First Edition: March 1, 2024
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
With Medical Debt Burdening Millions, A Financial Regulator Steps In To Help
When President Barack Obama signed legislation in 2010 to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he said the new agency had one priority: “looking out for people, not big banks, not lenders, not investment houses.” ... But as the U.S. health care system turns tens of millions of Americans into debtors, this financial watchdog is increasingly working to protect beleaguered patients, adding hospitals, nursing homes, and patient financing companies to the list of institutions that regulators are probing. (Levey, 3/1)
KFF Health News:
How A Friend’s Death Turned Colorado Teens Into Anti-Overdose Activists
Gavinn McKinney loved Nike shoes, fireworks, and sushi. He was studying Potawatomi, one of the languages of his Native American heritage. He loved holding his niece and smelling her baby smell. On his 15th birthday, the Durango, Colorado, teen spent a cold December afternoon chopping wood to help neighbors who couldn’t afford to heat their homes. McKinney almost made it to his 16th birthday. He died of fentanyl poisoning at a friend’s house in December 2021. (Bichell, 3/1)
KFF Health News:
California Hospitals, Advocates Seek Stable Funding To Retain Behavioral Health Navigators
Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs. Supporters of CA Bridge’s behavioral health navigator program, which launched in 2022, say its reliance on one-time funding makes it hard for hospitals to retain navigators amid a growing drug crisis. (Sánchez, 3/1)
KFF Health News:
KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': Alabama’s IVF Ruling Still Making Waves
Reverberations from the Alabama Supreme Court’s first-in-the-nation ruling that embryos are legally children continued this week, both in the states and in Washington. As Alabama lawmakers scrambled to find a way to protect in vitro fertilization services without directly denying the “personhood” of embryos, lawmakers in Florida postponed a vote on the state’s own “personhood” law. And in Washington, Republicans worked to find a way to satisfy two factions of their base: those who support IVF and those who believe embryos deserve full legal rights. (2/29)
Reuters:
Healthcare Providers Hit By Frozen Payments In Ransomware Outage
Healthcare providers across the United States are struggling to get paid following the week-long ransomware outage at a key tech unit of UnitedHealth Group, with some smaller providers saying they are already running low on cash. Large hospital chains are also locked out of processing payments with some absorbing the upfront costs of being unable to collect, according to the American Hospital Association, which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare systems, networks and other providers. (Satter, Bing and Wingrove, 2/29)
CBS News:
Cyberattack On UnitedHealth Still Impacting Prescription Access: "These Are Threats To Life"
A cyberattack on the health technology provider Change Healthcare is wreaking havoc nationwide, as some hospitals and pharmacies cannot get paid, and many patients are unable to get prescriptions. Change Healthcare is a subsidiary of the UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest healthcare companies. In a federal filing this week, UnitedHealth said that Change Healthcare first discovered the hack on Feb. 21, disconnecting impacted systems "immediately." (Sganga and Triay, 2/29)
Stat:
Change Healthcare Cyberattack Outage Could Last Weeks
The outage caused by the Change Healthcare cyberattack could last weeks, a top UnitedHealth executive suggested in a Tuesday conference call with hospital cybersecurity officers, according to a recording obtained by STAT. (Trang, 2/29)
The Hill:
Senate Passes Spending Bill, Punting Shutdown Threat To Next Week
The Senate on Thursday passed a short-term spending bill that punts this weekend’s shutdown threat to later in the month, but leaves questions about how Congress will fund the government through the rest of the year. Senators voted 77-13 to send the funding measure to President Biden’s desk for his signature, just hours after the House voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill 320-99 and just a day before a tranche of government funding was set to expire. (Folley and Weaver, 2/29)
Modern Healthcare:
Spending Bill Leaves Out CHC Funding, Medicaid DSH Cut Delays
Doctors, hospitals and community health centers will have to wait a little longer to learn their fates in full-year funding bills Congress is trying to hash out. That's because the short-term funding agreement Congress passed Thursday, which keeps parts of the government open until March 8 and the rest until March 22, is silent on key issues such as Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments, Medicare physician reimbursements and community health center funding. (McAuliff, 2/29)
The Wall Street Journal:
Alabama Senate, House Pass Bills To Protect IVF
Both chambers of the Alabama Legislature passed bills intended to protect in vitro fertilization providers after the state Supreme Court ruled that embryos qualify as children. The Republican-sponsored bills were fast-tracked through the Senate and the House this week. The companion bills, introduced Tuesday, grant civil and criminal immunity to those providing IVF treatments. (Otis and Ansari, 2/29)
The 19th:
Could The Alabama Supreme Court Ruling On IVF Impact Access In Other States?
