Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Medical Debt Sunk Her Credit. New Changes From The Credit Reporting Agencies Won’t Help
After a year of chemo and radiation, doctors told Penelope “Penny” Wingard in 2014 that her breast cancer was in remission. She’d been praying for this good news. But it also meant she no longer qualified for a program in her state that offers temporary Medicaid coverage to patients undergoing active breast cancer treatment. Wingard became uninsured. She’d survived the medical toll, but the financial toll was ongoing. (Pattani, 10/6)
KHN:
Listen: Medical Bills Upended Her Life And Her Credit Score
Penelope Wingard is tough. She has survived breast cancer, a brain aneurysm, and surgery on both eyes. But saving her life has come at a steep cost. Wingard — who goes by “Penny” — is now free from cancer. But for the past eight years, she has been battling something that has felt just as tough as a chronic illness: medical debt. Symptoms include daily bills in the mail and harassing calls from collectors. And her credit score has taken a hit. She has resigned herself to living with the ramifications of medical debt. (Pattani, 10/6)
FiercePharma:
Sign Of The Times? US Stocks Up On Amgen’s Radiation Sickness Drug Nplate
In what could be a troubling sign of the times, the United States is stocking up on radiation sickness drugs. Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it’s throwing down $290 million to lock up an undisclosed amount of Amgen’s blood disorder med Nplate, which is approved to treat blood cell injuries linked to acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in kids and adults. (Kansteiner, 10/5)
Stat:
Under New Rules, Patients Can Now Access All Their Health Records Digitally
The American Revolution had July 4. The allies had D-Day. And now U.S. patients, held down for decades by information hoarders, can rally around a new turning point, October 6, 2022 — the day they got their health data back. (Ross, 10/6)
AP:
At Least 66 US Clinics Have Halted Abortions, Institute Says
All 13 of the remaining clinics are in Georgia. The other states have no providers offering abortions, though some of their clinics are offering care other than abortions. Nationally, there were more than 800 abortion clinics in 2020, the institute said. … The new report does not include data on hospitals and physician offices that provided abortion and stopped them after the court ruling, but Jones noted that clinics provide most U.S. abortions, including procedures and dispensing abortion medication. Recent Guttmacher data show just over half of U.S. abortions are done with medication. (10/5)
NPR:
66 Clinics Stopped Providing Abortions In The 100 Days Since Roe Fell
In the 100 days since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, 66 clinics in the U.S. stopped providing abortion. That’s according to a new analysis published Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute, assessing abortion access in the 15 states that have banned or severely restricted access to abortion. (Simmons-Duffin, 10/6)
ABC News:
Students At More Than 50 Schools, Universities Stage Reproductive Justice Protests
Students at more than 60 high schools and universities across at least 29 states are holding student strikes and events on Thursday to fight for reproductive justice. The self-dubbed “Day of Student Action” is organized by the Graduate Student Action Network, a group formed in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ending federal protections for abortion rights, and the Young Democratic Socialists of America. (El-Bawab and DiMartino, 10/6)
The New York Times:
Woman Who Said Herschel Walker Paid For Abortion Is Also Mother Of His Child, Report Says
The woman who told The Daily Beast on Monday that Herschel Walker had paid for her abortion in 2009 told the outlet on Wednesday that she was the mother of one of his children, undercutting his defense that he did not know her identity. Mr. Walker, the Republican nominee for Senate in Georgia, had swiftly denounced the original Daily Beast article, denying its veracity and pledging to sue the outlet for defamation. So far, the campaign has not pursued any legal action. (King, 10/5)
AP:
Drug Companies In Opioid Crisis Donated $27K To Ohio’s Ryan
Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who has made his opponent’s questionable record fighting the opioid epidemic a central theme of his campaign for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat, has received campaign donations over the years from drug distributors blamed for key roles in the crisis, an Associated Press review found. The contributions to Ryan from AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, the three biggest drug distribution companies in the U.S., came in between 2007 and August of this year. (Smyth, 10/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
U.S. Death Toll Approaches Combined Total Of Civil War, WW2 And Korea
The U.S. has recorded 1,060,408 deaths due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to data published Wednesday by Johns Hopkins University, almost matching the combined toll of three major wars. (Vaziri, 10/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
More Than 86% Of U.S. Children Infected To Date, CDC Reports
Approximately 86.3% of children in the U.S. have antibodies from surviving a prior COVID-19 infection as of Aug. 20, according to updated seroprevalence estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vaziri, 10/5)
Stat:
How The Splintering Of Omicron Could Shape Covid’s Next Phase
The United States is in a (relative) Covid-19 lull, with cases and hospitalizations falling as the wave driven by the BA.5 lineage of the Omicron variant recedes. But as if we needed a portent of an anticipated fall and winter wave, Covid is on the rise in some European countries. (Joseph, 10/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
New COVID Variants Could Fuel California Winter Surge, Experts Say
The BA.5 omicron subvariant is still the dominant strain in the U.S. after appearing in late spring and quickly crowding out its rivals, accounting for nearly 90% of cases in late August. However, its share has since fallen to 81%, while the omicron offshoot BA.4.6 is slowly growing, responsible for 13% of cases for the week ending Oct. 1. (Hwang, 10/5)
The Boston Globe:
After A Brief Climb, Levels Of Coronavirus Waver In Eastern Mass. Waste Water
The levels of coronavirus detected in Eastern Massachusetts waste water are wavering after a brief steep climb, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. (Finucane and Huddle, 10/5)
Axios:
COVID Boosters Could Save 90,000 Lives, $56.5 Billion
About 90,000 lives would be saved and more than 936,000 hospitalizations could be prevented if 80% of Americans eligible for the latest COVID-19 boosters get vaccinated by year’s end, according to a new paper from The Commonwealth Fund and Yale School of Public Health. (Reed, 10/5)
Politico:
Biden’s Operation Warp Speed Revival Stumbles Out Of The Gate
As Covid’s Omicron wave ebbed earlier this year, top Biden administration health officials began developing a plan to fortify the nation’s defenses against the next potentially dangerous coronavirus strain. The initiative was envisioned as a revival of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump-era program that paired federal dollars with private sector know-how to deliver the first vaccines in record time. By replicating the formula with a range of new candidates, officials planned to churn out increasingly advanced vaccines and treatments just as fast — and ahead of other nations. They even had a name for the effort: Project Covid Shield. But months later, it’s barely taken off — stymied by fading political interest in prolonging a war against a pandemic that even the president has declared “over.” (Cancryn and Banco, 10/5)
CIDRAP:
Complex State COVID Vaccine Guidelines Tied To Lower Uptake
Complex state COVID-19 vaccine eligibility guidelines lead to confusion about eligibility and may contribute to low uptake, according to a population-based study of US adults published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 10/5)
Axios:
Long COVID Is Still Disabling Millions Of Americans, CDC Reports
Of the nearly 24 million adults in the U.S. who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, according to CDC data released Wednesday. (Moreno, 10/6)
ABC News:
4 Out Of 5 People With Long COVID Have Trouble Performing Day-To-Day Activities: CDC
As of Sept. 26, 81% of adults with ongoing symptoms of COVID lasting three months or longer — or four out of five adults — are experiencing limitations in their daily activities compared to before they had the virus. (Kekatos, 10/6)
The Washington Post:
Intradermal Monkeypox Vaccine Causing Scars, Discoloration For Some
The outbreak appears to be waning and monkeypox vaccine appointments are more plentiful in many parts of the country than earlier in the summer, when obtaining a shot was like “winning the sweepstakes or getting concert tickets,” one recipient said. However, the makeshift vaccination plan has not been without its downsides. The intradermal injection can leave a painful, itchy red mark for weeks, potentially worsening the stigma of an outbreak mostly affecting gay men, and it can cause long-term discoloration or scarring. (Pietsch, 10/6)
