First Edition: Sept. 5, 2023

KFF Health News: Workers Pay The Price While Congress And Employers Debate Need For Heat Regulations 
Sometimes the heat makes you vomit, said Carmen Garcia, a farmworker in the San Joaquin Valley of California. She and her husband spent July in the garlic fields, kneeling on the scorched earth as temperatures hovered above 105 degrees. Her husband had such severe fatigue and nausea that he stayed home from work for three days. He drank lime water instead of seeing a doctor because the couple doesn’t have health insurance. “A lot of people have this happen,” Garcia said. There are no federal standards to protect workers like the Garcias when days become excessively hot. And without bipartisan support from Congress, even with urgent attention from the Biden administration, relief may not come for years. (Maxmen, 9/5)

KFF Health News: Mississippi’s Cervical Cancer Deaths Indicate Broader Health Care Problems 
Shementé Jones knew something wasn’t right. Her back hurt. She felt pain during sex. She said she kept telling her doctor something was wrong. Her doctor told her, “Just wash your underwear in Dreft,” Jones said, referring to a brand of detergent. Within months of that 2016 appointment, Jones, who lives in a suburb of Jackson, Mississippi, was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer. She underwent a hysterectomy then weeks of radiation therapy. “I ended up fine,” said Jones, now 43. “But what about all the other women?” (Anderson, 9/5)

KFF Health News: NPR And KFF Health News Share The Story Of Two Health Heroes Who Helped Stop Smallpox 
KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, Céline Gounder, and Regina G. Barber, host of NPR’s podcast “Shortwave,” team up to discuss the work of two public health workers who went to great lengths — sometimes traveling by speedboat to remote islands — to root out smallpox in Bangladesh. Hear the full episode of “Speedboat Epidemiology” here — it’s Episode 4 of the latest season of the “Epidemic” podcast, “Eradicating Smallpox.” (9/5)

KFF Health News: Biden Administration Proposes New Standards To Boost Nursing Home Staffing
The proposal, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would require all facilities to increase staff up to certain minimum levels, but it included no money for nursing homes to pay for the new hires. CMS estimated that three-quarters of the nation’s 15,000 homes would need to add staff members. But the increases at many of those facilities would be minor, as the average nursing home already employs nurses and aides at, or very close to, the proposed levels. (Rau, 9/1)

KFF Health News and WBUR: When Temps Rise, So Do Medical Risks. Should Doctors And Nurses Talk More About Heat? 
An important email appeared in the inboxes of a small group of health care workers north of Boston as this summer started. It warned that local temperatures were rising into the 80s. An 80-plus-degree day is not sizzling by Phoenix standards. Even in Boston, it wasn’t high enough to trigger an official heat warning for the wider public. (Bebinger, 9/1)

KFF Health News and PolitiFact: Activist Misuses Federal Data To Make False Claim That Covid Vaccines Killed 676,000 
A blog post shared on Facebook claimed that covid-19 vaccines have killed some 676,000 Americans. The post was written by anti-vaccine activist Steve Kirsch, who has made other vaccine claims debunked by PolitiFact and other fact-checkers. Kirsch’s Aug. 6 post referred to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a federal database. (Kertscher, 9/1)

KFF Health News: How Far Will Montana’s Push To Remove Lead From School Drinking Water Go?
Montana’s legislature designated $3.7 million this spring to remove lead from school drinking-water supplies, then the state received $565,000 more on Aug. 1 from the $50 billion federal infrastructure package aiming to improve water systems nationally. But even with these two new pools of money intended to last two years, the state’s schools may struggle to remove all but the most dangerous sources of lead, considering about half the schools that tested their water between July 2020 and February 2022 found high lead levels. Medical experts say no amount of lead is safe to ingest. (Larson, 8/31)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': 3 Health Policy Experts You Should Know 
In this special episode, host Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, interviews three noted health policy experts. (8/31)

The New York Times: First Lady Tests Positive For Covid, But President Does Not
Jill Biden, the first lady, tested positive for Covid-19, the White House announced late Monday night, but she is experiencing only mild symptoms and will remain at the family home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where she and President Biden spent part of the weekend. Mr. Biden tested negative for the virus after the first lady’s diagnosis, a spokeswoman said. The president returned to the White House on Monday evening. Officials said Mr. Biden would continue to test on “a regular cadence” throughout the week and would monitor for possible signs of infection. (Shear, 9/4)

