First Edition: Oct. 28, 2021
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Medicare Punishes 2,499 Hospitals For High Readmissions
The federal government’s effort to penalize hospitals for excessive patient readmissions is ending its first decade with Medicare cutting payments to nearly half the nation’s hospitals. In its 10th annual round of penalties, Medicare is reducing its payments to 2,499 hospitals, or 47% of all facilities. The average penalty is a 0.64% reduction in payment for each Medicare patient stay from the start of this month through September 2022. The fines can be heavy, averaging $217,000 for a hospital in 2018, according to Congress’ Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC. Medicare estimates the penalties over the next fiscal year will save the government $521 million. Thirty-nine hospitals received the maximum 3% reduction, and 547 hospitals had so few returning patients that they escaped any penalty. (Rau, 10/28)
KHN:
Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized By Medicare?
Under programs set up by the Affordable Care Act, the federal government cuts payments to hospitals that have high rates of readmissions and those with the highest numbers of infections and patient injuries. For the readmission penalties, Medicare cuts as much as 3 percent for each patient, although the average is generally much lower. The patient safety penalties cost hospitals 1 percent of Medicare payments over the federal fiscal year, which runs from October through September. Maryland hospitals are exempted from penalties because that state has a separate payment arrangement with Medicare. Below are look-up tools for each type of penalty. You can search by hospital name or location, look at all hospitals in a particular state and sort penalties by year. (Rau, 10/27)
KHN:
Democrats’ Plans To Expand Medicare Benefits Put Pinch On Advantage Plans’ Funding
“Did you think we wouldn’t notice?” an older woman says, speaking into the camera. “You thought you could sneak this through?” an older man later adds. Others warn that Washington is “messing with” their Medicare Advantage health coverage and trying to raise their premiums. But the television ad, paid for by Better Medicare Alliance, a research and advocacy group for Medicare Advantage plans, doesn’t spell out what cuts congressional lawmakers might be trying to slip past unsuspecting seniors. (Andrews, 10/28)
AP:
FDA Sets Stronger Safety Warnings For Breast Implants
In the biggest shift, plastic surgeons and other health professionals who work with the implants must give their patients a checklist detailing possible side effects, such as scarring, pain, rupture and even a rare form of cancer. The checklist also explains that breast implants often require repeat surgeries and they should not be considered lifelong devices. The doctors must sign the document and confirm that the recipient was given an opportunity to review it before surgery. Companies that sell implants to doctors who don’t comply could face fines and other penalties from regulators. The rules begin to take effect in 30 days. (Perrone, 10/27)
The New York Times:
Patients Must Be Warned Of Breast Implant Risks, F.D.A. Says
Federal regulators on Wednesday placed so-called black box warnings on breast implant packaging and told manufacturers to sell the devices only to health providers who review the potential risks with patients before surgery. Both the warnings and a new checklist that advises patients of the risks and side effects state that breast implants have been linked to a cancer of the immune system and to a host of other chronic medical conditions, including autoimmune diseases, joint pain, mental confusion, muscle aches and chronic fatigue. (Rabin, 10 /27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Antidepressant Significantly Reduces Covid-19 Hospitalization
A widely available antidepressant holds promise as a treatment for Covid-19, according to a new study. Covid-19 patients who received fluvoxamine were significantly less likely to require hospitalization than those who didn’t, in the largest clinical trial evaluating the antidepressant’s effect on Covid-19 to date. Fluvoxamine belongs to a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. It is commonly used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder and is also prescribed for depression. (Toy, 10/27)
AP:
Cheap Antidepressant Shows Promise Treating Early COVID-19
The pill, called fluvoxamine, would cost $4 for a course of COVID-19 treatment. By comparison, antibody IV treatments cost about $2,000 and Merck’s experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 is about $700 per course. Some experts predict various treatments eventually will be used in combination to fight the coronavirus. (Johnson, 10/27)
CNN:
Cheap, Generic Anti-Depressant May Reduce Severe Covid-19 Disease, Study Finds
A cheap, generically available anti-depressant may reduce the risk of severe Covid-19 disease by close to a third in people at high risk, researchers reported Wednesday. A trial among about 1,500 patients in Brazil showed those who took the drug, known as fluvoxamine, were less likely to progress to severe disease and to require hospitalization. The drug, sold under the brand name Luvox, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) most often used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. But it can affect inflammation, said Dr. Angela Reiersen, an associate professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis who worked on the study, published in The Lancet Global Health. (Fox, 10/28)
NPR:
Merck Will Allow Drugmakers In Other Countries To Make COVID Pill
