First Edition: Nov. 9, 2023
KFF Health News' First Edition will not be published Friday, Nov. 10, in observance of Veterans Day. Look for it again in your inbox Monday. Here are today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
Underdiagnosed And Undertreated, Young Black Males With ADHD Get Left Behind
As a kid, Wesley Jackson Wade should have been set up to succeed. His father was a novelist and corporate sales director and his mother was a special education teacher. But Wade said he struggled through school even though he was an exceptional writer and communicator. He played the class clown when he wasn’t feeling challenged. He got in trouble for talking back to teachers. And, the now 40-year-old said, he often felt anger that he couldn’t bottle up. As one of the only Black kids in predominantly white schools in upper-middle-class communities — including the university enclaves of Palo Alto, California, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina — he often got detention for chatting with his white friends during class, while they got only warnings. He chalked it up to his being Black. (Sibonney, 11/9)
KFF Health News:
A New RSV Shot Could Help Protect Babies This Winter — If They Can Get It In Time
Emily Bendt was in her third trimester of pregnancy when she first heard the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had approved a new shot for infants to protect them from the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. By Oct. 5, Bendt was cuddling with her new baby, Willow, on the couch at home in Vancouver, Washington. She was excited to get Willow the new therapy for infants, called nirsevimab, which had started shipping in September — but Bendt, a pediatric home health nurse, couldn’t find it anywhere. (Templeton, 11/9)
KFF Health News:
'An Arm and a Leg': ‘Your Money Or Your Life’: This Doctor Wrote The Book On Medical Debt
In 2019, emergency medicine physician and historian Luke Messac was working as a medical resident. He had heard about hospitals suing their own patients over unpaid medical bills, so he decided to investigate whether the hospitals where he worked were doing the same. It turns out they were. (11/9)
Stat:
Senate Panel Clears PBM, Hospital Reforms
A prominent Senate panel on Wednesday passed a new package of health policy reforms that would rein in certain pharmacy middlemen practices and ensure Medicare patients aren’t paying more than insurers do for medications. The package passed the committee 26-0 with no amendments added. (Cohrs, 11/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Senate Moves To Delay $16B Hospital Cut, Trim Doctor Pay Hit
The Senate Finance Committee approved the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act of 2023, which would delay pending reductions in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding for safety-net facilities, scale back a Medicare pay cut for physicians that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized last week, extend expiring healthcare programs, expand Medicare coverage of mental healthcare and impose new limits on pharmacy benefit managers. (McAuliff, 11/8)
Stat:
Medicare Solvency Divides Republicans At The Presidential Debate
Republicans angling for the party’s presidential nomination on Wednesday grappled with the reality that the Medicare program could start running out of money within the next president’s eight-year term. (Cohrs and Owermohle, 11/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Approves Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro For Weight Loss In The U.S. Under The Name Zepbound
The FDA’s green light will probably increase the already strong demand for the drug. It will also add to pressure on commercial health plans to cover the weight-loss use, despite the costs. Plans had been holding out, noting the FDA hadn’t granted approval, though some covered its use in people with diabetes. Lilly said it expects Zepbound to become available by the end of the year at a list price of $1,060 a month, or about 20% lower than the list price for Wegovy. (Loftus, 11/8)
Stat:
Weight Loss Drug Costs May Need More Research, Senator Suggests
With Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic hitting blockbuster sales and a new rival approved this week, everyone in Washington is thinking about how to manage the crashing wave of weight loss drug costs. (Owermohle, 11/9)
Axios:
A Different Kind Of Drug Shortage Problem Emerges
Ongoing shortages of life-saving and essential drugs have largely been tied to the fragility of drug supply chain, but the flip side of the economic equation driving the scarcity — demand — is also a growing problem. (Reed, 11/9)
AP:
Advocates Across US Aim To Put Abortion On 2024 Ballots After Ohio Vote
After Ohio voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care, advocates on both sides of the issue are looking at how they can get support on 2024 ballots in at least a dozen states. Here’s what’s happening in the states. (Mulvihill, 11/8)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Missouri Supreme Court Hears Effort To Defund Planned Parenthood
The Missouri legislature’s decision to allocate nothing in Medicaid reimbursements for services done by any facility or affiliate where abortions are performed, including Planned Parenthood, was argued before the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday. The hearing comes three years after the same court ruled 6-1 that the state legislature must pay Planned Parenthood for treating Medicaid patients. Now, the issue is again before the state’s highest court after the legislature put no funding in its 2022 supplemental budget in Medicaid reimbursements for organizations like Planned Parenthood. (Kellogg, 11/8)
NPR:
As Ohio Affirms Abortion Rights, Michigan Preserves Some Restrictions
A year ago, Michigan Democrats celebrated the same kind of victory Ohio notched this week. Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3, a ballot measure proponents said would "#RestoreRoe" by creating a "new individual right to reproductive freedom" in the state constitution. But last week, Michigan Democrats failed to muster the votes needed from their own members to remove two key restrictions on abortion in that state — despite Democrats having control of the state House, Senate, and governorship for the first time in decades. (Wells, 11/8)
Stat:
Abortion Clinic In Cancun Will Cater To Americans
