Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Patients See First Savings From Biden’s Drug Price Push, as Pharma Lines Up Its Lawyers
A restructuring of the Medicare drug benefit has wiped out big drug bills for people who need expensive medicines. But the legal battle over drug negotiations means uncertainty over long-term savings.
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?' Podcast: Biden Wins Early Court Test for Medicare Drug Negotiations
A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Note To Readers
KFF Health News' Morning Briefing will not be published Monday, Feb. 19, in celebration of the Presidents Day holiday. See you Tuesday!
Summaries Of The News:
After Roe V. Wade
Abortion Medications Prescribed By Telehealth Are Safe, Effective: Study
NPR: Abortion Pills That Patients Got Via Telehealth And The Mail Are Safe, Study Finds
Was the Food and Drug Administration correct when it deemed the drug safe to prescribe to patients in a virtual appointment? A study published Thursday in Nature Medicine looks at abortion pills prescribed via telehealth and provides more support for the FDA's assessment that medication abortion is safe and effective. ... The researchers found that the medication was effective – it ended the pregnancy without any additional follow-up care for 97.7% of patients. It was also found to be safe – 99.7% of abortions were not followed by any serious adverse events. (Simmons-Duffin, 2/15)
AP: Iowa's Abortion Providers Now Have Some Guidance For The Paused 6-Week Ban, If It Is Upheld
Iowa’s medical board on Thursday approved some guidance abortion providers would need to follow if the state’s ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy is upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court. The restrictive abortion law is currently on hold as the court considers Gov. Kim Reynolds ' appeal of the lower court’s decision that paused the crux of it, but the medical board was instructed to continue with its rulemaking process to ensure physicians would have guidance in place when the court rules. (Fingerhut, 2/15)
HuffPost: Why Abortion Matters In This Suddenly Competitive Blue-State Senate Race
For eight years, Maryland was one of the handful of blue states that loved its moderate Republican governor. Roughly a third of Maryland’s registered Democrats twice crossed party lines to elect Larry Hogan, to counter the Democrat-controlled legislature of a state that President Joe Biden won by 33 points. But Hogan won’t have an easy time convincing Democrats that he should succeed retiring Democrat Ben Cardin in a race where Republican chances went from literally nonexistent to a growing concern overnight. (Skalka, 2/16)
Roll Call: In Carolinas, Mental Health Becomes Part Of The Abortion Debate
As lawmakers raced to pass new abortion bans in the Carolinas last year, Charlotte Driscoll, a 26-year-old North Carolina native with bipolar disorder who has struggled with suicidal thoughts, worried aloud to a statehouse panel. She’d finally found a medication that had worked for her called Lamotrigine. “But unfortunately it makes birth control ineffective. And birth control makes Lamotrigine ineffective,” she told the North Carolina Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House in May. (Raman, 2/15)
In other reproductive health news —
The New York Times: CooperSurgical’s Botched IVF Liquid Destroyed Embryos, Lawsuits Claim
CooperSurgical, a major medical supply company, is facing a wave of lawsuits from patients who claim that one of its products destroyed embryos created with in vitro fertilization. Fertility clinics across the world used the product, a nutrient-rich liquid that helps fertilized eggs develop into embryos. This week federal regulators made public that the company had recalled three lots of the liquid, which was used by clinics in November and December. The number of affected patients is unclear, although experts estimated that it is in the thousands. (Kliff and Ghorayshi, 2/15)
Covid-19
CDC Considers Recommending A Spring Covid Booster For Some
NBC News: CDC May Recommend Some People Get A New Covid Booster This Spring
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering whether to recommend yet another Covid booster shot this spring, especially for people most at risk for severe complications of the illness. ... While it's unlikely that the majority of Americans would opt for another dose — just 21.9% of adults received the latest version of the vaccine — experts say that it's critical to make it available sooner rather than later. (Edwards, 2/15)
Stat: Covid-19 Vaccine Confidence Soured By Officials, GOP Argues
