First Edition: July 5, 2023

KFF Health News:
Patients Squeezed In Fight Over Who Gets To Bill For Pricey Infusion Drugs

Health insurers and medical providers are battling over who should supply high-cost infusion drugs for patients, with the tussle over profits now spilling into statehouses across the country. The issue is that some insurers are bypassing hospital pharmacies and physician offices and instead sending more complex drugs through third-party pharmacies. Those pharmacies then send the medications directly to the medical provider or facility for outpatient infusing, which is called “white bagging,” or, more rarely, to patients, in what is called “brown bagging.” That shifts who gets to buy and bill for these complex medications, including pricey chemotherapy drugs. (Liss, 7/5)

KFF Health News:
More States Legalize Sales Of Unpasteurized Milk, Despite Public Health Warnings

Babe the goat is trendier than she looks. Babe lives a quiet life on a hillside farm in southern Iowa, where she grazes on grass with a small herd of fellow goats. Her owner, Stacy Wistock, milks her twice a day. (Leys, 7/5)

KFF Health News:
Journalists Discuss Floridians Being Dropped From Medicaid And Tips For Telemedicine Visits

KFF Health News 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. (7/1)

AP:
Maternal Deaths In The US More Than Doubled Over Two Decades. Black Mothers Died At The Highest Rate 

“It’s a call to action to all of us to understand the root causes — to understand that some of it is about health care and access to health care, but a lot of it is about structural racism and the policies and procedures and things that we have in place that may keep people from being healthy,” said Dr. Allison Bryant, one of the study’s authors and a senior medical director for health equity at Mass General Brigham. (Ungar, 7/3)

NPR:
U.S. Maternal Mortality Rates Have More Than Doubled In The Last Two Decades

The number of people dying in the U.S. from pregnancy-related causes has more than doubled in the last 20 years, according to a new study, published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. And while the study found mortality rates remain “unacceptably high among all racial and ethnic groups across the U.S.,” the worst outcomes were among Black women, Native American and Alaska Native people. (Huang and Greenhalgh, 7/4)

Politico:
Supreme Court Limits LGBTQ Protections In Dispute Over Services For Same-Sex Weddings

Sotomayor said the court’s ruling opens the door for a wide variety of businesses to discriminate against prospective customers. She read portions of her dissent from the bench — an unusual move that signaled she felt especially strongly. It was the second day in a row that Sotomayor dissented from the bench. (On Thursday, she read long portions of her dissent in the court’s decision ending affirmative action.) (Gerstein and Frasier, 6/30)

The Hill:
Levine On Anti-LGBTQ Legislation: ‘These Laws And Actions Will Not Stand’

Rachel Levine remained optimistic about the LGBTQ+ community’s future in the U.S. at an event about health inequity. During Thursday’s event, hosted by The Washington Post, associate editor Jonathan Capehart and the nation’s assistant secretary for health discussed the recent slew of bills in state legislatures that target the LGBTQ+ community. (Kelly, 7/3)

The Hill:
Almost 1 In 4 People In The US Hadn’t Gotten COVID By The End Of 2022: CDC 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that almost 1 out of 4 people in the U.S. still hadn’t been exposed to COVID-19 by the end of 2022 after nearly three years of the pandemic. In its final survey looking at the period between October and December 2022, the CDC estimated that about 77.5 percent of people had infection-induced antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. (Choi, 7/3)

CBS News:
How Many Americans Still Haven’t Caught COVID-19? CDC Publishes Final 2022 Estimates

Virtually every American ages 16 and older — 96.7% — had antibodies either from getting vaccinated, surviving the virus or some combination of the two by December, the CDC now estimates. The study found 77.5% had at least some of their immunity from a prior infection. (Tin, 7/3)

CIDRAP:
US COVID Markers Stay Low 

The indicators the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses to track COVID activity remain low, according to yesterday’s update. Nationally, hospital admission rates for COVID declined 5.3% over the past week, and deaths remained level. For hospitalizations, most counties remain in the green zone, except for a few in Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. (Schnirring, 6/30)

Politico:
Biden Again Calls For Stricter Gun Measures After String Of Shootings 

President Joe Biden on Tuesday again called for further gun restrictions following a string of deadly shootings as the nation celebrates Independence Day. “Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives,” Biden said in a statement. “We pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence.” (Berg, 7/4)

NPR:
July Has Already Seen 11 Mass Shootings. The Emotional Scars Won’t Heal Easily

