First Edition: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024

KFF Health News: Nationwide IV Fluid Shortage Could Change How Hospitals Manage Patient Hydration
Hospitals around the country are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say they are changing how they think about IV fluid hydration altogether. Hurricane Helene, which hit North Carolina in September, wrecked a Baxter International facility that produces 60% of the IV fluids used in the U.S., according to the American Hospital Association. (Fortiér, 11/19)

KFF Health News: Idaho Calls Abortion 'Barbaric And Gruesome' In Trial Challenging Strict Ban
Physicians are expected to take the stand in Idaho’s capital on Tuesday to argue that the state’s near-total prohibition of abortion care is jeopardizing women’s health, forcing them to carry fetuses with deadly anomalies, and preventing doctors from intervening in potentially fatal medical emergencies. Their testimony is scheduled to lead off the second week of a closely watched trial concerning one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans. (Varney, 11/18)

The New York Times: Wyoming’s Abortion Bans Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules 
A Wyoming judge ruled on Monday that two state abortion bans — including the first state law specifically banning the use of pills for abortion — violated the Wyoming Constitution and could not be enforced. Judge Melissa Owens of Teton County District Court wrote in her ruling that both the ban on medication abortion and a broader ban against all methods of abortion “impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women.” Enforcement of the two abortion bans, passed last year, had been temporarily halted by Judge Owens while the court case proceeded. Her decision on Monday blocks the laws permanently, although the state is expected to appeal. (Belluck, 11/18)

Politico: The Abortion-Rights Movement Grapples With Trump’s Return: ‘Voters Just Didn't Care’ 
The abortion-rights movement did everything it could to convince voters that Donald Trump was too dangerous to allow back into the White House. It didn’t work. As the magnitude of Democrats’ defeat becomes clear, abortion-rights leaders and candidates who made the issue central to their campaigns are struggling to understand how millions of people could have voted for ballot initiatives restoring or expanding access to the procedure while also voting for Trump and other Republicans with a history of curtailing those rights. (Ollstein, 11/18)

OPB: How A Republican Trifecta Could Reshape Abortion Access In A Deep Blue State Like Oregon
On the issue of abortion, Oregon is — quite literally — as liberal as a state can get. The state has among the strongest protections for abortion rights and the fewest limits on the procedure of any in the nation. Current state law guarantees the right to abortion, without a waiting period or gestational limit, for anyone who’s pregnant and 15 years or older. For most Oregonians, including those on Medicaid — the public program that provides health care to low-income individuals and families — the cost of abortion is covered by health insurance. The state remains controlled by Democrats, but at the federal level, Republicans have won a trifecta, giving them control of the presidency and both chambers of the U.S. Congress. That has abortion providers in Oregon planning for changes they say could make it harder for them to operate, regardless of protective state laws. (Templeton, 11/18)

The Washington Post: Trump Allies Eye Overhauling Medicaid, Food Stamps In Tax Legislation
President-elect Donald Trump’s economic advisers and congressional Republicans have begun preliminary discussions about making significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal safety net programs to offset the enormous cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts next year. Among the options under discussion by GOP lawmakers and aides are new work requirements and spending caps for the programs, according to seven people familiar with the talks, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Those conversations have included some economic officials on Trump’s transition team, the people said. (Bogage, Stein and Diamond, 11/18)

Politico: States Rush Medicaid Requests Before Trump Return
States are racing to have their Medicaid requests approved before the Trump administration takes power. The new administration is expected to have a very different view of Medicaid than the Biden administration, and GOP lawmakers in Congress are eyeing major changes. Some states want waivers that will impact their states’ budgets, but others seek to allow Medicaid to pay for social services, a Biden administration innovation that links health to social well-being. (Leonard and Cirruzzo, 11/18)

Politico: New York Presses For Medicaid Approvals Before Trump’s Inauguration
The clock is ticking as New York awaits word from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the fate of a lucrative tax meant to fund Medicaid reimbursement rate increases for health care institutions. And it’s not the only policy proposal that state officials hope the Biden administration will green-light in the weeks before handing over the reins to President-elect Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to have a very different view of Medicaid spending. (Kaufman, 11/18)

