Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Patient Dies by Suicide After ‘Insurance Issue’ Delayed Medicine for Lung Disease Flare-Ups
Hours after experiencing a flare-up related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Kenney Blewett of Kyle, Texas, died by suicide in June. A medication his doctor prescribed days earlier to ease his breathing problems hadn’t been filled due to an “insurance issue,” his pharmacy explained via email.
Midterms Have Revived Universal Healthcare Debate. These States Are Ahead of Everyone.
While Democratic congressional candidates are floating the restoration of federal Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid funding, Oregon officials are crafting a more ambitious plan to implement universal coverage in their state.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: The MAHA Metamorphosis
The “Make America Healthy Again” movement held a shindig in Washington, D.C., this week. But rather than moms arguing to get chemicals out of their kids’ food, the room was full of Trump administration officials and industry representatives looking to promote health-related products. Meanwhile, the administration for the second year in a row is refusing to spend money Congress appropriated. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll of AcademyHealth.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
MEASLES: THIS ADMINISTRATION’S 'TERRIBLE LEGACY'
Says Doc Cassidy
— Timothy Kelley
of RFK policy.
Whose vote confirmed him?
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
Administration News
21 Drugs Are Cleared For Back-End Payments In Revised Pilot Of 340B Program
Healthcare Dive: HRSA Discloses Manufacturers Approved For Revised 340B Rebate Pilot
The Trump administration has released a highly anticipated list of 10 drugmakers that it will allow to shift discounts on drugs from upfront savings to back-end rebates in a controversial federal program. Starting Jan. 1, major pharmaceutical companies including AbbVie, Merck and Pfizer will only have to pay savings to providers participating in the 340B drug discount program after they verify the transaction qualifies, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, the HHS subagency that oversees 340B. (Parduhn, 10/1)
Modern Healthcare: HRSA 340B Rebate Model Pressures Rural Hospitals, Clinics
Small hospitals, health centers and clinics are caught in the crosshairs of an intensifying fight over the 340B Drug Pricing Program. In recent years, drugmakers and hospitals have gone head-to-head over 340B. Hospitals argue the program is a critical funding lifeline and stretches their resources, while drugmakers contend its explosive growth and alleged misuse by large health systems necessitate reform. The 340B program, begun in 1992, offers participating providers discounts of 25% to 50% on an array of medications in exchange for manufacturers’ enrollment in the Medicaid program. (Early, 10/1)
More health news from the Trump administration —
Fierce Healthcare: HHS Awards Nearly $250M In Addiction Treatment, Overdose Prevention Grants
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded nearly $250 million in grants Friday aimed at expanding access to mental health services and addiction treatment across the nation. The $247.9 million in funds were distributed through HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The projects receiving the highest amount of grant money are Medication-Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction ($69.4 million); Project AWARE ($54.9 million) National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative – Category III Community Treatment and Service Centers ($41.8 million) and First Responders - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act ($34.6 million). (Gleeson, 10/1)
Stat: As CDC Redesigns Annual Health Survey, It Removes Questions About Disabilities
A proposed redesign of the federal government’s annual health survey would result in significant undercounting of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to advocates for the vulnerable population. (Broderick, 10/1)
The New York Times: Housing Official, Who Targeted Trump Foes, Cuts Watchdog Office
Bill Pulte, President Trump’s director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, moved this week to slash the inspector general’s office that scrutinizes his actions, prompting calls from congressional Democrats for his resignation. It was the second time that Trump administration officials have taken steps to limit scrutiny of the federal regulatory agency run by Mr. Pulte, who has become one of the administration's most contentious figures because he prides himself on carrying out investigations into Mr. Trump’s rivals. (Broadwater, 10/1)
The Washington Post: TSA Officers Must Now Stand Up On The Job
The agency announced this week that it is removing chairs at this position in airports throughout the country, requiring staff members to stand for their shift. In a statement, TSA explained the reason as twofold: to ensure its employees meet its fitness standards and to create an amiable environment for travelers. In a Facebook post, the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100, the union that represents the officers, expressed concern over the agency’s “consequential decision.” The ergonomic chairs, the union argued, provide safety and support for officers who stand and walk on hard surfaces for extended periods. (Sachs, 10/1)
