Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Tribe Embraces Recreational Marijuana Sales on Reservation Where Alcohol Is Banned
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota allows people to buy and use recreational marijuana but not alcohol. Some tribal citizens say cannabis is safer than alcohol, meth, and opioids — which have wreaked havoc on the state’s Indigenous communities.
Patients and Doctors Trapped in a Gray Zone When Abortion Laws and Emergency Care Mandate Conflict
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, ER doctors say they — and their patients — are trapped between state anti-abortion laws and the federal law requiring that care be delivered in emergency situations. Women’s lives hang in the balance.
Journalists Put Polio, Price Transparency, and a Personal Covid Battle in Perspective
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Political Cartoon: 'In Case of Emergency?'
KFF Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'In Case of Emergency?'" by Bob and Tom Thaves.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
ANOTHER SETBACK FOR CHEAPER INSULIN PRICES
No cap for most folks;
— Anonymous
A blow for diabetics,
but Big Pharma wins
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 and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
Capitol Watch
House Next To Take Up Senate-Passed Health, Climate And Tax Bill
Politico: Senate Dems Pass Long-Awaited Climate, Tax And Health Care Bill
Senate Democrats passed their signature climate, tax and health care package Sunday afternoon, handing a long-sought victory to President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer even as the bill hit some last-minute snags. In a 51-50 vote, Senate Democrats approved their party-line package after an amendment process that spanned more than 15 hours. Democrats fought off most GOP efforts to change their fragile deal but did make a change just before the bill’s final passage that adjusted the corporate minimum tax provisions. (Levine, Everett and Carney, 8/7)
The Wall Street Journal: Senate Passes Democrats’ Climate, Healthcare And Tax Bill
The bill’s prescription drug plan would for the first time empower Medicare to negotiate the prices of a limited set of drugs selected from among those that account for the biggest share of government expenditures, long a goal for lawmakers. It would also cap out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 a year beginning in 2025, and starting next year mandate free vaccines for Medicare enrollees. It would cap insulin costs for Medicare patients at $35 a month starting next year. Subsidies for purchasing health insurance through the ACA, which Democrats passed into law in 2021, would continue through 2025, under the bill, an extension that will cost $64 billion. (Duehren and Hughes, 8/7)
Stat: In A Huge Victory For Dems, Medicare Poised To Negotiate Drug Prices
The reform is a stunning defeat for the pharmaceutical industry, which has invested a staggering amount of money to get its way in Washington, and which launched a seven-figure campaign last month to try to stop this effort. Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices has been the sector’s third rail for two decades. While drugmakers’ influence watered down the proposal, even the good will they earned after developing highly effective vaccines to treat Covid-19 wasn’t enough to stop it. Implementing Medicare’s new negotiating power will be a contentious experiment. Drugmakers have tremendous resources to deploy and three years before any of the provisions would take effect — time they can use to try to bend the regulatory process to their will. How the new policy will change the complex dynamic of investors’ decisions, pharmaceutical companies’ calculations, and the outlook for generic drugs is still unclear. (Cohrs, 8/7)
USA Today: Senate OKs Sweeping Bill Lowering Drug Prices And Promoting Clean Energy, Setting Up Major Biden Win
The bill didn't pass unscathed: Republicans stripped a $35 monthly cap on insulin co-pays via amendment, arguing the provision violated procedural rules. Seven Republicans sided with Democrats to try to keep the measure in place: Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. Democrats lowered the cost of insulin through Medicare in the bill, as Republicans' amendment targeted only the cap on insulin co-pays for private insurers. (Wells, Garrison, Swartz and Tran, 8/7)
The specifics of the bill —
The New York Times: What’s In The Climate, Tax And Health Care Bill
The legislation, while falling far short of the ambitious $2.2 trillion Build Back Better Act that the House passed in November, fulfills multiple longstanding Democratic goals, including countering the toll of climate change on a rapidly warming planet, taking steps to lower the cost of prescription drugs and to revamping portions of the tax code in a bid to make it more equitable. Here’s what’s in the final package. (Cochrane and Friedman, 8/7)
