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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has rolled out efforts to help providers navigate the Change Healthcare outage disrupting healthcare operations nationwide, the Health and Human Services Department announced Tuesday. CMS ordered its claims administrators to assist pharmacies, hospitals and others that need to use alternate means to process transactions while Change Healthcare, part of UnitedHealth Group's Optum subsidiary, works to get its systems back online following a Feb. 21 cyberattack. (Berryman, 3/5)

The cyberattack on a UnitedHealth Group Inc. data service is making it harder for health insurers across the industry to gauge their medical care expenses, Humana Inc. executives said Tuesday. About 15% to 20% of Humana’s medical claims submitted by providers flow through Change Healthcare systems before they reach the insurer, Humana Chief Financial Officer Susan Diamond said at an investor conference. (Tozzi, 3/5)

The cyber attack on Change Healthcare that's reverberated across the medical system is now spawning threats of litigation from patients. Patients left scrambling to determine if insurance will cover drugs or treatments could seek damages from the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, whose stricken payment network is a mainstay of hospitals, pharmacies and physician offices and processes 15 billion transactions annually. (Reed, 3/6)

Patients tell stories of being billed hundreds or more than a thousand dollars for prescriptions that previously were covered by insurance. Some can’t get their prescriptions filled at all and drug company discount coupons also may not be working right now. (Cimons, Beard and Amenabar, 3/5)

The hackers responsible for the breach at UnitedHealth Group appear to have pulled a disappearing act on Tuesday, leaving their cybercriminal associates in the lurch and replacing their old website with a bogus statement from law enforcement. The U.S. insurer disclosed on Feb. 21 that Blackcat hacking gang - also known as ALPHV - had perpetrated a cyberattack on its technology unit Change Healthcare, causing disruptions across the U.S. healthcare system. (Pearson and Bing, 3/5)

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital said it has reactivated its electronic health record (EHR) platform, among other systems, and has fully restored its phones after a cyberattack that forced the hospital to shut down its entire network in late January. However, patients do not yet have access to the electronic portal MyChart, Lurie said. Patients and their families use MyChart for interactions including sending questions to providers, scheduling, reordering prescriptions, viewing test results and reviewing records. (Asplund, 3/5)

Federal regulators launched an investigation Tuesday probing private equity firms’ investment in healthcare. The Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department and Health and Human Services Department are seeking information on the effects of private equity and other corporate investor-backed healthcare transactions, particularly those that fall under regulators’ threshold for review. (Kacik, 3/5)

Private equity firms continue to acquire physician groups at an accelerating clip, prompting closer scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers. Private equity acquisitions of physician practices grew seven-fold between 2012 and 2021, according to a peer-reviewed study from University of California, Berkeley researchers. The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, said those acquisitions have led to a concentration of private equity firms’ market share. (Kacik, 3/5)

Republicans in Congress might try to use a technical maneuver to block the Biden administration from using so-called march-in rights to seize pharmaceutical patents and lower drug prices. (Wilkerson, 3/6)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Biden Is Right. The US Generally Pays Double That Of Other Countries For Rx Drugs

It’s well documented that Americans pay high prices for health care. But do they pay double or more for prescriptions compared with the rest of the world? President Joe Biden said they did. “If I put you on Air Force One with me, and you have a prescription — no matter what it’s for, minor or major — and I flew you to Toronto or flew to London or flew you to Brazil or flew you anywhere in the world, I can get you that prescription filled for somewhere between 40 to 60% less than it costs here,” Biden said Feb. 22 at a campaign reception in California. (Putterman, 3/6)

Home home health companies are increasingly willing to sacrifice short-term profits as they try to squeeze more favorable Medicare Advantage contracts from private insurers. Addus HomeCare, Interim Healthcare and other home health companies are refusing to accept some patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans they say pay them unfavorable rates or require lengthy prior authorizations. (Eastabrook, 3/5)

For-profit insurers led by CVS Health's Aetna are gobbling up the majority of new Medicare Advantage patients, despite new restrictions on marketing, higher medical costs and other headwinds, a new analysis of enrollment data found. (Goldman, 3/6)

The Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF decision upped the pressure on House Republicans to back a funding increase for nutrition aid to low-income moms and babies in the spending deal Congress is poised to pass this week. Some GOP lawmakers facing tough reelections in more moderate districts had been pushing Speaker Mike Johnson to keep a dispute over the funding from becoming a major fight in the spending talks. (Hill, 3/5)