NBC News: Kennedy To Roll Out $10 Million Challenge To Encourage Presidential Fitness Test In Schools
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a new nationwide competition for schools aimed at expanding participation in the Presidential Fitness Test, which President Donald Trump revived last year. The challenge will offer $7 million in prizes to schools, districts and youth organizations that demonstrate effective ways to implement the test, the Health and Human Services Department told NBC News. Another $3 million in awards and vouchers will be available for fitness or sports equipment. (Bendix, 10/1)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: The MAHA Metamorphosis
The big “Make America Healthy Again” summit at a glitzy Washington, D.C., hotel this week highlighted a split in the movement between moms who want pesticides and artificial ingredients out of their kids’ food and wellness entrepreneurs who want to promote their products to government regulators. Meanwhile, as the new fiscal year begins, the Trump administration is refusing for the second year in a row to spend hundreds of millions of dollars Congress approved for the Department of Health and Human Services — and daring lawmakers or the courts to try to do something about it. (Rovner, 10/1)
On the immigration crisis —
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Agrees To Review ICE Mandatory Detention Policy For Immigrants
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would review the legality of the Trump administration’s novel policy of denying bond hearings to immigrants swept up in its immigration crackdown. The case is one of the first the high court has accepted since its summer recess ended, and it promises to be among the most consequential of the term that officially begins next week. (Mark and Nakamura, 10/1)
The Washington Post: Renée Good’s Family Sues Trump Officials, Saying Death Was ‘Not An Accident’
The family of Renée Good, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer during the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minneapolis earlier this year, has sued the United States and officials for her death. The family filed two civil lawsuits Thursday seeking accountability for what they described as a wrongful use of force that resulted in Good’s death and a broader effort to undermine the rights of Minneapolis residents. (Foster-Frau, 10/1)
Capitol Watch
Senate Committee Looks For Ways To Block White House Interference In Medical Research Grants
Roll Call: Lame-Duck Effort Brewing To Protect NIH Grantmaking
Senate appropriators from both parties are workshopping language that could be added to a spending bill to prevent the White House from exerting political influence on medical research grants. The provision would go into the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill that lawmakers hope to pass before stopgap funding expires Dec. 11. (Cohen, 10/1)
Stat: Analyzing FY 2026 NIH Grants: Budget Spent, But Uncertainty Lingers
A STAT analysis of National Institutes of Health spending shows that in the 2026 fiscal year, which ended Wednesday, the agency continued reducing grant awards involving health disparities, race, and ethnicity but made little progress toward other Trump administration priorities, including disbursing funds more evenly across the country and expanding support for early-career scientists. (Oza, Wose and Parker, 10/2)
More news from Capitol Hill —
Roll Call: Bill Easing Seniors’ Wheelchair Upgrade Costs Clears Senate
Legislation reversing a decade of Medicare payment policy that made it too expensive for many seniors to buy ultra-lightweight manual wheelchairs is on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk after the Senate quietly cleared it late Wednesday night. (Cohn, 10/1)
The Hill: GOP Senators Call For DOJ Probe Into Chinese Role In Illegal Hemp, Cannabis Networks
Four GOP senators who opposed the delay of a ban on intoxicating hemp products are calling on the Justice Department to investigate the role of Chinese criminal networks in America’s cannabis and intoxicating hemp markets. In a Wednesday letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche, the senators said Chinese criminal networks “are exploiting vulnerabilities in federal law to operate expansive illicit drug enterprises that threaten our communities and national security.” (Weixel, 10/1)
The midterm elections are Nov. 3 —
The New York Times: Congress Leaves With A Whimper, As The G.O.P. Braces For Midterm Pain
Republicans lined up a series of doomed votes in their final hours, hoping to portray Democrats as obstructionists. But some conceded that their party was more likely to be punished. (Gold and Hulse, 10/1)
KFF Health News: Midterms Have Revived Universal Healthcare Debate. These States Are Ahead Of Everyone
Democratic congressional members and candidates are already planning to use any midterm election gains to expand health coverage, including boosting Affordable Care Act subsidies, reversing Medicaid cuts, and lowering the Medicare eligibility age. But Democratic strongholds across the country — including Oregon, California, New York, and Washington — have more ambitious goals: single-payer, universal healthcare systems. (Hawryluk, 10/2)
