First Edition: Friday, Nov. 15, 2024
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:Pay First, Deliver Later: Some Women Are Being Asked To Prepay For Their Baby In April, just 12 weeks into her pregnancy, Kathleen Clark was standing at the receptionist window of her OB-GYN's office when she was asked to pay $960, the total the office estimated she would owe after she delivered. Clark, 39, was shocked that she was asked to pay that amount during this second prenatal visit. Normally, patients receive the bill after insurance has paid its part, and for pregnant women that's usually only when the pregnancy ends. It would be months before the office filed the claim with her health insurer. (Rayasam, 11/15)
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KFF Health News:Scientists Fear What's Next For Public Health If RFK Jr. Is Allowed To 'Go Wild' Many scientists at the federal health agencies await the second Donald Trump administration with dread as well as uncertainty over how the president-elect will reconcile starkly different philosophies among the leaders of his team. Trump announced Thursday he'll nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, after saying during his campaign he'd let the anti-vaccine activist "go wild" on medicines, food, and health. (Allen, 11/14)
KFF Health News:KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': Readying For Republican Rule Come January, Republicans will control the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House, regaining full power for the first time since 2018. That will give them significant clout to dramatically change health policy. But slim margins in Congress will leave little room for dissent. (11/14)
Roll Call:Trump Taps RFK Jr. To Lead HHS President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent Thursday to nominate noted vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his Health and Human Services secretary, disclosing his pick after the Senate left town for the weekend. "For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health," said Trump in a statement. (Cohen, DeGroot and Raman, 11/14)
The Hill:RFK Jr. Vows To Be 'Honest Public Servant' As HHS Chief Environmental lawyer and antivaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed to be an "honest public servant" if he gets confirmed as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science," Kennedy wrote in a Thursday post on the social platform X. "I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families." Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Kennedy's appointment at HHS "could set back America in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and so much else." But not all Democrats sounded the alarm. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said he was "excited" about the nomination but hoped that the former independent presidential candidate does not enact any vaccine bans. (Timotija, 11/14)
Politico:'Quack,' Or 'Disruptor': Trump Pick RFK Jr. Gets Mixed Reviews Health agency veterans were aghast. "I don't know of anyone who has expressed more contempt for the health agencies that keep our food safe, make sure our medicines work, prevent lethal outbreaks, and find new cures for devastating diseases," said Josh Sharfstein, a former senior FDA official during the Obama administration. (Gibson, Lim, S. Gardner and L. Gardner, 11/14)
Stat:Trump Taps RFK Jr. For HHS: Scientists, Pharma, Biotechs React Leaders throughout the biopharma world and scientific community struggled to process news on Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a move that could have profound implications for drug development, public health policy, and basic research. (Wosen, Feuerstein, DeAngelis, Herper and Silverman, 11/14)
NBC News:FDA Employees Consider How To Handle RFK Jr., Including Leaving Some staff members at the Food and Drug Administration are considering a quick exit as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being floated as a potential health official in the incoming Trump administration, according to three former and one current government official who were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive issues. The former officials are still in touch with colleagues who work at the FDA. (Lovelace Jr., 11/14)
Politico:How RFK Jr. Could Cause An Earthquake For American Public Health If the Senate confirms Kennedy, it will presage the biggest rethinking of the U.S. public health system ever. HHS and its agencies oversee drug approvals, food safety and disease surveillance, in addition to Medicare and Medicaid. A scion of one of America's most famous Democratic families, Kennedy and his "Make America Healthy Again" movement blame Americans' poor health in part on a corrupt alliance among the food and drug industries and the regulators supposed to watch over them. They want to replace the bureaucrats and overhaul the systems for overseeing pesticides, food additives and vaccines. Here's what Kennedy and MAHA want to do. (Payne, Cirruzzo, Brown, Gibson and Snider, 11/14)
NPR:How The CDC Could Change Under The Next Trump Administration In its 78-year history, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has evolved from its origins tackling malaria to an agency that aims to safeguard almost every aspect of Americans' health. But the CDC's sprawling mission could be in for some big changes in the new Trump administration. House Republicans have called for cuts to the CDC's budget, and former Trump administration officials have suggested restructuring the agency in ways that would diminish its reach and influence. (Huang, 11/14)
The Washington Post:Scientists Struggle To Regain Public Trust After Pandemic The pandemic and the chaos and controversies that came with it led to an erosion of trust in scientists, and it may be a while before that trust returns to levels that preceded the contagion. That's the implication of a survey published Thursday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. (Achenbach, 11/14)
The Washington Post:Measles Surges Worldwide Because Of Lack Of Vaccine Coverage, WHO Says An estimated 10.3 million cases of measles occurred worldwide last year, up 20 percent from 2022, primarily because of inadequate immunization coverage, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The disease resulted in 107,500 deaths last year, mostly killing children younger than 5, the two agencies said. Although that number was an 8 percent decrease from 2022, the reduction in fatalities was primarily because the increase in cases occurred in countries with better nutritional and health services, the WHO and CDC said. (Jeong, 11/15)