Fierce Healthcare:
Gallup Poll: 75% Of Americans Grade Healthcare Costs As D Or F
Three-quarters of Americans give U.S. healthcare affordability a D or F rating, according to a new poll from Gallup and West Health. More than 5,000 Americans were asked to grade the U.S. healthcare system overall and regarding affordability, equity, accessibility and quality. Overall, 44% of Americans gave the entire system a poor or failing grade. One in three said healthcare affordability deserved an F. (Burky, 10/6)
Bloomberg:
Get Ready For US Health Insurers To Raise Prices Next Year
Benefits brokers expect rate increases of 6% to 12%, according to a survey conducted by BofA Global Research. Increases for employers will be higher than usual as inflation and labor expenses get priced into insurance premiums, analysts wrote. (Tozzi, 10/5)
AP:
Exercise Caution With Zero-Premium Medicare Advantage Plans
Health insurers will flood the Medicare Advantage market again this fall with enticing offers for plans that have no monthly price tag. The number of so-called zero-premium plans has been growing for years, and they can appeal to retirees who live on fixed incomes. Experts say shoppers should exercise caution, because they might find better coverage at a relatively small monthly cost. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all program,” said Melissa Brenner, a broker in Charlotte, North Carolina. “You don’t want to look at a zero plan and just enroll in it.” (Murphy, 10/5)
Fierce Healthcare:
JAMA Study Finds Medical Debt A Predictor Of Housing And Food Insecurity
A new study has found a link between patients’ medical debt and a higher risk of experiencing housing and food insecurity. Of the 142,000 adults surveyed, 18% held medical debt. Such debt was found to be a predictor of worsening social determinants of health, a recent JAMA study found. Decreases in health status and coverage loss left those surveyed with a 1.7-fold to 3.1-fold higher risk of worsening housing and food security. (Burky, 10/5)
Stat:
Medicare Tasks A Senior Adviser With Staffing Its New Drug Pricing Division
Medicare has tasked a senior adviser at the agency with assembling a small army of bureaucrats to get its new drug price negotiation program up and running. (Cohrs, 10/6)
Bloomberg:
Multimillion-Dollar Prices for Gene Therapies Are Fair, Pharma Exec Says
Multimillion-dollar prices for a rival’s treatments with the potential to cure rare diseases are “in the right ballpark,” according to Stuart Arbuckle, chief operating officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is preparing to market its own treatment for sickle-cell disease. (Peebles, 10/5)
Becker’s Hospital Review:
10 Hospitals, Health Systems Laying Off Workers
Several hospitals and health systems are trimming their workforces due to financial and operational challenges. (Ellison, 10/5)
AP:
Nursing Schools Form Coalition To Attract Students In MN
Nursing schools in Minnesota are joining forces to recruit more students in order to address a staffing shortage in hospitals and clinics that is only predicted to get worse. The University of Minnesota and Minnesota State have formed the Coalition for Nursing Excellence and Equity with a goal of making nursing education attractive to more students without increasing costs. (10/5)
Becker’s Hospital Review:
Patients More Likely To Drop ‘Dr.’ When Messaging Female Physicians, Study Finds
Patients are more likely to refer to female physicians by their first name in electronic messaging compared to male physicians, a study published Oct. 5 in JAMA Network Open found. (Bean, 10/5)
Stat:
The Government Wants To Make A Single National Directory Of Doctors
The federal government wants to create a national directory that houses accurate, up-to-date information for all doctors and providers across the country — an ambitious attempt to rectify the plethora of error-riddled directories that are maintained by health insurance companies. (Herman, 10/5)
Stat:
Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Have A Recruitment Problem. Ro Wants To Help
Telehealth company Ro has reached an agreement with the National Institute on Aging to create a registry of patients that could participate in Alzheimer’s disease research, a new approach to tackle the stubborn issue of recruitment for clinical trials. (Aguilar, 10/6)
