ABC News: Almost Half Of US Adults Plan To Get New COVID-19 Vaccine, Survey Finds
Nearly half of all adults in the United States plan to get the newly recommended COVID-19 vaccine, according to results from a survey released Wednesday. The latest poll conducted by the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor found that 23% of U.S. adults say they will "definitely" get the updated booster, 23% say they will "probably" get it, while 19% say they will "probably not" get it and 33% say they will "definitely not" get it. (Wetsman and Winsor, 9/27)

The Hill: Anticipated Uptake Of Updated COVID Vaccines Divided Along Partisan Lines: Survey
When broken down across political parties, 69 percent of Democrats said they planned to get vaccinated against COVID this season, while only 25 percent of Republicans said the same. Among independents, 45 percent said they would get “definitely” or “probably” get the updated COVID-19 dose. Split across age groups, the percentage of people who said they would get the vaccine grew as among older age groups, with roughly two out of three people over the age of 65 indicating they planned to get immunized. The majority of parents with children across all age groups said they did not plan to get their children the updated COVID-19 vaccine. (Choi, 9/27)

See The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Results: Partisanship Remains Key Predictor Views Of COVID-19 Including Plans To Get Latest COVID-19 Vaccine

Fox News: New COVID Poll: Democrats Have A ‘Particularly Negative’ Outlook, Are Most Likely To Keep Wearing Masks
People are becoming more concerned about COVID-19 amid the recent uptick in cases and new variants, according to Gallup’s latest quarterly poll. Gallup polled more than 5,000 U.S. adults between Aug. 29 and Sept. 5. Thirty percent of respondents said they believe the pandemic is getting worse — up from 5% in late May/early June and 8% in February, according to a news release on Gallup’s website. (Rudy, 9/27)

In other covid-related news —

NPR: Rollout Of The New COVID Vaccine Has Been Hampered By Distribution Problems
For the first time, the federal government isn't picking up the tab. Private insurers are supposed to make the vaccine free of charge, but there have been glitches. (Martin and Noguchi, 9/27)

Los Angeles Times: LAUSD Repeals Employee COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
Two years ago, the L.A. Unified School District set a high bar for COVID safety, telling employees: Get vaccinated or lose your job. That vaccine mandate — which achieved a 99% compliance rate among teachers — ended Tuesday following a 6-1 vote by the Board of Education. The nation’s second-largest school system — widely viewed as a national pacesetter in strong COVID-19 safety measures early in the pandemic emergency — had been among the last public school systems to continue a mandate. (Blume, 9/27)

Reuters: About 250,000 Courses Of COVID Pill Paxlovid Being Administered Per Week - Pfizer CEO
Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) chief executive said on Tuesday that almost 250,000 courses of the drugmaker's oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid were being administered per week as cases surged in the United States. Speaking at the Cantor Fitzgerald Annual Healthcare Conference, Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said the company is still uncertain about when Paxlovid, which is currently being distributed by the government, will receive approval to be sold in the U.S. commercial market. (9/27)

CBS News: Long COVID Has Affected Nearly 7% Of American Adults, CDC Survey Data Finds
Millions of Americans report having long COVID, either previously or at the time of being surveyed, according to new data from the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. In reports published Tuesday using data from 2022 National Health Interview Survey, the agency said 6.9% of U.S. adults reported ever having long COVID, while 3.4% said they currently had the condition at the time of interview. Based on U.S. Census data, that would mean nearly 18 million have suffered from the condition at some point since the pandemic began. (Moniuszko, 9/26)

The New York Times: Why Does Covid Cause Intense Fatigue? And How To Treat It 
Of all the classic Covid symptoms (the dry cough, the stinging throat, the achiness), fatigue may be one of the most debilitating, persistent and confounding. Dr. Marc Sala, co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Covid-19 Center, said fatigue has become the dominant complaint from his patients. That could be because Covid symptoms are becoming milder overall — he no longer regularly sees patients with severe respiratory damage, and so fatigue has come to the forefront, he said. It’s also possible that fatigue could be a more common symptom with the newer variants, he said. (Blum, 9/27)

The Guardian: Covid Hunters: The Amateur Sleuths Tracking The Virus And Its Variants
But three years later, the pandemic’s trajectory is becoming more difficult to predict – and decision-makers are increasingly reliant on the warnings of a diverse bunch of independent researchers. This week, Ryan Hisner, a teacher from Indiana, US, was listed alongside various academic co-authors on a paper in Nature, describing how the antiviral drug molnupiravir used to treat patients with Covid-19 may be fuelling the evolution of new variants by creating a specific set of mutations. (Geddes, 9/27)

