First Edition: October 6, 2023 – KFF Health News

KFF Health News:
Trump Misplaced Blame When He Said Drug Shortages Were Biden’s Fault

In a recent campaign video, former President Donald Trump blasted President Joe Biden for “a catastrophic increase” in drug shortages. “It’s a mess,” Trump said in the video, adding that new drug shortages were up last year by 30%, with “295 active drug shortages” by the end of 2022. (Andrews, 10/6)

KFF Health News:
Mothers Of Color Can’t See If Providers Have A History Of Mistreatment. Why Not?

When Selam Solomon Caldwell and her husband learned she was pregnant last year, the stakes for finding the right OB-GYN felt high. Caldwell, a Black woman, had heard stories from family and friends of maternity care providers who ignored their requests or pressured them into cesarean sections without clear medical justification. As a relative newcomer to Los Angeles, the recruiter, now 31, knew few Black people who could recommend doctors who had treated them with respect. She combed review sites, including Google reviews and Healthgrades, but couldn’t find how nearby physicians and hospitals might treat a Black woman like her. (Kwon, 10/6)

NBC News:
Ozempic, Wegovy Linked To Severe Medical Conditions Including Stomach Problems, Study Finds

People who take popular drugs for weight loss, such as Ozempic or Wegovy, may be at an increased risk of severe stomach problems, research published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds. The brief report is the first study of its kind, the researchers say, to establish a link between the use of such drugs, called GLP-1 agonists, for weight loss and the risk of such gastrointestinal conditions. (Lovelace Jr., 10/5)

Bloomberg:
Ozempic, Weight-Loss Drugs Put You At Higher Risk Of Blocked Intestines

Novo Nordisk A/S drugs that are commonly used for weight loss were linked to a higher risk of bowel obstructions and other gastrointestinal side effects in patients with obesity than an older treatment. Using a health database, researchers compared side effects from Novo’s drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda with those of a weight-loss medication called Contrave. … GLP-1 drugs were also associated with higher risks of bowel obstruction and delayed stomach emptying, known as gastroparesis. (Muller, 10/5)

CBS News:
Is Your Ozempic Pen Fake? FDA Investigating Counterfeit Weight Loss Drugs, Trade Group Says

The Food and Drug Administration is now investigating an array of fraudulent schemes that appear to be trafficking counterfeit versions of Ozempic, an industry trade group recently warned its members. The new warning about knockoffs of Ozempic and similar drugs, which have seen demand surge over their use for weight loss, comes after a counterfeit Ozempic injector pen was discovered being sold at a U.S. pharmacy earlier this year. (Tin, 10/5)

Reuters:
Snack-Maker Conagra May Tweak Portions As Weight-Loss Drugs Alter Appetites

Slim Jim beef jerky maker Conagra Brands (CAG.N) said on Thursday it may consider changing portion sizes of its snacks if the rising use of weight-loss drugs results in changes to food consumption patterns. Drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic belong to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists that were developed to treat type 2 diabetes, but also mimic a gut hormone that suppresses appetite and promotes a feeling of fullness. (Vanaik, 10/5)

The Boston Globe:
COVID, Flu, RSV Dashboards Track Cases And Deaths In Mass.

With another cold and flu season around the corner, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday rolled out new viral respiratory illness trackers. The new dashboards focus on COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The announcement follows a surge of those viruses last year that experts dubbed a “tripledemic,” said state epidemiologist Catherine Brown during a Wednesday press conference (Smilgius, 10/5)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Who Is Dying From COVID Now? This Group Represented 90% Of Deaths

As the United States emerges from another summer COVID-19 wave, authorities have a clearer picture of who the coronavirus has affected most in the fourth year of the pandemic. A study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday reveals that older adults — those 65 and above — accounted for 63% of all COVID-related hospitalizations recorded from January to August, even as admissions declined for nearly all other age groups over the same period. (Vaziri, 10/5)

