Modern Healthcare: Ascension Outage Still Causing Disruptions For Patients, Doctors
Ascension continues to experience disruptions in patient care as the health system investigates a potential data breach it reported Wednesday. Local news reports have surfaced about patients waiting hours for medical procedures, ambulances diverting patients to other facilities and physicians losing access to medical records. Ascension acknowledged "clinical disruptions" in a Wednesday statement but has not provided additional details. (Hudson, 5/9)

Meanwhile, the attack's impact is felt —

Health News Florida: Cybersecurity Event At Ascension Health System Disrupts Clinical Operations
Ascension, a nonprofit national health care system with several hospitals in North Florida, says it is investigating a cybersecurity event had disrupted clinical operations. As of Thursday night, it was unknown if any patient data was affected. (Mayer, 5/10)

Chicago Tribune: Ascension, Which Has 14 Illinois Hospitals, Falls Victim To 'Cyber Security Event'
Ascension is postponing some non-emergency elective surgeries, tests and appointments after a cyber security event at the health system, which has about 150 sites of care in Illinois, including 14 hospitals. (Schencker, 5/9)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ascension Wisconsin Hospitals Hit By Cyberattack, Disrupting Care
Ascension hospitals in Wisconsin and across the U.S. were hit Wednesday by a cyberattack that has interfered with its computer network and led to major disruptions in patient care that have continued into Thursday. The cyberattack has led to canceled appointments, delayed care and confusion at Ascension hospitals and health care facilities in Wisconsin and across the country. (Volpenhein, 5/9)

The Baltimore Sun: Ascension Saint Agnes Pauses ER Admissions Amid Cyberattack
The emergency department at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Southwest Baltimore has stopped receiving new patients, following a cyberattack that affected clinical operations at Ascension health centers nationwide. (Roberts, 5/9)

Politico: FDA Chief: Countermeasures Against Bird Flu Should Be Taken Now
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf warned lawmakers Wednesday that unless the United States initiates countermeasures to stem the spread of avian influenza, the government may be ill-prepared to respond if the virus mutates and spreads among humans. While the risk to the general public remains low, he told Senate appropriators in charge of FDA funding that investment to clamp down on the spread of the virus among cattle and poultry would pay dividends. (Lim, 5/9)

Stat: Dairy Farmers Resist CDC Push For PPE Against Bird Flu Virus 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this week that dairy and poultry farms with infected animals supply protective gear to workers in a bid to stave off human transmission of the H5N1 virus. The challenge now is making it happen. (Owermohle, 5/10)

The New York Times: How Poor Tracking Of Bird Flu Leaves Dairy Workers At Risk
Even as it has become increasingly clear that the bird flu outbreak on the nation’s dairy farms began months earlier — and is probably much more widespread — than previously thought, federal authorities have emphasized that the virus poses little risk to humans. Yet there is a group of people who are at high risk for infection: the estimated 100,000 men and women who work on those farms. There has been no widespread testing to see how many may be infected. None have been vaccinated against bird flu. (Mandavilli, Qiu and Anthes, 5/9)

Reuters: US To Post Influenza A Wastewater Data Online To Assist Bird Flu Probe, Official Says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to post data on influenza A found in wastewater in a public dashboard possibly as soon as Friday that could offer new clues into the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in cattle herds. CDC wastewater team lead Amy Kirby told Reuters on Thursday that the agency has identified spikes of influenza A, of which H5N1 is a subtype, in a handful of sites and is investigating the source. She said there is no indication of human infection with H5N1. (Steenhuysen, 5/9)

CNN: Cows Have Human Flu Receptors, Study Shows, Raising The Stakes On The Bird Flu Outbreak In Dairy Cattle
In early March, Dr. Barb Petersen, a large-animal vet in Texas, began getting calls from the dairy farms she works with in the Panhandle. Workers there were seeing a lot of cows with mastitis, an infection of the udder. Their milk was thickened and discolored, and it couldn’t be explained by any of the usual suspects such as bacteria or tissue damage. (Goodman and Kounang, 5/9)

Also —

CIDRAP: More Poultry Associations Join International Effort To Cut Antimicrobial Use In Poultry
Seven more groups involved in poultry production have signed on to an international effort to reduce the use of antimicrobials on poultry farms. The organizations, which include poultry associations from several European countries and fast-food giant Yum! Brands, announced yesterday that they'll adopt principles developed by the Transformational Strategies for Farm Risk Output Mitigation (TRANSFORM) project to ensure the proper use of antimicrobials on poultry farms. (Dall, 5/9)

