First Edition: March 26, 2024

KFF Health News: Overdosing On Chemo: A Common Gene Test Could Save Hundreds Of Lives Each Year
One January morning in 2021, Carol Rosen took a standard treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Three gruesome weeks later, she died in excruciating pain from the very drug meant to prolong her life. Rosen, a 70-year-old retired schoolteacher, passed her final days in anguish, enduring severe diarrhea and nausea and terrible sores in her mouth that kept her from eating, drinking, and, eventually, speaking. (Allen, 3/36)

KFF Health News: At Stake In Mifepristone Case: Abortion, FDA’s Authority, And Return To 1873 Obscenity Law
Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit of an urgent priority: shutting down access to abortion pills for women across the country. The case challenges the FDA’s regulation of mifepristone, a prescription-only drug approved in 2000 with a stellar safety record that is used in 63% of all U.S. abortions. (Varney, 3/25)

The New York Times: Bird Flu Spreads To Dairy Cows
A highly fatal form of avian influenza, or bird flu, has been confirmed in U.S. cattle in Texas and Kansas, the Department of Agriculture announced on Monday. It is the first time that cows infected with the virus have been identified. The cows appear to have been infected by wild birds, and dead birds were reported on some farms, the agency said. The results were announced after multiple federal and state agencies began investigating reports of sick cows in Texas, Kansas and New Mexico. (Anthes, 3/25)

AP: Dairy Cattle In Texas, Kansas Test Positive For Bird Flu
Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in birds and to occasionally infect people. The virus is affecting older dairy cows in those states and in New Mexico, causing decreased lactation and low appetite. ... The federal government said its tests in the cattle did not detect any changes to the virus that would make it spread more easily to people. (Stobbe and Aleccia, 3/25)

The Washington Post: Bird Flu Symptoms Found In Dairy Cattle In Texas, Kansas
Milk and nasal swab samples from sick cattle on at least two dairy farms in Texas and two in Kansas have tested positive for bird flu, according to federal and state officials. ... “There is no threat to the public and there will be no supply shortages,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a news release. “No contaminated milk is known to have entered the food chain; it has all been dumped. In the rare event that some affected milk enters the food chain, the pasteurization process will kill the virus.” (Jeong, 3/26)

Reuters: US Detects Avian Flu In Milk, Says Dairy Supplies Are Safe
The government said milk from sick cows is being diverted or destroyed so it does not enter the food supply. Pasteurization is required for milk entering interstate commerce, a process that kills bacteria and viruses such as flu, the USDA said. ... It added there should be no impact on prices for milk or other dairy products. U.S. dairy industry groups urged importers not to ban or restrict shipments of U.S. dairy products because of the detections. (Polansek, 3/25)

CIDRAP: People More Often Are Origin Of Infectious Diseases In Animals Than Vice Versa, Data Suggest
People pass twice as many viruses to domestic and wild animals than animals pass to people, concludes a study today in Nature Ecology & Evolution. University College London (UCL) researchers analyzed genomic data on nearly 12 million viruses in 32 viral families using network and evolutional analyses to characterize the mutations behind recent vertebrate species jumps. (Van Beusekom, 3/25)

Reuters: US Supreme Court Abortion Pill Fight Brings Claims Of Distorted Science
The abortion opponents who are seeking to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone point to three studies by Gynuity Health Projects, a New York-based women's health research group, to back up their arguments that it is unsafe despite its regulatory approval decades ago. But the way the research has been prominently cited by the plaintiffs in their bid to limit how the pill is prescribed and distributed is bewildering to Dr. Beverly Winikoff, Gynuity's president, given that the conclusions broadly support easier access to the medication. (Chung, 3/25)

The Hill: Supreme Court’s Abortion Pill Case Could Have Sweeping Consequences
A fight over abortion pills at the Supreme Court this week could have sweeping consequences for all Americans’ access to mifepristone, even those who live in blue states. Abortion will be back in court Tuesday, when the same justices who overturned Roe v. Wade will hear arguments about whether federal regulators overstepped their authority by loosening restrictions to make mifepristone easier to access. (Weixel, 3/25)

NPR: The Supreme Court Hears The Mifepristone Case Tuesday. Here's What's At Stake
Just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a newly-formed group called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine sued the Food and Drug Administration, challenging its approval of mifepristone, a medication used for abortion. On Tuesday, the same justices who undid constitutional protection for abortion will hear arguments in the next frontier of abortion restriction: tightening access across the country for a medication that's used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions nationally. (Simmons-Duffin, 3/25)

