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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will grant $100 million to 44 organizations tasked with helping people sign up for insurance coverage during open enrollment on the exchanges. The agency plans to distribute up to $500 million over the next five years. (Early, 8/26)

Hospitals and the federal government have been engaged in years of back-and-forth legal battles over billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid payments meant to support providers that treat large numbers of low-income patients. These disputes about Medicare and Medicaid disproportionate share hospital, or DSH, payments have found their way to the Supreme Court before and will again as different judges reach different conclusions. (Early, 8/26)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Feds Killed Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition

A decade ago, federal officials drafted a plan to discourage Medicare Advantage health insurers from overcharging the government by billions of dollars — only to abruptly back off amid an “uproar” from the industry, newly released court filings show. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published the draft regulation in January 2014. The rule would have required health plans, when examining patient’s medical records, to identify overpayments by CMS and refund them to the government. (Schulte, 8/27)

�鶹Ů�� Health News' 'An Arm and a Leg' Podcast: Don’t Get ‘Bullied’ Into Paying What You Don’t Owe

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month” series, produced in partnership with NPR. (Weissmann, 8/27)

Florida Blue has alerted patients in second region of the state about the potential of them losing coverage Oct. 1 due to an impasse with a major health system. Florida Blue is telling patients the Naples-based NCH be out of network if a new insurer-hospital agreement can’t be reached. This would include hospitals, physician groups and other specialty care services. (Barbor, 8/26)

A federal judge in Texas on Monday paused a Biden administration policy that would give spouses of U.S. citizens legal status without having to first leave the country, dealing at least a temporary setback to one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years. ... One of the states leading the challenge is Texas, which in the lawsuit claimed the state has had to pay tens of millions of dollars annually from health care to law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status. (Gonzalez, 8/26)

Drugmaker Eli Lilly is significantly lowering the prices of the two lowest doses of its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound, it said Tuesday, in a move to expand access and ease supply constraints. Two key changes to how people get and use the cheaper medicine, however, might not be appealing to some patients. Under the new pricing plan, a month’s supply of the lowest dose, 2.5 milligrams, will cost $399, while a month’s supply of the 5 mg dose will cost $549. That’s down from a monthly list price of $1,059, regardless of the dosage. (Lovelace Jr., 8/27)

Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro seem to directly impact metabolism, not just appetite, according to a new study. It was previously thought these drugs — collectively called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogs — worked by making people feel fuller so they eat less. But the results of a recent clinical trial suggest it's not as simple as that. People who took GLP-1 daily for 24 weeks experienced both weight loss and an increased metabolism. (Willmoth, 8/23)

Glucose tracking is the future, Dexcom executives gushed at a glitzy launch event for their new, over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor on Wednesday evening. Surrounded by champagne, new celebrity ambassador and “Parks and Rec” actress Retta, and a mini-pickleball court, CEO Kevin Sayer declared victory. (Palmer and Lawrence, 8/26)

Scientists are making progress replacing the critical insulin-producing cells that are destroyed by the disease. (Johnson, 8/26)

Cigna said on Monday it will remove AbbVie’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira from some of its lists of preferred drugs for reimbursement in 2025, and recommend less pricey biosimilar versions of the medicine instead. Cigna said Boehringer Ingelheim's Cyltezo, Simlandi from Teva and Alvotech and an unbranded version of Hyrimoz from Sandoz will be covered on some lists that are managed by its pharmacy benefits unit Express Scripts. (Wingrove, 8/26)

Walgreens' clinical trials unit is shaping up to play a critical role in the retail pharmacy's transformation strategy. This past year has been recovery mode for Walgreens, and more changes are coming. The company plans to shutter hundreds more of its drugstores over the next few years, in addition to rethinking its healthcare services portfolio, which includes primary and urgent care, specialty pharmacy and home care services. (Hudson, 8/26)

Missouri Planned Parenthoods filed legal challenges Monday against a new law that kicked the organizations off the federal Medicaid health insurance program. Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers said they are filing complaints with the state’s Administrative Hearing Commission, which functions as a court to hear disputes between Missouri government and private organizations. (Ballentine, 8/26)

Oklahoma v. Department of Health and Human Services is the sort of case that keeps health policy wonks up late at night. On the surface, it involves a relatively low-stakes fight over abortion. The Biden administration requires recipients of federal Title X grants — a federal program that funds family-planning services — to present patients with “neutral, factual information” about all of their family-planning options, including abortion. Grant recipients can comply with this requirement by giving patients a national call-in number that can inform those patients about abortion providers. Now, however, Oklahoma wants the Supreme Court to allow it to receive Title X funds without complying with the call-in number rule. Oklahoma raises two arguments to justify its preferred outcome, one of which could potentially sabotage much of Medicare and Medicaid. (Millhiser, 8/26)