The Washington Post: A Gay Couple Couldn’t Access IVF Benefits. They’re Suing New York City.
New York City is denying in vitro fertilization benefits to thousands of gay male employees of the city and their partners, a class-action lawsuit filed by a same-sex married couple alleged Thursday. Brooklyn-based couple Nicholas Maggipinto, 38, and Corey Briskin, 35, claim the city is discriminating against male same-sex couples and violating federal, state and local laws by denying them IVF insurance benefits that other city employees are able to access. (Javaid, 5/9)

Reuters: NYC Sued For Denying Gay Employees In Vitro Fertilization Coverage
The proposed class action was filed in Manhattan federal court by former assistant district attorney Corey Briskin and his husband, who say they were forced to put off having a family for years because the city's employee health insurance plan denied them coverage for IVF procedures. ... The New York City Council is considering a bill introduced in March that would require the city to cover IVF treatments for all employees, regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation. (Wiessner, 5/9)

In other reproductive health news —

AP: Virginia Judge To Decide Whether State Law Considers Embryos As Property
A trial is underway in Virginia that will determine whether state law allows frozen embryos to be considered property that can be divided up and assigned a monetary value. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Dontae Bugg heard arguments Thursday from a divorced couple who disagree over the ex-wife’s desire to use two embryos that they created when they were married. (Barakat, 5/10)

The CT Mirror: CT Bill On Providing Reproductive Care Info At Religious Hospitals Dies
Leaders in the House and Senate declined to take up a bill this session that would have shielded medical providers at religiously affiliated hospitals and other health care centers who offer referrals and counseling on reproductive care, including abortions. (Carlesso, 5/9)

KFF Health News: Democrats Seek To Make GOP Pay For Threats To Reproductive Rights
Democrat Lucas Kunce is trying to pin reproductive care restrictions on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), betting it will boost his chances of unseating the incumbent in November. In a recent ad campaign, Kunce accuses Hawley of jeopardizing reproductive care, including in vitro fertilization. Staring straight into the camera, with tears in her eyes, a Missouri mom identified only as Jessica recounts how she struggled for years to conceive. (Liss, 5/10)

KFF Health News: Their First Baby Came With Medical Debt. These Illinois Parents Won’t Have Another
Heather Crivilare was a month from her due date when she was rushed to an operating room for an emergency cesarean section. The first-time mother, a high school teacher in rural Illinois, had developed high blood pressure, a sometimes life-threatening condition in pregnancy that prompted doctors to hospitalize her. Then Crivilare’s blood pressure spiked, and the baby’s heart rate dropped. “It was terrifying,” Crivilare said. (Levey, 5/10)

AP: Missouri's GOP Gov. Parson Signs Bill To Kick Planned Parenthood Off Medicaid
Missouri’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday signed legislation to once again try to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program. Parson’s signature could mean Missouri joins a small band of states — Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas, according to Planned Parenthood — to have successfully blocked Medicaid funding for the organization. (Ballentine, 5/9)

Missouri Independent: Mike Parson To Sign Funding Bill Targeting Planned Parenthood 
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has announced he will sign legislation limiting Planned Parenthood’s ability to serve low-income patients at a ceremony in his Capitol office Thursday. The new law, which will go into effect Aug. 28, will end Medicaid reimbursements to any health centers affiliated with abortion providers. In Missouri, the law would apply to Planned Parenthood. (Spoerre, 5/9)

AP: Colorado-Based Abortion Fund Sees Rising Demand. Many Are From Texas, Where Procedure Is Restricted
A Colorado abortion fund said Thursday it’s helped hundreds access abortion in the first months of 2024, many arriving from Texas where abortion is restricted, showing a steady increase in need each year since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision left a patchwork of state bans, restrictions and protections across the country. In response, a national makeshift network of individuals and organizations help those seeking abortions in states where it’s restricted, including the Colorado-based Cobalt Abortion Fund. (Bedayn, 5/9)

The Texas Tribune: Anti-Abortion Deposition Requests Generate Fear, Not Results
Anti-abortion legal crusader Jonathan Mitchell has filed at least seven legal petitions in Texas in recent years asking to depose abortion funds, providers and researchers. While these filings have created fear and confusion, none have yet to be approved by a judge. Now, Mitchell has moved on to targeting individual women. (Klibanoff, 5/10)

