First Edition: Nov. 3, 2023

KFF Health News: Biden Pick To Lead Social Security Pledges Action On ‘Heartbreaking’ Clawbacks
President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Social Security Administration on Thursday promised senators that he would address hardships the agency has caused by trying to recoup billions of dollars it mistakenly overpays beneficiaries each year. At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Democratic former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said he would “absolutely prioritize” reducing overpayments and improving the appeals process for millions of people asked to repay money, often years later. (Hilzenrath and Fleischer, 11/3)

KFF Health News: Medicare Expands The Roster Of Available Mental Health Professionals 
Lynn Cooper was going through an awful time. After losing her job in 2019, she became deeply depressed. Then the covid-19 pandemic hit, and her anxiety went through the roof. Then her cherished therapist — a marriage and family counselor — told Cooper she couldn’t see her once Cooper turned 65 and joined Medicare. “I was stunned,” said Cooper, who lives in Pittsburgh and depends on counseling to maintain her psychological balance. “I’ve always had the best health insurance a person could have. Then I turned 65 and went on Medicare, and suddenly I had trouble getting mental health services.” (Graham, 11/3)

KFF Health News: States Reconsider Religious Exemptions For Vaccinations In Child Care 
More than half the children who attend Munchkin Land Daycare near Billings, Montana, have special needs or compromised immune systems. The kids, who range in age from 4 months to 9 years, have conditions that include fetal alcohol syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and Down syndrome, according to owner Sheryl Hutzenbiler. “These families came to me knowing we could offer them a safe and healthy environment,” Hutzenbiler said. Part of ensuring that healthy environment is having a strong vaccination policy, she said, especially for those who are immunocompromised or too young to receive the full slate of childhood vaccines. (Volz, 11/3)

KFF Health News: Medical Debt Is Disappearing From Americans’ Credit Reports, Lifting Scores 
The share of American consumers with medical debt on their credit reports has declined dramatically over the past year as major credit rating agencies removed small unpaid bills and debts that were less than a year old, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit Urban Institute. At the same time, millions of Americans have seen their credit scores improve, making it easier for many to get a job, rent an apartment, or get a car. (Levey, 11/2)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': For ACA Plans, It’s Time To Shop Around
In most states, open enrollment for plans on the Affordable Care Act exchange — also known as Obamacare — began Nov. 1 and lasts until Dec. 15, though some states go longer. With premiums expected to increase by a median of 6%, consumers who get their health coverage through the federal or state ACA marketplaces are encouraged to shop around. Because of enhanced subsidies and cost-sharing assistance, they might save money by switching plans. Meanwhile, Ohio is yet again an election-year battleground state. A ballot issue that would provide constitutional protection to reproductive health decisions has become a flashpoint for misinformation and message testing. (11/2)

Axios: Medicare Cuts Doctor And Hospital Payments
Medicare administrators served doctors and hospitals a pair of big payment cuts late Thursday. Doctors will see a 3.4% decrease to a key factor determining their base Medicare pay next year, officials announced in a final rule. That’s virtually unchanged from what administrators proposed this summer. (Goldman, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule For 2024 Cuts Payment 
Physicians will be hit with a 1.25% reduction in Medicare reimbursements next year under a final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued Thursday. The American Medical Association and other doctor groups sharply criticized the proposed rule CMS published in July, which contained the same pay cut, and have taken their case to Congress that Medicare fees for physicians should not be reduced. (Bennett, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: 340B Final Rule Authorizes $9 Billion In Remedy Payments
Providers participating in the 340B drug discount program will receive approximately $9 billion to compensate them for reductions in previous years under a final rule the Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Thursday. ... About 1,700 hospitals are due to receive funds by Jan. 1. But because federal law requires this spending to be budget-neutral, CMS offset the cost by reducing reimbursements for other outpatient products and services by $7.8 billion. (Kacik and Bennett, 11/2)

