First Edition: Nov. 21, 2023

KFF Health News: Lost In The Mix Of Medicaid ‘Unwinding’: Kentucky Cut Off Her Health Care Over A Clerical Error
The day her Medicaid coverage ended, Beverly Likens was in the hospital after a scary trip to the emergency room. The Kentucky resident was diagnosed with severe anemia and given a blood transfusion after her hemoglobin levels had plummeted. Likens, 48 at the time, was days from having surgery to treat chronic uterine bleeding that she said left her bleeding “constantly.” (Pradhan, 11/21)

KFF Health News: Out For Blood? For Routine Lab Work, The Hospital Billed Her $2,400
Reesha Ahmed was on cloud nine. It was January and Ahmed was at an OB-GYN’s office near her home in Venus, Texas, for her first prenatal checkup. After an ultrasound, getting anti-nausea medication, and discussing her pregnancy care plan, she said, a nurse made a convenient suggestion: Head to the lab just down the hall for a standard panel of tests. (Pradhan, 11/21)

KFF Health News: Evolving Overdose Crisis Shakes Previously Effective Treatments
“You can’t inject a horse tranquilizer and think nothing bad is gonna happen” to you, said Ty Sears, 33, a longtime drug user now in recovery. Sears was referring to xylazine, a sedative used for animal surgeries that has infiltrated the illicit drug supply across the country, contributing to a steady climb in overdose deaths. (Sisk, 11/21)

The New York Times: U.S. Offers Another Round Of Free Covid Tests Through The Mail
Just in time for the holiday season, the Biden administration is offering Americans a fresh round of free at-home coronavirus tests through the Postal Service. The administration revived the dormant program in September, announcing then that households could order four free tests through a federal website, covidtests.gov. Beginning Monday, households may order an additional four tests — or eight tests if they had not ordered any in the previous round. (Gay Stolberg, 11/20)

AP: Get Free COVID-19 Tests Through The Mail Again
The U.S. government is offering to send another round of four at-home virus tests ahead of the typical surge in cases during the winter holiday season. Anyone who did not order a batch of four COVID-19 tests in September can secure up to eight of them this time around starting Monday at COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver them for free. (Seitz, 11/20)

CBS News: CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen Offers COVID Caution For The Holidays
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came home for the holidays with an important health message. "There are ways to protect yourself, even this week. So I hope you got vaccinated, and if you didn't it's not too late. ..." Cohen said. "I wouldn't recommend something I wouldn't recommend for my own parents, for my own daughters," Cohen said. "The most important reason is this virus changes. COVID has changed and flu has changed. You want the most updated protection you can get." (Gusoff, 11/20)

The Boston Globe: As Holidays Approach, Advocates Call For A Return To Universal Masking In Health Care Settings
Anticipating a surge of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections this winter, a group of doctors and activists on Monday called on the state to require universal masking in health care settings. In a virtual news conference, the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity also demanded free access to COVID-19 testing and high-quality masks, public education about the risks of long COVID, and protections enabling disabled people to insist that their caregivers wear masks. (Freyer, 11/20)

The Hill: One-Third In New Survey Worried About Catching Flu, COVID, RSV In Next Three Months
More than a third of Americans say they are worried that they or one of their family members will contract a seasonal respiratory virus like the flu, COVID-19 or RSV in the coming months, though vaccine enthusiasm appears to be middling at best. The survey was conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania Oct. 5-12. (Choi, 11/20)

The New York Times: Indonesia Calls For More Pressure On Israel After Deadly Hospital Attack
Indonesia’s foreign minister condemned on Tuesday an attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip as a “violation of international humanitarian law” and called on other nations to step up pressure on Israel. The attack on the Indonesian Hospital killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens, according to two members of the hospital staff and the Gaza health ministry, which blamed Israel. The hospital, which was built with Indonesia’s funds and advocacy, was hit around 2:30 a.m. on Monday after Israeli tanks had drawn closer to the compound, a nurse and a hospital administrator said. The source of the strike could not be independently verified. (Wee, 11/21)

CBS News: Hamas Officials And Medic Say Israel Surrounding 2nd Gaza Hospital As Babies From Al-Shifa Reach Egypt
The World Health Organization told the Reuters news agency that 28 babies were transferred to Egypt, but three remained at a maternity hospital in southern Gaza where they were being treated for "serious infections." Dr. Mohammad Zaqout, a doctor at Al-Shifa, said eight of the infants brought out of the hospital — which the World Health Organization described as a "death zone" after weeks caught in the middle of the Israel-Hamas war — did not survive the desperate conditions at the facility before they could be transferred. (Luciano, Redman, and Reals, 11/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Support For Abortion Access Is Near Record, WSJ-NORC Poll Finds
New results from a Wall Street Journal-NORC poll show Americans’ support for abortion access is at one of the highest levels on record since nonpartisan researchers began tracking it in the 1970s. Some 55% of respondents say it should be possible for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion if she wants it for any reason. (Wernau, 11/20)

