Tag: Jan

KHN:
Did Your Health Plan Rip Off Medicare? 

Today, KHN has released details of 90 previously secret government audits that reveal millions of dollars in overpayments to Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors. The audits, which cover billings from 2011 through 2013, are the most recent financial reviews available, even though enrollment in the health plans has exploded over the past decade to over 30 million and is expected to grow further. (Schulte, 1/27)

KHN:
FDA Experts Are Still Puzzled Over Who Should Get Which Covid Shots And When

At a meeting to simplify the nation’s covid vaccination policy, the FDA’s panel of experts could agree on only one thing: Information is woefully lacking about how often different groups of Americans need to be vaccinated. That data gap has contributed to widespread skepticism, undervaccination, and ultimately unnecessary deaths from covid-19. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to support the FDA’s proposal for all vaccine-makers to adopt the same strain of the virus when making changes in their vaccines, and suggested they might meet in May or June to select a strain for the vaccines that would be rolled out this fall. (Allen, 1/27)

KHN:
California’s Resolve Questioned After It Grants Medi-Cal Contract Concessions 

California’s decision last month to cancel the results of a long-planned bidding competition among commercial health plans in its Medicaid program has some industry insiders and consumer advocates wondering whether the state can stand up to insurers and force improvements in care for millions of low-income beneficiaries. (Wolfson and Young, 1/27)

KHN:
Montana Pharmacists May Get More Power To Prescribe 

Mark Buck, a physician and pharmacist in Helena, Montana, said he’s been seeing more patients turn to urgent care clinics when they run out of medication. Their doctors have retired, moved away, or left the field because they burned out during the covid-19 pandemic, leaving the patients with few options to renew their prescriptions, he said. “Access is where we’re really hurting in this state,” Buck said. (Larson, 1/27)

KHN:
‘What the Health’ Part I: The State Of The Abortion Debate 50 Years After ‘Roe’ 

The abortion debate has changed dramatically in the seven months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and its nationwide right to abortion. Nearly half the states have banned or restricted the procedure, even though the public, at the ballot box, continues to show support for abortion rights. In this special two-part podcast, taped the week of the 50th anniversary of the Roe decision, an expert panel delves into the fight, the sometimes-unintended side effects, and what each side plans for 2023. (1/26)

NPR:
An FDA Committee Votes To Roll Out A New COVID Vaccination Strategy

A committee of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on a proposal to simplify the nation’s strategy for vaccinating people against COVID-19. The recommendation is that future COVID-19 vaccines should be interchangeable: no matter whether you’re getting your first dose or a booster, the vaccines would all have the same formulation targeting the same viral strain or strains, regardless of the manufacturer. The vote was unanimous: 21-0. (Hensley, 1/26)

The Washington Post:
FDA Advisers Favor Retiring Original Covid Shot And Using Newer Version

The FDA also sought input from its advisers on several complicated topics, including whether the agency should switch to a once-a-year vaccine schedule that is akin to the annual shot for the influenza vaccine. Many committee members favored simplifying the shot regimen but called for more data to understand whether additional doses should be given to young children who have never been vaccinated along with people who are older and immunocompromised. (Johnson and McGinley, 1/26)

USA Today:
Future Of COVID Boosters: FDA Panel Moves Toward Simplifying Shots

Most of the committee’s discussion was aimed at informing the FDA, rather than providing formal direction. Any changes in vaccine policy will need to be ratified by the FDA commissioner. Implementation of the strategy requires a meeting of a second advisory panel and approval by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Weintraub, 1/26)

The Atlantic:
The Flu-Ification Of COVID Policy Is Almost Complete

For all the legwork that public-health experts have done over the past few years to quash comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu, there sure seems to be a lot of effort nowadays to equate the two. In an advisory meeting convened earlier today, the FDA signaled its intention to start doling out COVID vaccines just like flu shots: once a year in autumn, for just about everyone, ad infinitum. (Wu, 1/26)

CNBC:
FDA Withdraws Covid Antibody Treatment Evusheld Because It’s Not Effective Against 93{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} Of Subvariants

Evusheld is also not effective against the BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and XBB subvariants. Taken together with XBB.1.5, versions of Covid that are resistant to Evusheld now represent nearly 93{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of new cases in the U.S. “Today’s action to limit the use of Evusheld prevents exposing patients to possible side effects of Evusheld such as allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious, at a time when fewer than 10{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of circulating variants in the U.S. causing infection are susceptible to the product,” the FDA said in a statement Thursday. (Kimball, 1/26)

Stat:
FDA Pulls Evusheld Authorization As Coronavirus Evolution Quashes Another Therapy

In a statement, AstraZeneca said it has started trials of another antibody that, in lab studies so far, has been able to neutralize all variants. The therapy, which would similarly be given as a pre-exposure prophylaxis to immunocompromised people, could be available later this year if trials are successful, the company said. The company’s statement also noted that Evusheld remains authorized in other countries, including the European Union and Japan. (Joseph, 1/26)

Stat:
After Nearly 4 Years, FDA Punts On How To Regulate CBD

The FDA is giving up on trying to figure out a way to regulate CBD on its own. The agency announced Thursday that it is formally calling on Congress for help — and, according to one official, looking for guidance on other hemp products like Delta 8 THC, too. (Florko, 1/26)

Roll Call:
FDA Seeks End Of Regulatory Wild West For CBD Products

As part of the announcement, the agency said it was denying three citizen petitions that had asked for FDA rule-making to allow the marketing of CBD products as dietary supplements — an idea that had gained some traction on Capitol Hill. In 2021, Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader and 45 other Democrats introduced a bill to regulate CBD as a dietary substance. (Cohen, 1/26)

The Washington Post:
FDA To Ease Blood Donation Ban On Gay Men, Allow Monogamous To Give

Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will no longer be forced to abstain from sex to donate blood under federal guidelines to be proposed in coming days, ending a vestige of the earliest days of the AIDS crisis. The planned relaxation of restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration follows years of pressure by blood banks, the American Medical Association and LGBT rights organizations to abandon rules some experts say are outdated, homophobic and ineffective at keeping the nation’s blood supply safe. (McGinley, Amenabar and Nirappil, 1/26)

The Washington Post:
FBI Shuts Down Ransomware Gang That Targeted Schools And Hospitals

The FBI and law enforcement in Europe have shut down a major ransomware operation accused of extorting more than $100 million from organizations across the world by encrypting victims’ computer systems and demanding payments to provide a key to unlock them, U.S. officials said Thursday. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ransomware group called Hive attacked hospitals, school districts, financial firms and others, stealing and sometimes publishing their data. Like some other prolific groups, Hive partnered with independent hackers who broke in through phishing or other means: The gang provided the encryption program and ransomware negotiations, and split the profits with the hackers. (Menn, Stein and Schaffer, 1/26)

Politico:
Justice Department Disrupts Group Behind Thousands Of Ransomware Attacks 

Justice Department personnel used a court order on Wednesday night to seize two back-end servers belonging to the Hive ransomware group in Los Angeles and took control of the group’s darknet website, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday. Garland, at a press conference in Washington, said Hive was behind attacks in the past two years on a Midwest hospital, which was forced to stop accepting new patients and to pay a ransom to decrypt health data. While Garland did not name the hospital, the Memorial Health System in West Virginia and Ohio was attacked by Hive affiliates at the same time. Hive was also linked to an attack last year on Costa Rica’s public health service. (Miller, 1/26)

The Hill:
McCarthy: ‘We Won’t Touch Medicare Or Social Security’ 

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Thursday that House Republicans will not target Medicare or Social Security in their negotiations over the debt ceiling. “We won’t touch Medicare or Social Security,” he told Donald Trump Jr. in an interview in the Speaker’s office for Trump’s “Triggered” podcast. (Shapero, 1/26)

CBS News:
After Years Of Denials, VA Urges Millions Of Veterans Exposed To Burn Pits To File Claims

Andrew Myatt was willing to give his life for his country serving in the Army. After 9/11 he was deployed to Iraq, where he performed dangerous missions like searching for improvised explosive devices to disarm and destroy. But the 24-year Army veteran never thought the greatest risk to his health would show up years later. (O’Donnell and Hastey, 1/26)

CNN:
It’s Been Three Years Since The First Covid-19 Case In The United States. What Have We Learned And What More Do We Need To Understand?

