First Edition: June 17, 2024

KFF Health News: Americans With HIV Are Living Longer. Federal Spending Isn’t Keeping Up
Malcolm Reid recently marked the anniversary of his HIV diagnosis on Facebook. “Diagnosed with HIV 28 years ago, AND TODAY I THRIVE,” he wrote in a post in April, which garnered dozens of responses. Reid, an advocate for people with HIV, said he’s happy he made it to age 66. But growing older has come with a host of health issues. He survived kidney cancer and currently juggles medications to treat HIV, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes. “It’s a lot to manage,” he said. (Whitehead, 6/17)

KFF Health News: Montana Creates Emergency ‘Drive-Thru’ Blood Pickup Service For Rural Ambulances
Crystal Hiwalker wonders if her heart and lungs would have kept working if the ambulance crew had been able to give her a transfusion as the blood drained from her body during a stormy, 100-mile ride. Because of the 2019 snowstorm, it took 2.5 hours to drive from her small town of Lame Deer, Montana, to the advanced trauma center in Billings. (Zionts, 6/17)

The New York Times: Surgeon General Calls For Warning Labels On Social Media Platforms
The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, announced on Monday that he would push for a warning label on social media platforms advising parents that using the platforms might damage adolescents’ mental health. Warning labels — like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products — are one of the most powerful tools available to the nation’s top health official, but Dr. Murthy cannot unilaterally require them; the action requires approval by Congress. No such legislation has yet been introduced in either chamber. (Barry, 6/17)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension Cyberattack: EHRs, Patient Portals Restored
Ascension said Friday it has restored access across all markets to the core system for electronic health records and patient portals after a cyberattack. Patients should see a smoother process for scheduling appointments and filling prescriptions, plus improved wait times, Ascension said in a news release. Some information may be temporarily inaccessible as the system updates medical records collected in the last month, according to the health system. (Hudson, 6/14)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Extends Dispute Process After Change Healthcare Cyberattack
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is extending independent dispute filing deadlines through at least mid-October after the Change Healthcare cyberattack threw the process into disarray. The resolution process, which CMS finalized in 2022, was enacted as part of the No Surprises Act and is meant to help sort out disputes between insurance companies and providers regarding out-of-network bills. Parties usually have 30 days after a payment was made to submit a dispute, but CMS Friday issued a blanket extension for submissions. (Early, 6/14)

The Washington Post: Leaked Documents Reveal Patient Safety Issues At Amazon’s One Medical 
Since Amazon acquired the primary-care service One Medical, elderly patients have been routed to a call center — staffed partly by contractors with limited training — that failed on more than a dozen occasions to seek immediate attention for callers with urgent symptoms, according to internal documents seen by The Washington Post. When one patient reported a “blood clot, pain and swelling,” call center staff scheduled an appointment rather than escalating the matter for medical evaluation, according to a note in an internal incident tracking spreadsheet dated Feb. 19. (O'Donovan, 6/15)

Modern Healthcare: Antitrust Enforcement Of Hospital Mergers Falls Short: Study
Federal regulators have a long way to go in evaluating hospital mergers, according to a recent study to be published by the American Economic Association. Academic researchers from universities including Harvard and Yale compiled a study on regulators' antitrust enforcement actions against hospital mergers throughout the last two decades and concluded the number of actions is not proportional to the number of mergers. (Hudson, 6/14)

The Washington Post: Study: Subbing Lower-Paid Staff For RNs Could Cause Patient Deaths 
If hospitals substitute lower-wage staff for registered nurses, patients may suffer, a new analysis suggests. Published in the journal Medical Care, the study coincides with a nationwide RN shortage and reports of widespread burnout among RNs. To fill the gap, many hospitals have turned to “team nursing,” a model that uses fewer RNs as supervisors of a team of lower-wage health-care workers such as licensed practical nurses and nurse assistants. (Blakemore, 6/15)

Modern Healthcare: MD Anderson To Join Program For 9/11 Responders After Controversy
One of the nation's premier cancer centers said it is joining the network of providers that treat people who were sickened by exposure to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center had been locked in a dispute over how it should be paid by the World Trade Center Health Program, according to the advocacy organization 9/11 Health Watch. The federal program serves some 130,000 survivors and responders ... and beneficiaries do not pay for care received at participating providers. (McAuliff, 6/14)

The Baltimore Sun: Ellicott City Nursing Home Accused Of Providing Poor Care
The owner of an Ellicott City nursing home will be required to pay the state $400,000 and allow an independent monitoring company to oversee the facility for three years under the terms of a settlement agreement announced Friday afternoon by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. (Roberts, 6/14)

