First Edition: May 16, 2023

KFF Health News: A Rural County’s Choice: Use Opioid Funds To Pay Off Debt, Or Pay Them Forward To Curb Crisis 
Over the past two years, rural Greene County in northeastern Tennessee has collected more than $2.7 million from regional and national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. But instead of helping people harmed by addiction, county officials are finding other ways to spend it. They have put $2.4 million toward paying off the county’s debt and have directed another $1 million arriving over more than a decade into a capital projects fund. In March, they appropriated $50,000 from that fund to buy a “litter crew vehicle” — a pickup truck to drive inmates to collect trash along county roads. (Pattani, 5/16)

KFF Health News: Michael Milken Wants To Speed Up Cures 
Years ago, a top chemical biologist pondered ditching his cancer research to take a more lucrative commission growing healthier apples. Michael Milken stopped him. “I told him we could probably eat the same apples for the next 20 years and be OK, but we wouldn’t be OK if he didn’t continue his potential groundbreaking work,” Milken, 76, said. “Then we funded him.” Driven by a family history of disease and his own experience with prostate cancer, Milken, the onetime junk-bond wizard whose spectacular downfall on securities charges led to a 22-month prison term in the 1990s, has spent the last three decades trying to advance medical science so that people “can find cures to life-threatening diseases within their own lifetimes.” (Kreidler, 5/16)

The New York Times: Appeals Court Pauses Ruling That Threatened Free Preventive Health Care 
A federal appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked a lower court decision that overturned the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that all health plans fully cover certain preventive health services. The move by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans will put on hold a decision from March that had threatened insurance coverage for recommended services like depression screenings for teenagers and drugs that prevent transmission of H.I.V. The Justice Department had appealed the decision, and the appeals court’s stay will stand while the appeals process plays out. (Baumgaertner, 5/15)

Stat: Biden Nominates Monica Bertagnolli To Head NIH
President Biden on Monday officially announced that he would nominate National Cancer Institute Director Monica Bertagnolli to fill the long-vacant director slot at the National Institutes of Health. The cancer surgeon has led NCI — NIH’s largest institute — since last October and previously led Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s surgical oncology unit. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the second woman to lead the agency. (Owermohle, 5/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Debt-Ceiling Talks’ Late Start Amps Up Pressure On Congress
President Biden said Monday that the next meeting with congressional leaders will come Tuesday, while responding “no” when asked if there were updates regarding the talks with Republicans. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said that the two sides remain “far apart” and that he would like a deal to be done by this weekend. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated in an updated forecast Monday that the U.S. could become unable to pay its bills on time as soon as June 1 unless Congress acts. (Restuccia and Andrews, 5/15)

Politico: GOP Grows More Optimistic About Work Requirement Demands In Debt Talks 
Republicans are feeling increasingly optimistic they can force President Joe Biden to make concessions on work requirements for safety net programs as part of the debt limit talks taking place this week. Democrats are floating a rough proposal within their ranks that includes potential new restrictions on the emergency aid program known as the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families as part of the debt limit talks, according to two Republicans and three other people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. But House Republicans, who are aware of the movement, are still demanding further concessions on work requirements for food assistance and believe they have the leverage to force them, possibly before Biden leaves for the G-7 meeting in Japan Wednesday. (Hill, 5/15)

Military.com: How Veterans Benefits Could Be Delayed In June By A US Default
Billions of dollars of veterans benefits could be imperiled if the U.S. defaults on its debts, though the full extent of the fallout is uncertain because of the unprecedented nature of a default. About $12 billion in veterans benefits are expected to be paid out June 1 -- the same day the Treasury Department has named as the earliest day a default could happen if Congress doesn't act to avoid it. (Kheel, 5/15)

Stat: U.S. Supreme Court Declines To Hear 'Skinny Labeling' Case
After months of anticipation, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that throws into question whether generic companies can “carve out” uses for their medicines and supply Americans with cheaper alternatives to brand-name drugs. At issue is skinny labeling, which happens when a generic company seeks regulatory approval to market its medicine for a specific use, but not other patented uses for which a brand-name drug is prescribed. For instance, a generic drug could be marketed to treat one type of heart problem, but not another. In doing so, the generic company seeks to avoid lawsuits claiming patent infringement. (Silverman, 5/15)