Axios:
Moderna Moving To Late-Stage Trial On COVID-Flu Combo Vaccine

Moderna said Wednesday it plans to begin a late-stage trial on a combination COVID-flu vaccine later this year in adults 50 years old and above, with an eye toward regulatory approval in 2025.Why it matters: A combined shot could simplify immunizations while simultaneously fighting two respiratory diseases that require repeated vaccinations. (Bettelheim, 10/5)

Stat:
Medicare’s Proposal On Nursing Home Staff Is ‘Insanity,’ Key Expert Says

“Recommending a staffing requirement that something like 80% of facilities cannot comply with is I think best described as the definition of policy insanity,” said commissioner Brian Miller, a health policy researcher and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University. About 41% of nursing facilities were below the proposed minimum ratio for RNs and 68% were below the proposed ratio for nursing assistants, MedPAC principal policy analyst Kathryn Linehan told commission members, citing CMS data from the second quarter of 2021. (Bannow, 10/5)

Axios:
Doctors Question Medicare Quality Program As More Face Steeper Penalties

For years, the vast majority of physicians who participated in a Medicare program incentivizing high-quality care got payment bonuses. But more doctors than ever are expected to soon be penalized for falling short of tougher new Medicare standards, prompting increased questions from providers about the program’s impact. Why it matters: The program, known as the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), was designed to get tougher as providers got more accustomed to tracking quality metrics, but providers say it’s causing more trouble than it’s worth. (Goldman, 10/5)

Politico:
Why Health Care Experts Are So Concerned About Fishing Boats

The most important health care cases headed to the Supreme Court this term have, at first blush, nothing to do with health care. One concerns regulations on small fishing vessels. Another covers rules for cracking down on financial fraud. A third asks whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can fund itself without congressional approval. Yet all three cases are part of a broader conservative effort targeting the administrative state, and could set precedents that block the FDA from expanding abortion pill access, the CDC from implementing pandemic protections, and HHS from ordering insurance companies to cover HIV prevention drugs, depression screenings and other preventive care. (Miranda Ollstein and Gardner, 10/5)

Modern Healthcare:
What Adverse Event Preventions Look Like In 3 Hospitals

As part of its report released last month on patient safety, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated for more federal oversight and public reporting of high-priority harms such as patient falls, misdiagnoses and wrong-site surgeries. To receive federal funding from CMS, hospitals generally are required to track, analyze and address certain adverse events as a condition of participation under the Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement program. (Devereaux, 10/5)

USA Today:
Real Water Ordered To Pay $228.5M In Damages Over Liver Illnesses

A premium alkaline bottled water company was ordered to pay nearly $229 million in damages to several plaintiffs Wednesday after its product was linked to liver illnesses, including one death. … Public health officials warned people not to drink the Las Vegas-based brand’s water in 2021 after linking it to liver illness in five hospitalized children. Will Kemp, an attorney who represented the majority of the plaintiffs, said the water was contaminated with hydrazine, a chemical used in rocket fuel. (Arshad, 10/5)

Politico:
Report: FDA Needs To Get Ahead Of Misinformation

The FDA should treat communications as an integral part of the agency’s mission, better engaging the media and trusted messengers to convey science and policy information to combat misinformation upfront, an independent group supporting the agency said in a new report Thursday. (Gardner, 10/5)

Stat:
FDA Panel Backs Idea Of Removing A Component From Flu Vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration’s expert vaccine advisory panel on Thursday unanimously endorsed the idea of taking a strain of influenza viruses that no longer appears to circulate out of flu shots as quickly as possible, pressing the FDA and manufacturers to try to get the work done on an expedited timeline. (Branswell, 10/5)

The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Proposal Casts Cloud Over Startups In Lab-Testing Market

A proposed regulatory shift has injected uncertainty into the laboratory-testing market just as startups are advancing an array of tests to detect diseases sooner and personalize treatments. (Gormley, 10/5)

