First Edition: May 10, 2024

KFF Health News: Democrats Seek To Make GOP Pay For Threats To Reproductive Rights
Democrat Lucas Kunce is trying to pin reproductive care restrictions on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), betting it will boost his chances of unseating the incumbent in November. In a recent ad campaign, Kunce accuses Hawley of jeopardizing reproductive care, including in vitro fertilization. Staring straight into the camera, with tears in her eyes, a Missouri mom identified only as Jessica recounts how she struggled for years to conceive. (Liss, 5/10)

KFF Health News: Their First Baby Came With Medical Debt. These Illinois Parents Won’t Have Another
Heather Crivilare was a month from her due date when she was rushed to an operating room for an emergency cesarean section. The first-time mother, a high school teacher in rural Illinois, had developed high blood pressure, a sometimes life-threatening condition in pregnancy that prompted doctors to hospitalize her. Then Crivilare’s blood pressure spiked, and the baby’s heart rate dropped. “It was terrifying,” Crivilare said. (Levey, 5/10)

KFF Health News: Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions
Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion access — and, by extension, abortion training — is likely to remain protected, like California, Colorado, and New Mexico. Arizona has enacted a law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. (Rovner and Pradhan, 5/9)

The Washington Post: A Gay Couple Couldn’t Access IVF Benefits. They’re Suing New York City.
New York City is denying in vitro fertilization benefits to thousands of gay male employees of the city and their partners, a class-action lawsuit filed by a same-sex married couple alleged Thursday. Brooklyn-based couple Nicholas Maggipinto, 38, and Corey Briskin, 35, claim the city is discriminating against male same-sex couples and violating federal, state and local laws by denying them IVF insurance benefits that other city employees are able to access. (Javaid, 5/9)

Reuters: NYC Sued For Denying Gay Employees In Vitro Fertilization Coverage
The proposed class action was filed in Manhattan federal court by former assistant district attorney Corey Briskin and his husband, who say they were forced to put off having a family for years because the city's employee health insurance plan denied them coverage for IVF procedures. ... The New York City Council is considering a bill introduced in March that would require the city to cover IVF treatments for all employees, regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation. (Wiessner, 5/9)

AP: Virginia Judge To Decide Whether State Law Considers Embryos As Property
A trial is underway in Virginia that will determine whether state law allows frozen embryos to be considered property that can be divided up and assigned a monetary value. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Dontae Bugg heard arguments Thursday from a divorced couple who disagree over the ex-wife’s desire to use two embryos that they created when they were married. (Barakat, 5/10)

AP: Colorado-Based Abortion Fund Sees Rising Demand. Many Are From Texas, Where Procedure Is Restricted
A Colorado abortion fund said Thursday it’s helped hundreds access abortion in the first months of 2024, many arriving from Texas where abortion is restricted, showing a steady increase in need each year since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision left a patchwork of state bans, restrictions and protections across the country. In response, a national makeshift network of individuals and organizations help those seeking abortions in states where it’s restricted, including the Colorado-based Cobalt Abortion Fund. (Bedayn, 5/9)

The Hill: Country’s Largest Catholic Hospital Chain Hit With Cyberattack
Ascension Health announced Thursday it had been hit with a cyberattack, just months after data was stolen from a third of the country in a separate breach. In a statement Thursday, Ascension said it detected unusual activity on “select technology network systems” on Wednesday, May 8, which is now believed to be a cybersecurity threat. Ascension Health is one of the largest hospital chains in the country, and the largest Catholic hospital chain. (Irwin, 5/9)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension Outage Still Causing Disruptions For Patients, Doctors
Ascension continues to experience disruptions in patient care as the health system investigates a potential data breach it reported Wednesday. Local news reports have surfaced about patients waiting hours for medical procedures, ambulances diverting patients to other facilities and physicians losing access to medical records. Ascension acknowledged "clinical disruptions" in a Wednesday statement but has not provided additional details. (Hudson, 5/9)

The Washington Post: Health-Care Giant Ascension Says Hack Is Disrupting Patient Care
Ascension, one of the largest health systems in the United States, said Thursday that it was struck by a cyberattack that knocked patient record systems offline and forced medical staff to log care on paper, the latest hack to underscore the vulnerability of American’s health-care system to cyber intrusions. The nonprofit chain said it detected the hack Wednesday and took immediate steps. (Gilbert, Menn and Diamond, 5/9)