Abortion advocates in the west worry that telehealth services could come under threat with a second Trump administration. According to a report released earlier this month, about 1 in 5 abortions [20%] are now done through telehealth in the U.S. That’s up from just 4% before Roe v. Wade was overturned. (Merzbach, 8/26)

In a state that touts itself as “the most pro-life state in the country,” where abortion is prohibited except to save the life of the mother, timber country in southeast Arkansas is an especially dangerous place to give birth. (Gowan, 8/27)

More Americans died from heat in 2023 than any year in over two decades of records, according to the findings published Monday. Last year was also the globe's hottest year on record, the latest grim milestone in a warming trend fueled by climate change. The study, published in the American Medical Association journal JAMA, found that 2,325 people died from heat in 2023. Researchers admit that number is likely an undercount. (Cuevas and Voyles Pulver, 8/26)

A federal appeals court Monday cleared the way for Florida to enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, blocking a lower court order against the ban while the matter is appealed. The 2-1 decision was issued by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The law revived by the ruling prohibits transgender minors from being prescribed puberty blockers and hormonal treatments, even with their parents’ permission. It also required that transgender adults only receive treatment from a doctor and not from a registered nurse or other qualified medical practitioner. Adults who want the treatment must be in the room with the physician when signing the consent form. (8/26)

Hundreds of Florida’s most vulnerable children are stuck in the middle of a long-running financial dispute between doctors and the state’s largest Medicaid operator. A group of physicians affiliated with Privia Medical Group, a Virginia-based network of health care providers that has a branch in Florida serving doctors’ offices statewide, says it is owed $781,000 from Sunshine State Health Plan, a Medicaid managed care plan that oversees the most patients in the state. (Sarkissian, 8/27)

Though marijuana and hemp are both varieties of the cannabis plant, Florida officials police each differently. Marijuana is allowed only for medicinal purposes, while hemp is widely permitted. The result is a booming market for intoxicating hemp products, some of which public health experts warn can be dangerous. (Rozsa and Ovalle, 8/25)

Congressional funding chiefs on Monday pressed U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for more information on what they’re describing as a “food shortage crisis” facing tribes nationwide. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) led the letter requesting the information, along with the ranking members on each committee and subcommittee heads on both sides. (Folley, 8/26)

For decades, researchers have been trying to answer a hotly contested question: Do the synthetic dyes used to add vibrant colors to foods like certain breakfast cereals, candies, snacks and baked goods cause behavioral issues in children? A bill before the California Senate, which is expected to come to a vote this week, has reignited the debate. If passed, it would prohibit K-12 public schools in California from offering foods containing six dyes — Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6 and Red No. 40. (Callahan, 8/26)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced Monday new standards for "forever chemicals" that align with more stringent federal rules instituted last year, a move that launches a potentially three-year process to stiffen the state's PFAS regulations. (Schulte, 8/26)

Fresh off of a jam-packed week of Democratic National Convention events, reports of attendees’ testing positive for Covid are rolling in. They include members of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign staff, who are now contending with sickness from Covid, according to two sources close to the campaign with knowledge of the cases. There is at least some concern the developments could affect staffing at events this week, they added. (Korecki and Perlmutter-Gumbiner, 8/26)

For many, Covid is increasingly regarded like the common cold. A scratchy throat and canceled plans bring a bewildering new critique from friends: You shouldn’t have tested. (Baumgaertner, 8/27)

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said senior officials in the Biden administration had pressured his social media company to censor COVID-19 content during the pandemic, adding that he would push back if this were to happen again. In a letter dated Aug. 26, Zuckerberg told the judiciary committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that he regretted not speaking up about this pressure earlier, as well as some decisions the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp had made around removing certain content. (8/27)

Former U.S. presidential hopeful and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr on Monday lost his bid in a U.S. court to force Google’s YouTube to restore two videos the platform removed for allegedly violating its policies on medical misinformation. In a brief order, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said a lower court judge properly denied Kennedy’s request for a court order compelling the Alphabet unit to restore the videos it removed in 2023. (Scarcella, 8/26)

A recent measles outbreak in Oregon is refocusing attention on declining childhood vaccination rates as kids head back to school. Lingering vaccine hesitancy from the pandemic is evident in pediatricians' offices as more parents opt out of the shots for measles, chicken pox, and whooping cough, among others, using non-medical religious exemptions. (Reed, 8/27)

The school year starts next week for many Minnesota families and physicians are concerned about children being undervaccinated. Right now, there’s a global outbreak of measles, with 34 cases reported in Minnesota; there have been more than 500 cases of whooping cough so far this year. Minnesota is also experiencing a summertime COVID-19 surge, with cases on the rise following Fourth of July celebrations. (Wurzer and Stockton, 8/26)