Reuters:
FDA Says It Is Not Satisfied With Philips Breathing Device Recall

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remains unsatisfied with the status of a product recall by healthcare technology company Philips (PHG.AS), the regulator said in an update. Philips has recalled millions of sleep apnea and respiratory devices since 2021. In the update published overnight, the FDA said it believed Amsterdam-headquartered Philips should conduct additional testing on the risk posed to people who used recalled devices. (10/6)

The Hill:
FDA Calls For Cocaine, Meth Addiction Treatments

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance to facilitate the development of treatments for substance use disorders related to stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine. The FDA’s draft guidance lays out the agency’s recommendations on the development of clinical trials for drugs aimed at treating moderate to severe cocaine use disorder, methamphetamine use disorder or prescription stimulant use disorder. (Choi, 10/5)

CBS News:
Child Gun Deaths And Fatal Drug Poisonings Skyrocketed Over Past Decade, Researchers Find

Fatal injury rates have spiked over the past decade for children and teens in the U.S., especially deaths involving guns and drugs, according to new research published in the journal Pediatrics Thursday. … “Recent trends in pediatric injury-related fatalities are alarming, with increases in homicides, suicides, and poisonings in the past decade,” the authors write. Nonfatal firearm and poison-related injuries also increased — up 113.1% and 9.9%, respectively. (Moniuszko, 10/5)

Fox News:
These Are The 10 Leading Causes Of Death Among US Adults, The CDC Says

Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases a list of the leading causes of death among U.S. adults. USAFacts, a Washington-based nonprofit that compiles and reports on government data, took a deep dive into the latest data to identify any trends. Among a total of 3.46 million deaths in the year 2021 (the most recent year for which data is available), 74.5% of these deaths were attributed to 10 causes, according to a Thursday press release from USAFacts. (Rudy, 10/5)

Fox News:
Calls To Poison Centers For ADHD Medication Errors Have Risen 300% Since 2000, Study Finds

Amid rising diagnoses, a growing number of kids are getting prescriptions for ADHD medications — but the administered doses aren’t always accurate. Medication errors for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have risen by nearly 300% between 2000 and 2021 for people younger than 20 years old, according to a recent study at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. (Rudy, 10/5)

Reuters:
Dengue Will ‘Take Off’ In Southern Europe, US, Africa This Decade, WHO Scientist Says

Dengue fever will become a major threat in the southern United States, southern Europe and new parts of Africa this decade, the WHO’s chief scientist said, as warmer temperatures create the conditions for the mosquitoes carrying the infection to spread. The illness has long been a scourge in much of Asia and Latin America, causing an estimated 20,000 deaths each year. Rates of the disease have already risen eight-fold globally since 2000, driven largely by climate change as well as the increased movement of people and urbanization. (Rigby, 10/6)

AP:
September Sizzled To Records And Was So Much Warmer Than Average Scientists Call It ‘Mind-Blowing’

After a summer of record-smashing heat, warming somehow got even worse in September as Earth set a new mark for how far above normal temperatures were, the European climate agency reported Thursday. Last month’s average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 average for September. That’s the warmest margin above average for a month in 83 years of records kept by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. (Borenstein, 10/5)

The New York Times:
Workers Exposed To Extreme Heat Have Few Protections

Anthony Soto, a 22-year-old baggage claim employee at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, crumpled to the floor near gate C15 after a seizure last October that he attributed to hot indoor conditions and strenuous lifting. In record-setting heat in Texas this past summer, Mr. Soto, who has epilepsy, had four more seizures that left him speechless, his body unresponsive, he said. (Weiland, 10/5)

The Washington Post:
Scientists Discover How Dozens Of Genes May Contribute To Autism

The study delves into a 20-year-old theory that suggests one cause of autism may be a disruption of the delicate balance between two types of nerve cells found in the brain’s cerebral cortex, the area responsible for higher-level processes such as thought, emotion, decision-making and language. Some nerve cells in this region of the brain excite other nerve cells, encouraging them to fire; other cells, called interneurons, do the opposite. Too much excitation can impair focus in the brain and cause epilepsy, a seizure disorder that is more common in people with autism than in the general population. Scientists therefore believe a proper balance requires more of the inhibiting interneurons. (Johnson, 10/5)