AP: 3 Judges Who Chipped Away Abortion Rights To Hear Federal Abortion Pill Appeal
Three conservative appeals court judges, each with a history of supporting restrictions on abortion, will hear arguments May 17 on whether a widely used abortion drug should remain available. The case involves a regulatory issue — whether the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, and subsequent actions making it easier to obtain, must be rolled back. The appellate hearing follows an April ruling by a federal judge in Texas, who ordered a hold on federal approval of mifepristone in a decision that overruled decades of scientific approval. His ruling was stayed pending appeal. The case was allotted to a panel made up of Jennifer Walker Elrod, James Ho and Cory Wilson. *McGill, 5/16)

AP: North Carolina GOP To Attempt Swift Override Of Governor's Abortion Veto
North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature on Tuesday will attempt to quickly override the governor’s veto of legislation banning nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy in a consequential test of unity for the party’s recently attained supermajority. The Senate plans to first consider an override Tuesday afternoon, according to Senate leader Phil Berger. House Speaker Tim Moore’s chief of staff said the speaker then aims to complete the override later in the day should Senate Republicans be successful. (Schoenbaum and Robertson, 5/16)

AP: Republican Abortion Debate Inches Toward Resolution In South Carolina
Abortion access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy under a bill set for debate Tuesday in the South Carolina House, after the state Senate rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw the procedure. The two GOP-dominated chambers’ disagreement epitomizes the intra-Republican debates over how far to restrict access that have developed nationwide since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year and allowed states to set their own policies on abortion. (Pollard, 5/16)

AP: Nebraska Conservatives Gamble On Combining Abortion, Trans Health Bans
Conservative Nebraska lawmakers are taking what could be an all-or-nothing bet by proposing to merge two of the legislative session’s most contentious proposals — one to restrict abortion and another that would ban gender-affirming care for minors. The unconventional move follows conservatives’ failure by a single vote last month to advance a bill that would have banned abortion at around six weeks of pregnancy. Now, conservatives are backing an effort to amend the transgender health bill to include restricting abortion to 12 weeks of gestation. (Beck, 5/15)

The CT Mirror: Sandra Slack Glover, CT Supreme Court Nominee, Quizzed On Roe
The U.S. Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, upending a half-century of precedent and once again making abortion a matter of state’s rights, cast a long shadow Monday over the confirmation of Sandra Slack Glover to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Glover, the appellate chief for the U.S. Attorney of Connecticut, articulated a belief that the nation’s highest court egregiously erred in discarding the reproductive rights established in 1973 by Roe with a 6-3 decision last year in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. (Pazniokas, 5/15)

CBS News: Mpox Outbreak "Not Over," Warns CDC, Amid "Ongoing Community Transmission"
America's mpox outbreak "is not over" and could see a resurgence over the coming months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday, ramping up their warnings after reports of "ongoing community transmission" of the virus around the country. The CDC's new alert for doctors and health authorities comes ahead of new vaccine effectiveness data expected to be released by the agency. (Tin, 5/15)

CIDRAP: CDC Issues Building Ventilation Guidance To Guard Against Respiratory Infections
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week published guidance for improving building ventilation to help protect people from respiratory infections, with a goal of at least five air changes each hour and an upgrade to MERV-13 filters. (Schnirring, 5/15)

Los Angeles Times: How Much COVID Is In My Community? It's Getting Harder To Tell 
With wide-reaching intervention against COVID-19 now firmly in the past, officials and experts continue to preach the importance of individual decision-making to assess and manage their health risks. Monitoring coronavirus conditions is becoming more difficult, however, as the pandemic’s post-emergency phase has seen data collection and reporting endeavors either scaled back or abandoned entirely. (Money and Lin II, 5/15)

