First Edition: Sept. 21, 2021

KHN: Congress Cites KHN Investigation In Probe Of National Academies 
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is requesting a ream of documents from the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, spurred by a recent KHN investigation that revealed deep ties between pharmaceutical companies and two members of a committee that took a pharma-friendly stance in a recent report on drug waste. The House probe, led by Democratic Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Katie Porter, focuses on conflicts of interest held by members of a committee currently reviewing a life-or-death matter: U.S. organ donation and distribution policy. A panel member recently resigned after accepting a consulting job that apparently created a conflict of interest. House members are asking NASEM to provide conflict-of-interest disclosure forms for all members of the committee. (Jewett and Aleccia, 9/21)

KHN: The Solution To Au Pairs’ Health Coverage Gaps May Be Simple: ACA Plans 
In 2016, Isis Mabel, of Mexico, wanted to improve her English. On advice from an aunt, she enrolled with an au pair agency to come to the United States to live with a family and care for the children. The job typically pays about $200 a week on top of lodging and meals. She said she gave the agency $360 and was told that would cover costs like visa fees and health insurance. It was all explained “super quick,” she said, with no details on what the insurance would cover. When she arrived in the United States, she recalled, a representative of the au pair agency recommended she buy extra coverage for sports, because even an accident caused by jumping could be considered sports-related. Mabel opted to purchase the extra policy for an additional $180. (Covert, 9/21)

KHN: California’s Reboot Of Troubled Medi-Cal Puts Pressure On Health Plans 
When Denise Williams’ baby boy was 2 months old, she became alarmed by a rattling sound in his lungs and took him to the emergency room. While undergoing treatment, he spiraled into a disabling neurological disorder. Now 2 years old, Markeano is attached to breathing and feeding tubes. He can’t walk or move his arms. “If I want him to sit up, I have to sit him up. If I want him to play with a car, I’ve got to put his hand on the car and move it back and forth,” said Williams, 38, who lives with Markeano, her four other children and her husband, Marcus, in Adelanto, California, a small city in the High Desert region of San Bernardino County. (Wolfson and de Marco, 9/21)

KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: They Turned Grief Into Action
In 2004, 24-year-old Manny Lanza urgently needed surgery for a life-threatening brain condition. But he didn’t have insurance, so his hospital refused to schedule the treatment — until it was too late. Manny died waiting. In the months that followed, Manny’s parents, Reynaldo Prieto and Levia Lanza, fought to make their son’s story known — and to make sure it didn’t happen again. They came up empty … until a reporter from the New York Post took their call. Then, things changed fast. (Weissmann, 9/21)

Politico: U.S. To Lift Air Travel Restrictions For Fully Vaccinated Foreigners
The U.S. will lift air travel restrictions for foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated, with the Biden administration targeting early November for foreign travel to resume for the first time in more than a year. The head of the White House’s Covid-19 Response Team, Jeff Zients, announced Monday that foreign nationals must show proof of vaccination and proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken three days prior to boarding an airplane. Zients said the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will determine which vaccines will be accepted. (Pawlyk and Day, 9/20)

NPR: White House Lifts Ban On Vaccinated Foreign Nationals Flying To The U.S.
Jeffrey Zients, President Biden's COVID-19 response coordinator, announced the new policy Monday. It replaces a patchwork of travel bans on travelers, most of which began during the Trump administration. The travel bans, many in place for well over a year, separated families and negatively affected the tourism industry in the U.S., where international travel is a big part of business. A hashtag, #LoveIsNotTourism, took off on social media, with people advocating for an end to the travel bans, at least for those who are fully vaccinated. (Naylor, 9/20)

AP: Q&A: America's New COVID-19 Rules For International Travel
The Biden administration is rolling out new international travel policies affecting Americans and noncitizens alike who want to fly into the U.S. The goal is to restore more normal air travel after 18 months of disruption caused by COVID-19.The across-the-board rules, which will take effect in November, will replace a hodgepodge of confusing restrictions. Some details of the plan announced Monday are being worked out, but here are some questions and answers about what to expect. (Miller and Koenig, 9/21)

