Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: Nov. 14, 2023
KFF Health News and The New York Times: Facing Financial Ruin As Costs Soar For Elder Care
Margaret Newcomb, 69, a retired French teacher, is desperately trying to protect her retirement savings by caring for her 82-year-old husband, who has severe dementia, at home in Seattle. She used to fear his disease-induced paranoia, but now he’s so frail and confused that he wanders away with no idea of how to find his way home. He gets lost so often that she attaches a tag to his shoelace with her phone number. Feylyn Lewis, 35, sacrificed a promising career as a research director in England to return home to Nashville after her mother had a debilitating stroke. They ran up $15,000 in medical and credit card debt while she took on the role of caretaker. (Abelson and Rau, 11/14)
KFF Health News and The New York Times: Adult Children Discuss The Trials Of Caring For Their Aging Parents
The financial and emotional toll of providing and paying for long-term care is wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of Americans. Read about how a few families are navigating the challenges, in their own words. (Abelson and Rau, 11/14)
KFF Health News: What Long-Term Care Looks Like Around The World
Around the world, wealthy countries are struggling to afford long-term care for rapidly aging populations. Most spend more than the United States through government funding or insurance that individuals are legally required to obtain. Some protect individuals from exhausting all their income or wealth paying for long-term care. But as in the United States, middle-class and affluent individuals in many countries can bear a substantial portion of the costs. Here’s how five other countries pay for long-term care. (Rau, 11/14)
PolitiFact: Do Republican Spending Cuts Threaten Federal HIV Funding? For Some Programs, Yes
Are Republicans threatening to stop spending federal money to end one of the world’s most pressing public health epidemics? That’s what President Joe Biden said during a dinner hosted by an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. “In the United States Congress, extreme MAGA Republicans are trying to undo virtually every bit of progress we’ve made,” Biden said Oct. 14 at the Human Rights Campaign event. “They’re trying to wipe out federal funding to end the HIV epidemic.” (Abels, 11/14)
The New York Times: Democrats Signal Openness To Plan To Avert Shutdown As Republicans Balk
Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week ran into increasing opposition on Monday from hard-line Republicans. But with Democratic opposition softening, it appeared the plan could be headed toward bipartisan approval within days. The shifting alliances came as the House planned to take its first action on the bill as early as Tuesday. The legislation would fund federal agencies into early 2024 with two staggered deadlines, allowing lawmakers time to try to finish off the annual spending bills and putting off a debate over wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine. (Hulse and Edmondson, 11/13)
Axios: Tension With Sanders Complicates Major Primary Care, Opioid Bill Push
Sen. Bernie Sanders' push for sweeping legislation to address a growing shortage of primary care providers, the opioid crisis and other key health issues faces an unusual obstacle: escalating tensions among members of the health committee he chairs. (Sullivan, 11/13)
The Hill: Senate Panel Will Move Resolution Tuesday To Break Tuberville’s Hold On Military Nominees
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that the Senate Rules Committee will mark up a resolution Tuesday to confirm more than 350 nonpolitical military promotions at once, circumventing a hold that Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) has had in place for nine months to protest the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Democratic leader said once the Rules Committee approves the measure, he will bring it to the Senate floor for a vote “as soon as possible.” (Bolton, 11/13)
Military.com: Pentagon Abortion Policy At Center Of Senate Fight Expected To Cost Just $1 Million A Year, Analysis Says
The Pentagon abortion policy at the center of a bitter political fight that has jammed up hundreds of military promotions is likely to cost less than $1 million annually, according to a recent analysis published in a medical journal. The low estimated cost relative to the Pentagon's more than $800 billion budget is unlikely to shift the political debate since opponents of Pentagon policy argue that not a single taxpayer dollar should go toward abortion-related expenses. But the analysis comes as the Senate has been scrambling to find a way to end the blockade Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has maintained on senior officer promotions for nearly nine months. (Kheel, 11/13)
The 19th: Abortion Bans Are Hindering Access To Domestic Violence Screenings
As more abortion bans have gone into effect across the country, it has become far more difficult to perform a standard element of gynecological care: screening patients for domestic abuse. (Gerson and Luthra, 11/13)
KHOL/ Jackson Hole Community Radio: Jackson’s Only Abortion Provider Is Shutting Its Doors Due To High Costs