On preparations for the next pandemic —

Bloomberg: What Is Disease X? How Scientists Are Preparing For The Next Pandemic
It sounds like something Elon Musk might have cooked up: “Disease X.” In fact, the term was coined years ago as a way of getting scientists to work on medical countermeasures for unknown infectious threats — novel coronaviruses like the one that causes Covid-19, for example — instead of just known ones, like the Ebola virus. The idea was to encourage the development of platform technologies, including vaccines, drug therapies and diagnostic tests, that could be rapidly adapted and deployed in response to an array of future outbreaks with epidemic or pandemic potential. (Gale, 9/27)

Modern Healthcare: Senate Advances Bill To Temporarily Aid Hospitals, Health Centers
The legislation would fund the federal government and temporarily reauthorize disproportionate share hospital payments, the federally qualified health centers program, graduate medical education funding, the National Health Service Corps and other healthcare initiatives until Nov. 17. The fiscal year ends on Saturday and Congress has not passed any spending bills for fiscal 2024. (McAuliff, 9/26)

The Hill: Senate Grabs Wheel From House In Bid To Avoid Shutdown
Senate leaders are grabbing the steering wheel from embattled Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in hopes of avoiding a wreck in the form of a government shutdown at the end of the week. Senators in both parties have lost confidence in McCarthy’s ability to move a stopgap funding measure through the House and hope to avoid a disaster by moving first.  (Bolton, 9/27)

Meanwhile, the possible impact of a shutdown on health care is discussed —

KFF Health News: What Happens To Health Programs If The Federal Government Shuts Down? 
For the first time since 2019, congressional gridlock is poised to at least temporarily shut down big parts of the federal government — including many health programs. If it happens, some government functions would stop completely and some in part, while others wouldn’t be immediately affected — including Medicare, Medicaid, and health plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. But a shutdown could complicate the lives of everyone who interacts with any federal health program, as well as the people who work at the agencies administering them. (Rovner, 9/27)

The Washington Post: How A Government Shutdown Would Affect Medicare, Medicaid Benefits
A government shutdown could wreak havoc on many federally funded programs if lawmakers cannot negotiate a spending deal by the Saturday deadline, including potential disruptions to some services provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare benefits will not be affected, and Medicaid has full funding for the next three months. While the agency is partially shielded from the impending tumult, it will retain fewer than half of its employees — many unpaid — until a shutdown ends, according to the updated Health and Human Services contingency plan released Thursday. (Malhi, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Government Shutdown Threat Risks HHS Programs, Staffing
A government shutdown could thrust healthcare providers into unpredictable and uncharted territory, even though vast portions of the federal healthcare apparatus, including Medicare and Medicaid, are immune from annual budget showdowns in Congress. According to President Joe Biden's proposed budget for fiscal 2024, which begins Sunday, 91% of Health and Human Services Department spending is categorized as mandatory, not as discretionary spending that is subject to yearly appropriations bills or periodic reauthorizations. (McAuliff, 9/26)

Stat: Would Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Stall In A Shutdown?
There are a slew of government health programs and thousands of federal staff that could see work stalled by the budget deadline Friday. But is Biden’s signature drug pricing program on the outs too? HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra warned reporters Friday that “a lot” of the work negotiation staff are doing right now — compiling information, corresponding with manufacturers — “takes people who would be impacted by a shutdown.” Except … the Inflation Reduction Act provisioned $3 billion for the negotiation program to get up and running. Unless Medicare has already hoovered up that money, despite slowing staffing up the 95-person office, it seems like the funds should still be there to keep the fledgling department open. (Owermohle, 9/26)

Yahoo News: Government Shutdown: Which Veterans’ Benefits May, May Not Be Affected
Many of the most crucial benefits and services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs will still be available. During a press conference Friday, Secretary Denis McDonough said Veterans Affairs is “working very diligently in preparation for a lapse in funding.” “…In the case of a shutdown, there would be no impact on Veteran healthcare; burials would continue at VA national cemeteries; VA would continue to process and deliver benefits to Veterans, including compensation, pension, education, and housing benefits; and the Board will continue to process appeals,” McDonough explained. (Bink, 9/26)

Roll Call: ARPA-H Announces First Two Regional Hubs 
The Biden administration’s new biomedical research agency, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, announced Tuesday that its first two hubs will land in the Dallas and Boston areas. The agency is using a “hub-and-spoke” model rather than centering all activity in one city. Part of the agency’s charter was that it would not be located in Washington, D.C., and members of Congress have spent years jockeying to bring the agency and subsequent STEM jobs to their districts. (Cohen, 9/26)

The Texas Tribune: Dallas Selected As One Of Three National Hubs For ARPA-H 
Dallas will be one of three national hubs for a new federal agency pursuing “game-changing breakthroughs” in science and medicine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, is an effort by the Biden administration to prevent and treat diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Along with its other national hubs in Cambridge, Mass. and the Washington, D.C. area, ARPA-H will include a network of “spokes,” or local health institutions, across all 50 states. (Pandey, 9/26)