AP: A Look At What Is, And Isn't, Included In The Senate's Big Bill
Launching a long-sought goal, the bill would allow the Medicare program to negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, saving the federal government some $288 billion over the 10-year budget window. Those new revenues would be put back into lower costs for seniors on medications, including a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for older adults buying prescriptions from pharmacies. The money would also be used to provide free vaccinations for seniors, who now are among the few not guaranteed free access, according to a summary document. (Mascaro, 8/7)
What happened behind the scenes —
Politico: The Sinema-Manchin Split That Shaped Dems’ Deal
Sunday’s passage of the legislation marked a triumphant moment for a party that for years has talked a big game on lowering drug prices and fighting climate change. (Everett and Levine, 8/7)
Pharmaceuticals
Republicans Block Efforts To Cap Insulin Prices For Most Americans
CNN: Democrats Lose Effort To Cap Insulin At $35 For Most Americans Before Passage Of Senate Reconciliation Bill
Senate Democrats failed to realize their longstanding goal of lowering the price of insulin for the more than 150 million Americans with private health insurance. The party had pushed to include a measure in their climate and health care package that passed the chamber Sunday that would place a $35 cap on insulin for those on Medicare and with private coverage. (Luhby, 8/7)
Stat: Democrats Dramatically Narrow Their Ambitions For Lowering Insulin Costs
Democrats’ high hopes to lower insulin costs for patients with insurance got downsized on Sunday, and now only Medicare patients will see relief at the pharmacy counter. (Cohrs, 8/7)
Bloomberg: GOP Strips Insulin Out-Of-Pocket Cap From Bill: ‘Republicans Have Just Gone On The Record In Favor Of Expensive Insulin’
Waiving the rules required 60 votes to succeed. Seven Republicans sided with Democrats to keep the insulin cap in the bill, but that was not enough. Democrats plan to use the GOP move to strip the insulin cap in the fall midterm campaigns. Many in the GOP supported an amendment from Louisiana Senator John Kennedy to instead provide government funding to subsidize insulin purchases for low income individuals. (8/7)
ABC News: Republicans Strip $35 Insulin Price Cap From Democrats' Bill -- But Insist Senate Rules Are To Blame
The cap's scrapping was quickly seized on by Democrats and stirred controversy beyond them, with critics of the GOP citing the sometimes startling cost of needed insulin for diabetics. Republicans, in turn, accused Democrats of being misleading about a vote that they said amounted to a technicality rather than a policy difference. (Axelrod, 8/7)
The Hill: These Seven GOP Senators Voted To Keep $35 Insulin Cap In Reconciliation Bill
Seven Republican senators voted with all 50 Democrats to maintain a $35 monthly cap on the price of insulin in the Democrats’ $700 billion climate, health and tax reconciliation bill. The measure targeting people not covered by Medicare was ultimately blocked from being included in the Inflation Reduction Act when it fell three votes short of the 60 required to override a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian. (Mueller, 8/7)
Pharma's Rare Defeat Delivered On Key Issue It Fought Off For Decades
Bloomberg: US Government Poised For Long-Awaited Powers On Drug Pricing
Pharma rarely loses in Washington. For years, the industry has successfully defeated US government efforts to rein in drug pricing, arguing any such moves would prevent companies from developing newer and better medicines. That argument doesn’t seem to be enough anymore. ... Some of the world’s largest drug companies -- including Eli Lilly & Co., AstraZeneca Plc and AbbVie Inc. -- may end up being required to negotiate drug prices with Medicare, the government insurance program for seniors. Starting next year, the legislation would require drug companies to pay back money if they increase prices by more than the rate of inflation. (Peebles, 8/5)
Axios: Why Generics Oppose Democrats' Drug Pricing Bill
Generic drugmakers are warning that Democrats' plan to let Medicare to negotiate the prices of drugs may undercut competition from lower-cost copycats, inject massive uncertainty into their market and may forfeit potential long-term savings. (Owens, 8/8)
NPR: What You Should Know About Drug Price Reform
PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, [was] making its case in an ad campaign that the drug-pricing provisions in the bill could lead to fewer new medicines coming to market by "chilling research and development." The trade association also pointed NPR to this industry-funded analysis from Avalere, which estimates the bill could reduce drug manufacturer revenue by $450 billion by 2032.But an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimates the effect on drug development would be quite modest. About 15 out of 1,300 drugs would not come to market over the next 30 years – that's about 1% of new drugs. (Simmons-Duffin and Aubrey, 8/6)