U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. said it will license drugmakers worldwide to produce its potentially lifesaving antiviral pill for treatment of COVID-19 in adults. The drug, known as molnupiravir, has shown promise in treating the disease, and the agreement to license its production could help millions of people in the developing world gain access to it. Merck said earlier this month that a recent study of molnupiravir showed that it cut hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 in half. (Neuman, 10/27)
Stat:
Merck Inks A Groundbreaking Licensing Deal For Covid-19 Antiviral Pill
In a notable bid to widen access to Covid-19 remedies, Merck (MRK) has agreed to license its widely anticipated antiviral pill to the Medicines Patent Pool, which in turn can now strike deals with other manufacturers to provide versions of the drug to 105 low and middle-income countries. The deal builds on a separate agreement that Merck made with eight generic companies that licensed the pill, which is called molnupiravir, in order to make knock-off copies for the same group of countries. The arrangement with the Medicines Patent Pool, however, means that still more manufacturers can now strike so-called sub-licensing deals, which would presumably increase availability more rapidly. (Silverman, 10/27)
The Washington Post:
Vaccine Eligibility For Mood Disorders Underscores Elevated Covid Risk
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added mood disorders to the list of conditions that put people at high risk for severe covid-19 recently, clinicians were not surprised. The mind-body connection, they say, is long-settled research. But the scientific seal of approval is still critical: It makes millions of people eligible for booster shots based on their mental health diagnosis alone and gives vulnerable groups more reason to protect themselves. (Portnoy, 10/27)
AP:
Biden To Head To Capitol To Push Agenda, Unite Democrats
President Joe Biden heads to Capitol Hill early Thursday to push his revised domestic policy bill and a related bipartisan infrastructure plan with fractious House Democrats after days of prolonged negotiations over his ambitious social and climate policies and how to pay for them. Biden will then make remarks from the White House, a possible signal that agreement might be within reach after a paid family leave proposal fell out and a billionaires’ tax appeared scrapped to win over pivotal senators in the 50-50 Senate. (Mascaro, Madhani and Fram, 10/28)
The New York Times:
Hunting for Money, Democrats Rush to Rewrite Tax Code
As they hunt for revenue to pay for their sprawling spending bill and try to unite a fractured caucus, Democrats are attempting to rewrite the United States tax code in a matter of days, proposing the kind of sweeping changes to how America taxes businesses and individuals that would normally take months or years to enact. The effort has effectively discarded trillions of dollars of carefully crafted tax increases that President Biden proposed on the campaign trail and that top Democrats have rolled out in Congress. Instead, lawmakers are throwing a slew of new proposals into the mix, including a tax on billionaires, hoping that they can pass muster both legally and within their own party. (Rappeport and Tankersley, 10/27)
The Hill:
Crucial Talks On Biden Agenda Enter Homestretch
Senate negotiators say that talks to craft a framework for a $2 trillion budget reconciliation package are in the homestretch and that President Biden is stepping up his effort to close the deal with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Senators say an agreement is close but a handful of issues continue to hold it up, including disagreements over expanding Medicare benefits, empowering the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices, a plan to tax billionaires and the details of a plan to tax methane emissions. (Bolton, 10/27)
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
House Passes Bill To Get Mental Health Support For First Responders
Bipartisan legislation modeled after Nevada laws to provide confidentiality to law enforcement officers and first responders who seek and participate in mental health counseling was passed overwhelmingly in the House on Wednesday. The House voted 424-3 to pass the legislation that Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said would get law enforcement officers the “mental health support they need and deserve.” The bill, introduced by Cortez Masto and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was passed in the Senate in June by unanimous vote. Following the House vote, it now goes to the White House for the president’s signature (Martin, 10/27)
The Washington Post:
Supreme Court: Texas, Justice Dept. Argue Over Role Of Federal Courts In Abortion Law Dispute
The Biden administration told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that intervention is required to keep Texas from “nullifying” the constitutional right to abortion that the court established nearly 50 years ago. The brief was submitted in advance of Monday’s hastily scheduled hearing on the Texas law that has virtually shut down abortion within the state’s borders. Texas, the federal government, abortion providers and individual citizens who want to enforce the law called S.B. 8 each made their cases. (Barnes, 10/27)
The Washington Post:
State Department Issues First Passport With ‘X’ Gender Marker
The State Department has issued its first passport with an “X” gender marker for Americans who do not identify as male or female, in a step that the Biden administration views as an expansion of the rights of gay Americans. “We look forward to offering this option to all routine passport applicants once we complete the required system and form updates in early 2022,” Ned Price, a spokesman for the department, said Wednesday. He added, “I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State’s commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity and equality of all people — including LGBTQI+ persons.” (Scott, 10/27)