Reuters: US To Post Influenza A Wastewater Data Online To Assist Bird Flu Probe, Official Says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to post data on influenza A found in wastewater in a public dashboard possibly as soon as Friday that could offer new clues into the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in cattle herds. CDC wastewater team lead Amy Kirby told Reuters on Thursday that the agency has identified spikes of influenza A, of which H5N1 is a subtype, in a handful of sites and is investigating the source. She said there is no indication of human infection with H5N1. (Steenhuysen, 5/9)

CNN: Cows Have Human Flu Receptors, Study Shows, Raising The Stakes On The Bird Flu Outbreak In Dairy Cattle
In early March, Dr. Barb Petersen, a large-animal vet in Texas, began getting calls from the dairy farms she works with in the Panhandle. Workers there were seeing a lot of cows with mastitis, an infection of the udder. Their milk was thickened and discolored, and it couldn’t be explained by any of the usual suspects such as bacteria or tissue damage. (Goodman and Kounang, 5/9)

The New York Times: How Poor Tracking Of Bird Flu Leaves Dairy Workers At Risk
Even as it has become increasingly clear that the bird flu outbreak on the nation’s dairy farms began months earlier — and is probably much more widespread — than previously thought, federal authorities have emphasized that the virus poses little risk to humans. Yet there is a group of people who are at high risk for infection: the estimated 100,000 men and women who work on those farms. There has been no widespread testing to see how many may be infected. None have been vaccinated against bird flu. (Mandavilli, Qiu and Anthes, 5/9)

Politico: FDA Chief: Countermeasures Against Bird Flu Should Be Taken Now
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf warned lawmakers Wednesday that unless the United States initiates countermeasures to stem the spread of avian influenza, the government may be ill-prepared to respond if the virus mutates and spreads among humans. While the risk to the general public remains low, he told Senate appropriators in charge of FDA funding that investment to clamp down on the spread of the virus among cattle and poultry would pay dividends. (Lim, 5/9)

Stat: Dairy Farmers Resist CDC Push For PPE Against Bird Flu Virus 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this week that dairy and poultry farms with infected animals supply protective gear to workers in a bid to stave off human transmission of the H5N1 virus. The challenge now is making it happen. (Owermohle, 5/10)

Stat: Sanofi Strikes Deal With Novavax, Boosting The Vaccine Maker
Novavax, the beleaguered maker of a Covid-19 vaccine, just got a boost of its own. The French pharma company Sanofi on Friday said it had reached a licensing deal to sell Novavax’s Covid shot going forward as well as to try to combine the vaccine with Sanofi’s own flu shot. (Joseph, 5/10)

Reuters: Novavax Signs COVID-19 License Deal With Sanofi, Removes Doubt About Business Viability
Novavax (NVAX.O), on Friday erased doubts about its ability to remain in business and struck a licensing deal worth up to $1.2 billion with Sanofi (SASY.PA), for COVID-19 vaccines in exchange for a stake that doubles the U.S. drugmaker's market value. In February last year, Novavax raised doubts about its business viability after missing out on the COVID-19 vaccine windfall due to manufacturing issues that delayed filing for regulatory approval. Its COVID shot got U.S. approval in July 2022, long after Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) were in use. (5/10)

AP: 1 Lawmaker Stops South Carolina Health Care Consolidation Bill That Had Overwhelming Support
A bill that would have consolidated six South Carolina heath care agencies and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly died on the session’s final day Thursday in a procedural move by a member angry he was mocked by his colleagues. Republican Rep. Josiah Magnuson has been against the bill from the start, saying it would create a health care czar who could take over like a dictator if there was another pandemic emergency like COVID-19. (Collins, 5/10)

Newsweek: Brett Kavanaugh's Remarks Used Against Anti-Abortion Republican
A federal judge cited conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a ruling that allowed lawsuits to proceed against Alabama's attorney general over his statements about prosecuting those who help Alabama residents travel to another state to seek abortions. Alabama banned abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape and incest after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending constitutional protections for abortion. (Rahman, 5/9)

The 19th: Warren, Moore Propose Mamas First Act For Medicaid Coverage Of Doulas, Midwives
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, both Democrats, are introducing legislation Thursday that would allow Medicaid coverage of doulas and midwives. The bill, called the Mamas First Act, aims to “improve access to care before, during, and after pregnancy to under-served and under-resourced communities” as an OB-GYN deficit looms and the high rates of pregnancy-related deaths persist. (Davis, 5/9)