CNN: US Lab Tests Suggest New Covid-19 Variant BA.2.86 May Be Less Contagious And Less Immune-Evasive Than Feared
Two teams of US scientists have completed lab experiments testing the antibodies from vaccinated and infected Americans to see how well they might be able to fend off currently circulating variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, including the highly mutated BA.2.86. Their results match up almost exactly, and the news – at least when it comes to BA.2.86, which has also been dubbed Pirola – is very good. Our immune systems can recognize and fight off this variant as well as, and perhaps even a bit better than, the currently circulating offshoots of the XBB variant. (Goodman, 9/4)

Axios: A Late Summer COVID Wave Is Here, But It's Trickier Than Ever To Track
The anticipated late summer COVID wave is here – but it's tougher than ever to measure. With the end of federal COVID case tracking and the prevalence of rapid at-home testing, virus-related hospitalization rates and wastewater analyses are the best bet for monitoring spread. (Habeshian, 9/3)

CNBC: Covid: When To Wear Masks As Cases Rise, New Variants Emerge In U.S.
An uptick in Covid cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., and the emergence of new variants of the virus, are prompting questions about whether Americans should start masking up again. One thing’s for sure: People infected with Covid should wear masks around others to prevent the spread of the virus. For those not infected, the decision to mask depends on a few things. That includes your personal risk level, Covid rates in your region and who you might make contact with, public health experts said. (Constantino, 9/1)

AP: Court Revives Doctors' Lawsuit Saying FDA Overstepped Its Authority With Anti-Ivermectin Campaign
A federal appeals court Friday revived a lawsuit by three doctors who say the Food and Drug Administration overstepped its authority in a campaign against treating COVID-19 with the anti-parasite drug ivermectin. ... Drs. Robert L. Apter, Mary Talley Bowden and Paul E. Marik filed the lawsuit last year. All three said their reputations were harmed by the FDA campaign. Bowden lost admitting privileges at a Texas hospital, the ruling noted. Marik alleged he lost his positions at a medical school and at a hospital for promoting the use of ivermectin. (McGill, 9/1)

Stat: Humana Sues Biden Admin Over Medicare Advantage Audit Rule
Humana sued the federal government Friday, arguing that this year’s new rule to claw back overpayments from it and other Medicare Advantage insurers violates federal law due to its “shifting justifications and erroneous legal reasoning.” (Herman, 9/1)

Reuters: Novartis Sues US Government Over Medicare Drug Price Regulation
Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Friday said it had sued the U.S. government in an attempt to halt the Medicare drug-price negotiation program, which includes its top-selling heart-failure medicine Entresto. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, is the first since the Biden administration on Tuesday released its list of 10 prescription medicines that will be subject to price negotiations by the Medicare health program, which covers 66 million people. (Wingrove, 9/1)

Roll Call: HHS Releases Long-Awaited Nursing Home Staffing Proposal
The Biden administration released a proposed rule Friday morning that would mandate minimum staffing in nursing homes, but it fell short of what advocates had long been pushing for. The long-awaited proposed rule would mandate each resident receive at least three hours of direct care per day, with 33 minutes of that care coming from registered nurses. That standard falls below what the average nursing home already provides, according to experts. But the government said Friday 75 percent of nursing homes would have to increase staffing to comply with the proposed standard. (Hellmann, 9/1)

Politico: Slightly Higher Times: Biden Administration Moves To Loosen Weed Restrictions
The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that the Drug Enforcement Administration significantly loosen federal restrictions on marijuana but stopped short of advising that it should be entirely removed from the Controlled Substances Act. The health agency wants the drug moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA, potentially the biggest change in federal drug policy in decades. (Fertig and Demko, 8/30)

NPR: Congress Returns To Avoid Shutdown And Health Questions Swirl Around McConnell
Lawmakers return this week with one pressing challenge this month– avoiding a potential government shutdown. The Senate is back Tuesday to sort out the next steps on crafting a short-term funding bill that can pass before federal agencies run out of money on Sept. 30. But talk of the health of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., following another episode when he froze at a press conference last week, will also dominate Capitol Hill. (Walsh and Snell, 9/5)

