Medical Debt Barred on Credit Reports; Winter Storm Deaths; Steward Hospital Closes

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Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff

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MedPage Today Staff

January 7, 2025

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Vice President Kamala Harris announced a final rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau removing medical debt from consumer credit reports.

The father of one of the children who had a mysterious bone fracture as a newborn at the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital neonatal intensive care unit spoke out. (Fox News)

Extended courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) showed benefit for a few long COVID patients in a case series. (Communications Medicine)

Court proceedings for Luigi Mangione, the man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, were delayed several weeks after prosecutors and lawyers requested more time to prepare. (AP)

Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), said HHS secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is “wrong” about vaccinations. (The Hill)

The FDA started the new year by releasing draft guidance to increase enrollment of women in clinical trials and develop artificial intelligence-enabled medical devices.

Here’s what to know about human metapneumovirus (HMPV), the virus spreading in China. (New York Times)

At least four people died and dozens injured in the winter storm Blair. (NPR)

A 3-year-old boy became the fourth person to die following an explosion of fireworks at a Honolulu home on New Year’s Eve. (The Independent)

Residency slots from hospitals that closed between 2008-2024 were redistributed to large academic medical centers with better-funded programs focused less on primary care. (JAMA Internal Medicine)

Indonesia launched a $28 million free meals program to fight malnutrition and stunting in kids. (NPR)

The global toll of snake bite injury and death may be much higher than estimated. (New York Times)

Can physician coaching just before a procedure improve performance and outcomes? (New York Times)

Sharon Regional Hospital in Pennsylvania, part of Steward Health Care, closed its doors. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Nurses in Massachusetts asked the state to deploy independent monitors at three hospitals run by Tenet Healthcare because of alleged safety violations. (WBUR)

Denise Richards said she “ruptured” her breast implants after jumping off a bridge on TV reality show. (USA Today)

French physician Louis Schittly, who helped start Doctors Without Borders, died at 86. (Washington Post)