First Edition: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024

KFF Health News: At Catholic Hospitals, A Mission Of Charity Runs Up Against High Care Costs For Patients
When Jessica Staten’s kidney stones wouldn’t pass, she said, her doctor suggested a procedure to “blow ’em up.” She went to have it done last November at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, one of nine hospitals that the Catholic health system PeaceHealth operates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. ... What came next shocked her: PeaceHealth sent a bill for $5,313.63 and, she said, told her she didn’t qualify for help to lower the cost. Staten said she asked about financial assistance but was told she earned slightly too much. (Pradhan, 9/12)

KFF Health News: In Montana, 911 Calls Reveal Impact Of Heat Waves On Rural Seniors
Missoula is one of Montana’s largest cities but is surrounded by rural mountain communities where cattle ranching is king. Despite the latitude and altitude, in recent years this region has experienced punishing summer heat waves. It has been difficult for residents to adapt to the warming climate and new seasonal swings. Many don’t have air conditioning and are unprepared for the new pattern of daytime temperatures hovering in the 90s — for days or even weeks on end. (Bolton, 9/12)

KFF Health News: Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights And Obamacare In Their First Face-Off
When Vice President Kamala Harris walked across the debate stage Tuesday night to shake the hand of former President Donald Trump, it was the first time the two had met in person. But that was the rare collegial moment in a face-off otherwise marked by false and sometimes bizarre statements by the former president. (9/11)

Stat: Bill Cassidy Dismisses ACA Repeal, Site Neutral Payments Policy 
A key Senate Republican dismissed the idea that the Affordable Care Act can be repealed next Congress, despite former President Trump’s interest in the issue. If Republicans take control of the Senate after November’s election, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) would likely be in charge of the Senate’s health committee, which would share responsibility for changes to the Affordable Care Act. He said Wednesday morning that any comprehensive health care reforms would have to be bipartisan, and noted that repealing the Affordable Care Act would be a nonstarter among Democrats. (Zhang, 9/11)

NBC News: After Years Of Threats, Trump Still Doesn't Have A Plan To Replace Obamacare
Experts doubt it would happen under a second Trump administration either, given the difficulty of coming up with a policy that satisfies all parties and the former president’s lack of a specific plan. (Lovelace Jr., 9/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Why Georgia Is Using Federally Banned Companies On Its Affordable Care Act Website
Companies under suspicion of misleading customers and improperly exporting their data to other countries are approved to be among the insurance enrollment companies allowed to sell Georgians Affordable Care Act health insurance plans beginning in November. (Hart, 9/11)

Reuters: Indiana Judge Refuses To Broaden Medical Exception To Abortion Ban 
An Indiana judge on Wednesday refused to broaden the medical exception to the state's near-total abortion ban, ruling against a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Judge Kelsey Hanlon of Monroe County Circuit Court acknowledged that the ban, which makes an exception for a "serious health risk" to the mother, put providers in "the incredibly unenviable position" of providing care in a "politically charged environment" under threat of criminal prosecution or loss of their licenses. However, the judge said the plaintiffs had not shown that the exception would prohibit an abortion in violation of women's rights under the state constitution. (Pierson, 9/11)

AP: More Women Had Their Tubes Tied After Roe V. Wade Was Overturned 
More women chose to have their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, a new study shows, and the biggest increases were in states that ban abortion. A research letter published Wednesday in JAMA examined insurance claims data from 2021 and 2022 for around 4.8 million women who got tubal ligations, which are surgeries to close the fallopian tubes so the patient can no longer get pregnant. The data came from 36 states and Washington, D.C., and researchers categorized these places as “banned,” “limited” or “protected,” based on their abortion policies. (Ungar, 9/11)

The Boston Globe: Rhode Island Reports First Case Of EEE
Rhode Island has recorded its first case this year of eastern equine encephalitis, the mosquito-borne disease known as EEE, public health officials announced Wednesday. The virus was detected in a person from Providence County who is in their 70s, marking the first emergence of the potentially fatal disease in the Ocean State since 2019, the state Department of Health said in a statement. Since 1983, the state has documented 11 cases. (Gavin, 9/11)