The Wall Street Journal:European Vaccine Makers Under Pressure After Trump Picks RFK Jr To Lead Health Department Shares in European vaccine makers tumbled Friday after President-elect Donald Trump picked vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. ... Kennedy is particularly critical of childhood mandated vaccines, which he claims are exempt from prelicensing safety trials. He previously claimed vaccines increase the risk of autism in children. (Chopping, 11/15)
Politico:Trump Picks Doug Collins To Head The VA President-elect Donald Trump has nominated one of his previous attorneys and former GOP House member Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Collins, 58, a staunch Trump supporter and frequent Fox News guest, served in Congress representing a Georgia district from 2013 to 2021. Collins is an Air Force Reserve chaplain and served in Iraq. On Thursday, Collins pledged to slash regulations and cut "corruption" in a post on X. "We'll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they've earned," Collins said. "Together, we'll make the VA work for those who fought for us. Time to deliver for our veterans and give them the world class care they deserve." (Leonard, 11/14)
Military.com:Military Suicides Rose In 2023, Continuing Upward Trend Pentagon Sees As 'Real Change' Suicides increased among U.S. military personnel last year, an ongoing trend Pentagon officials say they plan to address with a $125 million investment in prevention and mental health programs next year. The rate for active-duty personnel rose to 28.2 per 100,000 members in 2023, from 25.1 per 100,000 members during the previous year, according to new data released by the Pentagon on Thursday. That year-to-year increase is not statistically significant but when compared with the past 12 years, shows long-term "real change," defense officials said. (Kime, 11/14)
The New York Times:Three-Quarters Of U.S. Adults Are Now Overweight Or Obese Nearly three quarters of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to a sweeping new study. The findings have wide-reaching implications for the nation's health and medical costs as it faces a growing burden of weight-related diseases. The study, published on Thursday in The Lancet, reveals the striking rise of obesity rates nationwide since 1990 — when just over half of adults were overweight or obese — and shows how more people are becoming overweight or obese at younger ages than in the past. Both conditions can raise the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and shorten life expectancy. (Agrawal, 11/14)
AP:New FDA Rules For TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language And No Distractions Those ever-present TV drug ads showing patients hiking, biking or enjoying a day at the beach could soon have a different look: New rules require drugmakers to be clearer and more direct when explaining their medications' risks and side effects. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration spent more than 15 years crafting the guidelines, which are designed to do away with industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from risk information. Many companies have already adopted the rules, which become binding Nov. 20. But while regulators were drafting them, a new trend emerged: thousands of pharma influencers pushing drugs online with little oversight. A new bill in Congress would compel the FDA to more aggressively police such promotions on social media platforms. (Perrone, 11/14)
Stat:FDA Scolds Merz Over 'Misleading' Post On Its Botox Rival The Food and Drug Administration has scolded Merz Pharmaceutical for making misleading claims on Instagram about the safety and effectiveness of an injectable treatment for smoothing facial lines, the fifth time this year the agency has taken a pharmaceutical company to task for its marketing. (Silverman, 11/14)
The Washington Post:A Scientist Experimented On Herself To Treat Her Cancer. It Worked. When Beata Halassy learned in summer 2020 that her breast cancer had come back, she made a bold decision. As a virologist at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, she knew that researchers around the world were testing virus-based cancer treatments that could avoid the destructive side effects of conventional treatments like chemotherapy. Halassy, who studies viruses for a living, decided to test some of them on herself. (Wu, 11/14)
Stat:CAR-T Therapy Shows Promise For 'Worst Imaginable' Brain Tumor Michelle Monje-Deisseroth says she first treated patients with "the worst imaginable childhood brain tumor" as a medical student about 20 years ago. Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, or DIPG, shackle themselves so insidiously around a young person's brainstem that no chemo or scalpel can wrest them out. Most children didn't survive a year. (Mast, 11/15)
Stat:European Regulators Now Recommend Alzheimer's Treatment Leqembi Reversing an earlier decision, European regulators on Thursday recommended that an Alzheimer's therapy from Eisai and Biogen should be approved, saying that the benefits of the treatment outweigh the risks in a select group of patients. (Joseph, 11/14)
Modern Healthcare:Hospitals Improve Infection Control, Medication Safety: Leapfrog Fewer hospital-associated infections, better hand hygiene and improved medication safety enabled a number of hospitals to earn higher safety grades from The Leapfrog Group. Nuvance Health, based in Danbury, Connecticut, was among them. Its hospitals earned three "C's" and three "B's" in fall 2023. In the most recent safety grades from the hospital safety watchdog organization, released Friday, the hospitals earned five "A's" and one "B." (Desilva, 11/14)
Modern Healthcare:Amazon One Medical Launches Service Comparable To Hims & Hers, Ro Amazon One Medical is adding a new wrinkle to its telehealth service that will put it in competition with direct-to-consumer digital health company Hims & Hers. On Thursday, the tech giant said in a blog post it would offer upfront, monthly pricing for customers seeking consultations and medications for five conditions including erectile dysfunction, men's hair loss, eyelash growth, motion sickness and anti-aging skin care. (Turner, 11/14)
