Politico: Biden Administration Warns States As Millions Lose Medicaid
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is ramping up pressure on states that may be failing to meet federal requirements as they renew Medicaid coverage for millions of people for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The agency has for months been mum about its behind-the-scenes communications with states, but on Wednesday made public letters it sent to state Medicaid officials warning that they may be running afoul of federal law and regulations. The letters, which were sent to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., identified three key areas of concern: high rates of people losing Medicaid because of paperwork problems, long call center wait times and slow application processing. (Messerly, 8/10)

The Hill: Biden Administration Warns States On Post-Pandemic Medicaid Coverage Losses
The Biden administration this week sent letters to state health officials, warning that many are failing to meet federal requirements about determining Medicaid coverage for tens of millions of people in the wake of the pandemic public health emergency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has expressed concern for months that many states are rushing through the process, resulting in people losing coverage for “procedural” reasons even though they may still be eligible. (Weixel, 8/10)

In related news from Michigan, Missouri, and Montana —

Detroit Free Press: Nearly 23,000 Michiganders Bumped Off Medicaid In June, July
In June and July, at least 22,911 Michiganders were bumped off the state's Medicaid rolls because they are no longer eligible for benefits or for procedural problems, such as failing to provide complete information like pay stubs, bank statements or driver's license details to state health regulators. That's nearly 5% of the 471,573 people statewide who were due to reenroll in those months, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. (Shamus, 8/11)

St. Louis Public Radio: Federal Medicaid Officials Criticize Missouri’s Call Wait Times 
The average wait time for a person calling the Missouri state Medicaid helpline in May was almost 50 minutes, according to a letter the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent to state officials. Federal officials are watching how states are removing people from Medicaid since a ban on removing them during the coronavirus pandemic public health emergency ended. This week, they detailed how states are doing in letters to administrators across the country. (Fentem, 8/10)

Montana Public Radio: Wait Times For Calls About Medicaid In Montana Draw The Attention Of Federal Regulators 
The federal agency that oversees Medicaid said it’s concerned with Montana’s ability to provide customers help over the phone due to long wait times and a high rate of dropped calls. The average wait time for those seeking help through Montana’s Medicaid call center was 42 minutes during the month of May, which is 5 minutes longer than March and April according to previous data. (Amestoy, 8/10)

On Medicaid reform in Georgia and Idaho —

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp’s Limited Medicaid Expansion Approves 265 To Enroll In First Month
Gov. Brian Kemp’s limited expansion of Medicaid that launched July 1 for certain working or active adults has approved 265 people for enrollment in its first month, state officials said Thursday — a small step towards the 90,000 enrollees Kemp aides hope to enroll after it fully ramps up. Kemp’s program, which was four years in the making, is meant to address the state’s health insurance coverage gap: An estimated 370,000 poor Georgia adults have no insurance through a job, but earn too little money to qualify for subsidized plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. (Hart, 8/10)

Georgia Recorder: Sluggish Start To Georgia’s Modest Expansion Of Medicaid Reignites Debate Over Health Coverage Policies 
Georgia Democrats who have long pushed for full Medicaid expansion blasted the governor’s program Thursday. Georgia, which has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country, is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. “At this rate, it would take 28 years for the Governor to meet this enrollment estimate of 90,000 people. This program is a loser from Day One,” said Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Stone Mountain Democrat. (Nolin, 8/10)

Idaho Capital Sun: As Idaho Looks At Medicaid Restructuring, Providers Ask Legislators To Keep Doctor-Managed Care
Idaho doctors asked state legislators on Wednesday to let doctors continue managing health care for people on Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor. Idaho formed a committee of legislators to study how to potentially restructure funding for the state’s Medicaid program, which uses a growing amount of state funds — up to $4.5 billion this fiscal year — but is mostly funded by the federal government. The group, called the Medicaid Managed Care Task Force, is meeting while the rest of the Legislature is out of session. It is expected to deliver recommendations to the Legislature on Jan. 31. (Pfannenstiel, 8/10)

AP: US Suicides Hit An All-Time High Last Year 
About 49,500 people took their own lives last year in the U.S., the highest number ever, according to new government data posted Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which posted the numbers, has not yet calculated a suicide rate for the year, but available data suggests suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II. (Stobbe, 8/11)

CBS News: Nearly 50,000 Americans Died By Suicide In 2022, New CDC Report Reveals
"Mental health has become the defining public health and societal challenge of our time," said Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in a statement. "Far too many people and their families are suffering and feeling alone." "These numbers are a sobering reminder of how urgent it is that we further expand access to mental health care, address the root causes of mental health struggles, and recognize the importance of checking on and supporting one another," Murthy added. (Singh, 8/11)