AP: Supreme Court Sets Arguments In Big Abortion Case
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Dec. 1 in Mississippi’s bid to have the landmark Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion overturned. The court issued its arguments calendar for late November and early December on Monday. Mississippi is asking the high court to uphold its ban on most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. The state has told the court it should overrule Roe and the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that prevent states from banning abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy. (Sherman, 9/20)

Reuters: Biden Calls On U.S. Supreme Court To Protect Abortion Rights 
The administration brief backs Jackson Women's Health Organization, the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, in its fight over the state's attempt to ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It said Roe v. Wade and a subsequent 1992 decision that affirmed it "recognize that forcing a woman to continue a pregnancy against her will is a profound intrusion on her autonomy, her bodily integrity, and her equal standing in society." Abortion opponents have asked the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to overturn the 1973 ruling. (Hurley, 9/20)

USA Today: Supreme Court And Roe: Women Athletes Warn Of Mississippi Abortion Law
More than 500 current and former female athletes urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reject a Mississippi law that would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In an amicus brief filed Monday, the athletes cite the importance of "bodily integrity and decisional autonomy" to their individual careers and women's sports as a whole. The list of signatories includes 26 Olympians, 73 professional athletes, 276 college athletes and some of the biggest names in women's sports – from U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe to WNBA veterans Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi. (Schad, 9/20)

AP: Federal Appeals Court To Hear Missouri Abortion Law Case
A federal appeals court on Tuesday will consider whether Missouri can implement a sweeping law aimed at limiting abortions. The law adopted in 2019 would ban abortions at or around the eighth week of pregnancy. It also would prohibit abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis isn’t expected to rule for several weeks. (Salter, 9/21)

The Washington Post: Broad Majorities Of Americans Oppose Key Provisions Of Restrictive Texas Abortion Law, Poll Finds 
Broad majorities of Americans oppose key provisions of a restrictive Texas abortion law, and a majority disagrees with the recent Supreme Court decision that allowed the law, which effectively bans abortions after six weeks, to go into effect, a new poll finds. The new law takes a novel approach, relying on private citizens to sue people who help women get forbidden abortions, effectively eliminating the guarantee in Roe v. Wade and subsequent Supreme Court decisions that women have a right to end their pregnancies before viability and that states may not impose undue burdens on that decision. (Wagner, 9/20)

AP: Family Planning Clinics Say Loss Of Funds Mean Service Cuts
Family planning providers that were denied state funding for routine health care services such as screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases said Monday that they could see cuts in services and longer patient waiting times as a result. “State funding for this care is critical because it covers low-income and uninsured Granite staters who rely on us for these specific health care services,” said Kayla Montgomery, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which was denied funding. (9/20)

AP: Biden Launches Plan To Address 'Silent Killer': Extreme Heat
The Biden administration is moving to protect workers and communities from extreme heat after a dangerously hot summer that spurred an onslaught of drought-worsened wildfires and caused hundreds of deaths from the Pacific Northwest to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana. Under a plan announced Monday, the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and other federal agencies are launching actions intended to reduce heat-related illness and protect public health, including a proposed workplace heat standard. (Daly, 9/20)

Politico: Biden Administration To Write Workplace Safety Rule Tackling Heat Stress
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were 43 work-related deaths due to environmental heat exposure in 2019, and at least 2,410 others suffered serious injuries and illnesses, but the Labor Department says heat illness is "largely preventable, and commonly under-reported." States such as California, Washington and Minnesota have heat-related standards in place to protect workers. "This new process is historic and will unquestionably mean fewer worker deaths while improving productivity," Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who has sponsored legislation to create a federal heat standard, said in a statement. "I know because I have seen it work in California, where I introduced the country’s first worker protections from heat stress." (Colman, 9/20)

