First Edition: Sept. 14, 2022

KHN: Southern States’ Lackluster Monkeypox Efforts Leave LGBTQ+ Groups Going It Alone
Dan DeChellis started looking for a monkeypox vaccine around July Fourth but was unable to find a place that offered one in Orlando, Florida, where he lives. After about a week of searching online, he and three friends made an appointment in Wilton Manors, a city about 3½ hours south by car. DeChellis, who is gay, said he doesn’t understand why the vaccine wasn’t available closer to home or why getting answers about who was eligible from his local health department was so difficult. (Chang and DeGuzman, 9/14)

KHN: Newborns Get Routine Heel Blood Tests, But Should States Keep Those Samples?
Close to 4 million babies are born in the United States every year, and within their first 48 hours nearly all are pricked in the heel so their blood can be tested for dozens of life-threatening genetic and metabolic problems. The heel-stick test is considered such a crucial public health measure that states typically require it and parents aren’t asked for their permission before it’s done. But the lab tests for newborn screenings generally don’t use all of the half-dozen or so drops of blood collected on filter paper cards. So states hold on to the leftover “dried blood spots,” as they’re called, often without parents’ knowledge or consent. In recent years, privacy-related concerns have grown about the sometimes decades-long storage and use of the material. (Andrews, 9/14)

KHN: California And New York Aim To Curb Diet Pill Sales To Minors
California and New York are on the cusp of going further than the FDA in restricting the sale of non-prescription diet pills to minors as pediatricians and public health advocates try to protect kids from extreme weight-loss gimmicks online. A bill before Gov. Gavin Newsom would bar anyone under 18 in California from buying over-the-counter weight loss supplements — whether online or in shops — without a prescription. A similar bill passed by New York lawmakers is on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk. Neither Democrat has indicated how he or she will act. (Udesky, 9/14)

AP: GOP's Graham Unveils Nationwide Abortion Ban After 15 Weeks 
Upending the political debate, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a nationwide abortion ban Tuesday, sending shockwaves through both parties and igniting fresh debate on a fraught issue weeks before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Graham’s own Republican Party leaders did not immediately embrace his abortion ban bill, which would prohibit the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with rare exceptions, and has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic-held Congress. Democrats torched it as an alarming signal of where “MAGA” Republicans are headed if they win control of the House and Senate in November. (Mascaro, 9/14)

Politico: Graham's Abortion Ban Stuns Senate GOP
Lindsey Graham’s anti-abortion legislation once unified the Republican Party. The 15-week abortion ban he pitched Tuesday had the exact opposite effect. The South Carolina senator chose a uniquely tense moment to unveil his party’s first bill limiting abortion access since this summer’s watershed reversal of Roe v. Wade. It was designed as a nod to anti-abortion activists who have never felt more emboldened. Yet Graham’s bill also attempted to skate past a Republican Party that’s divided over whether Congress should even be legislating on abortion after the Supreme Court struck down a nationwide right to terminate pregnancies. (Everett, Levine and Ferris, 9/13)

The Hill: McConnell Throws Shade On Graham’s Proposed National Abortion Ban 
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday made clear that Senate Republicans are not eager to debate Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) proposal to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy, telling reporters that most GOP senators want to leave the issue to states.  McConnell also said Graham’s proposal is the South Carolina senator’s own initiative and not something being pushed at the leadership level.  (Bolton, 9/13)

The Hill: White House Blasts Graham Abortion Bill As ‘Wildly Out Of Step’
The White House on Tuesday described a new bill that would impose a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy as “wildly out of step” with the country, pushing back hard on the legislation introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the ban “would strip away women’s rights in all 50 states.” (Gangitano, 9/13)

The New York Times: How A Nationwide Abortion Ban After 15 Weeks Would Compare To State Laws 
A proposal to ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy would stop short of some states’ limits on the procedure but would upend the longtime standard in most others. Such a ban would come early in the second trimester, before common screenings for certain health conditions and several weeks before a fetus is considered viable. (Lutz and McCann, 9/13)

The 19th: Democratic Senators Urge Biden Admin To Use HIPAA To Protect Abortion Rights
Thirty Democratic senators led by Washington’s Patty Murray are calling on the Biden administration to use health care privacy laws to protect patients’ reproductive health information, specifically when it comes to abortion. (Luthra, 9/13)

The Hill: West Virginia Legislature Approves Abortion Ban, Headed To Governor For Signature 
West Virginia’s legislature approved a sweeping abortion ban on Tuesday, only allowing the procedure in cases of medical emergencies, rape and incest. The bill, known as HB 302, will now head to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice (R), who called a special session of the legislature in July to “clarify and modernize” the state’s abortion laws in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. (Gans, 9/13)

The New York Times: West Virginia Passes Strict Abortion Ban
With the roar of protesters occasionally echoing outside — and at times within — the two chambers, the Senate passed an amended version of the earlier bill with about three-quarters support and then adjourned. Several hours later, the House passed it by an even larger margin. Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, was expected to sign the bill into law, which would go into effect immediately afterward. (Robertson, 9/13)