The Washington Post: Poor Families Could See Cuts To Food Aid As Congress Battles Over Budget 
A federal program that helps poor families afford healthy food could see substantial benefit cuts starting in October, raising the prospect that roughly 6 million low-income Americans could become some of the earliest victims of an unresolved Washington budget battle. The looming cliff adds to the political pressure on Congress, which now has mere weeks to shore up the program’s finances, fund the federal government and avert a potentially catastrophic shutdown. (Romm, 9/3)

The New York Times: Jimmy Buffett Died Of Rare Form Of Skin Cancer
Jimmy Buffett died of skin cancer at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y., on Long Island, according to a statement on the singer-songwriter’s website. After Mr. Buffett died on Friday at age 76, his site announced the death but did not give a cause or specify where he died. In an update over the weekend, the website said that he had Merkel cell carcinoma for four years. A rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, Merkel cell is diagnosed only about 2,500 times a year in the United States, and until recent years it had carried a life expectancy of five months. (Sisario, 9/4)

Fox News: Merkel Cell Carcinoma, The Disease That Killed Jimmy Buffett: What To Know About This Illness 
MCC is a rare but aggressive type of skin cancer that is known to have a high rate of recurring and spreading, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation (SCF). Around 3,000 cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. That number is expected to reach 3,250 by 2025. The disease is 40 times rarer than melanoma, the SCF states on its website. (Rudy, 9/3)

Axios: Sizing Up AI's Promise And Limitations In Cancer Detection
Amid new signs that AI could transform cancer care, clinicians and health systems are taking stock of thorny ethical and practical questions that still stand in the way of the technology's widespread adoption. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and innovations like AI-enhanced mammography could detect cases sooner and cut down on unnecessary tests and treatments. (Saric, 9/5)

The Washington Post: CDC Warns Doctors To Look Out For Rare, Deadly Flesh-Eating Bacteria
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued a national alert warning health-care professionals to watch out for infections of Vibrio vulnificus, a rare flesh-eating bacteria that has killed at least 13 people on the Eastern Seaboard this year. ... Friday’s warning urges health-care providers to consider the bacteria as a possible cause of infected wounds, particularly if patients were exposed to warm coastal waters during hotter months. (Jeong, 9/2)

The Boston Globe: EEE Found In Mass. For First Time Since 2020, Just Ahead Of Labor Day Weekend
State public health officials have detected eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, in mosquitoes in Massachusetts for the first time since 2020, the Department of Public Health said Friday. Mosquito samples collected Wednesday in Douglas and Southbridge in Worcester County were confirmed to contain EEE by the State Public Health Laboratory, according to a statement from the DPH released just as the Labor Day three-day weekend was beginning, with many local families planning outdoor activities. (Little Endara, 9/1)

CIDRAP: Florida Reports New Dengue, Eastern Equine Encephalitis Cases 
In its latest arbovirus surveillance report, the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) reported one more locally acquired dengue cases and a second infection involving eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus. The report covers the epidemiologic week ending August 26. The dengue case is in Miami-Dade County, where most previous cases have been from. The new illness raises the total for the year to 16. Florida often reports sporadic local dengue infections, and Florida Health has noted that infected travelers can pass the virus to local mosquito populations. (Schnirring, 8/30)

AP: New Mexico Reports Man In Valencia County Is First West Nile Virus Fatality Of The Year
New Mexico has seen its first fatal case of West Nile virus this year, health officials said Friday. The state Department of Health reports a Valencia County man’s recent death is related to the virus. Statewide, 36 people have been diagnosed in 2023 with West Nile virus, which typically spreads to humans through a bite from an infected mosquito. (9/1)

USA Today: Meningococcal Disease: Vaccine, Symptoms, Details Amid VA Outbreak
An outbreak of meningococcal disease in Virginia is growing, state health officials announced this week, and nearly a half-dozen people have died as a result of the eruption. According to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), 27 cases of the disease, caused by a bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis type Y, have been identified in eastern, central, and southwest Virginia since June 2022. "This development is three times the expected number of cases during this time period," the department said in a news release. (Neysa Alund and Calello, 9/1)