It’s been three years since the first Covid-19 case was diagnosed in the United States, on January 20, 2020. In the time since, nearly 1.1 million Americans have died from the coronavirus; the US has reported 102 million Covid cases, more than any other country, according to Johns Hopkins University. Both figures, many health officials believe, are likely to have been undercounted. (Hetter, 1/26)

CIDRAP:
Global COVID Deaths Rise As WHO Emergency Committee Weighs COVID Status

The World Health Organization (WHO) emergency committee will meet [Friday] to assess whether the situation still warrants a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) against a backdrop of declining cases—but rising deaths. The WHO’s emergency committees meet every 3 months or more frequently as needed. The group has met 13 times since it recommended a PHEIC for COVID in January 2020, most recently in October. (Schnirring, 1/26)

CIDRAP:
Study: Home COVID Tests Lead To Vast Undercount Of Cases, Positivity Rates

With over 80{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of US COVID-19 tests now being conducted at home, official case counts underreport the number of positive results and greatly underestimate the number of true infections, suggests a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 1/26)

CIDRAP:
New York To Expand Its Wastewater Surveillance Network

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) announced earlier this week that it has received more than $21 million in funding to expand its wastewater surveillance and infectious disease monitoring capabilities. The $21.6 million in funding, which includes a $6.6 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will help NYSDOH launch new pilot programs through its Wastewater Surveillance Network to test for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, hepatitis A, norovirus, and antimicrobial-resistance genes. The number of participating watersheds in the network, which was established in August 2021 to help support the state’s COVID-19 response, will grow from 125 to 215 and cover 81{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population served by public sewer systems in the state. (Dall, 1/26)

The Boston Globe:
New Coronavirus Waste Water Surveillance Program Reveals Neighborhood Disparities

Earlier this month, the City of Boston began sampling waste water from 11 manholes in as many neighborhoods across the city. The goal is to get a more localized look at how the coronavirus is spreading. What emerged was a picture of glaring, though unsurprising, disparities. (Mohammed, 1/26)

Reuters:
U.S. CDC Still Looking At Potential Stroke Risk From Pfizer Bivalent COVID Shot 

New data from one U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) database shows a possible stroke risk link for older adults who received an updated Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot, but the signal is weaker than what the agency had flagged earlier in January, health officials said on Thursday. (Erman, 1/26)

San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: Study Says Long COVID Is Hitting College Campuses

Long COVID is becoming a reality of college life, according to a study published Thursday by researchers at George Washington University. In an analysis of nearly 1,400 cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated students, faculty and staff between July 2021 and March 2022, about 36{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} experienced symptoms that developed four weeks or more after their initial infection. (Vaziri, 1/26)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Judge Who Struck Down California’s COVID Misinformation Law Questions ‘Scientific Consensus’ On Vaccines

The coronavirus is “a disease that scientists have only been studying for a few years, and about which scientific conclusions have been hotly contested,” U.S. District Judge William Shubb of Sacramento said Wednesday in a ruling halting enforcement of the law, which had taken effect this month. “COVID-19 is a quickly evolving area of science that in many aspects eludes consensus.” (Egelko, 1/26)

AP:
Virginia Democrats Defeat Bills Limiting Abortion Access

In a series of key votes Thursday, Virginia Senate Democrats defeated several bills that would have restricted abortion access in the state, including a proposed 15-week ban with exceptions that was a priority for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. They are the first decisive legislative votes in Virginia since the Supreme Court’s decision last year overturning Roe v. Wade. The votes mean that barring an extraordinary procedural move, such restrictions are unlikely to be enacted this year in Virginia, which currently has some of the South’s most permissive abortion laws. (Rankin, 1/27)

AP:
NC Democrats Pitch Abortion Safeguards Despite GOP Majority

North Carolina Democrats, who narrowly held off a Republican supermajority in the General Assembly, have introduced legislation to codify abortion protections into state law as Republicans are discussing early prospects for further restrictions. Their legislation, filed Wednesday in both chambers, would prohibit the state from imposing barriers that might restrict a patient’s ability to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability, which typically falls between 24 and 28 weeks. (Schoenbaum, 1/26)

AP:
SC Abortion Ban Gets Hearing For First Time This Session

A South Carolina Supreme Court decision five days before the General Assembly returned for 2023 raised the possibility that abortion bans could once more dominate legislative debate in the state. That likelihood increased on Thursday when a House subcommittee approved the first abortion ban to get a public hearing in the state this year. (Pollard, 1/26)

Reuters:
Anti-Abortion Protesters Break Into Walgreens AGM Meeting Room

Anti-abortion protesters broke into the room where Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc held its annual shareholders meeting in Newport Coast, California, on Thursday for its decision to start selling abortion pills, the pharmacy chain said. (1/26)

AP:
Maternal Deaths And Disparities Increase In Mississippi 

Deaths from pregnancy complications have become more prevalent in Mississippi, and racial disparities in the health of those who give birth have widened in recent years, according to a report released Thursday by the state’s Department of Health. The Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report shows that the maternal mortality rate increased by 8.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} between 2013-2016 and 2017-2019, with the latter period being the most recent one analyzed by researchers. (Goldberg, 1/27)

Chicago Tribune:
University Of Chicago Medical School Withdraws From U.S. News Rankings 

University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine will no longer participate in U.S. News & World Report’s medical school rankings, joining a growing list of institutions rejecting the rankings. Leaders at the Chicago medical school have decided to no longer submit data to U.S. News to help the publication rank the institution. (Schencker, 1/26)

Crain’s Detroit Business:
MyMichigan Medical Center Nurses Vote To Strike

Nurses at MyMichigan Medical Center in Alma are preparing to strike. Of the approximately 150 nurses represented by the Michigan Nurses Association at the mid-Michigan hospital, 97 percent voted in favor of striking, the nurses said in a news release. (Walsh, 1/26)

Stateline:
Some States May Allow Nurses To Do More Without Doctors

When COVID-19 hit the United States in 2020, state policymakers across the country jumped to expand access to health care. They temporarily allowed more telehealth, for example, and made it easier for medical providers to practice across state lines. (Ollove, 1/26)

Modern Healthcare:
Feds Allege Fake Nursing Credentials Scheme In Florida

Federal authorities say they’ve uncovered a conspiracy to provide prospective nurses with bogus diplomas and credentials allowing them to sit for board exams—and care for patients if they managed to pass despite not earning nursing degrees. Three now-closed Florida nursing schools were involved in a scheme that distributed fraudulent credentials to more than 7,600 people, the Justice Department alleges in recently unsealed indictments announced Wednesday. (Berryman, 1/26)

Louisville Courier Journal:
Chiropractic Visit Caused Strokes? Jury Awards $1 Million To KY Woman