AP: Iowa Abortion Providers Say No Basis To Enact Near Ban
Lawyers for Iowa’s largest abortion provider argued in court documents Tuesday that there’s no precedent or legal support for bringing back a law banning most abortions, which a judge had permanently blocked in 2019. Planned Parenthood’s lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa were responding in state court filings to arguments made by lawyers for Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds last month. (Pitt, 9/13)

AP: California Launches Website Promoting Abortion Services 
California launched a publicly funded website Tuesday to promote the state’s abortion services, listing clinics, linking to financial help for travel and lodging and letting teenagers in other states know they don’t need their parents’ permission to get an abortion in the state. The website is part of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pledge to make California a sanctuary for women seeking abortions now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade — the landmark 1973 decision that said states could not ban abortion. (Beam, 9/13)

Newsweek: Abortion Clinics Rush To Relocate To Friendlier Border Towns As Bans Start
Oregon. Minnesota. Illinois. New Mexico. Anticipating a wave of women willing to cross borders to get an abortion, these abortion-friendly states are permitting a string of new clinics to open on their periphery. ... Some critics have labeled this the new "abortion tourism," creating regional abortion outposts next to states where the procedure has been outlawed. (Duin, 9/13)

Bloomberg: Monkeypox Virus: Brain Inflammation Seen In Two US Cases, CDC Says
US health officials cautioned Tuesday that monkeypox led to neurological complications in two otherwise healthy men in their 30s. (Muller, 9/13)

CIDRAP: Two US Cases Of Monkeypox-Related Brain Inflammation Raise Concern 
Two US monkeypox patients developed encephalomyelitis—inflammation of the brain and spinal cord—in the week after symptom onset, one in Colorado and one in Washington, DC, suggesting neurologic complications are a potential outcome of monkeypox infections. The cases are described today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The United States is home to the largest monkeypox outbreak in the world, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reporting 91 more monkeypox cases, raising the national total to 21,985. (Soucheray, 9/13)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Reports Nation's First MPX Case In Exposed Healthcare Worker
“We have identified a healthcare worker with monkeypox who appears to have been exposed to the virus at their worksite,” Dr. Rita Singhal, chief medical officer for the L.A. County Department of Public Health, said in a presentation to the Board of Supervisors. “This is the first case of monkeypox in a healthcare worker in the United States that has been linked to a worksite exposure.” (Toohey, 9/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: HIV Infections Rose In S.F. For First Time In A Decade, Perhaps Due To Pandemic
San Francisco recorded its first year-over-year increase in new HIV infections in nearly a decade in 2021, though at least some of those cases likely were in people who became infected in 2020 and only tested positive last year due to pandemic lockdowns and other restrictions that led to testing delays. (Allday, 9/13)

Stat: Complexity Of Covid Vaccine Program Fuels Concern On Potential For Errors
The rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination program has reached new heights of complexity with the start of the bivalent booster program, leading to concerns about the potential for more errors in the administration of vaccines. (Branswell, 9/14)

AP: Court Rehears Fight Over Vaccine Mandate For Federal Workers 
President Joe Biden has the same authority to impose a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on federal workers that private employers have for their employees, an administration lawyer told a federal appeals court Tuesday. A lawyer for opponents of the vaccine requirement, which has been blocked nationwide by a federal judge in Texas, said the requirement imposes an “unconstitutionally intolerable choice” for executive branch workers — taking a vaccine they don’t want or losing their jobs. (McGill, 9/13)

Axios: Why We Need To Be Talking About Vaccines That Offer "Mucosal Immunity"
As the U.S. rolls out updated mRNA-based COVID shots, a growing chorus of experts say it's a mistake not to focus on treatments that boost immunity through mucous membranes. (Reed, 9/13)

Fortune: Twice-Daily Nose Flushing Can Reduce COVID-Related Hospitalizations And Death, Researchers Find
A study out of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University has found that flushing your nose twice daily with a mild saline solution shortly after testing positive for COVID-19 can drastically decrease your chances of hospitalization and death. Simply mix a half teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of baking soda in a cup of boiled (and cooled) or distilled water, then pour it into a sinus rinse bottle. A squeeze bottle or bulb syringe works, too. (Payton, 9/13)

Axios: The Uninsured Rate Of Americans Remains Relatively Steady
The number of Americans without health insurance fell by a million people in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data published yesterday. (Knight, 9/14)

Bloomberg: US States Like Massachusetts, California Impose Caps On Hospital Costs
The landmark Massachusetts health reform of 2006 was so successful it served as the model for Obamacare. Then, state leaders vowed to “bend the curve” of ever-rising health costs. That hasn’t gone as well. So now calls are rising for a new reform, one in which Massachusetts would join a small, but growing number of states, from California to Rhode Island, that have begun to impose caps on certain health-care prices. (Goldberg, 9/13)

North Carolina Health News: The Benefits Of Treating Patients Through Hospital-At-Home
Betty Ratcliffe is one of more than 500 people who have received “hospital at home” services from UNC over the past year. (Hoban, 9/14)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities: Senate Urged To Extend
A group of 375 trade groups, health systems and other companies said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that uncertainty around the continuation of telehealth flexibilities has started to affect innovation. "Virtual care is now a fundamental part of the U.S. healthcare system, and it will improve patient access to high quality care and strengthen continuity of care well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic," the letter said. (Goldman, 9/13)