Bloomberg: Biden And HUD Launch Moonshot Bid To Beat Homelessness
The White House is launching a new national initiative to combat the rising tide of homelessness, a pact with local governments to commit resources and energy to the people suffering most due to the national housing crisis. With “House America,” the administration of President Joe Biden is asking leaders of city, county, state and tribal governments across the U.S. to make a public pledge to reduce homelessness. In turn, the federal government will provide guidance and support to achieve two goals: providing permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness and building new affordable units for those on the brink. (Capps, 9/20)

ABC News: LGBTQ Veterans Discharged Dishonorably For Sexual Orientation To Get Full Benefits, VA Says 
LGBTQ veterans who were given other than honorable discharges from the U.S. military due to their sexual orientation are eligible to receive full benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Monday. "LGBTQ+ Veterans are not any less worthy of the care and services that all Veterans earn through their service, and VA is committed to making sure that they have equal access to those services," the department said in a statement. (Zaru, 9/20)

The New York Times: C.I.A. Officer Suffers Havana Syndrome Symptoms 
An intelligence officer traveling in India this month with the C.I.A. director reported symptoms consistent with the so-called Havana syndrome, signaling a possible escalation in the mysterious incidents that have affected American officials since 2016, current and former officials said. The circumstances of the incident are still being investigated, and officials have not yet determined whether the C.I.A. officer was targeted because the officer was traveling with the director, William J. Burns, or for other reasons. If the incident was caused by an adversarial intelligence service, it may not have known the officer was traveling with Mr. Burns. (Barnes, 9/20)

Politico: CDC Recommends Waiting Period For Afghan Flights To U.S. After Measles Cases 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending the Biden administration halt flights of Afghan evacuees from military bases overseas to the U.S. for at least 21 days following a measles vaccination, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. After four Afghans tested positive for measles after arriving in the U.S. this month, the CDC announced that it would halt flights to the U.S. for Afghan evacuees at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar for at least a week out of an abundance of caution. The agency is now recommending a stoppage on flights until Afghan evacuees receive the measles vaccine and develop immunity. (Banco, 9/20)

Stateline: States Use Hurricane Ida Damage To Push Infrastructure Bill
Pointing to stark pictures of inundated buildings and washed-out cars from Hurricane Ida, state and city officials are pressing Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. At least 67 people died across eight states, communities were plunged into darkness for weeks while repairs to the electrical grid plodded along, and calls for help went unanswered because of lack of internet access. The storm prompted demands for more flood mitigation and enhanced building construction to help communities better withstand storms and prevent future Ida-level damage. It also illustrated the need for the expansion of broadband, rural advocates say. (Povich, 9/20)

Stat: U.S. Lawmakers Accuse Patent Office Of Weakening Challenges And Allowing Drug Prices To Rise 
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has accused the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office of “weakening” the system for challenging patents and, as a result, encouraging abuses by drug makers that seek to thwart the availability of lower-cost generic medicines. At issue is the inter partes review, or IPR, which went into effect in 2012 as a result of the America Invents Act. This type of patent challenge, which is heard by the Patent and Trials Appeal Board, was intended to provide an easier and faster alternative to patent infringement lawsuits filed in federal courts. For this reason, the IPR process has irked brand-name pharmaceutical companies. (Silverman, 9/20)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Covid-19 Death Toll Surpasses 1918 Flu Fatalities 
The number of known Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. has surpassed the country’s fatalities from the 1918-19 flu pandemic. The U.S. on Monday crossed the threshold of 675,000 reported Covid-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which tracks data from state health authorities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the influenza pandemic killed about that many people in the U.S. a century ago, in 1918 and 1919. Both figures are likely undercounts, epidemiologists and historians say. (Kamp and Calfas, 9/20)