In other mental health news —

The New York Times: Research Trials Halted At Columbia’s Psychiatric Center After Suicide 
Federal regulators have suspended research on human subjects at the Columbia-affiliated New York State Psychiatric Institute, one of the country’s oldest research centers, as they investigate safety protocols across the institute after the suicide of a research participant. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kate Migliaccio-Grabill, confirmed on Wednesday that the agency’s Office for Human Research Protections was investigating the psychiatric institute “and has restricted its ability to conduct H.H.S.-supported human subject research.” (Barry, 8/10)

CBS News: Parents See Own Health Spiral As Their Kids' Mental Illnesses Worsen 
After her teenage daughter attempted suicide and began to cycle through emergency rooms and mental health programs during the past three years, Sarah Delarosa noticed her own health also declined. She suffered from mini strokes and stomach bleeding, the mother of four in Corpus Christi, Texas, said. To make things worse, her daughter's failing behavioral and mental health caused Delarosa to miss hours from her job as a home health aide, losing out on income needed to support her family. (Rayasam, 8/9)

The New York Times: How Summer Camps Are Dealing With Mental Health 
During the pandemic summers, many camp directors say, campers arrived with mental issues of a severity they had not seen before, exceeding the capacity of counselors in their teens and 20s. Kelly Rossebo, the director of Camp Eagle Ridge in Mellen, Wis., recalled a single night in 2021 when she and her mental-health specialist “tag-teamed back and forth” for hours, addressing problems that included suicidal ideation, eating disorders and binge drinking. (Barry, 8/6)

WUFT: North Florida Mental Health Professionals Talk Positives And Pitfalls Of 988 Hotline
Erin Brooker Lozott has worked in the field of autism and mental health for 29 years. She answers calls from people in crisis every day. But she never expected the call to come from someone in her own family. “When that happens to somebody that you care about, it doesn’t matter how well trained you are,” she said. Before last year, Lozott said it would have been harder for her to help that family member. But with the new 988 number for the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline, she has options. (Moorehead, 8/10)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

CNN: Eating Disorders Run Rampant On University Campuses. How To Protect Your College-Bound Kid
If you’re sending a kid off to college, it makes sense to experience a mixture of excitement and worry — about their leaving home, sleeping enough and making friends but also the mental health crisis on many college campuses. But I find most parents and guardians  aren’t aware that this crisis includes eating disorders — which are serious, life-threatening mental illnesses characterized by a disturbance in one’s relationship with food, exercise and/or body size. (Hanson, 8/10)

Stat: Supreme Court Blocks Purdue Bankruptcy Plan That Shields Sacklers
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a nationwide settlement with Purdue Pharma that was designed to shield members of the Sackler family — who own the company that makes OxyContin — from civil lawsuits over the fallout of the long-running opioid crisis. The move came in response to a request from the Biden administration to halt a bankruptcy plan that had been reached with numerous state and local governments around the country. (Silverman, 8/10)

The Boston Globe: High Court Pauses Purdue Settlement, Delaying Payments To States
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments before the end of the year. Ed Neiger, a lawyer representing individual victims of the opioid crisis who would be in line for a portion of the settlement, said it was a disappointment they would have to wait longer, but also praised the court for agreeing to hear the case so soon. “They clearly see the urgency of the matter,” he said. The key aspect of the settlement now being reviewed by the high court is the protection from additional lawsuits the Sackler family would receive in exchange for contributing up to $6 billion to fight the opioid epidemic. Under the agreement, Purdue Pharma would emerge from bankruptcy as a new company. (Freyer and Alanez, 8/10)

In related news —

Bloomberg: Opioid Victims Struggle To Get Purdue OxyContin Settlement Cash
Ryan Wroblewski took OxyContin and oxycodone for half his life until fatally overdosing in 2018 at age 33.His mother, Ellen Isaacs, has fought OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharmaceuticals ever since. As part of Purdue’s proposed bankruptcy settlement, qualified individual victims or families can receive payments ranging from approximately $3,500 to $48,000, based on factors like length of opioid use, addiction, overdose, and death caused by opioids. But to get a share of the $750 million payment pool for individuals, Isaacs must show proof that Wroblewski was prescribed Purdue-branded OxyContin. (Yu, 8/8)

Also —

The Washington Post: D.C. To Open Sobering Centers As Fatal Overdoses Remain At Record Highs 
Under pressure to enhance the city’s response to an escalating opioid crisis, the administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is preparing to open the first of two sobering centers designed to divert drug users from emergency rooms and jail cells. The facilities — in place for years in cities such as Baltimore — would be the first of their kind in the District, which is suffering the second-highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses in the nation with an annual death toll more than twice that of homicides. (Portnoy, 8/10)