Reuters: Explainer: How The U.S. Drug Pricing Law Affects Medicare And Its Members 
U.S. President Joe Biden last month signed the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, authorizing the federal government to negotiate prices on some prescription drugs and cap costs for the government's Medicare health program. Here is how the law may affect some of the 63 million Americans aged 65 or over or with disabilities who receive Medicare health benefits. (Aboulenein, 9/13)

Modern Healthcare: AMA Joins MultiPlan Class Action Lawsuit Against Cigna
The nation’s largest medical organization and two physician groups joined a class-action lawsuit against Cigna Monday, accusing the insurer of shortchanging providers and leaving patients inappropriately exposed to balance bills. (Tepper, 9/13)

Stat: How Drugmakers Are Turning Telehealth Into A Marketing Gold Mine
A familiar refrain echoes through drug ads in the United States. It’s heard at the end of TV spots and plastered across magazine pages: Ask your doctor if this drug is right for you. But as medicine moves increasingly online, direct-to-consumer advertising is adopting a more assertive catchphrase: Talk to a doctor now. (Palmer, 9/14)

Modern Healthcare: Humira Biosimilar Savings May Face Delays 
Humira, the rheumatoid arthritis and anti-inflammatory biologic that has netted AbbVie nearly $200 billion in sales, has benefited from nearly two decades of exclusivity, allowing the manufacturer to hike the price 470% since the drug was introduced. The monopoly will end with the introduction of several Food and Drug Administration-approved copycat versions slated to hit the market in 2023, and more are on the way. (Kacik, 9/13)

Reuters: Exclusive: Medical Journals Broaden Inquiry Into Potential Heart Research Misconduct
Three medical journals recently launched independent investigations of possible data manipulation in heart studies led by Temple University researchers, Reuters has learned, adding new scrutiny to a misconduct inquiry by the university and the U.S. government. The Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology and the Journal of Biological Chemistry are investigating five papers authored by Temple scientists, the journals told Reuters. (Taylor and Heath, 9/13)

The New York Times: Montana Restricts Changes To Birth Certificates For Transgender People 
Transgender people born in Montana will no longer be able to change the sex listed on their birth certificate to accurately reflect their identity under a new state rule that is among the most restrictive in the country, according to transgender rights groups. Under the rule, which took effect on Saturday, transgender people may change the sex listed on their birth certificate only if it was recorded incorrectly as a result of a clerical error or if the person’s sex was “misidentified” on the original certificate and they can prove it through DNA or other scientific testing. (Bohra and Levenson, 9/13)

Bloomberg: NJ Public Workers Rally Against Rising Health-Care Costs
New Jersey public employees rallied in the state capital Tuesday, demanding that officials delay a contentious vote on increases in workers’ health-care premiums of more than 20% for next year. (Tozzi, 9/13)

AP: House For Families Of Veterans Set For Memphis Hospital 
Officials at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Memphis say a house where families can stay while their relative is being treated will be built at the facility. The Memphis Veterans Affairs Health Care System Medical Center is among the sites selected to establish a Fisher House, officials said in a news release Monday. (9/14)

CIDRAP: Michigan Reports H1N2v Flu In Fairgoer
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) yesterday reported a variant H1N2 (H1N2v) infection in a person who had contact with pigs at the Berrien County Youth Fair. Officials said the case was confirmed on Sep 9 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The fair was held Aug 15 through 20. The MDHHS said fair season in Michigan extends into October, and it warned state residents to avoid pigs and swine barns if they are at risk for flu complications. (9/13)

Wyoming Public Radio: Gov. Gordon Makes September Sepsis Awareness Month After Advocacy Efforts From A Cheyenne Woman
A Cheyenne woman is helping to raise public awareness of sepsis after her 15-month-old grandson died from it in late 2016. Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection damages its own tissues and can lead to organ failure. (Cook, 9/13)

Reuters: Evidence Is Lacking For Diabetes Screening In Youths -U.S. Panel
A U.S. panel tasked with weighing the pros and cons of regular diabetes screening for children and adolescents found a lack of evidence for the testing, even as the proportion of U.S. youths with type 2 diabetes has doubled since 2001. That rise tracks with increases in obesity - the chief risk factor for the most common form of the diabetes linked to poor diet and lack of exercise. (Steenhuysen, 9/13)

Bloomberg: Poverty Rate Rises For Second Year While Incomes Are Little Changed
The U.S. poverty rate climbed for a second straight year in 2021 and household income slipped slightly as the economy slowly started a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. (Tanzi and Saraiva, 9/13)

USA Today: Baby Won't Stop Crying? Here's How Study Says To Get Them To Sleep
The findings, published Tuesday in the peer reviewed journal Current Biology, suggest the best method is to hold a crying baby and walk with them for five minutes. After that, researchers say to sit and hold the baby for five-to-eight minutes before putting them to bed. The walking-to-sit method even worked in the daytime, the results showed. (Mendoza, 9/13)