Stat: Covid Overtakes 1918 Spanish Flu As Deadliest Disease In U.S. History
The Covid-19 pandemic has become the deadliest disease event in American history, with a death toll surpassing that of the 1918 Spanish flu. The Spanish flu was previously the disease event that caused the biggest loss of life in the United States; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 675,000 Americans died during the 1918 pandemic, in waves of illness that stretched out over roughly two years in this country. According to STAT’s Covid-19 Tracker, Covid deaths stand at more than 675,400. (Branswell, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: California Has The Lowest Coronavirus Rate In The U.S.
California officially has the lowest coronavirus case rate of any state, federal figures show, underscoring the progress made in the ongoing battle against the highly infectious Delta variant. The state has been among the national leaders in that metric for the last week, as the number of newly confirmed coronavirus infections continues to tumble from a peak earlier this summer. California’s new case rate per 100,000 people is less than half of neighboring states, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some hard-hit states have more than quadruple California’s numbers. (Lin II and Money, 9/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: One Bay Area County Is Approaching 100% Of Eligible Residents With One COVID Vaccine Dose
Marin County has marked a new pandemic-fighting milestone, with more than 90% of its eligible population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to county data, 90.7% of residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated as of Monday. A whopping 97.3% of Marin’s eligible population has received at least one vaccine dose. Among its total population, Marin’s rate of completed vaccinations is 78%, with 84% partially vaccinated. Marin has the highest overall vaccination rate of all counties in California and is among the top 10 most highly vaccinated counties in the U.S. (Hwang, 9/20)

Politico: Vaccine Supply Fears Motivated White House Booster Push
Top advisers to President Joe Biden pushed for his administration to announce a broad booster rollout for September in part because of fears that the U.S. could run short of doses needed to offer the shots to its entire population if vaccines’ protection decreased suddenly, according to two senior officials with knowledge of the matter. The internal campaign coincided with pleas from international leaders for the U.S. to do more to help lower-and middle-income countries secure initial doses. Biden’s team wanted to make sure the U.S. would have enough supply for the 40 percent of eligible Americans who still needed their first shots and those who would eventually need a boost, the officials said — despite the country’s deep vaccine stockpile. (Banco, 9/20)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Recommends The Vaccinated Lose Access To Monoclonal Antibodies
The Tennessee state government now recommends nearly all vaccinated residents be denied access to monoclonal antibody treatment in a new effort to preserve a limited supply of antibody drugs for those who remain most vulnerable to the virus, largely by their own choice. The federal government began capping shipments of these drugs last week because the majority of the national supply is being used by a small number of poorly vaccinated southern states, including Tennessee. (Kelman, 9/20)

The New York Times: Some Parents Aren’t Ready For Young Children To Get Vaccine 
With Pfizer-BioNTech’s announcement on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine had been shown to be safe and effective in low doses in children ages 5 to 11, a major question looms: How many parents will have it given to their children? If authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, the vaccine could be a game changer for millions of American families with young children and could help bolster the U.S. response as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads. There are about 28 million children ages 5 to 11 in the United States, far more than the 17 million adolescents ages 12 to 15 who became eligible when Pfizer’s vaccine rolled out to that age group in May. (Mervosh and Goldstein, 9/21)

Bloomberg: NYC To Double Student Covid Test Frequency To Once A Week
New York City will increase testing of public-school students for Covid-19 to weekly from every other week, after 77 classrooms were closed and one school was shut down due to the virus. At the same time, the city will relax its student quarantine rules, allowing continued attendance if students are masked and at least three feet from any infected individual. The new rules will take effect Sept. 27, the same day all teachers and school staff must show proof of vaccination. The teachers union, which had called for increased testing, applauded that move but criticized the mayor’s looser quarantine rules, calling them “ill-considered.” (Goldman, 9/20)

The Washington Post: D.C. School, Childcare Workers Must Get Covid Vaccine, No Test Option 
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday that all teachers and school staff and early child-care workers in the District must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Nov. 1, eliminating a testing option for these professionals who regularly interact with children who are often too young to be vaccinated. The mayor’s initial vaccine requirement — which included a testing option — did not apply to public charter or private school workers nor day-care employees. But this stricter mandate applies to these nongovernment employees. (Stein, 9/20)