Amber Burgess, then 33, had never set foot in a chiropractor’s office when she went to Dr. Adam Fulkerson’s Heartland Family Chiropractic in Elizabethtown on May 18, 2020. In contrast, Becca Barlow, 31, had seen Dr. Leah Wright at Louisville Family Chiropractic 29 times for adjustments over three years when she went there on Jan. 7, 2019, seeking relief for “nursing mother’s neck.” (Wolfson, 1/27)

Stat:
Warren Urges The FTC To Scrutinize Two Pharma Mergers Over “Anti-Competitive” Practices 

In her latest bid to address prescription drug prices, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is urging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to “closely scrutinize” two pending pharmaceutical company mergers over concerns that “rampant consolidation” will drive up costs for consumers. (Silverman, 1/26)

Reuters:
FDA Identifies Recall Of Emergent’s Decontamination Kits As Most Serious 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday classified the recall of Emergent BioSolutions Inc’s skin decontamination lotion kits as the most serious type. The contract manufacturer began the recall of 3,500 units of the kit in November, after receiving three customer complaints of leakage from the packets. No serious injuries or deaths related to the issue were reported. (1/26)

CIDRAP:
Rates Of Antipsychotic Drug Prescribing For Dementia Climbed During The Pandemic

Rates of antipsychotic drug prescribing among people with dementia increased substantially in six high-income countries during the initial months of the pandemic and remained elevated through 2021, researchers reported yesterday in JAMA Psychiatry. (Dall, 1/26)

The Washington Post:
New Study Finds 6 Ways To Slow Memory Decline And Lower Dementia Risk 

A new study of more than 29,000 older adults has identified six habits — from eating a variety of foods to regularly reading or playing cards — that are linked with a lower risk of dementia and a slower rate of memory decline. Eating a balanced diet, exercising the mind and body regularly, having regular contact with others, and not drinking or smoking — these six “healthy lifestyle factors” were associated with better cognitive outcomes in older adults, in a large Chinese study conducted over a decade and published in the BMJ on Wednesday. (Timsit, 1/26)

AP:
California Prison Inmates To Get Some Medicaid Care

The federal government will allow Medicaid dollars to treat some people in prisons, jails or juvenile detention centers for the first time ever, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday. CMS will allow California inmates to access limited services, including substance use treatment and mental health diagnoses, 90 days before being released. Since Medicaid was established, federal law has prohibited Medicaid money from being used for people who are in custody, with inmates having access to their health care coverage suspended. (Seitz, 1/26)

Los Angeles Times:
Lawsuit Challenges Newsom’s CARE Court Program

A coalition of disability and civil rights advocates filed a lawsuit Thursday asking the California Supreme Court to block the rollout of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s far-reaching new plan to address severe mental illness by compelling treatment for thousands of people. (Wiley, 1/26)

The Washington Post:
Judge Curbs Florida Probe Into U.S. Medicine’s Trans Treatment Standards 

A legal battle over Florida’s ban on Medicaid spending for gender-affirming medical care spilled into Washington on Thursday as a federal judge partially granted an urgent request by 18 American medical and mental health groups to quash subpoenas sent to them by the state after they opposed the prohibition. The professional associations accused Florida of targeting members such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the Endocrine Society after they expressed the widely accepted medical view that care such as puberty blockers, hormones and gender transition surgery can be appropriate treatment for transgender youth and adults. (Hsu, 1/26)

AP:
1st Legal Medical Marijuana Sales Are Made In Mississippi 

Patients have started buying medical marijuana in Mississippi, nearly a year after the products were legalized in the state. The Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association said in a news release Thursday that the first purchases happened Wednesday at The Cannabis Company in Brookhaven and at two dispensaries in Oxford — Hybrid Relief and Star Buds. (1/26)

AP:
Georgia Agency Approves Rules For Medical Marijuana Sales 

Legal sales of medical marijuana oil could be only months away in Georgia after a state commission approved rules for testing, inspections and sales. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission voted unanimously to approve the rules on Wednesday. (1/26)

Politico:
Social Media Is A Defective Product, Lawsuit Contends

A California court could soon decide whether social media firms need to pay — and change their ways — for the damage they’ve allegedly done to Americans’ mental health. Plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to file a consolidated complaint in the Northern District of California next month, accusing the tech giants of making products that can cause eating disorders, anxiety and depression. (Reader, 1/26)

The New York Times:
How Do Heavy Metals Like Lead Get In Baby Food? 

The Food and Drug Administration’s new plan to keep high levels of lead out of baby foods like mashed sweet potatoes, apple sauce and dry cereal is part of a larger effort to eliminate heavy metals from the foods the youngest children eat. The push follows years of studies by public health, consumer and government experts revealing concerning levels of arsenic in rice cereal and other items fed to infants, including big-name brands like Gerber and organic staples like Earth’s Best. (Jewett, 1/26)

KHN:
After A Brief Pandemic Reprieve, Rural Workers Return To Life Without Paid Leave

When Ruby B. Sutton found out she was pregnant in late 2021, it was hard to envision how her full-time job would fit with having a newborn at home. She faced a three-hour round-trip commute to the mine site where she worked as an environmental engineer, 12-plus-hour workdays, expensive child care, and her desire to be present with her newborn. Sutton, 32, said the minimal paid maternity leave that her employer offered didn’t seem like enough time for her body to heal from giving birth or to bond with her firstborn. Those concerns were magnified when she needed an emergency cesarean section. (Orozco Rodriguez, 1/18)

KHN:
What Older Americans Need To Know About Taking Paxlovid 

A new coronavirus variant is circulating, the most transmissible one yet. Hospitalizations of infected patients are rising. And older adults represent nearly 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of U.S. deaths from covid-19 in recent months, the largest portion since the start of the pandemic. What does that mean for people 65 and older catching covid for the first time or those experiencing a repeat infection? (Graham, 1/18)

KHN:
Numbers Don’t Lie. Biden Kept His Promise On Improving Obamacare

In a speech on Nov. 2, 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden promised, “I’ll not only restore Obamacare; I’ll build on it.” Two years and counting since then, how is he doing in meeting that promise? KHN has teamed up with our partners at PolitiFact to monitor 100 key promises — including this one — made by Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. The pledges touch on issues related to improving the economy, responding to calls for racial justice, and combating climate change. (Appleby, 1/18)

KHN:
The Biggest, Buzziest Conference For Health Care Investors Convenes Amid Fears The Bubble Will Burst 

Health care’s business class returned to its San Francisco sanctuary last week for JPMorgan’s annual health care confab, at the gilded Westin St. Francis hotel on Union Square. After a two-year pandemic pause, the mood among the executives, bankers, and startup founders in attendance had the aura of a reunion — as they gossiped about promotions, work-from-home routines, who’s getting what investments. Dressed in their capitalist best — ranging from brilliant-blue or pastel-purple blazers to puffy-coat chic — they thronged to big parties, housed in art galleries or restaurants. But the party was tinged with new anxiety: Would the big money invested in health care due to covid-19 continue to flow? Would investors ask to see results — meaning profits — rather than just cool ideas? (Tahir, 1/17)

ABC News:
Moderna Says Its RSV Vaccine For Older Adults Is 84{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} Effective At Preventing Serious Illness

Adult patients in the clinical trial appeared to tolerate the vaccine well and there were no safety concerns identified, the data showed. The company said it will ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval in the first half of 2023. (Salzman and Kekatos, 1/17)