Some say vaccines are a victim of their own success. Because vaccines have been so effective at eradicating some of the most dangerous diseases, most of us have actually never experienced what it is like to live in a world where you can contract diseases like measles at the grocery store or where your child can get polio and be paralyzed. It’s a radically different world than we know right now. And it’s sometimes hard to comprehend that, especially with a lot of misconceptions about vaccines floating around. (Yousry, 8/26)

Texas' first reported cases of the deadly mosquito-borne virus known as eastern equine encephalitis were confirmed Monday in Houston County, which is more than 100 miles north of the city of Houston. Neither Harris County nor the city of Houston had reported cases as of Monday. (Johnson, 8/26)

Massachusetts officials over the weekend announced plans to start spraying for mosquitoes in two counties to reduce the risk from eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). Officials from the Massachusetts Department of Health (DPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources said they will conduct aerial spraying in parts of Plymouth County and truck-mounted spraying in parts of Worcester County to target mosquitoes carrying the virus. (Dall, 8/26)

Mosquitoes thrive in warm, moist air. If it gets too cold, they get sleepy and can’t do what mosquitoes do best: bite. Lucky for mosquitoes, climate change is making more places, including Massachusetts, a lot more appealing. That means a longer time to breed, better chances at survival — and an increased ability to spread disease. That’s unlucky for us. (Shankman and Piore, 8/27)

An adult in the Baltimore region is the first Marylander to test positive for West Nile virus in 2024. The patient has recovered, the state health department said in a news release Monday. (Mullan, 8/26)

Health officials will spray for mosquitoes in New York City this week in an effort to reduce the risk of West Nile virus. Crews are set to spray parts of upper Manhattan on Monday and southwest Brooklyn on Wednesday. (Pflaumer and Lehpamer, 8/26)

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus has been confirmed in a dairy herd in Van Buren County, Michigan — the nation's first detection for almost 2 weeks. The last detection in Michigan was on July 26, also in Van Buren County. (Soucheray, 8/26)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu

In early August, farmworkers gathered under a pavilion at a park here for a picnic to celebrate Farmworker Appreciation Day. One sign that this year was different from the others was the menu: Beef fajitas, tortillas, pico de gallo, chips, beans — but no chicken. Farms in Colorado had culled millions of chickens in recent months to stem the transmission of bird flu. Organizers filled out the spread with hot dogs. (Bichell, 8/27)

Germany will donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses from its military stocks to help contain the outbreak on the African continent in the short term as well as provide help to the affected countries, said a government spokesperson on Monday. (8/26)

Democratic Republic of Congo no longer expects to receive its first delivery of mpox vaccines this week, the head of its response team said on Monday, as Congo battles a new variant of the virus that has spread beyond its borders. On Aug. 19, Congo's health minister said the Central African country hoped to receive its first doses of a vaccine by this week, following promises from the United States and Japan to help it fight its outbreak. But asked whether Congo would begin receiving the doses this week, Cris Kacita, the head of Congo's response team, told Reuters: "No. There are still several processes to follow." (Rolley, 8/26)

A suspected case of mpox in a passenger at Brazil's main international airport is likely chickenpox, a Sao Paulo hospital said on Monday, as health officials remain on alert for a new mpox variant that has caused global concern. (8/26)

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced Monday that an agreement was reached with Northwell Health to maintain labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital for the next five years. (Klein, 8/26)

McLaren Health Care announced on Monday that it is fully operational after experiencing a cyberattack earlier this month. In an update, the health system said its information technology platforms have been restored, and all temporary procedures that were enacted have been lifted. Officials said patient health records that were manually charted during the cyberattack will be put in the electronic system, which is expected to take several weeks. (Booth-Singleton, 8/26)

New York City Health + Hospitals is cutting new adult and pediatric primary care appointment times in half to move more patients through the door as wait times pile up. Doctors say the change will be untenable and could harm patient health. Beginning in September, the public hospital system plans to bring the time allotted for primary care intake appointments from 40 minutes to 20 minutes, according to doctors who have been briefed on the changes and internal documents reviewed by Crain’s. (Geringer-Sameth, 8/26)

Dr. Steven Landers will become the first CEO of the NAHC-NHPCO Alliance, a newly formed trade group representing the home health, hospice and palliative care industries. Landers will assume the role early next month, an alliance spokesperson said Monday. (Eastabrook, 8/26)

Rural hospitals across the country often struggle to recruit doctors. Recruiting surgeons is even tougher. In southeastern North Carolina, the hospitals in Scotland and Robeson counties are investing in surgical programs that health care experts say are vital to the survival of rural hospitals. (Baldauf, 8/27)