The Boston Globe: Cambridge Chosen As National ARPA-H Hub
A new federal health research agency will set up shop in Cambridge with plans to spend billions of dollars to accelerate breakthroughs to vanquish tough-to cure diseases such as cancers and Alzheimer’s. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, said Tuesday that Cambridge will host the agency’s “investor catalyst” hub, which will work with researchers, entrepreneurs, and financiers to speed the transition of basic research into new technologies and medicines. (Chesto and Weisman, 9/26)

In other news from ARPA-H —

Politico: ARPA-H Announces New Cancer-Research Programs, Nationwide Health Innovation Network
The Biden administration announced almost $115 million in funding for three new cancer research programs Tuesday, as well as a nationwide network to deploy health innovation and medical breakthroughs to a wider swath of the country faster. The programs are through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, the new agency focused on high-risk, high-reward research. (Schumaker, 9/26)

Politico: Medicare Advantage Premiums And Plans To Increase Slightly Next Year
The average premium for Medicare Advantage plans are expected to increase slightly next year, according to the Biden administration. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday that premiums will go up $0.64 per month in 2024. The number of plans is also expected to increase from 5,674 to more than 5,700. The data comes as signups in the Medicare Advantage program are expected to make up more than half of all Medicare enrollment next year and amid growing congressional scrutiny over how plans advertise to seniors. (King, 9/26)

Politico: CMS Lacks Data On Private Equity In Nursing Homes
CMS’ data on private equity ownership of nursing homes has significant limitations, according to a Government Accountability Office report first obtained by Pulse. The details: The report to House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) found that CMS’ data didn’t include all of many nursing homes’ owners. That could be because some didn’t meet reporting requirements for ownership or comply with reporting mandates. (Leonard and Cirruzzo, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Lab Testing Medicare Fraud Scheme Results In $372M Judgment
The owner of a lab testing company has been ordered to pay $372 million by a federal court that ruled he had bilked Medicare through a fraudulent billing scheme. A former operations manager for one of four labs owned by Kentucky businessman Rajen Shah filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2019, alleging Shah billed Medicare for expensive molecular tests not ordered by a licensed healthcare provider. The federal government intervened in the civil lawsuit filed in Florida in August 2022. (Kacik, 9/26)

In other Biden administration news —

The 19th: Kamala Harris Talks Gun Violence Prevention In Atlanta
Vice President Kamala Harris asked a crowd of students from historically Black colleges and universities to raise their hands if they had ever participated in an active shooter drill. Every hand went up. Last week, Harris stood outside the White House as the creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention was announced. On Tuesday, she was on the latest stop on her college tour to talk about issues including guns with young Americans. (Gerson, 9/26)

Axios: Millions More Students Eligible For Free School Meal
Millions of more students will gain access to free breakfast and lunch at school, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announced Tuesday. The expansion of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will make some 3,000 additional school districts serving more than 5 million students eligible for meals at no cost. (Habeshian, 9/27)

Axios: Safety-Net Providers Bought A Record $53.7B Of Discounted Drugs: Report
Safety-net providers bought a record $53.7 billion worth of medicines under the federal drug discount program last year — a 22% jump over 2021 that came while drug price growth lagged behind overall inflation, according to a published report. (Bettelheim, 9/27)

In news concerning the FDA —

Reuters: Cough Syrup Deaths Overseas Prompt US Crackdown On Toxic Testing
The U.S. FDA is cracking down on lax testing practices by dozens of makers of healthcare products following hundreds of deaths overseas from contaminated cough syrups, a Reuters review of regulatory alerts found. The Food and Drug Administration has reprimanded at least 28 companies this year, saying they failed to prove sufficient testing of ingredients used in over-the-counter drugs and consumer products for the toxins ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), according to a Reuters analysis of agency import alerts and warning letters to manufacturers. (Wingrove, 9/26)

Stat: Sudafed Saga Points To U.S. Issues With Evaluating Older Drugs
You would have been forgiven for being surprised on Sept. 12 when a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration concluded that the active ingredient in Sudafed PE and other over-the-counter decongestants is completely ineffective. It was front-page news, birthed myriad explainer stories on the internet, and even inspired a lawsuit against companies that sold the medicine, phenylephrine. Yet when T.J. Parker, the entrepreneur and pharmacist who sold PillPack to Amazon, saw the news, he tweeted, “Didn’t everyone know this?” (Herper, 9/27)

CIDRAP: FDA Releases Draft Guidance On Antibiotic Duration Limits In Food Animals
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today published draft guidance for defining appropriate duration of use in antibiotics used in the feed of food-producing animals.The guidance aims to address an issue that critics say the FDA has neglected in its efforts to promote more judicious use of medically important antibiotics in livestock and poultry. Roughly one-third of medically important antibiotics approved for use in food-producing animals have no duration limit, meaning farmers can use those antibiotics in animal feed for extended periods of time to prevent disease—a practice critics say compensates for poor living conditions that promote disease in herds and flocks. (Dall, 9/26)