CNBC: The Market's Big Winners And Losers In Climate, Health And Tax Bill
Medicare will only be able to haggle over 10 drugs in fiscal 2026, and new drugs will not be subject to negotiation for nine to 13 years after their market introduction, said Tricia Neuman, executive director of the Program on Medicare Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Mullaney, 8/8)
Reproductive Health
Indiana Passes Near-Total Abortion Ban In Wake Of Roe Decision
The 19th: Indiana Becomes First State To Pass Abortion Ban Post-Roe V. Wade
With the passage of a near-total abortion ban Friday night, Indiana became the first state to pass an abortion restriction after Roe v. Wade, which protected the federal right to abortion, was overturned. (Padilla, 8/5)
BuzzFeed News: A Republican Lawmaker Said “Not Her Body, Not Her Choice” Before Indiana Passed A Near-Total Abortion Ban
Republican House Rep. John Jacob, an anti-abortion extremist who wanted to remove all exceptions from the bill, including those for rape and incest, declared that an abortion was not a woman’s choice. “The body inside of the mom’s body is not her body,” Jacob said on Friday. “Let me repeat that: The body inside of the mom’s body is not her body. Not her body, not her choice.” (Cao, 8/6)
Indianapolis Star: Indiana Abortion Law: Here's What It Does
The ban will go into effect on Sept. 15. The law makes Indiana the first state to pass legislation of its kind in a special session since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. ... The bill bans abortion at zero weeks, with narrow exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, plus the life and health of the mother. (Kane, Lange, Herron and Fradette, 8/6)
Blowback came swiftly —
AP: Biden Team, Eli Lilly Condemn New Indiana Abortion Ban
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co., which employs 10,400 people at its headquarters in Indianapolis, warned that the ban could lead it to reassess its presence in Indiana. “We are concerned that this law will hinder Lilly’s — and Indiana’s — ability to attract diverse scientific, engineering and business talent from around the world,” the company said in a statement Saturday. “While we have expanded our employee health plan coverage to include travel for reproductive services unavailable locally, that may not be enough for some current and potential employees.” (Kusmer, 8/6)
Bloomberg: Eli Lilly Says Indiana Abortion Law Forces Hiring Out-Of-State
A growing list of companies, including Citigroup Inc., Apple Inc., Bumble Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co., are offering benefits for reproductive-care services in states that have imposed restrictions. But Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly’s announcement marks a swift escalation by a multinational that employs 10,000 people in Indiana, where the drug maker was founded in 1876. (Fisher, 8/6)
NPR: Large Employers Express Opposition After Indiana Approves Abortion Ban
Planned Parenthood called the legislation "an egregious attack on health care in Indiana," and noted that the group's facilities would not be able to provide abortions after it takes effect, even in the circumstance where exceptions are granted. "The way Indiana lawmakers moved this bill, hastily and without regard for the people it will impact most, is cruel and out of touch," said Rebecca Gibron, CEO for Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. "Governor Holcomb shut off his phones, cowering from his constituents, and signed their fates away to a future without bodily autonomy and access to fundamental health care." (Davis, 8/6)
Minnesota Jury Says Pharmacist Had The Right To Refuse Morning-After Pill
AP: Minnesota Jury: Woman Wasn't Entitled To Morning-After Pill
A jury on Friday ruled that a central Minnesota pharmacist did not violate a woman’s rights when he refused to provide her emergency contraceptives more than three years ago. Andrea Anderson, a mother of five from McGregor, sued under the Minnesota Human Rights Act after the pharmacist, based on his religious beliefs, refused to accommodate her request. ... Anderson eventually got her prescription filled at a pharmacy in Brainerd, making the round-trip of more than 100 miles in wintry driving conditions. (8/5)
In abortion updates from California, Kansas, and Florida —
Los Angeles Times: Proposed Abortion Ban Dies In San Clemente After Heated City Council Meeting