CIDRAP: H5N1 Confirmed In 3 More California Dairy Herds 
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) today announced that a state lab has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in cows on three more dairy farms in the Central Valley, which raises the state’s total to six. (Schnirring, 9/11)

Bloomberg: Bavarian Nordic Vaccine 58% Effective Against Mpox, Study Shows
Bavarian Nordic A/S’s smallpox vaccine was moderately effective in preventing mpox infection after a single dose, according to a study in Ontario, Canada, where the shot probably helped curb a 2022 outbreak. One vaccination provided about 58% protection against mpox infection, researchers found in the study. It was conducted from mid-June to late October 2022 among gay and bisexual men — the group most affected during a global outbreak sparked by the clade IIb strain of the monkeypox virus. (Gale, 9/11)

USA Today: 'Very High' COVID-19 Levels Reported In Half The US, CDC Shares
The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that last month nearly half of the United States have reported "very high" levels of COVID-19 activity. As concerns with COVID have waned across the U.S., the CDC has come to rely on wastewater data to track the virus, which often lags several weeks behind current case counts. (Forbes, 9/11)

Axios: Hospitals Are Safer Than They Were Before The Pandemic: Study
Improved safety practices led 200,000 more patients to survive hospitalization in 2023 and 2024 than they would have four years earlier, per a new analysis on patient safety from the American Hospital Association and Vizient. (Reed, 9/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Medical Group Accused Of Seeking To Collect Organs From Patient Who Was Still Alive 
An organ-procurement group in Kentucky pressured its personnel to retrieve organs from a hospital patient who was awake and later left the facility alive, an advocate for overhauling the U.S. organ-transplant system told lawmakers. The allegation, which came during a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday on the U.S. organ-transplant system, was among several made by witnesses who said procurement groups in various states have pushed workers and surgeons to secure organs from patients who were still alive. (Bernstein, 9/11)

Stat: 5 Takeaways: Congress Aims To Fix Troubled U.S. Transplant System 
On Wednesday, two transplant doctors, one watchdog and a nephrologist-turned-advocate sat before members of Congress to talk about the nation’s troubled organ transplant system. For over two hours the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ran through allegations of inefficiency, inertia, negligence and corruption in the groups charged with coordinating transplants throughout the U.S. New, jaw-dropping claims also came to light. (Cueto, 9/11)

Axios: Americans Could See Relief From Surprise Ambulance Bills Under New Proposal
Patients could be spared huge, unexpected bills for ambulance rides under a new plan aimed at closing a gap in the surprise billing law. Many Americans avoid calling 911 when they're having a medical crisis because of cost concerns. Others get stuck with massive unanticipated bills that are a major driver of medical debt in the U.S. (Goldman, 9/12)

Modern Healthcare: 340B Contract Pharmacy Lawsuits May Lead To Supreme Court
States continue to notch victories in legal battles with pharmaceutical manufacturers over the use of contract pharmacies to dispense 340B drugs, potentially setting up a Supreme Court showdown. Last week, a federal judge in Maryland denied drug manufacturers' motion for a preliminary injunction to block a state law requiring drugmakers to distribute discounted medications to pharmacies that contract with hospitals, federally qualified health centers and other 340B-covered providers that treat low-income patients. (Kacik, 9/11)

AP: Sen. Bernie Sanders Said He Is Set To Pursue Contempt Charges Against Steward CEO
Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday he is prepared to pursue contempt charges against Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre if he fails to show up at a hearing Thursday despite being issued a subpoena. Sanders said de la Torre needs to answer to the American people about how he was able to reap hundreds of millions of dollars while Steward Health Care, which operated about 30 hospitals nationwide, had to file for bankruptcy in May. (LeBlanc, 9/11)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Inpatient Rule Prompts DSH Pay Lawsuit
Hospitals allege in a new lawsuit that the federal government unlawfully changed Medicare disproportionate share hospital payment calculations to include care provided to Medicare Advantage patients, and facilities lost billions of dollars in the process. Eighty hospitals on Monday sued the Health and Human Services Department over how the agency factors inpatient care for Medicare Advantage patients into DSH payments, which are meant to bolster providers that treat many low-income patients. (Kacik, 9/11)

