First Edition: Monday, Oct. 28, 2024

KFF Health News: Black Americans Still Suffer Worse Health. Here’s Why There’s So Little Progress
One morning in late April, a small brick health clinic along the Thurgood Marshall Highway bustled with patients. ... Morris Brown, the family practice physician who owns the clinic, rotated through Black patients nearly every 20 minutes. Some struggled to walk. Others pulled oxygen tanks. And most carried three pill bottles or more for various chronic ailments. But Brown called them “lucky,” with enough health insurance or money to see a doctor. (Clasen-Kelly and Rayasam, 10/28)

KFF Health News: How A Proposed Federal Heat Rule Might Have Saved These Workers’ Lives
On a sweltering afternoon in July 2020, Belinda Ramones got a call that her brother was in the hospital. The call was from a woman at the Florida landscaping business that he had joined that week, the Davey Tree Expert Co., Ramones said. By the time she arrived, she said, “My brother was swollen up from hands to toes.” Two days later, her brother, Jose Leandro-Barrera, died at age 45 with acute kidney failure caused by heatstroke, according to a report from the Hillsborough County medical examiner. His temperature in the ambulance had been 108 F, said the report. (Maxmen, 10/28)

The Hill: Trump Says He'll Let RFK Jr. 'Go Wild' On Health, Food In Potential Second Term
Former President Trump said Sunday that he would let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild” in dealing with issues related to food, medicine and health in a potential second administration. “I’m going to let him go wild on health. I’m going to let him go wild on the food. I’m going to let him go wild on the medicines,” Trump told supporters at Madison Square Garden. Kennedy, who has led an initiative for the Trump campaign dubbed “Make America Healthy Again,” has long drawn criticism for his anti-vaccine comments. He has spoken about the proliferation of processed foods and additives, and he has worked as an environmental lawyer. (Samuels, 10/27)

The Hill: 5 Takeaways From Trump's Madison Square Garden Rally
Donald Trump rolled out one new policy, and it is one that echoed something first proposed by his opponent. “I am announcing a new policy today that I will support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one. It’s about time that they were recognized,” Trump said. Harris earlier this month introduced a new plan to expand Medicare benefits so that the program covers the costs of long-term home care for older Americans. The plan is aimed at helping the “sandwich generation” who are caring for both their own children and their aging parents. (Samuels, 10/27)

Stat: Donald Trump's Health Care Policy Plans, From Medicaid To Abortion
A second Trump presidency could mean significant changes to health care access and costs, even if former President Trump is still working out the details. (Owermohle, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: Michelle Obama Rallies For Kamala Harris In Michigan
Michelle Obama challenged men to support Kamala Harris’ bid to be America’s first female president, warning at a rally in Michigan on Saturday that women’s lives would be at risk if Donald Trump returned to the White House. The former first lady described the assault on abortion rights as the harbinger of dangerous limitations on healthcare for women. (Superville, Madhani and Megerian, 10/26)

Politico: Everyone’s Tough On Drugs Again
There’s a rare point of agreement among Republican and Democratic candidates this election year: America has a drug problem and it’s fentanyl traffickers’ fault. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are hammering Democrats over border policies they say have allowed fentanyl to surge into the country. Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, respond that they, too, have cracked down on traffickers and want stricter border enforcement. (Paun, 10/27)

The Atlantic: Election Anxiety Is Telling You Something
Americans are anxious about the election. The American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey found that, as of August, politics was the leading cause of stress for seven out of 10 adults across party lines. In a poll from a mental-health-care company the same month, 79 percent of respondents reported that the presidential election made them feel anxious this year, and more than half thought about the election every day. Now that the election is imminent, one can only assume that Americans’ anxiety is even higher. (Love, 10/25)

USA Today: Supreme Court Asked To Get Rid Of Abortion Clinic Protest-Free Zones
The goal, says one group involved in the case, is to get close enough to make eye contact with women as they enter an abortion clinic. (Groppe, 10/28)

The New York Times: Trump’s Changing Messages On Abortion, In 670 Quotes
Donald Trump has softened his rhetoric, contradicted himself and nearly dropped “pro-life” from his vocabulary. Yet there is no evidence that his views on abortion have changed. (Sanger-Katz, Miller and Washington, 10/26)

