First Edition: Sept. 22, 2023

KFF Health News: Biden Administration To Ban Medical Debt From Americans’ Credit Scores
New rules would also represent one of the most significant federal actions to tackle medical debt, a problem that burdens about 100 million people and forces legions to take on extra work, give up their homes, and ration food and other essentials, a KFF Health News-NPR investigation found. ... Enacting new regulations can be a lengthy process. Administration officials said Thursday that the new rules would be developed next year.(Levey, 9/21)

KFF Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast: Countdown To Shutdown
Congress appears to be careening toward a government shutdown, as a small band of House conservatives vow to block any funding for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 unless they win deeper cuts to health and other domestic programs. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to roil the GOP presidential primary field, this time with comments about abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too. (9/21)

The Hill: White House To Propose Removing Medical Bills From Credit Reports
In a press release, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said the proposal would help to “stop debt collectors from coercing people into paying bills they may not even owe, and ensure that creditors are not relying on data that is often plagued with inaccuracies and mistakes.” (Choi, 9/21)

AP: Medicaid Coverage Restored To About A Half-Million People After Computer Errors In Many States
In late August, CMS warned that some state computer systems were flagging entire households for further information — and dropping all family members when no one responded — instead of reviewing each individual separately and automatically renewing children who remain eligible. It sent letters to all states asking them to verify their compliance with federal rules. (Lieb, 9/21)

The Boston Globe: ‘Glitch’ Deprived Some 4,800 Mass. Residents Of Medicaid Coverage
“The most important piece is every single one of those states is required to pause procedural disenrollments for anyone impacted by this glitch, to reinstate people until they can regain coverage, and continue pausing procedural disenrollments until they have a fix in place to ensure no eligible individuals are losing their Medicaid enrollment because of this issue,” said Dan Tsai, director of the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services, in the briefing. (Bartlett, 9/21)

AP: Mississippi GOP Governor Says His Plan Would Aid Hospitals; Democrat Pushes For Medicaid Expansion 
Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves released a proposal Thursday aimed at helping some of the state’s financially struggling hospitals, even as the Democrat who is trying to unseat him has spent months hammering Reeves for opposing Medicaid expansion in one of the poorest states in the nation. Hospitals would pay some higher taxes as a way to receive substantially more federal Medicaid money, Mississippi Medicaid director Drew Snyder said. Reeves said the changes are projected to generate $689 million, which would be split among hospitals. (Wagster Pettus, 9/21)

AP: North Carolina Legislature Gives Initial OK To Budget, Which Also Would Start Medicaid Expansion 
The Republican-controlled General Assembly gave initial approval Thursday to a long-delayed North Carolina budget that speeds up individual income tax cuts, broadens private-school scholarships to all K-12 children and initiates other right-leaning changes. If enacted the final plan also would trigger Medicaid expansion coverage to hundreds of thousands of adults — a longstanding priority for Democrats led by Gov. Roy Cooper. (Robertson, 9/21)

Reuters: US Court Weighs Insurance Coverage For Gender Transition Treatments
A federal appeals court on Thursday appeared torn on whether state health insurance plans must cover surgeries and other treatments as part of gender transition, in a pair of appeals by North Carolina and West Virginia. The full Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not clearly indicate at oral arguments how it would rule in either case, as judges peppered both sides with questions. Of the 14 judges now on the court, eight were appointed by Democratic presidents, and six by Republicans. (Pierson, 9/21)

AP: Appeals Court Takes Up Transgender Health Coverage Case Likely Headed To Supreme Court 
A federal appeals court is considering cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia that could have significant implications on whether individual states are required to cover health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance. The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in cases Thursday involving the coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid. (Willingham, 9/21)

AP: Some Providers Are Dropping Gender-Affirming Care For Kids Even In Cases Where It's Legal
As Republican-led states have rushed to ban gender-affirming for minors, some families with transgender children found a bit of solace: At least they lived in states that would allow those already receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to continue. But in some places, including Missouri and North Dakota, the care has abruptly been halted because medical providers are wary of harsh liability provisions in those same laws — one of multiple reasons that advocates say care has become harder to access even where it remains legal. (Salter and Mulvihill, 9/22)

