First Edition: Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025

KFF Health News: Officials Seek To Dismantle Appeals Board For Montanans Denied Public Assistance
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration is reviving efforts to do away with a panel that hears appeals from people who were denied public assistance to afford basics such as food and health care. The effort, billed as a way to reduce red tape in government, would leave district court as the only option outside of the state health department for people to fight officials’ rejections of their applications for Medicaid, temporary financial assistance, food aid, and other programs. (Houghton, 2/6)

KFF Health News: Biden Rule Cleared Hurdles To Lifesaving HIV Drug, But In Georgia Barriers Remain
Latonia Wilkins knows she needs to be on PrEP due to her non-monogamous lifestyle. But the 52-year-old Atlanta mother has faced repeated challenges getting the lifesaving drug that can prevent new HIV infections. Years ago, Wilkins was dating a man newly diagnosed with HIV and went to get tested, she said, but was not offered PrEP. Since then, Wilkins said, doctors either have told her she doesn’t need the drug or were reluctant to prescribe it. (Grapevine, 2/6)

KFF Health News: California Housing Officials Recommend State Protect Renters From Extreme Heat 
Citing the hundreds of lives lost to extreme heat each year, California state housing officials are urging lawmakers to set residential cooling standards long opposed by landlords and builders who fear such a measure would force them to make big-ticket upgrades. In a 60-page report sent Monday to the legislature, the California Department of Housing and Community Development recommended lawmakers set a maximum safe indoor air temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit for the Golden State’s estimated 14.6 million residential dwelling units. (Castle Work, 2/5)

The New York Times: Cows Have Been Infected With A Second Form Of Bird Flu 
Dairy cows in Nevada have been infected with a new form of bird flu that is distinct from the version that has been spreading through herds over the last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday. The finding indicates that the virus, known as H5N1, has spilled from birds into cows at least twice — leading to these two sets of infections — and that it could continue to do so. ... The cows in Nevada were infected with a version of the virus known as D1.1, which has been spreading in wild birds and poultry. The D1.1 form of H5N1 has also shown itself to be dangerous to people. Of the 67 Americans known to have become ill with H5N1 so far, the only one who died was infected with this version. That person, a Louisiana resident older than 65, had cared for sick and dying birds and died in early January. (Anthes and Mandavilli, 2/5)

Virginia Mercury: Virginia Lawmakers To CDC: Restart Bird Flu Reports Now 
With bird flu cases cropping up across the country — including in Virginia — members of the Virginia’s Democratic congressional delegation are demanding the immediate reinstatement of disease and virus reports after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered a pause in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) communications. In a letter sent to the CDC’s acting director, Susan Coller Monarez, and U.S. Department of Agriculture acting director Gary Washington, the lawmakers urged the agencies to resume publishing critical public health data, warning that the delay could have serious consequences for both public health and the state’s economy. (Woods, 2/6)

WKYC.com: Ohio Leads US In Bird Flu Cases, Affecting Nearly 23 Million Birds
Bird flu has affected 126 flocks in Ohio over the past 30 days, representing a total number of 22.95 million birds on infected premises. Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge said Ohio could be such a bird flu hotspot because of its location. “We base this disease on migratory bird movements," he explained. "We know this time of year, there's a lot of birds moving. Unfortunately, there's maps out there that show, from our standpoint, we were in a migratory bird path." (Kay, 2/5)

CBS News: New Pitt Research Finds Groundbreaking Antibody To Prevent Severe Bird Flu In Monkeys
As avian influenza concerns soar and scientists search for ways to ground the virus, researchers have found new hope for preventing severe illness from bird flu. University of Pittsburgh, and National Institutes of Health researchers shared promising results on a groundbreaking antibody treatment they gave to monkeys. (Guay, 2/5)

The Washington Post: DOGE Targets U.S. Health Agencies, Gains Access To Payment Systems
Representatives of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency fanned out across several agencies Wednesday, sending representatives to the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and meeting with the Labor Department, seeking access to sensitive data. The moves came on the heels of the DOGE team gaining access to sensitive health payment systems at the Department of Health and Human Services. (Diamond, Kaori Gurley, Sun, Knowles and Davies, 2/5)

Bloomberg: Elon Musk’s DOGE Team Mines For Fraud At Medicare And Medicaid Agency CMS
Elon Musk’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency has been on-site at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to mine key systems for examples of what they consider fraud or waste, according to a person familiar with the matter. The DOGE representatives have gained access to payment and contracting systems, according to the person, who asked not to be named discussing internal matters. They have also been working to cancel diversity, equity and inclusion-focused contracts at CMS and more broadly across the Department of Health and Human Services, the person said, including with organizations like Deloitte. (Griffin and Muller, 2/5)

CBS News: EPA's Office Of Environmental Justice And External Civil Rights Likely To Close
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well. (Wholf, 2/5)