Politico: Voters Appear Ready To Reject Arizona’s Abortion ‘Compromise’ 
For the anti-abortion movement, Arizona was supposed to be different. After two years of losing abortion ballot measure fights around the country, conservatives held up the state’s 15-week ban as a winning post-Roe strategy — a middle ground they argued most Americans embrace. Instead, with just days left until Election Day, Arizonans are poised to handily reject the 15-week ban and add abortion protections to their state constitution, just as voters did in Michigan, Ohio and other red and purple states while facing six-week and near-total bans. It’s the latest evidence that even voters who tell pollsters they oppose second- and third-trimester abortions will, when given a chance, vote against government-imposed restrictions on the procedure — regardless of the number of weeks. (Ollstein, 10/26)

CBS News: Abortion Rights Advocates Rally South Florida Voters To Say "Yes" To Amendment 4 Just Days Before 2024 Election
Florida voters could put the right to get an abortion in the state's constitution on Nov. 5. If Amendment 4 passes, it would limit the state's authority to restrict abortion. With less than 10 days before the 2024 election, supporters of the amendment rallied people to get to the polls. Broward County's Anya Cook has been in an "Ad for the Yes on 4" campaign. She shared with CBS News Miami what happened when her doctor told her that her unborn baby would not live. (Maugeri, 10/27)

Reuters: E. Coli Infections Tied To McDonald's Burgers Rise To 75, US FDA Says 
The number of people infected by the E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers increased to 75 from 49, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. Of the 61, on whom information was available, the health regulator said 22 persons have been hospitalized. Two of them have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. (Rajesh and Venugopal, 10/25)

NPR: McDonald's Will Begin Selling Its Quarter Pounders Again Amid E. Coli Outbreak
McDonald’s says it will resume selling the Quarter Pounder in all its restaurants this week, as 75 people have become sick due to E. coli detected in an onion supply. The company said in a Sunday statement it is serving the burgers without onions, which were supplied by California-based Taylor Farms. The company said 900 restaurants across 12 states were receiving onions from Taylor Farms. (Archie, 10/28)

NBC News: What Food Safety Experts Steer Clear Of To Avoid E. Coli
An E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 75, killing one, is a reminder of the contamination risk that can plague certain types of fresh produce, according to food safety experts. The four professors said they routinely avoid particular raw fruits and vegetables themselves, such as sprouts, bagged salad greens and cantaloupe. Though the investigation is ongoing, federal officials suspect prewashed, slivered onions that were served raw on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are the likely source of the E. coli outbreak. For those who specialize in foodborne illness prevention, the news was not a surprise. (Chuck and Bendix, 10/26)

ABC News: Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Boar's Head In Deadly Listeria Outbreak 
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed Wednesday against Boar's Head by the family of a man who, they say, contracted listeria after consuming the company's deli meats. As of Sept. 25, at least 59 people have fallen ill across 19 states in the listeria outbreak linked to Boar's Head products. All 59 people were hospitalized and 10 have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Kekatos, 10/24)

CBS News: Costco Recalls Salmon Over Listeria Concerns
Costco is recalling packages of salmon over concerns they could be contaminated with listeria. Acme Smoked Fish Corp, the shopping club's salmon provider, sent a notice to Costco shoppers this week informing them of the recall of Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon, due to potential contamination with listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The notice was sent to customers who Costco records show purchased affected fish products between October 9-13. Only packages from lot number 8512801270 are affected. (Cerullo, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: False Claims Act Challenged By Whistleblower Lawsuit Verdict
Healthcare companies would likely spend less time and money litigating whistleblower lawsuits if a recent federal court ruling holds. U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled late last month whistleblowers could not file False Claims Act lawsuits on behalf of the federal government. The opinion diverged from five other cases evaluating the constitutionality of the act’s qui tam provisions, but still casts doubt on a widely used tool designed to root our fraud in the healthcare industry. (Kacik, 10/25)

Axios: Insured Americans Can't Predict Drug Costs: Survey
More than half of insured Americans say they can't predict how much their covered prescription drugs will cost, according to an annual survey by the pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA. The results, shared first with Axios, come as the drug industry is pressing for more transparency regulations on pharmacy benefit managers and insurers in the lame-duck period following the election. (Goldman, 10/28)

