Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
More Schools Stock Overdose Reversal Meds, But Others Worry About Stigma
Last year, a student fell unconscious after walking out of a bathroom at Central High School in Pueblo, Colorado. When Jessica Foster, the school district’s lead nurse, heard the girl’s distraught friends mention drugs, she knew she had to act fast. Emergency responders were just four minutes away. “But still four minutes — if they are completely not breathing, it’s four minutes too long,” Foster said. Foster said she got a dose of naloxone, a medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, and gave it to the student. The girl revived. (Ellen Bichell and Garcia Pivik, 10/3)
KFF Health News:
Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week. (10/3)
AP:
US Health Officials Propose Using A Cheap Antibiotic As A 'Morning-After Pill' Against STDs
U.S. health officials plan to endorse a common antibiotic as a morning-after pill that gay and bisexual men can use to try to avoid some increasingly common sexually transmitted diseases. The proposed CDC guideline was released Monday, and officials will move to finalize it after a 45-day public comment period. With STD rates rising to record levels, “more tools are desperately needed,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stobbe, 10/2)
CBS News:
In A First, CDC To Recommend Antibiotic Pill After Sex For Some To Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections
"It's going to take game-changing innovations for us to turn the STI epidemic around. And Doxy-PEP is the first major new prevention intervention we have for STIs in decades," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, head of the CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in an interview. Mermin, who co-authored the draft, estimated that implementation of their Doxy-PEP recommendations could lead to tens of thousands of infections prevented. (Tin, 10/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Sees Decline In COVID Hospitalizations. Will It Last?
New COVID-19 hospital admissions have decreased for a second consecutive week in California, signaling a modest but reassuring trend as the state emerges from a late-summer swell of infections. The daily average of patients admitted for COVID-19 fell approximately 13% over the past two weeks, dropping from an average of 395 to 343 daily, according to health department data published Friday. (Vaziri, 10/2)
The Washington Post:
Covid Vaccines For Children Have Been Hard To Find
The troubled rollout of updated coronavirus vaccines is proving especially challenging for physicians and parents seeking to immunize children — a reflection of distribution delays, shortages at pharmacies and financial obstacles confronting pediatric practices. The federal government is no longer buying and distributing all vaccines, unleashing a host of complications as the new shots, recommended for everyone older than 6 months, hit the private market in mid-September. The updated vaccines are tailored to provide a shield of protection against coronavirus variants in circulation and arrive as the fall respiratory illness season dawns and an expected winter covid-19 uptick looms. (Sun and Nirappil, 10/2)
Axios:
COVID Booster Shots Hard To Find In Colorado
If you're looking for a COVID-19 booster shot, good luck. Driving the news: High demand and limited supply is making the vaccine hard to find in Colorado as health care providers struggle to get allocations. The first appointments available at Kaiser Permanente in the Denver area are a month from now. UCHealth is just receiving its first shipments of the shot. Walk-in appointments at some pharmacies are not available. (Frank, 10/2)
The Hill:
Nobel Prize Winner For MRNA Vaccines Discusses Being Demoted By UPenn
Katalin Karikó, who is sharing the Nobel Prize in medicine for her work with mRNA vaccines, says she was previously demoted by the University of Pennsylvania for her research in that area. “If you know about 10 years ago, I was here in October because I was kicked out from UPenn, was forced to retire,” Karikó told the Nobel Prize organization in an interview Monday. (Lonas, 10/2)
The Boston Globe:
AG Campbell Launches Reproductive Justice Unit, Appoints Sapna Khatri As Director
Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the launch of the office’s reproductive justice unit Monday with the appointment of longtime abortion rights advocate Sapna Khatri as the unit’s first director. “Massachusetts has and will continue to show itself to be the north star for the nation on reproductive health access,” Campbell said during a press conference at her office. “We are here again leading the way by announcing the formation of the first of its kind Reproductive Justice Unit... and we’re really, really proud that we’re getting this off the ground today.” (Scott, 10/2)