The Hill: New COVID Vaccine Campaign Off To A Bumpy Start
Major health insurance providers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna and Kaiser Permanente, said they planned to cover the COVID-19 shots as routine vaccinations when reached for comment by The Hill. Providers like Cigna and Anthem did not immediately respond when reached for comment or deferred inquiries to AHIP, the health insurance trade association. “Health insurance providers are working with the federal government and pharmacy and provider partners to ensure that everyone has access to ACIP-recommended vaccines, without cost sharing,” AHIP said in a statement to The Hill. (Choi, 9/21)

AP: Booking A COVID-19 Vaccine? Some Are Reporting Canceled Appointments Or Insurance Issues
Some people seeking the newest COVID-19 vaccine are running into high demand, insurance headaches and supply delays coast to coast. Millions of the newly formulated vaccines have shipped out since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on them last week for ages 6 months and up. Cases started rising again in late summer, and experts hope that the new shots will help protect people during the upcoming fall respiratory virus season. (Shastri, 9/21)

The Hill: COVID Concerns Tick Up In New Gallup Poll
Three in 10 Americans believe the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening, while more than 1 in 4 worry about being infected, according to a new Gallup poll. The new poll, published Thursday, found that 30 percent of respondents said the ongoing pandemic is worsening, while 41 percent think it’s getting better and 30 percent said it has stayed the same. (Oshin, 9/21)

The Boston Globe: State Officials Monitoring COVID-19 ‘Cluster’ At Holyoke Veterans’ Home As 10 Residents Test Positive
State officials are monitoring a “cluster” of COVID-19 cases at the Holyoke Veterans home as 10 residents have tested positive for the virus since last weekend, according to the state Executive Office of Veterans Services. Formerly known as the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home where a COVID outbreak killed at least 76 veterans in 2020, the facility has implemented universal masking throughout the facility and exposed staff members are being tested daily. (Stoico, 9/21)

Los Angeles Times: Bay Area Healthcare Workers Will Have To Mask As Threat Of COVID, Flu Looms
Healthcare workers in several Bay Area counties will soon be required to wear masks in patient care settings as the region contends with continued coronavirus transmission and looks ahead to the wider respiratory virus season. The mandates, which go into effect Nov. 1, require health officials in Contra Costa, Alameda, Sonoma and San Mateo counties to wear masks in hospitals and other settings where patients will be getting care indoors. (Lin, 9/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bonta Sues Anti-Abortion Clinics That Push Unproven Reversal Protocol
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that his office has filed a lawsuit against two operators of so-called crisis pregnancy centers — including one with five locations in the Bay Area — alleging they are making fraudulent claims in advertising an unproven and potentially risky protocol to reverse medication abortion. ... The complaint alleges the organizations are illegally advertising “abortion pill reversal” — a protocol in which high levels of progesterone are taken within 72 hours after taking the abortion medication drug mifepristone. (Ho, 9/21)

The Hill: California Files Lawsuit Against Organizations Promoting Unproven Abortion Pill Reversal Treatment
“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance — not lies and misinformation,” California Attorney General Robert Bonta (D) said in a statement. “And let me be clear: the evidence shows that the vast majority of people do not regret their decision to have an abortion — more than 95% of patients who undergo an abortion later say they made the right decision. (Suter, 9/21)

The New York Times: FTC Sues Anesthesia Group Backed By Private Equity, Claiming Antitrust
After vowing to tackle consolidation in the health care industry, the Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit on Thursday that challenged the growing practice of private-equity firms backing companies that amass medical practices and dominate local markets. The suit targeted a large doctors’ group that operates anesthesia practices in several states, claiming the group and the private equity firm advising and financing it were consolidating doctors’ groups in Texas so they could raise prices and increase their profits. (Abelson and Sanger-Katz, 9/21)

Modern Healthcare: FTC Sues USAP, Private Equity Owner Alleging Anticompetitive Actions
The FTC filed a complaint Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas alleging that the company created a monopoly by buying up nearly every large anesthesia practice in Texas, made price-setting agreements with remaining independent practices and struck a deal with an unnamed competitor to keep it out of the market. The agency seeks, in part, a permanent injunction preventing any alleged anticompetitive conduct. (Kacik, 9/21)

Politico: Senate Health Panel Advances $26 Billion Primary Care Bill
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday advanced legislation aimed at strengthening access to primary care in a 14-7 vote, despite tensions between committee leadership. The $26 billion package, introduced by Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), budgets billions in funding for community health centers and to bolster the doctor, nursing and dentist workforces. Three Republicans — Marshall and Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — voted with every Democrat to approve the bill. (Wilson, 9/21)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Facility Fees Face Limitations Under Senate Bill
Hospitals face cuts for off-site and telehealth services under legislation the Senate health committee approved Thursday. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act of 2023 on a bipartisan 14 to 7 vote. ... The measure would provide funding to support a variety of programs including federally qualified health centers, teaching hospitals, the National Health Service Corps, medical and nursing schools, and rural hospitals. (McAuliff, 9/21)

