First Edition: June 30, 2021

KHN: Desperate For Home Care, Seniors Often Wait Months With Workers In Short Supply
For years, Louise Shackett has had trouble walking or standing for long periods, making it difficult for her to clean her house in southeastern Maine or do laundry. Shackett, 80, no longer drives, which makes it hard to get to the grocery store or doctor. Her low income, though, qualifies her for a state program that pays for a personal aide 10 hours a week to help with chores and errands. “It helps to keep me independent,” she said. (Galewitz, 6/30)

KHN: States Step Up Push To Regulate Pharmacy Drug Brokers
Under pressure to rein in skyrocketing prescription drug costs, states are targeting companies that serve as conduits for drug manufacturers, health insurers and pharmacies. More than 100 separate bills regulating those companies, known as pharmacy benefit managers, have been introduced in 42 states this year, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy, which crafts model legislation on the topic. The flood of bills comes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling late last year backed Arkansas’ right to enforce rules on the companies. At least 12 of the states have adopted new oversight laws. But it’s not yet clear how much money consumers will save immediately, if at all. (Houghton, 6/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Declines To Lift National Eviction Moratorium
A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to lift a national moratorium on the eviction of tenants who have fallen behind on their rent during the Covid-19 pandemic. The court rejected an emergency request by landlords and real-estate companies to clear the way for evictions after a federal judge in Washington ruled last month that the moratorium was legally unsupportable. The judge who issued that ruling stayed the effect of the decision, while litigation continues. (Kendall and Ackerman, 6/29)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Decry Extending Medicare Cuts To Pay For Infrastructure Bill
Not only did hospitals not get the money they sought in President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure package, they could actually see Medicare payment cuts under the proposal. Under the framework Biden announced alongside Democratic and Republican senators at the WHite House last week, Medicare reimbursement reductions would help cover the legislation's $1.2 trillion cost. The plan would reduce Medicare payments to hospitals and other providers by 2% through at least 2031. (Hellmann, 6/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden, In Wisconsin, Touts Job-Creating Potential Of Infrastructure Deal
President Biden hailed his infrastructure deal as a job-creating economic boon, while progressive Democrats signaled they would give the president wiggle room on selling the plan, which they want paired with a wide-ranging antipoverty proposal. Mr. Biden visited a transit station in La Crosse, Wis., offering a detailed rundown of the roughly $1 trillion agreement reached with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to modernize aging roads, bridges and broadband networks, eliminate lead from water pipes and build new charging stations for electric vehicles. (Thomas and Peterson, 6/29)

The New York Times: Biden Kicks Off Sales Tour To Salvage Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal 
President Biden opened a combination road show and apology tour centered on his bipartisan infrastructure deal on Tuesday in La Crosse, Wis., as he sought to reassure Republicans that he was committed to the agreement he struck last week and convince liberal and centrist Democrats that the compromise had not dimmed his economic ambitions. Mr. Biden praised the $579 billion bipartisan pact, promising it would bring faster internet, less traffic and safer drinking water to Americans in Wisconsin and across the country. In many cases, he promised the same or at least similar benefits that he predicted when rolling out his more ambitious $4 trillion plan earlier this year. (Tankersley, 6/29)

Politico: Buttigieg: Infrastructure Bills Are ‘Linked In People’s Lives’ 
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg argued on Tuesday that the recently brokered bipartisan infrastructure package is “linked” in the lives of Americans with a potentially party-line reconciliation bill being advanced by congressional Democrats. ... “We want to get both [bills] through,” Buttigieg said in an interview on MSNBC. “Because we view them as — in people’s lives, these things are linked, right? You don’t think about your cost of transportation one month, and then the next month, you think about the cost of child care. People are living these things all at the same time, and Congress is dealing with these things all at the same time.” (Forgey, 6/29)