AP: The CDC Issues A Report About Infections From Stem-Cell Treatments In Mexico
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report Thursday about three cases of infections apparently linked to stem-cell treatments American patients received in Mexico. The CDC issued the report Thursday on infections of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), which it described as “difficult-to-treat” and “intrinsically drug-resistant” and “rapidly growing.” (5/10)

CNN: FDA Considers Updating Blood Donation Guidelines To Keep Nation’s Supply Safe From Malaria
The US Food and Drug Administration is considering a requirement for blood banks to use a new test that can detect the parasites that cause malaria in certain donors’ blood, and it’s seeking the opinion of its independent advisers on the best way to meet its goal of zero transfusion-related cases without unnecessarily prohibiting some people from donating blood. (Christensen, 5/9)

Reuters: US FDA Advises Healthcare Facilities To Switch From Getinge's Heart Devices
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday advised healthcare facilities to move away from using Getinge's (GETIb.ST) heart devices in patients as they faced safety and quality concerns despite a string of recalls. The recommendation is based on concerns that the company has not sufficiently addressed the problems and risks with the recalled devices, it added. Getinge did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (5/9)

Politico: The Reckoning Facing The NIH
The National Institutes of Health will face an overhaul if Republicans gain control of the Senate next year. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — the Republican in line to lead the Senate committee that oversees the agency — said Thursday that reform was long overdue. “Congress has not thoroughly reviewed NIH operations and practices since the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016,” he said in a release. (Schumaker, Reader, Paun and Payne, 5/9)

The Hill: NIH Official Set To Testify Before COVID Panel On ‘Discrepancies’ In Pandemic Timeline
Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic later this month, with committee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) planning to ask about “discrepancies” between prior testimonies. Tabak has agreed to testify before the subcommittee on May 16. (Choi, 5/9)

The Hill: Lawmakers Target Heavy Metals In Baby Food With New Legislation
A pair of Democratic senators introduced new legislation to limit the levels of harmful metals in commercial baby food, they announced Thursday. The bill, called “The Baby Food Safety Act of 2024,” would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to enforce higher safety standards for commercial baby food and imported products. (Fortinsky, 5/9)

Reuters: Ozempic Lead Counsel Selection Process Is Model For Judges In Big Cases
Back in March, at the first hearing, opens new tab in consolidated litigation over allegedly undisclosed side effects from Ozempic and other diet drugs, plaintiffs lawyers told a Philadelphia federal judge that they'd already agreed on a slate of four lawyers to lead the mass tort case. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gene Pratter of Philadelphia appointed those same four lawyers ... as lead counsel in the multidistrict litigation against diet drugmakers Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Eli Lilly (LLY.N). (Frankel, 5/9)

The Washington Post: Why Muscle Guarding Can Prolong Pain, Inhibit Recovery After Surgery
Stephen Clark, an Atlanta-area physical therapist, sees many patients who suffer from muscle guarding after a traumatic surgery or injury. Muscle guarding, which emanates from the brain, is a physical response to pain. For some, though, protracted muscle guarding can prolong pain and inhibit recovery. ... In muscle guarding, the brain seeks to protect an injured area by subconsciously directing the surrounding muscles to not function, or to lock, ostensibly to defend the body against additional pain or injury. (Theim, 5/9)

AP: No Sign Of Widespread Lead Exposure From Maui Wildfires, Hawaii Health Officials Say
Lead screening conducted on west Maui residents after last summer’s devastating wildfires showed no widespread exposure to the toxic metal, Hawaii health officials said Thursday. ... Just 27 people’s screening results came out positive, and subsequent testing showed 15 of them did not have elevated blood lead levels and were determined to have had a false positive, the state health department said. (5/10)

CNN: Deep Brain Stimulation Didn’t Work For A Young OCD Patient Until New Brain Maps Changed Everything
Five years ago, in a wheelchair, Julia Hum was admitted to a state mental hospital in Massachusetts. After treatment with targeted deep brain stimulation, she hopes to walk out soon and, for the first time in her adult life, live independently, in her own apartment. Hum, 24, has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, which once caused her to hurt herself and even affected her ability to eat and drink. (Goodman, 5/9)

CNN: Experimental Spinal Cord Implant Helps Parkinson’s Patient Walk In New Study 
Marc Gauthier can now step into an elevator without his body stiffening and freezing in place. He can take a 3-mile lakeside stroll without stopping. He can stand up out of a chair with ease. For Gauthier, 63, who has been living with Parkinson’s disease for almost three decades, these everyday activities were a challenge — until now. (Howard, 5/9)