AP: Fewer High School Students Are Vaping This Year: US Report
Fewer high school students are vaping this year, the government reported Thursday. In a survey, 10% of high school students said they had used electronic cigarettes in the previous month, down from 14% last year. Use of any tobacco product — including cigarettes and cigars — also fell among high schoolers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. (Stobbe and Perrone, 11/2)

The New York Times: Teenage Vaping Declines This Year, Survey Says
One thing is clear about underage e-cigarette use: Adolescents like flavors. About 90 percent of the students who reported vaping said they used flavored products, citing favorites that tasted like fruit and candy. Teenagers identified Elf Bar and Esco Bar as their favorite brands, well-known for flavors like strawberry kiwi and watermelon ice. Public health advocates in California recognized the allure, leading to a yearslong fight to pass a ban on flavored tobacco products, which took effect in December. It quickly led to falling sales, according to data from the C.D.C. Foundation. (Jewett, 11/2)

The Hill: USDA Report: Around Half Of Those Eligible For WIC In 2021 Received Benefits 
Only half of people eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receive benefits from it, a new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report has found. The report, released Friday, said that despite 12.1 million Americans being eligible for the program in 2021, only 6.2 million received benefits, or 51 percent. (Suter, 11/3)

The Hill: Court Tosses EPA Ban On Pesticide Linked To Brain Damage In Kids
A federal appeals court on Thursday is tossing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ban on a pesticide that has been linked to brain damage in children. The decision from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to send the rule back to the agency does not preclude the agency from reinstating the ban in the future. But it said the EPA needs to give greater consideration to whether there are cases where the pesticide, called chlorpyrifos, could be used safely. Chlorpyrifos has been used as an insecticide, protecting crops like soybeans, broccoli, cauliflower and fruit trees. (Frazin, 11/2)

Los Angeles Times: U.S. Senate Proposal Could Force Action On Counterfeit Pills In Mexican Pharmacies
A few lines in a Senate appropriations proposal could force U.S. officials to confront a deadly threat they ignored for years: Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced painkillers sold at pharmacies in Mexico. If approved, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken would have 90 days to draft a report that would — for the first time — reveal key details about overdoses caused by fake pills sold in Mexican drug stores. (Sheets and Blakinger, 11/2)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Fentanyl Exposure During Pregnancy Is Linked To A New Medical Syndrome In Babies
The babies are born with small heads, underdeveloped jawbones, conjoined toes and rounded, “rocker-bottom” feet. Physicians at Nemours Children’s Health say they all have one thing in common: They were exposed in utero to significant amounts of fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid. In a new study, the authors say they’ve identified 10 such babies so far, describing their constellation of symptoms as a “novel syndrome associated with prenatal fentanyl exposure.” (Avril and Whelan, 11/2)

The Washington Post: Brain Ultrasound May Offer Hope For People With Addiction Disorders
Substance use disorder afflicts many Americans — in 2021, 46.3 million people in the United States age 12 or older were addicted to alcohol or drugs such as opioids and stimulants. Now scientists are studying a promising and surprisingly familiar therapy that can help reset the brain and stem the cravings of addiction. The treatment is low-intensity focused ultrasound or LIFU, a noninvasive brain stimulation therapy. Researchers at the University of Virginia are running the first pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasound to treat cocaine use disorder. Nearby at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, ultrasound is being studied to primarily treat opioid use disorder, but also addiction to a number of substances including patient cravings for a number of substances, including alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine. (Jones, 11/2)

The Washington Post: Youngkin Orders Schools To Address Fentanyl After 9 Students Overdosed
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued an executive order requiring school districts to notify parents of any drug overdoses in the school system within 24 hours after the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced that nine students at one school overdosed. The sheriff’s office said that nine students at Park View High School overdosed in October and early November. All of the overdoses were nonfatal and appeared to involve fentanyl. (Elwood and Jouvenal, 11/2)