MinnPost: As Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Surge In Minneapolis, Some Advocates Say The City Isn’t Acting Fast Enough 
Howard Dotson drives around the community three to five times a week offering food, clothing and — when the supply is there — Narcan to people who don’t have any. Fatal opioid overdoses in the city increased by 130% from 2017 to 2021. Dotson believes helping people meet their needs and doing outreach to get more Narcan out in the community can curb some of the deaths in the city. Since September, Dotson has done around 155 food runs, giving out around 4,000 meals, he estimated. (Kian, 8/10)

New Hampshire Public Radio: ‘It's About A Change Of Culture.’ In Littleton, Supporting People In Recovery Is A Team Effort.
When Savanah Miller was growing up in Littleton, everyone seemed to know her. Her family owned businesses in town. She couldn’t speed without her mom seeming to find out about it. So when she began struggling with substance use, the judgment felt inescapable. “I would run away,” she said. “I wouldn't – I couldn't stand myself and I couldn't walk through my own town, because I was so embarrassed and ashamed.” (Cuno-Booth, 8/10)

USA Today: Robert De Niro's Grandson's Cause Of Death Was Accidental Overdose
Robert De Niro's grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez died last month from an accidental drug overdose, according to the New York City's medical examiner. The 19-year-old's cause of death was determined to be the "toxic effects of fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine, and cocaine," the agency confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday. ... De Niro Rodriguez's mother, actress Drena De Niro, alleged Leandro was sold fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and called for increased awareness of the epidemic involving "mental health and addiction and fentanyl." (Robinson, 8/8)

Fierce Healthcare: HHS To Invest $100M To Train Nurses, Bolster Clinician Workforce
The Biden administration announced a $100 million investment to train more nurses and grow the workforce as the healthcare industry faces a critical nurse shortage. Officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Thursday the investments will help address the increasing demand for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and nurse faculty. (Landi, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: HHS To Boost Nursing Workforce, Training With $100M Investment
The funds will be split among dozens of recipients nationwide across five different program areas. “We're doing this because we got marching orders directly from President Biden who said, ‘This is unacceptable,’” HHS secretary Xavier Becerra said at a media briefing Thursday. The agency is especially focused on addressing burnout, bottlenecks in nursing education and the lack of mental health providers, Becerra said. More than $34 million will go to 56 universities and health systems that will participate in a recently announced advanced nursing education workforce program. (Devereaux, 8/10)

More news about health care personnel —

Chicago Tribune: 11-Day Strike At Loretto Hospital Ends
About 200 Loretto Hospital workers will return to work after their union reached a tentative contract agreement with hospital leadership Thursday, following an 11-day strike. The union SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Loretto announced Thursday evening that they reached the tentative agreement, which provides wage increases and a Juneteenth paid holiday. (Schencker and Arougheti, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: Violence In Healthcare Surges But Security Fixes Remain Complex
Worsening violence in healthcare settings presents providers with a vexing dilemma: How to maintain safety and security for staff and patients without creating unwelcoming, closed environments in what are meant to be places of healing. Abuses committed against personnel in hospitals and other facilities aren’t a new problem, but statistics show a worrying upward trend. And America’s gun violence epidemic isn’t sparing the nation’s healthcare providers, as several recent high-profile incidents demonstrated. (Hartnett, 8/10)

Becker's Hospital Review: 18% Of Healthcare Employees Use ChatGPT Regularly At Work
Less than one year after ChatGPT's debut took the digital aspect of many industries by storm, 18 percent of healthcare employees say they use the tool frequently, according to a July LinkedIn poll conducted by Becker's. Of the 1,617 respondents, 23 percent reported they use the tool but do so infrequently, and 58 percent reported not using it at all. Becker's does not have detailed insight into the respondents' roles or organizations in LinkedIn polls outside of the information that is publicly available. (Hollowell, 8/10)

The Washington Post: As Hospitals Use AI Chatbots And Algorithms, Doctors And Nurses Say They Can’t Be Replaced
Every day Bojana Milekic, a critical care doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital, scrolls through a computer screen of patient names, looking at the red numbers beside them — a score generated by artificial intelligence — to assess who might die. On a morning in May, the tool flagged a 74-year-old lung patient with a score of .81 — far past the .65 score when doctors start to worry. He didn’t seem to be in pain, but he gripped his daughter’s hand as Milekic began to work. She circled his bed, soon spotting the issue: A kinked chest tube was retaining fluid from his lungs, causing his blood oxygen levels to plummet. (Verma, 8/10)