Modern Healthcare: Proposed ACA Rule Change Could Drive Enrollment Among Low-Income Obamacare, Medicaid Beneficiaries
The Biden administration's proposal to give consumers more time to enroll in the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges will lead to more low-income people gaining coverage, but analysts are uncertain whether that would encourage more insurers to offer policies on the marketplaces. On Monday, CMS unveiled a plan to give exchange customers an additional 30 days to enroll, extending the enrollment period from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15; currently, signups end on Dec. 15 each year. The agency also plans to establish a monthly special enrollment period to allow people with low incomes more opportunities to enroll in a premium-free silver plan. (Tepper, 6/29)

The Washington Examiner: EXCLUSIVE: State Department To Allow Passport Applicants To Select Gender Without Medical Documentation 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to announce Wednesday a major passport policy change: U.S. passport applicants will be able to select their gender without supplying the government any forms of certifying medical documents. Biden promised the passport gender changes on the 2020 campaign trail, and the Washington Examiner reviewed the advisory alerting congressional offices of the new policy on Tuesday evening. The announcement specifically notes that citizens and qualifying U.S. nationals "will now be able to select the gender they would like printed on their U.S. passports, even if the gender they select does not match the gender on their supporting documentation such as a birth certificate, previous passport, or state ID." (Datoc, 6/29)

The Washington Post: Moderna Says Coronavirus Vaccine Works Against Delta Variant As The World Health Organization Warns Of Global Spread 
Moderna said that blood samples from fully vaccinated individuals produced antibodies against multiple variants and that researchers measured only a “modest reduction in neutralizing titers” against the particularly virulent delta, which was first identified in India. “As we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative that we are proactive as the virus evolves,” Moderna chief executive Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. “These new data are encouraging and reinforce our belief that the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine should remain protective against newly detected variants.” (Cunningham, 6/30)

Bloomberg: Moderna’s Covid Shot Produces Antibodies Against Delta Variant
Moderna Inc. said its vaccine produced protective antibodies against the delta variant spreading in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Moderna researchers tested blood samples from eight people for antibodies against versions of the spike protein from different coronavirus variants, including delta, which emerged in India. The vaccine “produced neutralizing titers against all variants tested,” the company said in a statement. The results were released on the pre-print server bioRxiv. (Langreth, 6/29)

AP: Jill Biden Teams Up With NFL Great To Push Vaccinations
Jill Biden played offense Tuesday in the fight against COVID-19, teaming up with NFL Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith and America’s second gentleman to encourage Texans to get vaccinated against the disease. The first lady and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, met in Houston at a vaccination event sponsored by the Astros as part of a monthlong effort by Major League Baseball, featuring incentives that included tickets to future games and a replica World Series ring. (Superville, 6/30)

AP: First Lady Jill Biden To Tour A Phoenix Vaccination Clinic
First lady Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, are scheduled to be in Phoenix on Wednesday to tour of a middle school vaccination clinic. The two were in Utah and Texas earlier this week as part of a Biden administration nationwide tour to celebrate the country’s progress against COVID-19 although many U.S. states continue to experience lagging vaccination rates. (6/29)

CNN: Fauci Warns There May Soon Be 'Two Americas' As Divide Widens Between Vaccinated And Unvaccinated Areas 
With the Delta variant accounting for more than a quarter of Covid-19 cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns there could soon be "two Americas" -- one where most people are vaccinated and another where low vaccination rates could lead to spikes in cases. The stark disparity between low and high vaccination areas is something Fauci is "very concerned about," he told CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday night. (Elamroussi, 6/30)

AP: Tuskegee Relatives Promote COVID-19 Vaccines In Ad Campaign
Tuskegee is the one-word answer some people give as a reason they’re avoiding COVID-19 vaccines. A new ad campaign launched Wednesday with relatives of men who unwittingly became part of the infamous experiment wants to change minds. Omar Neal, 63, a former mayor of the Alabama town, said he was hesitant at first about the shots. Neal is a nephew of Freddie Lee Tyson, a family man who was among several hundred Black men who decades ago became involved without their consent in the federally backed syphilis study. (Tanner, 6/30)