Reuters: Indiana Attorney General Reprimanded Over Abortion Doctor Remarks 
A divided Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday publicly reprimanded Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita for statements he made about a doctor in the state who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio. The court found that Rokita violated professional conduct rules for lawyers when he described Dr. Caitlin Bernard in a July 2022 Fox News interview as an "abortion activist acting as a doctor" who had failed to report past child abuse cases. (Thomas, 11/2)

Politico: Tuberville Staffer Asks Anti-Abortion Groups To Float Primaries Against Republicans Who Oppose Military Holds
Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s spokesperson asked anti-abortion groups to "make clear" GOP senators risk primary challenges if they support an effort to overcome his military holds over a Pentagon abortion policy, according to an email obtained by POLITICO. The email, written by Tuberville’s communications director Steven Stafford from his Senate email address, made clear that the Alabama Republican’s staff is worried that at least nine Republicans might join with Democrats to pass a resolution that would allow the Senate to bypass Tuberville's holds. It was sent on Oct. 26, after news broke that senators were going to release a resolution that would allow the Senate to more easily stop Tuberville’s holds on more than 300 nominees up for military promotions. (Everett, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Fairview Health Services To Cut 250 Jobs
Fairview Health Services will trim its workforce by about 250 jobs by year's end, the nonprofit system said Thursday. Most of the affected roles, which represent less than 1% of the workforce, are part-time and in "select positions throughout the system," Fairview said. Employees will receive job search assistance and be priority candidates for open positions, it said. (Hudson, 11/2)

Bloomberg: Walgreens-Backed Clinic Chain VillageMD To Trim Bonuses Amid Cost Cuts
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s chain of medical clinics is trimming employee bonuses and retirement fund matches amid a broader push to reduce expenses at the drugstore giant. VillageMD, the primary-care provider majority-owned by Walgreens, won’t give bonuses to most employees for this year, although front-line clinic staff who see patients will receive bonuses “reduced from historical amounts,” according to a memo to staff viewed by Bloomberg. The unit plans to resume bonuses in 2024 as finances improve, VillageMD Chief Executive Officer Tim Barry said in the memo dated Nov. 1. (Tozzi, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Government-Owned Hospitals Pursue Health System Partners
Liberty Hospital, a public hospital serving the northern suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, has remained independent since opening nearly 50 years ago. That time may be about to end. The hospital, a 200-bed facility with 1,900 employees and managed by the county, is close to signing a non-binding letter of intent to affiliate with Kansas City, Kansas-based University of Kansas Health System. (Kacik, 11/2)

Iowa Public Radio: Siouxland Health Center Receives $5 Million Donation From Billionaire 
MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving charity has awarded $5 million to the Siouxland Community Health Center in Sioux City. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, pledged in 2019 to give more than half of her billions to charity following her divorce. (Brummer, 11/2)

Arizona Republic: Most Arizona Hospital CEOs Got Raises, Made Millions, During Pandemic, IRS Filings Say
More than half the top executives at Arizona's largest nonprofit and public health systems who were leading their organizations during the deadly worldwide COVID-19 pandemic got pay hikes during those tumultuous years. Peter Fine, who has headed Phoenix-based Banner Health since 2000, was the highest paid nonprofit hospital CEO in Arizona in 2021, according to IRS records. Banner Health is the state's largest private employer and one of the country's largest health systems. (Innes, 11/3)

PBS NewsHour: New Recommendations Outline How Congress Could Lower Ground Ambulance Costs
To lower costs and improve billing for patients who need ground ambulance services, federal lawmakers should ban surprise bills, limit patient cost-sharing and make bills easier to understand, according to a committee formed by Congress to explore how to tackle these issues. ... The public is invited to comment on what Congress should do to address ground ambulance billing through Nov. 15. The committee will deliver a report with all recommendations, distinguishing those that received a majority vote of support, to Congress in early 2024. (Santhanam, 11/2)