CIDRAP:
RSV Hospitalizations Have Worse Clinical Outcomes For Older Americans Than Flu, COVID

Though hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are less common than those for flu or COVID-19, they are more severe and more likely to occur in adults ages 75 and older, according to new data published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Soucheray, 10/5)

CIDRAP:
Enhanced IPC Measures At Cancer Center Linked To Reduced Infections During COVID

Robust infection prevention and control (IPC) measures at a comprehensive cancer center during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with significant decreases in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), researchers reported today in the American Journal of Infection Control. (Dall, 10/5)

Stat:
What To Expect At HLTH 2023, The Health Care Industry Conference

It’s the sixth year of the HLTH conference, which draws high profile names from companies like Verily, Amazon, and 23andMe; venture giants like Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz; and hospitals, payers and startups hungry for new partnerships, funding and paying customers. A few hundred more attendees are signed up this year compared to last, and this year, more than others, organizers tell STAT they’ll nudge attendees to think about their impact on “humanity”: that is, how best to improve health care overall, beyond their bottom lines. (Ravindranath, 10/5)

Stat:
Chemotherapy Drug Shortage Eases Slightly But Still Widespread

The shortage of cancer drugs is not going away, but it may be easing slightly, a new national survey suggests. Based on questions posed to 29 of its 33 member hospitals, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network said Thursday that 86% of those cancer centers are experiencing a shortage of at least one type of generic chemotherapy drug, down from 90% in May. (Cooney, 10/5)

The Boston Globe:
UniQure Cuts 20 Percent Of Workforce

UniQure, the Dutch gene therapy maker with operations in Lexington, said Thursday it will cut about 20 percent of its workforce, or 114 jobs, as it joins the growing list of biotechs shedding workers in the industry downturn. … Most of the layoffs will be in Amsterdam, where UniQure’s research operations are located, but 35 will be in Lexington, according to Tom Malone, a company spokesperson. (Saltzman, 10/5)

Modern Healthcare:
CVS Health’s Aetna To Cut Some Virtual Care Coverage

As of Dec. 1, Aetna will end coverage of about 80 types of virtual care ranging from behavioral care services that include alcohol and drug treatment to ophthalmological care to services related to end-stage renal disease, according to a bulletin sent to providers last month. The company will also end audio-only coverage of nearly 60 services, including psychotherapy treatment, counseling for alcohol misuse, obesity counseling and more, the bulletin said. Aetna noted it had continued to cover these services past the May 11 end of the public health emergency. (Tepper, 10/5)

Bloomberg:
Thoma Bravo Nears $1 Billion Debt Package For NextGen Healthcare

Thoma Bravo is nearing a roughly $1 billion financing package from a group of private credit lenders for its planned acquisition of NextGen Healthcare Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter. The bulk of the financing comprises a unitranche loan that blends senior and junior debt, which is being led by Barings, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private transaction. Ares Management Corp., Oaktree Capital Management, Oak Hill Advisors and Neuberger Berman Group are also participating in the loan, they added. (Seligson, Arroyo, and Schneider, 10/5)

Reuters:
Pfizer Resolves Promosome Patent Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Vaccine

Pfizer (PFE.N), BioNTech (22UAy.DE) and biotech firm Promosome told a federal judge in San Diego, California that they have agreed to end Promosome’s lawsuit accusing the COVID-19 vaccine makers of infringing a patent related to messenger RNA technology. The companies said in a court filing on Wednesday that Promosome would dismiss its case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled, and that Promosome had agreed not to bring future claims over the patent against Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. No financial terms were disclosed. (Brittain, 10/5)

Stat:
Neurocrine Reports Success On Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Drug