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Legislature Poised To Approve Expanding Access To Birth Control
The Alaska Legislature is slated to approve a bill that would allow Alaska women to get a year’s worth of prescription birth control at one time. Supporters of House Bill 17 say extending the amount of birth control medicines given by pharmacies from the current limit of 90 days would be particularly impactful for women in rural Alaska. Under the measure, insurance companies and Medicaid would be require to cover prescription contraceptives without a co-payment. (Maguire, 5/9)

Also —

AP: States With Abortion Bans Saw Greater Drops In Medical School Graduates Applying For Residencies
Fewer U.S. medical school graduates are applying to residency programs, but the drop is more striking in states that ban abortion compared with other states. Figures released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed continuing declines after the group first spotted the difference in an analysis last year. “It looks even more pronounced. So now, I’m looking at a trend,” said Dr. Atul Grover, a co-author of the latest report. (Ungar, 5/10)

KFF Health News: Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions
Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion access — and, by extension, abortion training — is likely to remain protected, like California, Colorado, and New Mexico. Arizona has enacted a law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. (Rovner and Pradhan, 5/9)

Politico: The Reckoning Facing The NIH
The National Institutes of Health will face an overhaul if Republicans gain control of the Senate next year. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — the Republican in line to lead the Senate committee that oversees the agency — said Thursday that reform was long overdue. “Congress has not thoroughly reviewed NIH operations and practices since the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016,” he said in a release. (Schumaker, Reader, Paun and Payne, 5/9)

The Hill: NIH Official Set To Testify Before COVID Panel On ‘Discrepancies’ In Pandemic Timeline
Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic later this month, with committee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) planning to ask about “discrepancies” between prior testimonies. Tabak has agreed to testify before the subcommittee on May 16. (Choi, 5/9)

In other administration news —

Reuters: US FDA Advises Healthcare Facilities To Switch From Getinge's Heart Devices
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday advised healthcare facilities to move away from using Getinge's (GETIb.ST) heart devices in patients as they faced safety and quality concerns despite a string of recalls. The recommendation is based on concerns that the company has not sufficiently addressed the problems and risks with the recalled devices, it added. Getinge did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (5/9)

CNN: FDA Considers Updating Blood Donation Guidelines To Keep Nation’s Supply Safe From Malaria
The US Food and Drug Administration is considering a requirement for blood banks to use a new test that can detect the parasites that cause malaria in certain donors’ blood, and it’s seeking the opinion of its independent advisers on the best way to meet its goal of zero transfusion-related cases without unnecessarily prohibiting some people from donating blood. (Christensen, 5/9)

CDC investigates stem cell injections in Mexico —

AP: The CDC Issues A Report About Infections From Stem-Cell Treatments In Mexico
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report Thursday about three cases of infections apparently linked to stem-cell treatments American patients received in Mexico. The CDC issued the report Thursday on infections of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), which it described as “difficult-to-treat” and “intrinsically drug-resistant” and “rapidly growing.” (5/10)

CIDRAP: Three Drug-Resistant Infections In US Tied To Stem-Cell Injections In Mexico
An investigation by clinicians and public health officials from Colorado and Arizona has linked a cluster of antibiotic-resistant infections in three US residents to embryonic stem-cell injections at clinics in Mexico. In a report published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the investigators said the infections were caused by Mycobacterium abscessus, an intrinsically drug-resistant species of nontuberculosis mycobacterium that has previously been associated with medical tourism. (Dall, 5/9)

From Congress —

The Hill: Lawmakers Target Heavy Metals In Baby Food With New Legislation
A pair of Democratic senators introduced new legislation to limit the levels of harmful metals in commercial baby food, they announced Thursday. The bill, called “The Baby Food Safety Act of 2024,” would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to enforce higher safety standards for commercial baby food and imported products. (Fortinsky, 5/9)

The Hill: John Joyce And Wiley Nickel Want To Modify The Inflation Reduction Act To Foster Rare Disease Research
Reps. John Joyce (R-Pa.) and Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) discussed Thursday why they’re pushing to pass their bill that would alter provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with the congressmen saying the legislation is needed to ensure continued research into treatments for rare diseases. Joyce and Nickel discussed the ORPHAN Cures Act while speaking at The Hill’s event “Science & Policy, The Future of Cancer Care,” sponsored by AstraZeneca. (Choi, 5/9)