The Advocate: After $2.3M Vaccine Lottery Kick-Off, New COVID-19 Vaccinations Rise By 14% In Louisiana
The number of people in Louisiana who received their initial COVID-19 vaccine increased by 14% in the week after the state opened registration for its $2.3 million lottery incentive, though even with the modest bump, vaccination rates remain at historic lows. Over the seven-day period ending Monday, 26,086 people received either the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine or the first part of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccination, according to Louisiana Department of Health data. (Paterson and Adelson, 6/29)

The Washington Post: Vaccination Push Continues, With Cases Low And Delta Variant Lurking 
Public health officials were already struggling with how to persuade coronavirus vaccination holdouts to get the shot. But declining case rates and a highly contagious variant have made their work at once more difficult — and more urgent. In month 16 of the pandemic, local governments have closed most large-scale clinics and are homing in on the hardest-to-reach individuals, with modest goals of vaccinating a handful of people at a time. (Portnoy, 6/29)

Roll Call: Medicaid Beneficiaries Less Likely To Get COVID-19 Shots 
Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine announced in May that COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Medicaid enrollees was 22 percent, compared with 45 percent of Ohioans overall — despite recent headlines about new incentives to get a shot, including a statewide $1 million lottery. “Obviously, that’s not a number we’re happy with,” said DeWine. “We must get these numbers up. It’s simply unacceptable.” Health inequities were brought to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, amplified by socioeconomic barriers. Now, as the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States remains stable and eligibility has been extended to almost all Americans, local data shows that Medicaid beneficiaries are getting vaccinated at lower rates than the general population. (Raman, 6/30)

Bloomberg: Growing Gaps in U.S. Vaccination Rates Show Regions at Risk
In the least vaccinated group of counties, many of which are in the South and Central regions of the U.S., less than half as many people have gotten at least one Covid vaccine dose as in the most vaccinated counties in the cities and on the coasts. Those less vaccinated places are not catching up, either. The gap between more- and less-vaccinated counties is expanding, and the trailing counties are far below levels needed to halt future waves of infection. In the bottom fifth of counties — which tend to be more rural, more poor, less educated and more likely to lean politically to the right — only 28% of people have received a first dose of a vaccine, on average, and 24% are fully vaccinated. The slowing rate of new vaccinations shows that despite the Biden administration’s “month of action” to hit its vaccine target of 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4, some areas are proving hard to reach. (Tartar, Brown and Randall, 6/29)

USA Today: Colorado And Oklahoma Hold Phone Campaigns To Boost COVID Vaccinations
Hengchen Dai, an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, tested the text messages at UCLA's Health system, finding that the message reminders boosted vaccination rates by as much as 3.4 percentage points. Oklahoma launched a statewide texting campaign earlier this month to reach people across the state with details about how to find an appointment near them. The federal government also launched one in May. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment used a different approach: Monday, it called residents who hadn't received the vaccine to remind them to get inoculated and to provide them with information on where to get vaccinated. (Aspegren, 6,30)

Fierce Healthcare: Healthiest Communities Tend To Be Less COVID Vaccine Hesitant 
The country's healthiest communities also tend to be less hesitant to get vaccinated for COVID-19, according to a new study. U.S. News and the Aetna Foundation released their annual list of the healthiest communities in the nation and found that four of the top 10 communities had a vaccination rate higher than the national rate as of June 4, which was 41.4%. (Minemyer, 6/29)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Oppose Reporting Staff COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
Hospitals think it's too soon for CMS to require them to report COVID-19 vaccination information about their workforce, according to comments on the inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule. CMS wants hospitals to report the percentage of their healthcare personnel immunized against COVID-19, including independent practitioners affiliated but not directly employed by inpatient facilities. But hospitals said it's too early to require the jabs, given that coronavirus vaccines have only been available for six months and that there are outstanding questions about how long people will remain protected after vaccination. (Brady, 6/29)