The Hill: American Public Health Association Warns Against RFK Jr. For HHS
A leading public health organization is sounding the alarm over Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The American Public Health Association (APHA) said Kennedy “fails on all fronts” as a candidate to lead the nation’s top health agency. “We urge President-elect Trump to select a qualified health leader that is properly trained and has the management skills to be the nation’s top health official,” APHA President Georges Benjamin said. (Weixel, 11/18)

Stat: RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Lawsuit History Offers Clues On His Policy Making
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took leave as chairman of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit known for spreading doubt about vaccines, to run for president last year. But he is still fighting in court alongside the group, putting him in an unusual position for someone nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Cueto, 11/19)  

The New York Times: Elon Musk Asked People To Upload Their Health Data. X Users Obliged 
Over the past few weeks, users on X have been submitting X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and other medical images to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot, asking for diagnoses. The reason: Elon Musk, X’s owner, suggested it. “This is still early stage, but it is already quite accurate and will become extremely good,” Musk said in a post. The hope is that if enough users feed the A.I. their scans, it will eventually get good at interpreting them accurately. Patients could get faster results without waiting for a portal message, or use Grok as a second opinion. (Passarella, 11/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Can Trump’s Hardball Tactics On China Ease America’s Fentanyl Crisis?
When Trump takes office in January, he promises to take a combative position with China over its role in the fentanyl crisis, ditching the Biden administration’s efforts at diplomacy and compromise. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed “to tariff the hell out of” China unless it helps to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. The threat raises the stakes for China to shut down a supply chain that is enabling the underground production of fentanyl and other narcotics. But it also risks backfiring for the U.S. if China’s leader Xi Jinping concludes he can’t be seen as caving to pressure from Washington. (Spegele, 11/19)

Politico: One Reason Overdose Deaths Are Dropping
Mexican drug cartels are mixing weaker batches of illicit fentanyl, a likely reason behind the nearly 15 percent drop in overdose deaths in the last year, according to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. Milgram claimed credit before a gathering Friday of family members of those who have died from fentanyl poisoning from counterfeit pills or overdoses, citing pressure the Drug Enforcement Administration is putting on the cartels by targeting their criminal networks — from their chemical supply chains in China to their money-laundering operations. (Paun, Reader, Payne and Schumaker, 11/18)

AP: Western North Carolina’s Water System Is Finally Back Online After Helene
More than 100,000 residents in western North Carolina were allowed to drink and bathe using water from their home faucets on Monday, nearly two months after Hurricane Helene destroyed much of the local water system. Clay Chandler, a spokesman for the city of Asheville’s Water Resources Department, said at a briefing Monday that water tests “were all clear” and a boil-water notice was lifted. Flooding from Helene tore through the city’s water system in late September, destroying so much infrastructure that officials at the time said repairs could take weeks. (11/18)

Politico: White House Asks Congress For $100B In Aid For Hurricanes, Other Disasters
The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress a roughly $100 billion emergency funding request to rebuild communities hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with a slew of other disasters nationwide. Top lawmakers plan to spend the next few weeks finalizing a bipartisan bill that fulfills at least some of that request, with a goal of final passage sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Congress also faces a government shutdown deadline on Dec. 20, it’s possible disaster aid gets tied into a spending patch or broader funding package. (Scholtes, 11/18)

Stat: Bird Flu Risk To Humans: Canadian Case Has Unsettling Viral Mutations
The genetic sequence of the H5N1 bird flu virus that infected a teenager in British Columbia shows that the virus had undergone mutational changes that would make it easier for that version of H5N1 to infect people, scientists who have studied the data say. (Branswell, 11/18)

CIDRAP: Hawaii Reports First Avian Flu Outbreak In Poultry As Surge Continues On California Farms 
In the wake of a recent H5 avian flu detection in wastewater on Oahu, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) on November 15 announced that state and federal tests have confirmed the virus in ducks and geese that died on a backyard farm. The outbreak is Hawaii's first and appears to be part of a surge in poultry outbreaks in US states that are along the Pacific flyway, where wild birds are migrating south. (Schnirring, 11/18)

Axios: More Kindergartners Are Getting Vaccine Exemptions
The share of U.S. kindergartners with vaccine exemptions increased in 40 states plus Washington, D.C., during the 2023-24 school year, according to recently updated CDC data. The trend is a reflection of increased vaccine skepticism, which has lingered in some parenting corners for years but gained considerable steam during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Fitzpatrick, 11/18)

