First Edition: November 9, 2021

KHN: As Overdose Deaths Soar, DEA-Wary Pharmacies Shy From Dispensing Addiction Medication
When Martin Njoku saw opioid addiction devastate his West Virginia community, he felt compelled to help. This was the place he’d called home for three decades, where he’d raised his two girls and turned his dream of owning a pharmacy into reality. In 2016, after flooding displaced people in nearby counties, Njoku began dispensing buprenorphine to them and to local customers at his Oak Hill Hometown Pharmacy in Fayette County. (Pattani, 11/9)

KHN: A Judge Takes His Mental Health Struggles Public
In 1972, just 18 days after he was selected to run for vice president with Democratic Sen. George McGovern, Thomas Eagleton was forced off the ticket. The issue? Years earlier, Eagleton had been hospitalized and treated with electroshock therapy for depression. The disclosure of his mental health history was a blow from which the Missouri senator could not recover. Eagleton’s torpedoed candidacy has been a cautionary tale for elected officials ever since, says California Superior Court Judge Tim Fall, who serves in Yolo County. But rather than remain quiet as he approached his own reelection season last year, Fall came out with a book that detailed his decades-long struggles with anxiety and depression. (Kreidler, 11/9)

KHN: Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options To Move Into Medigap
Medicare’s annual open-enrollment season is here and millions of beneficiaries — prompted by a massive advertising campaign and aided by a detailed federal website — will choose a private Medicare Advantage plan. But those who have instead opted for traditional Medicare face a critical decision about private insurance. Too often the import of that choice is not well communicated. (Meyer, 11/9)

The Washington Post: Pfizer-BioNTech Expected To Seek Authorization For Coronavirus Booster For People 18 And Older
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are expected to seek authorization for their coronavirus vaccine booster shot for anyone 18 and older, a move that could increase booster rates at a critical moment in the pandemic, according to three officials familiar with the situation. The request, which may be filed as soon as this week, is likely to win the backing of the Food and Drug Administration, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. That would essentially fulfill the Biden administration’s booster-for-all-adults goal, announced last August amid concerns about waning vaccine protection. (McGinley, Sun and Pager, 11/8)

The Hill: Pfizer May Seek Approval For Boosters For All Adults As Early As This Week: Report
At present, booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are available six months after a person’s second dose to groups who are 65 and older, are high-risk for COVID-19 because of medical conditions or have increased chances of exposure as a result of where they live or work. The Johnson & Johnson booster shot is available to anyone 18 and older two months after receiving the company’s single shot. A spokesperson for Pfizer said in a statement to The Hill that the company had “not submitted and will be in touch if and when that update occurs.” (Beals, 11/8)

The New York Times: US Urges Court Not To Block Vaccine Mandate On Employers
The Biden administration on Monday argued that the federal government had all the power it needed to require large employers to mandate vaccination of their workers against the Covid-19 virus — or to require those who refuse the shots to wear masks and submit to weekly testing. In a 28-page filing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which temporarily blocked the mandate with a nationwide stay last week, the Justice Department argued that the rule was necessarily to protect workers from the pandemic and was well grounded in law. (Savage, 11/8)

Politico: Biden Administration: Blocking Vaccine Mandate Could Cost ‘Hundreds Of Lives Per Day’
The Biden administration told a federal court Monday that a stay of its vaccinate-or-test requirement for private employers "would likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day." Responding to a temporary stay imposed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday, the administration argued that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was well within its authority to issue the requirements calling for employees at large businesses to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or tested weekly. (Rainey, 11/8)

AP: Feds Urge Schools To Provide COVID-19 Shots, Info For Kids
The Biden administration is encouraging local school districts to host clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to kids and information to parents on the benefits of the shots as the White House looks to speedily provide vaccines to those ages 5 to 11. First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy visited the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, on Monday to launch a nationwide campaign to promote child vaccinations. The school was the first to administer the polio vaccine in 1954. The visit came just days after federal regulators recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for the age group. The White House says the first lady will visit pediatric vaccination clinics across the country over the coming weeks to encourage the shots. (Miller, 11/8)

The Washington Post: CDC Data Shows 360,000 Children Under 12 Got At Least One Vaccine Dose
More than 360,000 children under 12 in the United States have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s pediatric coronavirus vaccine in 5-to-11-year-olds on Oct. 29 and the CDC recommended its use on Nov. 2. (Jeong and Timsit, 11/9)