The Washington Post:
Harvard Medical School Withdraws From U.S. News Rankings

Harvard Medical School is ranked No. 1 in the country for research by U.S. News. … Among several highly ranked medical schools The Washington Post contacted Tuesday, none revealed immediate plans to follow the lead of their counterparts at Harvard. Some declined to take a position. Johns Hopkins University’s medical school is still sending information to U.S. News, a spokesperson for Johns Hopkins Medicine said, “but, as we do each year, we will consider our future participation.” (Svrluga and Anderson, 1/17)

Bloomberg:
Covid Measures Helped Families Pay Medical Bills, Study Shows

Fewer American families struggled to pay their medical bills in 2021, according to a new report, a sign that efforts to broaden access to health care and insurance are succeeding. About 11{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of people belonged to families that had trouble paying medical bills in 2021 — down from 14{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, according to a study of thousands of US households by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. (Meghjani, 1/18)

Axios:
Pandemic Years Saw A Reduction In Medical Debt

Researchers said the CARES Act, American Rescue Plan Act, and other pandemic relief legislation may have indirectly softened the blow of medical debt by providing direct monetary payments, increasing the percentage of people covered by insurance using COBRA premium subsidies and expanding eligibility for subsidies in Affordable Care Act markets, among other things. (Bettelheim, 1/18)

Modern Healthcare:
Gallup: More Patients Delayed Healthcare Over Costs In 2022

A record number of patients delayed medical care because of high costs last year, according to survey results Gallup published Tuesday. Gallup found that 38{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of respondents or a family member delayed treatment over costs in 2022, a 12 percentage point increase compared to 2020 and 2021. The upswing coincided with economywide inflation reaching a 40-year high. (Berryman, 1/17)

Bloomberg:
Anti-Covid Gadget Creates Air Shield In Plane Cabins, But Coming Too Late

A Covid-era invention that protects plane passengers from the virus with a curtain of fast-flowing air is proving redundant, underscoring how little travelers care about the risk of infection in the rush back to the skies. (Whitley, 1/18)

Politico:
DeSantis Pushes To Make Covid-19 Changes Permanent 

At an event that featured a dermatologist who spreads Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said he will push Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature to make permanent many of his pandemic-era policies that have made him a star with many in the GOP and a potential 2024 presidential candidate. The proposal, announced during a press conference in Panama City, would put into state law many of the policies DeSantis implemented through executive order or were temporarily passed during a 2021 special legislative session. (Dixon, 1/17)

Reuters:
Pfizer To Sell All Its Drugs In Low-Income Countries At Non-Profit Price 

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc. said on Tuesday it will offer its full portfolio of drugs, including off-patent medicines such as chemotherapies and oral cancer treatments, on a not-for-profit basis to 45 low-income countries in the world. In an expansion of the company’s “An Accord for a Healthier World” program, which is aimed at increasing access to innovative treatments in some of the world’s poorest countries, Pfizer said it will now offer a total of 500 products. (1/17)

Reuters:
Moderna CEO Says He Wants To Have MRNA Factory On Every Continent 

Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said he would like to have factories making vaccines based on its messenger RNA technology on every continent as the U.S. company prepares to build four facilities. … The company is building or planning to build factories in Canada, Australia, Britain and Kenya, he said. (1/18)

Bangor Daily News:
Janet Mills Proposes Allowing Abortions Past 24 Weeks If Doctors Recommend Them

Leading Democrats including Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday unveiled several measures aimed at expanding abortion access in Maine, including one allowing abortions late in pregnancies if doctors deem them medically necessary. That change would further loosen Maine’s already liberal set of abortion laws, which are governed by a 1993 law that codified abortion rights. (Shepherd, 1/17)

CBS News:
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Says She Would “Nudge” GOP Governors, Including Florida’s Ron DeSantis, To Do More To Restrict Abortion

When asked whether she would “nudge” DeSantis to do more to restrict abortion in Florida, Noem replied, “I would nudge every governor to do what they can to back up their pro-life record. I think that talking about situations and making statements is incredibly important, but also taking action and governing and bringing policies that protect life are even more important because that’s what truly will save lives.” (Costa, Ewall-Wice and Navarro, 1/17)

Billings Gazette:
Bill Would Say In State Law Constitution’s Privacy Provision Doesn’t Include Abortion Access

The 1999 state Supreme Court decision that found the Montana Constitution’s right to privacy ensures access to abortions is in the sights of some Republican lawmakers, along with a package of other bills to limit access to the procedure. Democrats have their own slate of legislation that will attempt to put the right to abortion in state law, along with a series of other bills focused on elevating the discussion around reproductive health. (Michels, 1/17)

CNN:
Women Living In States With Abortion Bans Suffer Greater Economic Insecurity

Women living in states that restrict or ban abortion face greater economic insecurity than those living in states where they have access, new research finds. Since the nearly seven months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, half of all states – 26 in total – have implemented new abortion restrictions or all-out bans. In nearly all 26 states, there are lower minimum wages, unionization levels, access to Medicaid and unemployment benefits, as well as higher rates of incarceration than states with more lenient abortion policies, according to new research by the Economic Policy Institute. (Yurkevich, 1/18)

The New York Times:
Arson At Illinois Planned Parenthood Causes Extensive Damage, Authorities Say

The authorities in Peoria, Ill., are investigating a reported firebombing that they said caused extensive damage to a Planned Parenthood clinic on Sunday, just days after sweeping abortion protections were signed into law in Illinois. The fire at the Peoria Health Center was reported to the police by a bystander, who noticed an “unknown suspect throwing a flammable item into a public building,” said Semone Roth, a spokeswoman for the Peoria Police Department. (Albeck-Ripka, 1/17)

The Boston Globe:
Workers At Brigham And Women’s Faulkner Hospital Stage A Walkout

Workers at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain staged a walkout Tuesday to demand higher wages and job security amid a union contract negotiation that has lasted six months. Those who participated are among the lowest-wage employees at the hospital, including personal care attendants, service techs, dietary workers, housekeepers, mental health workers, and administrative staff — many make as little as $15.45 an hour. (1/17)

St. Louis Public Radio:
St. Louis Children’s Hospital Sees Increase In Gun Injuries

More children and teens in St. Louis are being treated at Children’s Hospital for gun injuries since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by Washington University and the University of Missouri. Using emergency room data from between 2015 and 2022, researchers found the average number of people 19 and under treated for gunshot wounds in hospital’s emergency department rose by more than 50 percent in the first two years of the pandemic. They found the additional injuries were driven in part by an increase in assaults and homicides. (Fentem, 1/18)

AP:
Prosecutor: Paramedics Killed Man By Strapping Him Facedown

Two Illinois paramedics face first-degree murder charges, having been accused of strapping a patient facedown on a stretcher while taking him to a hospital last month. Illinois authorities filed the charges against Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan on Jan. 9, nearly a month after 35-year-old Earl Moore died. Under Illinois law, a first-degree murder charge can be filed when a defendant “knows that such acts create a strong probability of death or great bodily harm.” (Foody, 1/17)

Stat:
Large Health Insurers Lowered Barriers To Fair Access To Some Drugs

Most of the largest health plans in the U.S. generally provide “fair access” to 19 treatments for a handful of serious diseases, although transparent coverage information is often lacking for some medicines, a new analysis found. (Silverman, 1/17)

The New York Times:
Sickle Cell Cure Brings Mix Of Anxiety And Hope 

This year, people with sickle cell may have the option of finally living without the damage the disease causes. Two drug companies are seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration for gene therapies that may provide what amounts to a cure. But the decision to take the medication — should it become available — it turns out, is not so simple. After a life adapted to their illness, some are unsure of how to begin again as healthy people. (Kolata, 1/17)

