First Edition: Nov. 6, 2023

KFF Health News: As Transgender ‘Refugees’ Flock To New Mexico, Waitlists Grow 
This summer, Sophia Machado packed her bags and left her home in Oregon to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her sister lived and where, Machado had heard, residents were friendlier to their transgender neighbors and gender-affirming health care was easier to get. Machado, 36, is transgender and has good health insurance through her job. Within weeks, she was able to get into a small primary care clinic, where her sister was already a patient and where the doctor was willing to refill her estrogen prescription and refer her to an endocrinologist. She felt fortunate. “I know that a lot of the larger medical institutions here are pretty slammed,” she said. (Nowell, 11/6)

KFF Health News: Science Says Teens Need More Sleep. So Why Is It So Hard To Start School Later? 
High school classes start so early around this city that some kids get on buses at 5:30 in the morning. Just 10% of public schools nationwide start before 7:30 a.m., according to federal statistics. But in Nashville, classes start at 7:05 — a fact the new mayor, Freddie O’Connell, has been criticizing for years. “It’s not a badge of honor,” he said when he was still a city council member. (Sweeney, 11/6)

KFF Health News: Nursing Homes Say They Can’t Afford Higher Staffing. But Their Finances Are Often Opaque.
Perhaps the biggest mystery, as the Biden administration moves to force nursing homes to boost staffing, is this: how much extra money do the nation’s 15,000 homes actually have to hire and retain more nurses and aides? Public comments are due Monday on the most sweeping regulatory changes to hit the industry in decades. The proposal has provoked a fierce lobbying battle between nursing homes and patient advocates, with more than 22,000 comments filed already to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Rau, 11/3)

USA Today: Hospital Acquired Infections Are Down Post-COVID, But Other Risks Remain For Patients
Hospital-acquired infections, which became substantially more common during the pandemic, have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from a patient safety watchdog group. It's key to note, researchers say, that infection rates before March 2020 were nothing to celebrate. On top of that moderately good news, the Leapfrog Group found other metrics that measure patient safety and satisfaction have fallen significantly, likely because of hospital staffing shortages and other pandemic-era challenges. (Weintraub, 11/6)

Modern Healthcare: Leapfrog Group Safety Grades Show Improved Infection Control
Utah was the state with the highest percentages of “A” hospitals, with around 52% earning top marks. Vermont, Wyoming, Delaware, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., fared the worst, with no hospitals receiving "A" grades. All states saw significant decreases in patient experience scores between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2023, with hospitals in New Mexico, New Hampshire and Florida experiencing the most significant declines. Of the 38 hospitals that dropped two letter grades, most went from an "A" to a "C," like Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, California, and SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, Missouri. Only one facility, Memorial Hospital of Gardena, California, went from a "C" to an "F." (Devereaux, 11/4)

Stat: 10 Million People Disenrolled From Medicaid Over Past Six Months
More than 10 million people were disenrolled from Medicaid over the past six months, according to the latest data published by a KFF tracker. The tracker has collected data on Medicaid enrollment since the first states began redetermining eligibility in April, after the expiration of the federal requirement of continuous coverage during the Covid-19 public health emergency. (Merelli, 11/3)

The Hill: This Year’s Affordable Care Act Enrollment Is Different: What You Need To Know 
Open enrollment for plans available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace has officially begun, and this year’s sign-up period will have some new factors that may make it easier for more people to sign up for coverage. Prospective customers now have until Jan. 15 to sign up for ACA insurance plans, though those who want coverage at the start of the calendar year should sign up by Dec. 15. Last year’s enrollment reached record numbers — 15.7 million — and this year’s is expected to exceed that rate. (Choi, 11/5)

Stat: Analysis: Health Plan Formularies Lowered Barriers To Fair Access To Some Drugs
Most of the formularies run by some of the largest health plans in the U.S. generally provide “fair access” to 18 treatments for a handful of serious diseases, although transparent coverage information is often lacking for some medicines, a new analysis has found. (Silverman, 11/3)

AP: Abortion Debate Has Dominated This Election Year. Here Are Tuesday's Races To Watch
The most-watched races in Tuesday’s off-year general election have all been dominated by the ongoing debate over abortion rights. From a re-election bid for governor in Kentucky to a statewide ballot measure in Ohio to state legislative elections in Virginia, access to abortion has been a frequent topic in campaign debates and advertising, as it has since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in June last year overturning Roe vs. Wade. Here’s a look at three major races and how abortion has shaped each contest. (Yon, 11/6)