The New York Times: N.Y.C. Public Schools Open Vaccination Sites For 5- To 11-Year-Olds
P.S. 40, in the Gramercy neighborhood, was one of a dozen New York City schools swamped with demand Monday morning as the city rolled out its weeklong effort to bring a half-day vaccine clinic to each of its more than 1,000 schools that serve elementary aged students. City officials acknowledged that they were caught off-guard by the demand at those schools, which far exceeded the interest last spring at school-based vaccine clinics for teenagers. They pledged to return to any school where children were turned away for lack of supply. (Otterman and Wong, 11/8)

Bloomberg: NYC Gives City Workers Sick Leave To Get Kids Vaccinated
New York City is extending additional paid sick leave to city workers and contractors so they can get their children vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a briefing Monday. He said workers would get four extra hours per child for each shot their children receive. (Chen, 11/8)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: No Widespread COVID School Backlash 
Most Americans — including more than two-thirds of Republicans — give their local schools good marks for balancing public health and safety with other priorities, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Other findings from our national survey suggest Americans are less worried about COVID risks and largely feel the Delta variant is behind them. That's a potential path to redemption for President Biden after months of sinking approval numbers. (Talev, 11/9)

ABC News: Travelers Welcome Long-Awaited Reopening Of US Borders
The U.S. is reopening borders to vaccinated travelers on Monday after 20 months of being closed to many countries, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, India, South Africa and most of Europe. After a number of stops and starts, President Joe Biden announced the date for the resumption on Oct. 25. (Chevalier, 11/8)

The New York Times: More Than 40 Nations Pledge To Cut Emissions From Their Health Industries
More than 40 countries have pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions across their health systems, World Health Organization officials said late Monday, representing the largest global effort to date to try to reduce contributions by the world’s hospitals and health care industry to global warming. “This announcement is huge,” said Josh Karliner, the international director of program and strategy at Health Care Without Harm, a nonprofit that has worked to reduce the environmental impact of the health care sector. It is designed to put the industry on a path toward “net zero” emissions of greenhouse gases, he said, and “what it implies is that the way health care is provided is going to be fundamentally transformed.” (Choi-Schagrin, 11/8)

The Washington Post: COP26 Panel Discusses How Girls Are Disproportionately Affected By Climate Change
Across the world, many types of extreme weather are becoming more frequent and intense. In low- to lower-middle-income countries, these events are disproportionately affecting girls and young women. Often, they must drop out of school after infrastructure is damaged or skip school to help recoup losses at their homes or fields that were affected. “We cannot hope to build resilience for the decades ahead unless we educate all children. This especially is true for girls,” said Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai, via video conference at the panel. “Education prepares women to develop climate solutions, secure green jobs and address issues at the heart of this crisis.” (Patel, 11/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Fed Says U.S. Public Health Among Biggest Near-Term Risks To Financial System
The potential for U.S. public health to worsen as the Covid-19 pandemic continues is one of the greatest near-term risks to the financial system, the Federal Reserve said, while noting that asset prices are susceptible to large declines should investor sentiment shift. Any deterioration in the public-health situation could slow the recent economic recovery, particularly if widespread business closures returned and supply chains were further disrupted, the Fed said. The number of new Covid-19 cases has fallen in recent months, but a resurgence this summer, tied to the Delta variant, coincided with a slowdown in hiring and economic growth. (Ackerman, 11/8)

AP: Congress Mandates New Car Technology To Stop Drunken Driving
Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving cars. It’s one of the mandates along with a burst of new spending aimed at improving auto safety amid escalating road fatalities in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President Joe Biden is expected to sign soon. Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop intoxicated drivers would roll out in all new vehicles as early as 2026, after the Transportation Department assesses the best form of technology to install in millions of vehicles and automakers are given time to comply. (Yen and Krisher, 11/8)