Detroit Free Press: Henry Ford Health To Require COVID-19 Vaccine For Workers
Henry Ford Health System is the first in Michigan to announce it is requiring all 33,000 of its employees, as well as students, volunteers and contractors, to get a COVID-19 vaccine. “We acknowledge the magnitude of this decision and we did not make it lightly,” said president and CEO Wright Lassiter III in a statement issued Tuesday. “As a leader and trusted voice in our communities, our patients and members depend on us to create a safe, healthy environment. We owe that same promise to our team members. Safety and infection prevention are everyone’s responsibility.” (Jordan Shamus, 6/29)

NPR: Solar-Powered Fridge Could Solve Problem Of Cold Storage For COVID Vaccines
President Biden this month announced plans to ship a half a billion doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the 100 lowest income countries in the world. That would include Sierra Leone and many other sub-Saharan African nations. But there's a looming problem. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In all of Sierra Leone, population 7.8 million, only one functioning freezer can offer storage at that temperature. It's housed in a complex at the Ministry of Health's medical warehouse compound in the capital Freetown. It's only slightly larger than a residential fridge, and it's already being used to store an Ebola vaccine which requires similar temperatures. (Beaubien, 6/29)

Reuters: Heart Inflammation After COVID-19 Shots Higher Than Expected In Study Of U.S. Military 
Members of the U.S. military who were vaccinated against COVID-19 showed higher-than-expected rates of heart inflammation, although the condition was still extremely rare, according to a study released on Tuesday. The study found that 23 previously healthy males with an average age of 25 complained of chest pain within four days of receiving a COVID-19 shot. The incident rate was higher than some previous estimates would have anticipated, it said. (O'Donnell, 6/29)

Stat: 12 Lessons Covid-19 Taught Us About Developing Vaccines
The extraordinary drive to develop Covid-19 vaccines was like a moonshot — and like that fabled acceleration of space exploration science, it delivered. Just a little over six months after the first Covid vaccines were authorized for use, nearly 3 billion vaccine doses have been administered around the globe. The world got very lucky; so much went right in the quest for vaccines to end this pandemic. But there have been setbacks (see: Sanofi) and failures (see: Merck) along the way, and the progress toward supplying vaccine to less affluent parts of the world has been scandalously slow. (Branswell, 6/30)

The New York Times: Delta Variant’s Spread Prompts Reconsideration Of Mask Guidance 
Throughout the pandemic, masks have ranked among the most contentious public health measures in the United States, symbolizing a bitter partisan divide over the role of government and individual liberties. Now, with a new variant of the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the globe, masks are again the focus of conflicting views, and fears, about the course of pandemic and the restrictions required to manage it. (Rabin, Mandavilli and Hubler, 6/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: No Need For Now To Mask Up Indoors Again, California Says
California health officials are not ready to ask people to wear masks indoors again, despite the fast-spreading threat of the delta variant that now accounts for nearly a quarter of new coronavirus infections in the state. The delta variant has many across the world concerned, and on Monday, Los Angeles County health officials strongly recommended that all residents again wear a mask in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status. However, they did not reimpose the indoor-mask mandate for vaccinated people that was dropped statewide on June 15. (Vaziri and Hwang, 6/29)

Fox News: Illinois Gov Encourages Residents To Carry Masks Amid Delta Variant Spread
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said he is encouraging all residents regardless of vaccination status to leave home with a mask citing concern over the rapid spread of the Delta variant. Pritzker, who was on hand to mark the opening of a business center, wore his mask indoors until it was his turn to speak at the podium. Pritzker said that he was wearing his mask out of an abundance of caution but that "we’re all making judgment calls." (Hein, 6/29)