The Colorado Sun: Breakthrough Study Detects Signs Of MS Before First Symptoms
Blaise Pfeifer, 15 and a ninth grader at Standley Lake High School, lives for hockey. He started skating at 3, travels the country for tournaments, and describes gliding across the ice with a puck “like second nature.” He also knows he has multiple sclerosis, though he has never felt a symptom. (Brown, 5/9)

The Hill: Ultraprocessed Foods Linked To Early Death Risk: Study
A 30-year study found that eating ultraprocessed foods is linked to a higher risk of early death. The study, published Wednesday in the BMJ journal, examined the eating habits of 115,000 people and found that a higher intake of ultraprocessed foods was associated with a slightly higher mortality risk. (Irwin, 5/9)

Newsweek: Adding Salt To Your Food May Significantly Increase Stomach Cancer Risk
Over-salting your food might be putting you at risk of certain cancers, researchers have found. People who add salt to their food are 40 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer than those who don't, according to a new study in the journal Gastric Cancer. (5/9)

CIDRAP: Cochrane: Zinc May Help Shorten Common Cold, But More Evidence Needed
Taking zinc could shorten the duration of the common cold by 2 days, according to a Cochrane review today. The evidence is not conclusive, however, and potential benefits must be balanced against side effects including bowel problems, nausea and unpleasant taste, the reviewers note. (Soucheray, 5/9)

CIDRAP: WHO Issues Guidance To Prevent Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections
The World Health Organization (WHO) today published guidelines aimed at preventing bloodstream infections from peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs). Noting that up to 70% of all hospitals inpatients require the use of a catheter inserted into a peripheral vein or artery, the WHO says that poor practices in the insertion, maintenance, and removal of PIVCs carry the high risk of introducing bacteria into the bloodstream, which can result in life-threatening conditions such as sepsis and difficult-to-treat complications in major organs—particularly when the infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (Dall, 5/9)

Reuters: Merck's Endometrial Cancer Therapy Fails Trial
Merck (MRK.N) said on Thursday its therapy being tested in certain patients with a type of cancer in the uterus lining failed a late-stage trial. The drugmaker's Keytruda therapy in combination with chemotherapy was being evaluated in about 1,095 patients with high-risk endometrial cancer after surgery. The trial did not meet the main goal of disease-free survival, which is the length of time after primary treatment for a cancer ends that the patient survives without any signs or its symptoms. (5/9)

Modern Healthcare: How Generative AI Could Improve Clinical Documentation In EHRs
Health systems are turning to artificial intelligence to easily bring patient-doctor conversations into the electronic health record. Health systems are buying ambient AI documentation solutions, technology that takes a recording of a doctor-patient conversation and turns it into usable clinical notes. The goal is to give doctors more face-time with patients rather than staring at a computer screen while in the exam room, taking notes. (Turner, 5/9)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk Ties Up With Metaphore To Develop New Obesity Drugs
Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) signed a research tie-up with U.S. biotech firm Metaphore on Thursday to develop next-generation obesity drugs. Danish drugmaker Novo is trying to expand beyond its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy with at least eight other treatments in its R&D pipeline for the condition. The collaboration will use Metaphore's tech platform to develop two therapies for obesity, the companies said. (5/9)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare, Medicaid Integration Rule Could Shake Up D-SNP Market
A new federal policy promoting integrated Medicare and Medicaid coverage seems poised to boost health insurers such as Centene and Molina Healthcare with Medicaid experience and large numbers of high-needs Medicare Advantage members. A final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued last month underscores the agency's commitment to supporting Dual Special Needs Plans that serve dual-eligible beneficiaries. (Tepper, 5/9)

Modern Healthcare: Community Health Systems Sues MultiPlan
Community Health Systems sued MultiPlan Wednesday, accusing the data analytics firm of allegedly conspiring with large insurance companies to fix commercial rates — an alleged violation of federal antitrust laws. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, represents the third time a hospital system has taken MultiPlan to court in the past nine months. (Tepper, 5/9)

The New York Times: Herbert Pardes, Who Steered The Growth Of A Giant Hospital, Dies At 89
Dr. Herbert Pardes, a psychiatrist and a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health who brought order to the merger of two major medical centers that became New York-Presbyterian Hospital and ran it for 11 years, died on April 30 at his home in Manhattan. He was 89. His son Steve said the cause was aortic stenosis. (Sandomir, 5/9)