The Hill: Near-Record 55 Percent Support Abortion Rights: Survey
Only one-third of Republicans said that they backed access to abortion for any reason, according to the Journal. However, the poll found widespread support for access to abortion in the cases of rape, incest and the health of the woman. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they supported access to abortion in instances of rape or incest, and 89 percent support it when a woman’s health is endangered by the pregnancy, the Journal reported. (Sforza, 11/20)

Reuters: FDA Warns Against Using Cardinal's Syringes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday warned healthcare providers and facilities not to use Cardinal Health's (CAH.N) Monoject syringes with patient-controlled pain management pumps and syringe pumps. The regulator's warning comes after Cardinal Health initiated a recall for its Monoject syringes due to incompatibility concerns with syringe pumps. (11/20)

Reuters: US FDA To Delay Decision On Bristol Myers-2seventy Bio Cancer Therapy
The U.S. health regulator will not meet its Dec. 16 deadline to decide on the expanded use of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY.N) and partner 2seventy bio's (TSVT.O) blood cancer therapy in earlier lines of treatment as it plans to seek the advice of experts, the companies said on Monday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet confirmed when the advisory panel would meet, they added. (11/20)

Stat: Delay Of Eye Drop Recall Highlights FDA Weakness
It took nearly three weeks for a maker of eye drops to recall its products after the Food and Drug Administration requested a recall. There have been no reports of injuries, but some key lawmakers are arguing the time it took the FDA to coax a voluntary recall shows the agency should be given the power to force them. (Wilkerson, 11/21)

Axios: Drug Ads Must Be More Upfront About Side Effects, FDA Says
The Food and Drug Administration has finalized a long-running effort to require prescription drug ads on TV and radio to clearly lay out potential side effects and when a person should avoid a medicine. While the number of drug ads has surged and they account for billions of dollars in direct-to-consumer marketing, experts say they primarily rely on emotional appeals and focus on a drug's benefits over potential risks. (Bettelheim, 11/21)

Politico: EPA To Boost Worker Protections For 2 Flame Retardants
EPA proposed stronger regulations on two ultratoxic flame retardants deemed to have "critical uses," though the agency stopped short of banning consumer or industrial uses. The proposed rules, announced Monday, would enact stronger worker protections and restrict water releases for two persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals: decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP 3:1). (Borst, 11/20)

Politico: Supreme Court Rejects ‘Forever Chemicals’ Challenge
A major manufacturer of “forever chemicals” won't get its day before the Supreme Court. In a short order issued Monday, the justices declined to hear a plea from chemical giant DuPont that could undercut a $40 million jury verdict in favor of an Ohio resident who was diagnosed with testicular cancer after he was exposed to PFAS in drinking water. (Borst, 11/20)

Politico: UK Government Reaches Deal With Pharma Industry On Drug Pricing
Britain’s pharmaceutical lobby and the U.K. government have reached a deal in difficult negotiations over the next branded medicines pricing deal, which caps the cost of drug spending by the country’s health service. The agreement between the government, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) is called the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth (VPAG), and will run for five years until December 31, 2028. (Furlong, 11/20)

CIDRAP: CDC Announces Foodborne Illness Outbreaks Linked To Fruit 
"Although the recalled fruit is no longer available in retail stores, consumers may have frozen the recalled fruit at home for later use. Consumers are urged to check their freezers for the recalled fruit, not consume it, and discard it," the FDA said in a notice. (Sourcheray, 11/20)

The New York Times: Peaches, Plums And Nectarines Recalled Amid Listeria Outbreak
A California produce company has voluntarily recalled its whole peaches, plums and nectarines in connection with an outbreak of listeria that has led to one death and 10 hospitalizations since 2018, according to a food safety alert published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Fadulu, 11/20)

Reuters: Researchers Return To Alzheimer's Vaccines, Buoyed By Recent Drug Success
Breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatments that remove toxic proteins from the brain have revived interest in vaccines to treat the memory-robbing disease, potentially offering a cheaper, easy-to-administer option for millions of people, according to interviews with 10 scientists and company executives. Clinical trials are underway or completed for at least seven Alzheimer’s vaccines designed to harness the immune system to rid the brain of the disease-related proteins beta amyloid or tau, a review of the U.S. government’s ClinicalTrials.gov database found. More are on the way. (Steenhuysen, 11/20)