CBS News: New Law Requires Hospitals To Inform Patients Of Financial Assistance Before Collecting Medical Debt
A new Minnesota law requires hospitals to check if patients are eligible for financial assistance before referring medical debt for collections. It's a move that supporters of the change say will ensure people know what help is available and may relieve them of the burden of steep healthcare costs. The provisions took effect Wednesday. (Cummings, 11/2)

Stat: Treating Rural America: STAT Examines Health Care Disparities
There is a persistent shortage of primary care doctors in the rural United States. Specialists, like OB-GYNs and endocrinologists, are even harder to access. According to the National Rural Health Association, there are only 30 specialists for every 100,000 residents in rural areas, compared to 263 per 100,000 in urban communities. (Empinado, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: Violence Prevention Laws Could Help Ease Nursing Shortage: ANA 
If you want to fix the nursing shortage, you've got to fix the workplace, American Nurses Association members told Congress this week. In a broad push to advance key priorities, the organization sent more than two dozen nurses to Capitol Hill Monday and Tuesday to push for violence prevention laws, money for training and greater responsibility for nurses, then followed up Wednesday by formally endorsing legislation to mandate minimum staffing levels at hospitals. (McAuliff, 11/2)

The New York Times: Former Pennsylvania Nurse Heather Pressdee Linked To 17 Nursing Home Deaths 
A former Pennsylvania nurse who had been accused of killing two patients with doses of insulin faces more murder charges and has confessed to trying to kill 19 additional people at several locations, the authorities said Thursday. In May, Heather Pressdee, 41, admitted to the authorities that she had intended to kill three patients in her care with insulin doses, resulting in her arrest on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. (Mayorquin, 11/3)

The Washington Post: Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Rake In Cash From Weight-Loss Drugs 
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly reported booming sales Thursday from the new generation of diabetes and weight-loss drugs they’ve pioneered, as both drugmakers continue to scramble to keep up with demand. Denmark-based Novo reported $8.4 billion in revenue in the past three months — a 29 percent increase from a year ago — with its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy accounting for more than half of sales. Lilly, based in Indianapolis, posted revenue of $9.5 billion for the latest quarter, a 37 percent increase, boosted by fast-growing sales of Mounjaro. (Gilbert, 11/2)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk, Lilly See Insatiable Demand For Weight-Loss Drugs 
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly both expect juggernaut sales for their diabetes and weight-loss drugs to extend into coming years - limited only by their availability. The two companies have been the primary beneficiaries of the global boom in obesity drugs, ballooning their market values and reshaping expectations not just in the healthcare industry, but also for sellers of sugary snacks, nutritional aids and packaged foods. (Fick and Satija, 11/2)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk: 80% Of U.S. Wegovy Patients With Insurance Paying Less Than $25/Month
The majority of U.S. patients with health insurance coverage taking Novo Nordisk's powerful weight-loss drug Wegovy are paying less than $25 per month, a senior executive said on Thursday. Doug Langa, Novo's vice president for North America, said most major pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health plans were covering the hugely popular weekly injection. (11/2)

CBS News: Radiation Therapy Patch Can Save Cancer Patients From Collateral Damage To Healthy Tissue
A revolutionary manner of precisely delivering radiation therapy to cancer patients while minimizing collateral damage is being rolled out by scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore. The scientists have created a patch that can stop damage to healthy tissue by detecting any misplaced radiation from body movement and halting the dosage being delivered to the patient. (Castaneda, 11/2)

CIDRAP: Doxycycline Tied To Lower Risk Of C Diff In Pneumonia Patients 
Treating some pneumonia patients with the antibiotic doxycycline instead of the more commonly prescribed azithromycin can reduce the risk of Clostridioides difficile infection by up to 45%, according to a study yesterday in the American Journal of Infection Control. Using broad spectrum antibiotics to treat pneumonia is standard practice in US hospitals, but it raises the risk of patients acquiring C diff infections (CDI), which cause roughly 30,000 US deaths each year. (Soucheray, 11/2)