After thirty years in the business, the Women’s Health and Family Care clinic is closing down next month due to rising costs, such as rent. It’s the only clinic that provides abortions in the region, and its closure may mean a six-week gap in pregnancy-ending care. For that time, the closest in-person abortion provider will be more than four hours away, 280 miles, in Casper. (Merzbach, 11/13)
The 19th: White House Announces New Focus On Research For Women’s Health
President Joe Biden on Monday announced the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which will be led by First Lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council. The new initiative will be chaired and coordinated by Dr. Carolyn Mazure, who recently joined the White House from the Yale School of Medicine. (Gerson, 11/13)
AP: Biden Administration Slow To Act As Millions Are Booted Off Medicaid, Advocates Say
Up to 30 million of the poorest Americans could be purged from the Medicaid program, many the result of error-ridden state reviews that poverty experts say the Biden administration is not doing enough to stop. The projections from the health consulting firm Avalere come as states undertake a sweeping re-evaluation of the 94 million people enrolled in Medicaid, government’s health insurance for the neediest Americans. A host of problems have surfaced across the country, including hours-long phone wait times in Florida, confusing government forms in Arkansas, and children wrongly dropped from coverage in Texas. (Seitz and Hunter, 11/14)
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Denies Case Involving Prolonged Confinement Without Exercise
Over the objections of its three liberal justices, the Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition from a prisoner confined for years without the chance to exercise outside his cell. The treatment of mentally unstable Illinois inmate Michael Johnson had previously divided the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. It rejected his lawsuit alleging that keeping him in his windowless cell except for an occasional trip for a shower violated the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. (Barnes, 11/13)
Stat: Life Expectancy For Men In U.S. Falls To 73 Years — Six Years Less Than Women
The life expectancy of men in the U.S. is nearly six years shorter than that of women, according to new research published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. At least partially as a consequence of over 1 million Covid-19 deaths, life expectancy in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past few years, falling from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 in 2020 and 76.1 in 2022 — undoing over two decades of progress. This puts the country far behind its wealthy peers: Countries such as Japan, Korea, Portugal, the U.K., and Italy all enjoy a life expectancy of 80 years or more. Countries such as Turkey (78.6) and China (78.2) also fare better. (Merelli, 11/13)
The New York Times: An ‘Unsettling’ Drop In Life Expectancy For Men
The gap in life expectancy between men and women in the United States grew to its widest in nearly 30 years, driven mainly by more men dying of Covid and drug overdoses, according to a new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association. In 2021, women had a life expectancy of 79.3 years, compared with 73.5 years for men, the study found. (Ghorayshi, 11/13)
NPR: Lung Cancer Survival Rates Rise, Including Among People Of Color
Survival rates for lung cancer are improving, especially among historically marginalized communities of color, according to a new survey from the American Lung Association released Tuesday. The findings are a bright note amid deepening racial disparities in many areas in health care. The five-year lung cancer survival rate increased by 22% in the five years between 2015 to 2019. (Noguchi and Wroth, 11/14)
The Midwest Newsroom: Report: Midwestern States Have A Mixed Record On Fighting Lung Cancer
Sara Geiken, 43, remembers the first time she felt the pain of her lung cancer after a workout class in 2019. “I thought I had pulled a muscle,” she said. Geiken, who had been involved with the American Lung Association in Iowa for nearly ten years as a volunteer, was at low risk for lung cancer. So, when a doctor diagnosed her with adenocarcinoma, which starts in glands that line the insides of the organs, she was caught off-guard. (Mansouri, 11/14)
Military Times: Marines Grapple With Highest Suicide Rate Of All US Military Services
The Marine Corps had the highest rate of suicide among all the U.S. military branches in 2022 ― a sobering statistic for a service that has stepped up efforts in recent years to prevent these tragedies. The military has seen a gradual increase in suicide across the branches since 2011, the Defense Department’s annual report on suicide in the military found. In the Marine Corps’ active component, 34.9 out of 100,000 service members died by suicide in 2022, up from a rate of 23.9 in 2021 and higher than any other service. (Loewenson, 11/13)
Military.com: Veterans, Advocates Want Blood Cancers Added To PACT Act List Of Burn Pit-Related Conditions