A proposal to declare San Clemente an abortion-free city has died after an emotional meeting where dozens of residents spoke on both sides of the issue. The City Council voted 3 to 1 Saturday to withdraw the proposal from the agenda of an upcoming meeting. Despite San Clemente’s reputation as a conservative bastion, the proposal has mostly fallen flat. (Do, 8/7)
AP: 5th Abortion Clinic Opened In Kansas In Lead Up To Vote
Planned Parenthood quietly opened another abortion clinic in Kansas in the lead up to a decisive statewide vote in favor of protecting abortion access. The Wyandotte Health Center in Kansas City, Kansas, had long been in the works but opened with little notice this summer. ... It brings the number of clinics in the state to five, three of which are operated by Planned Parenthood. (8/5)
AP: Florida Prosecutor Vows To Fight Gov. DeSantis Suspension
A Florida prosecutor vowed Sunday to fight his suspension from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis over his promise not to enforce the state’s 15-week abortion ban and support for gender transition treatments for minors. Andrew Warren, a Democrat suspended last week from his twice-elected post as state attorney in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, said in a Facebook video message and news release Sunday he plans a “vigorous defense” by his legal team but did not give specifics. (Anderson, 8/7)
For doctors and patients, frustration and confusion abound —
The Washington Post: A Challenge For Antiabortion States: Doctors Reluctant To Work There
In a few years, Olgert Bardhi’s skills will be in high demand. A first-year resident in internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, he’ll be a full-fledged physician by 2025 in a nation facing a shortage of primary care doctors. The trouble for Texas: Because of the state’s strict antiabortion laws, Bardhi’s not sure he will remain there. (Rowland, 8/6)
NPR: Confusion Roiled Michigan For Days As Abortion Rights Changed Hour To Hour
When Dr. Audrey Lance, an OB-GYN at Northland Family Planning Centers in Metro Detroit, got to work Monday morning, abortion was legal in the state of Michigan. By noon, it wasn't. Then by 5 p.m., it was legal again, with at least some certainty it would probably stay that way, at least until a hearing Wednesday. (Wells, 8/5)
KHN: Patients And Doctors Trapped In A Gray Zone When Abortion Laws And Emergency Care Mandate Conflict
Each week, Dr. Kim Puterbaugh sees several pregnant patients at a Cleveland hospital who are experiencing complications involving bleeding or infection. The OB-GYN has to make quick decisions about how to treat them, including whether to remove the dead or dying fetus to protect the health and life of the mother. Leaving in place a fetus that has no chance of survival dramatically increases the chance of maternal infection and permanent injury. But now her medical decisions are complicated by Ohio’s new abortion law, which generally prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy if cardiac activity is detected in the embryo or fetus — which can persist for hours or days even if a pregnancy has no chance of progressing. (Meyer, 8/8)
The New York Times: Some Women Turn To Self-Managed Abortion As Access Recedes
In states that have banned abortion, some women with unwanted pregnancies are pursuing an unconventional workaround: They are “self-managing” their abortions, seeking out the necessary know-how online and obtaining the medications without the supervision of a clinic or a doctor. At first glance, the practice may recall the days before Roe v. Wade, when women too often were forced to take risky measures to end an unwanted pregnancy. But the advent of medication abortion — accomplished with drugs, rather than in-office procedures — has transformed reproductive care, posing a significant challenge to anti-abortion legislation. (Rabin, 8/7)
What's next in the playbook for Republicans, Democrats? —
The Washington Post: Post-Roe, Some In GOP Wage Uphill Battle To Offer Families More Support
GOP aides and conservative policy analysts are skeptical that the Supreme Court decision will produce a meaningful shift in the party’s stance on federal family benefits. Republicans have mostly opposed Democrats’ efforts to create new social programs for the last century. Meanwhile, one of their central economic policy goals — cutting federal taxes — is at odds with an expanded safety net. (Stein and Caldwell, 8/7)
Politico: Republican Lawmaker: Abortion Could Hurt GOP In November If Party Goes Too Far
GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace on Sunday warned that Republicans could pay a price in November if they don’t reel in extreme takes on abortion policy. The Republican from South Carolina supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade but criticized bans that states have implemented that take measures such as preventing a person traveling out of state for care or include no exceptions for rape or incest. (Ward, 8/7)
AP: Dems Rally Around Abortion. Are They Reaching Black Voters?