A House hearing on vaccine safety claims sought to pierce through Americans’ falling confidence in routine shots and the spread of Covid-19 misinformation — sometimes from people in the room. (Owermohle, 2/15)
Stat: ACIP Vaccine Advisory Panel Sees Its Vacancies Filled
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it is filling eight vacancies, including the chairmanship, on an important advisory panel on vaccine policy that was down to less than half of its normal roster for months. (Branswell, 2/15)
More on the spread of covid —
CIDRAP: New COVID Antiviral Candidate Linked To Shorter Symptoms
Treatment with ensitrelvir, an oral SARS-CoV-2 3C-like protease inhibitor developed in Japan, shortened COVID-19 symptoms in people who received the medication within 3 days of symptom onset, researchers reported recently in JAMA Network Open. In 2023, the drug—made by Shionogi—was authorized for emergency use in Japan and received a fast-track review designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. (Schnirring, 2/15)
CIDRAP: Long COVID Incidence In US Varies By State, Highest In West Virginia
New state and territory surveillance data on long COVID in the United States shows the prevalence of long COVID exceeded 8.8% in seven states and was highest in West Virginia and lowest in the US Virgin Islands. The study is published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Soucheray, 2/15)
Also —
Houston Chronicle: Texas Schools Report Soaring Nonmedical Vaccine Exemption Rates
Nonmedical vaccine exemptions continued to hit record levels among Texas schoolchildren last year amid state lawmakers' attempts to weaken immunization requirements further. During the 2022-23 school year, 3.24% of Texas kindergartners received an exemption “for reasons of conscience,” which includes religious beliefs, from at least one immunization required to attend school, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. That's almost double the rate from 10 years ago, data shows. (Gill and Zdun, 2/15)
Fox News: Hawaii Confirms 5 Cases Of Whooping Cough, Child's Hospitalization
Health officials in Hawaii have confirmed five cases of whooping cough among members of a family, including a case that has led to the hospitalization of a child. The Hawaii Department of Health says each case of pertussis affected an unvaccinated individual and that it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other states to "notify travelers who were exposed." "The family had traveled from the United States mainland and stayed at a hotel accommodation on Oahu," the department said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that an investigation has "identified no close contacts after the family’s arrival in Hawaii." (Norman, 2/15)
Gun Violence
Public Health Crisis: Secret List Reveals The Top Sellers Of Guns Used In Crimes
USA Today: Gun Shops That Sell The Most Guns Used In Crime Revealed In New List
The federal government has stepped up its scrutiny of gun stores that sell guns used in crimes, with the number of stores singled out more than doubling in the past four years. Which gun stores sell the most crime guns has been kept secret for more than two decades, since 2003 under the George W. Bush administration. But a Freedom of Information Act request from USA TODAY unearthed a glimpse of them and showed that the vast majority of guns used in crimes are sold by a small fraction of America’s gun shops. Among the more than 1,300 outlets targeted in 2023 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are many of the largest sellers – Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, Rural King and Sportsman’s Warehouse – along with some less well-known stores, such as Town Guns in Richmond, Virginia, and Ammo Bros in Ontario, California. (Penzenstadler, 2/15)
On the Kansas City shooting —
Kansas City Star: MO Gun Law Debate Renewed After KC Chiefs Rally Shooting
Missouri’s firearms laws, a gun rights fortress that protects concealed weapons and seeks to limit federal law enforcement, was built over the years by state lawmakers brick by brick. Across Missouri, lawmakers, local officials, members of the public and even Chiefs players themselves are now wondering whether the fortress has any vulnerabilities. (Bayless, Shorman and Bernard, 2/15)
Kansas City Star: Tips For Talking To Kids After Mass Shooting At KC MO Rally
Thousands of fans flocked to Union Station for the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally in Kansas City, ready to celebrate the team’s victory. But the day turned bloody as shots rang out, killing a radio host and mother of two, and injuring at least 23 other parade goers. (Nash, 2/15)