The 19th: Warren, Moore Propose Mamas First Act For Medicaid Coverage Of Doulas, Midwives
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, both Democrats, are introducing legislation Thursday that would allow Medicaid coverage of doulas and midwives. The bill, called the Mamas First Act, aims to “improve access to care before, during, and after pregnancy to under-served and under-resourced communities” as an OB-GYN deficit looms and the high rates of pregnancy-related deaths persist. (Davis, 5/9)

Also —

AP: 1 Lawmaker Stops South Carolina Health Care Consolidation Bill That Had Overwhelming Support
A bill that would have consolidated six South Carolina heath care agencies and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly died on the session’s final day Thursday in a procedural move by a member angry he was mocked by his colleagues. Republican Rep. Josiah Magnuson has been against the bill from the start, saying it would create a health care czar who could take over like a dictator if there was another pandemic emergency like COVID-19. (Collins, 5/10)

Newsweek: Brett Kavanaugh's Remarks Used Against Anti-Abortion Republican
A federal judge cited conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a ruling that allowed lawsuits to proceed against Alabama's attorney general over his statements about prosecuting those who help Alabama residents travel to another state to seek abortions. Alabama banned abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape and incest after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending constitutional protections for abortion. (Rahman, 5/9)

Reuters: Ozempic Lead Counsel Selection Process Is Model For Judges In Big Cases
Back in March, at the first hearing, opens new tab in consolidated litigation over allegedly undisclosed side effects from Ozempic and other diet drugs, plaintiffs lawyers told a Philadelphia federal judge that they'd already agreed on a slate of four lawyers to lead the mass tort case. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gene Pratter of Philadelphia appointed those same four lawyers ... as lead counsel in the multidistrict litigation against diet drugmakers Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Eli Lilly (LLY.N). (Frankel, 5/9)

CNBC: Novavax And Sanofi To Commercialize Covid Vaccine, Develop Combo Shots
Novavax on Friday said it has signed a multibillion-dollar deal with French drugmaker Sanofi to co-commercialize the company’s Covid vaccine starting next year and develop combination shots targeting the coronavirus and the flu, among other efforts. (Constantino, 5/10)

Stat: Sanofi Strikes Deal With Novavax, Boosting The Vaccine Maker
Novavax, the beleaguered maker of a Covid-19 vaccine, just got a boost of its own. The French pharma company Sanofi on Friday said it had reached a licensing deal to sell Novavax’s Covid shot going forward as well as to try to combine the vaccine with Sanofi’s own flu shot. (Joseph, 5/10)

In other covid news —

San Francisco Chronicle: New FLiRT Variants Could Spark Summer COVID Wave In California
The emergence of a new set of coronavirus variants, known colloquially as FLiRT, is sparking concerns about a potential summer uptick in COVID-19 cases after an extended period of calm and a relatively mild winter. The variants, known as KP.1.1 and KP.2, have recently overtaken JN.1 as the dominant omicron offshoot in the U.S. They now account for 1 in 4 infections nationwide, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vaziri, 5/9)

CIDRAP: COVID-Related US-Mexico Border Closure May Have Fueled HIV Spread
Closing the border separating San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, during the COVID-19 pandemic didn't stop drug tourism and may have increased the spread of HIV, concludes a study posted in The Lancet Regional Health Americas. (Van Beusekom, 5/9)

Reuters: Pandemic Treaty Talks To The Wire, Likely To Miss First Deadline, Sources Say
Talks to draw up a global pact to help fight future pandemics are likely to miss an initial deadline on Friday, three sources close to the process said. Negotiators from the World Health Organization’s 194 member states were hoping to have a final draft agreement by the end of Friday, with a view toward adopting the legally-binding text at the World Health Assembly later this month. Instead talks on the text may have to continue, sources said, as countries grapple with key sticking points. (Rigby, 5/10)

Newsweek: Was COVID Vaccine Recalled Over Health Danger Fears? What We Know
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has initiated a global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine just months after it admitted it could cause a rare side effect. The news sparked speculation on social media that the vaccine was being withdrawn because of concerns about associated health risks. However, the British-Swedish company said that the decision was made purely for commercial reasons after a decline in demand because of a "surplus of available updated vaccines." (Shoaib, 5/9)

Also —

AP: Countries Struggle To Draft 'Pandemic Treaty' To Avoid Mistakes Made During COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak. A ninth and final round of talks involving governments, advocacy groups and others to finalize a “pandemic treaty” is scheduled to end Friday. (Cheng and Keaten, 5/10)