CIDRAP: Report Describes MDR-TB Outbreak In Kansas, Neighboring State
Investigators say a rare outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in a social network in Kansas provides a "cautionary tale" for areas with low TB incidence. The outbreak, described today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, involved 13 people in Kansas and one in a neighboring state and was initially identified in a hospitalized infant in Kansas in November 2021. Resistance to the four drugs that constitute first-line TB therapy was confirmed by DNA sequencing and drug-susceptibility tests. Investigation by public health officials identified four additional members in the infant's household with MDR-TB. (Dall, 8/31)

CIDRAP: Meningococcal Group B Vaccine Associated With Reduced Gonorrhea Incidence 
A study conducted at two universities in Oregon suggests meningococcal group B vaccine (MBV) may offer protection against gonorrhea infection, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open. In the study, researchers with the Oregon Public Health Division analyzed gonorrhea incidence among more than 30,000 students ages 18 to 29 at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University who received one or more doses of MBV following group B meningococcal outbreaks on the two campuses in 2015 and 2016. (Dall, 8/31)

CIDRAP: Study: Ultraviolet Light Has No Measurable Impact On Healthcare-Associated Superbug Infections
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that room disinfection with ultraviolet-C (UV-C) devices had little impact on the incidence of healthcare-associated multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections, researchers reported today in Epidemiology & Infection. The study, conducted by Chinese researchers, analyzed nine previously studies that examined the impact of UV-C devices on the incidence of Clostridioides difficile, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria. (Dall, 8/30)

Modern Healthcare: Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer Steps Down
Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer has stepped down as head of the company and as a member of its board of directors, the company said Friday. Brewer and the board "mutually agreed" on Brewer's exit, which took effect Thursday, the company said in a news release. Walgreens said Brewer will advise the company while it conducts a search for a permanent CEO and receive a $375,000 monthly consulting fee through February. (Hudson, 9/1)

The Boston Globe: Brockton Hospital Closure Means Long Wait Times For Residents
The prolonged closure of Brockton Hospital, which is expected to last into next year, has disrupted life in this diverse city, leaving many residents scrambling to find providers, traveling farther for care, and waiting longer to be seen. The hospital closure has overwhelmed nearby emergency rooms and behavioral health clinics with an influx of new patients. The shutdown has also affected local businesses and forced displaced health care workers to look for new jobs. (Mohammed, 9/3)

Los Angeles Times: Healthcare Workers With Kaiser Permanente Rally For New Contract
A Labor Day demonstration that blocked part of Sunset Boulevard led to the peaceful arrest of roughly two dozen people protesting Kaiser Permanente’s labor practices in front of the HMO’s medical center in Hollywood. ... The protest is part of an ongoing dispute between the Oakland-based HMO and a coalition of unions representing roughly 40% of its workforce. (Purtill, 9/4)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Sues Pharmacy Benefit Firms Over Opioid Crisis
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the county alleged that Express Scripts Inc. and OptumRx Inc. colluded with drug manufacturers to promote dangerously addictive opioids as a safe and moderate pain treatment option. ... “Defendants are not bystanders in the opioid crisis,” the lawsuit said. “They helped fuel the fire.” (Ellis, 9/4)

Stateline: Death Rates For People Under 40 Have Skyrocketed. Blame Fentanyl
Accidental overdose became the No. 1 cause of death in 13 states for people under 40, overtaking suicide in nine states and vehicle accidents in five others; it’s now the top cause in 37 states. The only other change was in Mississippi, where homicide became the main cause of death, overtaking car accidents. In 40 states and the District of Columbia, overdose was the biggest increase in deaths for young people. (Henderson, 9/5)