NPR:
Social Isolation Linked To Increased Risk Of Dementia, New Study Finds

Socially isolated older adults have a 27{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} higher chance of developing dementia than older adults who aren’t, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers found. “Social connections matter for our cognitive health, and it is potentially easily modifiable for older adults without the use of medication,” Dr. Thomas Cudjoe, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and a senior author of the study, said in a news release. (Radde, 1/17)

USA Today:
‘A Red Flag’: Biden Administration Targets Antipsychotic Drugs Dispensed In Nursing Homes

The Biden administration this month will begin spot audits of nursing home use of antipsychotic drugs in an effort to cut down on inappropriate prescriptions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will conduct “targeted, off-site audits” to check whether nursing home patients who are prescribed the drugs have a schizophrenia diagnosis. (Alltucker, 1/18)

AP:
Mississippi Nursing Schools Turn Away Students Amid Shortage 

Amid a nursing shortage that is worsening poor health outcomes in Mississippi, nursing programs at the state’s public universities are turning away hundreds of potential students every year because of insufficient faculty sizes. Alfred Rankins Jr., Mississippi’s commissioner of higher education, said at a legislative hearing Tuesday that nursing programs have struggled to retain faculty members because of the state’s lower-than-average salaries for public university employees. (Goldberg, 1/17)

AP:
South Dakota GOP Lawmakers Push Trans Youth Health Care Ban 

A group of South Dakota Republican lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday to outlaw gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, pushing the state to join at least a dozen others considering anti-transgender legislation this year. The South Dakota bill, unveiled at a state Capitol news conference, aims to keep children younger than 18 from accessing puberty-blocking drugs, hormone therapy or surgeries that enable them to present as a gender different from the sex on their birth certificate. It would also punish doctors who provide the care by revoking their medical license and exposing them to civil litigation. (Biraben and Groves, 1/17)

Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio Medical Marijuana: Autism Among Proposed New Conditions In 2023

Medical marijuana advocates are once again urging Ohio to allow autistic people to use cannabis. The State Medical Board received multiple petitions to add autism spectrum disorder to the list of qualifying medical conditions for the program. The board receives proposals for new conditions in November and December of each year. (BeMiller, 1/17)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
State-Run Opioid Monitoring Program Ready To Launch In Missouri

After years of Republican resistance, Missouri is set to finally launch a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. According to a contract inked earlier this month, the state will pay a medical technology company $1.4 million to operate the program, which is designed to curb opioid addiction. (Erickson, 1/17)

Boulder Reporting Lab:
Boulder To Provide Housing For Methamphetamine Recovery

Two months before the use of methamphetamines shut down the library last month, the City and County of Boulder started implementing a program to help people wean off the highly addictive stimulant that has communities scrambling for solutions. The relatively cheap and readily available drug contributes to homelessness, overdose deaths and incarceration rates. (Herrick and Larson, 1/18)

Stat:
Mix-It-Yourself Wegovy? Some Try Risky Sources For Obesity Drugs

With a few clicks, Daniel added the chemical to his online cart and ordered it. In less than a week, a vial containing white powder arrived at his house. He used a syringe to measure out sterile water and eject it into the vial to dissolve the powder. Then, with a different syringe, he drew up about a quarter of a milliliter of the solution and injected it into his lower abdomen. (Chen, 1/18)

ABC News:
Reducing Overall Calories May Promote Weight Loss More Effectively Than Intermittent Fasting, AHA Study Finds

Researchers at three major health care systems — Johns Hopkins Health System, Geisinger Health System and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center — studied weight trends, daily food intake and sleeping/eating time intervals charted in a mobile app over the course of six months for 547 adult men and women with a range of medical conditions and Body Mass Index (BMI) categories. (Miao, 1/18)

The Washington Post:
The Most Contaminated Things In Your Kitchen Might Be Your Spice Jars 

If you had to guess the germiest spot in your kitchen, you might think of the refrigerator handle, the cutting board or maybe the inside of your sink. But a new study shows that icky bacteria could be more likely to be lurking in an unexpected spot: your spice drawer. Researchers in a recent study commissioned by the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service examined how people preparing turkey burgers cross-contaminated various surfaces in a kitchen. (Heil, 1/17)

CBS News:
MSG: Chefs On Why The Controversial Seasoning Is Making A Comeback

While it is associated with being found in Asian dishes, it is also a common ingredient in American foods. It also occurs naturally in foods such as tomatoes and cheese, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The safety of MSG first came into question in 1968 when a doctor wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome,” said chef and author J. Kenji López-Alt. The study was not based on science but on symptoms, Alt said, and soon started an MSG backlash. (George and Novak, 1/17)

The Washington Post:
Do Mocktails Really Help You Drink Less Alcohol? 

For people who have moderate to severe alcohol use disorder (AUD), defined by the National Institutes of Health as the inability “to stop or control alcohol use” despite the consequences, these nonalcoholic drinks are generally discouraged because they might actually create a craving for alcohol, not cut it. “It really is, basically, a no,” said George Koob, the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The cues created by a mocktail can “trigger relapse and re-engagement in excessive drinking.” (Amenabar, 1/17)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
New Study Links Urban Pollution To More Asthma Attacks In Children

Urban air quality poses a major threat to asthma sufferers, according to a study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The study, which involved two groups of roughly 200 children, confirmed a long-standing theory associating higher levels of air pollution in low-income urban environments with an increased risk of asthma attacks. (Shelbourne, 1/17)

KHN:
It’s Day 6 Of Covid, And A Rapid Antigen Test Comes Back Positive. Stay Home, Say Virologists. 

What does it mean if a person’s rapid antigen test result comes back positive after five days of isolation due to covid-19? According to the experts, that person is most likely still carrying a viral load high enough to infect others. “Anytime you’re positive by one of these rapid at-home covid tests, it means that you’ve still got a really high level of the viral protein, and most experts are interpreting that as a high level of virus present in your nasal passage,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic and president of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. (Bichell, 1/31)

KHN:
In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, But So Is The Isolation

Dina Halperin had been cooped up alone for three weeks in her nursing home room after her two unvaccinated roommates were moved out at the onset of the omicron surge. “I’m frustrated,” she said, “and so many of the nursing staff are burned out or just plain tired.” The situation wasn’t terrifying, as it was in September 2020, when disease swept through the Victorian Post Acute facility in San Francisco and Halperin, a 63-year-old former English as a Second Language teacher, became severely ill with covid. She spent 10 days in the hospital and required supplemental oxygen. Since the pandemic began, 14 residents of the nursing home have died of covid, according to state figures. (Marsa, 1/31)

KHN:
States Were Sharing Covid Test Kits. Then Omicron Hit. 

In a few short months, states have gone from donating surplus rapid covid-19 tests to states with shortages to hoarding them as demand driven by the spike in cases strains supplies. Last January, North Dakota had amassed 2.7 million Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW rapid covid tests from the federal government — roughly 3½ tests for each person in the state of 775,000 people. (Houghton, 1/31)

CNBC:
The Latest Covid Variant Is 1.5 Times More Contagious Than Omicron And Already Circulating In Almost Half Of U.S. States

There are already dozens of cases across almost half of the U.S. of a new Covid subvariant that’s even more contagious than the already highly transmissible omicron variant. Nearly half of U.S. states have confirmed the presence of BA.2 with at least 127 known cases nationwide as of Friday, according to a global data base that tracks Covid variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement Friday, said although BA.2 has increased in proportion to the original omicron strain in some countries, it is currently circulating at a low level in the U.S. (Kimball, 1/28)

The New York Times:
The ‘Stealth’ Omicron Variant Is No Cause For Alarm, But It Could Slow Down The Decline In Cases. 