Axios: So Long, Phone COVID-19 Exposure Notifications
If you got an alert saying you'll no longer get COVID-19 exposure notifications on your phone, don't bother checking your settings. It's not your device — it's the government. Driving the news: The end of the federal public health emergency last Thursday also meant the end of federal funding for some state programs, Lacy Fehrenbach, chief of prevention for the Washington state Department of Health, said at a news conference last week. (Santos, 5/15)

CNN: Face Masks Are Still A Good Idea At The Doctor's Office, Study Says
Signs urging everyone to mask up have largely disappeared from places like grocery stores and schools in the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic. But they remain in many medical offices, and a study published Monday says they might still be a good idea. Even after the expiration of the US public health emergency declaration and with many Americans moving away from pandemic precautions, masks continue to offer some protection, reducing your risk of catching Covid-19 in a community setting like in a close doctor and patient interaction, according to the study, which reviewed the latest science on the protective quality of masks. (Christensen, 5/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: 9th Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Challenging S.F. Vaccine Mandate
San Francisco employees who believe they would be endorsing abortion by getting vaccinated against COVID-19 can sue the city for violating their religious rights by mandating vaccination for all its workers, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. (Egelko, 5/15)

CIDRAP: 9 Of 10 Long-COVID Patients In Study Report Slow Recovery Over 2 Years 
Over 90% of adult long-COVID patients in France gradually recovered over 2 years, while 5% improved rapidly, and 4% reported persistent symptoms, finds a study published late last week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 5/15)

CIDRAP: COVID-Positive Infants May Have Fewer Urinary Tract, Bacterial Infections 
Compared with feverish infants who tested negative for COVID-19, a lower proportion of babies aged 8 to 60 days who tested positive had co-occurring urinary tract infections (UTIs), bacteremia without meningitis, and bacterial meningitis, according to a study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 5/15)

NBC News: Universal Flu Vaccine Based On MRNA Tech To Be Tested By National Institutes Of Health
Patients are now enrolling in an early-stage clinical trial to test a universal flu vaccine based on messenger RNA technology, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday. Scientists hope the vaccine will protect against a wide variety of flu strains and provide long-term immunity so people do not have to receive a shot every year. (Kimball, 5/15)

Military.com: Camp Lejeune Veterans At Higher Risk For Parkinson's Disease, Study Finds 
Marines and sailors who unwittingly drank and showered in water containing organic solvents and other volatile compounds at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during its water contamination crisis decades ago had a 70% higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to newly published research. A study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology suggests the chemicals that poisoned the base water supply more than 40 years ago contribute to the fatal illness, which affects the nervous system and can cause tremors, slurred speech and difficulty moving. (Kime, 5/15)

Axios: Cancer Deaths Drop In D.C.
Cancer deaths in D.C. dropped 61% over the past quarter century, higher than typical declines nationwide, according to a study published in the journal Cancer. The study shows cancer deaths declined in every congressional district, typically between 20% and 45% among men and 10% and 40% among women, writes Axios Health reporter Tina Reed. (Dil, 5/15)

CNN: Marijuana Harms Development In First Trimester Of Pregnancy
If you are pregnant and use any form of cannabis product, consider stopping. That’s the takeaway from a new study that found a significant health impact of marijuana use on fetal development as early as the beginning of pregnancy. (LaMotte, 5/16)

The New York Times: World Health Organization Warns Against Using Artificial Sweeteners 
The World Health Organization on Monday warned against using artificial sweeteners to control body weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases, saying that long-term use is not effective and could pose health risks. These alternatives to sugar, when consumed long term, do not serve to reduce body fat in either adults or children, the W.H.O. said in a recommendation, adding that continued consumption could increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mortality in adults. (Rubin, 5/15)

Modern Healthcare: Envision Healthcare Files For Bankruptcy
Physician staffing company Envision Healthcare filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, and said it reached agreements with certain of its key lenders. Nashville, Tennessee-based Envision said it entered into a restructuring support agreement for about $7.7 billion in debt. Amsurg, its ambulatory surgery unit, and Envision Physician Services will be owned separately. Envision will sell its surgery centers to Amsurg for $300 million plus a waiver of intercompany loans held by Amsurg, according to court filings. (Hudson, 5/15)