AP: VA Nurses Are In Short Supply. Unions Say Trump's Deferred Resignation Plan Could Make Things Worse
For the federal government’s largest group of employees — nurses caring for military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs — the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer and its looming Thursday deadline come amid longstanding staffing shortages, deemed severe at more than half of all facilities. Unions are discouraging nurses from accepting the offer, and leaders say an exodus would directly and immediately affect the care of its 9.1 million enrolled veterans. (Johnson and Witte, 2/5)

CBS News: As Trump Shuts Down USAID Missions, Officials Warn Ebola Outbreak In Uganda Will Spread
Some health officials in the U.S. fear the shutdown of U.S. Agency for International Development missions may have disastrous results, as the stalling of foreign aid has forced delays in what they said was the "chaotic" early U.S. response to Uganda's swelling Ebola outbreak. The outbreak marks Uganda's eighth from an Ebola virus. (Tin, 2/5)

CIDRAP: Argentina Says It, Too, Plans To Pull Out Of World Health Organization
Two weeks after US President Donald Trump took office and said the United States would be withdrawing for the World Health Organization (WHO), Argentina President Javier Milei said today his country, too, would be pulling out of the international organization. (Soucheray, 2/5)

AP: Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order Is Put On Hold By A Second Federal Judge
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a “most precious right.” U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said no court in the country has endorsed the Trump administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment. “This court will not be the first,” she said. (Kunzelman and Catalini, 2/5)

The New York Times: Donald Trump Signs Executive Order To Block Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to stop transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports unless they were assigned female at birth, promising to deny federal funding to high schools and colleges that do not comply. “With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said from the East Room of the White House. (West and Schnell, 2/5)

Bloomberg: New York's Presbyterian, Sinai, NYU-Langone Halt Some Gender Affirming Care
Three of New York’s most prominent hospitals are curbing gender affirming care for minors after President Donald Trump’s executive orders put at risk billions of dollars in federal funding. New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, who represents parts of downtown Manhattan, said that NYU Langone had recently stopped allowing new patients to make appointments for gender-affirming care for minors. Mount Sinai also canceled some appointments for gender-affirming care, New York City Council Member Tiffany Caban said in a statement. Meanwhile, NewYork-Presbyterian has removed references to gender-affirming care for trans youth from its website, The City reported. (Butler and Nahmias, 2/5)

CBS News: Colorado Hospitals Comply With Trump's Transgender Health Order As Families Scramble To Seek Care
Hospitals in Colorado have begun responding to new federal mandates from President Trump restricting transgender rights. Denver Health says it's complying with the order to maintain access to federal programs, but families across the state are grappling with the impact. One Boulder family, fearful for their safety, spoke anonymously about their struggles. "We're terrified. I can't get her out of the country and I can't get her care," said a Boulder father, identified only as Manny. "It seems like a death sentence to me." (Horbacewicz, 2/5)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois To Protect Gender-Affirming Care, Despite Trump Order
An Illinois teenager’s chest surgery was canceled last week after President Donald Trump issued an executive order seeking to end gender-affirming care for minors, his mother said in a court document filed Wednesday. (Schencker, 2/5)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Senate Votes To Make Restrictions On Transgender Care For Minors Permanent
Missouri state senators on Wednesday voted to make permanent restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors. The 22-8 vote came as the Republican-controlled chamber was weighing unrelated legislation to get rid of two other expiration dates in state law. (Suntrup, 2/5)

Military.Com: How Trump's Moves To End Protections For Transgender People Could Hurt Veterans Health Care
The overall health and well-being of transgender veterans will be harmed by erasing transgender people from official federal policy, veterans and experts told Military.com. While the Department of Veterans Affairs has not publicly announced any formal guidance on how it will implement President Donald Trump's order to eliminate all federal policies that are supportive of transgender people, gender identities are already being scrubbed from patient records, a source familiar with the situation told Military.com. (Kheel, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: Kroger Health, Express Scripts Sign New Agreement
Kroger has inked a new deal giving more than 100 million Express Scripts members access to the grocery chain’s pharmacies, the companies announced Wednesday. The agreement applies immediately to Medicare prescription drug plans and TRICARE military health plans. The pharmacy benefit manager's commercial and Medicaid clients can opt to add Kroger pharmacies to their networks, according to a news release. (Berryman, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: Prospect Medical Holdings' Bankruptcy Has Its Hospitals In Limbo
Prospect Medical Holdings’ downward spiral into bankruptcy left many of its 16 hospitals and related facilities in limbo as the for-profit company looks to condense that portfolio and sell off facilities. Los Angeles-based Prospect, once majority-owned by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, has struggled for months under piles of debt and rising expenses. Those financial woes culminated in Prospect's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. (Hudson, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: Teladoc Health To Acquire Catapult Health For $65M
Teladoc Health plans to acquire home diagnostic company Catapult Health for $65 million to bolster its employer and health insurer businesses. The virtual care company said Wednesday it will add Catapult’s technology to support its existing products. Catapult Health’s clinicians will be able to directly enroll eligible members into Teladoc's programs and refer patients to the telehealth company's mental health and primary care providers. (Turner, 2/5)