Veterans' advocates are pushing to have several blood cancers added to the list of conditions considered to be service-connected under the PACT Act, a move that would make some Gulf War and post-9/11 veterans eligible for expedited health care and benefits. The Department of Veterans Affairs is conducting a scientific review to decide whether acute leukemias, chronic leukemias and multiple myeloma should be covered by the PACT Act, the landmark legislation passed last year that broadened benefit eligibility for veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and were exposed to burn pits or other battlefield pollutants. (Kime, 11/13)
Military Times: Vets Tap Businesses For VA Disability Claims Help, But There’s A Cost
When Navy veteran Melissa Washington wanted to reapply for an increase in her disability benefits, she selected a for-profit firm — Veterans Benefits Guide — to cut down on the paperwork and preparation she’d have to do herself. “I knew a lot of people who had already been through the process, and I wanted to try for myself,” said Washington, who runs the Women Veterans Alliance in Sacramento, Calif. ... The 51-year-old, who has been out of the service for almost 30 years, said the process cost her a few hundred dollars and just a few months of waiting. She said she will recommend the process to friends and clients interested in getting help with their claims. Veterans advocates say it’s illegal. (Shane III, 11/13)
CIDRAP: US Flu Activity Rises In Most Regions, Especially The South
In its latest update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that flu activity and hospitalizations continue to rise, especially in the South. Covering the week ending November 4, the report said outpatient visits for respiratory illnesses are now at the national baseline of 2.9%. (Schnirring, 11/13)
Reuters: Accord Healthcare Resumes Production Of Cancer Drug Cisplatin Amid Shortages
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday that Accord Healthcare has resumed manufacturing of commonly used cancer drug cisplatin against the backdrop of ongoing drug shortages in the United States. Cisplatin is a type of chemotherapy drug used alone or in combination with other drugs to treat several advanced forms of cancer, including bladder, ovarian and testicular cancer. The FDA last week had reported on its website that Accord resumed production of another cancer drug methotrexate. (11/13)
Stat: Weight Loss Drugs Should Be Covered By Insurers, AMA Says
The American Medical Association called on insurance companies, employers, and government programs to cover obesity treatments even as many remain reluctant to pay for them, fearing the costs of covering the drugs at a mass scale. (Trang and Chen, 11/13)
Reuters: Hair Relaxer Claims Against L'Oreal, Revlon Can Proceed -U.S. Judge
A federal judge on Monday allowed the majority of claims to move forward in sprawling litigation that claims chemical hair relaxer products made by L'Oreal USA, Revlon and others cause cancer and other injuries. Illinois-based U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland denied most of the companies’ arguments in their motion to dismiss the complaint in the multidistrict litigation over the products. The litigation includes more than 8,000 lawsuits. (Jones, 11/13)
Stat: Michigan Bill That Would Pare Back Pharma Shield Law Advances
A one-of-a-kind law in Michigan that prevents the state government and residents from suing pharmaceutical companies over injuries caused by their medicines is poised to be pared back. A bill designed to allow product liability lawsuits to be filed against drug companies passed the Michigan Senate last month and then passed the House last week. The legislation, which won overwhelming majorities in both chambers but was opposed by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and a pharmaceutical industry trade group, now goes to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (Silverman, 11/13)
Stat: UnitedHealth Used Algorithms To Deny Care, Staff Say
The nation’s largest health insurance company pressured its medical staff to cut off payments for seriously ill patients in lockstep with a computer algorithm’s calculations, denying rehabilitation care for older and disabled Americans as profits soared, a STAT investigation has found. (Ross and Herman, 11/14)
Minnesota Public Radio: Survey: Minnesota Hospitals Report Hefty Financial Losses
The Minnesota Hospital Association reported Monday that many of the state’s health systems are losing money at a growing clip. The MHA, a trade group that represents care providers that include large Twin Cities health systems and small rural hospitals, said that 67 percent of its members that took part in a recent survey reported losses in the first half of 2023. That’s a sharp increase over the 55 percent that reported negative operating margins in 2022. (Sepic, 11/14)
The Boston Globe: Cooley Dickinson Hospital In Northampton Pauses Elective Surgery
Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton has had to reschedule an undisclosed number of surgeries since Nov. 6 due to a problem with the equipment that sterilizes certain medical instruments and devices on site. The hospital said it was pausing elective procedures that use the affected instruments, but it was proceeding with procedures that use equipment and devices that are sterilized off-site. (Bartlett, 11/13)