Politico: FDA Appears Skeptical Of ALS Stem Cell Treatment
The FDA is weighing the first stem cell treatment to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and agency documents indicate regulators are leaning against clearing it for market. FDA scientists said they have “major concerns” about the candidate, called NurOwn, ahead of a Wednesday meeting of the agency’s expert advisers. The drug, made by BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, intends to treat ALS by using patients’ own stem cells to produce proteins thought to prevent neurons from dying. (Lim, Ellen Foley and Gardner, 9/26)

On other developments —

Politico: Fentanyl Interdictions Hit Record Levels
Drug Enforcement Administration interdictions of fentanyl are running ahead of last year and likely to break annual records, Administrator Anne Milgram said Tuesday. “We are facing and confronting a threat that is ever-growing. It has never been more deadly or dangerous,” Milgram told grieving families gathered at the annual National Family Summit on Fentanyl, which brought together people who lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning. (Paun, 9/26)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KHN newsroom to the airwaves each week. (9/26)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Supreme Court To Hear Arguments About Ban On Most Abortions
As Ohioans prepare to vote on an abortion rights measure this fall, the Ohio Supreme Court will review whether to reinstate a ban on most abortions. (Balmert, 9/26)

The Guardian: Ohio Supreme Court Battle Over Six-Week Abortion Ban Begins
Arguments in the case arrive just weeks before Ohio will become the only state in the United States to vote directly on abortion in 2023. On 7 November, voters will have the chance to decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. If the Ohio supreme court rules to reinstate the state’s six-week ban, which is currently paused, it could throw the election – and abortion providers across the midwest – into chaos. (Sherman, 9/27)

On abortion law in other states —

AP: Anti-Abortion Groups Demand Liberal Wisconsin Prosecutors Charge Abortion Providers Despite Ruling
A coalition of anti-abortion organizations on Tuesday demanded that prosecutors in Wisconsin’s two largest counties bring charges against abortion providers who have resumed practicing following a court ruling that consensual abortions are legal in the state. Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Family Action and Pro-Life Wisconsin held a news conference in the state Capitol to call for Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm to prosecute abortion providers in their counties. (Richmond, 9/26)

Arizona Republic: Abortion Access Fight Moves From Red States To Blue States
The sanctuary in Grace Covenant Reformed Church was packed. People stood shoulder to shoulder wherever they could – near the stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible, behind the neatly lined rows of chairs that serve as pews, against a wall covered in crosses made from painted wood, wire, glass and ceramic red chiles. ... Residents of Clovis, a town of some 40,000 people a mere 20-minute drive to the Texas state line, crammed into this little brick building that night to discuss a plan of action to ban abortion. (Ebbers and Kavathas, 9/26)

The Boston Globe: A Massachusetts Reproductive Rights Organization Expands Into N.H.
Reproductive Equity Now announced on Tuesday that it is moving into both New Hampshire and Connecticut as a part of its goal to make the region “a beacon for abortion access,” the organization’s president, Rebecca Hart Holder, said. “Granite Staters share a deep commitment to reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, and dignity in health care, but recent attacks on our health care show us that the state is only one election away from eroding New Hampshire and our region’s reproductive health access,” she said. (Gokee, 9/26)

Hartford Courant: Connecticut Joins First Regional Model For Abortion Freedoms
With reproductive freedoms at risk across the U.S., abortion rights activists announced Tuesday that Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire will form the nation’s first regional model for reproductive health care advocacy. Pro-Choice Connecticut will sunset this month to join Massachusetts-based Reproductive Equity Now as it expands into Connecticut and New Hampshire, Liz Gustafson, director of Pro-Choice Connecticut and future Connecticut state director for Reproductive Equity Now, said at a press conference outside the State Capitol Tuesday. (Cross, 9/26)

From the campaign trail —

Newsweek: As Trump Faces Abortion Heat, GOP Senate Candidates Seek Middle Ground
Former President Donald Trump came under heat from anti-abortion groups after dodging questions during a recent "Meet The Press" interview on whether he'd support a national abortion ban and calling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' law banning the procedure after six weeks a "terrible thing." As the overwhelming GOP presidential front-runner, Trump faces the same burden that Republican Senate candidates running for office in swing states do—striking a balance on the issue that appeals to moderates without alienating the party's conservative base. (Rouhandeh, 9/26)

The 19th: Suicide Rates Of Teenage Boys Are Skyrocketing Because Of Firearm Access 
Suicide rates were 3.2 times higher for teenage boys than teen girls between 2018 and 2020 — with guns increasingly playing an outsize role. Boys and young men represent 80 percent of all youth suicide deaths, and 90 percent of all those who die by suicide using a firearm. (Gerson, 9/26)

Stat: Suicide Rates Higher For Nurses, Health Care Support Workers, Study Says
Jobs in health care are known to be challenging for workers’ mental health. But the mental health toll can be especially burdensome for registered nurses, health technicians, and health care support workers, who are at a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population, according to a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association that looked at a nationally representative cohort of about 1.84 million employed people (both within the health care field and outside) observed from 2008 to 2019. (Merelli, 9/26)

