First Edition: June 23, 2022

KHN:
Trump’s Legacy Looms Large As Colorado Aims To Close The Hispanic Insurance Gap

Armando Peniche Rosales has a crooked toe that for years has predicted the weather, growing sensitive when rain or cold is coming. “It never healed right,” said Peniche Rosales, who broke the middle toe on his left foot as a high school soccer player in Denver years ago and limped home without seeing a doctor. He was living in the U.S. without authorization at the time. From age 9, when he moved to Denver, until he was in his 20s, he didn’t have health insurance. (Bichell and Hawryluk, 6/23)

KHN:
Tribes Show Little Interest In Offering Abortions On Reservations Despite Speculation They Could

Rachael Lorenzo started hearing the questions several weeks ago from strangers on Twitter and reporters seeking interviews: Since Native American tribes are sovereign nations, with their own laws, could they offer abortion services on Native land within states that may soon outlaw abortion? And would they? The speculation began last month, after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion suggested the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion nationwide. (Zionts, 6/23)

The Wall Street Journal:
FDA To Order Juul E-Cigarettes Off U.S. Market 

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to order Juul Labs Inc. to take its e-cigarettes off the U.S. market, according to people familiar with the matter. The FDA could announce its decision as early as this week, the people said. The marketing denial order would follow a nearly two-year review of data presented by the vaping company, which sought authorization for its tobacco- and menthol-flavored products to stay on the U.S. market. (Maloney, 6/22)

USA Today:
FDA To Ban Juul Products Amid Youth Vaping Concerns, Report Says

The move to ban Juul’s e-cigarettes could come as soon as Wednesday following a two-year review of the vaping powerhouse’s application seeking authorization to continue selling non-fruit-flavored products, the Wall Street Journal reported. The FDA has reviewed marketing applications from Juul and hundreds of other companies amid calls from anti-tobacco groups to crack down on products that led to a surge in youth vaping in the last decade. But advocates of these nicotine-delivering devices say they can help adult smokers kick the habit of smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products. (Alltucker, 6/22)

The Hill:
Advocates Cautiously Optimistic Over Report Of Juul Ban

Anti-smoking advocates said they are cautiously optimistic following a report that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to remove Juul’s vaping products from U.S. shelves. … If the report is true, “it’s most welcome and long overdue,” said Erika Sward, American Lung Association’s national assistant vice president of advocacy. (Weixel, 6/22)

The Hill:
Biden Officials To Expand Monkeypox Testing Amid Fears Of Undercounting

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is expanding monkeypox testing to commercial laboratories amid fears that the country is undercounting monkeypox cases because of insufficient testing.  The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it began shipping moneypox tests this week to five private testing companies: Aegis Science, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and Sonic Healthcare. The testing through these companies will begin in early July, HHS said. (Sullivan, 6/22)

Bloomberg:
How To Test For Monkeypox: US Picks Five Big Commercial Labs

The US plans to start testing for monkeypox at five of the nation’s largest commercial laboratories, broadening its effort beyond government facilities in an effort to address rising case numbers, the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday. Health-care providers will be able to use the testing services in early July, and more tests will be available throughout the month, according to HHS. Commercial labs that can receive the tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration include Aegis Science, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and Sonic Healthcare. (Muller, 6/23)

Reuters:
WHO Eyes Decision On Monkeypox ‘Emergency’, Africa Says It’s Long Overdue 

The World Health Organization will decide on Thursday whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, stirring criticism from leading African scientists who say it has been a crisis in their region for years. (Rigby, 6/23)

The New York Times:
An Outbreak Of Meningococcal Disease In Florida Is Growing, The C.D.C. Says 

An outbreak of meningococcal disease in Florida has caused at least 26 cases of the serious illness, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. Seven of the cases have been fatal, said Sam Crowe, a C.D.C. epidemiologist. The outbreak is primarily affecting men who have sex with men; at least 24 of the cases and six of the deaths have been among gay and bisexual men, the agency said in a news release. Roughly half of the cases have occurred in Hispanic men. (Anthes, 6/22)