AP: After Nearly 30 Years, Pennsylvania Will End State Funding For Anti-Abortion Counseling Centers 
For nearly 30 years, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania have approved millions of taxpayer dollars for an anti-abortion program. Now the state’s new governor plans to end the contract as the organization that distributes those funds and other groups like it gain attention since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Pennsylvania plans to end on Dec. 31 its longstanding contract with the nonprofit Real Alternatives, the first organization in the nation to secure significant state and federal subsidies to support anti-abortion counseling centers. Under the program, Real Alternatives distributed the state and federal funds to dozens of Pennsylvania centers, including Catholic Charities, anti-abortion counseling centers and maternity homes, which provide support and housing for pregnant women. (Schultz and Kruesi, 9/1)

AP: Ohio Votes On Abortion Rights This Fall. Misinformation About The Proposal Is Already Spreading 
An effort to guarantee access to abortion rights in Ohio, a November ballot measure, is already fueling misleading claims about how it could influence abortion care, gender-related health care and parental consent in the state. The proposed constitutional amendment would give Ohioans the right to make their own reproductive decisions. Backers say that since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, the proposal would restore a commonsense abortion protection that most Ohio voters can support. (Swenson and Fernando, 9/2)

News Service of Florida: A Federal Judge Won't Block A Florida Transgender Treatment Law
A federal judge on Friday refused to block a new Florida law making it more difficult for transgender adults to access hormone therapy and surgeries. But U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said he could issue a narrowly tailored injunction to ensure care for individual plaintiffs if they provide detailed medical records. (Kam, 9/4)

AP: Dying And Disabled Illinois Prisoners Kept Behind Bars, Despite New Medical Release Law
Phillip Merritt’s dementia is so advanced he’s lost the ability to speak. But with the help of his cellmates at Western Illinois Correctional Center, the 71-year-old still manages to get on the phone with his brother every few weeks. ... Merritt’s deteriorating condition makes him a prime candidate to get out of prison under the Joe Coleman Medical Release Act, a pivotal criminal justice reform bill touted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats as an effective way to alleviate the state’s decrepit prison health care system, reduce the “staggering” costs of caring for ailing people in prison, and reunite families with frail loved ones. ... But a year-and-a-half since the Coleman Act went into effect, an investigation by Injustice Watch and WBEZ found far fewer prisoners have been released under the law than expected, as the medical release process has become mired in the charged politics of criminal justice reform in the post-George Floyd era. (Ballesteros, Heffernan and Qin, 9/3)

AP: A Federal Judge Strikes Down A Texas Law Requiring Age Verification To View Pornographic Websites 
A federal judge has struck down a Texas law requiring age verification and health warnings to view pornographic websites and blocked the state attorney general’s office from enforcing it. In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge David Ezra agreed with claims that House Bill 1181, which was signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in June, violates free speech rights and is overbroad and vague. (Miller, 9/1)

The Washington Post: Early-Childhood Screen Time Linked To Developmental Delays In Study 
For 1-year-olds, spending two or more hours a day in front of screens — for television, video, mobile phones or other digital devices — may increase their chances of experiencing developmental delays in subsequent years, according to research published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Based on data on 7,097 children, the study found that as screen time increased, so did the likelihood of developmental delays, primarily in communication and problem-solving skills. (Searing, 9/4)

Reuters: 'Barbie Botox' Goes Viral But Doctors Inject Caution
The viral trend of "Barbie Botox" that has women as young as in their 20s rush for toxin-based procedures to mimic the looks of the movie's lead actress Margot Robbie may lead to resistance among them and hinder medical use in future, doctors cautioned. The procedure, also known as "Trap Tox", has been widely used by doctors to inject a class of drugs known as botulinum toxins, such as Botox, into the trapezius muscles of the upper back to treat migraines and shoulder pain. (Leo, 9/1)

The Washington Post: Doctors Left Dinner-Plate-Sized Tool In Woman After C-Section, Report Says
A New Zealand woman visited multiple doctors for help with severe abdominal pain after having a Caesarean section in 2020. But when she underwent a CT scan about a year later, doctors had no problem identifying the cause of her agony, according to a new report. The scan found that during the woman’s C-section, doctors had left a piece of equipment about the size of a dinner plate in her abdomen, the report alleges. About 18 months after the woman’s original procedure, doctors removed an Alexis wound retractor — a soft, round plastic device that retracts the edges of an incision during surgery — from the woman’s abdomen, the report states. (Melnick, 9/5)