Bloomberg: Unsealed Emails Show How J&J Shaped Report on Talc's Links to Cancer
Unsealed emails reveal the role baby-powder maker Johnson & Johnson played in a report that an industry group submitted to U.S. regulators deciding whether to keep warnings off talc-based products linked to cancer. The emails -- unsealed in the state of Mississippi’s lawsuit against J&J over its refusal to add a safety warning -- show J&J and its talc supplier chose the scientists hired by their trade association, the Personal Care Products Council, to write the 2009 report assessing talc-based powders’ health risks. They also show the researchers changed the final version of their report at the companies’ behest. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it relied in part on the report in its decision to forgo a warning for the product. (Feeley and Edney, 11/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Probe Of Travis Scott Astroworld Concert Disaster Explores Role Of Illegal Drugs
Investigators probing the tragedy at the Travis Scott concert are looking at whether a bad batch of illegal drugs played a role in some deaths and numerous casualties, people familiar with the investigation said. Police are looking at the possibility of overdoses at Friday’s concert that were caused by counterfeit pills possibly laced with fentanyl, according to one of the people. Numerous concertgoers who survived were administered naloxone, which rapidly reverses opioid overdoses, the person said. Investigators are also looking at whether some people were killed when the crowd at the Astroworld Festival in Houston surged toward the stage, the person said. (Elinson, Shah, Findell and Steele, 11/8)

The Hill: Poll Shows Just How Far COVID-19 Misinformation Has Traveled
Almost 8 in 10 U.S. adults believe or are unsure of at least one false statement about COVID-19, according to polling data published Monday. The poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that 78 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said they believe or were unsure of at least one of eight false COVID-19 statements that the organization tested. That includes 38 percent who believe the government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 deaths, 17 percent who believe pregnant women should not get the vaccine and 18 percent who believe deaths caused by the vaccine are being hidden by the government. (Sullivan, 11/8)

Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Americans Are So Over Delta 
Americans are increasingly likely to believe returning to normal life is only a low to moderate risk as Delta cases plummet, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. "Delta's over in the popular imagination," said Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson. "People are starting to re-engage with their regular activities. They're not as worried about getting COVID," Jackson said. (Reed, 11/9)

CNN: Covid Vaccine Debate's Strange Turn 
The Covid-19 vaccine debate is getting weird. On Twitter, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz accused Big Bird of pushing "Government propaganda...for your 5 year old!" after the Muppet tweeted about getting the shot in his wing. CNN aired a special on Saturday with "Sesame Street" to explain the vaccine to children ages 5-11, who are now eligible to get the shot. (Wolf, 11/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Aaron Rodgers’ State Farm TV Ads Cut Back After Vaccine Comments
State Farm aired far fewer commercials that featured Aaron Rodgers over the weekend after the NFL star recently divulged he was unvaccinated against Covid-19 and questioned vaccine effectiveness. About 1.5% of the nearly 400 State Farm television advertisements aired on Sunday through 8 p.m. ET included Mr. Rodgers, compared with more than 20% the two Sundays prior, according to Apex Marketing Group, a Michigan-based ad tracking and consulting firm. (Abdel-Bacqui, 11/8)

Reuters: U.S. Administers 432 Mln COVID-19 Vaccine Doses, 70% Adults Fully Vaccinated - CDC
The United States has administered 432,111,860 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Monday morning, with over 70% of adults fully vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The agency said the country has distributed 534,086,695 doses. The figures were up from the 430,927,624 vaccine doses, the CDC said it had administered by Nov. 7 out of 534,081,335 doses delivered. (11/8)

The New York Times: U.S. Covid Deaths Get Even Redder
The brief version: The gap in Covid’s death toll between red and blue America has grown faster over the past month than at any previous point. In October, 25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid, more than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden counties (7.8 per 100,000). October was the fifth consecutive month that the percentage gap between the death rates in Trump counties and Biden counties widened. Some conservative writers have tried to claim that the gap may stem from regional differences in weather or age, but those arguments fall apart under scrutiny. (If weather or age were a major reason, the pattern would have begun to appear last year.) The true explanation is straightforward: The vaccines are remarkably effective at preventing severe Covid, and almost 40 percent of Republican adults remain unvaccinated, compared with about 10 percent of Democratic adults. (Leonhardt, 11/8)

Reuters: EXCLUSIVE Boeing U.S. Worker Vaccine Exemption Requests Top 11,000 - Sources
The number of Boeing Co employees seeking a vaccine exemption on religious or medical grounds has reached more than 11,000 - or nearly 9% of its U.S. workforce - a level many times higher than executives initially estimated, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The widespread reluctance has left executives scrambling for a strategy that keeps employees safe and complies with President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for federal contractors, but avoids an exodus of engineering and factory labor, the people said. (Johnson, 11/9)