The Boston Globe: Men Hold Antiabortion Rally At Planned Parenthood And On Boston Common
Scores of men who oppose abortion rights marched through part of Boston Saturday amid heckling from counterprotesters. The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood, which included several young boys, started early Saturday morning with a demonstration outside the Planned Parenthood center on Commonwealth Avenue and continued with a march to the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common for a rally that ended shortly before noon. (Hillard, 11/4)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Teen Contraception Case Up On Appeal
For almost a year, Texas teens have been shut out of a federal program that allows minors to access birth control without parental consent. On Monday, a federal appeals court will review the court ruling that upended the longstanding Title X program, and decide whether to restore one of the only ways Texas teens can access confidential contraception. (Klibanoff, 11/6)

The Washington Post: Abortion Debate Is Affecting Access To Drug Used After Miscarriages
Since losing her first pregnancy four months earlier, 32-year-old Lulu has struggled to return to her body’s old rhythms. Lulu, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect her privacy, bled for six weeks after her miscarriage and hasn’t had a normal menstrual cycle since. Such disruptions aren’t uncommon after miscarriage, which affects roughly 1 in 10 known pregnancies. But for Lulu, they’ve also served as a persistent reminder that she couldn’t access the drug mifepristone — her preferred method of care — to help her body pass the miscarriage. Instead, her doctor prescribed a drug called misoprostol, which on its own is less effective. (Dewey, 11/5)

The Washington Post: Records From Notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study Now Available Online
A cache of documents related to the Tuskegee syphilis study — a 40-year experiment that tracked infected Black men without treating them — has now been digitized for public use, the National Library of Medicine announced. The documents concern one of medical history’s bleakest chapters. In 1932, officials from the U.S. Public Health Service recruited 600 impoverished Black men in Macon County, Ala., promising them years of free medical care, burial insurance and treatment for an ailment known as “bad blood.” (Blakemore, 11/5)

CIDRAP: Lawmakers Ask FDA For Information On US Drug Shortages
In response to continuing US drug shortages, two lawmakers have asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide information on the country's continuing drug shortages. "The FDA is failing to ensure vitally important pharmaceuticals remain on pharmacy shelves," House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky) and Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich) wrote in a letter yesterday to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD. (Van Beusekom, 11/3)

Stat: Medicare Moves Ahead With More Price Transparency Requirements For Hospitals
The federal government is moving forward with a spate of proposals that will force hospitals to be better about publishing the prices they charge health insurers and patients. Federal law has required hospitals to post their prices since 2021. Compliance has been dismal, although it has improved since the government increased fines a few years ago. But the pricing information is still tough to find and confusing to interpret. (Herman, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Rule To Increase Medicare Hospital Outpatient, ASC Payments
Hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers will receive 3.1% increases in Medicare reimbursements under a final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Thursday. These providers are set for larger pay raises next year than under the proposed rule CMS published in July, which would have hiked fees 2.8%. (Young, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Rule May Trigger Consolidation For Home Healthcare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ threat to claw back billions of dollars in overpayments to home health agencies could trigger more industry consolidation and affect patients' access to care in their homes. CMS announced Wednesday that it would raise Medicare reimbursements to home health companies by 0.8% in 2024–a reversal from a 2.2% payment cut proposed in June. (Eastabrook, 11/3)

NPR: Some U. S. Makers Of Medical Gloves Say The Industry Needs Government Support
A 85-foot-tall, dark-gray building stands in southern Virginia, surrounded by grassy fields and rolling blue mountains. This brand-new chemical plant was set up during the pandemic to produce a special type of synthetic rubber that's needed to make medical exam gloves, the kind used everyday by doctors and nurses. But so far, this factory has produced nothing. (Greenfieldboyce, 11/3)

CBS News: Cook County Health Warns Of Data Breach For 1.2 Million Patients
More than 1 million patients of the Cook County hospital system could have had their personal information exposed in a data breach earlier this year. Cook County Health said Perry Johnson & Associates (PJ&A), which once provided medical transportation services for its hospitals and clinics, informed the county of a data breach in July. PJ&A said an unauthorized individual accessed systems where patient data was stored in April, and personal information of Cook County Health patients might have been affected, according to the county. (Feurer, 11/3)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: What Patients Need To Know About BJC's Deal With Aetna
BJC HealthCare has reached a much-anticipated agreement for a new Affordable Care Act insurance plan under Aetna, beginning Jan. 1. The deal will come as a relief to BJC patients who are signing up for ACA plans as the federal open enrollment period kicks off this week. The previous carrier of individual marketplace plans covering BJC — Cigna, which offered them under the brand “Cigna Connect” — is exiting Missouri’s ACA marketplace in 2024. (Merrilees, 11/3)

Los Angeles Times: Healthcare Minimum Wage Expected To Cost $4 Billion In First Year As California Budget Deficit Looms 
When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage for healthcare workers, three words in a bill analysis foretold potential concerns about its cost: “Fiscal impact unknown.” Now, three weeks after Newsom signed SB 525 into law — giving medical employees at least $25 an hour, including support staff such as cleaners and security guards — his administration has an estimated price tag: $4 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year alone. (Mays, 11/4)