More than 5.6 million U.S. tourists head to Cancun every year, drawn to the Mexican port’s white sand beaches, all-inclusive resorts, and raucous nightlife. Soon there’s likely to be another reason to visit: MSI Reproductive Choices, an international reproductive health nonprofit, plans to open an abortion clinic in the city, partly designed to cater to travelers from the U.S. who are unable to get an abortion in their home states. (Goldhill, 11/9)
Reuters:
Woman Arrested For Threatening To Kill Texas Federal Judge In Abortion Pill Case
A woman was arrested in Florida on Wednesday on charges that she threatened to kill a Texas federal judge who earlier this year suspended approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, according to court records. Alice Marie Pence placed a call from Florida to the chambers of a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, federal court around March 12 and threatened to kill him, according to a grand jury indictment. Though he was not named in the indictment, the only federal judge in Amarillo is U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. (Pierson, 11/8)
The Washington Post:
Amazon Links One Medical Primary Care To Prime Memberships
Amazon is making membership of One Medical, the boutique primary care clinic it purchased for $3.9 billion, cheaper for its Amazon Prime subscribers, a move that further merges the e-commerce behemoth’s health-care offerings with its core business. Previously, One Medical memberships — initially available largely via employer benefits — cost $199 annually. Starting Wednesday, Amazon Prime members can buy One Medical memberships for $99 a year, a price that signals the tech giant is eager to take the next step in its march into mainstream health care. (O'Donovan, 11/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Amazon To Offer Lower-Cost Primary Care To Prime Members In Latest Healthcare Push
After its purchase of One Medical, some analysts have suggested that Amazon’s ultimate ambition could be to eventually build an expansive healthcare offering that could compete with traditional primary care and employee medical plans. Such an “Amazon Prime Health” product has yet to materialize. A One Medical membership provides patients access to some virtual-care services that are included in the annual fee, as well as in-person visits at clinics across the U.S. that require additional payments either through insurance plans or out-of-pocket. Other services including medical testing also are available. Amazon Prime members currently pay $139 annually to access perks including Amazon’s fast shipping service and Prime Video streaming. (Herrera, 11/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Best Buy Health, Mass General Brigham Partner On At-Home Care
Best Buy is adding Mass General Brigham to its list of partners as the retailer expands at-home care capabilities. Best Buy Health will help scale and support the health system's Healthcare at Home operations, which includes services for acute-level patients and care for patients recovering from an illness or injury. (Hudson, 11/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Moody's: Nonprofit Hospitals’ Financial Outlook Upgraded For 2024
Labor costs are expected to continue to decline next year, boosting the financial outlook of nonprofit hospitals. Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the 2024 nonprofit hospital sector financial outlook to stable, from negative. Moody’s researchers expect patient admissions to rise, especially in outpatient facilities, and reimbursement rates from insurers to improve for some providers. Here are five takeaways from the Moody's report released Wednesday. (Kacik, 11/8)
The Boston Globe:
Tuberculosis Case Confirmed At UMass Boston
An active case of tuberculosis has been confirmed at the University of Massachusetts Boston, officials said Monday. In a message to the campus community, Robert Pomales, executive director of the university’s health services, said the person diagnosed with the illness was receiving treatment and “may have been infected with TB many years before developing [the] active TB infection.” (Sweeney, 11/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Children In Mental-Health Crisis Surge Into Hospital E.R.s
Dr. Christopher Lucas shuttled from room to room, checking on the children with mental-health troubles who had streamed into his emergency department over the past 12 hours because they had nowhere else to go. There were eight of them that September day at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. In one room, staff tended to a 17-year-old girl with chronic depression who had attempted suicide by overdosing on ibuprofen—her fourth trip to the E.R. for mental-health reasons in two years. Nearby was a 14-year-old girl who had started cutting herself after being bullied over social media. (Frosch and Evans, 11/8)
CNN:
Mark Zuckerberg Ignored Teen And User Safety Warnings From Meta Executives
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has personally and repeatedly thwarted initiatives meant to improve the well-being of teens on Facebook and Instagram, at times directly overruling some of his most senior lieutenants, according to internal communications made public as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the company. (Fung, 11/8)
Bloomberg:
US To Defend Against Fentanyl Terrorism With Opioid Overdose Antidote
Drugmaker Indivior Plc clinched a US contract worth up to $111 million for its opioid antidote — part of the government’s preparation for a potential bioterrorism attack with drugs such as fentanyl that can be released into the air. The contract will secure US supplies of Opvee, an opioid reversal medication that stays in the body longer than naloxone nasal spray, the standard treatment for opioid overdose which was approved for over-the-counter use earlier this year. (LaPara and Griffin, 11/8)
Stat:
To Fight Bias Against People With Addiction, White House Calls For ‘Recovery-Friendly’ Workplaces
The Biden administration on Thursday issued a call to action for the nation’s employers to hire, train, and retain people in recovery from addiction. Recovery-Ready Workplace, as the new program is known, includes a new toolkit for employers and promotes a model state law that would create incentives for businesses to hire people in recovery and become certified as “recovery-friendly” workplaces. (Facher, 11/9)
The Atlantic:
What If Psychedelics' Hallucinations Are Just A Side Effect?