AP: Railroads Fight With Unions In Court Over Vaccine Mandates
Another major railroad has gone to court to determine whether it has the authority to require all its employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. BNSF railroad filed a lawsuit Sunday against its major unions over its mandate. It joins Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, which both filed similar lawsuits against the unions last month. The unions, which have filed some of their own lawsuits in response, argue that the railroads should have negotiated with them before imposing their mandates. (Funk, 11/8)

Bloomberg: Vaccinated 16 Times Less Likely To Die From Covid, Study Shows
People who are fully vaccinated are 16 times less likely to end up in intensive care or to die from Covid-19 than those who aren’t immunized, an Australian government study found. Nearly 16 out of 100,000 people who had yet to receive a Covid vaccine landed in intensive care or died after contracting the virus, compared to fewer than one in every 100,000 who were fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by health authorities in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state. The country has rolled out highly potent mRNA vaccines co-developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, a similar one from Moderna Inc., and a viral vector shot from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc. (11/9)

Dallas Morning News: Unvaccinated People 20 Times More Likely To Die From COVID-19 Than Vaccinated, New Texas Data Shows
During the month of September, Texans not vaccinated against COVID-19 were 20 times more likely to die from COVID-19-related complications and 13 times more likely to test positive than people who were fully vaccinated, according to a new study by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The protective effect of vaccination was most pronounced among younger people. From Sept. 4 to Oct. 1, the risk of COVID-19 death was 23 times higher in unvaccinated people in their 30s and 55 times higher for people in their 40s, when compared with their vaccinated peers, the study found. (Huang, 11/8)

Dallas Morning News: Study: March Madness Played A Role In COVID-19 Transmission Upticks
After March Madness had to be canceled in 2020, fans were undoubtedly excited to see its return in 2021, just a few months after the first COVID-19 vaccines had become available. But the vaccines weren’t available to everyone by March 2021, so venues hosting the NCAA men’s basketball tournament games required masks, encouraged social distancing, and capped attendance at lower limits to reduce the risk of COVID transmission. (Haelle, 11/8)

CIDRAP: COVID Patients In Poor Areas At High Risk For Death, Heart Events
US residents of low-income, crowded, and racially diverse communities had outsized rates of death, heart attack, stroke, and new-onset heart failure when hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19, according to an abstract on preliminary study results to be presented at the virtual American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions Nov 13 to 15. A team led by Emory University researchers used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to identify US poor and diverse US communities. The index ranks communities based on socioeconomic status, household composition and disability status, racial group and primary language, and housing type and transportation resources. (Van Beusekom, 11/8)

CIDRAP: Half Of Rheumatology Patients Report Persistent Symptoms After COVID-19
Over half of adults diagnosed as having a rheumatologic disease reported persistent COVID-19 symptoms at least a month after recovery from their infection, according to survey results presented late last week at the virtual American College of Rheumatology annual meeting. A news release from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City described the study, in which researchers emailed surveys to 7,505 men and women 18 years and older who had been treated for rheumatologic conditions at the hospital from 2018 to 2020. (11/8)

Reuters: Regeneron's Antibody Drug Shows Protection Against Covid For Up To 8 Months
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Monday a single dose of its antibody cocktail reduced the risk of contracting Covid-19 by 81.6 percent in a late-stage trial, in the two to eight months period following the drug's administration. The data is expected to support the ongoing regulatory review to extend the antibody therapy's use in preventing Covid in people who are not exposed to the virus. (11/8)

The Hill: Regeneron Says Antibody Cocktail Cuts COVID-19 Risk For Up To Eight Months
Regeneron’s antibody cocktail cut the risk of contracting COVID-19 by 81.6 percent in the two to eight months after the cocktail’s administration, the pharmaceutical company announced on Monday. A single dose of the cocktail, a combination of the monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab called REGEN-COV, involves four injections. The phase three trial, conducted along with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), showed the dose’s protection remained relatively stable since the 81.4 percent risk reduction reported in the first month. (Coleman, 11/8)

AP: EU Drug Agency Looking At Data On Merck's COVID-19 Pill
The European Union’s medicines agency on Monday began reviewing Merck’s COVID-19 treatment pill so that it can swiftly advise national drug authorities in the 27-nation bloc that want to begin using it before it gets official approval. The European Medicines Agency said in a statement that it will give “EU-wide recommendations in the shortest possible timeframe to help national authorities decide on possible early use of the medicine, for example, in emergency use settings.” The Amsterdam-based agency will give the recommendations while a comprehensive review of molnupiravir continues ahead of a possible application to market the drug. (11/8)