The New York Times: Kansas City Grappled With Shootings Long Before The Super Bowl
Across the country, Americans were shocked and horrified by the images on Wednesday from Kansas City, Mo., after shots were fired into a crowd of jubilant parade-goers celebrating the city’s Super Bowl win. To people intimately aware of the entrenched violence in Kansas City, the shooting was painfully familiar. There were 182 people killed in Kansas City last year, according to police data, surpassing a previous high in 2020. With a population of just over 500,000, Kansas City has one of the highest murder rates in the nation. (Draper and Bosman, 2/16)
The New York Times: 2 Teens in Custody in Kansas City, Where Police Say Dispute Led to Shooting
The authorities in Kansas City, Mo., said on Thursday that they were keeping two teenagers in custody after a shooting that tore through the city’s Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding nearly two dozen others in what appeared to be the result of an argument. Stacey Graves, the city’s police chief, said at least 22 people were wounded in the shooting on Wednesday, in addition to the person who died, and that the victims ranged in age from 8 to 47 years old. At least half of the wounded were younger than 16.The police said they had initially taken three young people into custody but released one of them after determining that the person was not involved. (Bogel-Burroughs, Fortin, Draper and Edmonds, 2/15)
On the Texas church shooting —
NBC News: For Houston Megachurch Shooter, Obtaining Guns Wasn't An Issue
Amid a documented history of criminal activity and mental health struggles, the woman who opened fire at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch with her son in tow appeared to have no difficulties in one area: buying guns. In the attack Sunday, Genesse Moreno used an AR-15-style rifle that was purchased legally in December, officials said. She was also armed with a .22-caliber rifle. But court records suggest Moreno, 36, had owned at least four other firearms that had been confiscated over the past four years. (Gamboa and Ortiz, 2/15)
Health Industry
Over Half Of Health Workers Say Racial Discrimination Against Patients Is A Major Problem
USA Today: Nearly Half Of Health Care Workers Have Witnessed Racism, Discrimination, Report Shows
Younger and Black or Latino health care workers were more likely than their older or white counterparts to say they noticed discrimination against patients. Among the key findings in the survey: 47% of U.S. health care workers said they witnessed discrimination against patients, and 52% said that racism against patients was a major problem. (Alltucker, 2/15)
On artificial intelligence —
Modern Healthcare: Congress Tiptoes Toward Healthcare AI Legislation
Artificial intelligence is already a fact of life for the healthcare sector but for Congress, dealing with it remains a matter for the future. Congress doesn't appear anywhere close to moving significant legislation. For the most part, lawmakers are stuck in the stage of declaring that they should act, even as businesses embrace the technology and federal agencies issue regulations to address emerging issues and to carry out President Joe Biden's executive order. (McAuliff, 2/15)
Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Oscar Implement Generative AI
The health insurance industry increasingly is utilizing artificial intelligence and similar technologies to streamline operations, train employees and enhance customer service. Insurers have been using so-called traditional AI to process claims, identify fraud and predict risk for years. Now, companies such as UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Oscar Health and Florida Blue are experimenting with generative AI models that use context to answer prompts and have great potential in healthcare settings. (Berryman, 2/15)
In other health industry news —
Boston Globe: Sick Patients Collapsed Waiting For Care At Massachusetts Hospital With Known Safety Violations
Struggling to breathe, the patient stepped out of the registration line in the hospital’s overwhelmed emergency department to find help. Her chest hurt, she told the triage nurse on duty that evening at Brockton’s Good Samaritan Medical Center. The nurse, backed up with more than a dozen waiting patients, thought it was anxiety and told her to get back in line. That is where the patient collapsed. Medical personnel rushed in and tried to jump-start her heart using a defibrillator and life-saving medications, according to a state inspection document and an internal staffing report. But it was too late. (Kowalczyk and Freyer, 2/15)
The Boston Globe: Dartmouth Health Warns: Long Wait Times, Emergency Department At Capacity