In recent days, headlines about a “stealth” Omicron variant have conjured the notion that a villainous new form of the coronavirus is secretly creating a disastrous new wave of Covid. That scenario is highly unlikely, scientists say. But the new variant, which goes by the scientific name BA.2 and is one of three branches of the Omicron viral family, could drag out the Omicron surge in much of the world. (Zimmer, 1/31)

Stat:
Early Data Indicate Vaccines Still Protect Against Omicron’s Sister Variant

New data show that vaccines still protect against a spinoff of the Omicron variant, a welcome sign as the world keeps a close eye on the latest coronavirus iteration. BA.2, as the sublineage is known, is part of the broader Omicron umbrella. Scientists are paying more attention to it as it begins to eat into the dominance of the more common Omicron strain, which is technically called BA.1. (Joseph, 1/28)

CIDRAP:
Studies Show Omicron Variant Less Severe But Causes More Reinfections

Two studies published yesterday in Eurosurveillance show the Omicron variant leads to fewer hospitalizations than the Delta variant, but an increased risk of infection in vaccinated and previously infected people. (1/28)

The New York Times:
When Omicron Isn’t So Mild 

Regina Perez, 57, had never been hospitalized for her lifelong asthma condition until she came down with Covid this month. She started having difficulty breathing, even after taking her usual medications. “It kind of took over, almost,” she said. She wound up at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown, Pa., for most of a week at a time when nearly all the Covid patients sampled had contracted the Omicron variant. (Abelson and Jewett, 1/29)

The Washington Post:
Covid May Have Seasons For Different Temperature Zones, Study Suggests 

Covid-19 transmission may have seasonal spikes tied to temperature and humidity, increasing at different times of the year for different locations, a new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene suggests. Colder regions, such as the U.S. Northeast, may experience more cases during winter, while warmer regions, such as the southern United States, may see higher transmissions in the summer. More-temperate zones could experience two seasonal peaks. (Patel, 1/28)

Bloomberg:
Covid-Infected HIV Patient Developed Mutations, Study Shows

A South African woman suffering from inadequately treated HIV, and who harbored Covid-19 for nine months saw the respiratory virus develop at least 21 mutations while in her body, according to a study. Once the 22-year-old adhered to the anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV and her immune system strengthened she was able to overcome the Covid-19 infection within six to nine weeks, the study, led by scientists from Stellenbosch and the University the University of KwaZulu-Natal showed. The research has not been peer reviewed. (Sguazzin, 1/30)

CBS News:
Living And Working With Long COVID: “I’m A Cell Phone Battery That Is Constantly Dying” 

One of the puzzles of the pandemic economy is the ongoing labor shortage, with business owners struggling to find workers amid the so-called “Great Resignation.” But new research points to another — and more troubling — factor that helps explain the nation’s shrinking workforce : long COVID. (Picchi, 1/31)

NBC News:
Covid Predictions? These Experts Are Done With Them

Scientists say they can outline scenarios for how the virus could evolve, but variants remain Covid’s unknowable wild card. In two years, they have rewritten the script so radically, many researchers are cautious to venture educated guesses of how Covid-19 will play out. “There are various scenarios and they vary between rosy and gloomy,” said John Moore, a virologist and professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. He emphasized, colorfully, that anyone saying they knew for sure what would happen next was full of it. (Bush, 1/30)

Anchorage Daily News:
Alaska’s COVID-19 Case Rate Is Again The Highest In The Nation As Hospitalizations Tick Up

As Alaska once again reports the highest COVID-19 case rate in the nation, the highly contagious omicron variant is continuing to snarl staffing at health care facilities that have had to adapt to the ups and downs of the pandemic. The state on Friday reported 5,897 cases of COVID-19 over the previous two days amid rising hospitalization numbers. Alaska’s seven-day case rate of 2,360.4 cases per 100,000 is higher than any other U.S. state, according to a CDC tracker. (Berman, 1/28)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger:
Omicron Has Driven Mississippi To Its Highest Hospitalization Rate Yet

Omicron might loosen its grip on Mississippi in the next few weeks, health officials predicted Friday. “We’re gonna continue to report out a lot of cases, but I really feel like we’re turning the corner,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said. “We’ll start trending down, I think, probably in the next couple of weeks.” Byers’ optimism is in part driven by the numbers: decreased testing demand and a declining positivity rate. (Haselhorst, 1/28)

The Texas Tribune:
Omicron Leads To Record-High COVID-19 Cases In Texas Schools

Students in Texas public schools are experiencing another year upturned by COVID-19 as the delta and omicron variants spread. Most schools are resuming in-person classes after winter break with a greater emphasis on testing, vaccinations and masking even as the highly contagious omicron variant surges. For now, schools are prohibited from requiring masks, though some continue to ignore the governor’s order banning mask mandates. Children ages 5-11 are now eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Several districts have temporarily closed or altered operations to compensate for staff shortages due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. (Huang, Cai and Lopez, 1/30)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Inside A Georgia Hospital’s ICU, Medical Staff Wages War Against COVID

The numbers tell a story. But, from what the critical care doctors and nurses at Braselton’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center can see, the public isn’t listening. Since the omicron variant came roaring onto the pandemic scene two months ago, the state has set records for new infections. While the variant appears to cause a more mild illness in most people than previous strains, especially among those who are vaccinated, the sheer numbers are staggering. Even though a smaller percentage of people are getting critically ill, it’s enough to overwhelm intensive care units. (Oliviero, 1/29)

AP:
Over 1,000 Wichita School Workers Out Because Of COVID-19 

More than 1,000 staff members in the state’s largest school district are in quarantine because of COVID-19, but currently all Wichita schools are open. The Wichita Eagle reports that district records show that nearly 14{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the school district’s staff — some 1,033 people — were off because of COVID-19 illnesses or exposure as of Friday. That is up from 912 and 646 in the previous two weeks. (1/30)

Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County’s Daily Coronavirus Cases Continue Dramatic Decline, But Death Rate Remains High

The decline in the daily numbers comes as numerous family gatherings and community events are scheduled to mark the Lunar New Year this coming week. And with their NFC Championship win over the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, the L.A. Rams earned a trip to the Super Bowl on Feb. 13 in Inglewood. “For residents who are at high risk, including those older, immunocompromised, or with underlying health conditions, gatherings can be especially risky given the still high rates of transmission,” Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said in a statement. (Lin II, 1/30)

AP:
Missouri Hospitals Ask Office Workers To Help Nurses 

Hospitals across Missouri are asking staff members and administrators to take on additional duties to help deal with the current surge in COVID-19 patients. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that hospital employees are being asked to pick up shifts helping nurses by doing things like grabbing supplies or answering phones, or by filling absences in areas such housekeeping and patient transport. (1/30)

Cincinnati Enquirer:
Suit Blocking Vaccine Requirement At Cincinnati Hospitals Tossed

A federal judge in Cincinnati Friday granted a plaintiff’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that sought to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates at five southwest Ohio hospital systems. In his decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black accepted a request to dismiss the civil case with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs listed cannot refile the same case in his court. “This is not the first time plaintiffs have dismissed an action based on the same claims against the same defendants as in this case,” the judge wrote. (Sutherland, 1/28)

San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Allows Third Shot For Those Who Got J&J Vaccine