CNN: What If The Government Got It Wrong On Masks Again? 
There are more and more mixed messages on masks, even for those vaccinated against Covid-19.The World Health Organization is encouraging even the vaccinated to keep the masks on, particularly indoors, as the Delta variant of Covid-19 ricochets around the world. Compare that with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which a month ago told vaccinated Americans they could largely take the masks off, indoors and out. These are different organizations with different missions. The WHO is targeting an international audience, which includes many countries with low vaccination rates. The CDC is targeting the US, which has a relatively high vaccination rate, particularly in certain states. It framed the new guidance that the science shows masks aren't necessary for the vaccinated as a nudge for people to get vaccinated. (Wolf, 6/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Masks? Tests? Summer Camp Rules This Year Are Tricky 
Families and camps are navigating an unusually complicated summer-camp season. Many camps shut down last year, or laid down strict rules as Covid raged. Now safety guidelines have relaxed, but quick changes in the weeks before camps start set off a scramble to figure out new protocols. Camps’ mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated campers makes setting consistent rules difficult. (Dizik, 6/29)

Fox News: Nearly 100 COVID-19 Cases Linked To Illinois Summer Camp, Officials Say
Nearly 100 cases of coronavirus have been linked to a camp in Illinois where indoor masking was not required and vaccination status was not checked, officials said Monday, adding that one unvaccinated young adult required hospitalization. The majority of 85 cases involved teens who attended the mid-June camp session, although some involved adult staff members. Eleven additional cases were reported after several individuals who were at the camp also attended a nearby conference, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said. Among those cases, 70% occurred in unvaccinated people. (Hein, 6/29)

AP: Arkansas Coronavirus Cases Rise As 'Third Surge' Warned
Arkansas may be headed into a third surge of the coronavirus, a top hospital official warned Tuesday as the state’s virus cases continued to rise. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson and Gov. Asa Hutchinson said they were concerned about the rising number of cases as the state approaches the July 4 holiday. (DeMillo, 6/29)

Fox News: Mississippi Health Officials Urge Precaution Ahead Of July 4 Amid Delta Variant Spread
Mississippi health officials on Tuesday advised residents take their Fourth of July celebrations outdoors amid increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations linked to the highly transmissible Delta variant in unvaccinated individuals. Thomas Dobbs, state health officer, noted 11 new daily deaths, 10 of which occurred in unvaccinated individuals, including three people in their 30s, and 1 involved a partially vaccinated person in their 80s. Dobbs told reporters over a call that unvaccinated individuals accounted for 96% of cases in the past month, 95% of hospitalizations and 90% of deaths. (Rivas, 6/29)

CIDRAP: Face Mask Prototype Used To Diagnose COVID-19
Tiny, disposable sensors to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection can be fitted into face masks and integrated into clothing like lab coats, according to a study yesterday in Nature Biotechnology. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University built off previous research that created paper-based diagnostics for viruses like Ebola and Zika based on freeze-dried cellular machinery. Upon activation with water, the first freeze-dried biological reaction cuts open the virus membrane to expose RNA, the second amplifies the spike-coding gene, and the third detects, cuts, and reports any spike gene fragments via technology based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), according to a Harvard news release. (6/29)

Boston Herald: Face Masks That Can Detect Coronavirus: Harvard, MIT Researchers Create Wearable Tech
The face mask that you wear in the future could alert you of a coronavirus diagnosis, thanks to researchers at Harvard University and MIT. Researchers have created wearable biosensors that can detect the presence of the virus in a person’s breath. These button-activated masks give COVID results within 90 minutes in a simple-to-read format similar to an at-home pregnancy test. The mask can diagnose COVID at accuracy levels comparable to standard diagnostic tests, according to the researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and MIT. (Sobey, 6/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Vaccinated Athletes Are Testing Positive For Coronavirus 
A star NBA player, the U.S. Open golf champion and a Ugandan Olympic coach have something in common that is creating a new headache for sports organizers: they tested positive for the novel coronavirus after being vaccinated. Throughout the pandemic, athletes have been the most tested population on the planet, sometimes providing vivid examples of emerging theories—and sometimes helping prove them. (Radnofsky and Bachman, 6/25)