Monday night, a gunman wearing a bulletproof vest killed five people in a southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. Two children — ages 2 and 13 — were injured. Another shooting occurred the same night at a street festival in Fort Worth, Texas, killing three people and wounding eight. One day earlier, in Baltimore’s Brooklyn Homes neighborhood, a shooting at a block party killed two people and left 28 injured. (Chatterjee, 7/4)

NPR:
Canada’s Record Wildfire Season Continues To Hammer U.S. Air Quality

Several hundred wildfires are continuing to burn across several Canadian provinces this weekend, with an ongoing impact on impact air quality for vast swaths of the North American continent. Earlier this week the air quality in Toronto was assessed to be among the worst in the world, just weeks after the wildfires had left New York City with that dubious title. (Marx, 7/1)

AP:
Hiker Dies While On 8-Mile Hike In Triple-Digit Heat At Grand Canyon National Park

A 57-year-old woman has died while on an eight-mile hike in triple-digit heat at Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said Monday. The victim’s name and hometown weren’t immediately released. Park officials said a ranger was notified around 6:30 p.m. Sunday about a distressed day hiker in the remote Tuweep area of the park. (7/3)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Here’s Where It Was Hottest In Bay Area’s 1st Big Heat Wave Of Summer

Highs pushed near 100 degrees in the Bay Area’s inland valleys and reached well into the 70s along the coast Saturday as soaring temperatures were on track to make this weekend the hottest of the year to date. The heat was expected to peak by Sunday and taper off throughout next week, according to the National Weather Service’s Bay Area division. (Castro-Root, 7/1)

The Washington Post:
UNOS, Buckeye Dispute Threatens Flow Of Organs To Transplant Hospitals

The flow of lifesaving organs to 63 U.S. transplant centers could be disrupted as soon as Wednesday by a dispute over the use of data, another potential blow to the troubled transplant system the government has promised to overhaul. (Bernstein, 7/3)

The Washington Post:
Transplant Group Extends Deadline That Threatened Flow Of Crucial Organs 

The United Network for Organ Sharing has given Buckeye Transplant Services until July 19 to comply with its demands on use of transplant data. The extension offers a reprieve to the 63 hospitals and transplant centers that rely on Buckeye to evaluate the suitability of organs for potential recipients. Nathan Kottkamp, an attorney for UNOS, wrote to lawyers for Buckeye this week to notify the company of the extension, according to a copy of an email shared with The Washington Post. (Miroff and Bernstein, 7/4)

AP:
Secret Service Found Cocaine At The White House When Biden Was Away, AP Sources Say

The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Secret Service agents were doing routine rounds on Sunday when they found the white powder in an area accessible to tour groups, not in any particular West Wing office, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. (Long and Balsamo, 7/4)

The Hill:
Federal Judge Limits Biden Administration Contact With Social Media Platforms

The Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri are suing the administration over what they describe as a “campaign of censorship,” in which the Biden administration allegedly “coordinated and colluded with social-media platforms to identify disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content.” They argued that administration officials’ public and private communications with social media companies about removing content related to COVID-19 vaccines and public health measures, election integrity and other topics violated the First Amendment. (Shapero, 7/4)

Politico:
Judge Limits Biden Administration Contact With Social Media Firms

The ruling and order from Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, are the latest developments in a long-running lawsuit spearheaded by Republican-led states alleging that the administration pressured social media companies to remove posts containing purported misinformation about the coronavirus, election security and other issues. (Berg and Gerstein, 7/4)

The Hill:
Republicans Divided Over 15-Week Abortion Ban Ahead Of 2024 

Republicans are split on whether their presidential contenders should embrace a federal 15-week ban on abortion as the party tries to find its footing on the issue going into 2024. In a radio ad released Thursday in Iowa, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) vowed to back a national 15-week ban on the procedure. That ad followed a call last week from former Vice President Mike Pence, who urged the other candidates to embrace a federal 15-week ban. (Vakil and Manchester, 7/4)

AP:
10 States Plan To Sue The EPA Over Standards For Residential Wood-Burning Stoves

Attorneys general from 10 states plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saying its failure to review and ensure emissions standards for residential wood-burning stoves has allowed the continued sale of appliances that could worsen pollution. That means programs that encourage people to trade in older stoves and other wood-burning appliances, such as forced-air furnaces, haven’t necessarily improved air quality, the states say. (7/2)

Modern Healthcare:
Medicare 2024 Payment Rules Draw Critical Responses

In comments on the proposed rules to update reimbursements for nursing homes, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and inpatient psychiatric hospitals, providers and trade groups urged CMS to recognize macroeconomic trends such as inflation and other challenges facing the healthcare sector. These include workforce shortages and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These comments align with pleas from the hospital industry about the draft regulation to set inpatient reimbursements. (Turner, 7/3)