AP:
CDC Touts Vaccine For Gay Men For Florida Meningitis Surge 

Health officials on Wednesday recommended that men in Florida who have sex with other men get a meningococcal vaccine following one of the worst outbreaks among gay and bisexual men in U.S. history of a bacteria that causes meningitis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that there have been at least 24 cases and seven deaths among gay and bisexual men caused by the bacteria in Florida recently. The CDC also recommended that gay and bisexual men traveling to Florida should ask their health care provider about getting the vaccine. (6/22)

The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Investigating Report Of Baby’s Death After Consuming Abbott Baby Formula 

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating a new report of another child’s death after consuming Abbott Laboratories’ baby formula, the agency said Wednesday. The FDA said it learned about the death, which occurred in January, from a consumer complaint it received on June 10. The FDA said its investigation is in preliminary stages, and it will provide an update as it learns more. (Loftus and Newman, 6/22)

AP:
US Importing Baby Formula From Mexico To Ease Shortage

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing logistical support to import the equivalent of about 16 million 8-ounce baby formula bottles from Mexico starting this weekend, as part of its efforts to ease nationwide supply shortages caused by the closure of the largest U.S. manufacturing plant. The Department of Health and Human Services is expediting the travel of trucks that will drive about 1 million pounds of Gerber Good Start Gentle infant formula from a Nestlé plant to U.S. retailers, the White House said, nearly doubling the amount imported to the U.S. to date. (Miller, 6/22)

The 19th:
Senate Fails To Pass Breastfeeding Protections For 9 Million Working Parents

A bill that would have extended breastfeeding protections at work to at least 9 million nursing parents during an ongoing formula shortage failed to pass the Senate Wednesday. The formula shortage helped revive conversations around more breastfeeding support for parents, especially low-income people who are more likely to turn to formula because they work in jobs where they cannot safely pump and store milk, or which offer little or no paid parental leave — but it ultimately wasn’t enough to pass the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. The bill had been sitting in the Senate for more than a year and passed the House in October. (Carrazana, 6/22)

The 19th:
Democratic Senators Call On TSA To Clarify Rules On Breast Milk And Formula

Fourteen Democratic senators are asking the Transportation Security Administration to clarify its policy on flying with breast milk and formula following reports that the rules have been implemented unevenly. In a letter first shared with The 19th, senators are asking for answers after parents reported spoiled breast milk and public harassment. Formula and breast milk are exempt from the TSA’s liquids rule, allowing parents to bring more than 3.4 ounces with them in their carry-on luggage, as well as ice packs and other needed items to keep the milk from spoiling. But news reports in recent years have found that the TSA agents have not always allowed parents to pass security checkpoints with breast milk or ice packs. (Carrazana, 6/22)

Detroit Free Press:
Keep Kids Fed Act Gets Bipartisan Support As Universal Lunch Ends

Federal lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal that doesn’t continue pandemic-era free universal lunch in schools but does increase the number of students who could qualify based on income. Universal free lunch was instituted at the start of the pandemic to ensure children wouldn’t go hungry through the crisis. U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., announced the new $3 billion deal Tuesday, along with U.S. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and  Bobby Scott, D-Va.,  and U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. Congress must  pass the legislation, called the Keep Kids Fed Act, by June 30, when current meal waivers are set to expire. (Altavena, 6/22)

Politico:
GOP Senator Considering Blocking School Meal Funding Deal Over Transgender Policy Fight 

A Republican senator is thinking about blowing up a bipartisan deal to extend school meals funding because of a Biden administration policy banning discrimination against LGBTQ students who participate in lunch programs that receive the money. Democratic leaders are rushing to pass the legislation and get it to President Joe Biden’s desk before current funding runs out June 30, triggering a hunger cliff for millions of children. Senate Republican leaders, who blocked previous attempts at a year-long extension of the funds, haven’t made any threats to tank the bill this time around, according to three people involved in the talks. But any one senator can object and block the expedited effort, requiring a recorded floor vote and eating up precious time. (Lee, 6/22)