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s emergency department has reached its patient capacity and has been overcrowded for the past several weeks, according to hospital executives. Respiratory virus season is in full swing, which hospital executives said is contributing to the problem. In a statement released Wednesday, they also pointed to the ongoing national shortage of healthcare workers, which puts hospitals in a poor position to respond to high demand for care. (Gokee, 2/15)
Modern Healthcare: Nursing Homes Grapple With CNA Training Backlogs
Instructor shortages and regulatory hurdles are creating training logjams for certified nursing assistants as nursing homes struggle to find enough of them to meet increased demand. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires nursing assistants to receive at least 75 hours of training for certification. Those workers are vital to nursing homes because they provide most of the hands-on patient care and are at the heart of a proposed federal staffing mandate. (Eastabrook, 2/15)
The Boston Globe: Point32Health Acquires Health New England Of Springfield
Point32Health, a nonprofit based in Canton, announced the deal on Thursday. ... “As the only two health plans in the state that serve commercial, Medicaid and Medicare populations, we have the commitment and expertise to serve people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, especially the underserved, and to improve members’ quality of life through programs and services that improve whole person health,” Cain A. Hayes, president and CEO of Point32Health, said in a statement. (Alanez, 2/15)
On the high cost of health care —
Stat: 340B Hospital Says It Was 'Drastically' Overcharged By Drugmakers
For several years, some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies that participate in a U.S. drug discount program overcharged the federal government and numerous hospitals by hundreds of millions of dollars, according to claims made in a recently unsealed lawsuit. (Silverman, 2/15)
KFF Health News: Patients See First Savings From Biden’s Drug Price Push, As Pharma Lines Up Its Lawyers
Last year alone, David Mitchell paid $16,525 for 12 little bottles of Pomalyst, one of the pricey medications that treat his multiple myeloma, a blood cancer he was diagnosed with in 2010. The drugs have kept his cancer at bay. But their rapidly increasing costs so infuriated Mitchell that he was inspired to create an advocacy movement. Patients for Affordable Drugs, which he founded in 2016, was instrumental in getting drug price reforms into the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Those changes are kicking in now, and Mitchell, 73, is an early beneficiary. (Allen, 2/16)
KFF Health News' 'What The Health?' Podcast: Biden Wins Early Court Test For Medicare Drug Negotiations
A federal judge in Texas has turned back the first challenge to the nascent Medicare prescription-drug negotiation program. But the case turned on a technicality, and drugmakers have many more lawsuits in the pipeline. Meanwhile, Congress is approaching yet another funding deadline, and doctors hope the next funding bill will cancel the Medicare pay cut that took effect in January. (2/15)
Pharmaceuticals
Number Of Young Americans Using Wegovy For Weight Loss Rises Rapidly
Reuters: Exclusive: Wegovy Fuels Sharp Rise In Use Of Weight-Loss Drugs For US Youth
A small but rapidly growing number of U.S. adolescents began treatment with Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy last year, a powerful new tool to address record rates of pediatric obesity, according to data shared exclusively with Reuters. In the first 10 months of 2023, 1,268 children ages 12 to 17 with an obesity diagnosis started taking Wegovy, according to U.S. insurance claims data compiled by health technology company Komodo Health. (Respaut and Terhune, 2/15)
Fox News: Erectile Dysfunction Meds Like Viagra Linked To Reduced Alzheimer's Risk, Study Suggests
Erectile dysfunction medication could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study is suggesting, though some experts cast doubt on the link between the two. In a study by University College London researchers in the U.K., men who were prescribed phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, otherwise known as erectile dysfunction drugs, were 18% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease years later. (Stabile, 2/16)
Los Angeles Times: New Synthetic Molecule May Outsmart Drug-Resistant Bacteria