The Washington Post: House Republicans Fail To Move Defense Bill As Government Shutdown Looms
After several setbacks over the past two weeks, a majority of House Republicans believed their luck would change early Thursday after finding a solution hours earlier to end a blockade that prevented them from advancing the Defense Department appropriations bill. But in a stunning defeat that McCarthy admitted he did not foresee, two new objectors emerged and caused the typically noncontroversial procedural hurdle to fail for the second time this week. (Sotomayor, Ann Caldwell and Kane, 9/21)

Politico: Senate Dems To Agencies: Get In Alignment On Drinking Water
Senate Democrats kicked off an effort Wednesday to align agencies charged with ensuring safe drinking water access to communities. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resource Subcommittee on Water and Power, announced the effort during a hearing emphasizing the need for more data on drinking water access, which he said affects more than 2 million Americans. (Yachnin, 9/21)

Politico: Republican Senators Demand EPA Pull Back Soot Plan
Almost two dozen Republican senators have joined a late-breaking chorus of calls for EPA to scrap plans for tightening a key national standard for airborne soot. The agency's January proposal released in January "fails to consider several important factors that will make implementation of a lower annual standard extremely difficult, or in some cases impossible, to no measurable benefits to public health, the environment, or the economy," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and 22 other GOP lawmakers wrote in a letter released Thursday morning. (Reilly, 9/21)

Reuters: Medical Staffing Co. Says "Surprise Billing" Ban Hastened Bankruptcy
American Physician Partners, which until recently provided outsourced emergency room services to 150 U.S. hospitals, said Thursday that a ban on so-called "surprise" medical bills hastened the company's descent into bankruptcy. (Knauth, 9/21)

Politico: PhRMA Hires New Top Lobbyist
Steve Tilton, the lead lobbyist for Takeda, is being named the new top lobbyist for drugmakers’ most powerful industry group, the organization confirmed. It’s a consequential hire for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which is fighting to regain its footing following the industry’s biggest legislative loss in decades with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. (Wilson, 9/21)

Reuters: Walgreens Hit With Lawsuit After FDA Warning Over Eyedrops
Walgreens was hit with a proposed class action in Florida federal court over claims it mislabeled eyedrops for treating pink eye and misled consumers into believing the product was safe and effective. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, follows warning letters that the FDA sent to Illinois-based Walgreens and several other companies last week about selling and marketing eye care products that the agency said posed a risk to users. The FDA has not approved the products at issue. (Novak Jones, 9/22)

Politico: CMS Promises Stricter Oversight Of Medicare Advantage
A top official at CMS promised to get “tougher” on Medicare Advantage plans amid growing complaints about care denials and access. CMS Deputy Administrator Jon Blum discussed what he considers flaws in the growing program during a session Thursday at the National Association of ACOs’ fall conference in Washington. Blum’s remarks could belie CMS’ thinking on how to handle a program more than half of all Medicare beneficiaries participate in. (King, 9/21)

Reuters: US EPA Says No Immediate Lead Health Threats From Telecom Cables
The U.S. environmental regulator said Thursday soil sampling for lead in two Pennsylvania towns near telecommunications cables indicate "no threats to the health of people nearby that would warrant" an immediate government response, despite some findings of the pollutant. The Environmental Protection Agency testing was prompted by an investigation by the Wall Street Journal of lead covered telecommunications cables across the United States. EPA sampled soil for lead near telecommunications cables in the Pennsylvania towns of Coal Center and California. (Shepardson, 9/21)

The Wall Street Journal: How Well People ‘Think’ They Slept Might Matter More Than How They Actually Slept
How satisfied people are with their night’s sleep has a major impact on how well they feel the next day, regardless of what a tracking device might indicate about the quality of that sleep. (Sadick, 9/21)

CIDRAP: Smallpox Vaccine Given Years Before 72% To 75% Effective Against Mpox, Data Reveal
In a research letter today in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers estimate that a smallpox vaccine dose given a median of 13 years earlier is 72% to 75% effective against mpox among US veterans. (Van Beusekom, 9/21)