Alabama lawmakers facing public pressure to restart in vitro fertilization services in the state advanced legislation to shield providers from the fallout of a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children. Committees in the state Senate and House on Tuesday approved identical bills that would protect providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the “damage or death of an embryo” during IVF services. The state’s three major IVF providers paused services after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling last month because of the sweeping liability concerns it raised. (Chandler, 3/6)

After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that pre-embryos created through in vitro fertilization are “extrauterine” unborn children, some IVF providers in that state suspended services. A cascade of news coverage followed the decision, stoking fears about the legal status and availability of IVF in other states, including Missouri. (Pfeil, 3/5)

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, decisions about abortion regulation reverted to individual states. But Ziegler said if states can continually make laws that give rights to fetuses and that makes it to the highest court, it could potentially cut off access to abortion nationwide. (McCarthy, 3/5)

South Carolina cannot cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday, finding that doing so would deprive Medicaid patients of their right to choose their provider. The order marks the third time that a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stopped the state from defunding the reproductive health organization on the grounds that it provides abortions. (Pierson, 3/5)

A contentious ballot measure sponsored by Mayor London Breed to mandate drug screenings for welfare recipients passed Tuesday, sending a clear message that voters want to see a more aggressive response to the city’s drug crisis. The measure was backed by 63% of the vote late Tuesday night. The measure, known as Proposition F, requires adults who receive cash assistance from San Francisco to undergo a drug screening and enroll in a free treatment program if they’re determined to be drug users. (Angst, 3/5)

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health bond was too close to call Tuesday night, with support hovering over 50 percent around midnight while ballots were still being tabulated. Proposition 1 would change the Mental Health Services Act, a 2004 tax on incomes over a million dollars that currently generates around $4 billion annually, imposing new requirements on how counties report and spend the funds on mental health programs. The measure also includes a $6.4 billion bond that supporters say would build 11,000 addiction and mental health treatment beds and supportive housing for veterans. (Bluth, 3/6)

Two Uvalde County law enforcement officials named in the Justice Department’s report detailing the botched police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting won their respective Republican primaries for reelection Tuesday evening, according to unofficial results. Sheriff Ruben Nolasco and Uvalde County Constable Emmanuel Zamora were both highlighted for their inaction on May 24, 2022. (Melhado, 3/5)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Why Even Public Health Experts Have Limited Insight Into Stopping Gun Violence In America

Gun violence has exploded across the U.S. in recent years — from mass shootings at concerts and supermarkets to school fights settled with a bullet after the last bell. Nearly every day of 2024 so far has brought more violence. On Feb. 14, gunfire broke out at the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, killing one woman and injuring 22 others. Most events draw little attention — while the injuries and toll pile up. Gun violence is among America’s most deadly and costly public health crises. (Spolar, 3/6)

When Americans line up for flu vaccines next fall, they will almost certainly be getting vaccines that no longer contain protection against a family of flu viruses that appears to be extinct. (Branswell, 3/5)

On Sunday, public health officials in two Michigan counties warned their residents that they may have been exposed to measles. In Wayne County, an adult who had contracted the virus abroad had been in health-related settings in Dearborn on two days last week — two urgent care clinics, a CVS pharmacy, and a hospital emergency department. Health officials in neighboring Washtenaw County issued a similar alert about a different case — also an adult, also infected abroad — who was in the emergency department of a hospital in Ypsilanti on March 1. (Branswell, 3/6)

A former owner of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose mold-tainted drugs sparked a deadly U.S. fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 has pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter charges over the deaths of 11 Michigan residents. The plea by Barry Cadden, the former president of New England Compounding Center, was announced on Tuesday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and resolves a criminal case her office brought against him in state court in 2018. (Raymond, 3/5)

Concern is growing about the avian flu now spreading to marine mammals and a new study says that it increases the potential risk to humans. The danger to humans is low right now, but as long as the avian flu is spreading to other animals, there's a risk it could spread to people, which is why scientists say close surveillance and research is needed. ... Researchers say there have been cases where the virus spreads from infected birds to mammals. Now, researchers fear it may be moving from one mammal to another. (Stahl, 3/5)

Five European countries have reported an unexpected rise in infections involving psittacosis, a respiratory disease from a bacteria known to affect birds, which began in late 2023 and has led to the deaths of five people. In an outbreak notice today, the World Health Organization (WHO) detailed recent reports from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In most instances, people had contact with wild or domestic birds. ... Infections are often mild, but patients can develop a sometimes-fatal pneumonia. The disease is treatable with prompt, appropriate antibiotics. (Schnirring, 3/5)