CNN: Deep Brain Stimulation Didn’t Work For A Young OCD Patient Until New Brain Maps Changed Everything
Five years ago, in a wheelchair, Julia Hum was admitted to a state mental hospital in Massachusetts. After treatment with targeted deep brain stimulation, she hopes to walk out soon and, for the first time in her adult life, live independently, in her own apartment. Hum, 24, has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, which once caused her to hurt herself and even affected her ability to eat and drink. (Goodman, 5/9)

CNN: Experimental Spinal Cord Implant Helps Parkinson’s Patient Walk In New Study 
Marc Gauthier can now step into an elevator without his body stiffening and freezing in place. He can take a 3-mile lakeside stroll without stopping. He can stand up out of a chair with ease. For Gauthier, 63, who has been living with Parkinson’s disease for almost three decades, these everyday activities were a challenge — until now. (Howard, 5/9)

The Washington Post: Deaf Baby Hears For The First Time After U.K. Gene Therapy Trial
A baby girl born with profound genetic deafness can now hear unaided after receiving a “groundbreaking” gene therapy trial, Britain’s National Health Service said Thursday. Opal Sandy, an 18-month-old from Oxfordshire, England, is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial that is showing “mind-blowing” results, Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge said in a statement. Opal is “the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment,” the hospital said. (Bisset and Suliman, 5/9)

The Colorado Sun: Breakthrough Study Detects Signs Of MS Before First Symptoms
Blaise Pfeifer, 15 and a ninth grader at Standley Lake High School, lives for hockey. He started skating at 3, travels the country for tournaments, and describes gliding across the ice with a puck “like second nature.” He also knows he has multiple sclerosis, though he has never felt a symptom. (Brown, 5/9)

Also —

CIDRAP: Cochrane: Zinc May Help Shorten Common Cold, But More Evidence Needed
Taking zinc could shorten the duration of the common cold by 2 days, according to a Cochrane review today. The evidence is not conclusive, however, and potential benefits must be balanced against side effects including bowel problems, nausea and unpleasant taste, the reviewers note. (Soucheray, 5/9)

The Hill: Ultraprocessed Foods Linked To Early Death Risk: Study
A 30-year study found that eating ultraprocessed foods is linked to a higher risk of early death. The study, published Wednesday in the BMJ journal, examined the eating habits of 115,000 people and found that a higher intake of ultraprocessed foods was associated with a slightly higher mortality risk. (Irwin, 5/9)

Newsweek: Adding Salt To Your Food May Significantly Increase Stomach Cancer Risk
Over-salting your food might be putting you at risk of certain cancers, researchers have found. People who add salt to their food are 40 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer than those who don't, according to a new study in the journal Gastric Cancer. (5/9)

CIDRAP: WHO Issues Guidance To Prevent Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections
The World Health Organization (WHO) today published guidelines aimed at preventing bloodstream infections from peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs). Noting that up to 70% of all hospitals inpatients require the use of a catheter inserted into a peripheral vein or artery, the WHO says that poor practices in the insertion, maintenance, and removal of PIVCs carry the high risk of introducing bacteria into the bloodstream, which can result in life-threatening conditions such as sepsis and difficult-to-treat complications in major organs—particularly when the infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. (Dall, 5/9)

Central Florida Public Media: AdventHealth In Central Florida Hires 10,000 Nurses In Four Years As Shortage Looms
Facing a forecasted shortage of 60,000 nursing positions, AdventHealth Central Florida is actively improving its workforce to meet those future needs. Since 2020, the hospital has hired 10,000 nurses. A 2021 study by the Florida Hospital Association found the demand for nurses is set to increase dramatically by 2035 due in part to a 21% increase in population and, more specifically, an increase in aging populations. (Pedersen, 5/9)

Fox News: Nurses Call For Change As Many Reveal They're ‘Extremely Likely’ To Leave Profession: ‘Emotional, Stressful'
Nurses aren’t optimistic that this year will be any better than last year — and more than one-third of them are "extremely likely" to change jobs. That’s according to a new survey by AMN Healthcare, a health care workforce solutions company based in Texas. The majority of nurses (80%) said they think 2024 will be either "no better or worse" for the profession than 2023 — while 38% said it will be worse. (Rudy, 5/10)

Modern Healthcare: How Generative AI Could Improve Clinical Documentation In EHRs
Health systems are turning to artificial intelligence to easily bring patient-doctor conversations into the electronic health record. Health systems are buying ambient AI documentation solutions, technology that takes a recording of a doctor-patient conversation and turns it into usable clinical notes. The goal is to give doctors more face-time with patients rather than staring at a computer screen while in the exam room, taking notes. (Turner, 5/9)