An estimated 2.8 million people in the U.S. contract infections each year from bacteria resistant to antibiotics, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. More than 35,000 of them die. ... Researchers at Harvard and the University of Illinois at Chicago have created a new molecule that effectively vanquished multiple types of bacteria when tested in animals. The organisms on its hit list included strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and other pathogens that have become resistant to most antibiotics currently available. The new molecule, dubbed cresomycin, was described Thursday in the journal Science. (Purtill, 2/15)
In other pharma and biotech news —
The New York Times: A Columbia Surgeon’s Study Was Pulled. He Kept Publishing Flawed Data
The stomach cancer study was shot through with suspicious data. Identical constellations of cells were said to depict separate experiments on wholly different biological lineages. Photos of tumor-stricken mice, used to show that a drug reduced cancer growth, had been featured in two previous papers describing other treatments. Problems with the study were severe enough that its publisher, after finding that the paper violated ethics guidelines, formally withdrew it within a few months of its publication in 2021. The study was then wiped from the internet, leaving behind a barren web page that said nothing about the reasons for its removal. (Mueller, 2/15)
Bloomberg: WIT, Soros Fund Management Buy New Stakes In Biotech Firms, 13F Filings Show
Family offices for the billionaire Waltons and George Soros bought new stakes in biotechnology companies in the fourth quarter, as drug developers gain favor among wealthy investors. WIT, which stands for the Walton Investment Team, acquired an $8.2 million position in Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, which develops liver disease treatments, filings show. (Massa and Stupples, 2/15)
Reuters: US FDA Classifies Philips' Recall Of Imaging Machines As Most Serious
The U.S. FDA said on Thursday it has classified a recall of Philips' medical imaging machines as most serious due to the risk of a detector in some devices unexpectedly falling on patients during scans. Philips' recall of BrightView Imaging Systems, used for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scan, is to correct the faulty component and not a product removal, the health regulator said. (2/15)
State Watch
Justice Department Reports 187 Federal Prisoners Died By Suicide Over 8 Years
NPR: DOJ Watchdog Finds 187 Inmate Suicides In Federal Prisons Over 8-Year Period
Over an eight-year period, 344 inmates in federal prison died from suicide, homicide or accidents, according to a report released Thursday by the Justice Department's inspector general. ... "Today's report identified numerous operational and managerial deficiencies, which created unsafe conditions prior to and at the time of a number of theses deaths," Inspector General Michael Horowitz said. (Lucas, 2/15)
On Medicaid and welfare —
The Hill: Doulas Improve Health Outcomes For Pregnant Women With Medicaid: Report
Doula care improves health outcomes for pregnant women with Medicaid, according to a new report from public policy institute Elevance Health. The country’s worsening maternal health crisis has stirred interest in using doulas as an additional support for expecting mothers, especially Black women, who have the highest maternal mortality rate in the U.S. But most insurance companies do not cover doula care, and only 13 states, along with Washington D.C., offer reimbursed doula care through Medicaid. (O'Connell-Domenech, 2/15)
AP: Why 14 GOP-Led States Turned Down Federal Money To Feed Low-Income Kids
Lower-income families with school-age kids can get help from the federal government paying for groceries this summer, unless they live in one of the 14 states that have said no to joining the program this year. The reasons for the rejections, all from states with Republican governors, include philosophical objections to welfare programs, technical challenges due to aging computer systems and satisfaction with other summer nutrition programs reaching far fewer children. (Mattise and Mulvihill, 2/16)
KFF Health News: Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition To Medicaid Expansion
As a part-time customer service representative, Jolene Dybas earns less than $15,000 a year, which is below the federal poverty level and too low for her to be eligible for subsidized health insurance on the Obamacare marketplace. Dybas, 53, also does not qualify for Medicaid in her home state of Alabama because she does not meet the program requirements. She instead falls into a coverage gap and faces hundreds of dollars a month in out-of-pocket payments, she said, to manage multiple chronic health conditions. “I feel like I’m living in a state that doesn’t care for me,” said Dybas, a resident of Saraland, a suburb of Mobile. (Chang and Miller, 2/16)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Los Angeles Times: California Tightens Workplace Rules On Poisonous Lead