Modern Healthcare:
Home Health Providers Set For 2.2% Medicare Pay Cut 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed cutting reimbursements to home health providers by 2.2% in fiscal 2024 in a draft regulation published Friday. The proposed rate change is the product of a 3% market basket update, a minus 5.1% adjustment related to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model and other factors. (Turner and Eastabrook, 6/30)

Fox News:
Measles Protection Is Paramount Before Traveling Outside The US, Says CDC 

A recent health alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns travelers to protect themselves against measles before heading out to visit other countries this summer. A recent rise in cases of measles sparked the health advisory urging people to check that they’ve had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine at least two weeks before leaving on international trips, the CDC said. (McGorry, 7/4)

CBS News:
What Is Leaky Gut? Causes, Symptoms And Treatments Explained By Experts

If you’ve ever been on #GutTok, the popular corner of TikTok dedicated to gut health, chances are you’ve heard people talk about “leaky gut” or “leaky gut syndrome.” But what exactly is it? Leaky gut refers to the concept of relative intestinal permeability, or the ability for things to move through the intestinal lining. (Moniuszko, 6/30)

NBC News:
Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Patients Have Surprising Complications

“We’re still having people trickle in that have not been tested but the vast majority have been notified,” said Dr. Ivan Melendez, the public health authority for Hidalgo County in Texas. “Less than half have actually done the test,” a spinal tap to look for signs of meningitis. Melendez and other health officials are concerned that people who have been exposed aren’t taking the risk seriously. Symptoms of fungal meningitis, unlike bacterial or viral meningitis, typically take weeks or longer to appear. Some fungal infections can take up to a year to show symptoms. The CDC declined to give a specific date when people could be confident they’re no longer at risk. (Syal, 7/3)

NBC News:
CTE Diagnosed In A Female Professional Athlete For The First Time

A female professional athlete has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, for the first time, researchers say. The degenerative brain disease, which is believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, was diagnosed in the Australian rules footballer Heather Anderson, who died at age 28 in November, researchers said. (Da Silva, 7/4)

Fox News:
Dangers You Can’t See May Be Lurking In Your Unwashed Bedding, Says Study: Beware The ‘Health Concerns’ 

Monsters under the bed aren’t the only bedtime horrors to worry about. Sheets and pillowcases may actually be embedded with bacteria, according to a new study by Amerisleep, a mattress company in Scottsdale, Arizona. Unwashed bedding could even contain more bacteria than toilet seats after just one week, according to the study findings. (Stabile, 7/5)

Fortune:
Smartwatches Could Help Diagnose Parkinson’s Disease, Study Suggests

The experts at the university’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute (NMHII) and the U.K. Dementia Research Institute analyzed the accelerometry—the acceleration of motion—in 103,712 smartwatch wearers using artificial intelligence models. By tracking the speed of motion over the course of a week, the computer programs were able not only to identify patients who had already been diagnosed with Parkinson’s but also those who were in the early stages of the disease who had not yet been diagnosed. (Pringle, 7/4)

CIDRAP:
Artificial Intelligence Better Predicts Death In Pneumonia Patients, Study Suggests 

A deep-learning (DL) model that analyzes the initial chest x-rays of patients who have community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) may predict the risk of death by 30 days more accurately than an established risk-prediction tool, finds a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology. (Van Beusekom, 7/3)

NBC News:
Brain Scans Of Coffee Drinkers Show Its Effects Go Beyond Caffeine

The results, published last week in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, suggest that, indeed, certain changes in brain activity were attributable only to coffee, while others were attributable to caffeine, as well. The scans revealed that both groups — those who consumed caffeine and those who drank coffee — had decreased activity afterward in a part of the brain that puts people in a resting state. That indicated that people were more ready to start their days and engage with others after consuming either beverage. Decades of research has already shown that caffeine, a psychostimulant, can help people feel more aroused and alert. (Bendix, 7/2)

CIDRAP:
Review Shows Average Mpox Incubation Period Is 7 Days, Symptoms Vary 

A 21-study meta-analysis finds that the median incubation period for the global mpox outbreak that began last year is 7 days, symptoms vary widely, and immunocompromised people with HIV make up 36.1% of documented cases. The study is published in Archives of Virology. (Soucheray, 6/30)

CIDRAP:
Paxlovid Tied To 30% Lower Risk Of Severe COVID In Patients With Chronic Conditions