The New York Times: Use Of Abortion Pills Has Risen Significantly Post Roe, Research Shows
A study, published on Monday in the medical journal JAMA, found that the number of abortions using pills obtained outside the formal health system soared in the six months after the national right to abortion was overturned. Another report, published last week by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, found that medication abortions now account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions provided by the country’s formal health system, which includes clinics and telemedicine abortion services. (Belluck, 3/25)

The Hill: Use Of Abortion Pills For Self-Managed Abortion Spiked Sharply Post-Roe: Research
The number of abortion pills obtained outside the traditional U.S. health care system spiked considerably in the months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to new data. There were nearly 28,000 additional doses of pills for “self-managed” abortions in the six months after the fall of Roe, more than four times the number of pills per month that were reported before the decision. (Weixel, 3/25)

AP: Bill That Would Have Placed The Question Of Abortion Access Before Louisiana Voters Fails
A bill that ultimately would have let voters decide whether abortions should be legal in Louisiana, a state with a near-total ban, failed after a Republican-controlled committee rejected it Monday. The legislation proposed an amendment to Louisiana’s constitution that would enshrine reproductive rights for women, including allowing contraceptives such as birth control, access to abortions and infertility treatments. ... However a GOP-controlled committee voted 10-2 to involuntarily defer the bill, effectively killing the measure. (Cline, 3/25)

The Hill: Number Of Black Women Who Say They Are Scared Of Having Children Rises
Nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, Black women are increasingly worried about the impact on pregnancy and birth. Nearly 40 percent of Black women of reproductive age said they feel less safe and think about the risk of death if they become pregnant in the new poll from In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda with PerryUndem, published Monday. Among people living in restrictive states, 1 in 3 said they have thought about the risk of being arrested due to something related to pregnancy. (Daniels, 3/25)

The New York Times: DeSantis Signs Social Media Bill Barring Accounts For Children Under 14
Florida on Monday became the first state to effectively bar residents under the age of 14 from holding accounts on services like TikTok and Instagram, enacting a strict social media bill that is likely to upend the lives of many young people. The landmark law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is one of the more restrictive measures that a state has enacted so far in an escalating nationwide push to insulate young people from potential mental health and safety risks on social media platforms. (Singer, 3/25)

AP: Florida's DeSantis Signs One Of The Country's Most Restrictive Social Media Bans For Minors
Florida will have one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. ... It was slightly watered down from a proposal DeSantis vetoed earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended. The new law was Republican Speaker Paul Renner’s top legislative priority. It takes effect Jan. 1. (Farrington, 3/25)

The Hill: Oversight Ranking Member Raskin Demands Answers In UnitedHealth Cyberattack
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, is asking the UnitedHealth Group (UHG) to explain what it is doing to address the ongoing fallout from the cyberattack on one of its subsidiaries last month. In a letter addressed to UHG CEO Andrew Witty, Raskin wrote that the committee is “concerned that UnitedHealth Group is restricting the ability of federal agencies to provide applicable assistance to Change Healthcare.” (Choi, 3/25)

CIDRAP: CDC Releases Ventilation Guidance For Curbing Indoor Respiratory Virus Spread
As part of its updates on strategies to battle respiratory viruses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 22 detailed steps that people can take to reduce the number of respiratory particles that circulate in indoor air. The ventilation guidance update comes as respiratory disease levels such as flu and COVID are declining from a late December peak. The CDC said ventilation, alongside vaccination and practicing good hand hygiene, is one of the core strategies for protecting people against respiratory illness. (Schnirring, 3/25)

Stat: Merck Drug For Rare Lung Condition Set For Approval In U.S. 
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve Merck’s drug to treat a rare lung disorder called pulmonary arterial hypertension on Tuesday, making available a novel treatment for a deadly condition that’s long been challenging to treat. (Chen, 3/26)

Reuters: Regeneron's Blood Cancer Therapy Faces Setback As FDA Raises Trial Concerns
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN.O) said on Monday the U.S. FDA has declined approval for its blood cancer therapy for two forms of lymphoma on concerns over the progress of ongoing confirmatory trials. The FDA said in its response letter that it needs more data from enrollments in dose-finding and confirmatory portions of trials, delaying its decision on the drug, while confirming no issues with clinical efficacy or safety, trial design, labeling or manufacturing. (3/25)