NBC News:
How A Stomach Bug Infection May Trigger Crohn’s Disease
In some people, exposure to the highly contagious norovirus might increase the risk of the bowel disorder, which causes the immune system to attack the digestive tract, research published Wednesday in Nature shows. (Carroll, 10/5)
The New York Times:
Medical Care Alone Won’t Halt The Spread Of Diabetes, Scientists Say
Researchers who study Type 2 diabetes have reached a stark conclusion: There is no device, no drug powerful enough to counter the effects of poverty, pollution, stress, a broken food system, cities that are hard to navigate on foot and inequitable access to health care, particularly in minority communities. “Our entire society is perfectly designed to create Type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Dean Schillinger, a professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco. “We have to disrupt that.” (Rabin, 10/5)
Press Association:
Air Pollution Particles Found In Babies In Womb For First Time, Study Finds
Air pollution particles can reach babies in the womb, a new study suggests. Researchers found that soot nanoparticles can cross the placenta and get into organs of fetuses. (Pickover, 10/5)
AP:
New Mexico Urges Syphilis Testing For All Pregnant Mothers
New Mexico health officials are renewing a public order aimed at protecting newborn babies from syphilis. The state Health Department on Wednesday announced requirements that medical providers follow best practices by testing all pregnant women for syphilis multiple times. (10/5)
CIDRAP:
Source Remains Unconfirmed In Wendy’s E Coli Probe
The CDC yesterday announced that it has wrapped up its investigation into an Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak from an unknown food source, which appeared to be an ingredient in menu items from Wendy’s restaurants. In its final update, the CDC reported 12 more cases, lifting the number of confirmed cases to 109 from six states. … The CDC said investigators couldn’t confirm romaine lettuce as the source of the outbreak, because the Wendy’s meals eaten by sick people had many similar ingredients. (10/5)
CBS News:
Michigan Warns Of Produce Possibly Contaminated With Human Waste
The use of human waste to grow crops meant to be eaten by people is illegal and unsafe, according to the agency. If not professionally treated, human waste and other body fluids can spread dangerous diseases such as hepatitis A, clostridium difficile, e-coli, rotavirus and norovirus, MDARD added. (Gibson, 10/5)
Politico:
Current Rules Stymie Opioid Studies, Researchers Say
More than 100 researchers, scientists and public health professionals want fentanyl-related substances to no longer be Schedule I drugs — saying a different classification has the potential to unlock research for more drugs to treat opioid addiction. As first reported in Pulse, the experts outlined their concerns in a letter Tuesday, sent to the White House along with leaders at the DEA, DOJ and HHS. They ask the administration to overturn a temporary Trump-era decision to tightly restrict all substances related to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. (Payne and Mahr, 10/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Despite Emergency Injection Of City Funds, S.F. Rehabs Could Close Due To Financial Turmoil
Some of San Francisco’s sorely needed residential treatment programs for people with substance abuse disorder are on the brink of closure because of financial turmoil at the organization that runs them. (Morris, 10/5)
USA Today:
‘Rainbow Fentanyl’ Pills Found In Lego Box In New York City
A New Jersey woman was arrested after authorities in New York discovered 15,000 pills of “rainbow fentanyl” stuffed inside a Lego box. (Mendoza, 10/5)
The 19th:
Tobacco Companies Target Young People, Black People And Women In Menthol Marketing
Ahead of decisions by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that could ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, Stanford University and the American Heart Association released a study that tracked decades of predatory marketing efforts from cigarette companies and found that they are still targeting young people, Black people and women. (Henry, 10/5)
Axios:
How Racism Affects Health Care For Black Patients In California
Nearly a third of Black Californians reported being treated unfairly in the health care system because of their race, according to a report from the California Health Care Foundation. (Moreno, 10/5)
This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