The Hill:
House Passes Bill To Create Health Agency Focused On Biomedical Innovation

The House passed a bill on Wednesday to create a new health agency centered on expediting biomedical innovation in an effort to find innovative mechanisms to detect and treat a range of diseases including cancer. The legislation, dubbed the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Health Act, passed in a 336-85 vote, with all “no” votes coming from Republicans. Six Republicans and two Democrats did not vote. (Schnell, 6/22)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia Delegation Pushes Feds To Base New Health Research Agency In Georgia

A newly launched federal health agency will eventually need its own home, and all 16 members of Georgia’s congressional delegation, representing both chambers and both parties, are joining together in hopes of making the state that choice. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health was created with $1 billion in funding contained in the appropriations bill that President Joe Biden signed into law in March. Biden first proposed creating the agency in 2021, saying it would “improve the U.S. government’s capabilities to speed research that can improve the health of all Americans.” Georgia’s two senators and 14 U.S. House members sent a letter to federal health officials Tuesday trumpeting the state as a good fit for the new agency’s mission. (Mitchell, 6/22)

Stat:
Debate Over ARPA-H’s Independence Isn’t As Settled As It Seems

It seemed like the debate over President Biden’s new high-stakes science agency, ARPA-H, was over. Congress set aside $1 billion in funding. Cities began to lobby to host the new research office’s headquarters. And health secretary Xavier Becerra settled the lone point of controversy: The new agency, he declared in March, will exist not independently, but as a branch of the National Institutes of Health. But Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) isn’t giving up just yet. On Wednesday, she celebrated the House passage of a bill she authored that formally authorizes the new science office, known as ARPA-H, but also places Eshoo and her colleagues on a collision course with the White House. (Facher, 6/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin Republicans Gavel Out Of Special Session On Abortion Laws

The Senate and Assembly meetings lasted approximately 15 and 25 seconds,  respectively, and Republican-led closures of each session were met with shouts of disapproval from attending Democrats. Evers rebuked GOP legislators’ decision to gavel out, and issued a statement citing a Marquette University poll that found 70% of Wisconsinites believe abortion should be legal in all or most instances to defend his stance. “Time and time again, the people of Wisconsin have asked Republicans legislators to do what they are elected to do — to take action on pressing our state, to do the right thing, and to help the people we are elected to serve,” Evers said. “Today, they once again failed to muster the courage  to perform that simple duty.” (Baker, 6/22)

AP:
Planned Parenthood Won’t Change Waiting Period Requirement 

The Iowa attorney general’s office said Wednesday that a state Supreme Court decision that requires a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion won’t take effect until next month, but the organization that provides most abortion in the state says it will immediately implement the waiting period. A spokesman for the Iowa attorney general’s office said last week’s ruling would not take effect until the case has been returned to the lower court judge for further action, likely around July 8. Typically, Supreme Court opinions go into effect 21 days after they are released. (6/22)

Modern Healthcare:
Overturned Abortion Law Would Jeopardize Doctors

Physicians and their employers are working to get ahead of the Supreme Court’s pending Roe v. Wade decision, worried about their legal exposure to “trigger-happy” prosecutors in 26 states primed to restrict access to abortion services. The high court could strike down the federal law that gives women the constitutional right to end a pregnancy, setting in motion “trigger laws” limiting abortion services or pre-1973 abortion bans in around half the states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group. A draft opinion leaked in May, overturning the law, spurred conversations about legal liability among doctors, employers and their legal counsel. (Kacik, 6/22)