Reuters: FDA Proposes To Ban Certain Shock Devices For The Second Time 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has proposed a ban of electrical stimulation devices intended to reduce or stop self-injurious or aggressive behavior. The health regulator said these devices present an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury that cannot be corrected or eliminated through new or updated device labeling. Electrical stimulation devices administer electrical shocks through electrodes attached to the skin to deter self-injurious or aggressive behavior. (3/25)

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Are Adding Billions In ‘Facility’ Fees For Routine Care 
Tim Ebel’s visit with an ear, nose and throat specialist at an Ohio clinic last October came to $348. At the same time, he got a second bill for $645. The hospital system that owns the Avon, Ohio, clinic had charged him separately for use of the office where he met his physician. It is what is known as a facility fee, which included overhead for the system’s hospitals though Ebel hadn’t set foot in one. (Evans, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Facility Fees Face State Limits As Federal Site-Neutral Push Lags
More states are cracking down on hospital prices, despite a lag in federal policy reform. Last year, Indiana, Colorado, Connecticut and Maine passed laws restricting facility fees, which are additional charges hospitals bill to patients who receive care at hospital-owned clinics and outpatient facilities. About a dozen states, including those four, have or are considering passing such laws, which range from prohibiting facility fees for certain services to disclosure requirements. (Kacik, 3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Personal Care Services For Sale As Providers Refocus
Labor shortages, tighter access to capital and low reimbursements from some payers could force more healthcare providers to shed non-core operations, such as personal care and post-acute care, according to analysts. The trend to refocus on core businesses is occurring across the healthcare industry, from hospitals to home health companies. (Eastabrook, 3/25)

Newsweek: Reused Deep-Frying Oil May Cause Neurodegeneration
"Deep-frying at high temperatures has been linked with several metabolic disorders, but there have been no long-term investigations on the influence of deep-fried oil consumption and its detrimental effects on health," Kathiresan Shanmugam, an associate professor from Central University of Tamil Nadu in Thiruvarur, India, said in a statement. "To our knowledge we are first to report long-term deep-fried oil supplementation increases neurodegeneration in the first-generation offspring." (Dewan, 3/25)

Newsweek: MS And Autism Among Brain Health Risks From Common Household Chemicals
Chemicals found in common household items could be damaging our brains, scientists have warned, with potential links to a range of neurological conditions including multiple sclerosis and autism. ... "We were indeed surprised by our research findings, which revealed that certain common household chemicals can be harmful to brain cells," principal investigator Paul Tesar told Newsweek. He is a professor of genetics and genome sciences and director of the Institute for Glial Sciences at Case Western Reserve's School of Medicine. (Dewan, 3/25)

Newsweek: Scientists Reveal Why Women Are More Easily Addicted To Cigarettes
"Studies show that women have a higher propensity to develop addiction to nicotine than men and are less successful at quitting," Sally Pauss, a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington who led the project under the supervision of associate professor Terry Hinds Jr., said in a statement. ... "If we can confirm that estrogen drives nicotine seeking and consumption through olfactomedins, we can design drugs that might block that effect by targeting the altered pathways." (Dewan, 3/25)

CIDRAP: Study: Long COVID Affects 8% Of Those With COVID-19, Is More Common In Women
New national data in France reveals that, by the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, the prevalence of long COVID is 4.0% in the French population overall and 8.0% among people who had COVID-19. Among the 8.0%, the prevalence varied from 5.3% in men who had COVID-19, to 14.9% among the unemployed, and 18.6% of those with a history of hospitalization for COVID-19. The study is published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection. (Soucheray, 3/25)

CIDRAP: Inappropriate Diagnosis Of Pneumonia In Adult Patients Common, Study Finds
A study of hospitals in Michigan found that one in eight patients treated for pneumonia were inappropriately diagnosed, researchers reported today in JAMA Internal Medicine. The cohort study of more than 17,000 hospitalized adults treated for pneumonia at 48 Michigan hospitals found that 12% were inappropriately diagnosed. Older patients, those with dementia, and patients presenting with altered mental status were the most likely to be improperly diagnosed. (Dall, 3/25)

CIDRAP: Race, Geography Defined Telemedicine Use Early In Pandemic, Data Reveal
A new cross-sectional study of Medicare-enrollees shows that Black and Hispanic Americans, after controlling for geography and demographic factors, were less likely to receive telemedicine care than White individuals during the first full year of the pandemic. The study, published in JAMA Health Forum, showed that while racial minorities disproportionately live in geographic regions with higher telemedicine use, they used the services less than their White peers. (Soucheray, 3/25)