AP: Court Order Sought To End Mask Mandate In Vegas-Area Schools
Parents of students in the Las Vegas area who filed a lawsuit last month challenging Nevada’s COVID-19 mask mandates asked a federal judge on Monday to issue an emergency order allowing children to attend school without masks. The lawsuit filed against Gov. Steve Sisolak, Attorney General Aaron Ford and the Clark County School District says the district’s current policy requiring masks in schools regardless of vaccination status is causing psychological distress and emotional harm to students who must wear them. (9/21)

AP: Legislators Sue To Rein In Governor On Pandemic Relief
Legislators asked the New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday to limit Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s authority over more than $1 billion in federal relief. The lawsuit from the Republican Party’s top-ranked Senator and a Democratic colleague accuses Lujan Grisham of overstepping her constitutional authority. (9/21)

AP: Montana County Health Officer Resigns To Ease Conflict
The public health officer in a politically conservative county in northwestern Montana has resigned his post to ease what his resignation letter called “the strife and conflict coming from a minority of people objecting” to his recommendations in responding to the coronavirus. A member of the public blamed the health officer for his wife’s recent death due to COVID-19. (Hanson, 9/20)

AP: Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan Contracts COVID-19 Despite Vaccination
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio tested positive Monday for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated against the virus. In a statement, Ryan said he was experiencing mild symptoms from his breakthrough case and will continue to quarantine from his northeast Ohio home. (Amiri, 9/20)

AP: Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidate Tests Positive For COVID
Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Rebecca Kleefisch tested positive for COVID-19 after being exposed at church earlier this month, her campaign said Monday. Kleefisch is a cancer survivor and a former two-term lieutenant governor. She is seeking to take on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers next year. Kleefisch launched her campaign on Sept. 9 and has been on the campaign trail since. (Bauer, 9/20)

USA Today: Florida Man Dies Of COVID Minutes Before His First Grandchild Is Born
A Florida man died from COVID-19 this month just 20 minutes before his first grandchild was born. Shane O’Neal, 40, died from COVID-19 at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 3. His daughter, Kylie Dean, gave birth to her son, Preston, at 3:49 a.m. the same morning. Dean, an ICU nurse, told USA TODAY that her father was “super excited” about the birth of his first grandchild. “Every time he’d go to the store, he’d pick up some baby clothes or baby toys,” she said. (Pitofsky, 9/20)

AP: George Holliday, Who Filmed Rodney King Video, Dies Of COVID
George Holliday, the Los Angeles plumber who shot grainy video of four white police officers beating Black motorist Rodney King in 1991, has died of complications of COVID-19, a friend said Monday. Holliday, 61, died Sunday at a Los Angeles hospital, where he had been for more than a month, according to Robert Wollenweber, a longtime friend and former coworker. Holliday was not vaccinated and was on a ventilator in recent days after contracting pneumonia, Wollenweber said. (9/21)

The Washington Post: Newberg, Ore., School Worker Suspended For Blackface Protest Of Vaccine Mandate 
A staff member at an elementary school in suburban Portland, Ore., has been suspended after reporting for work in blackface last week, in an apparent protest against the school district’s vaccine mandate for employees. The woman showed up dressed as Rosa Parks with her face darkened with dye to protest a vaccination mandate for all public school employees in Oregon, the Newberg Graphic newspaper reported. (Pannett, 9/21)

CIDRAP: COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Found In 32% Of Healthcare Workers, Survey Says
About 68% of frontline healthcare workers said they were planning on getting vaccinated against COVID-19 when asked at the end of 2020, according to survey results published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. Nurses, females, and minorities were more likely to report vaccine hesitancy. The researchers surveyed 5,929 healthcare workers, 49.5% of whom were nurses; 38.0%, physicians; 9.8%, nurse practitioners (NPs); and 2.7%, physician assistants (PAs) at two academic hospitals in Philadelphia. About 67.8% said they planned on getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Nurses had the highest proportion of vaccine hesitancy while physicians had the least (47.3% vs 13.1%). Regardless of position, Black healthcare workers were about 5 times more hesitant than White healthcare workers (75.3% vs 44.8%), and women were about twice as hesitant as men (53.2% vs 22.3%). (9/20)