MPR News: U Of M Med Student Reflects On 2 Months Behind The Front Lines In Ukraine
Twenty-four-year-old Sergey Karachenets had no military experience but wanted to give back to the country where he was born: Ukraine. The University of Minnesota medical student and EMT has spent the last two months behind the front lines as a combat medic. Karachenets arrives back in the state Thursday to prepare for his fall classes. (Wurzer and Stockton, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: Cano Health To Lay Off 700 Employees, Explores Sale
Membership-based primary care provider Cano Health is laying off 700 employees, exiting four markets and exploring a sale, the company said Thursday. ... Around 40% of the layoffs are tied to the company's pending exit from markets in California, New Mexico, Illinois. and Puerto Rico. Cano said it plans to exit the three states, where it has a total of 5,000 members and 17 medical centers, by the fall. It plans to exit Puerto Rico, where it serves 8,000 members, by 2024. (Perna, 8/10)

Axios: UnitedHealth Cutting Back On Prior Authorizations
Starting next month, UnitedHealthcare says it will move forward with plans to drop prior authorization requirements for a range of procedures, including dozens of radiology services and genetic tests, among others. UnitedHealth is among the health insurance giants who have announced plans to cut back on prior authorization as federal regulators consider tougher curbs on the practice. (Reed, 8/10)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser, UnitedHealth To Earn Big Medicare Advantage Star Bonuses, KFF Says
Kaiser Permanente will receive the biggest per-member bonus from the Medicare Advantage star ratings program in 2023, an analysis found. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will pay the integrated health system's insurance arm $523 per member for its high performance in the federal quality bonus program, according to a report published by KFF Wednesday. (Tepper, 8/10)

Houston Chronicle: Medicare Advantage Undergoing Aggressive Changes From Biden
New rules went into effect this summer designed to stop insurance companies that administer Medicare Advantage plans from denying care that typically would be covered by Medicare. That follows changes earlier this year on how medical costs are assessed and new restrictions limiting how Medicare Advantage plans, which typically offer additional coverage such as vision and dental and put limits on out-of-pocket costs, are marketed to seniors. (Osborne, 8/10)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Independence Blue Cross, Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health, Others Commit To Eliminating Race-Based Medicine
Independence Blue Cross and 12 Philadelphia-area health systems, including Jefferson Health and Penn Medicine, on Thursday announced an effort to phase out race as a factor in clinical guidelines used to make treatment decisions. “Race-based medicine has driven or contributed to the unacceptable health inequities that we see in the Philadelphia region and in other similarly situated communities across the country,” Independence CEO Gregory E. Deavens said in a news release. (Brubaker, 8/10)

Also —

Stat: Large Hospital System Sues Multiplan For Low-Balling Medical Claims
AdventHealth, a large religious-affiliated hospital system, has sued MultiPlan, alleging the company has worked with health insurers to create a “cartel” that systematically underpays hospitals and doctors for care that is delivered out of an insurance company’s network. (Herman, 8/10)

KFF Health News: Your Exorbitant Medical Bill, Brought To You By The Latest Hospital Merger 
When Mark Finney moved to southwestern Virginia with his young family a decade ago, there were different hospital systems and a range of independent doctors to choose from. But when his knee started aching in late 2020, he discovered that Ballad Health was the only game in town: He went to his longtime primary care doctor, now employed by Ballad, who sent him to an orthopedist’s office owned by Ballad. That doctor sent him to get an X-ray at a Ballad-owned facility and then he was referred to a physical therapy center called Mountain States Rehab, which was now owned by Ballad as well. (Rosenthal, 8/11)

USA Today: Survey: Drug Shortages Are Widespread, Hospitals Ration Care
Hospital pharmacists said drug shortages have forced 1 in 3 health systems to delay, cancel or ration care or switch to alternate drugs to continue to treat patients. And 99% are reporting some drug supply shortages, an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists survey of more than 1,000 pharmacists released Thursday found. (Alltucker, 8/10)

In other pharmaceutical news —

The Baltimore Sun: Family Of Henrietta Lacks Sues Pharmaceutical Company Days After Settlement With Biotech Giant
The family of Henrietta Lacks filed a lawsuit Thursday against a California-based pharmaceutical company in a continuation of her descendants’ efforts to recoup profits from companies they say are making money off the HeLa cell line. The new lawsuit, against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, a publicly traded company specializing in treatments for rare diseases, comes just over a week after the former Turner Station resident’s family settled their first case against a biotechnology company under undisclosed terms. (Belson, 8/10)