One German man has redefined “man on a mission.” A 62-year-old from Magdeburg deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the span of 29 months, according to a new study, going against national vaccine recommendations. That’s an average of one jab every four days. In the process, he became a walking experiment for what happens to the immune system when it is vaccinated against the same pathogen repeatedly. A correspondence published Monday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases outlined his case and concluded that while his “hypervaccination” did not result in any adverse health effects, it also did not significantly improve or worsen his immune response. (Cheng, 3/6)

The White House on Monday lifted its COVID-19 testing requirement for those who plan to be in close contact with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses, bringing to an end the last coronavirus prevention protocol at the White House. The White House said the change aligns its policies with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. (Miller, 3/4)

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has been subpoenaed to appear before a House subcommittee to answer for his administration’s handling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic, reigniting a flashpoint that could further damage his chances at a political comeback. ... The subpoena is the latest in a multiyear saga surrounding the former governor’s decision to require nursing homes to accept residents who had tested positive for Covid-19 in the spring of 2020. The decision, which presaged a virus outbreak in those facilities leading to thousands of deaths, has drawn broad scrutiny from state and federal investigators. (Ashford, 3/5)

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is unveiling a new bill on Tuesday that would allow Americans to sue COVID-19 vaccine makers over adverse health effects allegedly caused by the shot. The Let Injured Americans Be Legally Empowered (LIABLE) Act is aimed at wiping away COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers’ statutory protections, opening them up to civil lawsuits. (Elkind, 3/5)

After 18 months of debate, the World Trade Organization failed to adopt a controversial proposal to waive intellectual property protection for Covid-19 diagnostics and treatments, ending a furious attempt by civil society groups to bolster global access to needed medical products. (Silverman, 3/5)

Nearly 1,000 nursing home workers are away from their residents and marching on a picket line. It's one of the biggest strikes the industry has seen in our state. "We need protection, pay and respect," Estates at St. Lous Park nurse Jared Mitga said. Mitga is among the dozens of nursing home workers picketing outside the Estates at St. Louis Park Tuesday morning. The workers striking come from 12 different facilities across the Twin Cities. It's not just nurses like Mitga, but maintenance, laundry and kitchen staff too. (Leone, 3/5)

Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut’s largest health care workers union announced a tentative three-year contract Tuesday that would boost minimum wages for home health aides by 26% to $23 per hour by the 2025-26 fiscal year. (Phaneuf, 3/5)

Some experts say AI technology can improve the health care industry by automating administrative work, offering virtual nursing assistance and more. AI systems can predict whether a patient is likely to get sicker while in the hospital. Virtual assistant chatbots in telehealth services enable remote consultations. ... But some nurses are concerned that the scarcity of laws regarding AI’s use in hospitals and beyond means a lack of protections for individuals who could suffer from the technology’s mistakes. (Fitzgerald, 3/5)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Share Your Catholic Hospital Story With Us

Are you a patient who has received care at a Catholic hospital? Are you a clinician working at a Catholic hospital who has felt the care you give has been constrained by the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops? Tell us here. (3/5)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Listen To The Latest '�鶹Ů�� Health News Minute'

“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the �鶹Ů�� Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week. (3/5)

Financial help could be coming to Nassau University Medical Center if the fledgling hospital searches for a new CEO and details a plan to cut costs, the state health commissioner says. The town hall organized to discuss NUMC's financial challenges at times resembled a hootenanny. Some hospital workers waved signs amid strobe lights. "Oh, am I going to step down? No," NHCC Chairman Matthew Bruderman said. (McLogan, 3/5)

The donations were made in partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, and together make up the largest gift in the state’s history, according to a statement from UCSF. (Alexander, 3/5)

Each year, at least 25 Wisconsin women die during or within one year of pregnancy, with less than a third occurring during birth. Experts say extending the coverage period for people insured under Medicaid could help new parents with depression and other health issues and save lives among Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents. Yet the Legislature has turned down extensions with bipartisan support on multiple occasions. That includes a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate this session but the Assembly didn’t take up, making Wisconsin one of just four states without plans to implement a full-year extension. (Hale, 3/5)

Christopher Santiago recalls being skeptical the first time he heard about basic income — giving people cash with no conditions on how to spend it. It was 2020, when presidential candidate Andrew Yang pitched it for all American adults, and Santiago thought, "That doesn't make much sense." But for a year now, Santiago has been getting $500 a month through one of the largest cash aid pilots in the U.S., and he's come around. (Ludden, 3/5)

Hundreds of students and advocates gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday to express their support for a bill that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in Minnesota. (Roth, 3/5)

The process of getting Baby JJ a birth certificate was complicated by the way he was born: in an inflatable tub in the family’s Southwest Washington living room with no medical assistance. (Silverman, 3/5)