Axios: Time Change: Sleep Experts Prefer Standard Over Daylight Saving Time
We "fall back" and switch our clocks to standard time on Sunday, and a number of sleep experts want to stay in that time zone permanently. While lawmakers have pushed to make it daylight saving time all the time, a number of scientists and researchers say standard time is more aligned with our body clocks — and "daylight saving" time is not only a misnomer but harmful. (Mallenbaum, 11/2)

NPR: If You Give A Mouse A Sleepless Night, He Gets A Dopamine Rush
What your parents didn't tell you about pulling an all-nighter? It might just ease depression for several days. At least, that's what researchers found happened to mice in a study published in the journal Neuron Thursday. Most people who've stayed up all night know the "tired and wired" feeling they get the next day. Even after these changes wear off, sleep loss can have a strong antidepressant effect in people that lasts several days. (Barber, Scott, Shapiro, Carlson, and Contreras, 11/3)

The Washington Post: Listening To Favorite Songs Can Reduce Pain As Much As Advil, Study Finds 
Results published last week in the Frontiers journal showed that listening to your favorite tunes can reduce the perception of pain as much as taking an Advil. Now, in a second phase of the study, researchers are studying brain activity to determine which parts of the mind create that relieved perception. (Melnick, 11/2)

CIDRAP: Americans Carry 'Collective Trauma' From COVID Pandemic, Survey Suggests
The COVID-19 pandemic caused Americans collective trauma, which predisposes to mental illness and chronic illnesses, according to a new online survey from the American Psychological Association (APA).The Harris Poll surveyed 3,185 US adults nationwide for the Stress in America 2023 report from August 4 to 26. (Van Beusekom, 11/2)

CIDRAP: California Confirms 2nd Local Dengue Case 
For the second time in 2 weeks, California has reported a local dengue case, this time involving a patient from Long Beach, city officials announced yesterday. The patient has recovered at home, and no other illnesses have been detected. The Long Beach health department is carefully monitoring the situation and has alerted health providers to be aware of dengue symptoms. In a statement, Mayor Rex Richardson urged people to remove standing water from their property and to help control mosquitoes in neighborhoods. Officials also urged the public to avoid bites from Aedes mosquitoes. (Schnirring, 11/2)

The Mercury News: Contra Costa County: Casino Staff, Customers Exposed To TB
Health officials in Contra Costa County sounded a warning Thursday to anyone who has spent time in a Pacheco casino over the past five years that they were exposed to tuberculosis and should be tested. Contra Costa Health Services officials in a statement said that recent genetic testing revealed several related cases since 2018 among staff and customers at the California Grand Casino, located in the 5900 block of Pacheco Boulevard. Of 11 confirmed TB cases, 10 were linked genetically, and the majority were linked with the casino’s staff and customers. (Hurd, 11/2)

Connecticut Public Radio: CT Is Giving Away Thousands Of Pouches To Safely Deactivate Drugs
State officials are planning to distribute 50,000 prescription drug deactivation pouches as part of a $1.2 million federal campaign against drug misuse. The goal is to give people a convenient way to dispose of unused or expired opioids, or other prescription drugs, so they’re not misused and do not pollute the environment. (Dwyer, 11/2)

Reuters: Alabama Supreme Court Allows First US Execution By Nitrogen Gas To Proceed
The Supreme Court of Alabama has authorized state officials to proceed with what would be the first execution of a prisoner in the U.S. using asphyxiation by nitrogen gas. In August, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, asked the court to allow the state to proceed with gassing Kenneth Smith, who was convicted of murder in 1996, using a face mask connected to a cylinder of nitrogen intended to deprive him of oxygen. Smith, 58, is one of only two people alive in the U.S. to have survived an execution attempt after Alabama botched his previously scheduled execution by lethal injection in November when multiple attempts to insert an intravenous line into a vein failed. (Allen, 11/2)