Reuters: Merck's Endometrial Cancer Therapy Fails Trial
Merck (MRK.N) said on Thursday its therapy being tested in certain patients with a type of cancer in the uterus lining failed a late-stage trial. The drugmaker's Keytruda therapy in combination with chemotherapy was being evaluated in about 1,095 patients with high-risk endometrial cancer after surgery. The trial did not meet the main goal of disease-free survival, which is the length of time after primary treatment for a cancer ends that the patient survives without any signs or its symptoms. (5/9)

Reuters: Novo Nordisk Ties Up With Metaphore To Develop New Obesity Drugs
Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) signed a research tie-up with U.S. biotech firm Metaphore on Thursday to develop next-generation obesity drugs. Danish drugmaker Novo is trying to expand beyond its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy with at least eight other treatments in its R&D pipeline for the condition. The collaboration will use Metaphore's tech platform to develop two therapies for obesity, the companies said. (5/9)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare, Medicaid Integration Rule Could Shake Up D-SNP Market
A new federal policy promoting integrated Medicare and Medicaid coverage seems poised to boost health insurers such as Centene and Molina Healthcare with Medicaid experience and large numbers of high-needs Medicare Advantage members. A final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued last month underscores the agency's commitment to supporting Dual Special Needs Plans that serve dual-eligible beneficiaries. (Tepper, 5/9)

Modern Healthcare: Community Health Systems Sues MultiPlan
Community Health Systems sued MultiPlan Wednesday, accusing the data analytics firm of allegedly conspiring with large insurance companies to fix commercial rates — an alleged violation of federal antitrust laws. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, represents the third time a hospital system has taken MultiPlan to court in the past nine months. (Tepper, 5/9)

Obituaries —

The New York Times: Herbert Pardes, Who Steered The Growth Of A Giant Hospital, Dies At 89
Dr. Herbert Pardes, a psychiatrist and a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health who brought order to the merger of two major medical centers that became New York-Presbyterian Hospital and ran it for 11 years, died on April 30 at his home in Manhattan. He was 89. His son Steve said the cause was aortic stenosis. (Sandomir, 5/9)

Newsweek: Nut Recall As 'Life-Threatening' Warning Issued
Anut recall was issued this week alongside warnings of a possible "life-threatening" allergic reaction. On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shared a recall announcement from the Texas Pecan company, based in Dallas. "Texas Pecan of Dallas TX is recalling 1 Lb and 8 oz products because it may contain an undeclared allergen," the announcement said. (Impelli, 5/9)

CBS News: Faulty Insulin Pump Tech Led To Hundreds Of Injuries, Prompting App Recall
More than 200 people with diabetes were injured after technology defect caused their insulin pump to unexpectedly shut down, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The software glitch has prompted the recall of more than 85,000 versions of a mobile app, called t:connect and developed by Tandem Diabetes Care, the FDA noted on Wednesday. (Gibson, 5/9)

AP: No Sign Of Widespread Lead Exposure From Maui Wildfires, Hawaii Health Officials Say
Lead screening conducted on west Maui residents after last summer’s devastating wildfires showed no widespread exposure to the toxic metal, Hawaii health officials said Thursday. ... Just 27 people’s screening results came out positive, and subsequent testing showed 15 of them did not have elevated blood lead levels and were determined to have had a false positive, the state health department said. (5/10)

The Washington Post: Why Muscle Guarding Can Prolong Pain, Inhibit Recovery After Surgery
Stephen Clark, an Atlanta-area physical therapist, sees many patients who suffer from muscle guarding after a traumatic surgery or injury. Muscle guarding, which emanates from the brain, is a physical response to pain. For some, though, protracted muscle guarding can prolong pain and inhibit recovery. ... In muscle guarding, the brain seeks to protect an injured area by subconsciously directing the surrounding muscles to not function, or to lock, ostensibly to defend the body against additional pain or injury. (Theim, 5/9)

The New York Times: How Loneliness Affects The Brain
Everyone feels lonely from time to time. ... Some people, though, experience loneliness not just transiently but chronically. ... These individuals seem to have “this persistent emotion that then shapes their behavior.” Research is mounting that this type of entrenched loneliness is bad for our health and can even change our brains, raising the risk for neurodegenerative diseases. Here’s what experts know about how chronic loneliness affects the brain, and some strategies to address it. (Smith, 5/9)