CIDRAP: Study: Allergic Reactions To MRNA COVID Vaccines Rare, Manageable 
Allergic reactions to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are rare and usually mild, according to a study late last week in JAMA Network Open. Stanford University researchers led the study of 22 reported allergic reactions to the first 38,895 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines given to healthcare workers from Dec 18, 2020, to Jan 26, 2021 (less than six hundredths of a percent). Of all vaccinations, 80.6% were of the Pfizer vaccine, while 18.7% were of Moderna. The study population was 60% women, 64% White, 2% Black, 20% Asian, 16% younger than 50 years, and 54% aged 70 and older. (Van Beusekom, 9/20)

The Wall Street Journal: CVS Makes Hiring Push Amid Worker Shortage, Increased Covid-19 Vaccine Demand 
CVS Health Corp. CVS -1.09% , one of the biggest U.S. providers of Covid-19 tests and vaccines, is racing to hire thousands of workers as staffing shortages prompt stores to close drive-through lanes and at times turn away customers seeking shots. The largest U.S. pharmacy chain by stores said it plans to add 25,000 employees this week in a single-day hiring spree to prepare for a potential surge in demand from booster shots and as more people seek Covid-19 tests and flu vaccines. (Terlep, 9/20)

Modern Healthcare: CVS Sues Startup Competitor Capital Rx Over Non-Compete Agreement
CVS Pharmacy sued competitor Capital Rx in federal court on Thursday, alleging the startup pharmacy benefit manager is relying on an "unenforceable and unreasonable" contract to prevent a former employee from jumping ship from the New York-based business. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, claimed Capital Rx has threatened to sue CVS multiple times for violating a non-compete agreement Dr. Suresh Yarlagadda signed the day before he started work at the online pharmacy in May 2021. Buried in an 11-page contract is a single paragraph that states Yarlagadda cannot work at any competitor of Capital Rx's for six months after leaving his job. He also can't hold more than 3% worth of securities at any business Capital Rx designates as a competitor, according to the complaint. (Tepper, 9/20)

Reuters: French Company Carmat Announces First Implant Of Its Artificial Heart In A Woman
French artificial heartmaker Carmat (ALCAR.PA) announced on Tuesday that it had carried out the first implant of its Aeson artificial heart in a woman. The company said the procedure had been performed at the UofL Health - Jewish Hospital by University of Louisville physicians in the United States. "This third implant in the U.S. was a landmark event not only because it allowed us to finalize the enrollment of the first cohort of patients of the EFS (early feasibility study), but very importantly because it is the first time ever that our device has helped a woman suffering from heart failure," Carmat CEO Stephane Piat said in a statement. (9/21)

Modern Healthcare: HCA To Buy Five Hospitals In Utah From Steward Health Care
HCA Healthcare will buy five hospitals in Utah owned by Steward Health Care, adding to HCA's presence in the mountain states. HCA currently owns 8 hospitals in Utah. This purchase allows the for-profit hospital giant to compete with the state's largest provider, Intermountain Healthcare, which owns 24 hospitals in the state, including a virtual hospital. Not-for-profit Intermountain last week announced it was merging with SCL Health to form an $11 billion system with 33 hospitals. (9/20)

Modern Healthcare: ASCs Livid Over CMS Plan To Curb Approved Procedures
Ambulatory surgery centers are fuming over potentially losing more than 250 procedures they can offer patients if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reinstates the inpatient-only list limiting them to hospitals, according to comments on CMS's proposed outpatient pay rule for 2022. Ambulatory surgery centers argue that CMS doesn't have enough information to support such a significant policy change. The providers also claim the agency made a series of flawed assumptions about the real-world impact of restoring the inpatient-only list and limiting the procedures allowed under the ambulatory surgery center covered procedures list, known as the ASC-CPL, according to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. (Brady, 9/20)