San Francisco residents who got the Johnson & Johnson Janssen coronavirus vaccine and have been boosted with a second shot can now get a third, following an advisory issued this month by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Regardless of what brand of vaccine people had for their second dose, the city is advising a Pfizer/BioNTech shot for the third. (Ho, 1/28)

AP:
Judge Upholds Minneapolis Vaccine-Or-Test Rule For Eateries

A Hennepin County judge has upheld Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s vaccine-or-test mandate for bar and restaurant customers after several business owners asked for a temporary restraining order against the initiative. The mandate that took effect this month requires customers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative virus test within three days to dine at restaurants licensed by the city. (1/30)

The Hill:
New Jersey Gym Owner Who Defied COVID Closures Running For US House Seat 

A New Jersey gym owner who became known during the pandemic for defying the state’s COVID-19 closures is running for the U.S. House. Ian Smith, the owner of Atlis Gym in Bellmawr, announced on Twitter on Sunday that he is seeking to oust Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) to represent New Jersey’s third congressional district in Washington. (Schnell, 1/30)

NPR:
New Hampshire Will Sell Rapid COVID-19 Tests In Liquor Stores

If you live in New Hampshire and are having trouble getting an at-home rapid COVID-19 test, you might soon find them among the bottles at state-run liquor stores. The New Hampshire Executive Council approved the request to sell 1 million at-home rapid COVID tests at liquor outlets across the state, Gov. Christopher Sununu said. The governor said he expects the at-home tests to be available at liquor stores within the next two weeks. “We will buy them for a certain price. We will put them on the shelves and sell them for that exact same price, approximately in the $13 range,” Sununu said during a news conference this week. (Franklin, 1/28)

Politico:
Omicron Has States Rethinking ‘Broken’ School Covid Testing 

State leaders and health experts are weighing a counterintuitive school Covid strategy: Less testing and contact tracing. Utah’s legislature suspended school testing requirements this month after high Covid rates strained the state’s system. Omicron’s quick spread left Vermont officials abandoning their onetime school test-and-trace program, while Massachusetts officials strongly encouraged schools to give up a diagnostics program endorsed by federal officials. (Perez Jr., 1/30)

NPR:
Spotify Will Add A COVID-19 Advisory To Podcasts After The Joe Rogan Controversy

The music-streaming service Spotify says it will implement changes to guard against COVID-19 misinformation after some high-profile artists and public figures criticized the platform for hosting Joe Rogan’s hit podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell each pulled their music from Spotify over their objections to Rogan, who experts say has repeatedly made false claims about the coronavirus and vaccines. Over the weekend Nils Lofgren also confirmed he had his music pulled. Author and researcher Brené Brown said she would stop releasing new podcasts until further notice, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also expressed their concerns about COVID misinformation on the platform. (Hernandez, 1/30)

The Washington Post:
Long Island Nurses Made $1.5 Million Selling Fake Coronavirus Vaccination Cards, Prosecutors Say 

For years, Julie DeVuono has offered to help people avoid vaccination. In 2017 and 2018, the nurse’s pediatric practice advertised “vaccine exemption workshops” that it said would detail tips for “the best chance of acceptance.” Now DeVuono and an employee face charges for allegedly selling fake coronavirus vaccination cards and entering them into a state database. Authorities say the pair from Long Island left behind a ledger recording profits of more than $1.5 million in less than three months. (Knowles, 1/310)

The Boston Globe:
Mental Health A Top Concern For Colleges As Students Return For Spring Semester

As the spring semester gets underway on campuses across the region, college mental health staff say they’re inundated with students seeking care — a sign that, though classes remain largely in person, the stressors caused by the pandemic over the past two years are far from gone. In recent months, many institutions have redoubled their efforts to meet the increased needs of students even as they’ve begun to shift their strategy away from a singular focus on therapy and toward an effort to help students form friendships and to foster a warmer, closer-knit, and more supportive campus culture. “We know we can’t counsel or therapy our way out,” said Barbara McCall, executive director of Middlebury College’s Center for Health and Wellness. (Krantz, 1/30)

Crain’s Detroit Business:
Pandemic Caused More Mental Illness But Without Staff, Industry At An Impasse

While emergency rooms and intensive care units have been filled with the physically ill during the pandemic, mental health centers are equally overwhelmed. About 400 new patients will enter CNS Healthcare’s eight locations this month. That’s up from an average of about 150 prior to the pandemic. And the community behavioral health clinic is managing these patients with 60 fewer workers than prior to the pandemic and more than 100 new positions that could be filled. “We’re seeing more and more people experiencing levels of crisis and anxiety,” said Michael Garrett, president and CEO of CNS Healthcare. “There are a lot of different stressors going on in the world, from the pandemic to economic anxiety. This isolation and loneliness is the perfect storm on our mental health system.” (Walsh, 1/28)

Philadelphia Inquirer:
Home Health Care Shortages Have Families Struggling

A survey this month of 122 members of the Pennsylvania Home Care Association found that their nonmedical care worker staffs have declined by a quarter since the beginning of 2020 and skilled medical care workers by 20{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}. More than 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of providers surveyed said they had declined requests for care since 2020 due to staff shortages. Some home health workers have found more lucrative jobs and may never return, said Denise Tyler, an expert on aging policy and long-term care with the nonprofit research institute RTI International. (Laughlin, 1/31)

The Hill:
Senators Give Glimpse Into Upcoming Supreme Court Nomination Battle

Senators from both parties on Sunday gave a glimpse into how they might approach President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination, with some signaling they would support his choice of the first Black female justice and others suggesting his nominee wouldn’t get a single Republican vote. Biden last week reaffirmed a campaign promise that he would nominate a Black woman to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer at the end of the Supreme Court’s term later this year.  (Chohi, 1/30)

The Hill:
How Breyer’s Replacement Could Reshape Court’s Liberal Wing 

Justice Stephen Breyer’s upcoming departure from the Supreme Court hands President Biden the chance to tap a replacement who is expected to bring youth, diversity and a more liberal outlook than the retiring 83-year-old jurist known for his unique brand of judicial modesty and pragmatism.  The seating of Biden’s nominee, who he has said would be the country’s first Black female justice, will not fundamentally shift the balance of the 6-3 conservative majority court. But replacing Breyer with a justice who is ideologically to his left could reshape the three-member liberal minority and alter the court in more subtle ways. (Kruzel, 1/30)

Stateline:
Here’s How Abortion Access Would Change If Supreme Court Erodes Roe

As the nation awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could significantly erode abortion rights, state laws on the issue have taken on a whole new meaning. Soon, more than at any time in nearly half a century, obtaining an abortion will depend on where you live. In 1973, the high court guaranteed the right to abortion everywhere in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision. That ruling made state abortion bans largely symbolic, and federal courts routinely invalidated them. In many cases, the strictest laws represented political posturing without the risk of a public backlash because the statutes never took effect, said David Karol, an associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland. (Vestal, 1/28)

The Hill:
Durbin Defends Biden Focus On Black Woman As Supreme Court Nominee 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Sunday defended President Biden’s promise to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. “This is not the first time that a president has signaled what they are looking for in a nominee,” Durbin said on ABC’s “This Week,” citing commitments from two former presidents, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, to appoint a woman to the court ahead of the nominations of Sandra Day O’Connor and Amy Coney Barrett, respectively. (Beals, 1/30)

The Hill:
Graham: Nominating A Black Woman To The Supreme Court Wouldn’t Be Affirmative Action