An Alabama Supreme Court has effectively ended access in the state to IVF, leaving families navigating infertility in limbo. Outside of Alabama, IVF patients have begun to question the security of their own treatment. Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in a case challenging Texas’ abortion bans, said this week she is moving her frozen embryos in case her state is next to curb access to IVF. (Luthra, 2/29)
NPR:
Montana Judge Declares 3 Laws Restricting Abortion Unconstitutional
Three Montana laws restricting abortion rights, including a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, have been struck down in court as unconstitutional. ... Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the Thursday ruling a critical victory. "As we celebrate today, we will continue to build on this win to fight for equitable abortion access in Montana and beyond," McGill said in a statement, adding that Montana will remain a crucial access point for those seeking abortion in the Rocky Mountain West. (Ragar, 2/29)
Reuters:
Missouri Accuses Planned Parenthood Of 'Trafficking' Minors To Get Abortions
Missouri's Republican attorney general on Thursday sued a Planned Parenthood affiliate, accusing it of helping minors travel to Kansas to get abortions without notifying their parents in violation of state law. The lawsuit by Attorney General Andrew Bailey cites undercover footage released by the conservative Project Veritas last year purporting to show a Planned Parenthood Great Plains employee offer to arrange an abortion for a 13-year-old in Kansas. Missouri law bans nearly all abortions, as well as helping a minor get an abortion out of state without parental consent. (Pierson, 2/29)
AP:
Texas Prosecutor Is Fined For Allowing Murder Charges Against A Woman Who Self-Managed An Abortion
A Texas prosecutor has been disciplined for allowing murder charges to be filed against a woman who self-managed an abortion in a case that sparked national outrage. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez agreed to pay a $1,250 fine and have his license held in a probated suspension for 12 months in a settlement reached with the State Bar of Texas. Ramirez will be able to continue practicing law as long as he complies with the terms of the January settlement, which was first reported by news outlets on Thursday. (Mulvihill, 2/29)
NPR:
W.Va. Senate Passes Bill Requiring Schools Show A Fetal Development Video
West Virginia's Republican-supermajority Senate approved a bill that would require public schools to show a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion rights group. The bill, referred to as the "Baby Olivia" bill, would require public schools to show a three-minute, high-definition video showing the "development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development" to eighth graders and tenth graders. (Heaney, Rosenbaum, Watkins, and Sostaric, 3/1)
CIDRAP:
Monovalent XBB.1.5 Vaccine Shows 51% Protection Against COVID Hospitalization
A new interim estimate of vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the monovalent (single-strain) XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine shows the shot was 51% effective in preventing emergency department and urgent care visits among adults without compromised immune systems. The study was published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Soucheray, 2/29)
CNN:
Excessive Alcohol Drinking Drove About 488 Deaths Per Day During The Pandemic, CDC Says
While dry January and damp lifestyles have taken off on TikTok, the United States has already experienced a spike in deaths related to excessive alcohol. In 2020-21, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were an average of about 488 deaths per day from excessive alcohol drinking, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol is a leading cause of preventable death. (Christensen, 2/29)
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Quality Measures Report Sees Performance Drop In 2021
Health systems saw deepened racial disparities and worse care outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic as their performance on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' quality measures steeply declined, according to a recent report. Hospitals and post-acute care providers were showing improvement—or at least stability—on almost 90% of CMS' quality measures from 2016 through 2019, according to the agency's 2024 national impact assessment, published Wednesday. (Devereaux, 2/29)
Bloomberg:
Obesity Drugs Won’t Solve Problem That Affects 1 Billion People, WHO Warns
Effective, popular obesity medications won’t be enough to solve a worldwide problem that now affects more than 1 billion people, World Health Organization officials warned. Obesity has quadrupled among children and teens and more than doubled among adults since 1990, with about one in every eight people in the world living with the condition, the health agency said Thursday in the first global public analysis of the condition since 2017. (Kresge and Feliciano, 2/29)
The Boston Globe:
About Fresh Commits $60 Million To White House Anti-Hunger Effort
Boston-based nonprofit About Fresh this week committed $60 million to support the White House’s Challenge to End Hunger and Build Communities over five years through its Fresh Connect program that will generate data for research on how food can be used as medicine. The nonprofit also pledged $2.2 million over three years to support its Fresh Truck program, which it is spinning off as a new independent nonprofit, that deploys retrofitted school buses as mobile markets bringing fresh food to neighborhoods. (Walia, 2/29)
Stat:
Medical Device Lobby: We're Tired Of Waiting On Medicare Coverage
Medical technology lobby AdvaMed is fed up with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In a letter sent to the agency and shared with STAT, the group urged CMS to act on finalizing a pathway that would make reimbursement for breakthrough devices easier. (Lawrence, 3/1)
Reuters:
Pharma Companies Ask Court Not To Break Up US States’ Price-Fixing Lawsuits