USA Today:
States Expecting Pfizer COVID Vaccine Doses For Kids Ahead Of Approval
Some states are preparing to receive hundreds of thousands of doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 next week, ahead of full authorization by regulatory bodies. The vaccines for children, which will be at lower doses than the adult vaccines, were backed by an FDA advisory committee earlier this week, and could receive full approval by as early as next week. The FDA will decide whether to authorize the child vaccines, and then the CDC will make a decision on whether to recommend the shots. (Santucci, 10/28)
CNN:
Most Parents Don't Plan To Vaccinate Young Children Against Covid-19 Right Away, KFF Survey Finds
A Covid-19 vaccine could be available for little kids soon, and public health leaders say vaccinating them could help end the pandemic -- but only if parents actually get them vaccinated. A new survey suggests that's uncertain at best. The majority of parents say they will not get their younger children vaccinated right away, according to the survey published Thursday from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Christensen, 10/28)
Los Angeles Times:
California Plans Ambitious Effort To Vaccinate Young Children
California health officials said Wednesday that they are prepared to pull out all the stops to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 as the country draws closer to authorizing eligibility for that age group. Though a number of federal and state hurdles remain, state officials said they are preparing to offer doses to the roughly 3.5 million children in that age group by the end of next week, as the holiday season approaches. (Money and Lin II, 10/27)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID-19 Risk In Kids Is Small, But Vaccines Can Save Lives
Although the chances of serious illness and death from COVID-19 are exceedingly slim for children, experts say there’s a very good reason for parents to get their kids vaccinated. COVID-19 has become one of the leading causes of death in children nationwide. There were 66 COVID-related deaths among children ages 5 to 11 in the yearlong period that ended Oct. 2, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making COVID-19 the eighth-leading cause of death in that age group. (Lin II and Money, 10/27)
USA Today:
Only 40% Of Americans Know Vaccinated People Less Likely To Get Virus
A new Axios/Ipsos poll finds Americans are uncertain about how well the COVID-19 vaccines work, despite reams of data about their ability to protect people from severe disease, hospitalization and death, and to a lesser extent infection. That lack of knowledge is likely contributing to the continued vaccine holdout of 60 million people who are eligible for the shots, and to diminished faith in the Biden administration. Confidence that his government can make sure the economy recovers quickly after the pandemic dropped from 52% in late January to 44% in the latest poll. Some of that eroding confidence may be rooted in how little Americans know about the vaccines, which are central to Biden's plan for the U.S. to escape the pandemic. In the poll, only slightly more than 25% of respondents correctly said that a vaccinated 80-year-old is at greater risk of dying of COVID-19 than an unvaccinated 30-year-old. And only 40% knew that vaccinated people are less likely to test positive for the coronavirus than those who haven't been inoculated. (Ortiz and Bacon, 10/27)
Bloomberg:
NYC Police Union Fails To Get Judge To Block Vaccine Mandate
New York City’s largest police union failed to persuade a state court judge to block Mayor Bill de Blasio’s vaccine mandate from taking effect next week. State Supreme Court Judge Lizette Colon on Wednesday denied a request by the 40,000-member Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York for a temporary restraining order, citing a 2019 state appellate ruling that upheld a vaccine mandate for measles. The New York mandate requires all municipal workers, including cops and firefighters, to have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 1. The police union sued to block the mandate on Monday, asking the court to bar it from being enforced while its suit is pending. (Burnson, 10/28)
Reuters:
NYC Firefighters Union Says Members Should Defy Vaccine Mandate
The head of the New York City firefighters union said on Wednesday he had told unvaccinated members to report for duty regardless of an order by Mayor Bill de Blasio to place them on unpaid leave if they fail to get the COVID-19 shot. New York City firefighters who have risked their own health to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic felt "insulted" by de Blasio's order to get the shot or face suspension, said Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. (Clifford and Whitcomb, 10/27)
Gothamist:
FDNY: 1 In 5 Ambulances, Fire Companies Could Be Offline Monday As NYC Workers Fight Vaccine Mandate
The head of the New York City Fire Department says staffing shortages could shutter up to 20% of firehouses next Monday, once the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate goes into effect. FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said he would also predict 20% fewer ambulances on the road. Nigro said FDNY is bracing for the potential shortages by canceling all vacation days starting November 1st, requiring people to work overtime and reassigning uniformed employees who typically work desk jobs back into the field at firehouses across the city. Municipal employees are required to get at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Friday at 5 p.m. and enforcement will start Monday morning. (Hogan, 10/27)
The Washington Post:
White House Suggests Flexibility In Vaccine Mandate For Federal Employees, Contractors