Des Moines Register: COVID-19 Infected Residents At 92% Of Iowa Nursing Homes, Review Shows
Since the coronavirus came to Iowa, COVID-19 struck nearly every nursing home in the state and thousands of elderly residents, a review of federal data shows. Fewer than 10% of nursing homes, 33 of Iowa’s 431 such facilities, have reported no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among their residents, and only three reported zero confirmed cases among either residents and staff. Where the disease did strike, it often devastated the fragile population. (Coltrain, 6/29)

The Guardian: Trump Contempt For White House Covid Taskforce Revealed In New Book
Amid chaos at the White House as the coronavirus pandemic worsened, Donald Trump took to referring derisively to the Covid taskforce chaired by his vice-president as “that [expletive] council that Mike has." The revelation about the president’s contempt for his key advisory body is one among many in a new book, Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History, which is published in the US on Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy. (Pengelly, 6/29)

Modern Healthcare: Merger Creates New Healthcare System In Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma and University Hospitals Authority and Trust signed an agreement Tuesday to merge their clinics and hospitals into Oklahoma's first comprehensive academic health system – OU Health, the systems announced. The system will work under one leader and merge its operations and finances. OU Health said that it will invest clinical earnings into research to offer the latest treatments found nowhere else in the state. (6/29)

Modern Healthcare: ProMedica, Intuitive Health To Open Hybrid Emergency And Urgent Care Clinic
ProMedica will open a dual emergency and urgent care clinic in Toledo, Ohio through a partnership with Intuitive Health, the health system said Tuesday. The 11,000-square-foot-facility will be the first of its kind in northwest Ohio and will eliminate the need for patients to self-diagnose themselves before trying to decide to go to urgent care or the emergency department, ProMedica said. The hope is that the new model will simplify access to care and lower out-of-pocket costs for patients. (Christ, 6/29)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas Hospital Hit In Cyberattack, Data Stolen
University Medical Center acknowledged Tuesday that it had experienced a criminal data breach after a notorious hacker group began posting personal information purportedly obtained in the cyberattack. Images of Nevada driver’s licenses, passports and Social Security cards of around half a dozen alleged victims were posted late Monday on the hacker group’s website and were reviewed by the Review-Journal. After receiving an inquiry from the newspaper, the hospital issued a statement confirming that cybercriminals accessed a server used to store data in mid-June. Law enforcement is now investigating the incident, it said. (Appleton, 6/29)

Stat: Poll: Most Primary Care Docs Disagree With FDA Approval Of Aduhelm
A majority of U.S. physicians disagree with the decision by the Food and Drug Administration to approve the Alzheimer’s drug from Biogen and believe the medicine should not be routinely used for patients, according to a new survey from STAT and Medscape. In addition, nearly two-thirds of the 200 primary care physicians and neurologists polled said they find the trial data unclear when it comes to the benefits and risks of the drug, which is called Aduhelm. Consequently, only a small minority of these doctors think the medicine should be given to patients with early-onset Alzheimer’s, the patient population that was studied by the drug maker. (Silverman, 6/30)

Stat: Primary Care Docs Need To Prepare For CGMs For Type 2 Diabetes
In the last year, Jai Smith has cycled through 13 primary care doctors. Ever since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1995, she’s tried her best to manage a disease that has devastated her family: Her grandmother and four uncles died from its complications. But she’s struggled to find a doctor in her hometown of Little Rock, Ark., that will give her what she wants to manage the condition: a continuous glucose monitor. (Palmer, 6/30)