Modern Healthcare: Consolidation Boosted Mortality Rates In Rural Hospitals, Study Finds
Rural hospitals that merged with or were acquired into larger health systems are associated with greater reductions in mortality for conditions like heart failure, stroke and pneumonia compared to facilities that remained independent, according to a new study. The annual inpatient mortality rate for acute myocardial infarction decreased from 9.4% to 5% among acquired hospitals, researchers at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and IBM Watson Health found. Meanwhile, independent facilities saw inpatient AMI mortality fall from 7.9% to 6.3% during the period studied. (Ross Johnson, 9/20)

Modern Healthcare: Mount Sinai Names Female President, First For New York's Academic Health Systems
Mount Sinai Health System has promoted its chief operating officer, Margaret Pastuszko, to president, making her the first female president of a large academic health system in New York, according to Mount Sinai. The move comes amid a handful of leadership changes the New York health system's board announced Monday. The board said the changes are designed to better position Mount Sinai to weather future challenges. Among them: Dr. Kenneth Davis will continue to serve as CEO through the end of 2024. After that, he'll stay on as a strategic advisor through 2027. (Bannow, 9/20)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Workers Charged In $1.1 Billion Telehealth Fraud Scheme
Federal prosecutors allege that more than 40 healthcare workers across the U.S. have filed $1.1 billion in false or fraudulent telehealth claims to Medicare and other government insurers since August 2020. Telemedicine executives allegedly paid 43 doctors and nurse practitioners to order unnecessary durable medical equipment, diagnostic and genetic tests and pain medicines with little to no telephone or virtual interactions with patients, according to a news release issued by the Justice Department on Friday. (Tepper, 9/20)

USA Today: Gun Violence Affecting Kids Soars During COVID-19 Pandemic
Children and teens in the USA are 15 times more likely to die from gunfire than their peers in 31 other high-income countries combined, according to the Children’s Defense Fund. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation has grown more dire. Last year was the deadliest year for gun violence in the USA in at least two decades, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit data collection and research group that uses a combination of police statistics and media reports. In 2020, more than 5,100 kids under 18 were shot – about 1,000 more than at any point since at least 2014, when the archive launched – and more than 1,300 died. The numbers of kids shot and killed both increased by more than a third from the previous year. (Hauck and Miller, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Sees Spiking Number Of Babies With Syphilis
More and more babies in L.A. County have been infected with syphilis in the womb, which can lead to stillbirth, neurological problems, blindness, bone abnormalities and other complications. Nine years ago, only six cases were reported across L.A. County, according to a Department of Public Health report. Last year, that number reached 113. The numbers were already surging before the arrival of COVID-19, but public health officials fear the pandemic exacerbated the problem, closing clinics that screen people for syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections and putting new efforts to battle the disease on ice. (Alpert Reyes, 9/20)

CIDRAP: Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 127 In 25 States; Cake Mix E Coli Probe Ends
A rapidly growing Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak linked to an unknown food source has sickened 127 people, some of them part of restaurant clusters, from 25 states, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a Sep 17 announcement. The number of cases reported to the CDC has grown from 20 on Sep 2, when the CDC identified the outbreak. Patient ages range from 1 to 82 years, and 59% are female. Of 49 people with available information, 18 were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. The latest illness onset was Sep 1. (9/20)

NPR: A Study Finds That Stroke Recovery May Depend On When Rehab Starts
People who have had a stroke appear to regain more hand and arm function if intensive rehabilitation starts two to three months after the injury to their brain. A study of 72 stroke patients suggests this is a "critical period," when the brain has the greatest capacity to rewire, a team reports in this week's journal PNAS. The finding challenges the current practice of beginning rehabilitation as soon as possible after a stroke and suggests intensive rehabilitation should go on longer than most insurance coverage allows, says Elissa Newport, a co-author of the study and director of the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery at Georgetown University Medical Center. (Hamilton, 9/20)