Stat: Alcohol Isn't Healthy After All. Will New Dietary Guidelines Reflect That?
The issue of alcohol — and how much of it Americans should consume — is up for debate again as the dietary guidelines undergo updates and revisions, due in 2025. Already, there’s simmering debate over a growing body of research, plus clashing of interests and the same specter of controversy that’s followed the report since Nestle’s time. (Cueto, 5/10)

WUSF: Nearly 600,000 Florida Kids Lost Medicaid/CHIP During 2023 Unwinding, Report Shows 
Nearly 600,000 children in Florida lost government health insurance last year when states began reviewing Medicaid eligibility again, according to a report published this month. In the report, policy experts at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. write that Florida is among states that prioritized "hasty" removal of kids from the program. (Colombini, 5/9)

In other news from across the country —

Los Angeles Times: Deadly Overdoses Stopped Surging Among L.A. County Homeless People
Year after year, Los Angeles County has seen devastating losses on its streets as homeless people bedding down in tents, under tarps and on sidewalks died of drug overdoses at soaring rates. Now a newly released report shows that the death rate from overdoses stopped rising among unhoused people in the county in 2022 — the year L.A. County was stepping up its efforts to save lives. (Reyes and Seidman, 5/9)

AP: Seattle To Open Short-Term Recovery Center For People After A Fentanyl Overdose
Seattle will open a new space for people to recover and receive treatment for nearly 24 hours after they have overdosed on fentanyl or other drugs, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced Thursday. The center is slated to open near the Pioneer Square neighborhood in mid-2025 and will be run by a homelessness and substance abuse nonprofit organization called the Downtown Emergency Services Center. (5/10)

Chicago Tribune: A Blood Test To Help Detect Lung Cancer? New Test Offered At OSF Healthcare Part Of Trend In Medicine 
Julie Harris had never been tested for lung cancer. A low-dose CT scan, the only recommended screening for adults at risk of developing lung cancer, was not something she’d ever found time to do. But when her primary care doctor recently suggested a new blood test to help look for signs of the disease, Harris was intrigued. She had her blood drawn the same day, in the same building as her doctor’s appointment. (Schencker, 5/10)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Black Patients In St. Louis Move Up Kidney Transplant Waitlist As Racially Biased Test Ends
Jerome Massey doesn’t know all that was done behind-the-scenes to help him get a new kidney by removing an unfair barrier based on his race. But he’s thankful it allowed him to get back to normal life, with long days at work and busy weekends with his children and grandkids stopping by for his barbecue. (Munz, 5/9)

North Carolina Health News: Making A Case For More Oral Health Care
If a group of dentists, policymakers and health care analysts got their way, North Carolina would do some revamping of its oral health care infrastructure to make routine cleanings and preventative care more accessible to hundreds of thousands of people. (Blythe, 5/10)

Lexington Herald Leader: KY Juvenile Justice: Grievances Reveal Problems Among Teens
Inmates got spoiled milk and uncooked or burned food, served with dirty cups and utensils. Bed sheets weren’t washed for weeks. Inmates were threatened with sexual violence by other inmates. Guards, who sometimes failed to conduct safety checks, withheld showers. Prescription medicines weren’t handed out. (Cheves, 5/9)

The Wall Street Journal: The Quest For Treatments To Keep Weight Off After Ozempic 
Drugs or procedures to keep weight off could fuel an even bigger bonanza than Ozempic and its immensely profitable cousins. Losing weight is temporary, but maintaining it is lifelong. Maintaining weight is also a different challenge from losing it. (McKay, 5/8)

ProPublica: This School for Autistic Youth Can Cost $573,200 a Year. It Operates With Little Oversight, and Students Have Suffered
No state agency has authority over Shrub Oak, one of the country's most expensive therapeutic boarding schools. As a result, parents and staff have nowhere to report bruised students and medication mix-ups. (Smith Richards and Cohen, 5/8)

The New York Times: When Prison and Mental Illness Amount to a Death Sentence
Markus Johnson slumped naked against the wall of his cell, skin flecked with pepper spray, his face a mask of puzzlement, exhaustion and resignation. Four men in black tactical gear pinned him, his face to the concrete, to cuff his hands behind his back. He did not resist. He couldn’t. He was so gravely dehydrated he would be dead by their next shift change. “I didn’t do anything,” Mr. Johnson moaned as they pressed a shield between his shoulders. (Thrush, 5/5)

