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A key Senate Republican dismissed the idea that the Affordable Care Act can be repealed next Congress, despite former President Trump’s interest in the issue. If Republicans take control of the Senate after November’s election, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) would likely be in charge of the Senate’s health committee, which would share responsibility for changes to the Affordable Care Act. He said Wednesday morning that any comprehensive health care reforms would have to be bipartisan, and noted that repealing the Affordable Care Act would be a nonstarter among Democrats. (Zhang, 9/11)

Experts doubt it would happen under a second Trump administration either, given the difficulty of coming up with a policy that satisfies all parties and the former president’s lack of a specific plan. (Lovelace Jr., 9/11)

A second term would give Trump the opportunity to implement a replacement for the ACA, but his longstanding promise of a new policy in the works has so far remained undelivered. (Habeshian, 9/12)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights And Obamacare In Their First Face-Off
When Vice President Kamala Harris walked across the debate stage Tuesday night to shake the hand of former President Donald Trump, it was the first time the two had met in person. But that was the rare collegial moment in a face-off otherwise marked by false and sometimes bizarre statements by the former president. (9/11)

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Companies under suspicion of misleading customers and improperly exporting their data to other countries are approved to be among the insurance enrollment companies allowed to sell Georgians Affordable Care Act health insurance plans beginning in November. (Hart, 9/11)

More women chose to have their tubes tied after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, a new study shows, and the biggest increases were in states that ban abortion. A research letter published Wednesday in JAMA examined insurance claims data from 2021 and 2022 for around 4.8 million women who got tubal ligations, which are surgeries to close the fallopian tubes so the patient can no longer get pregnant. The data came from 36 states and Washington, D.C., and researchers categorized these places as “banned,” “limited” or “protected,” based on their abortion policies. (Ungar, 9/11)

An Indiana judge on Wednesday refused to broaden the medical exception to the state's near-total abortion ban, ruling against a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Judge Kelsey Hanlon of Monroe County Circuit Court acknowledged that the ban, which makes an exception for a "serious health risk" to the mother, put providers in "the incredibly unenviable position" of providing care in a "politically charged environment" under threat of criminal prosecution or loss of their licenses. However, the judge said the plaintiffs had not shown that the exception would prohibit an abortion in violation of women's rights under the state constitution. (Pierson, 9/11)

Project 2025, the 900-page conservative playbook for the next Republican president, issues an ultimatum for California: track and report abortion data to the federal government or risk losing billions in Medicaid funding for reproductive health. California is one of only three states that do not report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  (Madan, 9/11)

Kylie cooper has seen all the ways a pregnancy can go terrifyingly, perilously wrong. She is an obstetrician who manages high-risk patients, also known as a maternal-fetal-medicine specialist, or MFM. The awkward hyphenation highlights the duality of the role. Cooper must care for two patients at once: mother and fetus, mom and baby. On good days, she helps women with complicated pregnancies bring home healthy babies. On bad days, she has to tell families that this will not be possible. Sometimes, they ask her to end the pregnancy; prior to the summer of 2022, she was able to do so. (Zhang, 9/12)

Among the priorities of students advocating for abortion rights: expanding access to contraception and promoting Amendment 4, which would allow abortions in Florida until fetal viability. (Colombini, 9/11)

On pregnancy —

Eighteen U.S. states have enacted laws that exclude mental health or risk of suicide among the medical reasons a woman can have an abortion. But women who spoke to CQ Roll Call faced obstacles finding answers on how to treat mental illness during pregnancy even when they were not considering abortion. (Raman, 9/12)

Our warming planet is putting those who are pregnant at higher risk — and the impacts go far beyond heat-related illnesses. Research shows that along with the dangers presented to the general population, extreme heat puts pregnant people — and their unborn fetuses — at risk of life-threatening conditions. During pregnancy, expectant moms are more vulnerable to viruses and environmental conditions. And one of the threats comes from tiny insects: mosquitoes that can carry a handful of diseases.  (Cohen, Wholf and Jurica, 9/11)

An organ-procurement group in Kentucky pressured its personnel to retrieve organs from a hospital patient who was awake and later left the facility alive, an advocate for overhauling the U.S. organ-transplant system told lawmakers. The allegation, which came during a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday on the U.S. organ-transplant system, was among several made by witnesses who said procurement groups in various states have pushed workers and surgeons to secure organs from patients who were still alive. (Bernstein, 9/11)