Axios: Cue Health Unveils Its At-Home COVID-19 Test 
San Diego-based Cue Health, which went public in September and is best known for providing COVID-19 tests to Google, the Defense Department and the NBA, is now debuting a consumer version of its product, available for purchase on Nov. 15. With experts predicting that the virus will be with us for at least a few years in some form, at-home testing is likely to become a growing need for many people. Cue Health’s system includes individually wrapped cartridge packs that also include a nasal swab, and a small square device that processes the test and connects to a mobile device via Bluetooth. (Kokalitcheva, 11/9)

The Hill: Study Links Particular Kind Of Fat, Not Amount, To Higher Stroke Risk
A new study finds that eating more animal fat is linked to a higher risk of stroke but the risk is significantly reduced if people get their fat from vegetable sources, even in larger amounts, NBC News reported on Monday. People who consumed mostly vegetable and polyunsaturated fats, such olive oil, were 12 percent less likely to have an ischemic stroke compared with those who ate a minimum amount of vegetable fats. (Rai, 11/8)

Stat: Mirati KRAS Combination Shows Promising Results In Lung Cancer Study
Mirati Therapeutics said Monday that more than 60% of patients with lung cancer showed confirmed tumor responses when its experimental KRAS-blocking drug was added to Merck’s Keytruda immunotherapy. While the study results are preliminary and derived from only eight patients, Mirati is hoping that a promising combination therapy in lung cancer will help narrow the competitive gap with its biggest rival, Amgen. (Feuerstein, 11/8)

NBC News: Falling Asleep At This Time May Be Safest For Your Heart, New Study Shows
The time you go to bed may affect your risk for heart disease. In fact, researchers say, there is a heart health sweet spot for falling asleep: from 10 to 11 p.m. An analysis of data from more than 88,000 adults tracked for around six years revealed a 12 percent greater risk among those who dropped off from 11 to 11:59 p.m. and a 25 percent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease among people who fell asleep at midnight or later. Falling asleep earlier than 10 p.m. was associated with a 24 percent increase in risk, according to a report published Monday in the European Heart Journal—Digital Health. (Carroll, 11/9)

CBS News: Researchers Trying To Help Patients "Unlearn" Back Pain
Millions of adults are coping with chronic back pain, which can significantly limit their ability to work and do other daily activities. But researchers in Colorado are studying a unique non-drug treatment to eliminate that pain. Daniel Waldrip suffered with chronic back pain for 20 years, and doctors could never find the source. "I made the decision that I was gonna keep running and trying to play golf and skiing. I was just gonna do it and pay the price," Waldrip said. (Ruchim, 11/8)

CIDRAP: Mandated Sepsis Bundle Tied To Increased Antibiotic Use, Fewer Deaths
A series of measures mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve sepsis care in US hospitals was associated with increased sepsis diagnosis and antibiotic use, but also with reduced mortality, researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. In their analysis of the Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: Management Bundle (SEP-1) Core Measure, required at all US hospitals that receive CMS compensation as of October 2015, the researchers looked at antibiotic use among adult patients at 26 hospitals during the year before and the year after implementation (October 2014 through October 2016). (11/8)

Stat: Drug To Prevent Premature Births Tied To Higher Cancer Risk, Study Finds
The key ingredient in a controversial medicine used to prevent premature births is associated with a higher risk of cancer in people that were exposed to the treatment in utero, according to a new study. Specifically, those exposed to 17-OHPC had nearly double the risk of any cancer compared to those not exposed, although the risk appeared to vary depending on the cancer. For instance, children exposed to 17-OHPC had more than 34 times greater risk of brain cancer, and as adults had more than five times greater risk of colorectal and prostate cancers. (Silverman, 11/9)

Axios: Organ Donation Recovery Rates Worse For People Of Color, Data Show 
Organ donation success rates for people of color, especially for Black Americans, vary widely across the U.S. compared to white people, even in neighboring cities, according to an analysis of recently released 2019 CMS data. Fewer Black donors correlates to fewer Black recipients, which has led to more Black people dying on the organ transplant waitlist. (Fernandez, 11/9)