Reuters: US Supreme Court Declines To Hear Patent Dispute Over Bausch Blockbuster Diarrhea Drug
The U.S. Supreme Court turned away on Monday a bid by Alvogen's subsidiary Norwich Pharmaceuticals to sell a generic version of Canada-based Bausch Health's (BHC.TO), blockbuster diarrhea drug Xifaxan. The justices declined to hear an appeal by Norwich Pharmaceuticals of a lower court's ruling that its proposed generic would infringe patents owned by Bausch unit Salix Pharmaceuticals for using Xifaxan to treat the liver-related brain disorder hepatic encephalopathy. In doing so, the justices let the lower court's ruling stand. (Brittain, 11/18)

Reuters: Lilly Pill Cuts Genetic Form Of Cholesterol Nearly 86% In Study
The highest dose of an experimental pill developed by Eli Lilly (LLY.N), dramatically lowered an inherited form of high cholesterol in a mid-stage trial, according to data presented at a medical meeting on Monday. The drug, muvalaplin, reduced levels of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), by 70% using a traditional blood test and by nearly 86% based on a more specific test developed by the company, researchers reported at the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago. (Steenhuysen, 11/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Makers of Weight-Loss Drugs Want Your Employer to Pay for Them
Lilly and Novo Nordisk are hoping to win over employers on the idea that obesity and its complications are already a huge cost in terms of healthcare, workers’ compensation and disability. By offering employees coverage for the weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy, companies can save money in the long run, the messaging goes. Whether these efforts succeed will help shape the size of the anti-obesity drug market, which some analysts predict could top $100 billion in annual sales. It is an unconventional approach for pharmaceutical companies. (Lofus, 11/19)

Stat: FDA Approves Syndax Drug Revuforj For Advanced Leukemia 
The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday a new drug developed by Syndax Pharmaceuticals to treat patients with a genetically defined form of  advanced leukemia. The pill, called Revuforj, is the first medicine in a class of drugs called menin inhibitors to reach the market. (Feuerstein, 11/18)

The New York Times: Pancreatic Cancer Surge May Be Less Worrisome Than It Seemed
One of the first warnings came in a paper published in 2021. There was an unexpected rise in pancreatic cancer among young people in the United States from 2000 to 2018. The illness can be untreatable by the time it is discovered, a death sentence. ... Alternatively, a new study published on Monday in The Annals of Internal Medicine suggests, the whole alarm could be misguided. (Kolata, 11/18)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension Wisconsin To Close Waukesha Micro-Hospital
Ascension Wisconsin plans to close a hospital in Waukesha and consolidate a few lines of service among other facilities in the southeast region of the state. The Waukesha "micro-hospital," which offers emergency and low-acuity care services, is slated to shut down in January, said Ascension Wisconsin Senior Director of External Relations Mo Moorman on Monday. (DeSilva, 11/18)

AP: CVS Health Bulks Its Board Up To 16 Members, Adds Hedge Fund CEO
CVS Health has added four new board members, including the CEO of a hedge fund that has been critical of the struggling health care giant. The company said Monday that it expanded its board to 16 members following “productive discussions” with shareholder Glenview Capital Management. The hedge fund holds about a 1% stake in the company according to the data firm FactSet. Glenview has said CVS Health, which has cut its forecast several times this year, is operating well below its potential. (Murphy, 11/18)

Chicago Tribune: Endeavor Health Spending Up To $453M To Settle Sexual Abuse Claims
Endeavor Health is spending up to $453 million to settle patients’ claims alleging one of its former doctors sexually abused them, the Chicago-area hospital system disclosed in its latest financial statement Monday. (Hoerner, 11/18)

Crain's Grand Rapids Business: Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan Drops Humira Coverage
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan intends to drop coverage for Humira, AbbVie's popular but costly autoimmune drug, in favor of a lower-cost alternative. The move represents the first coverage change to the state’s largest health insurer plans as high-cost specialty drugs come off patent in the years ahead and new, lower-cost biosimilar medications come to market to treat the same conditions. (Sanchez, 11/18)

ProPublica: How UnitedHealth’s Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage Puts Countless Americans’ Treatment at Risk
United’s practices were deemed illegal in three states. But that hasn’t stopped the company from policing mental health care with arbitrary thresholds and cost-driven targets. (Waldman, 11/19)