Newsweek: Smartphone App Will Warn When You Need A Restroom
Scentists have developed a special device for your bladder that will let you know how long you have before you need to pee. According to a new paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this device sits in the bladder and transmits data on how full the bladder is to a phone app, allowing the user to know how long it takes to get to a restroom. The researchers hope that this could help disabled or paralyzed people know when they need to go and that it could one day allow people to use their phones to help them pee. (Thomson, 3/25)

Crain's Chicago Business: Ascension Uses Private Equity Staffing Firm For Chicago Hospitals
Nonprofit health system Ascension is terminating more than 110 doctors and other providers at all 10 of its Chicago-area hospitals, turning them over to a private equity-backed staffing firm while they continue to work in Ascension facilities. The move is intended to cut costs for St. Louis-based Ascension, but in the process it is leaving affected employees concerned about working conditions and patient safety, complaints that echo those at Ascension facilities nationwide. (Davis, 3/25)

Reuters: AbbVie To Bolster Immunity Illness Drug Pipeline With Landos Deal
AbbVie (ABBV.N) will buy drug developer Landos Biopharma (LABP.O) for up to $212 million as the Humira-maker aims to expand its pipeline of medicines to treat immune system-related illnesses, the companies said on Monday. Landos is currently conducting a mid-stage study of its lead experimental drug NX-13 in a type of an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis. AbbVie's blockbuster drug Rinvoq is approved to treat the disease. (3/25)

Reuters: BioNTech Gets US Agency Notice Over Default On COVID Vaccine Royalties
BioNTech (22UAy.DE) said on Monday the U.S. National Institutes of Health has sent a notice to the German company regarding default on the payment of royalties and other amounts related to its COVID-19 vaccine. BioNTech, which partnered with U.S. pharma giant Pfizer (PFE.N) for its COVID-19 vaccine, however, said it disagreed with the positions being taken by the NIH and intends to defend against all allegations of breach. (3/25)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Charity Care Falls Short Of Nonprofit Tax Breaks: Lown
The vast majority of nonprofit hospitals aren't providing a level of community support equal to the value of what they are receiving in tax breaks, according to a study published Tuesday. The study by the nonpartisan think tank Lown Institute reignites a contentious debate on whether nonprofit hospitals should qualify for tax breaks — and whether those hospitals hold up their end of the bargain. (Hudson, 3/26)

Modern Healthcare: Humana Files Motion To Dismiss AI Claims Lawsuit
Humana has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by two Medicare members who alleged the company used artificial intelligence to process post acute care claims determinations and were wrongfully denied coverage. The insurer said in the motion it did not make the determinations through the use of AI. It also contends the enrollees did not complete all the required steps in the appeal process through the Medicare Advantage plan, a four-step process that ends with a potential review by the Medicare Appeals Council. (DeSilva, 3/25)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk Strikes Deal Worth Up To $1.1 Bln To Expand Cardio Business
Denmark's Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) said on Monday it had agreed to buy Cardior Pharmaceuticals for up to 1.03 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to strengthen its cardiovascular pipeline. The deal is in line with Novo's aim to expand its focus on diabetes and weight-loss therapies to include cardiovascular disease treatments. The Danish company has rocketed to become one of the world's most valuable companies on the back of its hugely popular weight-loss treatment Wegovy. (3/25)

The Washington Post: DNA Test Says It Can Predict Opioid Addiction Risk. Skeptics Aren’t So Sure
Using a swab inside the cheek and a sophisticated computer algorithm, a DNA test recently approved by federal regulators promises to assess genetic risk of opioid addiction. The test’s maker says results give doctors and patients a crucial tool when considering use of the very pain pills that ignited the nation’s opioid crisis. But as the company, SOLVD Health, prepares to roll out AvertD in coming months, skeptics remain unconvinced. (Ovalle, 3/25)

Politico: State Health Insurance Costs Rising, Raising Fears Of Another Major Rate Hike
State lawmakers are being thrown a curveball as they begin work on Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget proposal: Trends indicate a “significant” increase to costs of the state-run public worker health insurance program. Insurance premiums could increase by double digits for hundreds of thousands of state and local workers, Murphy administration officials told the Assembly Budget Committee on Monday. (Rivard, 3/25)

The Colorado Sun: Amgen Sues Colorado Prescription Drug Board Over Enbrel Price Cap
Amgen, the multinational pharmaceutical company that makes the blockbuster arthritis drug Enbrel, has sued Colorado over a state board’s efforts to possibly cap the price of the drug. (Ingold, 3/25)