McKesson said Monday it signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Community Oncology Revitalization Enterprise Ventures LLC, or Core Ventures, for $2.5 billion in cash. The transaction is subject to regulatory review. McKesson did not say when the deal is expected to close. (Hudson, 8/26)

In the past decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs has recouped more than $2 billion from veterans who received separation pay from the Defense Department and later filed for disability compensation, an effort that has resulted in financial hardship for some former service members. According to data provided by the VA, the department has collected $2.44 billion from 112,834 veterans since 2013 under a law that department officials say prohibits it from paying disability compensation to those who received voluntary or involuntary separation pay or bonuses until the money has been recouped. (Kime, 8/26)

More than 90,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a kidney transplant. But an ongoing kidney shortage means a thousand people a month are removed from the waitlist, either because they die while waiting for a kidney or become too sick for a transplant. Elaine Perlman wants to change that. “Enough is enough,” she says. “The kidney shortage is a solvable problem.” Perlman is executive director of Waitlist Zero, a coalition supporting newly proposed federal legislation that would create a 10-year pilot program called the End Kidney Deaths Act. (O'Neill, 8/26)

San Francisco is handing out antipsychotic drugs to homeless methamphetamine users who frequent psychiatric emergency services to help them cope with symptoms such as paranoia, delusions and hallucinations. The city’s top addiction researchers believe it may be the next promising intervention for a portion of people languishing in San Francisco’s streets. (Angst, 8/26)

Not long ago, tracking the spread of a virus by sampling wastewater counted as a novelty in the United States. Today, wastewater monitoring offers one of the most comprehensive pictures anyone has of COVID-19’s summer surge. This type of surveillance has been so effective at forecasting the risks of the virus’s rise and fall that local governments are now looking for other ways to use it. That has meant turning from tracking infections to tracking illicit and high-risk drug use. (Ouyang, 8/26)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Public Voices Often Ignored In States’ Opioid Settlement Money Decisions

The conversation wasn’t sounding good for Kensington residents on June 20. The Philadelphia neighborhood is a critical center of the nation’s opioid crisis, and the city had decided to spend $7.5 million in opioid settlement money to improve the quality of life there. But on that day, a Pennsylvania oversight board was about to vote on whether to reject the city’s decision. (Pattani, Larweh and Mahon, 8/27)

Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) on Monday opened up about her experience with depression, revealing she is seeking treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and wants to “de-stigmatize” mental illness. Caraveo, in a statement Monday, said she, “like many Americans, struggle with depression,” and the symptoms became “more severe” in recent months. (Nazzaro, 8/26)

A program using mental health workers to respond to non-violent 911 calls focusing on issues with the homeless is expanding through Los Angeles, targeting areas where the need is the greatest. The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) program, launched in 2022, dispatches mental health workers and individuals with lived experience, instead of armed police officers, to provide help and assistance for the homeless. (Sharp, 8/26)

A pack of four-legged therapists got a break of their own on Monday when they were honored at the airport where they dutifully work to ease stress and calm travelers. The event at Philadelphia International Airport marked five years since the 23 members of the Wagging Tails Brigade began greeting people and serving as therapy dogs. (Vejpongsa, 8/26)

In early 2022, I cared for one of the first patients with mpox in Massachusetts. As an infectious diseases physician, I remember the deep uncertainty I felt, and the fear in my patient’s eyes as a painful rash spread over their body. We were in uncharted territory — there were no proven treatments, and the number of cases was rapidly increasing. We decided to use tecovirimat (TPOXX), an antiviral developed for smallpox, to slow the disease’s progression. When patients began to recover, it felt like a breakthrough — a moment of hope in the midst of yet another epidemic. (Wilfredo R. Matias, 8/27)

Health care has long been marked by disparities that affect different groups of people in various ways. Whether due to race, income, or geography, these disparities lead to unequal access to care and varying health outcomes. However, there is growing hope that artificial intelligence (AI) could be the tool we need to address these long-standing issues and create a more equitable health care system for all. (Zack Cass, 8/27)

No one can deny that health inequities are a global issue. The United States, despite decades of progress, has one of the highest rates of health disparities in the world. Our health care system is deeply flawed, and we must find solutions quickly. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being heralded as a way to democratize access to health care. (Tamer Rajai Hage, 8/27)

Scientific advancements have helped millions of people living with cancer, heart disease, arthritis, obesity, and other diseases. Essential for the development of new therapies are the thousands of people who volunteer to participate in clinical trials every year, helping to characterize the safety and effectiveness of treatments and vaccines. (Jim Murphy and Lisa Lacasse, 8/27)

America is losing too many men. Not on the battlefield but in our hospitals and our homes. The growing crisis in male health has been ignored for decades, and it’s time for that to change. (Richard V. Reeves, 8/27)