Almost two years after a Trump-era price transparency rule took effect, many hospitals are flouting a requirement that they post the prices for common goods and services online — with little risk of facing penalties, Axios' Victoria Knight writes.

Driving the news: A new report shared with Axios shows continued industry resistance to a rule some believed would lead to more price competition or further regulation.

• The report, published today by the consumer advocacy group, PatientRightsAdvocates.org, is one of the first to compare hospital disclosures and a separate set of public pricing reports that insurers and group health plans had to start posting on July 1.
• "Some of the prices that are found in insurance company price files appear with an 'N/A' or are blank in the corresponding hospital price lists," the group wrote. "This concrete evidence from the insurance files demonstrates that real prices exist and hospitals are flouting the hospital price transparency rule."

Details: The hospital transparency regulation went into effect in January 2021. Since then, multiple reports have shown high rates of non-compliance, such as a June study that found only 6% of facilities covered by the rule were totally compliant in the first six months it went into effect.

• Only two hospitals in Georgia have been fined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services since the regulation went into effect. CQ Roll Call reported in June that since January 2021 CMS had issued about 352 warning letters to hospitals for non-compliance.
• More insurer transparency requirements are slated to go into effect in the next two years. In 2023, insurers must share the costs of the 500 most "shoppable" health care services in a cost estimator tool, and by 2024, publicize the cost of every item and service they provide.

The other side: "While hospitals press forward to help patients understand their anticipated costs for care, some outside groups are taking this opportunity to mischaracterize what is happening in the field with respect to the Hospital Price Transparency Rule," said American Hospital Association spokesperson Sean Barry in a statement to Axios.

• CMS didn't provide a comment by Axios' deadline.

More than 80% of abortion clinics in 15 states with strict abortion bans have stopped offering the procedure in the 100 days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez writes from a new report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that support abortion rights.

By the numbers: Guttmacher looked at 15 states — Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin — that prior to the June 24 decision had a total of 79 clinics.

• As of Oct. 2, 100 days after the Dobbs decision, only 13 are providing abortions. All are located in Georgia, where a six-week ban is in place.
• Texas had the most closures: Of the 23 clinics it had before the decision, 12 shut down and 11 are open but only offering services other than abortion.

Of the nearly 24 million adults in the U.S. who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, Axios' Sabrina Moreno writes from CDC data released Wednesday.

Why it matters: Nearly three years into a pandemic that 's left millions newly disabled, medical researchers continue to search for an effective treatment.

By the numbers: Between Sept. 14 and Sept. 26, more than one in four adults with long COVID reported significant limitations on day-to-day activities, per the CDC data.

• The number jumps closer to 40% for respondents who are Black, Latino or disabled — three groups that shouldered outsized burdens throughout the pandemic.
• Nearly 30% of adults previously infected with COVID reported having long COVID at some point, but the percentage is higher for transgender people, disabled Americans and those without a high school diploma, according to Wednesday's report.

🎙 Tune in: Axios Today's Niala Boodhoo discusses long COVID

Cases of Hepatitis B and C, upticks in alcohol consumption and excess body weight and diabetes are expected to drive the number of liver cancer deaths around the world 55% higher by 2040, according to an analysis published in the Journal of Hepatology.

By the numbers: The research, led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, found about 906,000 people were diagnosed with liver cancer and about 830,000 died from liver cancer globally in 2020.

• Liver cancer was among the top five causes of cancer death in 90 countries.
• Liver cancer was the most common cause of cancer death in 15 countries, including Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Republic of Congo, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
• Deaths are likely to increase unless a 3% or greater annual decrease in new cases is achieved, the authors write.

What they're saying: "Public health officials must prepare for an increase in demand for resources to manage the care of patients with liver cancer throughout the cancer pathway," they said.

Editor's note: This story was updated by replacing the chart with the correct one on liver cancer mortality.

The Biden administration's effort to create a successor to Operation Warp Speed to address COVID variants and future pandemics has been slow to gain funding or early traction, Politico reports.

Why it matters: Experts have been urging the feds to bulk up the U.S. arsenal of next-generation vaccines and treatments.

• The Biden administration has hit a political wall for months in Congress when it comes to getting new COVID funding, including in a recent stopgap measure.

What they're saying: "The notion we're going to sit on the sidelines and watch other nations build this stuff should be totally anathema to us," White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha told Politico.

What's happening: Citing those involved in the discussions, Politico reported the project known as "COVID Shield" would be a partnership between the Defense Department and HHS. Jha said no final decisions had been made without a funding commitment, per Politico.

Digital health's venture funding bubble has officially burst, with companies in the sector raising the lowest amount since Q4 2019, per Q3 2022 data from venture firm Rock Health, Axios' Erin Brodwin writes.

What they're saying: "Smaller deal size — rather than fewer deals — pushed down the overall quarterly total," analysts at Rock Health write.

• Year-to-date funding to the sector — including Q3 — totaled just $12.6 billion across 458 deals.
• That's a dramatic fall from last year's high when investors poured a record-breaking $29.2 billion into the sector and inked 736 deals.

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