NBC News: How Public Hospitals Use NDAs To Silence Patients Who Accuse Them
She hadn’t quite turned 19 and had just started college when Hana Hooper found out she was dying. An echocardiogram revealed the telltale signs in grayscale images of an enlarged heart chamber, its walls stretched thin. Her diagnosis — end-stage dilated cardiomyopathy — sounded complicated. But in simple terms, it meant that Hana needed a new heart, and fast. (Kamb, 6/14)

The Wall Street Journal: When Caring For Your Parents Comes At A Cost To Your Career
Tens of millions of Americans are straining under the burden of two jobs: the work they’re paid to do, and the task of providing care for older family members. The double shift can come at a career cost. Caregivers who are also working full time report turning down promotions or seeking less-demanding assignments. Some switch companies, or say they’ve had to choose care duties over their careers. (Ansberry, 6/15)

Stat: Patent Office Offers New Rule To Thwart Common Pharma Price Tactic
In a bid to prevent the patent system from being abused, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has proposed a new rule designed to stem the use of so-called patent thickets, which are wielded by pharmaceutical companies to delay the arrival of lower-cost generic medicines in the marketplace. (Silverman, 6/17)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk CEO To Testify In US Senate Hearing On High Cost Of Ozempic, Wegovy 
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions said on Friday that Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jorgensen has agreed to testify voluntarily in a hearing focusing on U.S. prices for weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. A U.S. Senate health panel vote that was scheduled for its June 18 meeting, to decide whether to subpoena Novo to answer questions about U.S. prices for the blockbuster drugs, is no longer necessary and will be canceled, Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the committee, said. (6/14)

Stat: Inside Anthony Fauci’s ‘On Call’: 9 Health And Science Takeaways From The Memoir Of America’s Most Famous Doctor
Anthony Fauci spent 40 years in the top echelons of government. It was no accident. To read the forthcoming memoir by the country’s former top infectious disease expert, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service,” a copy of which was obtained by STAT, is to get a sense of his finesse while advising seven presidents. He strove, he writes, to speak with complete candor and stay out of politics, while remaining strategic in pushing for policies he considered vital to public health. “On Call" is officially being released Tuesday. (Mast, 6/16)

Reuters: US House Approves Defense Policy Bill With Divisive Provision On Abortion, Transgender Troops 
The U.S. House Of Representatives on Friday passed its version of the annual defense policy bill that included measures taking aim at abortion rights and treatment of transgender service members, divisive social issues which threaten to derail the must-pass legislation. The Senate Armed Services Committee will now work with the House to form a compromise version of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. (Stone and Cowan, 6/14)

Stat: Ambitious Federal Study Did Not Curb Opioid Overdose Deaths
In 2019, amid an ever-worsening drug crisis, the federal government launched a research study with an ambitious goal: to lower opioid overdoses in participating communities by 40% using evidence-based interventions like distributing naloxone and providing access to addiction medications. (Facher, 6/16)

The Boston Globe: Opioid-Related Overdoses Grew In Boston Last Year
Amid the encouraging decline in opioid-related deaths across Massachusetts in 2023, there was one significant exception: the City of Boston, which recorded the highest number of deaths in seven years, according to newly released state data. The higher number of overdose deaths was a grim reminder Boston remains the epicenter of the opioid crisis in Massachusetts, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the city’s public health commissioner, in an interview Thursday. (Laughlin, 6/14)

Los Angeles Times: Judge Halts Ban On Syringe Programs In El Dorado County
El Dorado County cannot enforce its ban on programs that hand out clean syringes as a legal battle continues between the county and the California Department of Public Health, a Superior Court judge has ruled. Judge Gary S. Slossberg granted a preliminary injunction to prevent El Dorado County from enforcing an ordinance that makes it unlawful to operate syringe programs in its unincorporated areas. (Alpert Reyes, 6/15)

The New York Times: Pregnant, Addicted And Fighting The Pull Of Drugs
Many pregnant women who struggle with drugs put off prenatal care, feeling ashamed and judged. But as fatal overdoses rise, some clinics see pregnancy as an ideal time to help them confront addiction. (Hoffman, 6/16)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Department Of Public Health Hit By Phishing Attack
The personal information of more than 200,000 people in Los Angeles County was potentially exposed after a hacker used a phishing email to steal the login credentials of 53 public health employees, the county announced Friday. Details that were possibly accessed in the February data breach include the first and last names, dates of birth, diagnoses, prescription information, medical record numbers, health insurance information, Social Security numbers and other financial information of Department of Public Health clients, employees and other individuals. (Fry, 6/14)