For the first time in decades, California is tightening its rules on workplace exposure to lead, a poisonous metal that can wreak havoc throughout the body. Experts said the new regulations will make California a national leader in battling the insidious and deadly effects of lead in the workplace. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted 5 to 2 on Thursday to adopt the rules over the objections of business groups that said they were unworkable and difficult to understand. (Alpert Reyes, 2/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: Employee At S.F.’s Largest Drug Treatment Provider ODed At Work
An employee of San Francisco’s largest drug treatment provider, which is currently under investigation by the state, fatally overdosed while at work, according to nonprofit and city records. David Hamilton, who worked at a sober living facility run by HealthRight 360, overdosed ... with fentanyl and cocaine in his system, according to records from the San Francisco Medical Examiner. Hamilton’s job was to dispense medications to clients in the facility. ... Hamilton, 33, was one of four people who died of an overdose inside HealthRight 360 facilities within the past year, records show. (Angst, 2/15)
The Washington Post: Trans Adults On Edge As Legislatures Broaden Focus Beyond Children
Medical school is hard enough, but Charlie Adams’s existence was on the line, so he took a day off from clinic rotations in Kansas City and drove three hours to the Missouri Capitol. Republican legislators had proposed nine bills to restrict transgender rights. Two sought to limit the definition of sex. Another gave doctors the right to discriminate against trans people. And four aimed to keep them out of the bathrooms that match their identities. Adams, 27, has a full beard and a deep voice, and as he spoke recently to a committee of legislators, a patch of chest hair peeked out from his navy blue scrubs. “Do you want to see me in the women’s restroom next time you’re at the hospital?” he asked. (Parks, 2/15)
Public Health
Hearing Loss From Loud Noises Might Be Tied To Excess Zinc In The Inner Ear
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: 17% Of US Adults Have Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. A New Study Uncovers A Biologic Reason
It could be a band at a wedding, an explosion on a battlefield or the constant drone of machinery: In the United States, about 17% of adults have hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noises. Previously, little was known about the exact mechanism by which trauma from those noises led to hearing loss. In a scientific paper published Monday, a Pitt research team has solved part of that puzzle, tying that hearing loss to an excess of a form of zinc in the inner ear. By capturing some of that excess zinc in mice, the researchers were able to prevent hearing loss and even restore lost hearing. (Sostek, 2/15)
In other health and wellness news —
CNN: Smoking Drugs Now Linked To More Overdose Deaths Than Injecting Drugs, Report Finds
The percentage of overdose deaths linked to smoking drugs rose sharply in recent years, overtaking injection as the leading route of drug use involved in such deaths, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Christensen, 2/15)
AP: Lyme Disease Case Counts In The US Rose By Almost 70% In 2022 Due To A Change In How It's Reported
Lyme disease cases in the U.S. jumped nearly 70% in 2022, which health officials say is not due to a major increase of new infections but instead a change in reporting requirements. Reported cases surpassed 62,000 in 2022, after averaging about 37,000 a year from 2017 through 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released Thursday. Numbers for 2023 will be released later this year. (Stobbe, 2/15)
Reuters: Post Falsely Claims Bleach Can Help Dozens Of Health Conditions
A claim that a dangerous bleach can heal or help dozens of health conditions has resurfaced on social media in a post that provides no evidence of the product’s alleged medicinal benefits or mention of its potential harms. Doctors and regulatory agencies have repeatedly advised against consuming chlorine dioxide solution, or CDS, a bleach product that has been marketed in the past as a cure-all, but which experts say could cause death in the most severe cases. (2/15)
The Baltimore Sun: Can This New Padding Improve Bike, Football Helmet Safety?
