First Edition: Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024

KFF Health News: He Went In For A Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 For Two
Tom Contos is an avid runner. When he started experiencing rectal bleeding in March, he thought exercise could be the cause and tried to ignore it. But he became increasingly worried when the bleeding continued for weeks. The Chicago health care consultant contacted his physician at Northwestern Medicine, who referred him for a diagnostic colonoscopy, at least partly because Contos, 45, has a family history of colon issues. (Meyer, 12/19)

KFF Health News: Obamacare Sign-Ups Lag After Trump Election, Legal Challenges
New enrollments under the Affordable Care Act are on pace to trail last year’s record numbers by as many as a million as the outgoing Biden administration confronts upheavals in the program. Donald Trump’s election to a second term has cast uncertainty around the future of the health law. In addition, the Biden administration implemented cumbersome policies to reduce fraudulent enrollment and is combating a lawsuit that aims to block immigrants who lack legal residency from buying insurance under the program. (Appleby, 12/19)

KFF Health News: Democratic Senators Ask Watchdog Agency To Investigate Georgia’s Medicaid Work Rule
Three Democratic senators asked the country’s top nonpartisan government watchdog on Tuesday to investigate the costs of a Georgia program that requires some people to work to receive Medicaid coverage. The program, called “Georgia Pathways to Coverage,” is the nation’s only active Medicaid work requirement. Pathways has cost tens of millions in federal and state dollars on administration and consulting fees while enrolling 5,542 people as of Nov. 1, according to KFF Health News’ reporting. (Miller, Rayasam and Whitehead, 12/18)

MedPage Today: Health Spending Up 7.5% In 2023, CMS Says 
Health spending in the U.S. rose by 7.5% in 2023, to $4.9 trillion, compared with an increase of 4.6% in 2022, according to figures released Wednesday by CMS. "Much of the growth came from faster growth and spending [by] private health insurance, which increased 11.5%, and Medicare, which increased 8.1%," Anne Martin, of the CMS Office of the Actuary, said during a briefing sponsored by Health Affairs. "For Medicaid, although spending and enrollment continue to increase, the rates of growth were lower in 2023 compared with 2022 -- Medicaid spending grew by 7.9% in 2023 compared with 9.7% growth in 2022." (Frieden, 12/18)

Axios: Spending On Hospital Care Surged In 2023: CMS
U.S spending on hospital care grew at its fastest clip in more than three decades last year, according to a new federal analysis of health expenditures. Higher demand for medical procedures, including more Medicare patients receiving outpatient care, helped drive a 10.4% year-over-year spending surge on hospitals while prices for services remained relatively stable. (Goldman, 12/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Are Americans Paying So Much More for Healthcare Than They Used to?
The killing of a health insurance executive in New York City prompted a furious outpouring of anger over the industry and healthcare prices. So just how much have healthcare costs and spending been going up? The short answer: a lot. National healthcare spending increased 7.5% year over year in 2023 to $4.867 trillion, or $14,570 per person, according to data released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  (Torry, 12/18)

The New York Times: Suspect In Insurance C.E.O.’s Murder Is Said To Face Federal Charges
The suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive on a Manhattan sidewalk this month will now face federal charges in addition to the state murder indictment brought against him, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. ... Federal charges would potentially allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty, which has been outlawed in New York for decades. (Marcius, Rashbaum and Meko, 12/18)

NBC News: U.S. Reports First Severe Human Case Of Bird Flu
A person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with bird flu — the country’s first severe human H5N1 infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The patient is experiencing severe respiratory illness related to H5N1 infection and is currently hospitalized in critical condition,” said Emma Herrock, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Health Department. (Bush, 12/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bird Flu Rise Prompts California To Declare State Of Emergency
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to boost the state’s response to the avian flu, which has infected more than 600 dairy herds and 34 people in the state amid a national outbreak that began in the spring. The proclamation gives state and local agencies additional flexibility on staffing, contracting and other rules to support the H5N1 response, according to a statement from the governor’s office. (Ho, 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: More L.A. Cats Appear To Be Infected With H5N1 Bird Flu
Experts believe three more cats in Los Angeles County have been infected with H5N1 bird flu. Two others succumbed to the disease earlier this month after drinking recalled raw milk from Fresno-based Raw Farm LLC dairies. Of the three new sick cats, two died and one tested positive for influenza A, an unusual finding in domestic cats that haven’t been exposed to infected birds or contaminated dairy products. (Rust, 12/18)