Reuters: Indian Researchers Find No Link Between Sudden Death And COVID Shots
Indian researchers found no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination was behind "unexplained sudden deaths", a medical organisation said on Tuesday, instead pointing to the disease itself, binge drinking and intense exercise as risk factors. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted a study following what it called "anecdotal reports about sudden unexplained deaths among apparently healthy adults" aged 18 to 45 between October 2021 and March 2023. (11/21)

CIDRAP: More US Parents Plan To Vaccinate Kids Against RSV, Flu Than COVID, Survey Shows
A Texas A&M University survey of US parents finds that 41% already had or would vaccinate their children against COVID-19, 63% against influenza, and 71% against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) this fall and winter. The study, published late last week in Vaccine, involved 5,035 parents of children younger than 18 years surveyed on September 27 and 28, 2023. (Van Beusekom, 11/20)

CIDRAP: Study: Flu Vaccination Reduces Risk Of Heart Attack
A meta-analysis published yesterday in Scientific Reports involving 9,059 patients shows a 26% decreased risk of heart attacks in people who received a flu vaccine and a 33% reduction in cardiovascular deaths. "These findings highlight the potential of influenza vaccination as an adjunctive strategy in cardiovascular disease prevention," the authors write. (Soucheray, 11/20)

NPR: New Accounting Of Lead's Effects Underlines Cardiovascular And Cognitive Risks
According to a new study in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, an estimated 5.455 million adults worldwide died in 2019 from cardiovascular disease (CVD) attributable to lead exposure — a toll more than six times higher than a previous estimate. The study goes on to provide what its authors say are the first monetary estimates of the total global cost of these lead-attributable deaths, along with the magnitude and cost of IQ loss in children under 5 years old. (Estvanik Taylor, 11/20)

CNN: Bigger Belly In 40s And 50s Linked To Early Signs Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Inflammation from belly fat may be linked to the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease decades before symptoms begin, new research has found. “We’ve known for a while that as the belly size gets larger, the memory centers in the brain get smaller,” said Alzheimer’s disease researcher Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida. (LaMotte, 11/20)

AP: Climate Change Hits Women's Health Harder. Activists Want Leaders To Address It At COP28
Manju Devi suffered in pain for two months last year as she worked on a farm near Delhi, unable to break away from duties that sometimes had her standing for hours in the waist-deep water of a rice paddy, lifting heavy loads in intense heat and spraying pesticides and insecticides. When that pain finally became too much to bear, she was rushed to a hospital. (Athar, 11/21)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Star Ratings Declines Cause Problems For Providers 
Declining Medicare Advantage star ratings have led health insurance companies to seek cost savings that are having downstream consequences for healthcare providers. The quality measurement program applies only to insurers, but their responses to toughened standards and less bonus revenue has implications for providers engaged in risk-sharing arrangements with them, executives said. (Tepper and Devereaux, 11/20)

Modern Healthcare: Will The Nursing Home Ownership Rule Force Private Equity’s Exit?
The regulation announced last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services aims to make the nursing home industry more transparent by better informing consumers about the role private equity investors and real estate investment trusts play in the sector. In addition to disclosing ownership, any nursing home owner accepting Medicare or Medicaid would be required to list trustees and companies that provide administrative, clinical and financial services. The rule will take effect in mid-January. (Eastabrook, 11/20)

Modern Healthcare: Guidehouse: Cybersecurity Ranks Ahead Of AI For IT Budgets
Healthcare is grappling with one of the most challenging years for cybersecurity on record, so health system C-suite executives are making data security solutions a budget priority. Consulting firm Guidehouse surveyed health system CEOs and chief financial officers about their top three IT investment priorities in 2024. Improvements to cybersecurity ranked ahead of any other potential budget item, including upgrades to artificial intelligence and electronic health record systems. (Perna, 11/20)

CIDRAP: Hospital Execs See Worsening Antibiotic-Resistance Threat, Survey Finds
A new survey of 158 hospital executives, conducted by the Sepsis Alliance, found that 90% see antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a threat, and 88% think the problem is getting worse. The survey, conducted by Sage Growth Partners on behalf of the Sepsis Alliance, also dug into executives' views on other related AMR issues. An 11-page report on the findings was published on the Sepsis Alliance website on November 17. (Schnirring, 11/20)

Reuters: Texas AG Sues Pfizer Over Quality-Control Lapses In Kids' ADHD Drug
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Pfizer (PFE.N) and its supplier Tris Pharma of providing children's ADHD medicine that it knew might be ineffective to the state's Medicaid insurance program for low-income people, in a lawsuit unsealed on Monday. The lawsuit, filed in Harrison County, Texas District Court, alleges that Pfizer and Tris manipulated quality-control testing for the drug Quillivant XR in order to obtain passing results from tests it was required to perform under federal law between 2012 and 2018. Properly done tests frequently showed that the drug failed to dissolve as it was supposed to, a sign that it would not be released in the body as expected, the lawsuit said. (Pierson, 11/21)

