White House Funds Push To Capture Covid Relief Fraudsters, Reclaim Money
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will earmark $1.6 billion for law enforcement “strike forces” to track down and prosecute scammers who misused covid relief funds.
Officials: ‘Havana Syndrome’ Not Caused By Energy Wave Or Foreign Foe
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets report that a majority of U.S. intelligence agencies involved in investigating the mystery illness that hit hundreds of government staff found it wasn’t likely to be caused by an energy weapon. But NPR reports that the assessment goes against what many of the victims think.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, March 2, 2023
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
Colon cancer rates, RSV vaccines, opioids, insulin costs, ‘Havana syndrome,’ Medicare, covid relief fraud, and more are in today’s news.
Watchdog Says Medicare Part D Drug Plans Had Role In Opioid Crisis
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
A government watchdog found that more than 7,500 prescriptions for TIRF opioid painkillers were approved “improperly,” costing taxpayers $86 million even as the opioid crisis was impacting the country. Oversight of insurance agents and brokers selling Medigap policies is also in the news.
Biden: Other Insulin Makers Are ‘Gonna Have To Lower Their Price’
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
Speaking after Eli Lilly’s decision to dramatically cut prices for some insulin products, President Joe Biden said other pharmaceutical companies will have to follow with their own price cuts. A report in Stat, however, reminds us that Eli Lilly’s goal may be more complex than it appears.
Opioid Distributors Win First Trial Verdict Of A Suit Pressed By Families
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
A Georgia jury decided that Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp., and JM Smith Corp, and were not liable in a lawsuit filed by family members of people addicted to opioids the companies distributed. It was the first case filed by individual victims, rather than governments, to make it to a trial verdict.
Second RSV Vaccine Candidate Moves Forward On Path To US Approval
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
A FDA advisory panel voted Wednesday in favor of authorizing GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine for people 60 and over. The advisers had also backed Pfizer’s RSV vaccine candidate the day before, setting up a race for the first to earn U.S. regulatory approval.
Colon Cancer Increase Among Younger Patients Confounds Doctors
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
An American Cancer Society report finds that colorectal cancer rates are growing among people under 55 — once considered very young for the disease — and that cases are being diagnosed at more advanced, dangerous stages. Doctors so far can’t explain the “worrisome trend” and urge people to get screenings.
Watch: Dental Device at Center of Lawsuits Was Used on Patients Without FDA Review
March 2, 2023
KFF Health News Original
More than 10,000 dental patients have been fitted with an Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or AGGA, according to court records. But the unproven and unregulated device has not been evaluated by the FDA, according to a months-long joint investigation by KHN and CBS News.
First Edition: March 2, 2023
March 2, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California’s Massive Medicaid Program Works for Some, but Fails Many Others
By Angela Hart and Bernard J. Wolfson
March 2, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the state’s population — offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new “Faces of Medi-Cal” series, California Healthline will assess the program’s strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.
After People on Medicaid Die, Some States Aggressively Seek Repayment From Their Estates
By Tony Leys
March 2, 2023
KFF Health News Original
States take drastically different approaches to recovering Medicaid money from deceased participants’ estates. Demands for repayment of Medicaid spending can drain the assets a person leaves behind, depending on where they lived.
Information Blackout Shrouds New Reports of Deaths, Injuries, and Abuse at Montana State Hospital
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR
March 2, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Patient injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the Montana State Hospital since the state-run psychiatric facility lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But state officials won’t release details, citing laws making those reports confidential.
Judge to Fine California Each Day It Fails to Complete Prisoner Suicide Prevention Measures
By Don Thompson
March 1, 2023
KFF Health News Original
More than 200 inmates killed themselves during eight years in which state prison officials failed to complete court-ordered suicide prevention safeguards. Inmates, the judge writes, have “waited far too long” for adequate mental health care.
Viewpoints: Our Organ Donation System Is Broken; To Mask Or Not To Mask?
March 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle these public health issues.
Mississippi, Oklahoma Move Against Transgender Care For Minors
March 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
Mississippi banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the third state to do so this year. Meanwhile, a Republican-led House bill was approved Tuesday that would ban insurance coverage for young people’s gender care.
Want To Lower Your Disease Risks? Try 11 Minutes Of Daily Aerobics: Study
March 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
A large, new study has found that just 11 minutes of aerobic exercise daily, at moderate to vigorous energy levels, can lower cancer, cardiovascular disease, and premature death risks. The Washington Post says merely walking for 11 minutes can do the job, lowering premature death risk by 25%.
FBI Finds That Ransomware Hackers Hit Health Sector Most In 2022
March 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
Bank Info Security reports “the brunt” of ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure sectors in 2022 was borne by health care and public health entities — schools came second. Also in the news, a fall in Mayo Clinic’s profits, a tumble in GoodRx’s revenues, an affordable housing project by CVS and more.
Coronavirus ‘Lab Leak’ Theory Supported By FBI Director
March 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the source of covid was likely a laboratory leak in China, The Wall Street Journal reports. China’s government maintains it has been “open and transparent” on its own efforts to trace covid’s origin. Other news includes efforts to prevent the next pandemic.