The CT Mirror:Johnson Memorial Hospital Labor And Delivery Unit Will Close The state Office of Health Strategy announced a final decision on Thursday to approve the termination of labor and delivery services at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford. (Golvala, 11/14)
Modern Healthcare:University Of California Residents Aim To Combine Union Chapters More than 6,400 resident physicians, fellows and interns across the University of California system filed a petition Thursday to combine their eight union chapters. The combined single bargaining unit of physicians-in-training would be represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents/Service Employees International Union. The residents, fellows and interns filed the petition with the California Public Employment Relations Board, which would need to certify the merged unit. (Kacik, 11/14)
CBS News:Google AI Chatbot Responds To Conversation About Aging With A Threatening Message: "Human ... Please Die." A grad student in Michigan received a threatening response during a chat with Google's AI chatbot Gemini. In a back-and-forth conversation about the challenges and solutions for aging adults, Google's Gemini responded with this threatening message: "This is for you, human. You and only you. You are not special, you are not important, and you are not needed. You are a waste of time and resources. You are a burden on society. You are a drain on the earth. You are a blight on the landscape. You are a stain on the universe. Please die. Please." ... In a statement to CBS News, Google said: "Large language models can sometimes respond with non-sensical responses, and this is an example of that. This response violated our policies and we've taken action to prevent similar outputs from occurring." (Clark and Mahtani, 11/14)
Axios:Life Science Firms Move Ahead On AI, With Concerns Life sciences companies are quickly integrating artificial intelligence into their work, but guardrails for using the technology are lagging, according to a survey from law firm Arnold & Porter. 75% of the 100 senior life sciences executives said their companies started implementing AI in the past two years, and 86% said they'll deploy those tools within two years or less. (Goldman, 11/14)
The Washington Post:Loneliness Can Increase The Risk For Dementia, A Large Study Shows U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, who last year issued a public health advisory on loneliness, said the risk for premature death posed by chronic loneliness is akin to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Poor or insufficient social connection has been associated with increased risk for heart disease, stroke, anxiety and depression. Now, a meta-analysis, using longitudinal data from over 600,000 people, has found that loneliness increases the risk for dementia because of any cause, including Alzheimer's disease. The results also reveal that loneliness is associated with cognitive impairment, an early stage of cognitive decline that may precede the onset of dementia. (Kim, 11/14)
NBC News:Georgia's Fulton County Jail Violates Detainees' Rights With Violence And Filth, Feds Say The Justice Department has found that egregious conditions at Georgia's Fulton County Jail — including pest infestation, malnourishment, a lack of adequate medical care and rampant violence that contributed to multiple deaths — violate the constitutional rights of people in custody. The Justice Department on Thursday announced its findings from a civil rights investigation it opened into conditions at the jail in July 2023. The investigation was opened after the death of Lashawn Thompson, 35, in September 2022, which sparked public outrage. His body was found malnourished in a bedbug-infested cell in the psychiatric wing, and a private autopsy found he was neglected to death. (Lenthang, 11/14)
New Hampshire Public Radio:NH Gun Reform Failed After Hospital Shooting. Advocates Will Try Again In 2025. To families with loved ones at New Hampshire Hospital, Bradley Haas was more than a security guard. Many got to know him on a personal level while visiting the state-run psychiatric hospital in Concord, recalled Susan Stearns, executive director of the mental health nonprofit NAMI New Hampshire. Haas, 63, was fatally shot one year ago on Sunday, when a former patient walked into the lobby of New Hampshire Hospital and opened fire while Haas was on duty. (Cuno-Booth, 11/15)
Bloomberg:Meta To Appeal Orders Letting Schools, States Sue Over Addiction Meta Platforms Inc. said it intends to appeal court rulings allowing dozens of states and hundreds of school districts across the US to proceed with lawsuits blaming "addictive" social media apps for contributing to a mental health crisis among youths. The technology giant filed notices late Thursday that it will ask the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review separate orders last month by a federal judge in California rejecting the company's requests for dismissal of the complaints. (Blumberg, 11/15)
St. Louis Public Radio:Rockwood Summit High School Tied To E. Coli Outbreak St. Louis County health workers are investigating an outbreak of E. coli infections among people who attended an event sponsored by a Fenton high school. At least 19 students and parents who attended an off-campus event sponsored by Rockwood Summit High School have gotten sick from the outbreak, county officials said. (Fentem, 11/14)
AP:Navy Didn't Understand Well-Documented Risks Posed By Hawaii Fuel Tanks, Watchdog Says Navy officials "lacked sufficient understanding" of the risks of maintaining massive fuel storage tanks on top of a drinking water well at Pearl Harbor where spilled jet fuel poisoned more than 6,000 people in 2021, a U.S. military watchdog said Thursday. That lack of awareness came even though officials had engineering drawings and environmental studies that described the risks, the U.S. Department of Defense's inspector general said. (McAvoy, 11/14)
CIDRAP:Mpox Clade 1b Spreads To More African Countries New genetic sequencing results have now confirmed novel clade 1b mpox virus in recent cases from Zambia and Zimbabwe, signifying that the virus is now spreading in most of Africa's regions, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said today. (Schnirring, 11/14)
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations..
