First Edition: March 24, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Health Providers Scramble To Keep Remaining Staff Amid Medicaid Rate Debate
Andrew Johnson lets his clients choose what music to play in the car. As an employee of Family Outreach in Helena, Montana — an organization that assists developmentally disabled people — part of his workday involves driving around, picking up clients, and taking them to work or to run errands. “What’s up, gangsta?” Johnson said as a client got in the car one day in March. The pair fist-bumped and Johnson asked what type of music the client liked. “Gangsta stuff,” came the response. Rap, mainly. (Larson, 3/24)
KHN:
Sen. Sanders Shows Fire, But Seeks Modest Goals, In His Debut Drug Hearing As Health Chair
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who rose to national prominence criticizing big business in general and the pharmaceutical industry in particular, claimed the spotlight Wednesday on what might at first seem a powerful new stage from which to advance his agenda: chairmanship of the Senate health committee. But the hearing Sanders used to excoriate a billionaire pharmaceutical executive for raising the price of a covid-19 vaccine showed the challenges the Vermont independent faces. (Allen, 3/23)
KHN:
KHN's 'What The Health?': The Policy, And Politics, Of Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage, the private-sector alternative to original Medicare, now enrolls nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries. But it remains controversial because — while most of its subscribers like the extra benefits many plans provide — the program frequently costs the federal government more than if those seniors remained in the fully public program. That controversy is becoming political, as the Biden administration tries to rein in some of those payments without being accused of “cutting” Medicare. (3/23)
The New York Times:
Autism Prevalence Rises Again, Study Finds
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in American children rose between 2018 and 2020, continuing a long-running trend, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. In 2020, an estimated one in 36 8-year-olds had autism, up from one in 44 in 2018. The prevalence was roughly 4 percent in boys and 1 percent in girls. The rise does not necessarily mean that autism has become more common among children, and it could stem from other factors, such as increased awareness and screening. (Anthes, 3/23)
USA Today:
'Public Health Crisis': Autism Rates Rise Again, With 1 In 36 Children Diagnosed
Autism rates rose again between 2018 and 2020, the most recent year data is available, up from 1 in 44 children to 1 in 36. Many factors are likely to contribute to these rising rates, including that diagnoses among children of color have been catching up to – and are now passing – white children. (Weintraub, 3/23)
AP:
Autism Now More Common Among Black, Hispanic Kids In US
For the first time, autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children than in white kids in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Among all U.S. 8-year-olds, 1 in 36 had autism in 2020, the CDC estimated. That’s up from 1 in 44 two years earlier. But the rate rose faster for children of color than for white kids. The new estimates suggest that about 3% of Black, Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander children have an autism diagnosis, compared with about 2% of white kids. That’s a contrast to the past, when autism was most commonly diagnosed in white kids — usually in middle- or upper-income families with the means to go to autism specialists. (Stobbe, 3/23)
The Hill:
US Appeals Court Walks Back COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement For Federal Employees
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court decision to block the government from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine requirement on federal employees — reversing a previous ruling from a smaller panel of its own judges. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a rare en banc rehearing that a preliminary nationwide injunction on the vaccine mandate should remain in place while the case proceeds. (Shapero, 3/23)
AP:
Georgia House Approves Blocking COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Any COVID-19 vaccine requirement by public schools, state agencies or local governments would be blocked under legislation given final approval by the Georgia House on Thursday. The House voted 99-69 in favor of Senate Bill 1, which would make permanent what had been a one-year ban enacted in 2022. The measure now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto. (Amy, 3/23)
NBC News:
Rand Paul Says He Wouldn't Give His Children Covid Vaccinations Over Myocarditis Concerns
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Thursday said he would not vaccinate his children against Covid, citing concerns over potential heart inflammation. Paul, a doctor and an outspoken opponent of Covid mitigation measures, said he is concerned about the risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, from taking the vaccine. (Concepcion, 3/23)
Axios:
Why America Was Uniquely Vulnerable To COVID
The pandemic experience varied sharply from state to state, with some of the highest adjusted death rates reported in Arizona, the District of Columbia and New Mexico, according to an analysis published in The Lancet. It's among the first deep dives to explore the social and economic factors at play during the pandemic in the U.S., and found a nearly four-fold variation in COVID infection and death rates between states. (Reed, 3/24)
AP:
Abortion-Rights Supporters Prevail In New Hampshire House
In New Hampshire, Republicans hold a 201-198 majority in the House, with one seat vacant. That has made attendance on session days extra important, as evidenced by the vote on a measure Thursday that ended in a tie. The proposal in question, backed by virtually all Democrats, would have repealed the state’s ban on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The bill was tabled after the 192-192 tie. (Ramer, 3/23)
Houston Chronicle:
Abortion Provider That Left Texas Opens New Clinic In New Mexico
One of the largest independent abortion providers in the nation opened a new clinic in New Mexico on Thursday, nearly nine months after it shuttered its clinics in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Whole Woman’s Health of New Mexico opened its Albuquerque clinic on Thursday. The clinic is expected to see 19 patients over the next few days, with 18 of them coming from Texas. (MacDonald, 3/23)
ProPublica:
Federal Study Calls U.S. Stillbirth Rate “Unacceptably High” And Recommends Action
Federal officials have released a bleak assessment of the country’s progress in understanding and preventing stillbirths, calling the rate “unacceptably high” and issuing a series of recommendations to reduce it through research and prevention. The National Institutes of Health report, titled “Working to Address the Tragedy of Stillbirth,” mirrored findings of an investigation by ProPublica last year into the U.S. stillbirth crisis, in which more than 20,000 pregnancies every year are lost at 20 weeks or more and the expected baby is born dead. (Eldeib, 3/23)
NPR:
Medical Residents Unionize At Hospitals Around The Country
Dr. Leah Rethy was pregnant during the first year of her internal medicine residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She gave birth during her second year. She worked through her 40th week of pregnancy so she could save her time off and spend more time with her newborn. (Yu, 3/23)
Modern Healthcare:
Bon Secours Mercy Health's Losses Top $1 Billion In 2022
Bon Secours Mercy Health posted a $1.2 billion net loss in 2022, compared with a $997.7 million gain the prior year, the Catholic nonprofit health system disclosed this week. The change was largely driven by decreased returns on investment amid struggling financial markets. (Hudson, 3/23)
Modern Healthcare:
Sutter Health Reports $249M Net Loss In 2022
Sutter Health's finances took a significant downturn last year after a strong performance in 2021, according to a report the nonprofit health system issued Wednesday. Sutter Health suffered a net loss of $249 million in 2022, a major decline from the $1.14 billion gain the Sacramento, California-based company recorded in 2021. By the end of 2022, patient volume had nearly returned to where it were before the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to revenue rising 3.9% to $14.77 billion, the company reported. (Hudson, 3/23)
Politico:
Hospitals Blame Psych Bed Reopening Delay On Suicide Precautions, Staff Shortages
Hundreds of hospital beds for psychiatric patients will remain offline past Gov. Kathy Hochul’s April 1 deadline due to staffing shortages, inadequate funding and even suicide risks, according to records obtained by POLITICO. Details of hospitals’ reopening plans, obtained through a public records request, have not been previously reported. In several cases, hospitals told the state they need more time to reconfigure areas that were converted into medical and surgical units during the pandemic and would therefore present a “ligature risk” to psychiatric patients — meaning there are portions of the facility that a patient could use to hang or strangle themselves. (Kaufman, 3/23)
Stat:
How A Hospital Helps Patients Conquer Language And Tech Barriers
Herman Quintero was cracking jokes about the lottery, touching just below his right eye for luck. It came down to the Mega Millions to pay the medical bill he pulled up on the Patient Gateway app on his phone. Or somebody lending a hand, he said, eyes puckish as they peered out from under a navy blue Tigers baseball cap — a relic of his years working on a car assembly line in Detroit — and over at the Digital Access Coordinator sitting beside him. Janelle Vargas shook her head. After two years helping him navigate his health care online, she was used to Quintero’s quips. (Castillo, 3/24)
Fierce Healthcare:
Veterans Health Administration Teams With About Fresh To Scale Up 'Food Is Medicine' Demonstration Project