Stat: FDA Commissioner: Health Systems Have To 'Step Up' On AI Regulation
Amid heated discussions on how artificial intelligence should be regulated and who should be involved in health care AI governance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner said that health systems need to take a leading role. (Trang, 9/11)

The New York Times: The Chatbot Will See You Now 
Americans are already turning to A.I. for health information in large numbers, new research suggests. (Rosenbluth, 9/11)

The Boston Globe: High Adderall Doses Increase Risk Of Psychosis, McLean Researchers Say
High doses of Adderall, the widely prescribed drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, were associated with more than a fivefold increased risk for a first-time episode of psychosis or mania, according to a study released Thursday by McLean Hospital. The risk was greatest for patients who took doses exceeding 40 milligrams, according to Dr. Lauren V. Moran, lead author of the paper and a psychiatrist who studies the benefits and perils of prescribed drugs. (Saltzman, 9/12)

Reuters: Weight-Loss Market To See 16 New Drugs By 2029, Report Estimates
The market for weight-loss treatments is expected to see 16 new drugs vying for a slice of the lucrative business currently dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, according to estimates from analysts at Morningstar and Pitchbook. In a joint report published on Monday, analysts estimated the market for obesity treatments could expand to $200 billion by 2031. The 16 drugs could launch by 2029, with roughly $70 billion of the GLP-1 market coming from these new challengers. (9/11)

Stat: Abbvie Migraine Ad With Serena Williams Was Misleading, FDA Says
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has scolded AbbVie for making false and misleading claims in a TV ad about a migraine pill that features Serena Williams, the third time this year the agency has taken a major pharmaceutical company to task for its marketing. (Silverman, 9/11)

Stat: Black And Middle Eastern People Wrongly Excluded In Cancer Trials: Study
One of the most important measurements for cancer patients is the neutrophil count. Certain cancer therapies like chemotherapy can be harsh on these white blood cells, so cancer patients need their neutrophil count to be in a given range when undergoing those treatments or before enrolling in particular clinical trials. That can be a problem for people who have a natural blood variation called the Duffy-null phenotype. (Chen, 9/11)

Reuters: Utah Law Restricting Youth Social Media Use Blocked By Judge 
A federal judge has blocked Utah from enforcing a new law aimed at protecting the mental health of young people by requiring social media platforms to verify users' ages and impose restrictions on minors' accounts. (Raymond, 9/11)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Leads Push For Faster Certification Of Mental Health Professionals
Aspiring Texas psychologists hope to earn certification and start work faster under a new licensing examination that would be created by the state. The plan, which is catching the eye of other states, calls for Texas boards to conduct state certification tests, eliminating the need for more expensive and time-intensive national certification tests. (Simpson, 9/12)

NBC News: Jon Bon Jovi Praised For Talking Woman Off The Ledge Of A Nashville Bridge
Police in Nashville, Tennessee, praised singer Jon Bon Jovi for helping prevent a tragedy by speaking to a woman who was on the ledge of a bridge Tuesday. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Bon Jovi and his team were at the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge as a woman stood precariously over the Cumberland River. Bon Jovi and others talked to the woman and helped her come back onto the bridge, police said. (Madani, 9/11)

The New York Times: England’s Health Service Is in Deep Trouble, Report Finds
England’s National Health Service, one of the country’s most revered institutions, is in “critical” condition, according to a government-commissioned report that cited long waits for treatment, crumbling hospitals, mental health patients in “vermin-infested cells” and far fewer M.R.I. scanners than in comparable countries. (Castle, 9/11)