Stat: Why CalPERS Picked Blue Shield Over Elevance For PPO Health Plans
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is making a drastic change to one of its major health insurance plans for the state’s employees and retirees: It’s switching health insurance carriers, and forcing its new partners to earn their fees instead of automatically getting them. (Herman, 6/17)

CBS News: Abortion, Wigs For Cancer Patients, IVF: Health Insurance Coverage Changes In Minnesota
This session, the Minnesota Legislature approved new coverage requirements for health insurance plans in an effort to reduce out-of-pocket care costs. Abortions, gender-affirming care, prosthetics and wigs for cancer patients are among the new mandates for health plans. The changes approved will go into effect January 1. (Cummings, 6/14)

The New York Times: Medical Experts Alarmed By Out-Of-Hospital Cesareans In Florida 
A new law in Florida allowing doctors to perform cesarean sections in outpatient birthing centers has raised serious safety concerns among medical experts, who say the procedures carry a small but real risk of life-threatening complications and should not be undertaken outside hospitals. The proposed new facilities, to be called advanced birth centers, will not be able to rapidly mobilize extra staff, equipment and expertise should complications suddenly occur, as a hospital would, critics noted. (Rabin, 6/15)

ABC News: More Than 4,000 Additional Robotic Pets To Be Given To Seniors In New York To Combat Loneliness
Helen Macura has always wanted a dog, but the Prohibition-era home she has lived in since 1945 isn't safe for a potential pet. Her childhood dream of owning a dog finally came true a couple years ago, when Helen was in her late 90s. Today, at 101 years old, Helen says she is grateful for her robotic dog that she has affectionately named "Friendly." Friendly is battery-powered and resembles a golden retriever puppy. He is one of the 31,500 robotic pets already given away by the New York State Office For Aging (NYSOFA). (Parekh, 6/15)

NPR: Half Of The U.S. Military Bases Are In 'Health Care Deserts'
For hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and their families, when the Pentagon orders them to find health care off base there is none. An NPR analysis found that 50% of active duty military installations stand within federally designated Healthcare Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA). Those are places where medical services are hard to find — commonly called “health care deserts.” (Lawrence, 6/17)

Los Angeles Times: Older Men Die By Suicide At Steep Rates. Here’s How The VA Is Trying To Change That
It was a Friday morning and George McCune had roused himself to make the 2.4-mile trip from his Northridge home to the Veterans Affairs campus in North Hills. The 77-year-old was greeted there that March day by the usual crew training for the Golden Age Games: There was Roger, 82, who had piled up medals in javelin, discus and shot put. Bob, who had just gotten his cochlear implant. Becky, 71, bent on defeating her “nemesis” — a guy just six days her junior — in pingpong. (Reyes, 6/15)

Stat: Blood Tests For Circulating Tumor DNA Raise Hopes And Questions
The hope for many cancer patients who go through surgery is that they’ll be cured after the surgeon removes the tumor. The question that lingers is whether they got it all out — if the surgery happened in time before cancer cells scattered off of the primary tumor to seed unseen metastases or if some microscopic malignancy was left behind near the original cancer site. (Chen, 6/17)

Fox News: Study Discovers 'Trigger Gene' In IBD As Researchers Seek Drugs To Prevent It
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis — affects around 3.1 million U.S. adults. The disease can cause debilitating symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, blood in the stool and more. Now, researchers at the U.K.’s Francis Crick Institute, working with UCL and Imperial College London, have discovered a genetic component — referred to as a "weak spot" in the DNA — that is present in 95% of those living with the disorder. (Rudy, 6/16)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Linked To Pet Dragons Sickens At Least 15 In 9 States 
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said at least 15 people in nine states have been sickened with Salmonella linked to pet bearded dragons. Four people have required hospitalization, but no deaths have been reported. New York has reported four cases, Ohio and California have each reported three cases, and Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia have each reported a single case. (Soucheray, 6/14)

The New York Times: These Common Medications Can Make Heat Waves More Dangerous 
A major heat wave is expected to hit much of the eastern United States this week. And millions of people across the country are taking medications that may make them more susceptible to heat-related illnesses. Taking certain drugs — including some used to treat mental health conditions, high blood pressure and allergies — can make it even more difficult to stay hydrated or efficiently cool your body when it’s hot outside. Here’s what to know, and how to stay safe during scorching temperatures. (Mogg, 6/15)