First Edition: March 15, 2024
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
How Your In-Network Health Coverage Can Vanish Before You Know It
Sarah Feldman, 35, received the first ominous letters from Mount Sinai Medical last November. The New York hospital system warned it was having trouble negotiating a pricing agreement with UnitedHealthcare, which includes Oxford Health Plans, Feldman’s insurer. “We are working in good faith with Oxford to reach a new fair agreement,” the letter said, continuing reassuringly: “Your physicians will remain in-network and you should keep appointments with your providers.” (Rosenthal, 3/15)
KFF Health News:
A New Orleans Neighborhood Confronts The Racist Legacy Of A Toxic Stretch Of Highway
Aside from a few discarded hypodermic needles on the ground, the Hunter’s Field Playground in New Orleans looks almost untouched. It’s been open more than nine years, but the brightly painted red and yellow slides and monkey bars are still sleek and shiny, and the padded rubber tiles feel springy underfoot. For people who live nearby, it’s no mystery why the equipment is in relatively pristine shape: Children don’t come here to play. (Hawkins, 3/15)
KFF Health News:
When Copay Assistance Backfires On Patients
In early 2019, Jennifer Hepworth and her husband were stunned by a large bill they unexpectedly received for their daughter’s prescription cystic fibrosis medication. Their payment had risen to $3,500 from the usual $30 for a month’s supply. That must be a mistake, she told the pharmacy. But it wasn’t. It turned out that the health insurance plan through her husband’s job had a new program in which it stopped applying any financial assistance they received from drugmakers to the family’s annual deductible. (Appleby, 3/15)
KFF Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast:
Maybe It’s A Health Care Election After All
Health care wasn’t expected to be a major theme for this year’s elections. But as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured their respective party nominations this week, the future of both Medicare and the Affordable Care Act appears to be up for debate. Meanwhile, the cyberattack of the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Change Healthcare continues to do damage to the companies’ finances with no quick end in sight. (3/14)
Stat:
EPA Restricts Cancer-Causing Chemical Used To Sterilize Medical Devices
On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized limits on a carcinogenic gas called ethylene oxide that is used to sterilize most medical devices. Sterilizing facilities had polluted the air unchecked for decades, leading to disproportionately high cancer risks in surrounding communities. (Lawrence, 3/14)
Stat:
HHS Secretary Becerra Pressed On Change HealthCare Cyberattack
Senators want answers from the Biden administration on the recent cyberattack that froze millions of hospital and physician insurance claims. During a hearing Thursday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to institute cybersecurity requirements for both hospitals and insurers and to “start holding these executives [accountable] who are not doing their job in line with the kind of safety standards Americans have the right to expect on cyber.” (Owermohle, 3/14)
Politico:
HHS Secretary Defends Scientific Rigour Of Cannabis Review On Capitol Hill
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra defended the FDA's review of cannabis science and its recommendation to loosen federal marijuana restrictions during a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill. "There has been a lot of science that's been collected over the years on cannabis," Becerra said during the hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. "We have far more information now." (Fertig, 3/14)
The Hill:
HHS Officials To Tout Biden’s Health Care Agenda On ‘Match Day’ For Medical Students
Roughly a dozen Biden administration health officials will mark “Match Day” for medical students on Friday, traveling to different medical schools across the country and speaking about President Biden’s health care agenda. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra will visit a medical school in Washington, D.C., while other officials will be at medical schools in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Nashville and other cities in Wisconsin, California and North Carolina. (Samuels, 3/14)
Stat:
Pushing For An NIH Office For Post-Infection Chronic Illness
When the White House released President Biden’s 2025 budget requests this week, funding for biomedical research was stagnant. The more conservative wishlist from the president acknowledges a reduced appetite in Congress for non-defense government spending. (Cueto, 3/15)
The Washington Post:
Biden Offers Advice To Boy With Stutter While Campaigning In Milwaukee
Last year, Harry Abramson wrote President Biden a letter, asking him one big question: How did he overcome his stutter? According to Biden’s campaign, Harry, 9, wrote to the president for advice — saying that maybe, if he learned how to control his stutter, he, too, could one day be president. Biden, who regularly talks about his struggles with a stutter and the work he’s put into overcoming it, wrote back. And, on Wednesday, he met with Harry during a visit to Milwaukee to personally deliver some advice. (Alfaro, 3/14)
The Hill:
Trump Cleans Up Remarks About ‘Cutting’ Social Security And Medicare
Former President Trump in a new interview sought to clarify comments from earlier in the week in which he said there are ways to go about “cutting” entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” Trump told Breitbart News on Wednesday. “We’ll have to do it elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything to hurt them.” (Samuels, 3/14)