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday pushed back against the notion that President Biden’s vow to nominate a Black woman the Supreme Court was akin to “affirmative action,” saying he was in support of making U.S. institutions “look like America.” “Put me in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America. You know, we make a real effort as Republicans to recruit women and people of color to make the party look more like America. Affirmative action is picking somebody not as well qualified for past wrongs,” Graham said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” (Choi, 1/30)

ABC News:
Majority Of Americans Want Biden To Consider ‘All Possible Nominees’ For Supreme Court Vacancy: POLL 

A new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds that a plurality of Americans view the Supreme Court as motivated by partisanship, while President Joe Biden’s campaign trail vow to select a Black woman to fill a high-court vacancy without reviewing all potential candidates evokes a sharply negative reaction from voters. (Shepherd, 1/30)

AP:
Senators: Extending Drug Shelf Life Could Ease Supply Woes 

Senators from Maine and Maryland want the federal government to extend the shelf life of prescription drugs that are in short supply to try to help address shortages. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin introduced the bill, which would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make the change. The FDA has said amending expiration dates of some drugs could help alleviate shortages, according to the senators. (1/30)

The Wall Street Journal:
Drugmakers Raised Prices By 6.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} On Average Early This Year

Drugmakers raised list prices by an average of 6.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in the first few weeks of this year on cancer, diabetes and other prescription medicines, sticking with more moderate increases while lawmakers scrutinize pricing practices. In all, about 150 drugmakers raised prices on 866 products in the U.S. through Jan. 20, according to an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions, which sells software to help employers and health plans choose the least-expensive medicines. (Walker, 1/30)

Modern Healthcare:
ThedaCare Scraps Lawsuit To Prevent Employees From Leaving For Ascension

ThedaCare has halted its attempt to get a court to block seven employees from leaving to work at a competitor, the Neenah, Wisconsin-based health system announced Friday. The case against Ascension Northeast Wisconsin faced an uphill battle after a judge lifted an temporary order blocking the workers from quitting ThedaCare’s flagship hospital for the same positions less than seven miles away at St. Louis-based Ascension’s Appleton facility. ThedaCare’s attorney filed a voluntary dismissal notice in Outagamie County Circuit Court on Friday. (Bannow, 1/28)

Modern Healthcare:
Aetna Wrongfully Denied Proton Therapy Claims, Court Rules

Aetna wrongfully denied coverage of cancer patients’ proton therapy after the insurer tried to prove that the treatment was experimental and investigational, a federal judge ruled. Aetna’s ambiguous definition of “medically necessary” failed to justify its exclusion of proton therapy for treating non-metastatic breast or prostate cancer in adults, Judge Kenneth Marra ruled in a summary judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Thursday. The lawsuit will now proceed to class certification that could expose Aetna to liability for a group of patients with similar complaints. (Kacik, 1/28)

NPR:
Researchers Find Alzheimer’s Link To Overactive Microglia Cells

It all started with genetic data.A gene here, a gene there. Eventually the story became clearer: If scientists are to one day find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, they should look to the immune system. Over the past couple decades, researchers have identified numerous genes involved in various immune system functions that may also contribute to Alzheimer’s. Some of the prime suspects are genes that control humble little immune cells called microglia, now the focus of intense research in developing new Alzheimer’s drugs. Microglia are amoeba-like cells that scour the brain for injuries and invaders. They help clear dead or impaired brain cells and literally gobble up invading microbes. Without them, we’d be in trouble. (Stetka, 1/30)

Fox News:
Alcohol Consumption Can Directly Cause Cancer, Study Says

The consumption of alcohol is a direct cause of several kinds of cancer, according to researchers. In a recent large-scale genetic study led by Oxford Population Health and published in the International Journal of Cancer, a team from Oxford, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, worked to investigate gene variants linked to lower alcohol consumption in Asian populations. To do so, the team used DNA samples from more than 150,000 adults – the majority of whom were women – in the China Kadoorie Biobank study. (Musto, 1/29)

NBC News:
Marijuana Use May Cause Cognitive Impairment Even When No Longer High

A recent analysis of previous research on the impact of cannabis on young’s people’s cognition found that many of the known learning and memory difficulties — such as slowed processing speed, and difficulties in focusing — could linger for weeks. Verbal learning, retention and recall were especially affected for longer periods when the person was no longer high, researchers from the University of Montreal found. (Carroll, 1/30)

The Washington Post:
Bed Rest After Hospitalization May Hamper Recovery For Older Patients 

Hospitalization often spells the beginning of the end of older patients’ mobility. Bed rest could be to blame — and in-hospital exercise programs could provide the jump-start older patients need to maintain their functionality at home, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests. (Blakemore, 1/30)

ABC News:
14 Guests At Ohio Hotel, Including At Least 6 Children, Hospitalized After Carbon Monoxide Leak

Fourteen guests at an Ohio hotel were hospitalized, including some who are in critical condition, due to a “life-threatening” carbon monoxide leak, police said. Police responded to several 911 calls Saturday evening of people found unconscious around the pool area of the Hampton Inn in Marysville, Ohio, police said. Marysville is a suburb of Columbus. (Pereira and McDuffie, 1/30)

Detroit Free Press:
No Health Risk Found In Air Near Jeep Plant In Detroit

Residents who have been complaining for months about strong paint odors from a Stellantis plant on Detroit’s east side received some assurance Thursday night from a state toxicologist about health risks of the air in their neighborhood but left frustrated over unanswered questions and uncertainty over asthma and other concerns. A community outcry over the air around the plant, which makes new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, has led to multiple investigations and violation notices from the state and prompted the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to lead a virtual community meeting Thursday, attended at one point by almost 150 people who heard from state and federal environmental and health officials. (Lawrence, 1/28)

Axios:
Navy To Drain Polluted Water After Fuel Contamination In Hawaii 

The Hawaii Department of Health authorized the Navy on Thursday to discharge treated water from its Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility after the water forced Army and Navy families from their homes into hotels. The contaminated tap water contained diesel fuel 350 times the safe level after a jet-fuel spill in November. The Navy will pump up to 5 million gallons of water a day from the Red Hill Shaft into the Halawa Stream in order to get rid of the contaminated tap water. The discharge was authorized under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit. (Frazier, 1/29)

Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Toxic Foam Used At Military Bases Raises Contamination Concerns

Cleanup of cancer-causing contaminants found at hundreds of military installations — including those in Nevada — has prompted frustrated senators to urge the Pentagon to improve communication with local communities to develop long-term plans to reduce health risks. High levels of contamination in Nevada were found at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs and particularly at Nellis Air Force Base, which landed on a Superfund clean-up list under the Environmental Protection Agency. The groundwater contamination is at unsafe levels and could spread. (Martin, 1/28)

AP:
Universal Health Care Bill Faces Deadline In California

California Democrats must decide Monday whether to advance a bill that would make the government pay for everybody’s health care in the nation’s most populous state; a key test of whether one of their most long-sought policy goals can overcome fierce opposition from business groups and the insurance industry. A bill in the state Legislature would create the nation’s only statewide universal health care system. It’s still a long way from becoming law, but Monday is the last chance for lawmakers in the Assembly to keep the bill alive this year. (Beam, 1/31)

AP:
Study Finds Litany Of Mental Health Issues At Vermont Prison

Staff and inmates at the Vermont state prison in Springfield have high rates of suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, according to a survey conducted by University of Vermont researchers. According to the survey done last June, 49{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of staff at the Southern State Correctional Facility developed anxiety since starting their career, 46{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} developed depression, 43{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} became overweight or obese, 40{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} developed high blood pressure and 39{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} developed post-traumatic stress disorder, The Times Argus reported. (1/30)