The White House coronavirus response coordinator, Jeff Zients, indicated that the Biden administration could be flexible as it enforces the president’s executive order requiring federal workers and government contractors to vaccinate their workers. The vaccine mandate aims to protect as many people from the coronavirus as possible — not to punish them by getting them fired from their jobs should they be unvaccinated by the due dates, Zients said Wednesday. (Jeong and Suliman, 10/28)
Modern Healthcare:
New Jersey Hospital Mandates Boosters For J&J Vaccine Recipients
University Hospital workers who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be required to get a booster shot by Christmas Eve. The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been shown to offer a lower level of protection against the novel coronavirus than the two-shot inoculations from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. The leaders of the 519-bed Newark, New Jersey-based state-owned academic medical center decided that employees who opted for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine need a stronger shield against the virus, University Hospital President and CEO Dr. Shereef Elnahal said. (Devereaux, 10/27)
AP:
Republican Attorneys General Criticize Biden Vaccine Order
Twenty-one Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday saying they think his COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors “stands on shaky legal ground,” is confusing to contractors and could exacerbate supply-chain problems. They wrote that companies could be blacklisted for federal contracts unless they get their workers vaccinated on “an unworkable timeline.” (Pettus, 10/27)
AP:
Flouting White House, Florida Penalizes School Districts
The state of Florida has withheld funding from two school districts over their coronavirus mask mandates, flouting threats from White House officials who warned that such penalties would violate federal law. School officials in Alachua and Broward counties on Wednesday said the state docked school board salaries and overall funding in amounts equal to federal aid packages meant to blunt the state’s sanctions on mask requirements. This month, more than $164,000 was withheld from the Alachua school district and more than $455,000 was withheld from Broward. (Izaguirre, 10/27)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
New Orleans To Lift Mask Mandate, Tweak COVID Vaccine Rules Ahead Of Halloween
Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Wednesday loosened New Orleans's COVID-19 restrictions, ending the city's requirement that residents and visitors wear masks in public spaces and tweaking the city's vaccine mandate to allow a wider variety of negative coronavirus tests as an alternative to getting a shot. The new rules, which take effect Friday and will be in place for Halloween, follow the decision by Gov. John Bel Edwards earlier this week to end the statewide mask mandate. They also come amid a sharp decline in coronavirus cases in the city that has made city officials more willing to relax what have stood as the most stringent rules on vaccines and masks in Louisiana. (Myers, 10/27)
AP:
Judge: Colorado Parents Can't Exempt Kids From School Masks
A federal judge has issued a restraining order against a suburban Denver county’s policy allowing parents to opt their children out of a mask mandate at school, finding that the rule violates the rights of students with disabilities who are vulnerable to COVID-19.U.S. District Judge John L. Kane on Tuesday called the Douglas County Board of Health order that allowed parents to opt their children out of mask-wearing a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees equal access to education for all. (10/27)
Detroit Free Press:
Michigan's Delta Variant Surge Might Be On Its Way Out, Experts Say
Michigan's fourth coronavirus surge, driven by the highly contagious delta variant, may be starting to retreat after more than three months of a steady rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The seven-day average of new daily cases fell to 3,210 on Monday — about 500 new daily cases fewer than at the Oct. 13 peak, when the seven-day average topped out at 3,745 daily cases. Though the trends are encouraging, it may be too soon to declare it over just yet, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state health department's newly appointed chief medical officer. (Jordan Shamus, 10/27)
AP:
California Virus Cases Stop Falling, Governor Urges Caution
California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled up his sleeve Wednesday and received a coronavirus vaccine booster shot, a move he encouraged others to take as the state heads into the time of year that in 2020 ushered in the deadliest spike of COVID-19 cases. Much has changed since then — 88% of those 18 and older in California have received at least one dose of a vaccine that didn’t exist last fall and millions have survived contracting the virus and have a level of natural immunity, though it’s unclear for how long. (Beam and Thompson, 10/27)
NPR:
Attorneys General Issue Warnings For Marijuana Candy Ahead Of Halloween
As Halloween is approaching this weekend, several state attorneys general across the country have issued warnings to parents to be on the lookout for marijuana edibles that can easily pass as regular candies and snacks. Attorneys general in Ohio, New York, Illinois, Connecticut and Arkansas all released statements Tuesday, a part of a coordinated effort to advise parents about the dangers of marijuana edibles. Each attorney general warned that look-alike products may contain high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the main compound found in marijuana and if consumed by children, it could lead to an accidental overdose. (Franklin, 10/27)
AP:
Is It OK To Go Trick-Or-Treating During The Pandemic?