On Wednesday, two transplant doctors, one watchdog and a nephrologist-turned-advocate sat before members of Congress to talk about the nation’s troubled organ transplant system. For over two hours the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ran through allegations of inefficiency, inertia, negligence and corruption in the groups charged with coordinating transplants throughout the U.S. New, jaw-dropping claims also came to light. (Cueto, 9/11)

They travelled at night, for what seemed like hours, but it was difficult to tell. Yonas was blindfolded and drowsy from the Xanax he had been given. He wasn’t sure where he was, but he could smell salt in the air when the car stopped. Yonas heard Ali, the other passenger, wind down his window and light a cigarette. The driver sat motionless, breathing heavily. Several minutes passed in silence. Then Yonas heard a pinging noise. Someone’s phone had received a message. (Columb, 9/10)

On the use of AI —

Amid heated discussions on how artificial intelligence should be regulated and who should be involved in health care AI governance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner said that health systems need to take a leading role. (Trang, 9/11)

Americans are already turning to A.I. for health information in large numbers, new research suggests. (Rosenbluth, 9/11)

A trademark dispute in St. Louis —

A St. Louis County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Inc., a local nursing organization, against a three-bed north St. Louis health center using the civil rights advocate’s name. Judge Heather Cunningham ruled on Aug. 30 that the alumni organization for the former Homer G. Phillips nursing school and the newly constructed Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital do not provide the same level of health care services and that someone looking for the organization would not be confused between the two. (Henderson, 9/11)

Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday he is prepared to pursue contempt charges against Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre if he fails to show up at a hearing Thursday despite being issued a subpoena. Sanders said de la Torre needs to answer to the American people about how he was able to reap hundreds of millions of dollars while Steward Health Care, which operated about 30 hospitals nationwide, had to file for bankruptcy in May. (LeBlanc, 9/11)

Bankrupt Steward Health Care won initial approval of a settlement with its landlord Medical Properties Trust Inc. that will resolve billions of dollars in lease obligations and hand over more than a dozen hospitals to new managers, averting their potential closing. Judge Christopher Lopez said Wednesday he’d give interim approval to the settlement, a critical step to transitioning Steward hospitals to new operators. (Randles, 9/11)

On the high cost of health care —

Patients could be spared huge, unexpected bills for ambulance rides under a new plan aimed at closing a gap in the surprise billing law. Many Americans avoid calling 911 when they're having a medical crisis because of cost concerns. Others get stuck with massive unanticipated bills that are a major driver of medical debt in the U.S. (Goldman, 9/12)

Hospitals allege in a new lawsuit that the federal government unlawfully changed Medicare disproportionate share hospital payment calculations to include care provided to Medicare Advantage patients, and facilities lost billions of dollars in the process. Eighty hospitals on Monday sued the Health and Human Services Department over how the agency factors inpatient care for Medicare Advantage patients into DSH payments, which are meant to bolster providers that treat many low-income patients. (Kacik, 9/11)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: At Catholic Hospitals, A Mission Of Charity Runs Up Against High Care Costs For Patients
When Jessica Staten’s kidney stones wouldn’t pass, she said, her doctor suggested a procedure to “blow ’em up.” She went to have it done last November at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, one of nine hospitals that the Catholic health system PeaceHealth operates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. ... What came next shocked her: PeaceHealth sent a bill for $5,313.63 and, she said, told her she didn’t qualify for help to lower the cost. Staten said she asked about financial assistance but was told she earned slightly too much. (Pradhan, 9/12)

Veterans with a rare lung disease could have an easier time collecting Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits under proposed changes announced by the agency Wednesday. The ailment, called constrictive bronchiolitis, or CB, is one of the burn pit-related illnesses covered under the PACT Act, the sweeping law passed two years ago that aimed to make it easier for veterans with certain diseases linked to toxic exposure to get VA care and benefits. But veterans with CB have reported still facing unique challenges to getting their benefits approved by the VA. (Kheel, 9/11)

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After she stepped away, Dr. MaryAnn Wilbur embarked on a project to conduct interviews with doctors who had either recently left their practice or were strongly considering doing so. (Kiniry, 9/11)

England’s National Health Service, one of the country’s most revered institutions, is in “critical” condition, according to a government-commissioned report that cited long waits for treatment, crumbling hospitals, mental health patients in “vermin-infested cells” and far fewer M.R.I. scanners than in comparable countries. (Castle, 9/11)

High doses of Adderall, the widely prescribed drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, were associated with more than a fivefold increased risk for a first-time episode of psychosis or mania, according to a study released Thursday by McLean Hospital. The risk was greatest for patients who took doses exceeding 40 milligrams, according to Dr. Lauren V. Moran, lead author of the paper and a psychiatrist who studies the benefits and perils of prescribed drugs. (Saltzman, 9/12)

