaz-Thornton couldn’t sit still in class and rarely ate his lunch. While his preschool classmates spoke in perfect sentences, Ahmeir had trouble pronouncing words. Ahmeir’s preschool teacher relayed her concerns to his mother, Kanika Thornton, who was already worried about Ahmeir’s refusal to eat anything but yogurt, Chef Boyardee spaghetti, oatmeal, and applesauce. He also sometimes hit himself and others to cope with the frustration of not being able to communicate, she said. (Parekh, 6/12)

KFF Health News: Biden Administration Advances Plan To Remove Medical Debt From Credit Scores
Americans would no longer have to worry about medical debts dragging down their credit scores under federal regulations proposed Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If enacted, the rules would dramatically expand protections for tens of millions of Americans burdened by medical bills they can’t afford. The regulations would also fulfill a pledge by the Biden administration to address the scourge of health care debt, a uniquely American problem that touches an estimated 100 million people. (Levey, 6/11)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week. (6/11)

The 19th: New Biden Administration Rule Would Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports
“Medical debt makes it more difficult for millions of Americans to be approved for a car loan, a home loan or a small business loan, all of which in turn makes it more difficult to just get by, much less get ahead, and that is simply not fair. Especially when we know that people with medical debt are no less likely to repay a loan than those without medical debt,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday. “No one should be denied access to economic opportunity simply because they experienced a medical emergency.” (Davis, 6/11)

AP: President Offers Love And Pride For His Son's Addiction Recovery After Hunter Biden's Guilty Verdict
President Joe Biden kept his distance from the courtroom where his son Hunter Biden stood trial on felony gun charges to avoid any appearance of meddling but his quick statement reacting to the jury’s guilty verdict Tuesday spoke to where his heart has been all along. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today,” Biden wrote. “So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery.” (Long, Miller and Madhani, 6/11)

Axios: Senate May Have The Votes To Scrap Biden's Nursing Home Staffing Mandate
A resolution aimed at overturning President Biden's controversial nursing home staffing minimums has a chance of passing the Senate. The vote would show the resistance to the first-of-its-kind standard and reveal a rift among Democrats, even though Biden would almost certainly veto the measure. (Knight and Sullivan, 6/11)

Stat: NIH Pilot For Diverse Cancer Trials Raised Costs, Didn't Work
Government researchers hoped to attract a more diverse group of patients for clinical research by paying for the travel expenses of cancer patients seeking to volunteer for trials. It didn’t work. (Wilkerson, 6/12)

Politico: Federal Judge Strikes Florida Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Children 
A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming treatment for children are unconstitutional, and that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers who supported them were not acting in the interest of public health. By refusing to allow children to access treatments, Tallahassee-based district court Judge Robert L. Hinkle wrote in a ruling handed down Tuesday that DeSantis and Republicans who voted for the measure responded in a way that was similar to racism and misogyny. (Sarkissian, 6/11)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Sues Over Federal Rule Protecting Gender Transition Care
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Biden administration over a new federal rule that he says would require states to pay for gender care procedures for transgender people through their Medicaid programs and require health care providers to perform them. (Salinas II, 6/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Declares Itself Sanctuary City For Transgender, Nonbinary People
San Francisco leaders declared the city a sanctuary for transgender people Tuesday, becoming one of the first in the nation to do so amid a push by some conservative states to limit trans rights. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to declare San Francisco a sanctuary city for transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary and Two-Spirit people — a Pan-Indian term that describes those who are neither male nor female — to provide a place of safety for that community and providers of gender affirming care. (Toledo, 6/11)

Fox News: Gender Dysphoria And Eating Disorders Have Skyrocketed Since Pandemic, Report Reveals
Mental health diagnoses in children have skyrocketed since the COVID pandemic — led by gender dysphoria and eating disorders, according to a new report. LexisNexis Risk Solutions analyzed medical claims data submitted between 2019 and 2023 for patients under age 18. Overall, mental health claims rose 83% among young people in that time frame. (Rudy, 6/11)

CIDRAP: New Definition Of Long COVID Aims To Offer Clarity, Direction 
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), in response to a request from the US federal government, has published a new consensus diagnosis for long COVID. While working groups, national governments, and health organizations have all offered definition of long COVID, no general consensus exists. The definition, which can be applied to both children and adults, reads: "Long COVID (LC) is an infection-associated chronic condition (IACC) that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least 3 months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that affects one or more organ systems." (Soucheray, 6/11)

CIDRAP: Having Symptoms After Getting A COVID Vaccine May Indicate Robust Immune Response 
Headache, fatigue, malaise, and chills after COVID-19 vaccination are signs the immune system is marshalling a strong response against future infection, suggests a study posted today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. "Generally, we found that the higher the number of side effects, the higher the level of antibodies," first author Ethan Dutcher, MD, PhD, said in a UCSF news release. (Van Beusekom, 6/11)