Facing critical races for governor and U.S. Senate, Democratic hopefuls in Wisconsin are hoping that their support for abortion rights in the face of a Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade can overcome the headwinds of a midterm election long expected to favor Republicans. But there’s one key group their strategies might fail to mobilize: Black voters. An issue with strong support from white Democrats is more complicated in the Black community, especially among churchgoers who hold more conservative views on abortion. The topic is so fraught that most community organizers avoid bringing it up. (Venhuizen, 8/7)
Health Industry
Health Employers Hired More In July Than June
Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Jobs Report Shows Hiring Rise In July
Healthcare employers added an estimated 69,600 jobs in July as hiring rose from the previous month, according to preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. Healthcare jobs accounted for 13.3% of hires across the economy last month. Ambulatory services, including health practitioners, and hospitals saw the largest gains among healthcare employers. (Hudson, 8/5)
Modern Healthcare: Health System's Second-Quarter Financials Mixed
Labor costs, driven by demand for contract workers amid staff shortages, were the hot topic in the hospital industry's second-quarter earnings reports. Health system are doling out higher pay and bonuses to attract workers, despite ongoing financial challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Hudson, 8/5)
In corporate news —
The Wall Street Journal: CVS Plans To Bid For Signify Health
CVS Health Corp. is seeking to buy Signify Health Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, as the drugstore and insurance giant looks to expand in home-health services. ... Signify uses analytics and technology to help health plans, employers, physician groups and health systems with in-home care. It also offers in-home health evaluations for Medicare Advantage and other government-run managed-care plans. At the close of its deal this year to buy Caravan Health Inc., Signify said it supported roughly $10 billion in total medical spending. (Lombardo, Cooper and Terlep, 8/7)
Modern Healthcare: Advocate Aurora-Atrium's Proposed Megamerger Sparks Pricing Concerns
Two weeks after announcing plans in May to merge with Atrium and form a $27 billion health system, Advocate Aurora was hit with a federal lawsuit alleging its all-or-nothing contract provisions stymied competition and allowed the health system to raise prices. Advocate last month filed a motion to dismiss the complaint filed by a self-insured Wisconsin pharmacy. (Kacik, 8/8)
The Wall Street Journal: UPS To Buy Italian Healthcare-Logistics Provider Bomi Group
United Parcel Service Inc. agreed to acquire Italy’s Bomi Group, as the transportation giant looks to bolster its medical-product-distribution business. ... Founded in 1985, closely held Bomi distributes a range of medical products such as imaging equipment, biological samples and pharmaceuticals to hospitals, clinics, laboratories as well as to patients’ homes. It operates in Europe and Latin America. A deal for Bomi would expand Atlanta-based UPS’s operations in those regions and underscore the growing importance of the transport of medical supplies and equipment in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Dummett and Cooper, 8/8)
Stat: Health Industry Swarms Washington As Surprise Billing Rules Get Ironed Out
Solving surprise medical bills was supposed to be straightforward. It has been anything but. (Herman, 8/8)
On telehealth —
Stat: Telehealth Fraud Concerns In Washington Could Impact Industry's Future
Recent federal crackdowns on Medicare fraud linked to telehealth have raised concerns in Washington that virtual care introduces new opportunities for criminals to defraud vulnerable patients. But lobbyists and researchers say risks aren’t necessarily greater than in-person, and warn that fear could drive lawmakers to make virtual care harder to access. (Ravindranath, 8/8)
Politico: Fraud Is The Killjoy At The Telehealth Party
When the House recently passed legislation in a landslide vote extending Medicare reimbursements for medical visits that occur by video or phone call through 2024, every Democrat got on board, except one: Lloyd Doggett. In his 14th term representing an Austin, Texas, district, Doggett is a major voice on health care policy from his perch as chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. He said he isn’t against continuing a telehealth expansion that began with the pandemic, but is warning about the need to build protections against fraud into the law. (Leonard, 8/7)
Modern Healthcare: Amwell Tapped For CVS Health's Virtual Care Platform
Amwell is working with CVS Health on its new virtual care platform, the telehealth company announced Thursday. CVS Health's offering will include remote primary care, chronic-condition management and mental healthcare, and will roll out to Aetna and CVS Caremark members next year, the company announced in May. The platform will also help members find in-network specialists and other providers for in-person care. (Kim Cohen, 8/5)
Outbreaks and Health Threats
CDC Advises Moderated Sexual Habits To Avoid Catching Monkeypox
The Washington Post: CDC: Consider Fewer Sexual Partners To Avoid Monkeypox
Sexually active Americans should consider limiting partners and avoiding sex parties to reduce the risk of contracting monkeypox until they get vaccinated, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday. (Nirappil, 8/5)
More on the spread of monkeypox —
NBC News: Illinois Daycare Worker With Monkeypox Might Have Exposed Children, Officials Say
An Illinois daycare worker with monkeypox might have exposed children under his care, and an exemption was granted to allow those youths to receive the vaccine, health officials said Friday. The case was reported in Rontoul, a village in Champaign County in central Illinois, health officials said. (Romero, 8/5)
San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Jail Inmate With Suspected Case Of Monkeypox In Isolation