USA Today:
If Roe Is Overturned, States Offer Maze Of Abortion Laws

If a decision is made to eliminate federal abortion rights, within a year as many as 75,000 women won’t make it to a provider, according to one estimate. They would be forced to give birth instead, marking just the start of the fallout from a ruling whose implications would stretch far beyond reproductive health care to encompass suppression of female participation in the workforce and the amplification of racial and economic inequities. States are set in some cases to revert to laws from the 1800s,  allowing abortions only in the direst of conditions, such as when the mother is on the brink of death. Other states have passed more recent laws anticipating the court will overturn Roe v. Wade. In 13, so-called trigger laws would go into effect banning abortion in nearly all instances and only sometimes offering exceptions for rape and incest. (Slack and Lee, 6/22)

Stateline:
Critics Fear Abortion Bans Could Jeopardize Health Of Pregnant Women

The 17 states that ban abortion after 20 weeks make exceptions to protect the life or health of the woman. But doctors and reproductive health advocates worry such exceptions are so vague or narrow that abortion providers are unlikely to invoke them—especially if they fear they could be charged with a crime. In a country that has long lagged its peers in maternal mortality, many reproductive health providers warn that stricter abortion laws are likely to make the situation worse—especially for Black women, who die of pregnancy-related causes at nearly three times the rate of White women. (Ollove, 6/22)

The Wall Street Journal:
Man Charged With Attempting To Assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh Pleads Not Guilty 

The California man arrested outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home earlier this month has pleaded not guilty to an attempted assassination charge. Nicholas Roske, of Simi Valley, formally entered the plea during a hearing on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Greenbelt, Md. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ajmel A. Quereshi scheduled jury selection for Aug. 17 and set a trial start date of Aug. 23. (Wolfe, 6/22)

The Hill:
Trump Says ‘Go To The Reporter’ To Find Source Of SCOTUS Leak

Former President Trump suggested the Supreme Court look to the journalists at Politico who broke the bombshell story last month that a draft opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito would overturn Roe v. Wade, to find who leaked the document. The story, written by reporters Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward, hinged on a leaked draft ruling from the court that sent shockwaves across the political and media landscape. The draft outlined the conservative majority’s decision to overturn Roe, a landmark case that ruled abortion was constitutional. (Mastrangelo, 6/22)

Bloomberg:
Long Covid Affects One In Five Virus Patients, US Survey Finds

Almost one-fifth of US adults who have had Covid-19 are currently experiencing symptoms of long Covid that persist for at least three months, new federal data show. The results of a June survey by the US Census shed light on how frequently the virus’s symptoms linger beyond the initial period when people are acutely sick. More than one-third of US Covid patients reported ever having long Covid symptoms, and 19% said they currently were experiencing them. (Tozzi, 6/22)

Bloomberg:
Long Covid Symptoms For Kids Can Last Two Months, Study Finds

The largest study of long Covid in children found kids can experience symptoms persisting at least two months, but researchers say the indirect effects of the pandemic probably carry a more lasting impact. Children who test positive for Covid are more likely to experience at least one long-lasting symptom than children who have never been diagnosed, according to findings published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. But the study results can be seen as “reassuring,” Maren Rytter of the University of Copenhagen wrote in comments accompanying the data. (Paton, 6/22)

CNN:
Covid: Omicron Subvariants BA.4 And BA.5 Escape Antibodies From Vaccination And Prior Infection, Studies Suggest 

Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 appear to escape antibody responses among both people who had previous Covid-19 infection and those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, according to new data from researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of Harvard Medical School. However, Covid-19 vaccination is still expected to provide substantial protection against severe disease, and vaccine makers are working on updated shots that might elicit a stronger immune response against the variants. (Howard, 6/23)

The Boston Globe:
Impatient For Children’s Vaccine After A Long Wait, Parents Scramble For Appointments