The Washington Post: Family ‘Distraught’ After Man’s Death At Johns Hopkins Was Ruled A Homicide
In January, 63-year-old Paul Bertonazzi was driven to Johns Hopkins Hospital by Baltimore police because, officials said, he was experiencing a mental health episode and needed help. Baltimore police took him to the emergency room. Within hours, according to officials, Bertonazzi’s body had gone limp, paralyzed from the neck down. Five days later, the man was dead. Now Maryland’s chief medical examiner has ruled Bertonazzi’s death a homicide — and determined he died as a result of “trauma to the body,” law enforcement officials said. (Mettler, 11/4)

The Washington Post: D.C. Mayor Resurrects Old Policy To Target Open-Air Drug Markets
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) unveiled a proposal to revive “anti-loitering drug-free zones,” a policy that was repealed in 2014 amid constitutional concerns. (Flynn and Brice-Saddler, 11/5)

The Washington Post: Can Vaccines, Monoclonal Antibodies Help Curb Addiction And Overdoses? 
The concept has long tantalized scientists: harnessing the power of antibodies to block the dangerous effects of heroin, cocaine and nicotine, substances that have wrecked or ended millions of American lives. Despite years of efforts that have failed to yield viable vaccines or lab-made antibody treatments, research is accelerating as the nation grapples with an unprecedented drug crisis — more than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses in each of the past two years, fueled chiefly by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. (Ovalle, 11/5)

Bloomberg: Daily Cannabis Use Linked To Higher Risk Of Severe Heart Disease In Studies
Using cannabis every day raises many of the same risks of severe heart disease that affect frequent cigarette smokers, new research shows. Daily use of the recreational drug was linked to a 34% increased risk of developing heart failure in a study that followed more than 150,000 Americans over almost four years. Marijuana use was also linked to life-threatening brain and heart complications in older hospitalized patients with pre-existing cardiac and metabolic problems, a separate study found. (Millson, 11/6)

NPR: Tyson Recalls 30,000 Pounds Of Dino-Shaped Chicken Nuggets
About 30,000 pounds of dinosaur-shaped frozen chicken nuggets are being recalled after consumers reported finding metal pieces in the product, U.S. food safety officials said. "A limited number of consumers have reported they found small, pliable metal pieces in the product," Tyson said in a news release about the voluntary recall issued Saturday. (Bowman, 11/5)

NPR: Tai Chi, A Form Of Slow-Moving Martial Arts, Helps Boost Memory, Study Finds
There's plenty of evidence that exercise can help protect our bodies and brains. ... In fact, a new study finds tai chi, a form of slow-moving martial arts, can help slow down cognitive decline and protect against dementia. As part of the study, all the participants took a 10-minute test, called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, to gauge cognitive function. The study found that people who practiced a simplified form of tai chi, called Tai Ji Quan twice a week for about six months improved their score by 1.5 points. (Aubrey, 11/6)

CNN: Retro Walking — Or Going Backward — Is Good For You, Experts Say 
Head into any gym, and you may find someone walking backward on a treadmill or pedaling in reverse on an elliptical machine. While some may be employing reverse motion as part of a physical therapy regimen, others may be doing so to boost their physical fitness and overall health. (McManus, 11/3)

Reuters: U.N. And Medical Agencies Condemn Israel's Gaza Ambulance Strike
The United Nations Secretary General and aid agencies working in Gaza have condemned Israel's air strike on an ambulance on Friday, which the Israeli military said, without showing evidence, was carrying Hamas militants. The Health Ministry, a hospital director and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the Hamas-controlled enclave have said the Israeli strike targeted a convoy of ambulances evacuating wounded people from the besieged northern Gaza area. (Al-Mughrabi, 11/4)

Reuters: Turkey Says It Agreed With Egypt To Take Gaza Cancer Patients For Treatment
Turkey and Egypt have agreed for some 1,000 cancer patients and other injured civilians needing urgent care in Gaza to be sent to Turkey for treatment, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Sunday, adding work was underway to plan the move. Koca said on Thursday that Ankara was prepared to bring in cancer patients from the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship hospital in Gaza, the enclave's only cancer treatment hospital, which went out of service after running out of fuel this week. (11/5)

AP: Israel's Fortified Underground Blood Bank Processes Unprecedented Amounts As Troops Move Into Gaza
Hours after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, the country’s new fortified, subterranean blood bank kicked into action. Staffers moved equipment into the underground bunker and started saving lives. The Marcus National Blood Services Center in Ramla, near Tel Aviv, had been scheduled to open within days, but with more than 1,400 people in Israel killed since the Hamas raids — most killed during the initial attack — the timeline changed. (Bernstein and Mednick, 11/4)