About Fresh, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Food is Medicine Research Initiative, is partnering with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to create a large-scale demonstration project aimed at using healthy food to improve veterans' health. About Fresh, a startup focused on integrating healthy food into the healthcare system, began bringing fresh produce to Boston food deserts in converted school buses. But Josh Trautwein founded About Fresh with no attachment to the means, but rather the ends: food is medicine overall, not necessarily food trucks as a way to get there. (Burky, 3/23)
NPR:
Why Drugs Like Adderall, Antibiotics And Flu Medications Are In Short Supply
Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee say the number of new drug shortages rose by 30% between 2021 and 2022, an increase that has had "devastating consequences" for patients and doctors. Towards the end of 2022, a peak of 295 individual drugs were considered in short supply — impacting treatment for everything from colds to cancer. (Olson, 3/23)
USA Today:
UTIs, Bladder Infections May Be Linked To E. Coli In Meat, Study Finds
More than half a million urinary tract infections in the U.S. each year may be caused by E. coli strains from meat products, a new study reported Thursday. Using a new genomic approach to track the origins of E. coli infections, researchers from George Washington University estimated that 480,000 to 640,000 UTIs may be caused by the foodborne bacteria, according to the analysis published in the peer-reviewed journal One Health. (Rodriguez, 3/23)
Stat:
Study Suggests Diabetes Screening Should Be Guided By Age, Not Weight
Current guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend screening adults ages 35-70 who are considered overweight or obese (having a body mass index over 25). However, racial and ethnic minority groups, especially Asian people, tend to develop diabetes at lower BMIs, so to identify more people with the condition across groups, all adults ages 35-70 regardless of their weight should be screened, researchers said in a study Friday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (Chen, 3/24)
The Hill:
Utah Becomes First State To Require Parental Consent For Minors Using Social Media
Utah on Thursday became the first state to bar minors from using social media without consent from a parent or guardian after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed two bills aimed at regulating how minors interact online in the state — one requiring companies to verify the age of users before they can create accounts. Cox followed through on a promise to sign the two divisive bills: Utah Senate Bill 152, which requires users to be 18 or older to open a social media account without parental permission, and Utah House Bill 311, which prohibits social media companies from “using a design or feature that causes a minor to have an addiction” to the platform. (Mueller, 3/23)
The Hill:
Iowa Governor Signs Transgender Bathroom Bill, Bans Gender-Affirming Care For Youth
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Wednesday signed into law two bills that will restrict the rights of transgender young people in the state. One of them, Senate File 538, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming health care, including puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries, to transgender minors. The other, Senate File 482, bars transgender students from using school restrooms or locker rooms that are consistent with their gender identity. (Migdon, 3/23)
Axios:
World Athletics Bans Trans Women From Female Sports
The World Athletics Council voted Thursday to ban athletes who are transgender women "or who have Differences of Sexual Development" from competing in elite track and field competitions. The new rule follows similar bans on transgender athletes competing in elite women's competitions, including swimming. (Falconer, 3/24)
The Colorado Sun:
Denver Public Schools Cancels All Classes Friday For Mental Health
Denver Public Schools is canceling classes across the district Friday for its staff and students to focus on mental health after a 17-year-old student shot two administrators inside Denver East High School, a spokesman for the district said Thursday. Students will return to school in April, following spring break that begins next week. (Prentzel, 3/23)
The Trace:
Guns And Domestic Violence Exact A Deadly Toll On Kids
Angela Brooks will never forget the FaceTime call from her 10-year-old granddaughter, Nie’Mae. “She said, ‘Granny, please help us. Mama’s dead,’” recalled Brooks, 58, a nurse in St. Louis. Brooks didn’t believe it. Then Nie’Mae turned the phone around to show her a body on the floor. It was Brooks’ daughter, Chasity Cooper, 40. She had been shot by her ex-boyfriend, Nie’Mae said. (Mascia, 3/23)
Houston Chronicle:
UH Students Protest For Mental Health After Deaths At Agnes Arnold
Leaders of the newly formed “Student Solidarity” group rallied a crowd in front of the MD Anderson Library that alternated between reflective and angry. They held moments of silence. People booed university leaders in hoarse voices. And the sister of one of the deceased students wore a shirt broadcasting the National Suicide Hotline, 988, concluding through tears that she felt the university failed her brother. (Ketterer, 3/23)
Good Morning America:
Suicide Can Be Contagious For Teens, Research Shows. Here’s How Parents Can Help
Rates of mental health emergencies are increasing among teenagers around the world, according to a new study from the University of Calgary. It found an increase in pediatric emergency room visits for suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and self-harm during the first year of the pandemic. It’s a particular concern because for teenagers, suicide can be contagious. (Bakshi and Linendoll, 3/23)
AP:
Georgia Senate Unveils New Mental Health Bill At Late Hour
An effort to make more changes to Georgia’s mental health system could stall in the closing days of the 2023 legislative session even though a Senate committee on Wednesday unveiled a rewritten bill that House sponsors and advocates found broadly acceptable. That’s because the Senate Health and Human Services Committee didn’t take a vote on House Bill 520 and didn’t schedule another meeting before a Thursday deadline for bills to advance out of Senate committees. (Amy, 3/23)
NBC News:
Abrupt Closure Of Ketamine Clinic Chain Blindsides Veterans And Others With Severe Depression And Chronic Pain
Military veterans across the country are scrambling after more than a dozen clinics that had been providing them with free ketamine treatments for severe depression, chronic pain or post-traumatic stress disorder suddenly closed. (Chan, 3/23)
NBC News:
Drug Overdose Deaths Among Latinos Almost Tripled In Past Decade
While the face of the opioid crisis has predominantly been considered white and rural, overdose deaths among Latinos have skyrocketed in recent years, with experts attributing the growing numbers to the rise of fentanyl, especially mixed with other drugs. Overdose deaths among Latinos have nearly tripled since 2011, according to a report published this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology. (Jiménez J. and Telemundo, 3/23)
AP:
Ky Governor Stops Sale Of Drug Known As 'Gas Station Heroin'
Kentucky’s governor took emergency action Thursday to halt the sale of a drug commonly known as “gas station heroin” that he warned poses a threat in a state battling addiction and overdose problems. Gov. Andy Beshear said the emergency regulation he signed applies to products containing tianeptine, an unregulated drug that he said produces opioid-like effects. (Schreiner, 3/23)
Stateline:
States Are Learning On The Fly About Sports Betting Addiction
The states that have legalized sports betting are reporting record levels of wagering and revenues, but with that growth comes questions about gambling addiction and whether regulators and sportsbooks are doing enough to fight it. (Elliott, 3/22)
AP:
Radioactive Water Leaks At Minn. Nuclear Plant For 2nd Time
Water containing a radioactive material has leaked for a second time from a nuclear plant near Minneapolis and the plant will be shut down, but there is no danger to the public, the plant’s owner said Thursday. A leak of what was believed to be hundreds of gallons of water containing tritium was discovered this week from a temporary fix at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, where 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water with tritium leaked in November, Xcel Energy said in a statement Thursday. (3/24)
AP:
Missouri School To Stay Closed After Contamination Scare
A Missouri grade school that was shut down last year amid concerns of possible radioactive contamination will not reopen, the school district said Thursday. Jana Elementary School, in the St. Louis County town of Florissant, closed in October after a private study indicated the presence of contamination in classrooms, the playground and elsewhere. The study was funded by lawyers whose clients were suing over radioactive waste in Coldwater Creek, which runs near the school. (Salter, 3/23)
Roll Call:
Camp Lejeune Health Claims Are Mired Despite Law Allowing Suits
As claims and lawsuits pile up against the government related to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune, the number of grievous health outcomes tied to exposure to those toxic chemicals at the Marine Corps base in North Carolina is also rising. A growing percentage of cases are becoming wrongful death suits rather than damage claims for illnesses as more Marines and their family members who were sickened by the tainted water, often many years after the exposure, lose their lives, according to several people involved in the litigation. (Magner, 3/23)
AP:
Many Millions Die Without Clean Water Or Sanitation, UN Says
A lack of drinking water and healthy sanitation infrastructure is dire around the world and getting worse, United Nations experts warned in a report issued Thursday. The report finds that many millions of the world’s 7.78 billion people don’t have enough clean water or sanitation infrastructure that helps keep humans healthy by taking waste away from their homes. (Weissenstein, 3/23)
Stat:
J&J Loses A Patent Battle In India Over A Crucial Tuberculosis Drug
In a defeat for Johnson & Johnson, the Indian patent office has rejected its bid to extend a monopoly on a crucial tuberculosis treatment, opening the door to lower-cost generic alternatives needed in low- and middle-income countries. (Silverman, 3/23)