Stat: Where Are Patients Getting Their Prescriptions For GLP-1 Drugs?
As a new class of diabetes and obesity medications has soared in popularity, so have the online outlets built to get them in the hands of patients. A new analysis of claims data from Trilliant Health suggests that collectively, telehealth companies — in particular, cash-pay options that market directly to consumers — could account for many of the patients with insurance claims for GLP-1 prescriptions in 2022. (Palmer, 8/10)

Stat: What To Know About Compounded Versions Of Wegovy, Ozempic
As demand for Ozempic and Wegovy surges, a little-noticed warning about the medicines was issued recently by regulators. In late May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it received a “few” adverse event reports concerning compounded versions of the injectable medicines, which both contain the same active ingredient, known as semaglutide. Wegovy is approved for weight loss, while Ozempic is prescribed for diabetes and is also sometimes used to treat obesity. (Silverman, 8/10)

Stat: EPA Fines Roche's Genentech For Waste Violations 
Following an extensive inspection, the Environmental Protection Agency fined Genentech more than $158,000 for hazardous waste violations at a facility in California, the latest instance in which a pharmaceutical company has been cited for failing to adhere to environment regulations. (Silverman, 8/10)

Stat: TB Outbreak Tied To Bone Grafts Underscores Testing Shortcomings
One person has died and at least four have been sickened by tuberculosis in infected bone materials, an outbreak that has cast a spotlight on the shortcomings of testing for such tissue products. (Lawrence, 8/11)

KFF Health News: New Alzheimer’s Drug Raises Hopes — Along With Questions 
The FDA has approved Leqembi, the first disease-modifying treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s and a precursor condition, mild cognitive impairment. Medicare has said it will pay for the therapy. Medical centers across the country are scrambling to finalize policies and procedures for providing the medication to patients, possibly by summer’s end or early autumn. It’s a fraught moment, with hope running high for families and other promising therapies such as donanemab on the horizon. Still, medical providers are cautious. “This is an important first step in developing treatments for complex neurodegenerative diseases, but it’s just a first step,” said Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota. (Graham, 8/11)

KFF Health News: A Blood Test That Screens For Cancer: Does It Do More Harm Than Good? 
By summer 2021, Gilbert Milam Jr. was living a good life. A nationally renowned rapper who performs under the name Berner, Milam was also enjoying the global expansion of Cookies, a brand of cannabis products and clothing that he co-founded and was running as CEO. But Milam was haunted by a family history of cancer, including his mother’s death from stomach cancer at 54. So, at age 37, he told his physician in San Francisco that he wanted to take every precaution against being diagnosed too late to live a full life. As it happened, his doctor said there was a new test to try. (Kreidler, 8/11)

Military Times: Important PACT Act Deadline Extended Amid Tech Issues
The Department of Veterans Affairs extended a deadline for payouts linked to legislation aimed at helping veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service after technical issues complicated the application process. The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — better known as the PACT Act — was signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10, 2022, broadening VA health care benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. Veterans and survivors now have through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, Aug. 14, to file — or submit an “intent to file” — to be eligible to have their benefits backdated a year to when the bill was signed. After that date, applicants will only be eligible to receive payouts back to their date of filing. (Lehrfeld, 8/10)

Military.com: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Vets Have Filed Claims As PACT Act Celebrates 1st Year 
In the last year since the PACT Act went into effect, the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded benefits and health care to hundreds of thousands of veterans, with more expected to qualify as they develop illnesses related to exposure to burn pits and other battlefield toxins. By Thursday, the anniversary of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT Act, the VA had received 843,448 claims under the legislation and enrolled 113,719 veterans in VA health care as a result of the law. (Kime, 8/10)

In other military health news —

Fox News: To Protect Veterans' Mental Health, Senators And Vets Push For More Access To Service Dogs: ‘Powerful Avenue'
New bipartisan legislation has been introduced to support the mental health of America's military veterans. Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are leading the charge on the Service Dogs Assisting Veterans (SAVES) Act, which aims to match veterans with their own service dogs. The legislation will establish a program to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide and place service pets, according to the announcement from Tillis' office on June 21. (Stabile, 8/10)

Stars And Stripes: Troops On Active Duty Can Now Open Flex Accounts To Help Pay For Child Care, Pentagon Says
Hundreds of thousands of American troops will be able to open flexible spending accounts beginning next year to help pay for child care and other dependent services, the Pentagon said Thursday. Finding and affording on-base child care has been a major issue for military families in recent years, especially in locations that don’t have enough qualified providers. In many cases, families have been placed on lengthy waiting lists for services. (Ware, 8/3)