The Boston Globe: UMass Memorial Health CEO Predicts More Massachusetts Hospital Closures
UMass Memorial Health chief executive Eric Dickson has a grim diagnosis for the state’s health care system: Without a dramatic change, more closures will likely follow the recently shuttered Carney and Nashoba Valley hospitals. Those two hospitals went dark in large part because of their for-profit ownership under the now-bankrupt Steward Health Care, which undermined their future by selling their real estate. (Chesto, 10/25)

Houston Chronicle: Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage Pulling Out Of MD Anderson
Patients covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas Medicare Advantage and Medicaid insurance plans will lose in-network access to MD Anderson Cancer Center next week, according to a statement on the cancer hospital's website. By Nov. 1, the hospital's agreement with the insurer's Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans will expire, meaning patients on those plans will no longer be charged heavily discounted rates for care. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies and, like original Medicare, cover people over the age of 65 or people with certain disabilities. (Gill, 10/25)

Bloomberg: UnitedHealth, Amedisys To Make Last Push For DOJ Blessing On Deal
UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Amedisys Inc. representatives are slated to meet with top Justice Department antitrust enforcers next week in a last-ditch effort to persuade the agency not to challenge their proposed tie-up, according to people familiar with the matter. The high-stakes meeting between the companies and DOJ antitrust leadership, including Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, is typically the last step before officials decide whether to file a lawsuit. It’s often referred to as a “last-rites” meeting. (Sisco, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Sees Medicaid Pay Bump But Execs Say It's Not Enough
Centene continues to lobby states for additional Medicaid funding as higher spending and a small revenue decline squeezed the company in the third quarter, Chief Financial Officer Drew Asher told investor analysts Friday. Although the health insurance company won rate increases averaging 4.5%-5% in all the states where it administers Medicaid benefits, they weren't enough to prevent Medicaid revenue slipping 1% to $21.3 billion during the quarter, Asher said. The Medicaid medical loss ratio, which measures the share of payments spent on care, rose from 90.7 to 93.1%. (Tepper, 10/25)

Modern Healthcare: HCA Will Still Invest In Hurricane-Prone Georgia, North Carolina
HCA Healthcare plans to continue investing in hurricane-prone areas despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in damage sustained at its facilities due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. "If you would have asked me what two communities were most impacted, I would have never said in 100 years Augusta, Georgia, and Asheville, North Carolina," said Sam Hazen, HCA CEO, during a third-quarter earnings call Friday with financial analysts. (DeSilva, 10/25)

The Boston Globe: Home Base Expansion In Charlestown Focuses On Treatment Of Brain Injuries For Veterans
The grand opening of two new clinics at Home Base, a nonprofit run by the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Brigham, drew political leaders, business executives, veterans, and members of the public. Home Base teamed up with Suffolk Construction and the Wounded Warrior Project on the $5.1 million project that added 5,500 square feet of new clinical space. Retired Brigadier General Jack Hammond, who joined dignitaries to cut a big blue ribbon, called the expansion “a big step forward.” (McDonald, 10/26)

Reuters: US FDA Approves Iterum's Treatment For Urinary Infection
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Iterum Therapeutics' oral antibiotic to treat certain types of bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI) in adult women, the health regulator said on Friday. The drug, Orlynvah, has been approved to treat uncomplicated UTIs in women who have limited oral antibacterial treatment options or none at all. UTI is a common bacterial infection of the bladder that mostly affects women with normal anatomy of the urinary tract. (S K and L, 10/25)

Stat: Drug May Make Chemotherapies Less Effective In Cancer Patients With Obesity
A drug used to combat fungal infections in cancer patients comes with a big caveat — research shows the medicine can last twice as long as in people with obesity. This means chemotherapies may be less effective when interacting with the medicine, but some clinicians, and their patients, are unaware of that possibility. (Silverman, 10/28)