Modern Healthcare:
Senators Push To Include PBM Bills In March 22 Spending Bill
A congressional effort to stiffen regulations on pharmacy benefit managers may not be dead after all. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) aim to attach measures their panel has already approved to a spending bill Congress must pass by next Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown, they said at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday. (McAuliff, 3/14)
The New York Times:
Teen Pregnancy Linked to Premature Death, Study Finds
Teen pregnancy increases the chances that a young woman will drop out of school and struggle with poverty, research has shown. Teenagers are also more likely to develop serious medical complications during pregnancy. Now a large study in Canada reports another disturbing finding: Women who were pregnant as teenagers are more likely to die before their 31st birthday. The trend was observed among women who had carried teen pregnancies to term, as well as among those who had miscarried. (Rabin, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
In History-Making Visit, Harris Tours Minnesota Abortion Clinic
Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at the St. Paul facility Thursday afternoon, where she was greeted by Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States, and embarked on a tour. She was joined on the tour by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.). (Vazquez, 3/14)
AP:
Bill Shelved That Sought Changes To Iowa Law Outlining Penalties For Terminating A Pregnancy
A bill that would have made changes to Iowa’s fetal homicide law has been shelved after a Senate Republican joined Democrats in voicing concerns about the potential impact on in vitro fertilization after an Alabama court found frozen embryos can be considered children. The Senate declined to consider the bill, which was approved by the House last week. Iowa’s law currently outlines penalties for terminating or seriously injuring a “human pregnancy.” The bill would have changed that language to be about the death of, or serious injury to, an “unborn person” from fertilization to live birth. (Fingerhut, 3/14)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Medical Board To Consider Abortion Laws’ Medical Exceptions Guidance For Doctors
The Texas Medical Board will consider language to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws at an upcoming March 22 board meeting. The meeting agenda was published in the Texas Register Thursday morning. (Rubin, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
Some Families Opt To Destroy Frozen Eggs And Embryos Due To Rising Costs
Caitlyn Plaskett and her wife, Wanda, finally felt like they had to make a decision: keep paying high monthly storage fees to keep their five embryos frozen, or have them destroyed to save money. The couple used donor sperm to conceive their two sons, ages 3½ and 18 months. They were paying $65 per month to keep their remaining embryos stored — a cost, they said, that steadily rose each year by $10 to $15 per month. (Ferguson, 3/15)
CIDRAP:
CDC Continues To Receive Reports Of MIS-C In Kids Following COVID Infections
Cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a rare but serious COVID-19 complication in children, have decreased from the earlier pandemic months but continue to be reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The CDC saw a relative increase in MIS-C cases in the fall of 2023, when the United States was experiencing a rise in COVID activity in the general population. (Schnirring, 3/14)
CIDRAP:
Study: Men With Key Anti-Inflammatory Genetic Variant Almost 80% Less Likely To Die Of COVID
Hospitalized male COVID-19 patients younger than 75 who have a certain variant of a key anti-inflammatory gene are at much lower risk of experiencing severe inflammation and dying of the disease, New York University researchers reported yesterday in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. ... Men with rs419598 had significantly lower inflammatory biomarker concentrations and a lower death rate than those with another studied genotype (10.0% vs 17.8%). (Van Beusekom, 3/14)
Axios:
Hypothetical Disease X Drives Real Spending
Disease X may still be a hypothetical threat. But the risk from a new pathogen many times deadlier than COVID-19 is driving more spending decisions on rapid tests, antimicrobial drugs and other countermeasures. (Bettelheim, 3/15)
CBS News:
Unvaccinated Child Has Confirmed Case Of Measles In Stanislaus County, Officials Say
An unvaccinated Central Valley child has a confirmed case of measles, health officials say. Stanislaus County Public Health announced the confirmed case on Thursday. The child had recently traveled out the country, but health officials didn't reveal exactly where. While relatively rare in the US, confirmed cases are often traced back to other parts of the world where measles is still present. Officials noted that all known public exposures related to this new case have occurred in healthcare settings. (Padilla, 3/14)
Stat:
First U.S. Drug Developed To Treat Liver Disease MASH Is Approved
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first medicine developed specifically to treat the serious liver disease known as MASH. The pill, called Rezdiffra, is made by Madrigal Pharmaceuticals. (Feuerstein, 3/14)
Reuters:
Gilead CAR-T Cancer Therapy Capacity To Quadruple By 2026
Gilead Sciences will be able to quadruple production of its cell therapy cancer treatments by 2026 due to improvements in the U.S. biotech's manufacturing processes, an executive in charge of that business told Reuters. (Erman, 3/15)
Axios:
Safety Risks Hang Over CAR-T Therapies For Myeloma