Friday’s announcement marks the jail’s first suspected case of a viral disease that has shot through the city over the past few weeks, prompting San Francisco officials to declare a public health state of emergency late last month. Similar declarations from the state and U.S. followed days later. (Cassidy, 8/5)
NPR: How Colleges Are Preparing For Monkeypox
Andrea Connor has become "the accidental COVID Czar" of Lake Forest College, a small school north of Chicago where she serves as dean of students. "When COVID started, our crisis management team sort of multiplied," she says. Now, she's relying on that same team to respond to a new health threat: monkeypox. (Salhotra, 8/6)
The Atlantic: What Should Worry Most Americans About Our Monkeypox Response
Seventy-eight days and more than 7,000 documented cases into the United States’ 2022 outbreak of monkeypox, federal officials have declared the disease a nationwide public-health emergency. With COVID-19 (you know, the other ongoing viral public-health emergency) still very much raging, the U.S. is officially in the midst of two infectious-disease crises, and must now, with limited funds, wrangle both at once. (Wu, 8/5)
Pew Trusts: Monkeypox Straining U.S. Health System
Deep into their third year of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, local and state public health workers are battered, depleted and, in many places, demoralized. And now, they face a rapidly spreading new virus: monkeypox. (Ollove, 8/6)
On the monkeypox vaccine rollout —
Los Angeles Times: Californians Waiting For Vaccine Try To Cut Monkeypox Risk
“The government needs to produce more vaccine and get it in the arms of people who need it — like now,” said Matthew J. Mimiaga, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry who directs the UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research and Health. “But I don’t think gay and bisexual men will let that be the only prevention opportunity that they take.” (Alpert Reyes and Brown, 8/7)
Oklahoman: How Oklahoma Is Using Limited Supply Of Monkeypox Vaccines
The Oklahoma Health Department hopes to be able to offer monkeypox vaccines to people in high-risk groups who want protection against the virus at some point in the future, a spokeswoman said this week. But for now, that's not the case. Vaccines aren’t widely accessible and remain in short supply in the state. (Branham, 8/6)
Bangor Daily News: Maine's 1st Monkeypox Vaccines Are A Relief And Reminder For LGBTQ Men
Tim Grady had been trying to get the monkeypox vaccine for weeks at home in Manhattan. He was not able to get it until he came here on vacation. “It’s really difficult to get an appointment down there,” Grady said. “So, it’s awesome to be able to walk into a clinic here in Ogunquit and be able to get [a shot] within half an hour.” (Marino Jr., 8/6)
Covid-19
Biden Is Out Of Covid Isolation After Second Negative Test
The New York Times: Biden Emerges From Isolation Again After Second Negative Coronavirus Test
President Biden left isolation on Sunday morning after a weeklong rebound case of Covid-19, heading to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware for a short getaway before resuming official travel. The president appeared in good spirits as he emerged from the White House in the early morning hours without a tie and headed to Marine One for the flight to the beach. “I’m feeling good,” he told reporters. (Baker, 8/7)
Will the CDC change its guidelines? Messages are mixed —
CBS News: CDC Expected To Relax COVID Guidelines As Kids Head Back To School
CBS News obtained a copy of the CDC draft document outlining the rationale for the change. While not yet final, the changes could include deemphasizing the "test to stay" strategy, in which students exposed to COVID-19 take regular tests to stay in the classroom. Schools would also be free to unwind strict social distancing measures, which the CDC's guidance has already effectively phased out. (Chen, Tin and Cook, 8/5)
NBC News: CDC To Keep Covid Mask, Isolation And Testing Guidelines In Place
With nearly 500 Covid-related deaths being reported every day in the U.S., on average, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection has no plans to ease up on restrictions anytime soon. The CDC is expected to publish an updated summary of its Covid guidance within the next week. According to a draft document reviewed by NBC News, there are no significant changes in the current advice to mask, test or isolate. (Edwards and Murphy, 8/5)
On the vaccine rollout —
ABC News: Novavax's COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Off To Sluggish Start With Just 7,000 Doses In Arms
Following its emergency authorization last month, just 7,300 doses of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Americans across the country, newly updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals. (Mitropoulos, 8/5)
The Boston Globe: ‘It Feels Yucky’: Pediatricians Say They’re Discarding Vaccine Doses For The Youngest Amid Lack Of Demand
“It feels yucky. I hate waste,” said Dr. Wayne Altman, a family physician in Arlington. His practice has had a comparatively high uptake of vaccine, with about one-quarter of eligible patients getting it. Still, he has not once used up every dose in a vial. (Freyer, 8/7)
More on the spread of covid —
Anchorage Daily News: Kicked Off Their Cruises, COVID-Positive Tourists Are Going Home On Alaska Flights And Ferries
COVID-positive travelers say they were not allowed to board their cruise ship in Skagway this week. Instead, they say that Holland America helped them book travel on a state ferry and then an Alaska Airlines flight out of Juneau — the day after their positive tests. (Stremple, 8/7)
Bloomberg: Covid In Schools: Masks, Shots Helped Protect College Students From Infection
Vaccinated and masked college students had virtually no chance of catching Covid-19 in the classroom last fall, according to a sweeping study of 33,000 Boston University students that bolsters standard prevention measures. (Goldberg, 8/5)
Politico: Long Covid Could Become A Mass Disabling Event. Congress Has It On The Back Burner.
