Stat: Congress Reaches Major Health Policy Deal On Medicare, Medicaid
Leaders in Congress have reached a sweeping deal to ease Medicare pay cuts to doctors, make major changes to post-pandemic Medicaid policy, and to help prepare for future pandemics. Lawmakers are aiming to pass a health care policy package along with legislation to fund the federal government by Friday. (Cohrs and Owermohle, 12/19)

Axios: Congress Saves Big Health Care Decisions For Last
There's plenty for health care interest groups in Congress' year-end spending package, but some had to make significant concessions: There will be no pandemic commission, doctors will have to swallow some Medicare payment cuts and FDA oversight of diagnostic tests will not change. The health care riders in the year-end spending package reflect which health care interests have clout, and which issues lawmakers want to punt into next year, when Congress will be divided and deals may be more elusive. (Knight, Sullivan and Goldman, 12/20)

Roll Call: Both Parties Claim Wins In Massive Omnibus Spending Bill
Both parties praised the inclusion of nearly $119 billion for veterans medical care, a 22 percent increase over fiscal 2022, not counting a $5 billion infusion for the toxic exposure benefits law enacted over the summer. ... During negotiations, the two sides tussled over the classification of veterans health care costs as Democrats aimed to make some existing funds mandatory to free up additional discretionary nondefense spending for other priorities. The GOP won that fight, although Democrats got some funds for the new toxic exposure law deemed "mandatory," or exempt from appropriations limits. (McPherson and Quigley, 12/20)

The Washington Post: Congress Unveils $1.7 Trillion Deal To Fund Government, Avert Shutdown
The omnibus also proposed nearly $773 billion for domestic programs, which included a significant increase in federal funding for veterans and new money meant to improve child-care programs, combat substance abuse and help needy families access food. (Romm, 12/20)

More on the looming impact to Medicaid and Medicare —

Politico: Why Democrats Warmed To Severing Medicaid Eligibility From The Covid Public Health Emergency
Republicans have long demanded an end to the Covid-era Medicaid policy that gives states more funding and bars them from kicking people off the rolls. Now, Democrats are prepared to join them — four people close to the negotiations tell POLITICO. Congressional negotiators are set to unveil the text of the 2023 omnibus spending bill on Monday. Lawmakers and staff have been scrambling for weeks to find ways to pay for a slew of health care programs, such as permanent telehealth flexibility, providing longer Medicaid coverage for new mothers and avoiding scheduled cuts to doctors’ payments, prompting formerly resistant Democratic members to take a fresh look at moving up the end-date of the Covid-19 Medicaid policy by at least three months — to April 1. (Ollstein, 12/19)

Stat: Congress Falls Short On Medicaid Postpartum Care
As part of a sweeping end-of-year package, Democrats struck a deal with Republicans to let states begin kicking ineligible people out of the Medicaid program in April — before a freeze linked to the public health emergency ends — as long as children now enrolled in the program were covered for a year after their circumstances change, and recent states’ moves to cover people for a year postpartum were made permanent. But the ultimate agreement is a far cry from Democrats’ desire to require every state, including 17 holdouts, to cover postpartum care through Medicaid for a year. (Owermohle, 12/20)

The Washington Post: Congress Clinches Deal To Fund Medicaid Programs In Puerto Rico, Other Territories
Congress has clinched a deal to avert a lapse in critical dollars for Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program for five years and permanently beef up federal dollars for the other U.S. territories, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the negotiations. (Roubein, 12/19)

KHN: Medicare Pay Cuts Will Hurt Seniors’ Care, Doctors Argue
Doctors are urging Congress to call off cuts scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 in the reimbursements they receive from Medicare. In what has become an almost yearly ritual, physician groups are arguing that patients will have greater difficulty finding doctors who accept Medicare if lawmakers allow the pay cuts to happen. Whether doctors’ efforts to stave off the cuts will succeed as in past years remains to be seen. (McAuliff, 12/20)

Also —

The Hill: Medicaid Expansion Linked With Improved Cancer Survival In Young Adults 
Expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is linked with better survival outcomes for young Americans newly diagnosed with cancer, research shows. The two-year survival benefit was most pronounced among individuals who identify as Hispanic or Black and those with breast cancer or stage IV cancers. (Melillo, 12/19)