NBC News: Teens Inundated With Phone Prompts Day And Night, Research Finds
New research Common Sense Media released Tuesday finds about half of 11- to 17-year-olds get at least 237 notifications on their phones every day. About 25% of them pop up during the school day, and 5% show up at night. ... Dr. Benjamin Maxwell, the interim director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, said he is "immensely concerned" by the findings. (Edwards and Snow, 9/26)

On other public health news —

Politico: Rising Temps May Increase Hospital Visits For Drugs And Alcohol
Now, new research finds that warmer weather can increase the risk of substance-related hospitalizations. The study, published today in the journal Communications Medicine, finds that higher temperatures are associated with more hospitalizations related to the abuse of alcohol and drugs in New York state. For nonalcohol substances, hospitalizations increased until temperatures reached about 50 degrees — then tapered off. (Harvey, 9/26)

The New York Times: Former U.S. Military Bases Remain A Toxic Menace 
The cities of Seaside and Marina, Calif., where Fort Ord had been critical to the local economy, were left with a ghost town of clapboard barracks and decrepit, World War II-era concrete structures that neither of the cities could afford to tear down. Also left behind were poisonous stockpiles of unexploded ordnance, lead fragments, industrial solvents and explosives residue, a toxic legacy that in some areas of the base remains largely where the Army left it. (Vartabedian, 9/27)

Axios: Black Infertility: Why It's Too Rarely Discussed
From better medical training to more inclusive health benefits, a host of new efforts are aimed at reversing long-standing disparities and stigma that have prevented Black women from seeking out fertility treatments. Black women may be twice as likely to have fertility challenges than white women, but cultural factors — underscored by new research — contribute to Black adults seeking treatment less and silently suffering more. (Mallenbaum, 9/27)

WMFE: Pediatrics Specialist Weighs In On A 300% Increase In ADHD Medication User Error
Between 2000 and 2021, U.S. poison control centers across the nation reported a 300% increase in calls regarding children improperly taking ADHD medication outside of hospital settings, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Thinking about the use of these medications, it kind of makes sense," said Dr. Lisa Spector, division chief for the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. (Pedersen, 9/26)

Reuters: Centene To Cut About 2,000 Jobs
Health insurer Centene (CNC.N) will lay off 3% of its workforce, or about 2,000 employees, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday as the company tries to lower costs. The company, which makes a major chunk of its revenue from government-backed Medicaid memberships, has also been selling some of its business units to refocus on its core business. Last month, Centene sold its UK unit to UAE's PureHealth in a $1.2 billion deal and also divested its AI platform Apixio earlier in the year. (9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Centene Layoffs To Hit 2,000 Employees
Centene said it will lay off about 2,000 of its employees, or slightly more than 3% of its workforce. "We routinely assess our workforce to ensure we have the talent and expertise necessary to support our members and the evolving needs of the business," a spokesperson said Tuesday. "Our decision was not made lightly." (Tepper, 9/26)

In other industry news —

Stat: Health Tech Startups Drop Sharply From 2021 Highs
In less than two years, digital health’s high-flying class of public debuts have landed with a resounding thud. Accelerated by the pandemic’s forced adoption of telehealth and other digital health solutions, 2021 saw more than 30 health technology startups go public, raising hundreds of millions and in some cases billions of dollars. Today, three members of the class of 2021 have gone bankrupt. Twelve companies have lost more than 90% of their initial value, including Bright Health Group, Cue Health, and Better Therapeutics. And dangerously low reserves have inspired desperate moves to slash costs, drum up liquidity, and find buyers. (Palmer, 9/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Private Equity-Owned Healthcare Companies To Join In $3 Billion Merger
Private-equity firms New Mountain Capital and Marlin Equity Partners plan to merge two companies they own in a bid to create an all-in-one technology platform for employers and patients to manage their healthcare plans. (Cumming and Cooper, 9/26)

The CT Mirror: Hospital Execs To Lamont, Lawmakers: Seal The Yale-Prospect Deal
The presidents of two Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings told a gathering of state legislators Tuesday that their financial situation is dire, that they are struggling to pay bills and, if a deal to sell Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals to Yale New Haven Health is not approved, the facilities may not remain financially viable, according to people in attendance. (Altimari, Carlesso and Pazniokas, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Tower Health To Sell Urgent Care Centers To American Family Care
Tower Health is selling eight urgent care centers to American Family Care and closing five locations in Pennsylvania, effective Oct. 1. Financial details of the transaction with Birmingham, Alabama-based American Family Care were not disclosed. Tower said there are no planned layoffs, and American Family Care, which operates more than 200 urgent care centers in 26 states, is expected to offer jobs to as many affected employees as possible. (Hudson, 9/26)