The CT Mirror: Medical Staff, CT Legislators Rally For Prospect Hospitals’ Sale To Yale
Nurses, physicians and legislators — frustrated at the length of time the state has taken to approve the acquisition of three Connecticut hospitals by Yale New Haven Health — rallied at the state Capitol Monday in an effort to expedite the deal. (Carlesso and Altimari, 11/13)
NBC News: State Attorney General, Doctors And Nurses Criticize HCA Over Patient Care At North Carolina's Mission Hospital
Four years after it bought Mission Hospital, an 815-bed facility in Asheville, North Carolina, HCA Healthcare is under fire in the region, threatened with a lawsuit by the state attorney general and facing criticism from nurses and at least 124 current and former Mission doctors who say HCA, the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain, is imperiling patient care at the facility in its pursuit of profits. “Profits over people is not an ethic, model, or aspiration that can deliver the quality of care we all expect and deserve.” (Morgenson, 11/13)
Modern Healthcare: New York Hospital Cybersecurity Proposal Aims To Protect Data
The state of New York is proposing regulations that would tighten cybersecurity requirements for hospitals, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Monday. The proposed rule would require hospitals to establish a cybersecurity program and take steps to assess internal and external risks. The rule will publish in the state register on Dec. 6, with a 60-day comment period ending Feb. 5, 2024. (Perna, 11/13)
Modern Healthcare: Healthcare DEI Programs Contend With Anti-'Woke' Movement
Following years of investment in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the healthcare sector is now grappling with the anti-"woke" movement. After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) enacted the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act—better known as the Stop WOKE Act—last year, for example, Trinity Health had to add a disclaimer to its workforce trainings on structural racism: No one person is responsible for the history of slavery in America. (Hartnett, 11/13)
Axios: How AI Deepfakes Could Make Health Care Misinformation Worse
For all the promise that artificial intelligence holds for health care, one of the industry's big fears is its potential to churn out more convincing misinformation. AI experts are warning that tech used to create sophisticated false images, audio and video known as deepfakes is getting so good it could soon become almost impossible to distinguish fact from fiction. (Reed, 11/14)
WUFT: UM, UF Research Team Gets $3.2M Grant To Study Cannabis In Breast Cancer Treatments
Breast cancer patients have become a rapidly growing segment of medical cannabis users in the country. But while cannabis has shown promise in symptom management, it is not considered a cure for cancer for now. The need for comprehensive research to understand the benefits and potential harm of medical cannabis and cannabinoids (MCC) in cancer patients is clear. (Zhou, 11/13)
USA Today: Cantaloupe Recall: Fruit Sold In 10 States Have Risk Of Salmonella
Sofia Produce LLC, which operates under the name Trufresh, is recalling all sizes of fresh cantaloupes due to a possible salmonella contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last Thursday. The company, which operates out of Arizona, said the cantaloupes were distributed directly to Arizona, California, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas and Florida, as well as Canada. (Hauari, 11/13)
The Hill: New Study On Hunter-Gatherer Moms Suggests Western Child Care Has A Big Problem
Stressed out American parents who suspect that child-rearing used to be easier may be right. The average mother among one Congolese foraging people has at least 10 people to help hold her baby — and sometimes as many as 20, a paper published Monday has found. That high level of support means that mothers among the Mbendjele BaYaka people have someone else holding their baby at least half the time, according to research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That is a level of care “a world away,” unheard of in wealthy industrialized countries — but one that may have been normal across most of human history, the researchers reported. (Elbein, 11/13)
The Washington Post: Children Who Read Regularly Tend To Do Better On Later Cognitive Tests
Young children who spend about 12 hours a week reading for pleasure tend to do better on cognitive tests and have better mental health when they are adolescents than those who have not developed this reading habit, according to research published in the journal Psychological Medicine. (Searing, 11/13)
The Washington Post: She Was Born With A Second Uterus. She’s Pregnant In Both
When Kelsey Hatcher visited her obstetrician for an ultrasound this year, she smiled when an image of a healthy fetus appeared on the screen. Before leaving, Hatcher asked the nurse for further examination. Hatcher had been born with a second uterus, and she wanted the nurse to check on the health of that one, too. The nurse at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s hospital spread gel on the opposite side of Hatcher’s abdomen and went over it with the wand. They couldn’t believe what they saw on the screen. (Melnick, 11/14)