CIDRAP: NYC Hospital System Reports Rise In Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella Infections 
Analysis of data from a large public healthcare system in New York City shows concerning changes in the numbers and epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections since 2016. The data, published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, show a notable increase in CRKP infections in the New York City Health and Hospitals Enterprise during the COVID-19 pandemic, more cases originating in the community, and the rise of newer resistance mechanisms that challenge first-line antibiotics. (Dall, 9/21)

CIDRAP: Both Paxlovid, Molnupiravir Lower COVID Omicron Deaths, Hospitalizations, Studies Conclude
Two new studies describe the benefits of the antiviral drugs nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) and molnupiravir in reducing SARS-CoV-2 Omicron hospitalizations and death, with one finding that the former is more effective than the latter at lowering death rates. Paxlovid and molnupiravir are used to treat nonhospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk for severe illness within 5 days after symptom onset. (Van Beusekom, 9/21)

Reuters: Big Pharma Bets On AI To Speed Up Clinical Trials
Major drugmakers are using artificial intelligence to find patients for clinical trials quickly, or to reduce the number of people needed to test medicines, both accelerating drug development and potentially saving millions of dollars. Human studies are the most expensive and time-consuming part of drug development as it can take years to recruit patients and trial new medicines in a process that can cost over a billion dollars from the discovery of a drug to the finishing line. (Grover and Coulter, 9/22)

Reuters: AstraZeneca And Daiichi's Breast Cancer Drug Meets Goal In Study
AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said on Friday its experimental precision drug had slowed the progression of a common type of breast cancer in a late-stage trial, a boost for the company after its shares fell in July on results from a separate trial of the same drug for lung cancer. The drug, datopotamab deruxtecan, which AstraZeneca is jointly developing with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo (4568.T), is being closely watched by analysts and investors in part due to the promise of the class of drugs to which it belongs, known as antibody drug conjugates (ADC). (Fick, 9/22)

Crain's Chicago Business: Outcome Health's Rishi Shah Spent Over $6M Fighting Fraud Charges
Outcome Health co-founder Rishi Shah spent more than $6 million on defense attorneys to fight federal fraud charges, but he wanted to spend much more. That’s why he deserves a new trial, he says in a new court filing. It’s a curious, convoluted argument that underscores how far the millionaire startup founder is going to hang onto his money and his freedom for as long as he can. (Pletz, 9/21)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealth Group To Trim Medicare Advantage Plans In 2024
UnitedHealth Group plans to trim its Medicare Advantage offerings next year, the company informed providers in a notice distributed Thursday. UnitedHealthcare is the leading Medicare Advantage insurer with a 29% market share, according to data analyzed by KFF, and expects membership to grow by more than 900,000 this year. (Tepper, 9/21)

The New York Times: Advances In Eye Scans And Protein Structure Win 2023 Lasker Awards
The prestigious Lasker Awards were given on Thursday to scientists making advances in the diagnosis of eye disease, the prediction of cellular protein structure and the intricacies of the immune system. The awards, closely watched by researchers in biomedical fields, often foreshadow Nobel Prizes. The Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award was given to a team of three scientists, led by James G. Fujimoto, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped invent optical coherence tomography. (Weiland and Metz, 9/21)

The Boston Globe: Resident Union Accuses Mass General Brigham Of Unfair Labor Moves
The union for medical residents and fellows at Mass General Brigham has filed unfair labor practice charges against the state’s largest health system with the National Labor Relations Board, records show. ... “Changes to trainee benefits, which included a $10,000 stipend for residents and clinical fellows, were announced in March prior to both the petition for unionization and subsequent vote,” Mass General Brigham said in a statement. (Andersen, 9/21)

AP: Over 200 People Are Homeless After Tucson Recovery Community Closes During Medicaid Probe 
A huge addiction recovery community in Tucson, Arizona, shuttered suddenly this week, leaving more than 200 people homeless as Arizona investigates widespread Medicaid fraud largely affecting Native Americans, authorities said Thursday. Ocotillo Apartments & Hotel, a rundown complex that was being used as a sober living community, closed Wednesday. (Snow, 9/22)

Politico: Youth In Utah Climate Case Cite Montana Win To Give Them New Life
The law firm that won a landmark climate victory in Montana is pointing to that case to argue that a similar youth-led case against the state of Utah should proceed to trial. (Clark, 9/21)