Becker's Hospital Review: The Growing Movement To Destigmatize Mental Health In Nursing Licensure
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing is working on national recommendations to remove invasive mental health questions from nursing licensure applications, Medscape reported Feb. 5. The potential changes come amid a growing movement to destigmatize mental health among providers. Here are four things to know about this trend: 1. Nursing licensing boards in 30 states ask questions about mental illness on their applications and 22 boards ask about past mental health diagnoses and require predictions of future impairment. (Taylor, 2/5)

The Washington Post: Florida Surgeon Removed Wrong Organ Then Covered It Up, Widow Alleges
Beverly Bryan was confident on Aug. 21 as her husband headed to surgery to have his spleen removed at a Florida hospital. Bryan, a retired registered nurse, knew the procedure — a laparoscopic splenectomy — was safe, and the surgeon assured her “it would be quick and over and done.” ... In a 114-page complaint filed on Jan. 30 in Florida’s First Judicial Circuit Court in Walton County, Bryan alleges that Shaknovsky killed her husband by mistakenly removing his liver instead of his spleen, then participated in a conspiracy — that included the hospital’s CEO and chief medical officer — to cover up the fatal error by doctoring the death certificate and other state records. (Edwards, 2/6)

The New York Times: Child Welfare Agency Has No Right To Target Abused Parents, Court Rules 
New York City’s practice of requiring child welfare investigations of parents who are victims of domestic violence is illegal, a state appellate court ruled on Wednesday. The decision came in an appeal filed by a Brooklyn woman who said her ex-boyfriend beat and slapped her and pulled out her dreadlocks in front of their infant daughter. The woman is identified in court documents as Sharneka W. (Newman, 2/5)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: How Georgia Left Intellectually Challenged Men Forgotten On Death Row For Decades
An intellectually disabled Georgia man inexplicably sat on death row for more than three decades waiting on a court to hear his case, despite state and federal rulings saying it is illegal to execute those who don’t have their full intellectual capacities. Dallas Bernard Holiday, of Wrens in Jefferson County, was convicted of the 1986 killing and robbery of a senior citizen who was out on his daily walk. His lawyers, in court filings, have said that Holiday reads on or at a third grade level and has a low IQ, scoring 69 and 70 on separate exams. Anything 70 or below is considered intellectually disabled in the court’s eyes. (Peebles and Papp, (2/6)

CBS News: Families Fear New Sacramento Sheriff's Office Policy On Non-Criminal Mental Health Calls
For families with loved ones who suffer from mental illness and have relied on Sacramento sheriff's deputies to assist with non-criminal mental health calls, the department's new policy has drawn concern that vulnerable individuals will be left without critical support. On Tuesday, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper spoke publicly for the first time since the new policy went into effect. it was the result of a 2024 federal court ruling that found law enforcement officers can be individually sued and removed qualified immunity for law enforcement in cases where no crime was committed. (Keavy, 2/5)

WUSF: Hillsborough County Commissioners Decide To Keep Fluoridating Its Water Supply
Hillsborough County will keep fluoridating its water supply. A motion to end the practice died by a 3-3 tie vote by the county commissioner on Wednesday. Commissioners Harry Cohen, Ken Hagan and Chris Boles voted no. Commissioner Gwen Myers was absent. (Newborn, 2/5)

News Service of Florida: Jason Weida Is Leaving Post Atop Florida's Medicaid Agency To Be DeSantis' Chief Of Staff
Jason Weida, who has led the state Agency for Health Care Administration during the past two years, will serve as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ next chief of staff. Weida will succeed James Uthmeier, who is leaving the chief of staff position to become attorney general. (2/5)

North Carolina Health News: A Rural Health Pilot Could Go Statewide, If Politics Don’t Get In The Way
In 2022, North Carolina launched an experimental initiative to address the nonmedical health needs of low-income residents by using Medicaid dollars. This first-in-the-nation effort, known as the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, has provided assistance to nearly 30,000 people across three largely rural regions of the state. Beneficiaries get deliveries of food, rides to doctor’s appointments and other services that are designed to combat the various social, economic and geographic issues that contribute to health disparities. (Baxley, 2/6)

Axios: Black Maternal Mortality Rate Isn't Improving, CDC Data Shows
The mortality rate for Black mothers in the U.S. has not improved, per data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pregnancy-related death rate for Black women is more than three times the rate for mothers of other racial and ethnic groups. (Mallenbaum, 2/6)

MedPage Today: New Migraine Prevention Guideline Strays From Expert Recommendations
The American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a clinical guideline for episodic migraine prevention that varied from what migraine experts recommend. The ACP guideline, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, includes three recommendations centered around monotherapy. (George, 2/5)