Since vaccines for children 6 months to 5 years old were approved last week, parents have scrambled to get the shot for their youngsters. They’re conferring through Facebook and texts, calling clinics and doctors offices, and — when the state’s VaxFinder website had a few hours’ delay listing sites for young kids — experiencing traumatic flashbacks to last year’s vaccine rollout debacle. Surveys suggest that only a minority of parents intend to vaccinate their little ones against COVID-19. But those who want the vaccine want it badly, and they want it now. “Like every new rollout it takes a couple of weeks for the system to get up and running,” said Sigalle Reiss, director of public health and human services for Brookline. (Freyer, 6/22)

USA Today:
COVID Vaccine For Kids: Most Pharmacies Can’t Give Your Baby The Shot

Millions of Americans have heavily relied on pharmacies to easily access COVID-19 vaccines and boosters throughout the pandemic. More than 254 million doses of COVID vaccine have been administered and reported by retail pharmacies across the country through June 8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But parents seeking to vaccinate their toddlers and babies following last week’s authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5, may be in for a surprise. Most U.S. states don’t allow pharmacists or their technicians to administer vaccines to kids under a certain age, according to a 2021 map created by the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. (Rodriguez, 6/23)

AP:
Tennessee GOP Leaders Urge Delay Of Toddler COVID-19 Shots

Top Tennessee Republican House leaders on Wednesday urged Gov. Bill Lee to delay the state’s health department from distributing and promoting the COVID-19 vaccines to infants, toddlers and preschoolers. In a letter sent to the Republican governor, House leaders said they had too many concerns surrounding the vaccine for those under 5 years old. (Kruesi, 6/22)

Anchorage Daily News:
Alaska’s Reported COVID-19 Cases Increased By 23% This Week

The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases in Alaska rose by 23% this week compared to last week as hospitalizations decreased slightly. Here are a few main takeaways from the latest data available from the state Department of Health and Social Services:• By Wednesday, there were 57 COVID-positive patients hospitalized around Alaska, a slight decrease from the 61 reported by the state a week earlier. Just under 5% of Alaska’s hospital patients were COVID-positive, and no one required a ventilator. Current hospital counts are still well below all-time peaks but higher than at other points in the pandemic. (6/22)

The Washington Post:
Covid Bailout Rescued Some Hospitals While Enriching Others

Randolph Health, a 145-bed community hospital in central North Carolina, declared bankruptcy in March 2020 and might have closed for good if it had not received $14.5 million in federal emergency pandemic grants. The cash didn’t cover all its covid-related losses, but at least Randolph could make payroll. “Every penny of that was critical and we were just thankful,” said Reynolds Lisk, a former Randolph board member who was born in the hospital in 1957 and fought to save it. “It literally enabled us to continue to operate.” (Rowland, 6/22)

AP:
Nursing Home Owner Whose Residents Suffered In Ida Arrested

The owner of seven Louisiana nursing homes who sent more than 800 of his elderly residents to a crowded, ill-equipped warehouse to ride out Hurricane Ida last year was arrested Wednesday on fraud and cruelty charges arising from the squalid conditions. Bob Glynn Dean Jr., 68, had already lost state licenses and federal funding for crowding his residents into a facility in the town of Independence, roughly 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans. There, authorities said they found ill and elderly bedridden people on mattresses on the wet floor, some crying for help, some lying in their own waste. Some had arrived without their medicine, according to one doctor. Civil suits against Dean’s corporation said the ceiling leaked, toilets overflowed at the sweltering warehouse and there was too little food and water. (McGill, 6/22)

AP:
CDC Panel Recommends US Seniors Get Souped-Up Flu Vaccines

Americans 65 and older should get newer, souped-up flu vaccines because regular shots don’t provide them enough protection, a federal advisory panel said Wednesday. The panel unanimously recommended certain flu vaccines that might offer more or longer protection for seniors, whose weakened immune systems don’t respond as well to traditional shots. (Stobbe, 6/22)