A potential new design for padding in sports helmets could absorb as much as 25% more impact than existing foams, adding additional protection from head injuries. The design, created by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, could help advance foams and padding that have been used for decades, improving safety and preventing head injuries. (Doak, 2/15)
Weekend Reading
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Harvard Public Health: Three Ways AI Is Improving Public Health
Artificial intelligence in health care could improve health for postpartum mothers, combat superbugs, and boost colorectal cancer detection. (Gardner, 2/15)
Stat: Deep Space Medicine: Astronaut Health May Spur Benefits On Earth
Space is famously known as the final frontier for human exploration. It may also be the final frontier for human medicine. That’s what Dorit Donoviel, executive director of the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, and her team are working towards. TRISH is a consortium between Baylor College of Medicine, Caltech, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that partners with NASA to solve the health challenges of humans exploring deep space. (StFleur, 2/16)
AP: Puerto Rico Is Entangled In A Heated Public Health Debate Over Vaccines And Masks
A fiery debate over public health and personal rights has gripped Puerto Rico as legislators clash with medical experts. (2/14)
The Washington Post: New Marketing Push By Ozempic And Others Sparks Body-Positive Backlash
When Virgie Tovar got an email asking her to promote injectable weight-loss medications on her social media, she thought it was spam. As an activist, she had spent the last 13 years espousing body positivity and fat acceptance. Why would she promote drugs like Ozempic on her Instagram account? But the offers to promote companies proffering drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic kept coming in. (O'Neill, 2/14)
The New York Times: Curing Pets With Cannabis As Veterinarians Try CBD And THC
While many people and their doctors have embraced medical marijuana for health ills, treating pets and zoo animals with CBD and THC is just beginning. (Nuwer, 2/6)
In obituaries —
The Washington Post: Brooke Ellison, Resilient Disability Rights Activist, Dies At 45
Brooke Ellison’s “first life,” as she called it, ended on Sept. 4, 1990, when she was 11 years old. It was the day before the start of seventh grade. She was crossing a busy street on her walk home from orientation at her junior high school in Stony Brook, L.I., when she was hit by a car. The impact cracked open her skull, broke nearly every major bone in her body and left her in a coma for 36 hours. When she awoke, she learned she had been paralyzed from the neck down. For the rest of her life — her “second life,” she said — she depended on a ventilator to breathe and a motorized wheelchair, which she controlled with her mouth, for mobility. (Langer, 2/14)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: US Must Revamp How It Treats Substance Use Disorder; Why Are Medications Missing Allergy Info?
The New York Times: The Addiction Recovery Story We Don’t Hear Enough
What if high-quality treatment programs were available free to all 48 million Americans over the age of 12 who, according to federal estimates, have a substance use disorder involving drugs, alcohol or both? (Nicholas Kristof, 2/14)
The Star Tribune: Add Allergen Labels To Medications
For two decades, consumers have been able to quickly determine by looking at a food label if a product contains a major allergen, such as dairy, eggs, peanuts or wheat. So why don't the same labeling requirements apply to medications, which also are used widely and taken by mouth? (2/15)
Stat: Reporting On Presidential Health From Reagan To Trump And Biden
When I interviewed Ronald Reagan about his health in 1980, he was 69 and poised to become the oldest person to be elected president. During our conversation, Reagan was mentally sharp. In a light moment he feigned a wrenched back and asked what I (a physician) would do for it. (Lawrence K. Altman, 2/16)
New England Journal of Medicine: Ethical Issues In Providing Care In Safety-Net Health Systems
In safety-net systems, resource constraints mean that each outlay for a patient’s care must be measured against its opportunity costs. Various ethical frameworks could guide such decisions about resource allocation and management. (Dave A. Chokshi, M.D., and Frederick P. Cerise, M.D., M.P.H., 2/15)