Food and Drug Administration advisers Friday will weigh the risk of premature patient deaths from adverse events when they consider expanding the use of two CAR-T therapies for multiple myeloma. (Reed, 3/15)
Stateline:
New Way For States To Cover Pricey Gene Therapies Will Start With Sickle Cell Disease
The new sickle cell treatments have brought hope to those with the debilitating blood disorder, which is hereditary and disproportionately affects Black people. But the therapies come with a price tag of as much as $3 million for a course of treatment, which can take up to a year. Despite those high upfront costs, cell and gene therapies have the potential to reduce health care spending over time by addressing the underlying cause of the disease. (Hassanein, 3/14)
Stat:
Ebola: Gilead Sciences Antiviral Shows Promise As New Treatment
Anew study suggests the antiviral drug obeldesivir may be effective in curing Ebola Sudan infections, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments. (Branswell, 3/14)
Chicago Tribune:
Lurie Reactivating MyChart After Cyberattack
Lurie Children’s Hospital has started to reactivate its MyChart online patient portal, more than a month after falling victim to a cyberattack. Lurie plans to bring back MyChart over the coming days, the health system said in a statement. Patients will soon be able to use MyChart again for online scheduling, e-check-in, to send messages to providers, to request medication refills and to pay bills, Lurie said. (Schencker, 3/14)
Modern Healthcare:
Mass General Brigham Reorganizes Departments, Executive Roles
Mass General Brigham is planning to merge the clinical departments and academic programs at two major medical centers in the next few years. Comparable departments at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital will become one department, each led by a chairperson, Boston-based Mass General Brigham said Wednesday. (Hudson, 3/14)
Politico:
Legislature Proposes Major Medicaid Hikes, Setting The Stage For Funding Fight
The state Senate and Assembly proposed record-high Medicaid rate increases in their one-house budget bills this week, rebuffing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s efforts to tamp down the program’s ballooning cost in the upcoming fiscal year. Both houses called for a 3 percent rate increase and supplementary hikes for hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. (Kaufman, 3/14)
The New York Times:
California Prosecutors Filing Murder Charges In More Fentanyl Deaths
Just about every state in America has cracked down on fentanyl distribution, by stepping up arrests and increasing prison sentences. But few places are as aggressive as Riverside County, Calif., in prosecuting people who supply fatal doses of fentanyl. Since late 2021, the Riverside County district attorney, Mike Hestrin, has charged 34 suspected fentanyl suppliers with murder and is said to be the first prosecutor in California to achieve a guilty verdict from a jury in a fentanyl-related homicide trial. (Corkery, 3/14)
The Boston Globe:
Parental Notification On Sexual Orientation And Gender Education Clears N.H. House
Schools are already required to notify parents two weeks before teaching sex education, so families can opt out. But a new Republican-backed proposal passed by the New Hampshire House in a 186 to 185 vote Thursday would expand that notification requirement to allow families to opt out of instruction on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression as well. The move, which drew condemnation from Democrats, comes amid a heightened national focus on schools, teachers, and gender. (Gokee, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
Father Of Oxford School Shooter Found Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter
James Crumbley, whose teenage son killed four students in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by an Oakland County jury Thursday in a verdict that caps two separate trials that made Crumbley and his wife the first parents of a school shooter to face homicide-level charges for their child’s crime. The jury of six men and six women deliberated for nearly 11 hours before finding Crumbley, 47, guilty of all four involuntary manslaughter counts. The verdict concluded the brisk eight-day trial that largely lacked the drama and hostility between the defense and prosecutors seen in Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, which ended last month with her conviction on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. (Bellware, 3/14)
CNN:
Deadly Illness Outbreak Linked To Morel Mushrooms May Have Stemmed From Preparation, CDC Says
Although morels are generally considered safe, the mushrooms were at the heart of a deadly illness outbreak in Montana last year. An investigation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, detailed in a report published Thursday, tried to solve the mystery about exactly what went wrong. (Christensen, 3/14)
CIDRAP:
Could Cleaner Air Be Driving Rise In Legionnaire's Disease?
Legionnaire's disease (LD) cases rose ninefold between 2000 and 2018, and the reasons for the dramatic global rise have been a scientific mystery. This week, a research team proposed a surprising factor: a drop in air pollution. The study shedding new light on LD cases comes amid new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that Legionella-related outbreaks were the leading cause of drinking water–related outbreaks from 2015 to 2020. (Schnirring, 3/14)
The 19th:
Louisiana's Toxic Air Is Linked To Low-Weight And Pre-Term Births
All three of Ashley Gaignard’s children were born preterm and at low birth weights. It was a fact that Gaignard didn’t think about much at the time — her children are now in their twenties — because it felt so common among her friends and family. (Kutz, 3/14)