The Hill:
House Fails To Pass Bill Creating Active Shooter Alert System 

The House on Wednesday failed to pass a bill that sought to create a communications network that would alert people when an active shooter is in their community. The legislation, dubbed the Active Shooter Alert Act, was considered under suspension, a process that allows legislation to be passed quickly with two-thirds support. The bill did not reach that threshold, failing in a 259-162 vote despite having bipartisan sponsorship — 16 Republicans helped introduce the legislation. (Schnell, 6/22)

Houston Chronicle:
Uvalde Massacre Prompts Calls To Expand Mental Health Resources

Despite growing calls for gun reform in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, a Texas Senate committee discussing legislative responses to the massacre spent little time debating firearm safety measures in two days of public hearings. While senators questioned mental health, law enforcement and school safety experts for hours, the group flew through testimony from gun control activists. The advocates had gathered at the Capitol to call for stronger background checks, waiting periods when purchasing assault-style rifles, and “red flag” laws that would temporarily remove firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. (Harris and Scherer, 6/22)

Houston Chronicle:
Texas Republican Representing Uvalde Supports Bipartisan Gun Bill

The Texas congressman whose district includes Uvalde says he plans to vote for a bipartisan gun bill that the Senate is poised to pass this week — even as many of his Republican colleagues are likely to oppose it. U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, a San Antonio Republican, tweeted Wednesday that he supports the gun bill drafted by a bipartisan group of senators, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, after recent mass shootings, including a gunman’s attack on an elementary school in Uvalde that resulted in the deaths of 19 kids and two teachers. (Wermund, 6/22)

The Hill:
Rand Paul Vows To Introduce Amendments To Gun Safety Bill

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday condemned parts of the recently announced bipartisan gun safety deal, describing some provisions as “constitutional deficiencies” and vowing to introduce amendments as it comes to the Senate floor. “Unfortunately, this legislation was assembled as many are — in secret, absent well placed leaks to journalists,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “There doesn’t appear to be a willingness or time provided to read, understand, debate or amend this bill.” (Schonfeld, 6/22)

CNN:
Guns: Senate Will Take Critical Vote To Advance Bipartisan Bill Toward Final Passage

The Senate is poised to take a critical vote on Thursday to advance a major bipartisan gun safety bill toward final passage. The vote is expected to succeed with Republican support, putting the legislation on a path to pass the Senate as soon as this week. The bipartisan gun deal represents the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades. It includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that. (Foran, Fox, Zaslav and Barrett, 6/23)

Stateline:
Rhode Island Raises Rifle-Purchasing Minimum Age To 21

Rhode Island has joined a growing list of states that have increased the minimum age to buy rifles, shotguns and semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.Democratic Gov. Dan McKee this week signed a package of gun measures passed after recent high-profile mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. The package includes bills that ban high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, prohibit the open carry of loaded firearms in public and raise the age limit for purchasing firearms and ammunition to 21. (Vasilogambros, 6/22)

AP:
Walmart Expands Health Services To Address Racial Inequality

Walmart is expanding health care coverage for employees who want to enlist the services of a doula, a person trained to assist women during pregnancies, to address racial inequities in maternal care. After first offering doulas to employees in Georgia last year, the nation’s largest retailer said Wednesday that it will expand the same benefit to its employees in Louisiana, Indiana and Illinois. (D’innocenzio, 6/22)

Modern Healthcare:
Molina Healthcare Settles False Claims Act Allegations

Molina Healthcare and its former subsidiary, Pathways of Massachusetts, agreed to pay more than $4.6 million to resolve false claims and whistleblower allegations, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office alleged Pathways submitted fraudulent claims to the state’s Medicaid program, MassHealth, for behavioral health services provided by unlicensed and loosely supervised staff. As part of the settlement, Molina and Pathways did not admit to the truth of the allegations. They also agreed not to make any public statements denying the allegations. (Berryman, 6/21)