On developments concerning McKinsey —

Reuters: Consulting Firm McKinsey To Pay $230 Million In Latest US Opioid Settlements
Consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $230 million to resolve lawsuits by hundreds of U.S. local governments and school districts alleging it fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction through its work for bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other drug companies. The settlements, which require a judge's approval, were disclosed in papers filed on Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco. The money is on top of $641.5 million that McKinsey already paid to resolve claims by state attorneys-general. (Raymond, 9/27)

Bloomberg: McKinsey To Pay $230 Million To Settle More Opioid Suits For Advising Drugmakers
McKinsey & Co. is poised to pay $230 million in its latest settlement of lawsuits blaming the company for its role advising opioid manufacturers in their sales of the painkillers. The proposed accord with local governments and school districts filed in court Tuesday would resolve allegations that McKinsey, one of the biggest US management consulting firms, helped fuel the country’s opioid epidemic by providing sales analysis and marketing advice to makers of the highly addictive painkillers, including Purdue Pharma LP and Johnson & Johnson. (Rosenblatt, 9/27)

Also —

Reuters: US Judge Overturns Eli Lilly's $176.5 Million Loss In Teva Patent Case
Drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY.N) convinced a federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday to overturn a $176.5 million jury verdict for Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA.TA) that found Lilly's migraine drug Emgality infringed three patents related to Teva's rival drug Ajovy. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said in a post-trial ruling that the Teva patents covering the use of antibodies to inhibit headache-causing peptides were invalid. (Brittain, 9/26)

Reuters: Walgreens Accused Of 'Grossly Inflated' Fee Bid In Health Plans' Lawsuit
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and other insurers have asked a U.S. judge to deny what they called a "grossly inflated" request for legal fees from national retail pharmacy chain Walgreens (WBA.O) arising from a dispute over evidence in a court case. The insurers said in a Chicago federal court filing on Monday that Walgreens' attorneys at Ropes & Gray were seeking "excessive" fees of more than $103,000 for the work of 11 lawyers on a single court motion in the litigation. (Scarcella, 9/26)

Houston Chronicle: Rice Gets $45M For Immunotherapy Device That May Cut Cancer Deaths
A team of researchers led by Rice University will receive $45 million to create an implantable device that aims to reduce U.S. cancer-related deaths by more than 50 percent. ... This type of treatment, called immunotherapy, is increasingly popular for fighting cancer. But it usually requires tethering patients to hospital beds, IV bags and monitors. The goal of Rice’s project would be to use engineered cells to produce biologic-based drugs inside patients. The dosage could then be adjusted in real time as cancer cells evolve and adapt. (Leinfelder, 9/26)

Reuters: Italy's Alfasigma To Buy US Liver Disease Drugmaker Intercept For Nearly $800 Mln
Italy's Alfasigma S.p.A agreed on Tuesday to buy drugmaker Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT.O) for $794 million as it aims to expand its treatment portfolio in liver diseases and digestive system disorders, and bolster presence in the U.S. The proposed all-cash acquisition would add Intercept's Ocaliva, a treatment for liver disease primary biliary cholangitis, to Alfasigma's portfolio. (9/26)

Stat: Roivant Autoimmune Disease Drug Shows Promise In Early Study
Results released Tuesday from an early study of an autoimmune disease drug from Roivant Sciences’ Immunovant showed the treatment could reduce the levels of a key immune marker in the blood, a promising signal. (Joseph, 9/26)

Stat: Ionis Has Late-Stage Trial Success For Rare Genetic Disease Therapy 
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, a California biotech that has spearheaded the development of RNA-targeting medicines, announced on Tuesday that its drug against familial chylomicronemia syndrome, a rare and serious disease that prevents the body from breaking down fats, succeeded in a late-stage clinical trial. (Wosen, 9/26)

Stat: Menendez Indictment Could See Pharma Lose A Key Ally
With mounting calls for embattled Sen. Bob Menendez to resign, the pharmaceutical industry could see one of its historical, and increasingly rare, Democratic allies ousted from Congress. (Owermohle, 9/26)

CBS News: New Study Links Tear Gas Exposure To Adverse Reproductive Health Outcomes
During protests in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, law enforcement used chemical irritants on the crowds. Later, some protestors reported disruptions in their menstrual cycles and reproductive health. The anecdotal reports prompted a study at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Planned Parenthood to explore the relationship between tear gas exposure and reproductive health. (Mitchell, 9/26)

In other science, research news —

Newsweek: Spider Venom Toxin Could Help With Erectile Dysfunction
A huge, horrifying spider might be the last thing you want to think about in the throes of passion, but scientists are now using spider venom to cure erectile dysfunction. Venom from the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer), also known as the banana spider, is the perfect candidate for a Viagra-like drug, as it is known to cause painful and long-lasting erections as a side effect. (Thomson, 9/26)