ABC News: Percentage Of US Adults With Long COVID Falls To 6%: CDC
In early June 2022, 7.5% of Americans aged 18 and were experiencing long COVID, a condition that occurs when patients still have symptoms at least four weeks after they have cleared the infection. In some cases, symptoms can be experienced for months or years. By mid-June 2023, that figure had fallen to 6%, according to a new report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Kekatos, 8/10)

CIDRAP: Long COVID Prevalence Decreased In US, But Activity Impacts Remain Unchanged 
Unlike the prevalence of long COVID, the percentage of people who said their lingering symptoms were affecting daily living remained stable from the summer of 2022 to the summer of 2023. A total of 26.4% of adults with long COVID reported significant activity limitations. "No clear pattern emerged for prevalence of significant activity limitation across age groups," the authors wrote. In a recent United Kingdom study, people with long COVID that affected daily living had similar quality of life to those of patients with advanced cancers. (Soucheray, 8/10)

In other covid news —

Capital & Main: Amid The New Normal Of COVID, There’s An Old Normal Too
Whatever punch COVID and its variants have left, it’ll hit working poor families and people of color the hardest. That truth, which has repeatedly been demonstrated over the course of the pandemic, is one of the key takeaways from the 2023 California Health Interview Survey of more than 5,000 adults, teenagers and children across the state conducted in March and April. (Kreidler, 8/10)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Medical Board Suspends License Of Doc Who Made False COVID Claims
More than two years after Dr. Sherri Tenpenny told state lawmakers that the COVID vaccines cause people to become magnetized, the state medical board indefinitely suspended her license on technical grounds and fined her $3,000. (Bischoff, 8/10)

North Carolina Health News: Post-Pandemic, What Now For Community Health Workers?
Health leaders in the state say community health workers played a crucial role in facilitating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, offered guidance to parents on navigating virtual schooling for their children, assisted people in accessing food and more. Now that COVID-19 is no longer classified a public health emergency, the federal funding that helped scale up this workforce is all but depleted, and many community health workers are uncertain about what the future holds. (Lewis, 8/10)

Reuters: Judge Throws Out FDA Rule Regulating Premium Cigars Like Cigarettes 
A federal judge has vacated a 2016 rule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifying premium cigars as tobacco products subject to the same federal law as cigarettes, following an earlier finding that the rule was arbitrary and capricious. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington on Wednesday rejected the agency's argument that the so-called deeming rule could be sent back to the agency for further consideration without vacating it. He said that, in general, a rule that is found to be arbitrary and capricious under the federal Administrative Procedure Act must be vacated unless there are "exceptional" circumstances. (Pierson, 8/10)

In other public health news —

The Washington Post: PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' Found In Period Underwear, Tampon Packaging 
New research has found “forever chemicals” in the lining of period underwear, the wrappers of tampons and in other menstruation products. ... Researchers from the University of Notre Dame studied more than 120 different menstruation products — menstrual cups, pads, underwear and tampons — sold in the United States. The research found forever chemicals in some, but not all, of the products. Although the researchers did not provide specific details, the study found that “a good fraction” of the period underwear products had detectable levels of PFAS in the lining, said Graham Peaslee, a physics professor at the University of Notre Dame who led the research. ... The study does not include the names of the different brands tested. (Amenabar, 8/10)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Cannabis Lowers Blood Pressure In Older Adults, Study Finds
A study from 2020 found the number of Americans age 65 and older who smoke marijuana or enjoy edibles increased 75% from 2015 to 2018. Now, a newer study suggests that might be a good thing for some. The study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and its affiliated Soroka University Medical Center found that medical cannabis might reduce blood pressure in older adults. (Clanton, 8/10)

The Washington Post: What Is West Nile Virus And How Climate Change May Affect Its Spread 
The West Nile virus is more commonly contracted in warmer climates, where hot and tropical temperatures allow the mosquitoes that carry it to thrive. Health experts are increasingly concerned that climate change could worsen the spread of the virus in less common places — and even bring it to new ones. The virus, which is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States, is particularly dangerous during mosquito season, starting in the summer through fall. “The number of West Nile virus-infected mosquitoes we’ve detected this season is the highest we’ve seen in years,” said Colorado’s state epidemiologist, Rachel Herlihy. (Suliman and Francis, 8/10)

Stat: Yogurt Drink Instead Of A Colonoscopy? CRISPR Bacteria Are Tested
Dan Worthley, a gastroenterologist and cancer scientist at Colonoscopy Clinic in Brisbane, Australia, does thousands of colonoscopies a year, seeking and destroying precancerous polyps. It’s a practically surefire way to prevent colorectal cancer, but an unpleasant experience for patients. The future, Worthley hopes, will be much less onerous — and he’s developing a technology that, if it works one day, might make the experience more of a piece of cake. (Chen, 8/10)