A group of major pharmaceutical companies want an appeals court to force Connecticut and other states to remain in a coordinated legal proceeding over generic drug pricing, arguing that allowing them to pursue their claims separately would upend years of legal work and cause delays. Drug companies Upshur-Smith, Teva, Glenmark and more than a dozen others in a petition urged the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to keep Connecticut and 45 other states a part of the antitrust litigation in Pennsylvania. (Scarcella, 2/29)
Bloomberg:
American Academy Of Dermatology Pushes To Pull DEI Programs, Citing Antisemitism
America’s largest association of dermatologists is considering scrapping its diversity and inclusion initiatives, threatening to end programs designed to improve representation in one of the least diverse specialties in medicine. A group of doctors raised a resolution to end the American Academy of Dermatology’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The proposal, to be debated at the organization’s upcoming annual meeting, cited unease around the politicization of DEI and raised antisemitism as a concern. (Butler and Rutherford, 2/29)
Reuters:
Exclusive: Musk's Neuralink Brain Implant Company Cited By FDA Over Animal Lab Issues
U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found problems with record keeping and quality controls for animal experiments at Elon Musk's Neuralink, less than a month after the startup said it was cleared to test its brain implants in humans, according to an agency report reviewed by Reuters. The inspectors identified quality control lapses at the company's California animal research facility. A similar inspection at Neuralink's Texas facility did not find problems, according to agency records. (Taylor, 3/1)
News Service of Florida:
Florida Senate Approves A Bill Creating ‘Rural Emergency Hospitals’
The Florida Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would create a new category of “rural emergency hospitals” in the state, with supporters saying it would help ensure access to health care in rural areas. (2/29)
CNBC:
Medicaid Challenges Leave Many Black Americans Uninsured
Recent changes to Medicaid programs, aimed at closing a health coverage gap in the U.S., have left behind some Americans — particularly people of color. (Washington, 2/29)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Northview Nursing Home Owners Paid Themselves Before Crash
In the years leading up to the chaotic closure of the Northview Village Nursing Home, revenues fell and resident counts dropped. Still, the owners of the north St. Louis nursing home, the largest in the city, were sending at least $1.5 million annually in rent and other payments to their companies. (Barker and Merrilees, 2/29)
Houston Chronicle:
LGBTQ Group Sues Texas AG To Shield Identity Of Transgender Families
An LGBTQ advocacy group is suing the Texas attorney general after his agency requested information that the group said would reveal the identities of its members, including those who sought to stay anonymous in recent suits. The suit, filed Wednesday by PFLAG, argued that the requests violate its members’ right to free speech, to petition and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. (Goldenstein, 2/29)
Los Angeles Times:
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Creates Dedicated Small Baby Unit To Care For Its Tiniest, Most Fragile Babies
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has launched a dedicated Small Baby Unit to provide the highest level of specialized care to critically ill premature babies. The program is located within the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU) and is supported by a specialized team of clinicians trained in the care of children born before 32 weeks. (2/29)
The Washington Post:
Michigan Wants To Study Marijuana’s Health Benefits. It’s Not Easy
When Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana six years ago, the measure included an innovative mandate: using cannabis tax revenue to pay for research into the health benefits of the drug for military veterans. State officials later committed $40 million. Not a single veteran has received marijuana in a trial. Critics blame federal restrictions on marijuana research. (Ovalle and Nirappil, 2/29)
AP:
Zyn Nicotine Pouches Are All Over TikTok, Sparking Debate Among Politicians And Health Experts
There’s nothing complicated about the latest tobacco product trending online: Zyn is a tiny pouch filled with nicotine and flavoring. But it has stoked a debate among politicians, parents and pundits that reflects an increasingly complex landscape in which Big Tobacco companies aggressively push alternative products while experts wrestle with their potential benefits and risks. (Perrone, 3/1)
NPR:
The Human Cost Of Climate-Related Disasters Is Undercounted, A New Study Finds
A new study published in Nature Medicine looks directly at the human health impacts from severe weather like hurricanes, floods, and intense storms. The study examined Medicare records before and after weather disasters that incurred more than $1 billion of damages from 2011 to 2016. ... "Based off experience that we've seen unfold in the U.S. and elsewhere, we see that there's destruction and disruption to our ability to deliver the high-quality care we want to give patients in the weeks following the weather disasters," says Renee Salas, an emergency department physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. (Borunda, 2/29)
Bloomberg:
Rising Sea Levels Increase Threat Of Arsenic In Drinking Water
Rising seas due to climate change could exacerbate the threat of arsenic in drinking water, according to a study published in PLOS ONE in January. Researchers focused on arsenic in well water in Bangladesh, where up to 97% of the population relies on such water for drinking. Arsenic occurs naturally in the earth’s crust, but how much arsenic is present in groundwater depends on geology, fertilizer habits and land use patterns, among other factors. (Pierre-Louis, 2/29)