At an event with journalists Tuesday outside of Boston, U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert Califf dismissed criticism that the agency is lowering standards for new drug approvals, even when clinical trials fail. (Trang, 9/11)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has scolded AbbVie for making false and misleading claims in a TV ad about a migraine pill that features Serena Williams, the third time this year the agency has taken a major pharmaceutical company to task for its marketing. (Silverman, 9/11)

States continue to notch victories in legal battles with pharmaceutical manufacturers over the use of contract pharmacies to dispense 340B drugs, potentially setting up a Supreme Court showdown. Last week, a federal judge in Maryland denied drug manufacturers' motion for a preliminary injunction to block a state law requiring drugmakers to distribute discounted medications to pharmacies that contract with hospitals, federally qualified health centers and other 340B-covered providers that treat low-income patients. (Kacik, 9/11)

The market for weight-loss treatments is expected to see 16 new drugs vying for a slice of the lucrative business currently dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, according to estimates from analysts at Morningstar and Pitchbook. In a joint report published on Monday, analysts estimated the market for obesity treatments could expand to $200 billion by 2031. The 16 drugs could launch by 2029, with roughly $70 billion of the GLP-1 market coming from these new challengers. (9/11)

One of the most important measurements for cancer patients is the neutrophil count. Certain cancer therapies like chemotherapy can be harsh on these white blood cells, so cancer patients need their neutrophil count to be in a given range when undergoing those treatments or before enrolling in particular clinical trials. That can be a problem for people who have a natural blood variation called the Duffy-null phenotype. (Chen, 9/11)

Rhode Island has recorded its first case this year of eastern equine encephalitis, the mosquito-borne disease known as EEE, public health officials announced Wednesday. The virus was detected in a person from Providence County who is in their 70s, marking the first emergence of the potentially fatal disease in the Ocean State since 2019, the state Department of Health said in a statement. Since 1983, the state has documented 11 cases. (Gavin, 9/11)

Alaska’s state health department confirmed that an infant has died from the ongoing pertussis — or whooping cough — epidemic that is currently sweeping Alaska. Details about the child’s exact age or hometown are not being released to protect the family’s anonymity, although health officials say most of the current cases have been reported in Southcentral Alaska. (Maxwell, 9/11)

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) today announced that a state lab has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in cows on three more dairy farms in the Central Valley, which raises the state’s total to six. (Schnirring, 9/11)

Bavarian Nordic A/S’s smallpox vaccine was moderately effective in preventing mpox infection after a single dose, according to a study in Ontario, Canada, where the shot probably helped curb a 2022 outbreak. One vaccination provided about 58% protection against mpox infection, researchers found in the study. It was conducted from mid-June to late October 2022 among gay and bisexual men — the group most affected during a global outbreak sparked by the clade IIb strain of the monkeypox virus. (Gale, 9/11)

On the covid pandemic —

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that last month nearly half of the United States have reported "very high" levels of COVID-19 activity. As concerns with COVID have waned across the U.S., the CDC has come to rely on wastewater data to track the virus, which often lags several weeks behind current case counts. (Forbes, 9/11)

Now that cases of the flu and Covid-19 are being reported once again, the Virginia Department of Health has introduced a new online dashboard to track respiratory illnesses. The new online dashboard was launched Tuesday by the Virginia Department of Health, and tracks respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). (Owens, 9/12)

Improved safety practices led 200,000 more patients to survive hospitalization in 2023 and 2024 than they would have four years earlier, per a new analysis on patient safety from the American Hospital Association and Vizient. (Reed, 9/12)

A California county leader on Tuesday was removed from his committee assignments and regional board positions after allegations that he helped funnel millions in pandemic relief funding into a nonprofit run by his daughter. (Somasundaram, 9/11)

A federal judge has blocked Utah from enforcing a new law aimed at protecting the mental health of young people by requiring social media platforms to verify users' ages and impose restrictions on minors' accounts. (Raymond, 9/11)

Student mental health—long a top concern of higher education leaders—now appears to be improving, according to the latest edition of the annual Healthy Minds study. It found that 38 percent of undergraduates surveyed in the 2023–24 academic year experienced moderate or severe depression symptoms—down from the peak of 44 percent two years prior. To be sure, the decrease is relatively slight, and the share of college students experiencing depression still hovers slightly above pre-pandemic rates: In fall 2019, 36 percent of students reported depressive symptoms. (Alonson, 9/11)