CBS News: Wisconsin Reports Its First Human Case Of Bird Flu
Wisconsin has identified its first human case of the bird flu. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Wednesday that it had detected presumptive positive human case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A, or H5N1 in Barron County. ... The Wisconsin DHS said the human case followed an infected flock of commercial poultry in the same county. The person who contracted the disease had contact with the flock. (Harrington, Moniuszko and Padilla, 12/18)

CIDRAP: Despite Guidelines, Few US Children Receiving Flu Antivirals 
National guidelines recommend the use of antiviral drugs in children diagnosed with influenza, but only 30% of children and adolescents at higher risk for influenza complications were prescribed antivirals during outpatient visits, according to a study yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Soucheray, 12/18)

USA Today: Americans Are Living Longer, Thanks To Pandemic's End, Fewer Opioid Deaths
Average life expectancy in the U.S. increased by almost a year in 2023, rebounding to a level not reached since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. average life expectancy was 78.4 years in 2023 ‒ nearly 11 months longer than in 2022 ‒ mostly due to far fewer COVID-19 deaths. It was the second consecutive year the nation's life expectancy increased after dropping more than two years from 2019 to 2021. (Alltucker, 12/19)

The New York Times: Trump, Egged On By Musk, Condemns Spending Deal, Raising Fears Of Government Shutdown 
A bipartisan spending deal to avert a shutdown was on life support on Wednesday after President-elect Donald J. Trump condemned it, leaving lawmakers without a strategy to fund the government past a Friday night deadline. Mr. Trump issued a scathing statement ordering Republicans not to support the sprawling bill, piling on to a barrage of criticism from Elon Musk, who spent Wednesday trashing the measure on social media and threatening any Republican who supported it with political ruin. (Edmondson and Hulse, 12/18)

The New York Times: What’s Inside The Spending Bill To Avoid A Government Shutdown? 
The stopgap spending bill congressional leaders agreed on this week began as a simple funding measure to keep government funds flowing past a Friday night deadline and into early next year, long after House Republicans elect a speaker and President-elect Donald J. Trump is sworn in. But by the time it was rolled out to lawmakers on Tuesday night, it had transformed into a true Christmas tree of a bill, adorned with all manner of unrelated policy measures in the kind of year-end catchall that Republicans have long derided. It is a 1,547-page behemoth of a package with provisions including foreign investment restrictions, new health care policies and a stadium site for the Washington Commanders. (Edmondson, 12/18)

The Hill: Johnson Considers Plan B Amid Trump World Opposition To Spending Deal
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is looking at a plan B to fund the government ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline as Republicans inside and outside the Capitol, including President-elect Trump and his allies, slam his spending package. The back-up option Johnson is examining is a “clean” continuing resolution, two sources familiar with the matter told The Hill. That would entail dropping the additional provisions that were included in the initial 1,500-page spending package negotiated by congressional leaders, including disaster aid and economic assistance for farmers. (Schnell, 12/18)

The Washington Post: Senate Passes Pentagon NDAA That Set Off Transgender-Care Debate 
The Senate on Wednesday passed an $895.2 billion defense policy bill that sparked controversy when House Speaker Mike Johnson amended the legislation with language forbidding the use of federal funds to cover specialized medical care for the transgender children of U.S. military personnel. Though several Senate Democrats protested Johnson’s 11th-hour maneuver, the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved 85-14 — a comfortable margin that belied the depth of frustration among lawmakers who said the legislation, as written, discriminates against thousands of military families and their right to health care. The bill heads next to the president, who is expected to sign it into law. Several senior Democratic senators said that while they shared their colleagues’ frustration with the transgender-care provision, the NDAA was too important to fail. (Hauslohner, 12/18)

AP: Biden Gender Policy Council's Fate Is Uncertain Under Trump
During the transition period between President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, there has been at least some coordination on West Wing affairs. But not when it comes to Biden’s Gender Policy Council, which has worked to defend reproductive health care in the face of growing restrictions. The first-of-its kind office was an effort to drive policy that would make life better for women and girls in the U.S. and in the world. Over the past four years, it has sought to advance reproductive freedom, make pay more equitable and increase participation by women in the workforce. It was formed through an executive order by Biden in September 2021, and members of his Cabinet have representatives on the council. (Long, 12/18)

Roll Call: Supreme Court To Hear Case Over Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding 
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a dispute over South Carolina’s effort to keep Planned Parenthood facilities from receiving Medicaid funding, the latest step in the state’s yearslong battle to defund the provider because it offers abortion care. (Macagnone, 12/18)