CIDRAP: Moderna Reports Promising Findings For Flu-COVID Combo Vaccine
Moderna yesterday reported promising phase 3 clinical trial findings for its candidate combination mRNA vaccine (mRNA-1083) against influenza and COVID-19. The vaccine contains components of Moderna's candidate seasonal flu vaccine and its next-generation COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna said it will present the findings at an upcoming conference and will submit them for publication in a medical journal. The company said it would engage with regulators on the next steps. (Schnirring, 6/11)

CBS News: Los Angeles City Council Votes To End COVID-19 Vaccination Policy For City Employees
Los Angeles city employees who left or were fired because of noncompliance to the city's 2021 vaccination policy can now reapply for their positions. The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to establish a pathway back to employment to assist some 86 employees who were affected. The council also voted Tuesday to lift the city's policy requiring municipal employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. (Sharp, 6/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: As COVID Cases Climb In California, A Look At Symptoms And Testing
COVID-19 markers in California have begun their expected summer uptick, driven by increased travel, indoor activities due to the heat and new coronavirus variants collectively known as FLiRT. These factors prompted a nearly 30% rise in COVID-19 related emergency room visits in California in the last week of May — the most recent reported time period — according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vaziri, 6/11)

Fox News: House GOP Lawmakers Grill Andrew Cuomo Over COVID Nursing Home Deaths
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced a tough grilling from House GOP lawmakers Tuesday over his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes during the height of the pandemic. Cuomo visited Capitol Hill for a closed-door interview with the House select subcommittee investigating the coronavirus pandemic. (Betz, 6/11)

CIDRAP: RSV Hospitalizations For Kids Doubled In 2022-23
A new study today in JAMA Network Open shows that pediatric hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) doubled during the 2022-2023 season compared to the prior year. (Soucheray, 6/11)

Wyoming Public Radio: First Confirmed Case Of Bird Flu Found In Wyoming Dairy Cattle
The Wyoming Livestock Board announced last week that bird flu has been found in a herd of dairy cattle in Wyoming. It's the first confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the Cowboy State. (Dudley, 6/11)

CIDRAP: USDA Reports More H5N1 Detections In Mice And Cats 
In its latest updates, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported 36 more H5N1 avian flu detections in house mice, all in the same New Mexico county, as well as four more virus detections in domestic cats. Also today, APHIS reported four more H5N1 detections in domestic cats, including one from Oklahoma, which hasn't recently reported the virus in poultry or in dairy cows. (Schnirring, 6/11)

CNN: Bird Flu Is Rampant In Animals. Humans Ignore It At Our Own Peril
Since it was first discovered in birds in 1996, H5N1 has shown itself to be a Swiss Army Knife of a virus, evolving the necessary tools to break into the cells of a growing list of species. So far, it has infected and killed millions of wild and farmed birds. It’s also been found in at least 26 different kinds of mammals, including, most recently in the United States — cows, cats and house mice. The voraciousness of the virus prompted Dr. Jeremy Farrar, chief scientist of the World Health Organization in April to call it “a global zoonotic animal pandemic.” (Goodman, 6/11)

North Carolina Health News: New CDC Head Uses COVID-Era Innovations To Tackle Bird Flu Outbreak
Mandy Cohen, who led North Carolina’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing her first major test as director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — rising concerns about the spread of avian influenza. (Baxley, 6/12)

Stat: Michigan Bird Flu Response Leads Nation. Will Other States Follow? 
For weeks now, as the H5N1 bird flu has been spreading into dairy cattle herds in more and more places, one state continues to lead the pack. With reports of infections in 25 herds, Michigan currently accounts for about one-third of the country’s confirmed cases in livestock. And of the three people known to have contracted the H5N1 virus from sick cows since the outbreak began, two of them are farmworkers in Michigan, including one who experienced respiratory symptoms. (Molteni, 6/12)

CIDRAP: H9N2 Avian Flu Infects Children In India, China 
India has reported an H9N2 avian flu case involving a child in West Bengal state who was exposed to poultry, marking the country's second such case since 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in a statement, and China confirmed another pediatric H9N2 infection. The 4-year-old child, who had a history of upper-airway disease, was first hospitalized in February for complications from respiratory virus infections, which included influenza B and adenovirus. In early March, the child was hospitalized again with severe respiratory symptoms, which were positive for unsubtyped influenza A and rhinovirus. (Schnirring, 6/11)