CNN: AI, Implants Form ‘Digital Bridge’ To Help Paralyzed Man Move Arms, Hands
A 46-year-old Swiss man who was paralyzed after falling on ice has regained some movement after a world-first surgery that installed an implant on his brain that uses artificial intelligence to read his thoughts, his intentions to move, and transfers them to a second implant in his abdomen that stimulates the right muscles to make parts of his body move as his brain wants them to. (Watt, 9/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: New Study Points With ‘94% Accuracy’ To Biological Signs Of Long COVID
A study published Monday in the journal Nature reveals an array of physical anomalies among the 152 study participants with long COVID, narrowing in on likely causes that researchers have suspected for years. The sheer variety of biomarkers — measurable physical characteristics — sets long COVID apart from more straightforward illnesses like hypertension, which can be easily identified by measuring blood pressure. The new study confirms that there isn’t just one such characteristic in people with long COVID, but many, and that not all are shared by everyone with the disease. (Asimov, 9/26)

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Stat: Svetlana Mojsev Has Been Edged Out Of The Ozempic Origins Story
On a mild May day in 1993, about 60 scientists and doctors gathered on a lawn in Copenhagen to commemorate the first International Symposium on GLP-1, the hormone that decades later would become the basis for highly effective diabetes and obesity drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. The meeting was a scientific showcase of all the leading experts in the nascent field. But for one of them, a chemist named Svetlana Mojsov, it was also the backdrop to a strange encounter with a former colleague. (Chen and Molteni, 9/27)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Signs Gun-Control Laws After Two Mass Shootings
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several gun control measures Tuesday, including a bill that tightens the state’s concealed-carry rules and another that imposes a new tax on firearm and ammunition sales. During a signing ceremony in Sacramento alongside lawmakers and gun control advocates, Newsom said California would resist legal efforts to dismantle its firearms laws and maintain its position as a national gun control leader, but called for greater federal action. (Wiley, 9/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: It Serves 50,000 Patients A Year. It Just Avoided A Massive Strike
A last-minute labor deal has averted a workers strike at a nonprofit health care provider that serves tens of thousands of mostly lower-income immigrant and refugee patients in Alameda County. The deal struck Friday between the employees and managers of Asian Health Services, a nonprofit organization with 14 community health care centers, is expected to relieve a staffing crisis that created massive wait lists for dental care and basic checkups, and difficult working conditions for staff, say health care workers involved in the negotiation process. (Li, 9/26)

In news on illegal drugs —

Politico: San Francisco’s Mayor Wants Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients
Recipients of public assistance — in a city once known for its embrace of counterculture drugs — would have to submit to tests for substance use under a proposal announced Tuesday by Mayor London Breed as she faces mounting pressure to address San Francisco’s fentanyl epidemic. Breed, who is running for reelection in 2024, outlined the plan the same day that an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune launched his own mayoral bid, arguing that his incumbent opponent had let the drug and homelessness crises fester under her watch. (Gardiner, 9/26)

The Boston Globe: State Backing Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline
The Healey administration on Tuesday announced a partnership with Boston Medical Center and the nonprofit RIZE Massachusetts to “fund and expand” the Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the state’s become the first in the nation to fund an overdose prevention helpline with a $350,000 investment that’ll support the hiring of paid staff for the undertaking, which has been a volunteer effort since it launched in 2020. (Andersen, 9/26)

AP: Oregon Gov. Kotek Directs State Police To Crack Down On Fentanyl Distribution
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she has directed state police to launch new strategies aimed at disrupting the fentanyl supply chain and holding sellers of the frequently deadly drug accountable. Kotek said in a statement that she made the announcement at a Tuesday meeting of her task force created to revitalize downtown Portland. (9/26)

In other health news from across the states —

KCUR: Kids Were Half Of All Missourians Kicked Off Medicaid In 2023 To Date 
Another 12,833 children were removed from the state’s Medicaid program in August — more than three-quarters of whom were terminated because of paperwork issues rather than being determined ineligible. August was the third month of the state reassessing the eligibility of every Medicaid participant, after a three year COVID-era pause on the practice. The process will take place over a year. (Bates, 9/27)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Tick And Mosquito-Borne Viruses Reported By NH Health Officials
New Hampshire health officials are reporting this year’s first case of mosquito-borne Jamestown Canyon Virus, and two other cases of a virus transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. The mosquito-borne illness was detected in an adult from Hillsborough County. (9/26)

AP: Louisiana's Struggle With Influx Of Salt Water Prompts A Request For Biden To Declare An Emergency
A mass inflow of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico creeping up the drought-stricken Mississippi River is threatening drinking water supplies in Louisiana, prompting Gov. John Bel Edwards to ask President Joe Biden for federal help. Edwards sent a letter Monday evening saying the issue “is of such severity and magnitude” that state and local authorities can no longer manage it on their own. Federal assistance is “necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster,” Edwards wrote. (Cline, 9/26)

