Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
Medical journal receives U.S. attorney letter seeking information about alleged bias: This week, at least one scientific journal has received an unexpected inquiry from a top government official requesting that it detail some of the thinking behind its editorial practices.
“It has been brought to my attention that more and more journals and publications like CHEST Journal are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates,” reads the letter, sent by the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Edward R. Martin Jr., to the editor in chief of the American College of Chest Physicians journal.
The letter goes on to ask six questions of the journal, largely about alleged bias in the decision to publish content.
Access to SNAP-Authorized Retailers and Diet Quality Among SNAP Recipients: This cross-sectional study, including 5041 SNAP recipients, found that living closer to SNAP-authorized retailers, particularly superstores and grocery stores, was associated with higher Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores among participants.
NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to more top universities: Internal email instructs agency staff not to communicate with institutions about the decision. Embattled universities whose funding from the National Institutes of Health has been frozen may face further financial strain as the agency holds off awarding new grants to at least half a dozen of them, according to an email obtained by STAT.
And in a related article: DOGE begins to freeze health-care payments for extra review: The U.S. DOGE Service is putting new curbs on billions of dollars in federal health-care grants, requiring government officials to manually review and approve previously routine payments — and paralyzing grant awards to tens of thousands of organizations, according to 12 people familiar with the new arrangements.
The effort, which DOGE has dubbed “Defend the Spend,” has left thousands of payments backed up, including funding for doctors’ and nurses’ salaries at federal health centers for the poor. Some grantees are waiting on payments they expected last week.
About health insurance/insurers
Patient-Reported Characteristics Across Dual-Eligible Medicare Advantage Plan Types: This cross-sectional study including 147 923 dual-eligible beneficiaries found differences in the characteristics of full-benefit dual-eligible beneficiaries across MA plan types. Older dual-eligible individuals and those with multiple functional limitations were more likely and those in highly socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods were less likely to enroll in fully integrated dual-eligible Special Needs Plans compared with less integrated plan types.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
One-quarter of small employers ditch health premiums every year, analysts find: About 27% of the small employers that were paying health insurance premiums in 2022 stopped paying the premiums in 2023, according to a new report from a research arm of JPMorgan Chase.
About pharma
FDA to limit pharma employees from serving on adcoms, citing 'undue influence' The FDA announced on Thursday a new policy to limit employees of pharmaceutical companies from serving on advisory committees (adcoms), as part of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s initiative to introduce "radical transparency" into the department. Instead, the agency will prioritise appointing patients and caregivers to review panels.
According to the FDA, the goal is to "mitigate perceived industry influence and conflicts of interests" while increasing the public's trust in the US regulator and its decisions.
About the public’s health
Nicotine and Toxicant Exposure among Individuals using both Combustible Cigarettes and E-cigarettes Based on Level of Product Use: In this population-based cross-sectional study, individuals reporting dual use appear to have nicotine and toxicant exposure at least at the same level as those using cigarettes alone and higher than exclusive e-cigarette use (except for metals). Given the adverse health consequences of dual use, including potential cancer risk, our findings highlight the need for clinicians and public health practitioners to increase awareness of the potential risks associated with dual use. A
Analysis of USAID’s Active and Terminated Awards List: How Many Are Global Health?:
—Global health awards account for 12% of all awards on the list but the majority (53%) of all unobligated funding.
—80% of global health awards are listed as terminated, totaling $12.7 billion in unobligated funding.
—Many global health awards are multi-sectoral, spanning more than one global health area, with HIV/AIDS accounting for the greatest number.
RFK Jr.’s cuts to CDC eliminate labs tracking STIs, hepatitis outbreaks:Lab scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been analyzing blood samples for weeks to determine how dozens ofpatients across six states had become infected with viral hepatitis, a disease that can cause serious liver damage.
But their DNA detective work stopped abruptly last week. Widespread layoffs across federal health agencies earlier this month had resulted in the firing of all 27 lab scientists who worked in the only U.S. facility that could perform the sophisticated genetic sequencing needed to investigate hepatitis outbreaks, lab experts said.
Another lab, the only one in the United States capable of testing for and tracking antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, often called “super gonorrhea,”was also recently effectively shut down.