Is it OK to go trick-or-treating during the pandemic? It depends on the situation and your comfort level, but there are ways to minimize the risk of infection this Halloween. Whether you feel comfortable with your children trick-or-treating could depend on factors including how high the COVID-19 transmission rate is in your area and if the people your kids will be exposed to are vaccinated. (Tobin, 10/28)
AP:
Human Case Of West Nile Virus Confirmed In Vermont
The Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a human case of West Nile virus for the first time since 2017, the department said Wednesday. The Chittenden County resident was diagnosed earlier this month with a more serious form of the illness affecting the nervous system, called neuroinvasive disease, the Health Department said. (10/27)
USA Today:
Fast Food From Domino's, McDonald's Contained Chemicals In Plastics
A new study shows that chemicals known as phthalates, which have been linked to health problems, have been detected in food from popular chains like McDonald’s, Chipotle and more. The peer-reviewed analysis was published this week in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology by researchers from George Washington University, the Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio, Texas), Boston University and Harvard University. The research includes items from McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Taco Bell and Chipotle locations in San Antonio, Texas. Researchers obtained 64 food samples of hamburgers, fries, chicken nuggets, chicken burritos and cheese pizza from the chains. (Pitofsky, 10/27)
CIDRAP:
Infant Formula Linked To More Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Formula feeding is associated with a 70% increase in antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) abundance in the gut microbiome of infants compared with breast milk, US and Finnish researchers reported this week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (10/27)
Modern Healthcare:
UnitedHealthcare Sues TeamHealth, Alleges Fraud
UnitedHealthcare is suing emergency care provider TeamHealth, alleging the company deliberately and systematically tricked the health insurer into paying more than $100 million in fraudulent claims. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee on Wednesday, accuses private-equity-owned TeamHealth of violating state and federal laws governing fraud, insurance regulation and consumer protection by upcoding hundreds of thousands of emergency department bills. (Tepper, 10/27)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Tower Health Records Massive Loss On St. Chris And Other Hospitals It Bought In Philadelphia Region
Tower Health has officially recognized what has long been obvious: The hospitals, urgent care centers, and other businesses that it bought for at least $480 million from 2017 to 2019 are not worth nearly what the system paid. That’s why the Berks County nonprofit, anchored by Reading Hospital, in West Reading, recorded a $370.7 million loss on those businesses in its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June. 30, which were released Wednesday. (Brubaker, 10/27)
The Boston Globe:
Boston Medical Center Surgeon Fined For Leaving Operating Room To Eat In His Car, Then Falling Asleep And Missing The Procedure
The longtime head of spine surgery at Boston Medical Center has been reprimanded by state regulators and fined $5,000 for leaving an operating room before the start of an emergency ankle surgery to go eat in his parked car, where he fell asleep and missed the procedure. Dr. Tony Tannoury, 54, admitted that he woke up in his car that November night in 2016, called the teaching hospital, and was told that a chief resident had performed the operation he was supposed to oversee, according to a consent order released Monday by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. Tannoury didn’t return to the hospital until the following day. (Saltzman, 10/27)