Reuters:
US Supreme Court Rebuffs Dispute Over Videos Targeting Abortion Providers
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by anti-abortion activists to throw out more than $2 million in damages they were ordered to pay Planned Parenthood after secretly recording video of abortion providers in a scheme to try to show the illicit sale of aborted fetal tissue for profit. (Chung, 10/2)
Politico:
What The Funding Deal Means For Health Care
Congress came together Saturday to secure a last-minute deal to continue government funding for 45 days and avoid a government shutdown, bucking the overwhelming consensus that a shutdown was inevitable. The “clean” stopgap measure — known as a continuing resolution — will keep government agencies like HHS running at current levels through Nov. 17. More than 200 House Democrats agreed to the patch, bailing out Republicans and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who were unable to unite on a deal to fund the government. (Leonard and Cirruzzo, 10/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Government Funding Bill Stalls Hospital, Health Program Cuts
Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments, funding for federally qualified health centers, money for graduate medical education and the budget for the National Health Service Corps will continue to flow until Nov. 17 under the measure, which President Joe Biden signed soon after the House and Senate approved it on Saturday. preventing a government shutdown due to commence just hours later. (McAuliff, 10/2)
Stat:
Congress Extends Some Pandemic Preparedness Programs
Congress temporarily extended a few pandemic-preparedness programs when it forestalled a government shutdown at the last minute Saturday evening. But a program that encourages the development of countermeasures for big public health problems like pandemics expired without reauthorization. With hours left before a funding lapse, Congress passed a measure to keep the government running for another 45 days. That temporary funding measure also extended a few programs that are part of the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act. (Wilkerson, 10/2)
Politico:
Treasury: Climate Impacts Threaten To Widen Wealth Gap
Using county-level climate projections through 2045, the Treasury Department determined that about half of all U.S. counties face “elevated exposure” to one or multiple climate hazards including wildfire, extreme heat and flooding. Treasury officials then overlaid that information with data about each county’s “social vulnerability,” which takes in account more than a dozen factors including poverty, health conditions, race and ethnicity. (Ellfeldt, 10/2)
Stat:
As GOP Views Collide With Science, Doctors Are In The Crosshairs
“There’s this broad trend of disdain for medicine, science, evidence, expertise,” said Kellan Baker, executive director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, a network of LGBTQ-focused providers. “You hear it in conversations around Covid. It’s no accident that the same governors that are going after trans kids have also gone after mask mandates, have also gone after vaccines, are also peddling lies about what good medicine and good science look like.” (Owermohle, 10/3)
AP:
Selma Blair Helps White House Salute Landmark Disability Legislation
Actor and disability rights advocate Selma Blair on Monday helped President Joe Biden mark the legacy of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, displaying a touch of the comedic timing that made her a star in Hollywood hits like “Legally Blonde” and “Cruel Intentions.” Blair, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018, walked together with Biden to a ceremony on the White House’s south lawn with her cane and her service dog, an English Labrador named Scout. (Weissert, 10/2)
Reuters:
US Patent Office Won't Review Two Novo Nordisk Patents For Wegovy, Ozempic
A U.S. Patent Office tribunal on Monday rejected challenges to two key patents owned by Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) covering the active ingredient in its weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic brought by a generic drugmaker that is hoping to sell generic versions of the blockbuster medications. The office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board denied the requests by Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which is owned by Viatris (VTRS.O), to review the validity of the Wegovy and Ozempic patents. Mylan had argued that the patents were obvious based on the anti-diabetes medication liraglutide and thus should be invalidated. (Brittain, 10/2)
Reuters:
US FDA Approves Novo Nordisk's Therapy For Rare Genetic Condition
Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved its therapy to treat a rare genetic condition that affects the kidneys. The once-monthly injection, to be sold under the brand name Rivfloza, is approved for use in people nine years and older with a type of primary hyperoxaluria and relatively preserved kidney function. (10/2)
CBS News:
FDA Investigating Baby's Death Linked To Probiotic Given By Hospital
The Food and Drug Administration is now warning hospitals not to give probiotics to preterm infants, after a baby was killed by bacteria linked to a probiotic. An investigation has also now been launched into the death, the FDA announced in a warning published Friday, which followed use of Evivo with MCT Oil, a probiotic manufactured by California-based Infinant Health that is now being recalled. (Tin, 10/2)
Stat:
CDC Picks Alphabet's Verily For Wasterwater Surveillance Contract
Under the up-to-five year, $38 million contract, Verily will collect samples from hundreds of wastewater treatment centers across the country, analyze them for Covid-19 and the mpox virus at its South San Francisco lab, and return the data to CDC within 36 hours of collecting the samples. The contract is limited to those two pathogens but the company is prepared to analyze more if needed, leaders said. (Ravindranath, 10/2)
Stat:
Court Strikes Down Trump-Era On Copay Accumulators
A U.S. judge has struck down a Trump administration rule that allowed health insurers not to count copay assistance offered by drug companies toward out-of-pocket costs, a victory for advocacy groups that argued the rule harmed patient health. (Silverman, 10/2)
Reuters:
US Supreme Court Rebuffs CareDx Patent Lawsuit Over Organ-Rejection Tests
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a lawsuit by CareDx (CDNA.O) over organ-rejection tests made by Natera (NTRA.O) and Eurofins Viracor (EUFI.PA), turning down another request to revisit the contentious issue of patent eligibility. The justices turned away CareDx's appeal of a lower court's ruling that invalidated patents that the Brisbane, California-based company had accused its medical diagnostics rivals of infringing. The justices announced their action on the first day of their new nine-month term. (Brittain, 10/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Cigna Settles DOJ Medicare Advantage Fraud Case
Cigna Group will pay $172.3 million to settle allegations that it exaggerated its members' illnesses to collect excess Medicare Advantage payments. The agreement follows a Justice Department investigation into Cigna's chart reviews and home health visits and a separate whistleblower lawsuit. Cigna does not admit to violating the False Claims Act by agreeing to the settlement, according to a news release the Justice Department issued Friday. (Tepper, 10/2)
Reuters:
Walgreens Can Sue Health Insurer Over Law Firm's Work, Appeals Court Rules
Walgreens (WBA.O) can counter-sue a health insurer for allegedly helping one of the retail pharmacy giant's former law firms switch sides in a legal fight over prescription drug reimbursements, an Illinois appeals court has ruled. In a 13-page order, the Illinois First Judicial District Appellate Court on Friday revived the counterclaim that Walgreens brought against plaintiff Health Care Service Corporation in the case. (Scarcella, 10/2)
CIDRAP:
New Report Analyzes Major Drug Companies' Efforts To Boost Access To Generic, Biosimilar Drugs
A new Access to Medicine Foundation analysis of five major pharmaceutical companies highlights their strategies to improve access to generic and biosimilar drugs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) but finds a lack of efforts to make medications more affordable. The inaugural report from the foundation's Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Programme looks at the efforts of Cipla, Hikma, Sun Pharma, Teva, and Viatris to identify gaps in reliable, affordable essential drugs in poor countries. (Van Beusekom, 10/2)
CIDRAP:
33 New Cases In A Pet Turtle-Linked Salmonella Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its information on a Salmonella outbreak linked to pet turtles, which includes 33 new cases and 7 more affected states. There are now 59 illnesses and 23 hospitalizations in an outbreak affecting 18 states. No deaths have been reported. Pennsylvania has 10 cases, Tennessee has 7, and California has 6. Illnesses started on dates ranging from October 27, 2022, to August 26, 2023. The median age of cases is 7, and 39% are under the age of 5. (Soucheray, 10/2)
Fox News:
Missing Mammograms: Over 20% Of Women Don’t Follow Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines, Study Says