Politico: NYU Langone Cancer Center Director Sues Over His Firing
A fight between NYU Langone Health and the well-known director of its prestigious Perlmutter Cancer Center is spilling out into the open. Benjamin Neel filed suit against the health system Friday because of its decision to terminate his contract over several social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war that he reshared on X, formerly known as Twitter. (Kaufman, 11/20)

Politico: AstraZeneca Launches Digital And AI Business For Clinical Research
AstraZeneca is moving to capture a relatively untapped market for digital and AI solutions for clinical trials by launching a new health tech business. The company, called Evinova, will sit within AstraZeneca but offer services to other pharma companies that are traditionally competitors of the British-Swedish pharma giant. On offer are products that use AI to help with clinical trial study design; a clinical trial solution that supports the collection of endpoint data; and a tool to manage and track clinical trials. (Furlong, 11/20)

The New York Times: New York State Leans On Hospitals To Close Gaps In Social Safety Net
The state issued the guidance late last month after receiving questions from The New York Times, which was preparing to publish an investigation that revealed preventable institutional breakdowns of homeless shelters, hospitals, specialized treatment teams and other organizations. The breakdowns preceded more than 90 acts of violence in the past decade, The Times found. Responding to the article on Monday, the state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, described it as a “wake-up call.” (Julia Harris and Ransom, 11/21)

The New York Times: 5 Takeaways From A Times Investigation Of New York’s Social Safety Net
New York City’s social safety net has repeatedly failed to prevent mentally ill people from unraveling on the streets and committing random acts of violence. It is a problem that generations of city leaders have tried and failed to solve. It became a priority for Mayor Eric Adams two weeks after he took office, when a homeless mentally ill man named Martial Simon pushed Michelle Go, a 40-year-old financial consultant, in front of a subway train in Times Square, killing her. (Julia Harris and Ransom, 11/21)

Politico: New Jersey's Menthol Cigarette Ban Could Include Pouches And Flavored Cigarillos
State lawmakers have expanded a bill to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes to include flavored oral nicotine pouches and “mass-produced” cigars. The Assembly Health Committee made the additions to the bill, NJ A1989 (22R) on Monday. Similar changes are expected in the Senate version. The wide-ranging prohibition would cut out popular products in the state. The additions specifically targeting flavored “non-premium cigars” would take flavored cigarillos — commonly found at convenience stores and gas stations — off shelves in New Jersey. (Han, 11/20)

Politico: Tammy Murphy Pushes New Doula Initiative As She Mounts Senate Bid
New Jersey first lady — and U.S. Senate candidate — Tammy Murphy announced Monday that a bill to guarantee pregnant women can be accompanied by doulas in hospitals and birthing centers will be introduced in the state Legislature. The state-sponsored announcement comes just days after Murphy announced her candidacy and as she's faced questions about how state resources will be used to boost her bid to replace Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). Just last week, the Murphy administration faced criticism for the airing state-funded radio ads promoting New Jersey’s maternal health programs featuring Murphy as a narrator (the radio ads featuring her have since been discontinued, according to the governor’s office). (Han, 11/20)

Modern Healthcare: Fairview To End University Of Minnesota Contract In 2026
Fairview Health Services said Monday it will not renew its contract with the University of Minnesota  because it "threatens the sustainability" of the nonprofit health system. The contract expires at the end of 2026. Fairview had to issue a non-renewal notice by Dec. 31 or the agreement would automatically renew for another decade. The health system said the notice does not dissolve M Health Fairview, its joint clinical services offering; change patient care; or result in job losses. (Hudson, 11/20)

CBS News: 2 North Texas Doctors Charged With Submitting Fake Medical Claims, Unlawfully Distributing Hydrocodone
According to court documents, the doctors operated a pain management clinic in Dallas where patients received prescriptions for high doses of hydrocodone, oxycodone and morphine.  Patients would make a short office visit each month and receive their prescriptions. As part of those monthly visits, the doctors would submit fraudulent claims to the patients' insurance companies, saying the patients received dozens of corticosteroid injections, when the patients actually received few injections or none at all. (Falcon, 11/20)

The Mercury News: Enrollment Efforts Expand As Medi-Cal Starts Covering Adults Who Are Undocumented
People who are undocumented make up 40% of the state’s approximately 1 million residents who are uninsured, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. That could change beginning Jan. 1, with the new law in California that will allow adults who are undocumented to qualify for full-scope Medi-Cal and gain access to affordable primary care services such as annual check-ups and lab tests. (Torres, 11/20)