NBC News: Abdul El-Sayed Tries To Woo MAHA Voters As Democrats Seek Inroads With RFK’s Supporters
A Democrat in one of the most competitive Senate races is making a play for the MAHA vote as some in the party seek to win over supporters of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s movement in the run-up to November’s elections. (Smith, Bendix and Tsirkin, 10/1)
From The States
After Botched Execution, Questions Swirl As Tennessee Inmate Receives Lifesaving Care At Vanderbilt Facility
Newsweek: Why Did Christa Pike's Execution Fail? 3 Possible Reasons
State officials have not publicly disclosed Christa Pike's condition. The Tennessean reported Thursday that medical staff were working to save Pike's life, although Vanderbilt University Medical Center declined to comment when contacted by Newsweek and referred questions to the Tennessee Department of Correction. The department told Newsweek: "We are unable to provide information regarding Pike's condition at this time. She remains at an off-site medical facility." (Mollman, Gibbs and Miller, 10/1)
CNN: Christa Pike: What’s Next After Surviving Lethal Injection
There is some legal precedent for inmates who survived an execution being put to death again, said Austin Sarat, an Amherst College professor and author of several books on the death penalty and lethal injection. In a case 80 years ago, 16-year-old Willie Francis survived an execution via the electric chair in Louisiana due to a malfunction. He appealed his case to the US Supreme Court, saying a second execution would violate the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution and the protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court rejected his appeal, and he died in a second electric chair execution. (Levenson, 10/2)
The New York Times: Tennessee Botches One Execution After Another, Despite Repeated Warnings
The failed attempt with Christa Pike has intensified bipartisan concerns about Tennessee’s ability to effectively carry out lethal injections. (Rojas, 10/2)
The Hill: Sen. Marsha Blackburn Calls On Tennessee To ‘Bring Back’ Electric Chair After Botched Christa Pike Execution
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Thursday called on Tennessee to reintroduce the electric chair for executions after death-row prisoner Christa Pike survived two lethal injections the day before. Blackburn, who is the GOP nominee in the Volunteer State’s gubernatorial race, called the botched execution “tragic” and said it prolonged the grief process for victims in this case. (Davis, 10/1)
Arizona Prison Healthcare Takeover Will Continue After Supreme Court Blocks State Appeal
AP: Arizona Loses Bid To Delay Start Of Takeover Of Healthcare Operations In State Prisons
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Arizona’s eleventh-hour bid to block the upcoming start of a court-ordered takeover of healthcare operations in its prisons after the state was found to have provided constitutionally inadequate care to incarcerated people and dragged its feet for over a decade in making required improvements. Justice Elena Kagan denied the state’s request Thursday, leaving an outside corrections professional set to take over healthcare management for 25,000 incarcerated people on Oct. 19. Arizona had asked the courts to delay the takeover while it appealed that decision and the appointment of former Ohio corrections director Annette Chambers-Smith to lead the effort. The state sought the delay from the Supreme Court after lower courts rejected by the request. (Billeaud, 10/1)
AP: States And Cities Sue To Strike Down Repeal Of Rule That Limits Power Plant Pollution
States and cities sued the Trump administration Thursday for repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Twenty-one states, led by New York, are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rule. The Democratic-led coalition also includes Pennsylvania’s governor, the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago and the city and county of Denver. They argue that “gutting one of the country’s most significant climate protections” will set the nation back decades and worsen the climate crisis. (Daly and McDermott, 10/1)
North Carolina Health News: NC Health Plans Form Task Force To Fight Medicaid Fraud
North Carolina’s four Medicaid contractors have joined forces on what they say is the state’s first joint task force dedicated to rooting out cases of fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicaid program. (Baxley, 10/2)
The Washington Post: Larry Nassar Among Thousands Of Sex Offenders Removed From Michigan Registry
More than 20,000 sex offenders, including Larry Nassar, the disgraced former sports physician who abused female gymnasts, have been wiped from Michigan’s public registry after a ruling by the state Supreme Court. The removals come after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in September that offenders cannot be forced to register under new versions of the sex offender registration law if the crimes occurred before the current law took effect. (Jira, 10/1)
AP: Massachusetts Men Avoid Jail After Harvard Fireworks Incident