A new report has found that 21.7% of U.S. women aged 50 to 74 — around one in five — are not getting mammogram screenings at the recommended frequency. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), made up of doctors and disease experts, recommends mammograms every two years for women aged 50 to 74 to detect breast cancer. (Rudy, 10/2)
CIDRAP:
Study: Paxlovid Cuts Hospitalization, Death Only In At-Risk COVID Patients With Weak Immune Systems
Today in JAMA Network Open, an observational Canadian study ties the antiviral drug combo nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) to a lower risk of hospitalization or death only in very high-risk COVID-19 patients with weakened immune systems. (Van Beusekom, 10/2)
Reuters:
Boehringer Launches 81% Discounted Biosimilar Of AbbVie's Humira
Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim on Monday launched an unbranded version of its biosimilar of AbbVie's (ABBV.N) Humira with a list price 81% cheaper than the blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug. The company in July launched a branded biosimilar, Cyltezo, priced at a 5% discount to Humira's current list price of $6,922 per month. Boehringer's close-copies of Humira are the only ones that can be substituted for the original without consulting the prescriber after being designated as interchangeable by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Sunny and Wingrove, 10/2)
Reuters:
Sanofi In Agreement With Janssen To Develop E. Coli The Vaccine Candidate
Sanofi (SASY.PA) on Tuesday announced it had reached an agreement with Janssen, a part of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), to develop and commercialize a vaccine candidate for extra-intestinal pathogenic E.coli. Under the terms of the deal, both parties will co-fund current and future research and development costs. Sanofi will pay $175 million upfront to Janssen, followed by development and commercial milestones. (10/3)
Stat:
Syndax’s Leukemia Drug Succeeds In Pivotal Study
Syndax Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for a genetically defined form of advanced leukemia met its goal in a pivotal study, leading to complete remission for about a quarter of patients in the trial. The results, disclosed Monday, will set in motion an application for Food and Drug Administration approval, which the company expects to complete by the end of the year. (Garde, 10/2)
USA Today:
Kaiser Permanente Strike Looms: Workers Across Six States Plan To Walk Out This Week
More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers and support staff in six states and Washington D.C., demanding better pay and more robust staffing plan a three-day strike beginning Wednesday, union officials said. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said the walkout is planned to protest "unfair labor practices and unsafe staffing levels" at hundreds of Kaiser hospitals and facilities, which union officials said would be the largest health-care worker strike in American history. (Alltucker, 10/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Kaiser Permanente Strike: 75K Workers Plan Walkout Wednesday
A strike would be the largest in healthcare history, with one-fourth of Kaiser Permanente’s employees planning to walk off the job from 6 a.m. PST Wednesday until 6 a.m. PST Saturday. The workers are represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. ... If no agreement is reached after a three-day strike, union members are prepared to strike again for a longer period of time in November, said Renée Saldaña, a spokesperson for SEIU-UHW, one of 11 union groups in the coalition. (Devereaux, 10/2)
Bloomberg:
Fitch Downgrades Texas Hospital System Three Notches To B+
Fitch Ratings downgraded Wise Health System, citing shrinking liquidity and high doctor turnover among the pressures on the Texas operator. The hospital system was lowered three notches to B+ from BB+ and placed on a negative rating watch by Fitch, according to a Friday report. Wise Health System’s balance sheet is “approaching tenuous and offering a limited margin of safety,” Fitch wrote. Its unrestricted cash declined to $69 million as of June 30 from $101 million at the end of last year. (Coleman-Lochner, 10/2)
Bloomberg:
Austin Real Estate Boom Expands Health Care For Poor Seeking Relief
The boom times in Austin have been blamed for widening inequality and pushing poorer residents out of their homes. But the increased tax haul amid rising property values may help some struggling residents by funding an expansion of health-care services for the indigent. Travis County, which includes the Texas capital city, approved an increase to property tax rates last week to fund Travis County Healthcare District, known as Central Health. (Coleman-Lochner, 10/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Rock Health: Mental Health Startups See Top Funding