Stat: As The U.K. Nears Elimination Of Cervical Cancer, The U.S. Isn't Close 
A decade ago, a London cancer prevention researcher predicted that the United Kingdom’s national HPV vaccination campaign would take more than 15 years to prevent a majority of cervical cancers. So when he analyzed the data this year, he was stunned to find that the vaccine may already have nearly eliminated cervical cancer in the U.K. among young women. “If this is right,” Peter Sasieni of King’s College London said of his findings, cervical cancers “could be reduced to about 50 – just 50 cancers in the whole of the U.K. for women under 30. It’s really quite exciting to see that day come – excitement and just joy.” (Chen, 11/9)

Modern Healthcare: Tenet To Buy $1.2 Billion Stake In 92 More Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Tenet Healthcare will pay $1.2 billion to acquire SurgCenter Development in a deal that will add 92 ambulatory surgical centers to the for-profit health system, the company announced Monday. The transaction includes a five-year partnership and development agreement between Dallas-based Tenet's ambulatory surgery subsidiary, United Surgical Partners International, and SurgCenter Development's principals to provide continuity and support for the facilities and their physician partners. After the deal closes, Tenet will own at least part of more than 440 ambulatory surgical centers in 35 states. (Bannow, 11/8)

Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court To Review Federal Laws Around Dialysis Coverage
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review federal laws outlining how employee health plans must treat patients with end-stage renal disease. The nation's highest court granted a petition to review regulations on Friday, after the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an Ohio hospital's health plan violated the federal Medicare Secondary Payer Act and the Employer Retirement Income Security Act when it categorized all dialysis providers as out of network. The decision also conflicted with an earlier ruling from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (Topper, 11/8)

Crain's New York Business: The Big Business Of Blood
The advertisements beckon: "Just one pint of your healthy blood can save up to three lives." "An hour of your time can mean a lifetime for someone else." "If you're looking for a sign, this is it! There's a CRITICAL NEED for blood and platelets." The pleas make blood shortages out to be a constant crisis, made even worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Blood and its derivatives—namely red blood cells, platelets and plasma—indeed are essential to modern medicine. And hospital consolidations and cost-cutting measures have largely left the jobs of collecting, processing and distributing the precious resource to not-for-profit blood centers. (Kaufman, 11/8)

Stat: Hospitals Charge Insurers More Than What Medicare Pays For Infused Drugs
Nearly a dozen of the highest-rated hospitals in the U.S. charged commercial health insurers and cash-paying patients significantly more than what Medicare has recently paid for 10 infused medicines on which the government spends the most money, according to a new analysis. Median prices exceeded the Medicare Part B payment limit by a low of 169% at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, while the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix exceeded the payment limit by 344%. Among cash-paying customers, the prices ranged from 149% of the Medicare payment limit at Rush to 306% at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, both based in Boston. (Silverman, 11/8)

Stat: Can David Feinberg Fix Cerner? The CEO Of EHR Giant Faces New Threats
In many ways, David Feinberg was an unconventional choice to lead Cerner, one of the nation’s largest vendors of electronic health records. As a prior CEO of health systems, he was a prominent customer of Epic, the company’s arch rival, and a longtime friend of its founder and CEO, Judy Faulkner. At a recent gathering of hospital informatics executives in California, where one might expect the competitors to be working the room, Feinberg and Faulkner instead gravitated toward each other, chatting easily about the future of their work. Feinberg even snapped a selfie of the smiling CEOs and tweeted it. (Ross, 11/9)

The New York Times: A Vermont College Blames Halloween Parties For A Covid Outbreak
Officials at a college in Colchester, Vt., are blaming Halloween parties for a Covid outbreak, which comes as the state of Vermont has reported a record number of coronavirus cases over the past week. The virus is surging in Vermont as more people gather inside to avoid the cold weather. Experts warn that holiday gatherings could lead to more cases this winter. (Lukpat, 11/9)

AP: Oregon COVID Cases Fall To Lowest Levels Since Early August
Weekly COVID-19 cases in Oregon have fallen to the lowest levels since early August. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the Oregon Health Authority recorded 6,643 cases in the past week, down 16% from a week earlier. That includes 2,125 cases announced Monday for the previous three days. Oregon averaged 949 cases per day in the past week, dipping below 1,000 daily cases for the first time since early August. (11/9)