Paxlovid was linked to a 30% lower risk of all-cause emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalization, and death among vaccinated, nonhospitalized COVID-19 patients with serious chronic conditions but didn’t appear to benefit those with only asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or no serious underlying conditions, concludes a Harvard University–led study. (Van Beuskeom 6/30)

CIDRAP:
COVID Vaccine May Boost Antibody Response To MERS, Other Coronaviruses

A small Qatar University–led study published today in JAMA Network Open suggests that COVID-19 vaccination might enhance immunity against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and, to a lesser degree, other human coronaviruses. The researchers analyzed antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and MERS-CoV, which causes MERS, as well as cross-reactive responses to other human coronaviruses using 18 sera samples from 14 men who had previous MERS-CoV infections before (12) and after (6) receipt of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Van Beusekom, 6/30)

Modern Healthcare:
Telehealth, Staffing Concern Health Clients: Lawyers

The healthcare industry has been thrown numerous curveballs over the past year, from an unprecedented Supreme Court decision regarding access to abortion care nearly a year ago to the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency last month—along with a rocky economy and staffing shortages. In response to the uncertainty, lawyers working with health systems, nursing homes, digital health startups and provider groups have seen the demand for certain services spike. (Berryman, 6/30)

The Wall Street Journal:
Tyson Foods To Drop ‘No Antibiotics Ever’ Label On Some Chicken Products 

Tyson Foods is reintroducing certain antibiotics to its chicken supply chain, and will drop its “no antibiotics ever” tagline from Tyson-branded chicken products. (Thomas, 7/2)

Bloomberg:
Daiichi, AstraZeneca Drop On Concern Over Lung-Cancer Drug

While the drug significantly slowed progression of the most common form of lung cancer more than standard chemotherapy, it hasn’t yet improved overall survival rates, Daiichi and AstraZeneca said in a statement late Monday. There were also some adverse reactions that led to patient deaths, the companies said, using the technical term of Grade 5 events. No further details were given. (Mulier and Matsuyama, 7/3)

Modern Healthcare:
Y Combinator Leads Funding For Startup Alfie Health

Y Combinator, the startup accelerator that helped produce Airbnb and Instacart, led a pre-seed funding round of $2.1 million for Alfie Health, a virtual obesity clinic. Alfie uses an artificial intelligence system to produce treatment recommendations and behavioral changes for patients. The recomendations are reviewed by clinicians, with the company relying on telehealth visits to track a patient’s progress. Treatment prescribed by Alfie’s clinicians may include popular glucagon-like peptide agnostics, or GLP-1 medications. (Turner, 6/30)

Reuters:
Fresenius Launches Biosimilar Version Of AbbVie’s Humira At 5% Discount 

The generic drug unit of Germany’s Fresenius (FREG.DE) said on Monday the price for Idacio, its copycat version of Abbvie’s (ABBV.N) top-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug, will be at a 5% discount to Humira’s list price. Fresenius joins drugmakers Boehringer Ingelheim, Sandoz and Organon, which launched Humira biosimilars, or copies of biologic drugs, this week. (7/3)

Reuters:
US FDA Declines To Approve Amneal’s Parkinson’s Drug Over Safety Concerns 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declined to approve Amneal Pharmaceuticals’ (AMRX.N) drug designed to help control symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients for a longer duration, citing inadequate safety data. … .The health regulator, in a complete response letter, has requested additional data as it was not convinced beyond doubt about the safety of one of the ingredient, carbidopa, used in the drug, even though some studies have demonstrated the safety of the other component, levodopa, the company said. (7/3)

AP:
Dispute Over Human Remains Part Of Battle Between North Dakota Medical Waste Facility, Health System 

Human remains are at the center of tangled litigation involving a major regional health care system and the company contracted to dispose of its medical waste. Monarch Waste Technologies sued Sanford Health and the subsidiary responsible for delivering the health care system’s medical waste, Healthcare Environmental Services, saying the latter “brazenly” deposited a human torso hidden in a plastic container to Monarch’s facility in March. Monarch discovered the remains four days later after an employee “noticed a rotten and putrid smell,” according to the company’s complaint. (Dura, 7/3)

Houston Chronicle:
Houston Mosquitoes Can’t Bear Extreme Summer Temperatures, Study Finds

Houston may be getting too hot even for mosquitoes, whose bites can be both annoying and dangerous, according to a new analysis of daily temperature and humidity in 242 locations across the contiguous U.S. The report, published by climate science research group Climate Central, calculated that from 1979 to 2022, Houston has had a drop in annual number of “mosquito days” — defined as days with daily minimum and maximum temperatures between 50 and 95 degrees and an average relative humidity of 42 percent or higher. (Breen, 7/3)