AP: Washington Will Make Clear That Hospitals Must Provide Emergency Abortions, Gov. Jay Inslee Says 
Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday said Washington will spell out in state law that hospitals must provide abortions if needed to stabilize patients, a step that comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on whether conservative states can bar abortions during some medical emergencies. There is no indication that patients have been denied emergency abortions in Washington, but the Democrat said during a news conference in Seattle he wanted to remove any doubt that hospitals were required to provide those services if necessary. (Johnson, 6/11)

San Francisco Chronicle: Planned Parenthood Privately Opposed Three Abortion Shield Laws
As Democratic lawmakers in several states worked to enact shield laws to protect doctors offering telehealth abortion services to patients in states where abortion is banned or restricted, an unexpected hurdle emerged: Planned Parenthood. The abortion rights group privately lobbied officials in California, New York and Massachusetts against the novel state laws, saying they could be risky for providers and damaging to efforts to protect existing abortion care. (Stein, 6/11)

Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois' Planned Parenthoods See Uptick In Abortion Seekers
Planned Parenthood clinics in Illinois are treating a record number of patients as the anniversary approaches for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. More patients are also traveling greater distances to get abortions in Illinois, Planned Parenthood of Illinois reported Monday. (Washburn, 6/12)

Modern Healthcare: PBM Case Should Be Heard, AGs Urge Supreme Court
A bipartisan group of state attorneys general is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case they allege wrongfully limits states' ability to police pharmacy benefit managers. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) led a group of 32 attorneys general who filed an amicus brief with the high court Monday, asking justices to reconsider an August 2023 ruling that found federal laws supersede state laws regarding PBMs. (Tepper, 6/11)

Reuters: Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Seeks To Overturn Fraud Conviction
Lawyers for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and company President Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani on Tuesday urged a federal appeals court to overturn their convictions for defrauding investors in the failed blood testing startup, which was once valued at $9 billion. Amy Saharia, Holmes' lawyer, told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that Holmes believed she was telling the truth when she told investors that Theranos' miniature blood testing device could accurately run a broad array of medical diagnostic tests on a small amount of blood. (Pierson, 6/11)

Fox News: Sens. Warren, Markey Propose Bill That Would Lead To Prison Time For 'Corporate Greed' In Health Care
Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, introduced legislation Tuesday that would result in prison time for violators of "corporate greed" in health care. The Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act would also offer state attorneys general and the U.S. Justice Department more tools to go after health care executives accused of corporate exploitation for endangering patient safety and access to health care, according to a press release. Warren delivered remarks in front of Steward’s St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton, taking issue with the financial management of Steward under CEO Ralph de la Torre. (Mion, 6/12)

Modern Healthcare: Why Medicare Advantage Brokers Are Suing CMS Over Pay Caps
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' efforts to halt Medicare Advantage and Part D marketing practices it deems "predatory" have landed the agency in court. In April, CMS published a final rule that limits how, and how much, health insurance companies may compensate brokers, independent agents and other third-party marketers for guiding enrollees toward Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. The people whose pay got cut objected, and a growing number have sued to stop the regulation. (Tepper, 6/11)

Modern Healthcare: Novant-CHS Deal: Judge Denies FTC Injunction Request
A U.S. district judge Tuesday denied another motion from the Federal Trade Commission to block Novant Health's acquisition of two North Carolina hospitals from Community Health Systems while the case is being appealed. Judge Kenneth Bell did, however, extend a temporary restraining order on the transaction until 12 p.m. June 21, giving the FTC time to request a similar injunction from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Novant and Community Health Systems had previously been authorized to close the deal Wednesday. (Hudson, 6/11)

The Mercury News: $1.6 Billion Oakland Hospital Project Hits Milestone With Jobs Deal
A project to build a modern UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has gained a major milestone through a key jobs deal to prioritize hiring local workers for the $1.6 billion plan. The Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County, a major East Bay labor organization, and Rudolph and Sletten, a big-time construction firm that is the general contractor for the project, have crafted a jobs deal for the project. (Avalos, 6/11)

The New York Times: Four Tops Singer Sues Hospital Over Being Put In Restraints
A singer who joined the storied Motown group the Four Tops in 2018 sued a Michigan hospital on Monday, accusing its staff of placing him in restraints and ordering a psychological evaluation because they did not believe he was part of the band. The singer, Alexander Morris, who is Black, filed a lawsuit accusing Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital of racial discrimination and two employees of negligence for an incident in April 2023, when he was taken there by ambulance with chest pain and difficulty breathing. (Jacobs, 6/11)

AP: With 1 Out Of 3 Californians On Medicaid, Doctors Push Ballot Measure To Force State To Pay More 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom last year agreed to a tax increase that aimed to do two things: Help balance a budget with a multibillion-dollar shortfall, and pay doctors more money to treat patients covered by Medicaid — the taxpayer-funded health insurance program for people with low incomes that now covers one out of every three people in the state. A year later, California is relying on this tax more than ever. Newsom raised it again in March to help cover another multibillion-dollar shortfall this year. And he’s proposing to raise it a third time to generate even more money as the deficit has continued to grow. (Beam, 6/12)