Aspiring Texas psychologists hope to earn certification and start work faster under a new licensing examination that would be created by the state. The plan, which is catching the eye of other states, calls for Texas boards to conduct state certification tests, eliminating the need for more expensive and time-intensive national certification tests. (Simpson, 9/12)

Police in Nashville, Tennessee, praised singer Jon Bon Jovi for helping prevent a tragedy by speaking to a woman who was on the ledge of a bridge Tuesday. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Bon Jovi and his team were at the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge as a woman stood precariously over the Cumberland River. Bon Jovi and others talked to the woman and helped her come back onto the bridge, police said. (Madani, 9/11)

In related news about substance abuse —

A good night’s sleep has many proven benefits — potentially including a healthier future for kids. New research from Penn State University analyzed how childhood sleep patterns could be linked to future substance use. Researchers at the university found that adolescents who went to bed later and slept fewer hours during their childhood were more likely to have consumed alcohol or marijuana by the age of 15. (Stabile, 9/12)

A new residential treatment program for young people struggling with substance and opioid use disorders will open in Baltimore, the Maryland Department of Health said Wednesday. While the program will be overseen by the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, it will provide inpatient treatment to people statewide who are under the age of 21. (Roberts, 9/11)

If you need help —

The state legislature approved funding Wednesday to meet higher costs for NC Medicaid in the current fiscal year. But their number came in below what state health officials had been asking for — by about $81 million. (Vitaglione, 9/12)

New Yorkers could soon get questionnaires from their health insurers asking for their race, ethnicity, gender, preferred language and sexual orientation as part of a state initiative that seeks to address disparities in health care. State officials are proposing a new rule Tuesday that would require health insurance plans to collect demographic details as they sign people up for insurance or renew their coverage, although the information would be optional for New Yorkers. (Lewis, 9/10)

A potentially deadly fungal infection known as valley fever has dramatically risen in California, with the number of reported cases nearly quadrupling in the last decade, from around 2,300 cases in 2014 to over 9,000 in 2023. A new scientific study describes where and when valley fever took off across the state over the past two decades. Swings between wet and dry conditions, expected to intensify with global warming, were associated with the highest case counts. (Lee, 9/11)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: In Montana, 911 Calls Reveal Impact Of Heat Waves On Rural Seniors
Missoula is one of Montana’s largest cities but is surrounded by rural mountain communities where cattle ranching is king. Despite the latitude and altitude, in recent years this region has experienced punishing summer heat waves. It has been difficult for residents to adapt to the warming climate and new seasonal swings. Many don’t have air conditioning and are unprepared for the new pattern of daytime temperatures hovering in the 90s — for days or even weeks on end. (Bolton, 9/12)

New research has found four genes with some of the largest known effects on the timing of menopause discovered to date, providing new insight into links between menopause timing and cancer risk. (University of Exeter, 9/11)

Two studies published in Pediatrics demonstrate safety and efficacy for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) preventive drug nirsevimab in kids and infants. (Soucheray, 9/11)

Outdoor light at night could be a significant risk factor in Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from Rush. (Rush University Medical Center, 9/11)

A new study illustrates the substantial global burden of upper respiratory and ear infections, researchers reported this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 9/11)

An intrauterine device, or IUD, insertion can be very, very painful. Not for all women, but for many. In recent TikTok videos documenting the experience, women grimace, cry and clutch the exam table. Often a provider can be heard in the background reminding a woman to breathe, or chirping, “Almost done, OK?” (Christine Henneberg, 9/12)

We’re still asking people with Covid to jump through far too many hoops to get their hands on Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid. (Lisa Jarvis, 9/11)

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ended most uses of the notorious pesticide DDT back in 1972, it wasn’t just because of the poison’s then suspected links to cancer and serious reproductive effects in humans. Evidence also suggested that the chemical would bioaccumulate in living things and persist in the environment for centuries, threatening the health of our children, our children’s children and beyond—a disturbing reality confirmed by recent research. (Nathan Donley and Kyla Bennett, 9/11)

Gov. Greg Abbott has made it clear that he wants the federal government to pick up more of the cost of medical care for undocumented immigrants. We have some concerns about the way the governor is going about it, specifically by ordering hospitals to collect information from patients about whether they are in the country legally. (9/12)

In a rare display of bipartisan agreement, Congress is getting serious about addressing China’s influence in key industries. This spring’s “TikTok ban” is the most obvious example of this effort. Legislation currently under debate would extend these same principles to the life sciences sector, with major implications and opportunities for the country. (Kendalle Burlin O'Connell, 9/12)