Modern Healthcare: Streamlining Contracting Could Slash Administrative Costs
Standardizing and simplifying payer-provider contracts could significantly reduce healthcare administrative costs and potentially improve care, a new study found. The U.S. healthcare system wastes an estimated $2,500 per person each year on administrative costs, which is higher than nearly every other developed country with a multi-payer system. Using templated contract structures, digitizing records and limiting prior authorization could help reduce billing and insurance related costs by between 27% and 63%, according to a new analysis published in Health Services Research. (Kacik, 6/29)

CNN: Northwest Heat Wave: Hundreds Of Emergency Room Visits And Dozens Of Linked Deaths 
Hundreds of people have visited emergency departments or urgent-care clinics in the Pacific Northwest since Friday -- and as many as 60 deaths have been reported -- as an excruciating heat wave smashed all-time temperature records in Oregon, Washington and Canada. Portland set record-high temperatures three days in a row, topping out at 116 degrees on Monday. Seattle hit 108 degrees, a new record. At least two locations in Washington reached 118 degrees, which, if confirmed, would tie the state temperature record that dates back to 1928. (Fritz, Hassan and Colon, 6/29)

AP: Mental Health Toll From Isolation Affecting Kids On Reentry
After two suicidal crises during pandemic isolation, 16-year-old Zach Sampson feels stronger but worries his social skills have gone stale. Amara Bhatia has overcome her pandemic depression but the teen feels worn down, in a state of “neutralness.″ Virginia Shipp is adjusting but says returning to normal “is kind of unnormal for me.” After relentless months of social distancing, online schooling and other restrictions, many kids are feeling the pandemic’s toll or facing new challenges navigating reentry. (Tanner, 6/29)

Fox News: Excessive Screen Time Linked To Obesity In US Preteens, Study Finds
A study published Monday suggests a link between screen time and weight gain in American preteens. Researchers, who published their findings in Pediatric Obesity, found that each additional hour spent on screen time was associated with a higher body mass index in 9-10-year-olds one year later. What’s more, researchers said, is that the weight gain may not just be the result of sedentary behavior, but also that exposure to social media and "unattainable body ideals," could lead to subsequent overeating. (Hein, 6/29)

The New York Times: How To Wash Fruits And Vegetables 
To minimize the risk of food poisoning, you really do need to wash produce before eating it, though no special produce washes are required. Wash your hands before handling any produce, then rinse the foods under cold, running tap water. Five to 10 seconds is typically sufficient, so long as you’re covering the full surface of the produce item. Rinsing removes debris and dirt and any microbial contaminants they may contain. Washing also helps remove some of the surface pesticides that may be present, though guidelines are generally the same for organic produce as for conventional produce. (Egan, 6/29)

Philadelphia Inquirer: The Future Of Human Cat Allergy Treatment May Be In Changing Cats With Food, Vaccines Or Gene Editing
Solutions for people who want to be around cats despite allergies are labor-intensive, of questionable value, and sometimes defy common sense. How many emergency department trips would ensue if we all tried to give our cats frequent baths? This predicament has triggered the imagination of researchers, who see a lucrative market for better solutions in a country that has more than 50 million cats in more than 20 million homes. Some scientists are now taking a different approach to human pet allergies. Rather than trying to change allergic humans or their environment, they’re trying to change cats. (Burling, 6/29)

NBC News: Fentanyl Seizures At U.S. Southern Border Rise Dramatically
Federal agents in this section of the southern border say they’ve seen a staggering 4,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures over the last three years. Those busts are not at ports of entry, where most smuggled drugs are typically found. The Border Patrol says the rising amount of fentanyl is being found in the desert – transported by increasingly brazen smugglers who are exploiting stretched federal resources. (Gutierrez and Henkel, 6/29)