AP: Pritzker Signs COVID-19 Amendment To Illinois Conscience Law
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed into law a change to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act that would allow those who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine to potentially face repercussions. The law was adopted in 1978 to protect physicians from penalty or discipline for refusing to perform abortions because of a religious or moral objection. Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul asked Pritzker to encourage legislation to make clear the law was not intended to cover a contagious and deadly pandemic. “Masks, vaccines, and testing requirements are life-saving measures that keep our workplaces and communities safe,” said Pritzker, who thanked lawmakers for ensuring the law “is no longer wrongly used against institutions who are putting safety and science first.” (O'Connor, 11/9)

AP: North Dakota Lawmakers Advance Ban On Vaccine Mandates
Bills to prevent vaccine mandates and the teaching of certain concepts of race and racism were among a handful of measures approved for advancement Monday during the opening day of the North Dakota Legislature’s special session. More than two dozen bills were submitted ahead of the session but had to win the endorsement of the House or Senate’s delayed-bills committee. The bipartisan panels both have five members and are controlled by the Legislature’s GOP leadership. (MacPherson, 11/8)

AP: Kentucky Surpasses 10,000 Coronavirus-Related Deaths
Kentucky surpassed 10,000 coronavirus-related deaths Monday, the latest grim milestone in the ongoing fight against the global pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The state’s rising death toll from COVID-19 reached at least 10,019, the governor said, calling it “nothing short of tragic.” In another sign of the virus’ deadly impact, COVID-19 ranked as the Bluegrass State’s third-leading cause of death last year and again so far this year, he said. (Schreiner, 11/9)

AP: California Parents Sue After Getting Another Couple's Embryo
Two California couples gave birth to each others’ babies after a mix-up at a fertility clinic and spent months raising children that weren’t theirs before swapping the infants, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles. Daphna Cardinale said she and her husband, Alexander, had immediate suspicions that the girl she gave birth to in late 2019 wasn’t theirs because the child had a darker complexion than they do. They suppressed their doubts because they fell in love with the baby and trusted the in vitro fertilization process and their doctors, Daphna said. Learning months later that she had been pregnant with another couple’s baby, and that another woman had been carrying her child, caused enduring trauma, she said. (Weber, 11/9)

San Diego Union Tribune: Parents Balk At Mental Health Day Off For San Diego Students
After springing an announcement on parents late last week that schools would be closed Friday for a mental health day, the San Diego Unified School District abruptly changed plans, making school attendance optional that day while also allowing anyone who wants to take a mental health day to do so. The news came one day after interim Supt. Lamont Jackson said district staff was planning to ask the Board of Education at its upcoming meeting to approve this Friday as a day off. The news prompted a wave of concern and criticism from parents, some of whom said finding affordable last-minute child care would do more harm than good for their family’s mental health. (Cook, 11/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: With $875 Million Available, Georgians Ask For $14.6 Billion In COVID-19 Relief
An Atlanta mobile bartending service, incorporated in June 2020, requested $165,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funding. A tourist train line in rural South Georgia asked for $947,000, or it may have to shut down. A group supporting small-town hospitals wants $260 million, another promoting the hotel industry $267 million, and nursing homes $347 million. (Salzer, 11/8)

CIDRAP: Three Jamestown Canyon Virus Cases Detected In New Hampshire
New Hampshire has reported three more Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) cases, two in patients hospitalized with neurologic symptoms, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The adults, who all recovered, live in Loudon, Pittsfield, and Rumney, New Hampshire, and were infected with JCV through mosquito bites. (11/8)

Reuters: Thousands Protest In New Zealand Against COVID-19 Rules
New Zealand beefed up security measures at its parliament on Tuesday as thousands of people gathered to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government lockdowns aimed at controlling the pandemic. All but two entrances to the parliament building, known as the Beehive, were closed off in unprecedented security measures, as mostly unmasked protesters marched through central Wellington and congregated outside parliament. (Menon and Awasthi, 11/9)

Reuters: Israel To Rule On Child COVID Vaccines Out Of Public Eye Amid Anti-Vax Threats
Israeli health officials will decide behind closed doors on whether to allow child COVID-19 vaccinations, citing concerns that decision makers would otherwise not speak freely due to aggressive anti-vax rhetoric by members of the public. Israel has been a world leader in vaccinations and more than 40% of the population has received a third shot. (11/8)