AP: Arizona Governor Urges The State To Stop Collecting Abortion Data, Citing Patient Privacy
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is calling for legislators to repeal the state law that requires an annual abortion report, saying that it infringes on patients’ privacy, which echoes other Democratic officials’ push to reduce or eliminate such requirements. “The government has no place in surveilling Arizonans’ medical decision-making or tracking their health history,” Hobbs, a Democrat in a state where Republicans control the Legislature, said in a statement Wednesday as the state released its report covering 2023. “Starting a family is a sensitive and personal experience for a woman and her loved ones; there should be no room for government surveillance and publication of that decision.” (Mulvihill, 12/18)

ProPublica: If You’re Pregnant, Here’s What You Should Know About the Medical Procedures That Could Save Your Life
Women experiencing pregnancy loss in states with abortion bans told us they wished they had known what to expect and how to advocate for themselves. We created this guide for anyone who finds themselves in the same position. We wrote it in consultation with dozens of doctors, including those who hold positions at leading medical organizations and those who regularly treat patients who are miscarrying. (Surana and Presser, 12/19)

The Hill: Hawley: Kennedy Supports Restrictions On Abortion Pill Mifepristone
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, pledged to support efforts to reimpose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone if Trump wants to. Hawley told reporters Wednesday he suggested to Kennedy during a Tuesday meeting that “it would be a wise idea to return to the rule under the last Trump administration, which required in-person dispensing” of the drug.  (Weixel, 12/18)

The Boston Globe: RFK Jr. Is Telling Republican Senators What They Want To Hear
The moment he arrived on Capitol Hill this week as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confronted with perhaps the top task of his confirmation: papering over his decades-long record of controversy. ... The fact that Kennedy needed to declare his support for the polio vaccine, one of the great medical advances of the 20th century, stems from a New York Times report that one of his top advisers had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval for the life-saving injection. (Brodey and Puzzanghera, 12/19)

The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Tries To Build Momentum For HHS Candidacy On Capitol Hill
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrived on Capitol Hill this week with a clear goal: build support for his controversial selection to lead the nation’s health agencies. So far, so good. Kennedy has met with more than a dozen GOP senators, with many lawmakers praising those conversations and signaling that they plan to vote to confirm him as secretary of health and human services next year. (Diamond, Roubein and Liss-Roy, 12/18)

AP: What Americans Think Of RFK Jr. And His Health Stances 
The kids seen by Dolores Mejia around suburban Phoenix have been growing heavier in recent years. Their parents, too, she says. Mejia, a 75-year-old retiree, says she’s also had her own weight struggles on the scale. That’s why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again” as he campaigned alongside Donald Trump caught her attention. She liked the questions Kennedy raised about the role of processed foods in America’s obesity epidemic. After hearing Kennedy out, she concluded: “We cannot trust the health organizations we’ve trusted for years to tell us that our foods are safe.” (Seitz and Sanders, 12/18)

The Washington Post: U.S. Accuses CVS Of Unlawfully Filling Opioid Prescriptions 
The Justice Department on Wednesday accused CVS Pharmacy of incentivizing pharmacists to fill illegal opioid prescriptions for more than a decade, a practice that fueled the nation’s opioid crisis. The complaint, filed in Providence, Rhode Island, where CVS is headquartered, alleges that the country’s largest retail pharmacy violated the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act by filling prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked legitimate medical purpose or were not valid, including prescriptions for “dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids.” (Ziegler, 12/18)

Modern Healthcare: CMS' TEAM Could Cost Some Hospitals Hundreds: Report 
A mandatory hospital payment model finalized this year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could make earnings uncertain for providers, researchers said. Under the Transforming Episode Accountability Model, or TEAM, hospitals could lose out on an average of $500 per episode of care covered in the model, according to a December report from the Institute for Accountable Care. But the forecast results vary widely: Hospitals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region could gain an average of $900 per episode of included care, the report said, while Denver providers stand to lose $1,300 per episode, on average. (Early, 12/18)

Modern Healthcare: Group Medicare Advantage Costs Rising For Public Sector Plans
Jessica Linart was shocked at the Medicare Advantage premiums insurers proposed for covering retired Colorado civil servants next year. Linart, director of insurance for the Colorado Public Employee Retirement Association, had grown accustomed to health insurance companies making competitive bids for group Medicare Advantage contracts. In the past, insurers pitched multiyear deals that locked in affordable rates. Not this time, she said. (Tepper, 12/18)