The Boston Globe: House Seeks To Drop Reporting Mandate For Substance-Exposed Babies
Massachusetts House leaders are pushing a proposal that would free doctors, hospital officials, and others from requirements to report suspected neglect to child welfare officials solely because a baby is born exposed to drugs, offering a dramatic shift in the state’s approach to child welfare reporting. The measure is expected to pass the House on Thursday as part of a wide-ranging bill intended to address the state’s still-raging opioid epidemic. (Stout, 6/11)

NPR: In Baltimore, Nurses Deliver Primary Care Door-To-Door
Raquel Richardson arrived for work at the Johnston Square Apartments in East Baltimore this February expecting to have just another Tuesday. The 31-year-old typically spends her days solving residents’ problems, answering questions at reception and making maintenance rounds. That day, however, she noticed a team offering free blood pressure checks in the lobby — and decided to sit for one too. (Walker and Gorenstein, 6/11)

CBS News: At-Home Rapid HIV Tests Being Developed By Colorado State University
Researchers at Colorado State University are nearing completion of an effort to create and develop rapid at-home tests for HIV. The staff and students in Fort Collins are using technology and science developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to now create the HIV testing devices. The National Institute of Health has awarded CSU $2.9 million to try and create more accurate and reliable at-home tests for HIV. (Thomas, 6/11)

Fox News: Through Pilot Project, Medical Marijuana Could Become More Accessible To Seniors
A new initiative dubbed The Commonwealth Project, based in Massachusetts, aims to integrate medical cannabis into traditional health care for seniors. "People 65 and over are the fastest-growing segment using cannabis, but they're using it for ailments of aging, [for] relief," Howard Kessler, the group’s founder, told Fox News. Medical marijuana is legal in 37 states, four U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. (Baier and Munneke, 6/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Violent Crime Rate Falls Sharply After Pandemic Surge
Violent crime fell in the first quarter of 2024 by more than 15%, continuing its postpandemic decline nationwide, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Homicides and reported rapes both declined about 26% in the first three months of 2024 compared with a year earlier, data from the FBI’s quarterly uniform crime report showed. Robberies were down about 18% and aggravated assault fell by about 13%, the FBI said. Reported property crime declined about 15%. (Hatcher and Barba, 6/11)

The Washington Post: Why Stress And Depression Take A Toll On Women’s Heart Health
A growing body of evidence suggests the effects of mental health has a disproportionate impact on women’s bodies. Recent findings presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in April indicate that depression and anxiety accelerate the development of new cardiovascular disease risk factors, particularly among young and middle-aged women. The researchers followed 71,214 people participating in the Mass General Brigham Biobank for 10 years. Those with a history of anxiety or depression before the study were about 55 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes compared to those without. The finding was most pronounced among women with anxiety or depression who were under 50, who were nearly twice as likely to develop cardiovascular risk factors compared with any other group. (Beard, 6/11)

Reuters: US Industry Groups Sue To Block 'Forever Chemical' Drinking-Water Rule
U.S. manufacturing and chemical industry groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a federal rule announced this year setting the first-ever drinking water standard to protect people against toxic "forever chemicals." The rule is intended to reduce exposure to the group of 15,000 chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for approximately 100 million people. It would avoid deaths that have been linked to PFAS, according to the EPA. (Pierson, 6/11)

Reuters: Toxic Gas In Louisiana Air Far Exceeds Safe Levels, EPA Estimates, US Study Finds
The toxic gas ethylene oxide (EtO) is detectable in southeastern Louisiana at levels a thousand times higher than what is considered safe, according to a new study. EtO emissions largely come from petrochemical manufacturing, and southeastern Louisiana has a high density of facilities that use or manufacture petrochemicals. (Lapid, 6/11)

The New York Times: Morrie Markoff, Listed As Oldest Man In The U.S., Dies At 110 
Morrie Markoff, a supercentenarian blogger and scrap-metal sculptor who was believed to be the oldest man in the United States and whose brain has been donated for research on what is known as super-aging, died on June 3 at his home in downtown Los Angeles. He was 110. He had two strokes in recent weeks, his daughter, Judith Markoff Hansen, said in confirming his death. (Williams, 6/11)

The Washington Post: Akira Endo, Researcher Who Found Cholesterol-Fighting Statins, Dies At 90 
Akira Endo, a Japanese biochemist whose fascination with the internal workings of fungi underpinned research that discovered cholesterol-lowering statins in blue mold, a find that revolutionized cardiovascular care and became one of the world’s most widely used drugs, died June 5 at age 90. No cause was given. (Murphy, 6/11)