AP: Panel Warns FDA’s Beleaguered Tobacco Unit Lacks Direction 
The lack of clear direction and priorities at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco division has hampered its ability to regulate electronic cigarettes and other products, according to an expert panel assembled to examine problems at the agency. A blistering report released Monday describes the FDA’s tobacco program as “reactive and overwhelmed,” in its effort to oversee both traditional tobacco products and a sprawling market of largely unauthorized electronic cigarettes. The experts say FDA’s inconsistent approach to regulation is at least partially to blame for the spread of thousands of e-cigarette varieties that remain popular among teenagers. (Perrone, 12/19)

The Washington Post: Major Effort Needed To Remove Illegal Vaping Products, Review Finds
An independent review of the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco regulators described them as overwhelmed, reactive and fatigued by an oppressive workload involving e-cigarettes and called for a major effort, by several parts of the Biden administration, to remove millions of illegal vaping products from the market. The report, by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, also said the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, created by federal law in 2009, has fallen short in laying out clear priorities and has been besieged by lawsuits brought by tobacco and vaping companies, on the one hand, and public health groups on the other. (McGinley, 12/19)

Stat: Audit Of FDA’s Tobacco Oversight Underscores Agency’s Struggle To Regulate The Booming Vaping Market
The stinging review, which was ordered by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in July, was conducted by the independent Reagan-Udall Foundation and a panel of five former regulators. In a statement Monday, Califf said that the center’s leadership will review the findings and “will provide an update by early February.” (Florko, 12/19)

Also —

Healthline: When People Both Vape And Smoke, They Don't Swap Cigarettes For E-Cigs
Some cigarette users take up vaping to help them quit smoking, or with the intention of switching to e-cigarettes altogether. But real-world research suggests that many adults who smoke cigarettes and vape — what’s known as dual use — continue smoking over the long term, sometimes alongside e-cigarettes. (Radcliffe, 12/13)

CNN: CVS, Walgreens Limit Purchases Of Children's Pain-Relief Medicine
Increased demand has led CVS and Walgreens to limit purchases of children’s pain-relief medicine, the companies confirmed to CNN on Monday. CVS is restricting both in-person and online purchases to two children’s pain relief products. Walgreens has limited online purchases to six over-the-counter fever reducers per transaction, but it does not have an in-store purchase limit. (McPhillips, 12/19)

AP: Children's Medicine Shortage Hits As Flu Season Starts Fast 
“At this point, it’s more like toilet paper at the beginning of the (COVID-19) pandemic,” said Dr. Shannon Dillon, a pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis. “You just have to look in the right place at the right time.” Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson says it is not experiencing widespread shortages of Children’s Tylenol, but the product may be “less readily available” at some stores. The company said it is running its production lines around the clock. (Murphy, 12/19)

More on the spread of flu —

AP: Kentucky On Track For Worst Flu Season In At Least A Decade
Gov. Andy Beshear reported six flu-related pediatric deaths Monday as health officials warn that Kentucky is on pace for its worst influenza season in at least a decade. Beshear encouraged Kentuckians to get vaccinated against the flu. None of the children who died in the current influenza season received a flu shot, according to the Department for Public Health. (12/19)

The New York Times: The ‘Tripledemic’ Holiday: How To Fly More Safely (Hint: Wear A Mask) 
You should “absolutely” be wearing masks while traveling, epidemiologists, infectious disease doctors and air-filtration experts said. Even though planes have great filtration systems, you’ll likely be on crowded planes with other travelers for extended periods of time, increasing the chances of exposure, said Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. (Mzezewa, 12/19)

Fortune: Why Do You Have A Sore Throat When You Wake Up In The Morning. Experts Say It's Not Always COVID Or Flu 
It’s tripledemic season, with rising cases of COVID, flu, and RSV, so waking up with a sore throat can be pretty alarming. Do you have one of these potentially serious viruses? Strep throat? Just a cold? “When you first wake up with a sore throat, it’s difficult to know if you have a bacterial infection or virus without being tested for them directly,” says Dr. Barbara B. Bawer, a family medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. It’s also possible that something such as allergies, acid reflux, or the lack of humidity in your bedroom is to blame. (Brody, 12/19)

Bloomberg: China’s Covid-19 Outbreak Has US Worried About New Variants
The US is concerned China’s runaway Covid-19 outbreak might spawn new mutations of the virus, as the world’s most populous country continues to grapple with the impact of loosening “Covid Zero” protocols that had kept the pandemic at bay. (Marlow, 12/19)