Modern Healthcare:
1,000 Kaiser Permanente Nurses Set To Strike

One thousand nurses at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center plan to go on strike Thursday over patient care and staffing levels, their union said Wednesday. California Nurses Association/National Nurses United has been in negotiations with Kaiser Permanente since September for a new contract, the union said. The previous contract expired Sept. 30. Nurses have asked the organization for more supplies, such as syringes and the kits used to start IVs, and to invest more in nurses and ancillary staff, the union said. Kaiser Permanente is “disappointed” the union is calling on nurses to “walk away from their patients’ bedsides,” the not-for-profit health system said in a statement. (Christ, 6/22)

Modern Healthcare:
CVS Caremark Returns Eliquis To Formulary After Outcry

CVS Health will return blood thinner Eliquis to its pharmacy benefit manager’s commercial formulary beginning July 1, reversing a decision that sparked protests from physicians and patients, the company notified providers last week. CVS Caremark negotiated a new arrangement with Eliquis maker Bristol-Myers Squibb to acquire the prescription anticoagulant. Both Eliquis and Janssen Pharmaceutical’s Xarelto will be available to patients the PBM covers. For months, CVS Caremark’s formulary included only Xarelto, even though research hasn’t shown the two medications to be interchangeable. (Tepper, 6/22)

Stat:
Women Get Short Shrift With Credit On Scientific Publications, Analysis Finds

Look at the list of authors on a scientific paper and you’ll typically see more men than women. It’s easy to notice that gap and blame it on productivity-limiting factors many female scientists face, like greater family obligations or unwelcome environments. A new study published in Nature attempts to interpret this authorship discrepancy in a different way. It asked whether everyone who put in the same effort on the same project had an equal chance of being listed as an author. Instead of focusing on names on papers and patents, researchers compared employment records with author lists to find out whose names were missing. Their findings are clear: Women are less likely to be credited than men for the same work. (Welle, 6/22)

The Washington Post:
Study Indicates Female Scientists Get Less Authorship Credit For Work Than Men Do 

Female scientists are “significantly less likely” than men to be credited as authors on scholarly articles or named on patents to which they contribute — a systemic exclusion that probably has negative impacts on female scientists’ careers, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. The study, published Wednesday, found that female scientists are 13 percent less likely than men to be named as authors on articles and 58 percent less likely than men to be named on patents, even while controlling for factors including job title, field, team and days worked. As the study’s authors write, the findings suggest that women’s contributions to science continue to be underestimated, 70 years after the British chemist Rosalind Franklin was denied credit for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. (McShane, 6/22)

Stat:
Study: Industry-Funded Studies On Cost-Efficacy Often Favor Pricier Drugs

In response to rising prices for medicines, public and private payers increasingly rely on assessments of cost-effectiveness to justify coverage. But a new examination finds that such studies sponsored by drug companies were often biased in favor of setting higher prices for their medicines. Specifically, one-third of the cost-effectiveness analyses that were conducted by drugmakers reached more favorable conclusions than independently conducted analyses. And industry-sponsored analyses were twice as likely to report that a medicine was cost effective when relying on a commonly used metric to gauge the value of a medication, according to the study published in The BMJ. (Silverman, 6/22)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Judge OK’s Refunds For Customers In Lawsuit Accusing Roundup Weedkiller Manufacturer Of Concealing Cancer Risks

Buyers of Roundup herbicide products in recent years would be eligible for 20% refunds under a proposed nationwide settlement, tentatively approved by a federal judge, of a suit accusing Monsanto Co. of false advertising for failing to warn customers the product could cause cancer. The settlement is separate from the tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against Monsanto and its parent company, Bayer, by people diagnosed with cancer after spraying Roundup, the world’s most widely used weed-killer, on their crops. Bay Area juries have awarded damages totaling $133 million in three of those cases, and on Tuesday the Supreme Court denied review of Monsanto’s appeal of a $25.2 million award to one of those plaintiffs, a former school groundskeeper in Benicia. (Egelko, 6/22)