AP: Another Inmate Dies At NYC's Troubled Rikers Island Jail
An inmate died at New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex, bringing the troubled facility’s death toll to 11 this year, authorities said. Isaabdul Karim, 42, died at a jail infirmary just before 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the Department of Correction said in a news release. The department initially gave his name as Karim Isaabdul, but a spokesperson said late Monday that Isaabdul Karim was the correct name. (Matthews, 9/21)

USA Today: Amy Schumer Endometriosis Surgery: Star Has Uterus, Appendix Removed
Amy Schumer is recovering from surgery. The "I Feel Pretty" actress, who has been open about her struggles with infertility, revealed she had her uterus and appendix removed as a result of endometriosis, a condition in which tissue typically found in the uterus starts to grow in other parts of the body, leading to uncomfortable long-term pelvic pain during and between periods. “So, it’s the morning after my surgery for endometriosis and my uterus is out,” Schumer explained in an Instagram video Sunday from her hospital bed, filmed by her husband, Chris Fischer. “The doctor found 30 spots of endometriosis that he removed. He removed my appendix because the endometriosis had attacked it." (Ryu, 9/20)

Reuters: Vax Van Seeks To Avert Super-Spreader Event At U.N. Summit 
In a new take on vaccine diplomacy, a free mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination station is welcoming world leaders and delegates at this week's U.N. General Assembly, seeking to avoid a super-spreader event. After a virtual meeting last year, about a third of the 193 U.N. states are planning to again send videos, but presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers for the remainder are due to travel to the United States. (Psaledakis, 9/20)

AP: Biden Aims To Enlist Allies In Tackling Climate, COVID, More
President Joe Biden planned to use his first address before the U.N. General Assembly to reassure other nations of American leadership on the global stage and call on allies to move quickly and cooperatively to address the festering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses. Biden, who arrived in New York on Monday evening to meet with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of Tuesday’s address, offered a full-throated endorsement of the body’s relevance and ambition at a difficult moment in history. (Madhani and Boak, 9/21)

AP: India To Resume Exports Of Coronavirus Vaccines In October
India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, will resume exports and donations of surplus coronavirus vaccines in October after halting them during a devastating surge in domestic infections in April, the health minister said Monday. Mansukh Mandaviya said the surplus vaccines will be used to fulfill India’s “commitment towards the world for the collective fight against COVID-19,” but vaccinating Indians will remain the government’s “topmost priority.” (Saaliq and Ghosal, 9/21)

AP: Thai Campaign To Vaccinate Schoolchildren Makes Progress
Health officials in the Thai capital made headway Tuesday in their effort to vaccinate children against the coronavirus, giving shots of the Pfizer vaccine to students aged 12 to 18 with underlying diseases. Vaccinations for that age bracket were first offered last month through hospitals, but now are arranged by schools. A separate campaign by a medical research institute on Monday began inoculating children aged 10 to 18 with China’s Sinopharm vaccine. On Tuesday, 1,500 students received shots of the Pfizer vaccine, 800 for the first time and 700 as a follow-up to their first shot in August. (Vejpongsa, 9/21)

AP: German Police: Man Arrested Over Killing In Row Over Mask
Police in Germany say a 49-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the killing of a gas station worker who was shot dead Saturday following a dispute over face masks. Authorities in the western town of Trier said late Monday that the suspect told officers he acted “out of anger” after the 20-year-old clerk at the gas station asked him to put on a mask. (9/21)

Stat: European Commission Seeks To Intervene In Illumina's Acquisition Of Grail
In an unusual step, the European Commission plans to intervene in the recent merger between Illumina (ILMN) and Grail because regulators were unable to finish reviewing the deal before it was completed, raising concerns that competition in the market for DNA sequencing tests will now be damaged. The move comes one month after Illumina stunned regulators by announcing it had closed its $8 billion acquisition, even though the EC had opened an investigation only weeks earlier at the prompting of France and five other European Union member states. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission had already filed a complaint last March to block the deal. (Silverman, 9/20)