Democrats have introduced several bills to improve research and access to treatment for long Covid. So far, none have support from Republicans, who have raised a number of objections, including the difficulty of diagnosing and defining long Covid, more important issues need to be tackled and new economic aid programs can lead to fraud and abuse. In the House, the bills have yet to get a hearing or markup. In the Senate, some long Covid provisions were tucked into the pandemic preparedness bill that has seen no movement since it was passed out of committee in March. Asked what’s happening now with the pandemic preparedness bill, the committee’s top Republican Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) deadpanned: “Nothing.” (Ollstein, 8/8)
KHN: Journalists Put Polio, Price Transparency, And A Personal Covid Battle In Perspective
KHN senior correspondent Arthur Allen discussed New York’s polio case with WBEZ’s “Reset With Sasha-Ann Simons” on Aug. 2. ... KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed health insurance price transparency rules that took effect July 1 on WJR’s “The Pre W. Smith Show” on July 28. ... KHN senior editor Andy Miller discussed his experience with covid-19 on WGUA’s “The Health Report” on Aug. 1. (8/6)
From The States
Legal Case Forces Michigan Hospitals To Explain Medical Mistakes
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Health Providers Can Be Forced To Explain Medical Errors
Sophie Rassey died just days after she was born at Beaumont Hospital in Troy. Alayna Perkins will turn 7 years old this month, but needs 24-hour care; she can no longer walk, talk or feed herself. Both girls, their parents say, were victims of medical mistakes at metro Detroit hospitals that have admitted liability but until now have refused to explain the errors that led to the tragedies or detail what steps have been taken to ensure the same blunders aren't repeated. (Jordan Shamus, 8/7)
WUSF Public Media: Board Of Medicine Advances The State's Plan To Ban Transgender Treatments For Minors
Amid an outcry from the LGBTQ community and harsh criticism from a host of physicians and health care professionals, the Florida Board of Medicine on Friday advanced a plan that would ban doctors from providing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender people under age 18. (Kam, 8/6)
Oklahoman: Oklahoma Legislators Never Funded Voter-Approved Justice Reforms
Oklahoma voters sent a message in 2016: Stop sending people to prison on minor drug and property crimes. Direct money saved to counties for drug and mental health treatment. State lawmakers still haven’t gotten the second half of that. Nearly seven years later, not a dime has been invested in the County Community Safety Investment Fund, established by passage of State Question 781 to cover the costs of treatment in all 77 counties. (Huffman, 8/6)
New Hampshire Public Radio: New Dental Residency Program Launching In N.H.
Stephanie Pagliuca used to joke that she would retire once New Hampshire got a dental residency program, but now, she’s finally getting her wish. (Fam, 8/8)
The Kansas City Star: Report Highlights Missouri’s High Maternal Mortality Rate, Offers Recommendations
Between 2017 and 2019, 185 women died while pregnant, or within one year of pregnancy, in Missouri. The majority of these deaths were preventable, a recent study found. (Spoerre, 8/5)
Columbus Dispatch: Mental Health, Teen Births: 5 Takeaways From Data On Ohio Kids
Ohio's children were hard hit by the pandemic. Their rates of depression and/or anxiety climbed by 42% from 2016 to 2020, according to the annual KIDS COUNT data book released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (Staver, 8/7)
Public Health
Drug Users Now Seeking Out Fentanyl To Smoke
NBC News: Once Feared, Illicit Fentanyl Is Now A Drug Of Choice For Many Opioid Users
One of the deadliest street drugs, illicit fentanyl, has transitioned from a hidden killer that people often hope to avoid to one that many drug users now seek out on its own. (Edwards, 8/7)
The Washington Post: It’s About To Get Easier To Access Affordable Naloxone
The first shipment of naloxone in a new national effort to reverse overdoses arrived somewhat unceremoniously. Delayed by shipping wait times and packaged in nondescript cardboard, 100,000 doses of Pfizer’s injectable drug were delivered Wednesday by a driver who steered two massive pallets into an unassuming warehouse that is home to the newly created nonprofit Remedy Alliance, which is expected to distribute mass amounts of the drug that reverses opioid overdoses to smaller community groups. (Kornfield, 8/7)
In other health and wellness news —
The Boston Globe: First-Of-Its-Kind Law Improves College Access For Students With Autism, Intellectual Disabilities