AP: California Advances Decriminalizing Psychedelic Substances
California on Tuesday moved another step closer to decriminalizing psychedelics — amid a debate over whether their prohibition is an outdated remnant of the War on Drugs — after the author removed a substance from the bill that opponents said can be used as a date-rape drug. The bill would allow those 21 and older to possess for personal use and “social sharing” psilocybin, the hallucinogenic component of so-called magic mushrooms. It also covers psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline excluding peyote, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, often called ecstasy). (Thompson, 6/30)

AP: Maine, One Of Most Vaccinated States, Ends Emergency Order
A coronavirus pandemic emergency order was slated to end on Wednesday for one of the most vaccinated states in the country. Maine has been under a “state of civil emergency” since the early days of the pandemic. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has used the order to use state resources to try to slow the spread of the virus. (6/30)

AP: Tennessee Ending Federal Pandemic Unemployment Aid On July 3
The extra federal unemployment aid offered amid the COVID-19 pandemic will end in Tennessee on Saturday, including the end of $300 weekly additional payments. Tennessee is among dozens of states that have stopped accepting the $300 benefit. Republican leaders say it’s necessary because job openings are going unfilled, and are pointing people to job-finding resources offered throughout the state. (6/30)

AP: Most COVID-19 Restrictions Set To Lift In Washington State
Most of the COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place and modified several times since last spring will be lifted in Washington state Wednesday, meaning restaurants and bars and other businesses can resume full indoor occupancy levels and physical distancing requirements will be lifted. Since May, all of the state’s 39 counties have been in the third phase of a four-stage reopening plan, with indoor capacity limited at 50%. Now, businesses across the state can resume normal operations. (La Corte, 6/29)

AP: Governor: Kansas Will Keep Providing Extra COVID Food Aid
Gov. Laura Kelly and her top welfare official moved Tuesday to keep thousands of families from losing extra food aid because Kansas is no longer under a state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement that Kelly plans to continue the extra $14.5 million a month in aid came two weeks after top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature ended the state of emergency. (6/29)

AP: Missouri Republicans Face Heat Over Planned Parenthood Money
Missouri anti-abortion advocates on Tuesday continued to push Republican lawmakers to use a special legislative session on a Medicaid funding tax to also block Planned Parenthood funding. But with only days left before GOP Gov. Mike Parson’s Thursday deadline for lawmakers to renew the Medicaid tax, it seems unlikely that the Republican-led Legislature will succeed on the Planned Parenthood front. (Ballentine, 6/29)

KQED: 'So Thankful’: California To Offer Medi-Cal To 235,000 Undocumented Adults
Nearly a quarter of a million undocumented adults and seniors in California – many of whom are or have been essential workers – will gain access to low-cost or free medical services as early as next year under a groundbreaking budget deal approved Monday by the Legislature. California is now positioned to officially become the first state in the nation to offer public health insurance to low-income, undocumented residents ages 50 and older, a highly vulnerable population which has been made even more vulnerable by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. (Jhabvala Romero, 6/29)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Backs New Plan For Restricting Homeless Encampments
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to draft new rules barring homeless people from camping near schools, parks, libraries and other “sensitive” facilities, a sudden change in direction for a city struggling to address a humanitarian crisis while also restoring access to its public spaces. On a 12 to 3 vote, council members asked the city’s lawyers to quickly draw up a law prohibiting sleeping, lying and storing possessions near a variety of public facilities, including public schools and homeless shelters. It also would bar tents and encampments from blocking sidewalks in ways that prevent wheelchairs users from traveling on them, in violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. (Zahniser and Oreskes, 6/29)

Los Angeles Times: LAPD Program Diverting Suicide Calls To Counselors Expands
A pilot program to divert 911 calls from people experiencing suicidal thoughts to certified mental health providers instead of Los Angeles police officers is being expanded into a 24-hour operation. The amended contract, approved by the civilian Police Commission on Tuesday, increases the LAPD’s one-year pilot with Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services from an eight-hour per day operation to an around-the-clock service. The expansion increases the cost of the program from $378,522 to $838,522. (Rector, 6/29)