For several years, researchers have understood that the hallucinatory effects of psychedelics can, in theory, be separated from the other ways the drugs affect our mental state and brain structure. ... A new generation of nonhallucinogenic psychedelics, at least one of which is currently being tested in humans, aims to provide all of the mental-health benefits of LSD, psilocybin, or Ecstasy without the trip. ... They might also shed new light on how much psychedelics can alleviate psychic distress—and why they do so at all. (Friedman, 11/8)
Fox News:
Lung Cancer Pill Shows ‘Earth-Shattering’ Results In 5-Year Study: ‘An Optimistic Time’
Many lung cancer patients now have access to a potentially life-saving medication. Osimertinib, sold under the brand name Tagrisso, is available to patients with Stage 1B-3A lung cancer who have a certain genetic mutation and have had surgery to remove cancerous tumors. Among those patients, Tagrisso was shown to reduce the five-year risk of recurrent cancer by up to 73% and the risk of death by up to 51%, according to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine over the summer. (Rudy, 11/9)
Stat:
CAR-T Cancer Therapy, In Rare Cases, Can Activate Latent Virus
The therapy, an infusion of CAR-T cells designed to kill the lymphoma, was going well. Nearly a month after the treatment, the engineered cells had crushed the cancer, and the patient, a 49-year-old woman in the Netherlands, appeared to be cancer-free. But two weeks later, something was wrong. The patient couldn’t remember having been in the hospital or, indeed, ever being treated for lymphoma. When she returned to the hospital, a scan showed parts of her brain were swelling. (Chen, 11/8)
Stat:
HPV Cancer Vaccine Study Demonstrates Efficacy
Vaccines work well to prevent cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). So well, in fact, that it may be time to review HPV screening protocols, according to the somewhat provocative conclusion of a new study examining the occurrence of genital HPV types eight years after immunization, published Wednesday in Cell Host & Microbe. (Merelli, 11/8)
CIDRAP:
Many Mpox Patients Have Other Sexually Transmitted Infections, Study Shows
A large proportion of mpox patients in Chicago last year and early this year also had other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV, predisposing them to severe mpox and potentially contributing to spread of the virus, finds a study led by Chicago Department of Public Health researchers. (Van Beusekom, 11/8)
CIDRAP:
Long COVID Linked To Allergies In New Study
In an analysis of 13 published prospective studies of people of all ages with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were followed up for at least 12 months, pre-existing allergic conditions were linked to higher risks of experiencing long COVID, according to a study today in Clinical & Experimental Allergy. This is one of the first studies to assess the relationship between long COVID and allergies. (Soucheray, 11/8)
Reuters:
US Court May Revive EEOC Case Over Worker Harassed For Wearing Face Mask
A U.S. appeals court panel on Wednesday seemed likely to revive claims that an asthmatic pharmacy clerk in Texas was forced to quit after a pharmacist called him a "stupid little kid" for insisting that he be able to wear a face mask in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-judge 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans heard arguments in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) appeal of a lower court's ruling that said the incident was not severe enough to create a hostile work environment and dismissed the agency's lawsuit against U.S. Drug Mart. (Wiessner, 11/8)
CBS News:
New Smartphone-Controlled Technology Could Help Alleviate Migraines
A study done by Allegheny Health Network's Neurosciences Institute is finding a new, smartphone-controlled technology could be an option for those who suffer from migraines. The 12-month study examined the clinical efficacy and safety of a device called Nerivio. Nerivio is a wearable "remote electrical neuromodulation" (REN) device that is used to reduce migraine symptoms. (Stanish, 11/8)