More than a decade in the making, the breakthrough legislation will require all of the state’s public college campuses to offer accommodations to young people whose severe disabilities prevent them from earning a standard high school diploma, allowing them to take classes as nondegree-seeking students and join extracurricular activities alongside their peers — experiences that can transform their lives for the better, according to experts. (Russell, 8/7)
The Atlantic: Fish Oil Is Good! No, Bad! No, Good! No, Wait
Tens of thousands of studies later, things haven’t gotten all that much clearer: We still don’t have anything close to a firm grasp of what fish oil can do and what it cannot. And lately, things have only gotten weirder. (Stern, 8/5)
KHN: Tribe Embraces Recreational Marijuana Sales On Reservation Where Alcohol Is Banned
In a growing number of U.S. states, people can both drink alcohol and legally smoke recreational marijuana. In others, they can use alcohol but not pot. But on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the opposite is true: Marijuana is legal, but booze is banned. Citizens of the Oglala Sioux Tribe overwhelmingly voted in 2020 to legalize recreational and medical marijuana on their sprawling reservation, which has prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol for more than 100 years. (Zionts, 8/8)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: Monkeypox Response Being Bungled Just Like HIV; Covid And Monkeypox Prove US Unprepared
The Washington Post: We’re Making The Same Mistake With Monkeypox That We Made With HIV/AIDS
I’ve watched the rise of monkeypox with great sadness and horror. Sadness because of all the people suffering from what can be an excruciating infection. And horror because it seems we are watching as public health officials make the same mistakes they made during the HIV/AIDS pandemic. (Rae Lewis-Thornton, 8/8)
The Washington Post: U.S. Monkeypox Response Has Failed To Contain Disease
The covid pandemic and the monkeypox outbreak are quite different, but the early responses have exposed similar — and disturbing — shortcomings. Once again, the United States and the world are racing to catch up to a virus that’s moving faster. (8/6)
Los Angeles Times: Monkeypox In California Is Disproportionately Harming Latino Communities
With more than 1,300 cases, California is second only to New York in spread of the disease — which transmits via skin-to-skin contact and bodily fluids and can cause painful lesions, among other symptoms. (Jeffrey Reynoso and Seciah Aquino, 8/6)
Also —
The Colorado Sun: I Started Microdosing Shrooms To Relieve Crippling Anxiety, Depression. It's Working
Eight months ago I joined the burgeoning number of people ingesting small amounts of psychedelics most days of the week to relieve the crippling anxiety and depression responses created by childhood trauma. And guess what? It’s working. (Chryss Cada, 8/7)
Stat: The U.S. Must Fully Fund Global Polio Eradication Efforts
Reports that a man in his 20s in New York state contracted polio and detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples in two New York counties leave many wondering how this could happen in a country that has eliminated the disease. (Martha Rebour and Purvi Parikh, 8/5)
Stat: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Reflects Health Inequities In The U.S.
Deaths from breast cancer create huge holes in families and communities that cannot be filled. This disease kills nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. each year, and a staggering 685,000 around the world. (Maimah Karmo, 8/8)
Different Takes: What Do Voters Want Regarding Abortion?; Vaccine Trials Must Include Kids, Pregnant People
Bloomberg: Voters Welcome An Abortion Compromise. Will The Parties Listen?
It should be a warning to the anti-abortion movement that conservative states are not necessarily in favor of criminalizing abortion. (Sarah Green Carmichael, 8/7)
The Atlantic: The Problem With Being Too Cautious In Vaccine Trials
Public-health officials recommend the Jynneos vaccine for household contacts of, and others recently in close contact with, people who have monkeypox. But this shot suffers from the same problem as many vaccines developed against emerging infectious diseases: It has never been rigorously tested in people who are pregnant or under 18 years old. (Jay Varma and Sallie Permar, 8/6)
The New York Times: Exercise Was The Perfect Coping Mechanism, Until It Wasn’t
When I was a junior in college, I joined the rowing team. The unthinkably expensive boats gliding down the Charles River enchanted me. But I was also drawn to something else: I’d heard crew was brutal. In the aftermath of a chaotic adolescence, I felt constantly on edge. (Emi Nietfeld, 8/8)
The Star Tribune: No Excuse To Harass, Threaten
Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic triggered a parallel contagion of deplorable conduct, with those on the pandemic's front lines receiving frightening e-mails, phone calls, social media comments and more. An alarming new investigation suggests the problem may be deepening. (8/5)