CNN: More Than 1 In 3 Surgical Patients Has Complications, Study Finds, And Many Are The Result Of Medical Errors
Despite decades of calls for more attention to patient safety in hospitals, people undergoing surgery still have high rates of complications and medical errors, a new study finds. More than a third of patients admitted to the hospital for surgery have adverse events related to their care, and at least 1 in 5 of these complications is the result of medical errors, the researchers found. (Goodman, 11/15)

WUSF: Anonymous $6.5 Million Gift Will Help USFs Byrd Institute Support Alzheimer’s Mission
The University of South Florida’s Byrd Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute received a $6.5 million estate gift this week from a recently deceased benefactor who had regularly made smaller donations since 2002. The facility will be able to use the money in whatever way “best serves our needs in priority areas,” said Gopal Thinakaran, the institute's CEO. (Miller, 11/18)

Axios: A Record 1 In 8 NYC Students Experienced Homelessness Last School Year
About one in eight children in America's most populous city experienced homelessness last school year, according to a report released on Monday. Student homelessness, which tracks with worsening federal homelessness trends, is nationally linked to higher rates of chronic absenteeism and drop outs. (Rubin, 11/18)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Prepares Rollout Of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies In 2025
Colorado regulators are making final tweaks to a pioneering program overseeing licensed facilitators and manufacturers who will launch the state into the rarified realm of psychedelic-assisted therapies next year. (Blevins, 11/19)

USA Today: Surgeon General Report Finds Disparities On Smoking Rates, Deaths
Adult and youth smoking rates this decade have dipped to the lowest levels on record. Despite this progress, the nation's top doctor is warning about stubborn disparities that remain among the 36 million adults and 760,000 kids who smoke. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report Tuesday saying that cigarette smoking is more common among American Indian and Alaska Native people than other racial and ethnic groups. People living in poverty are more than twice as likely to smoke than those who earn non-poverty wages. Black people, lower-income populations and people with less education are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke. (Alltucker, 11/19)

The Washington Post: Over 4 Percent Of U.S. Adults Have Undiagnosed Diabetes
From August 2021 to August 2023, 4.5 percent of adults in the United States had undiagnosed diabetes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in a recent report. And a little over 11 percent of U.S. adults had been diagnosed with the condition as of the same time period, the CDC says. The study looked at how total, diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes differed across demographics including age, weight and educational attainment. (Docter-Loeb, 11/18)

CNN: Sitting Too Much Linked To Heart Disease –– Even If You Work Out, According To New Study
Sitting at your desk all day may put you at greater risk for heart disease –– even if you work out in your spare time, according to new research. “Our findings really emphasize the importance of avoiding excess sitting… whether or not you’re physically active,” said first study author Dr. Ezim Ajufo, a cardiology fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. (Holcombe, 11/18)

Consumer Reports: How Plastic Can Harm Your Health
CR’s recent tests of nearly 100 foods found two types of chemicals used in plastic, bisphenols and phthalates, in a wide variety of packaged foods. These findings are concerning because there’s clear evidence linking exposure to these particular chemicals to a number of health effects, including disruptions of the endocrine or hormone system. ... According to one new study, diseases that have been linked to exposure to plastic-related chemicals cost the U.S. approximately $250 billion in healthcare costs in 2018. (Loria, 11/18)

AP: Poland Urges Polio Vaccinations For Children After The Virus Is Detected In Sewage In Warsaw
Poland’s health authorities on Monday urged polio vaccinations for children after the virus was detected in Warsaw’s sewage during regular tests this month. The state Main Sanitary Inspectorate in a statement said the presence of the virus does not necessarily mean people have been sick, but those who have not been vaccinated against polio could be at risk. The vaccinations are free in Poland for people under 19. (11/18)

Bloomberg: Novo Nordisk Launches Wegovy In China With Prices Below US
Novo Nordisk A/S is launching its top-selling Wegovy obesity drug in China at a fraction of the US price, a key step in unlocking a big, fast-growing market for its blockbuster franchise. The first prescription was issued on Monday to a 40-year-old man at Shanghai’s prestigious public Zhongshan Hospital, according to Chinese media outlet The Paper. (Tong, 11/18)