Neurocrine Biosciences, a biotech focused on treating rare neurological and endocrine diseases, announced on Thursday that its experimental drug for congenital adrenal hyperplasia succeeded in a late-stage trial of children and adolescents, marking the second success the company has reported in the past month for a drug observers believe has blockbuster potential. (Wosen, 10/5)

Stat:
FDA Panel Signals Lack Of Confidence In Amgen Cancer Drug Data

The clearance of a first-of-its-kind cancer treatment made by Amgen is on shakier ground following a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee meeting Thursday. Regulatory advisers voted 10-2 that the data on the company’s drug Lumakras, a treatment for lung cancer, could not be properly assessed. Lumakras targets a specific mutation to a protein called KRAS, which is one of the most common genetic mutations in cancer. (DeAngelis, 10/5)

Modern Healthcare:
Samsung Announces Partnership With MIT, Mass General Brigham

Samsung Electronics is working with Boston-based Brigham & Women’s Hospital and other providers to research how smartwatches can improve clinical care. The South Korea-based electronics company’s smartwatches and wearables use biometric sensors to measure a person’s body composition, sleep patterns, exercise levels and heart rate. … Samsung announced these collaborations on Thursday at its developer conference in San Francisco. (Turner, 10/5)

CIDRAP:
Arkansas Reports Locally Acquired Malaria Case

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) yesterday reported a locally acquired malaria infection, the fourth state this year to report a local malaria case. In a press release, the ADH said the patient lives in Saline County, which is located in the central part of the state. The individual had not traveled outside of the country. The state has reported five travel-related malaria cases this year. (Schnirring, 10/5)

The Boston Globe:
Fourth Human Case Of West Nile Virus Detected In Norfolk County, Officials Said

A fourth human case of West Nile virus (WNV) in Massachusetts was detected in Norfolk County, the state Department of Public Health announced on Thursday. A man in his 60s was infected with the virus, the department said in a statement. The risk of WNV is moderate in the Greater Boston area, including Middlesex, Norfolk, and Suffolk counties, and in parts of Berkshire, Bristol, Hampden, Hampshire, Plymouth, and Worcester counties, the statement said. (Lawler, 10/5)

The Boston Globe:
A Brockton Hospital Recently Treated Four People For Tuberculosis; City Has About 10 Active Cases, Officials Say

Dr. Eno Mondesir, director of Brockton’s Board of Health, said Thursday via email that his office is currently aware of “about 10 active” cases of tuberculosis among city residents. “These cases are NOT related (therefore, they do not [meet] … the definition of an outbreak); furthermore, the 10 or so cases receive care from multiple healthcare facilities throughout the State,” Mondesir wrote. (Andersen, 10/5)

AP:
New York To Allow ‘X’ Gender Option For Public Assistance Applicants

New Yorkers will soon be able to choose an “X” gender option when applying for food stamps, Medicaid and other public assistance, under a court settlement Wednesday. The agreement settles a 2021 lawsuit against multiple government agencies that claimed the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s computer system compels nonbinary people to either lie under oath by declaring themselves as male or female or be denied benefits. (10/4)

Axios:
It Costs More Than $11,000 To Give Birth In Texas

The average cost of giving birth in the Lone Star State is below the national average, but could still hand you a big medical bill. Driving the news: While giving birth isn’t cheap anywhere, it’s far pricier in some states than others, according to data provided first to Axios from FAIR Health. FAIR Health’s 2022 Cost of Giving Birth Tracker — which uses data from more than 41 billion private health care claim records — offers a glimpse at how much variability there is in the cost of one of the most common health care services. (Reed and Hurt, 10/5)

Reuters:
Hawaii Accuses Top Pharmacy Benefit Managers Of Illegally Driving Up Prices

In a complaint filed Wednesday in state court in Honolulu, the office of Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, a Democrat, said that CVS Health’s (CVS.N) Caremark, Cigna Group’s (CI.N) Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH.N) OptumRx violated state laws against unfair competition and deceptive business practices. The three companies account for about 80 percent of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) market. (Pierson, 10/5)