CBS News: Listeria Outbreak May Be Connected To Recalled Ice Cream Cups, FDA Says
The US Food and Drug Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials are investigating a multistate Listeria outbreak that may be connected with Soft Serve On The Go ice cream cups, the FDA said Thursday. Two people have gotten sick, and both were hospitalized. Both said they had eaten Soft Serve On The Go vanilla chocolate ice cream cups, made by Brooklyn-based Real Kosher Ice Cream. (Christensen, 8/10)

AP: Some 'Obamacare' Plans Could See Big Rate Hikes After Lawmakers Fail To Agree On Reinsurance Program 
Some Affordable Care Act health plans could see big rate hikes in 2024 after Virginia lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a widely supported program that reduced premiums this year, state officials and insurance companies said this week. At issue is the state’s relatively new reinsurance program, which the General Assembly voted to create in 2021. Launched this calendar year, the program works by essentially pooling certain expensive claims and using mostly federal and some state money to cover them. By reducing risks and costs to insurers, it aims to lower premiums in the “Obamacare” individual marketplace — and did so successfully this year, according to state data. (Rankin, 8/10)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

Axios: St. Paul Mayor Proposes Erasing $100 Million In Medical Debt For Residents
Thousands of St. Paul residents could see their medical debt wiped away under a proposed partnership with a national nonprofit. In his Thursday budget address, Mayor Melvin Carter pitched spending $1.1 million in remaining federal COVID relief funds to contract with RIP Medical Debt to resolve unpaid hospital bills. The nonprofit estimates that it can use that cash to pay off $110 million in balances for 45,000 families, Carter said. The average recipient would see $2,324 in bills eliminated. (Van Oot, 8/10)

AP: Coal Miners Plead With Feds For Stronger Enforcement During Emotional Hearing On Black Lung Rule
Laboring to breathe, West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly told federal regulators Thursday he is appreciative the U.S. government is finally considering a proposal to limit the poisonous rock dust causing a severe resurgence of black lung. But Lilly said the rule — a half-century in the making — will mean nothing if there aren’t strict enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure companies comply. (Willingham, 8/10)

AP: Trendco To Build $43 Million Facility In Tuskegee, Creating 292 Jobs 
A medical equipment manufacturing company plans to invest $43 million in a plant in Alabama to produce nitrile medical gloves, Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday. Trendco USA, based in Columbia, South Carolina, has committed to creating 292 new jobs over the next five years at the facility in Tuskegee in the new Regional East Alabama Logistics Park off Interstate 85 in Macon County, she said. (8/9)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas Health And Wellness Center To Serve Homeless, Low-Income Patients
The two-story clinic in the city of Las Vegas’ Courtyard Homeless Resource Center sat mostly empty Wednesday morning as workers added finishing touches in preparation for its upcoming opening. But come Monday, Las Vegas officials hope that the Health & Wellness Center will become a “medical home” for those experiencing homelessness, and for low-income earners who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. (Torres-Cortez, 8/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Some 911 Call Centers Still Haven’t Adapted To The Cellphone
Decades after the debut of the cellphone, some 911 centers are still struggling to modernize their communications infrastructure—the result of funding scarcity and hesitation over the high stakes of making changes. But the continued use of legacy systems, installed when pay phones dotted city corners and every household had a landline, has led to a host of challenges for call center operators, including misrouted calls, potentially increasing response times. (Bousquette, 8/10)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Fights Compensation For Prison Worker Who Lost Her Baby
On a warm November night, Salia Issa had just begun her shift as an Abilene prison officer when she felt the intense pain of what she believed was a contraction. Seven months pregnant, Issa said she quickly alerted her supervisors. She told them she needed to go to the hospital but knew prison policy wouldn’t allow her to leave her post until someone could replace her. No one came for hours. (McCullough, 8/11)

KFF Health News: On Abortion Rights, Ohio Is The New Kansas 
Ohio voters — in a rare August election — turned out in unexpectedly high numbers to defeat a ballot measure that would have made it harder to pass an abortion-rights constitutional amendment on the ballot in November. The election was almost a year to the day after Kansas voters also stunned observers by supporting abortion rights in a ballot measure. (8/10)

Fortune: Wealthy Americans Will Go To Extremes To Live Longer 
The wealthiest Americans can and do spend more money on longevity practices, even potentially unsafe, experimental ones, the results show. The study found that higher-income groups, those who live in households making more than $250,000 per year, were far more likely to spend their time and money on their health than those in households making less than $50,000 per year. ... What’s more, 41% of higher-income Americans say they would download their brain onto a computer to live forever compared to 19% of lower-income Americans, according to the study. (Mikhail, 8/10)