Modern Healthcare: Steward Health Layoffs To Hit 848 People At Pennsylvania Hospital
About 850 employees will be laid off when Steward Health Care closes Sharon Regional Medical Center in Pennsylvania early next year. Layoffs will be effective Jan. 6 and include 149 professional staff members and 699 line staff members, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification documents filed this week. (Hudson, 12/18)

Military.com: VA Review Finds Underused Therapists And Misused Scheduling For Mental Health Care At Georgia Clinic 
A program designed to educate veterans on the various treatments for mental health conditions actually hindered access to medical care and contributed to the underuse of six therapists at a Georgia Veterans Affairs clinic, a Department of Veterans Affairs investigation found. The VA's Office of Inspector General found evidence that the Hinesville VA Outpatient Clinic did not adequately manage its Choose My Therapy program, which informs patients of the different types of available care. The clinic also did not use its scheduling tools properly, leading to delays in care. (Kime, 12/18)

AP: Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott Reveals Another $2 Billion In Donations In 2024 
Billionaire author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott acknowledged another $2 billion in donations in a blog post on Wednesday, bringing the total she’s given away since 2019 to $19.2 billion. She also revealed new information about how she was managing her wealth, saying she had directed advisors to invest her funds into “mission-aligned ventures.” Most of the grants she made in 2024, she said, went to bolstering economic security and opportunities. (Beaty, 12/18)

AP: Wisconsin School Shooter Had 2 Guns And Got Messages From Man Accused Of Plotting His Own Attack
The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday. ... A California judge, meanwhile, issued a restraining order Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others. (Richmond, Bauer and Foley, 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: Alameda County Family Sues Amazon One Medical Over Father's Death
An Alameda County family is suing Amazon One Medical, alleging a 45-year-old father of two collapsed and died shortly after he had a video consultation with the telehealth clinic. Philip Tong had a history of diabetes and, according to the lawsuit, was having trouble breathing and was coughing up blood. The suit also mentioned his feet had turned blue. During a video appointment with Amazon’s medical service providers on Dec. 18, 2023, he was told to buy an inhaler. (Hernandez, 12/18)

Axios: Heroin Use Skyrockets In The West: Data
Heroin use among people who also use fentanyl appears to have seen a "dramatic" rise in the span of just a few months, particularly in the western U.S., according to new data from specialty lab Millennium Health provided first to Axios. "Not only was it a significant jump in heroin positivity, it seemingly happened almost overnight," Dawson told Axios. (Reed, 12/19)

ProPublica: Sen. Blumenthal Urges “Science-Based” EPA Approach On Formaldehyde Risk
Citing a recent ProPublica investigation, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., urged the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter this week to issue a final report on the health risks of formaldehyde that is “science-based” and “as strong as possible,” adding that “the agency has an obligation to protect the public from the chemical.” Formaldehyde, used for everything from preserving dead bodies to binding wood products and producing plastic, is extremely widespread and causes far more cancer than any toxic air pollutant. (Lerner, 12/18)

The Washington Post: What We Just Found Out About The Possible Tie Between Microplastics And Cancer
When a car rolls down a freeway, a fine spray of microplastics spews out from its tires. When you wash your clothes, millions of tiny synthetic microfibers spill into waterways. And those tiny pieces of plastic may be harming our health, a new study shows. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco evaluated dozens of studies in mice and humans to learn how microplastics may be harming digestive, respiratory and reproductive health. They found that these shards — which are now virtually everywhere in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat — are suspected of links to colon cancer and lung cancer. (Osaka, 12/18)

Fox News: Common Painkiller Could Cause Medical Complications In People Over 65: Study
New research has revealed that a common medication might not be safe for everyone. Acetaminophen, brand name Tylenol, is a pain reliever and fever reducer that's often included in other drugs, such as cold and flu medicines. The U.K.-based study — published in Arthritis Care & Research, an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology — analyzed the safety of the drug in older individuals. (Stabile, 12/18)

CIDRAP: Antibiotic Use In Older Adults Doesn't Increase Dementia Risk, Study Finds 
New research suggests antibiotic use in older adults is not associated with increased risk of dementia or cognitive decline. The study authors say the findings should reassure seniors. "Given that older adults are more frequently prescribed antibiotics and are also at higher risk for cognitive decline, these findings offer reassurance about using these medications," co-lead author Andrew Chan, MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School, said in a press release from the American Academy of Neurology, which publishes the journal. (Dall, 12/18)