Two Massachusetts men avoided jail time on Thursday after they earlier had pleaded guilty to setting off fireworks at an empty Harvard Medical School building, an incident that sparked a huge law enforcement response and increased anxiety on the college campus. Federal officials say 19-year-old Logan David Patterson and 21-year-old Dominick Frank Cardoza were in the Boston area for college Halloween parties last year when they broke into Goldenson Building, set off a firework before dawn and then fled. No one was injured. (Casey, 10/1)
The New York Times: Parents Are Charged After Toddler Pulls Out Loaded Gun At Day Care
The parents of a 3-year-old were charged with misdemeanors on Thursday after the child pulled a loaded handgun out of a backpack at a day care center in Michigan, where it was passed around to other children, the authorities said. No one was injured in what the police described as a shocking episode that was captured on video cameras inside the Childrens World Early Learning Center in Canton, Mich., on Monday. The authorities have not said who brought the backpack into the center but said the gun, a Glock pistol, was registered to the child’s mother. (Levenson, 10/1)
On LGBTQ+ healthcare —
Los Angeles Times: 988 Crisis Line Restores LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Support
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has restored the “Press 3” option connecting LGBTQ+ youth to targeted support services, more than a year after the Trump administration cut off the program. Starting Sept. 30, people who call or text 988 can once again be connected directly with counselors trained to support young LGBTQ+ people. The lifeline began offering the Press 3 option in 2022 in partnership with the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention for queer and trans youth. (Purtill, 10/1)
LGBTQ Nation: Gavin Newsom Signs 6 Pro-LGBTQ+ Bills In Response To Trump's 'All-Out Assault' On The Community
One bill protects trans medical records in the face of the Trump administration's efforts to obtain them from hospitals across the country. The other bills ban conversion therapy for minors; strengthen protections and resources for LGBTQ+ college students; limit out-of-state entities from accessing state data on LGBTQ+ people; reduce hurdles for insurance companies to cover HIV prevention medication; and, in response to the administration’s trans miliary ban, help military veterans who “received a discharge solely as a result of a specified executive order” to upgrade to an honorable discharge and prioritize those “who are able to demonstrate their less than honorable characterization of service was connected to a mental health condition, traumatic brain injury, sexual assault or harassment, or sexual orientation or … gender identity.” (Sprayregen, 9/29)
Health Industry
Medicare Advantage Plans Will Cost More And Cover Less In 2027
Stat: Medicare Advantage Plans: Higher Deductibles, Fewer Benefits In 2027
People who have a Medicare Advantage plan — and wind up needing care and prescriptions next year — are in for a rude awakening. (Herman, 10/1)
Bloomberg: UnitedHealth, Humana Drop Medicare Advantage Plans To Boost Profit
At least one million US seniors will be forced to switch health plans next year as the largest Medicare Advantage providers cut benefits and discontinue some offerings in the wake of rising medical costs and heightened government scrutiny. About 390,000 people are part of UnitedHealth Group Inc. plans that are shutting down, a company spokesperson said. Humana Inc. has said that it will cut plans covering about 600,000 people. CVS Health Corp.’s Aetna and Centene Corp. are also shrinking their Medicare Advantage options, according to Wall Street analysts who reviewed government data published this week. (Swetlitz, 10/1)
Healthcare Dive: Insurers Say Their 2027 Medicare Advantage Offerings Preserve Benefits. The Data Tells A Different Story
A Leerink Partners analysis of Medicare Plan Finder shows how the largest MA carriers are cutting dental allowances and premium givebacks next year as they continue to prioritize margin recovery. (Parduhn, 10/1)
More healthcare industry news —
NBC News: Woman, 26, With Breast Cancer Paid Over $20,000 For Treatment Due To Insurance Issues
Iris Di Cesare noticed her first breast lump in 2016, when she was a college senior. “I had an ultrasound, a biopsy, and it was benign,” she recalls to TODAY.com. Her doctor explained that it was a fibroadenoma, a marble-sized noncancerous breast tumor, and that she should “keep an eye on it,” so she did. (Siclait, 10/1)
KFF Health News: Patient Dies By Suicide After ‘Insurance Issue’ Delayed Medicine For Lung Disease Flare-Ups
Kenney Blewett was diagnosed with lung disease more than a decade ago but started experiencing flare-ups this year that made him feel like he couldn’t breathe. Blewett described those flare-ups as “the scariest thing in the world,” said his wife, Cindy, adding that while the episodes typically lasted no more than a few minutes, they had become more frequent. (Sausser, 10/2)
WFSU: FSU And Tallahassee Memorial Finalize FSU Health Agreement
The operating agreement between FSU Health and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare is finally completed. Both parties announced they are in agreement on lease and operating agreements and other documents outlining their academic and clinical structure. (Wood, 10/1)