Harvard Public Health: America Has A Diaper Crisis. Here’s What Policymakers Can Do
America’s diaper crisis is a public health crisis. Without access to diapers, both parents and children face health risks. (Emam, 8/9)

The Star Tribune: Realistic Tattoos Help Trans Community Feel Safer In Their Own Skin
Nipple tattoos involve re-creating the image of a nipple and areola on a client's chest. There are options in terms of color, shape and size. Nipple reconstruction can also be done surgically via skin grafts, but many people who've had top surgery opt for a tattoo. Tattoos have long been used by women who've undergone mastectomies to treat or prevent breast cancer. In recent years, they have grown in popularity for top surgery recipients. (Hanevold, 8/10)

On dementia and Alzheimer's disease —

Science: Common Alzheimer’s Disease Gene May Have Helped Our Ancestors Have More Kids 
Roughly one in five people are born with at least one copy of a gene variant called APOE4 that makes them more prone to heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease in old age. That the variant is so common poses an evolutionary mystery: If it decreases our fitness, why hasn’t APOE4 been purged from the human population over time? Now, a study of nearly 800 women in a traditional society in the Amazon finds that those with the disease-promoting variant had slightly more children. Such a fertility benefit may have allowed the gene to persist during human evolution despite its harmful effects for older people today. (J. Kaiser, 8/9)

Stat: How A Symptom Of Dementia Informs Our Understanding Of Creativity
A small percentage of people with frontotemporal dementia also experience an explosion of artistic creativity. (Iskandar, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Caring For Alzheimer’s Patients Brings New Challenges For Some Men
Caring for a loved one with a serious illness can be daunting for anyone. For some men, especially those who are older, the transition can also be unfamiliar and jarring. Many men are not socialized into providing care, said Michael V. Bueno, an assistant clinical professor of nursing at the University of California at Irvine who researches male caregiving. “When you hear the word ‘caregiver,’ the picture that comes up is always female,” he said. (Kam, 8/9)

USA Today: More Young Americans Are Dying - And It's Not Covid. Why Aren't We Searching For Answers? 
Life insurance actuaries are reporting that many more people are dying – still – than in the years before the pandemic. And while deaths during COVID-19 had largely occurred among the old and infirm, this new wave is hitting prime-of-life people hard. (Dr. Pierre Kory and Mary Beth Pfeiffer, 8/11)

The Washington Post: Millions Are Being Kicked Off Medicaid. Many Should Not Be. 
When states finish culling their Medicaid rolls for the first time since the pandemic began, nearly 7 million eligible people will have lost their health insurance, according to federal estimates — and more than half will be children. This slow-moving public health disaster can be avoided, if state officials act now or the federal government forces them to. (8/10)

The New York Times: I Visited The Men Who Live Behind Bars And Can't Remember Where They Are
At Federal Medical Center Devens, a federal prison in Massachusetts, there is a prisoner who thinks he is a warden. “I’m the boss. I’m going to fire you,” Victor Orena, who is 89, will tell the prison staff. (Katie Engelhart, 8/11)

The Washington Post: Drugs Like Wegovy Could Be Revolutionary — If We Can Afford Them 
I have some great news: Drugmakers might well have hit upon an important new medicine for cardiovascular disease, and it’s already approved for use. (Megan McArdle, 8/10)

The Washington Post: Why The Uptick In Covid Cases Isn’t Cause For Alarm 
Here we go again. In this fourth summer of covid-19, infections are once again on the rise. Emergency room visits and hospitalizations are also increasing. (Leana S. Wen, 8/10)

Stat: An Innovative Path Out Of Biotech’s “Valley Of Death” 
So many promising medical innovations never reach their full potential as therapies or cures, languishing instead in a metaphoric place many of us in biotech know as “the Valley of Death.” This valley represents the gap between when a scientist makes a discovery and when that work has reached the point when a pharmaceutical company will license it, or a venture capital firm will invest in it, to get it to the point to help the patients who need it. (Roopa Ramamoorthi, 8/11)

Stat: Anavex Keeps Shifting The Goalposts In Its Clinical Trials
Anavex Life Sciences is in a tough spot. The serial dissembler of clinical trial results might be forced, finally, to tell the truth when it reads out its next study in Rett syndrome. What sets Anavex apart from all the other biotechs on my radar screen is its habit of shifting the goalposts on clinical trials. Twice last year, first in February and then in December, Anavex announced “positive” outcomes from studies of its drug called blarcamesine — except the results were derived from efficacy endpoints that were not part of the original study designs. (Adam Feuerstein, 8/10)