ProPublica: Facing Unchecked Syphilis Outbreak, Great Plains Tribes Sought Federal Help. Months Later, No One Has Responded
The syphilis rate among Indigenous people in the Great Plains is higher than at any point in 80 years of records. More than 3% of Native American babies born in South Dakota last year had the preventable and curable — but potentially fatal — disease. (Barry-Jester, 5/7)

The New York Times: Lead In Beethoven’s Hair Offers New Clues To Mystery Of His Deafness 
Using powerful technologies, scientists found staggering amounts of lead and other toxic substances in the composer’s hair that may have come from wine, or other sources. High doses of lead affect the nervous system, and could have destroyed his hearing. (Kolata, 5/6)

The Washington Post: The Children Who Remember Their Past Lives
In the beginning, it seemed like Nina was just an imaginary friend. Two-year-old Aija had invented plenty of fictional characters before, but her parents — Ross, a musician, and Marie, a psychologist — noticed right away that Nina was different. From the time Aija learned how to talk, she talked about Nina, and her descriptions were remarkably consistent. Aija told her parents that Nina played piano, and she loved dancing, and she favored the color pink (Aija emphatically did not). When Aija spoke as Nina, in the first person, Aija’s demeanor changed: Her voice was sweeter and higher-pitched, her affect more gentle and polite than what Marie and Ross typically expected from their rambunctious toddler. (Gibson, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal: A Lawyer’s Slide Into Psychosis Was Captured In A WSJ Profile. He Tells Us His Story
Rob Dart isn’t the successful lawyer and father who left the people who love him two years ago to follow his delusions. That Rob lives in the memory of friends and in family photos. This Rob, who arrives on time for our interview, is standing by the roadside under the blazing California sun, his eyes and hair competing in wildness, his grin difficult not to match. In the past year, this Rob has been hospitalized, shot, housed, unhoused, a winner and a loser in court battles. Ultimately, he has shed every scrap of evidence of his life before illness: his connections to his son, family and most friends. (Wernau, 5/4)

North Carolina Health News: Using Nature To Treat Mental Health Patients 
Psychiatrist Nora Dennis works to build a care farm where people with mental illness can be healed as they nurture plants and animals.(Hoban, 5/8)

The New York Times: How Bad Are Ultraprocessed Foods, Really? 
They’re clearly linked to poor health. But scientists are only beginning to understand why. (Callahan, 5/6)

Newsweek: The Sky Is Falling On Abortion Rights. Telemedicine Can Help Protect Us 
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe almost two years ago, it opened the door for abortion opponents in more than half the states to shut clinics and put women's rights out of state and out of reach. However, telemedicine is an option that has bloomed through the dark days post-Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. (Julie F. Kay, 5/10)

Bloomberg: Inventing Drugs Is One Of The Most Exciting Uses Of AI
Alphabet’s artificial intelligence subsidiary, Google DeepMind, has yet again knocked the socks off scientists with its latest iteration of AlphaFold, using the tool to illuminate the intricate dance between some of life’s most important molecules. It’s an important leap towards a world where technology enables a deeper understanding of human biology and, hopefully, improves our ability to discover new drugs. (Lisa Jarvis, 5/9)

The New York Times: Bird Flu Is Our Fault
We don’t yet know if H5N1 bird flu will spill over from animals to infect a large number of humans. Based on the few cases of transmission so far, the World Health Organization has expressed concerns that infection in humans “can cause severe disease with a high mortality rate.” (Alex Tey, 5/10)

Stat: Use Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, Not Heat Index, To Protect Workers
A 30-year-old farm worker in North Carolina died last September on a day that was fairly typical for the state. Temperatures were in the mid-90s and the heat index, which includes humidity, was 96 degrees F. This index is often referred to as the “feels like” temperature, and is commonly used to gauge heat stress on the body. But use of the heat index to gauge whether José Arturo González Mendoza and his fellow sweet potato harvesters could work safety grossly underestimated the lethal risks at play. (Ashley Ward and Jordan Clark, 5/10)

Stat: What Nurses Really Want: Sufficient Staffing For Patient Care 
Pizza. Coloring books. Goody bags. They could be activities at a 5-year-old’s birthday party. But they’re not: These are many employers’ attempts to lift the morale of nurses on the frontlines of chronically understaffed organizations. What nurses really want are better working conditions so they can deliver the best care possible to their patients. (Karen B. Lasater and K. Jane Muir, 5/10)