Modern Healthcare: Bayada, Addus HomeCare Expand For Value-Based Care Contracts
Large home health companies are expanding their operations as one bargaining chip in the battle for value-based care contracts. A recent spate of acquisitions helped multistate operators move into more regions, giving them a possible advantage in negotiating value-based arrangements with private insurers, some of which are looking to reduce the number of home health providers they use. The agreements can include bonuses, shared savings or risk based on patient outcomes. However, they can be a tough sell in the price-competitive and fragmented home health industry, said Andrew Bates, an independent home care consultant. (Eastabrook, 10/1)
Stat: Journal Science Devotes Issue To Women's Health. Here's Why
Ovulation. Endometriosis. And especially: menopause. These once taboo words — among others — have become part of our daily vocabulary and conversations, a sign of greater interest in, and knowledge of, women’s health. (Merelli, 10/1)
Public Health
Doctors Without Borders Worker Evacuated To Netherlands After Contracting Ebola
Bloomberg: Health Worker Contracts Ebola In Congo, Evacuated To Netherlands
A Doctors Without Borders worker contracted Ebola while helping fight the Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest-ever outbreak of the disease and is being evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment. The staff member tested positive for Bundibugyo virus disease and is being evacuated under strict medical protocols in coordination with Congolese and Dutch health authorities, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, said in a statement Thursday. (Gale, 10/2)
On the spread of flu and covid —
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Reports First Flu Death Of Season
San Francisco health officials Thursday reported the city’s first flu-related death of the respiratory virus season. The person was an adult, but the health department did not disclose their age, vaccination status or whether they had underlying health conditions. (Ho, 10/1)
CIDRAP: Monoclonal Antibody For COVID Meets Safety Endpoints In Phase 3 Trial
US biopharmaceutical company Invivyd said this week that its investigational monoclonal antibody (mAB) for COVID-19 was found to be safe and tolerable in a phase 3 randomized clinical trial. (Dall, 10/1)
On infant and maternal health —
CNN: Unsafe Sleep Factors Found In Most Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths
Sudden unexpected infant death claimed the lives of about 3,400 babies in the United States in 2024. Despite decades of public health efforts to promote safer sleep, these deaths remain a major cause of mortality during infancy. A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly three-quarters of these deaths examined from 2020 through 2024 involved unsafe sleep factors. (Hetter, 10/1)
CIDRAP: Sepsis Rates Much Higher For Black Moms In Mississippi, Analysis Finds
Black moms in Mississippi are more than twice as likely to develop sepsis after giving birth than White mothers, according to an analysis published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. Maternal sepsis, the third most common cause of maternal death globally, occurs when an overactive immune response to infection during pregnancy, or after childbirth or abortion, causes the body to attack its own organs and tissues. (Boden, 10/1)
MedPage Today: More New Moms Are Starting GLP-1 Drugs
Starting a GLP-1 receptor agonist after giving birth is becoming more common, an analysis of claims data showed. The percentage of women who initiated a GLP-1 medication within 6 months of delivery rose more than 20-fold, from 0.08% in early 2018 to 1.9% by early 2025, reported Sih-Ting Cai, PhD, of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues. (Robertson, 10/1)
In other health and wellness news —
CNN: Eating Sugar While Taking Antibiotics Might Harm Gut Bacteria
Sugary foods combined with antibiotic treatment can damage the gut microbiome in ways that could leave people vulnerable to dangerous infections, a new study shows. (Goodman, 10/1)
CNN: Can Aging Be Treated Like A Disease? Scientists Are Starting To Find Out
As research into longevity advances, scientists are finding new ways to test a once-speculative idea: that aging itself could become a target of medicine. Researchers are investigating whether, instead of doctors waiting for age-related diseases to appear, it could be possible to measure and influence the biological changes that happen as we age. (Glgova, 9/30)
Newsweek: Cheap, Common Drug Linked To Far Lower Dementia Risk—But Only For Some
Aspirin could be associated with a significantly lower risk of developing dementia among older adults with a particular set of genetics, a new study has found. Researchers at Monash University, Australia, found that low-dose aspirin was associated with a 70 percent lower risk of dementia among those with specific genetics that influence platelet count. (Laws, 10/1)
Weekend Reading
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
The New York Times: New Cancer Drugs Are Revolutionary. Why Don’t More Patients Get Them?