AP:
New Medicaid Expansion Pitch Surfaces In N. Carolina House 

Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly apparently aren’t through talking this legislative session about a path toward expanding Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults. A House committee scheduled debate Thursday on a new measure that would direct the state health department to develop a “Medicaid Modernization Plan” that would include covering individuals targeted by the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The plan would be turned in by mid-December and couldn’t be implemented without formal legislative votes approving it. (6/23)

Bangor Daily News:
Maine Over-Institutionalizes Children With Disabilities, Justice Department Says

Maine violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not making community-based services accessible enough to children with mental health and developmental disabilities, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday. Following a complaint filed by Disability Rights Maine, an investigation determined that the state violated the law as well as a Supreme Court decision holding that people with disabilities have a right to receive services in a setting appropriate to their needs, such as homes and communities. “Absent these services, Maine children with disabilities enter emergency rooms, come into contact with law enforcement, and remain in institutions when many of them could be at home if Maine put in place sufficient community-based services,” the department said. (Lausier, 6/22)

Bangor Daily News:
Maine Attorney General Is Close To Releasing Legal ‘Roadmap’ For PFAS Lawsuits

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said his office is finalizing a legal framework for going after the manufacturers of the so-called forever chemicals. The attorney general’s office began last fall soliciting bids from law firms willing to help represent the state in legal cases against the chemical companies that make PFAS. Used for decades in consumer products, some varieties of PFAS — short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances — have been linked to health concerns. And there are a growing number of PFAS hotspots popping up around the state, many of which have been linked to contaminated municipal sludge or industrial waste that was spread on farm fields as fertilizer. (Miller, 6/22)

ABC News:
Dangerous Heat To Stretch Through The Week

Dangerously high temperatures are slamming the U.S., with heat alerts in effect across more than one dozen states from Texas to West Virginia. In the South, the heat index — what temperature it feels like — is forecast to skyrocket Wednesday to 104 degrees in New Orleans; 103 in Little Rock; 106 in Memphis; 101 in Tallahassee; 100 in Atlanta; 104 in Louisville; and 99 in Knoxville. The North is also in the danger zone, with the heat index set to reach 94 degrees in Pittsburgh and 97 in Columbus, Ohio. (Shapiro, Golembo and Peck, 6/22)

The Washington Post:
Daily Harvest Meal Service Enlists FDA After Recall And Illness Claims 

Customers expressed frustration with the way the company handled the issue. Daily Harvest added updates to several promotional Instagram posts noting a link to “an important message regarding our French Lentil + Leek Crumbles.” Commenters complained that the company was not being more forthright about the potential problems and inundated its posts with barbs. (Heil, 6/22)

The Wall Street Journal:
Polio Virus Found In London Sewage Puts U.K. On High Alert 

Polio has been detected in London’s wastewater system, U.K. health authorities said, putting clinics on high alert for an infectious disease that hasn’t been recorded in Britain for nearly four decades. The U.K. Health Security Agency raised the alarm on Wednesday after it found several closely related polioviruses in sewage samples taken from a treatment facility in east London between February and May. That pattern of detection suggests that a form of the virus has been spreading locally, the agency said. (Roland, 6/22)

Press Association:
Global Life Expectancy Falls For First Time Since 1950s Due To Covid

Global life expectancy has fallen for the first time since the 1950s following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new analysis. The analysis, published by the ONE Campaign, has found that global life expectancy has fallen 1.64 years between 2019 and 2021. They warn that the situation could be worsened by a global food security crisis and the impact of climate change. This is the first time that global life expectancy has fallen since records began in 1950. (O’Reilly, 6/23)

The Washington Post:
Former Miss Brazil Dead At 27 After Having Tonsils Removed

The surgery, in April, was routine: Gleycy Correia was having her tonsils removed. But five days later, the former Miss Brazil suffered a hemorrhage and fell into a coma for more than two months. Now Brazil is mourning her loss. Correia, who was crowned Miss Costa do Sol and Miss United Continents Brazil in 2018, died Monday at 27 of kidney failure. She never recovered consciousness. (Herrero, 6/22)