Getting only a few hours of sleep per day may do more harm than just causing a groggy day at the office — it may put you at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, a new study has found. (Rogers, 3/5)

Minor insomnia is no big deal, and many over-the-counter remedies work. But if you have chronic insomnia like 50 to 70 million other Americans and the drugs don't work, Allegheny Health Network is trying a new treatment method using cognitive behavioral therapy. "CBTI, cognitive behavioral therapy, for insomnia is a brief therapy intervention to help retrain the way you deal with and approach sleep," AHN's Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher said. (Guidotti, 3/5)

Amid reports of a U.K. man's death from high amounts of vitamin D, experts are warning about the dangers of unsafe levels. After 89-year-old David Mitchener died last year from hypercalcemia, a buildup of calcium in the body that is caused by excess levels of vitamin D, the Surrey assistant coroner released a report urging regulatory agencies to warn consumers about the risk of excessive intake. (Rudy, 3/5)

One in eight people is postmenopausal, and about 50 million women enter menopause every year. A new essay published on Tuesday in The Lancet argues that it’s time to stop treating them like patients suffering from a disorder. (Merelli, 3/5)

For the first time, anyone in the United States will soon be able to buy a continuous glucose monitor without a prescription. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Dexcom on Tuesday to start selling a new product, called the Stelo, to adults who do not use insulin. The product is scheduled to hit the market this summer. (Palmer and Lawrence, 3/5)

A Novo Nordisk study showed that its diabetes drug Ozempic lowered the risk that patients with kidney disease would see progression. (Joseph, 3/5)

The failure of Humira’s competitors to gain much traction — so far, at least — helps illustrate the market grip maintained by brand-name drug makers like AbbVie, despite the $84,000-a-year price tag of its wildly successful anti-inflammatory drug. (Weisman, 3/5)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday resistance to GSK's HIV drug dolutegravir has exceeded levels observed during its trials, citing observational and survey data received from a few countries. (3/5)

The latest trial over claims that Johnson & Johnson's talc products cause cancer ended in a mistrial on Tuesday, as a Florida state court jury said it could not agree on a verdict. (Pierson, 3/5)

Bayer on Tuesday said it won a trial in a lawsuit brought by a retired postal service worker in Pennsylvania who alleged he developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma from using the company's Roundup weedkiller. (Pierson, 3/5)

From both a biomedical and economic point of view, the success of the new class of weight-loss drugs is something to behold. Not only are they a remarkable scientific achievement, but — in the case of Ozempic and Wegovy, both made by Novo Nordisk — they are a huge boon to the Danish economy. The Danish pharmaceutical industry kept Denmark from falling into a recession last year. (Tyler Cowen, 3/5)

Four years ago, my daughter Olivia was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive genetic disorder that attacks the brain and nervous system. She was rapidly losing the ability to walk and talk, and doctors told us that the disease was progressive, meaning Olivia's condition would continue to worsen and she would eventually need hospice care. She was not yet 2 years old. A few months later, our youngest daughter, Keira, was diagnosed with the same genetic disorder – metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). (Kendra Riley, 3/5)

The system of food labeling in the United States does not make it easy for consumers trying to assess the nutritional value of the foods they buy. Now, the Food and Drug Administration can do something about it. (Christina A. Roberto, Alyssa Moran and Kelly Brownell, 3/6)

Maybe we should thank the Alabama Supreme Court for its bizarre ruling that frozen embryos are children protected by state law. The decision, which seemed absurd to many people on its face, shone a needed spotlight on the concept of “fetal personhood.” (Ruth Marcus, 3/6)

Two important new avenues have opened up for women to access the reproductive health care medications they need and deserve. Several high-profile retailers merit commendation for their contributing role. Their involvement is an example of conscientious leadership from the business community. One of the recently opened pathways involves birth control pills. (3/5)

Nicholas Kristof has spent a lot of time reporting on addiction. “My own community in Oregon has suffered a great deal from it. I’ve lost a lot of friends to it,” he says. In a recent trip to Tulsa, Okla., Kristof visited Women in Recovery, an addiction treatment program showing what’s possible. (Nicholas Kristof, 3/6)

Thinking about messaging your physician about a weird rash? You may want to hold off on it. Some hospital systems have started charging patients for digital messages to their doctors via the electronic medical record, either a flat rate (like a copay) or on sliding scale depending on the time or complexity of the physician’s response. Sometimes it’s billed through an insurer, sometimes as a direct cost to the patient. Costs have ranged between less than $10 and $100 for a message. (Michael P.H. Stanley, 3/6)