Stat: Novartis, Seagen Veteran Epstein To Lead Cancer Startup
It hasn’t even been a year since Pfizer closed its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen — one of the biggest biopharma deals in years — but David Epstein, who was CEO of Seagen, is back. Epstein is now the CEO of Ottimo Pharma, a new company unveiled Monday aiming to develop a drug that could work in a variety of cancers. It’s an experimental antibody that targets two proteins called PD-1 and VEGF, an approach that has become one of the hottest areas in immuno-oncology. (Joseph, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Apple Secretly Tests Blood-Sugar App In Sign Of Health Ambitions
Apple Inc., seeking to make further inroads in health care, tested an app this year to help people with prediabetes manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company tested the service on select employees earlier this year, part of its broader push into blood-sugar features, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is secret. (Gurman, 10/25)

The Washington Post: Judge Halts Homeless Removals That Began Before Taylor Swift Concerts
A Louisiana judge on Friday halted officials from clearing homeless encampments in downtown New Orleans without proper notice, a ruling issued after two homeless people filed a lawsuit alleging that they were improperly expelled ahead of Taylor Swift concerts in the city this weekend. Swift performed at New Orleans’s Caesars Superdome on Friday and Saturday, with one more concert Sunday night as part of her Eras Tour, which is set to conclude in December. The Louisiana governor’s office said the removals are intended to prepare New Orleans for major events, including Super Bowl LIX in February. (Somasundaram, 10/27)

The Hill: Wisconsin Pizzeria Apologizes After Customers Get High From Pizzas Accidentally Contaminated With THC
A Wisconsin-based pizza restaurant has issued an apology after it was discovered that some of the pizza served to customers was contaminated with THC. Officials with Public Health Madison and Dane County stated in a news release that Famous Yeti’s Pizza in Stoughton had unintentionally served pizza contaminated with THC between Tuesday, Oct. 22, and Thursday, Oct. 24. ... Famous Yeti’s Pizza addressed the incident Thursday on its Facebook page, providing an explanation and apology: "Today it was confirmed that pizza had been sold with dough mistakenly prepared with Delta9 contaminated oil." (Newhouse, 10/26)

Stat: Flu Season Will Complicate Tracking Spread Of H5N1 Avian Influenza
If one can point to anything good about the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle — to be honest, there’s nothing good about this situation — it’s the timing. Transmission of the virus through U.S. dairy herds took off when last winter’s flu season was effectively over, making the job of looking for people infected with H5N1 an easier task in theory, though there have been plenty of human hurdles impeding those efforts. (Branswell, 10/28)

CIDRAP: US COVID Markers Continue To Decline 
After a long summer wave that peaked in August, COVID-19 activity continues to decline in most areas, with more downward trends seen in wastewater detections, test positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest respiratory virus updates today. Deaths remain at low levels. According to CDC provisional data, 341 deaths were reported last week. (Schnirring, 10/25)

CIDRAP: Studies Show Long-COVID Symptoms Distinct From Other Respiratory Infections, Common In Marines
Two new studies offer fresh insights into long COVID, with the first noting a greater neurological, cognitive, and fatigue impact compared with long-term symptoms after similar respiratory diseases, and the second demonstrating that a fourth of young Marines who contracted COVID-19 went on to develop long COVID.  (Soucheray, 10/25)

The New York Times: Why Heat Waves Of The Future May Be Even Deadlier Than Feared 
The body’s cooling defenses fail at lower “wet bulb” temperatures than scientists had estimated. (Dalton, 10/25)

North Carolina Health News and Climate Central: Rising Temperatures In Durham Leaving Many Behind 
Patricia Murray sat in her home office toward the end of a weeklong heat wave, the third for the year with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, describing how she keeps cool without air conditioning even as Durham’s summers get progressively hotter. “When I know I’m going out in the afternoon, I’ll wring out [a towel] and put it around my neck,” said the spry 68-year-old, who also uses box fans and ceiling fans to push cooling breezes through her home. “I suggest if you don’t have air conditioning, that’s a lifesaver — got to have a ceiling fan.” (Atwater and Newsome, 10/28)

Bloomberg: Gas Stoves Linked To 40,000 Premature Deaths In Europe Annually
Gas stoves in European homes are associated with tens of thousands of premature deaths, a study has found. Nearly 40,000 early deaths each year in the EU and UK can be linked to exposure to nitrogen dioxide from burning gas for cooking indoors, a study by scientists at Jaume I University in Spain has found, the first such estimate for Europe. The stoves were also associated with hundreds of thousands of pediatric asthma cases in the EU and UK, the study estimated. (Rudgard, 10/28)