Modern Healthcare: Boston Children’s, T-Mobile To Build 5G Network Ahead Of Epic Switch
Boston Children’s Hospital is installing a private hybrid 5G network from cell phone carrier T-Mobile, in part to prepare for its upcoming switch to Epic's electronic health record system. The 5G network also will enable the hospital to run its virtual health programs more effectively and improve communications between clinicians, said Heather Nelson, Boston Children's chief information officer. (Perna, 9/26)

AP: Missouri's GOP Attorney General Sues School For Closed-Door Debate On Transgender Bathroom Use
Missouri’s Republican attorney general on Tuesday sued a school district for allegedly secretly discussing transgender students’ bathroom access, in violation of the state’s open-meeting law. The lawsuit by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is campaigning to keep his seat in 2024, claimed a suburban St. Louis school board went into a closed session to talk about a student’s request to use a different bathroom. (Ballentine, 9/26)

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KFF Health News: Florida Foster Kids Are Given Powerful Medications, But Feds Find State Oversight Lacking 
The powerful anti-seizure drug the 5-year-old boy had been taking for more than a year made him “almost catatonic,” his new foster mom from Florida’s Pinellas County worried. And there was no paperwork showing that the boy’s biological mother or a judge had authorized the psychotropic medication, Keppra, as required by state law. “I was caught between a rock and a hard spot,” she said. “You can’t just stop that cold turkey.” (O'Donnell, 9/27)

CIDRAP: Scientists Detail Link Between Molnupiravir And SARS-CoV-2 Mutations 
A new paper suggests scientists are worried about molnupiravir's capacity to trigger SARS-CoV-2 mutations, echoing concerns that were raised even before countries approved it for emergency use in late 2021 as the Omicron variant arrived on the scene. (Schnirring, 9/26)

CIDRAP: FDA Releases Draft Guidance On Antibiotic Duration Limits In Food Animals
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today published draft guidance for defining appropriate duration of use in antibiotics used in the feed of food-producing animals. (Dall, 9/26)

New England Journal of Medicine: Dabrafenib Plus Trametinib In Pediatric Glioma With BRAF V600 Mutations 
Detection of the BRAF V600E mutation in pediatric low-grade glioma has been associated with a lower response to standard chemotherapy. In previous trials, dabrafenib (both as monotherapy and in combination with trametinib) has shown efficacy in recurrent pediatric low-grade glioma with BRAF V600 mutations, findings that warrant further evaluation of this combination as first-line therapy. (Bouffet, M.D., et al, 9/21)

The Washington Post: Self-Medicating With Psychedelic Drugs Is A Dangerous Plan 
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing a series of studies involving psilocybin, the psychoactive component in “magic mushrooms,” and MDMA, also known as ecstasy, for treating severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both ailments can be disabling and difficult to manage. (Leana S. Wen, 9/26)

Stat: Changes To Biosimilar Regulatory Framework Must Prioritize Patients
Biosimilars are no longer a new and untested class of medicines. Today, they provide critical treatment options across multiple therapeutic areas. Since the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 created a regulatory pathway for biosimilar medicine review in the U.S., 37 biosimilars have come to market offering the potential to increase patient choice and cost savings. (Leah Christl, 9/26)

The Baltimore Sun: Primary Care Crisis: Congress Must Invest In Training New Physicians In Underserved Communities 
Primary care physicians have never been more integral to our health care system. Patients in communities across the country rely on them for preventive services and emergency care. However, physicians and families continue to struggle because our health care system is unaffordable, riddled with inequities and inaccessible for so many. (R. Shawn Martin and Frederick Isasi, 9/26)

Chicago Tribune: The Term 'Tripledemic' Is Misleading And Unhelpful
The term “tripledemic” is being used to express the concerns about the collective spread of COVID-19, influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, during this fall and winter. Yet each of these infectious diseases has their own risk profile. Placing them under the same epidemic umbrella may inadvertently overstate the impending dangers — perhaps to the point of crying wolf when a calmer descriptor would be more beneficial and appropriate. (Sheldon H. Jacobson, 9/27)

The Washington Post: The Pandemic Is Over … Depending On Who You Ask 
The pandemic is … over? A year and change ago, at a brainstorm of Post Opinions editors, one of us threw out the idea of asking our readers when the pandemic ended for them. Or, at the very least, what would signal its end down the road? (Drew Goins, 9/26)

Miami Herald: Medicaid Unwinding Ousting 7 Million Americans From Medicaid 
Health insurance. It’s something we need, but usually don’t want to think about. However, if you or a loved one has Medicaid in Florida, you need to make sure — now — that you don’t lose coverage. (Cindy George, 9/26)

Seattle Times: Suicide Prevention Starts With Each One Of Us 
Every 11 minutes, a person dies by suicide in the U.S. In 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 12.3 million adults contemplated suicide, 3.5 million made a plan, and 1.7 million made an attempt (in addition to the 9% of high school students who also made an attempt). (Umair A. Shah, 9/25)