A crushing sense of fatigue was spoiling John Ebers’s ski trip with his family. “I looked at my wife,” he recalled, “and said, ‘Man, I need to get in better shape.’” Less than four weeks later, Mr. Ebers, a 46-year-old commercial beekeeper, learned the problem was something much grimmer than his fitness level: A tumor had broken through the wall of his colon and spread to his lymph nodes. He had Stage 3 colorectal cancer. (Kolata, 9/30)
CNN: Chemicals In Everyday Plastics Pose Widespread Health Risks
Nearly 93% of known plastic chemicals used to wrap food and make clothes, toys, and other common household and personal care products pose a high risk to human health, according to a new investigation provided exclusively to CNN. (LaMotte, 9/30)
ProPublica: Four Kids In An Idaho Faith-Healing Family Died. Officials Could Do Nothing.
An exemption in Idaho law shields faith-healing parents from criminal prosecution for conduct that otherwise would be charged as neglect. It also keeps police and social workers from stepping in to protect a dead child’s surviving siblings. (Dutton, 10/1)
Bloomberg: FlyDubai Near-Disaster Brings Pilot Suicides Back Into Focus
A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv narrowly avoided catastrophe when one of the pilots allegedly tried to stab his colleague, forcing the plane into a steep plunge and an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The incident revives concerns about cockpit crews’ mental health and recalls past incidents of pilot murder-suicides. The cases are rare but not unheard of. A US Federal Aviation Administration study in 2014 found that eight of 2,758 fatal aviation incidents between 2003 and 2012 were determined to be aircraft-assisted murder-suicides. (Philip, 9/30)
Fortune: McDonald’s Is Exploring An $8.5 Billion Bet On A Fast Food Wave Led By Protein-Maxxing And GLP-1s
The health wave has made its impact on what could have been considered its mortal enemy: fast food. In a far cry from its old era of “supersized” menus, McDonald’s is exploring a new $8.5 billion, decade-long “McDonald’s Next” overhaul—and the fast food giant is exploring smaller and more flexible portions aimed at protein-first and GLP-1 consumers. The company is considering grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps, crispy chicken and burger bowls, and egg bites as it adapts to changing eating habits. (Hong, 10/1)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Onlookers Have Made Up Their Minds About Cornell Sex Assault Case; 340B Policy Must Adapt For Drugs With Multiple Uses
USA Today: The 'Cornell 7' Haven't Been Charged. The Mob Doesn't Care
The heated reaction to the Cornell allegations and the rush to judge the young men involved before they’ve had their day in court makes me fear the country has learned nothing about the dangers of simply “believing women.” (Ingrid Jacques, 10/2)
The Guardian: The Horror Of The Cornell Rape Case Is How Ordinary It Is
Many men rape; many men giggle encouragingly, or shrug indifferently, when their friends rape. Many men rape, and few seem to think that it’s a very big deal. (Moira Donegan, 10/1)
Stat: Outdated 340B Policy On Orphan-Designated Drugs Must Be Fixed
As sure as the sun rises, Crohn’s disease is most definitely not juvenile idiopathic arthritis. But government policy doesn’t seem to understand that. (John Mildenberger, 10/2)
MedShadow Foundation: The FDA Is Negotiating With Drug Companies. Patient Safety Should Be Part Of The Deal
I went to D.C. to push for greater accountability and stronger safety protections for patients who rely on brand-name and generic drugs. (Suzanne B. Robotti, 10/1)
Stat: Marathons Need To Prepare Better For Extreme Heat
Though I have treated thousands of patients since, Nov. 6, 2022 — the day of a record hot New York City Marathon — still weighs on me. Around the three-and-a-half-hour mark of the race, the finish-line medical tent filled. Inside, I was volunteering as a medical provider and an amateur runner, assigned to a row of cots in the moderate-severity zone. The unseasonably climbing temperatures were taking a visible toll on athletes of all levels. (Vibhu Krishna, 10/2)