Pharma and Tech: April 18, 2024

The Path to a Better Tuberculosis Vaccine Runs Through Montana
By Jim Robbins Researchers at the University of Montana have pitched in to develop a more effective vaccine in the fight against an ancient disease that still kills an estimated 1.6 million people a year worldwide.

To Stop Fentanyl Deaths in Philadelphia, Knocking on Doors and Handing Out Overdose Kits
By Nicole Leonard, WHYY Facing widening racial disparities in overdose deaths, Philadelphia officials are sending workers and volunteers to knock on doors across the city, aiming to equip households with naloxone and other drug overdose prevention supplies. City officials hope a proactive approach will normalize naloxone as an everyday item in people’s medicine cabinets and prevent overdoses, especially among Black residents.

A Paramedic Was Skeptical About This Rx for Stopping Repeat Opioid Overdoses. Then He Saw It Help.
By Lauren Peace, Tampa Bay Times For years, addiction response teams have traveled around Florida to connect people who have overdosed with resources and recovery centers. Now, a handful have a new tool in their kit: buprenorphine, which can help prevent the cravings and withdrawal symptoms that lead to more drug use.

More Kids Are Dying of Drug Overdoses. Could Pediatricians Do More to Help?
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR The surge in overdose deaths among teens is opening a new path to treatment: pediatricians. A doctor in Massachusetts shows how it works with a 17-year-old patient.

Swap Funds or Add Services? Use of Opioid Settlement Cash Sparks Strong Disagreements
By Aneri Pattani The national opioid settlements don’t prohibit using money for initiatives already supported by other means, but doing so could dilute the impact.

Journalists Track Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis and Put Catholic Hospitals Under the Scope
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Track Opioid Settlement Payouts — To the Cent — In Your Community
By Aneri Pattani and Lydia Zuraw and Holly K. Hacker Want to know how much opioid settlement money your city, county, or state has received so far? Or how much it's expecting in the future? Use our new searchable database to find out.

The Horrors of TMJ: Chronic Pain, Metal Jaws, and Futile Treatments
By Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News TMJ disorders affect as many as 1 in 10 Americans and yet remain poorly understood and ineffectively treated. Many common treatments used by dentists lack scientific evidence.

As Bans Spread, Fluoride in Drinking Water Divides Communities Across the US
By Melba Newsome The broad availability of over-the-counter dental products containing fluoride has some community leaders arguing that its addition to public drinking water is no longer necessary. But public health experts worry that, much like vaccines, fluoridation may be a victim of its own success.

Ten Doctors on FDA Panel Reviewing Abbott Heart Device Had Financial Ties With Company
By David Hilzenrath and Holly K. Hacker Most of the doctors the FDA tapped to advise it on an Abbott medical device had financial ties to the company. The FDA didn’t disclose the payments.

Biden Is Right About $35 Insulin Cap but Exaggerates Prior Costs for Medicare Enrollees
By Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact Most Medicare enrollees likely were not paying a monthly average of $400 — as President Joe Biden stated — before the insulin cap took effect. However, because costs and other factors result in widely varying prices, some Medicare enrollees might have paid that much in a given month.

End of Internet Subsidies for Low-Income Households Threatens Telehealth Access
By Sarah Jane Tribble A federal program that helped pay for more than 23 million low-income households’ internet access runs out of money soon. The end of the subsidy launched earlier in the pandemic could have profound impacts on health care access.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Supreme Court and the Abortion Pill
The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act — all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who wrote a KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

At Stake in Mifepristone Case: Abortion, FDA’s Authority, and Return to 1873 Obscenity Law
By Sarah Varney The end goal for a conservative Christian group’s mifepristone case before the Supreme Court: a de facto nationwide abortion ban.

FDA Announces Recall of Heart Pumps Linked to Deaths and Injuries
By Daniel Chang and Holly K. Hacker Some pumps used in end-stage heart failure caused a buildup of biological material that blocks blood flow from the device to the heart’s aorta. The FDA’s recall affects nearly 14,000 devices.

Readers Speak Up About Women’s Health Issues, From Reproductive Care to Drinking
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.