Economic challenges continue to have an effect on digital health. In the third quarter, U.S. digital health startups raised $2.5 billion across 119 deals, according to a report released Monday from research and digital health venture firm Rock Health. This represented the second lowest quarterly funding total since the fourth quarter of 2019. Only the third quarter of 2022, which saw companies raise $2.2 billion across 125 deals, was worse. (Turner, 10/2)
Reuters:
AstraZeneca To Pay $425 Mln To Settle Nexium, Prilosec Litigation In US
British drugmaker AstraZeneca (AZN.L) on Tuesday said it will pay $425 million to settle product liability litigations against prescription-only acid-reflux medicine Nexium and heartburn drug Prilosec in the United States. The agreements effectively resolve all pending claims filed against the company for failing to warn patients about the risk of contracting chronic kidney disease and related issues, except for one in Louisiana, AstraZeneca said - the trial for which is scheduled in April next year. (10/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Doctors Who Deliver COVID Falsehoods No Longer Committing ‘Misconduct’
A short-lived law allowing California to punish doctors who give patients false information about COVID-19 is dead, months after a federal judge blocked it. California became the first state to include COVID misinformation in the official definition of physician misconduct when the law took effect Jan. 1 of this year. Supporters applauded the state’s dedication to science and denounced “snake-oil salesman,” while critics called it a free-speech nightmare and bombarded the state with lawsuits to stop it. (Asimov and Egelko, 10/2)
AP:
Court Reviews Gun-Carry Restrictions Under Health Order In New Mexico, As States Explore Options
Restrictions on carrying guns in public that are tied to an emergency public health order are going under the legal microscope Tuesday in New Mexico, where the Democratic governor is testing the boundaries of her authority and constitutional law in response to violent crime in the state’s largest metro area. The standoff is one of many in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year expanding gun rights, as leaders in politically liberal-leaning states explore new avenues for restrictions. (Lee, 10/3)
AP:
Iowa Promises Services To Kids With Severe Mental And Behavioral Needs After Lawsuit Cites Failures
Iowa’s health agency will take steps to develop home and community-based services for children with severe mental and behavioral needs as part of an initial agreement with civil rights groups that filed a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in January on behalf of three children. It alleges that Iowa has for decades failed to meet its legal obligations to Medicaid -eligible children who should have access to individualized and coordinated care plans, in-home therapy and emergency services. (Fingerhut, 10/3)
Axios:
ER Wait Times Are On The Rise In North Carolina
Emergency room visits in North Carolina last an average of two hours and 54 minutes. That's based on a 12-month average ending in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data. Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance. Increasing ER visit times indicate that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's needs — including mental health needs — or is facing other issues, according to the federal agency that tracks the numbers. (Eanes and Fitzpatrick, 10/2)
CBS News:
Reports: Rise In Overdose Deaths Prompts Stanislaus County Health Alert, Dangerous Fentanyl-Laced Tranq Detected
Unprecedented and showing no signs of slowing down— that's how the Stanislaus County District Attorney's office describes increases in drug-related overdose deaths countywide in recent weeks. The rise in deaths prompted the agency to issue a health alert on social media, warning people to carry the overdose reversal drug naloxone and to check in on family members with a history of substance use disorder. (Sharp, 10/2)
The Boston Globe:
Central Mass. Health Care System Heywood Health Files For Bankruptcy
Heywood Healthcare, a health care system based in Central Massachusetts, announced Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a news release announcing the filing, Heywood described a constellation of financial difficulties creating “a substantially challenging operational infrastructure.” This includes pandemic-era supply chain snarls, a “costly and lengthy” transition to electronic medical records, a major construction project, and low reimbursement rates. (Gerber, 10/2)
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