Reuters: U.S. State Dept Says Toll Of COVID In China A Concern For The World
The United States hopes that China can address the current COVID-19 outbreak as the toll of the virus is a global concern due to the size of the Chinese economy, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday. "The toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world given the size of China's GDP, given the size of China's economy," Price told a daily briefing at the State Department. (Pamuk, 12/19)

More on the spread of covid —

San Francisco Chronicle: Two Subvariants Now Account For Nearly 70% Of COVID Cases In U.S.
The two latest fast-spreading strains of the coronavirus. named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, now account for nearly 7 in 10 of the COVID-19 cases in the United Stated, tracking by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. The two subvariants of the omicron variant totaled 69.1% of cases as of Saturday. (Beamish, 12/19)

CIDRAP: Study Challenges Notion That Omicron COVID Is Always Mild 
Vaccinated or previously infected COVID-19 hospital patients had lower rates of severe illness and death than their unvaccinated, COVID-naive peers during both Omicron and Delta variant predominance. And while the unvaccinated had fewer poor outcomes during Omicron than in Delta, their risk was similar to that seen with previous SARS-CoV-2 strains, according to a study published today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 12/19)

The Atlantic: Consider Armadillo COVID
This past spring, Amanda Goldberg crouched in the leafy undergrowth of a southwestern Virginia forest and attempted to swab a mouse for COVID. No luck; its nose was too tiny for her tools. (Tayag, 12/19)

In other pandemic news —

The Washington Post: Chief Justice Roberts Temporarily Halts End Of Title 42 At Border 
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Monday temporarily left in place a pandemic-era policy that allows the government to quickly expel millions of migrants from U.S. borders and had been set to expire Wednesday. Roberts’s brief order was an “administrative stay” that allows the court to consider an emergency application from Republican state officials who want the Title 42 policy to remain while litigation continues. (Marimow and Sacchetti, 12/19)

Axios: FDA Expert Panel To Discuss The Future Of COVID Vaccines
Food and Drug Administration advisers will hold a key meeting next month to discuss the state of the pandemic and whether COVID vaccines need to be modified again to better limit the fast-changing virus. Health experts say the Jan. 26 meeting, announced on Friday, will sketch out a long-term strategy that responds to new strains and shifting threats. (Gonzalez, 12/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: FDA Eyes Updating Vaccines To Better Attack Virus
Federal regulators are considering whether today's COVID-19 vaccines are sufficiently protective or may need updating to fight emerging generations of the coronavirus. (Beamish, 12/19)

In other vaccine news —

Reuters: Appeals Court Says U.S. Cannot Mandate Federal Contractor COVID Vaccines 
A U.S. appeals court on Monday said the White House could not require federal contractors to ensure that their workers are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of government contracts. The U.S. government has contracts with thousands of companies, and courts have said the issue could affect up to 20% of U.S. workers. (Shepardson, 12/19)

AP: Probation For Ex-Teacher In NY Who Gave Teen Vaccine Dose
A former Long Island high school teacher accused of injecting a teen with a COVID-19 vaccine at her home without his parents’ knowledge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to community service and probation, avoiding a felony charge that could have sent her to prison. Laura Parker Russo, 55, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of attempting the unauthorized practice of medicine when she appeared in a courtroom in Mineola, New York, on Friday. She also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. (12/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Dr. Wachter Cites “Confusion & Misinformation” On Myriad COVID Topics
UCSF’s Dr. Bob Wachter, one of the Bay Area’s most prominent voices on COVID-19, says COVID confusion and misinformation abound, and he is seeing a lot of it around the basic topics of masks, vaccines, and home tests. In a lengthy thread, he told his many Twitter followersover the past couple of days that these “correct” statements are the starting point: “Wearing the wrong mask, or wearing a mask incorrectly, doesn’t work. (Beamish, 12/19)

The New York Times: Homicides Of Children Soared In The Pandemic’s First Year, CDC Reports 
As the pandemic spread across the United States in 2020, the number of children who were killed rose precipitously, as did the number injured by firearms, scientists reported in two studies on Monday. A majority of the homicides were among Black children, and almost half were among children in the southern United States. Each of those groups also accounted for most of the children brought to pediatric hospitals with gun injuries. (Rabin, 12/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Gun Injuries Among Children Surged During Pandemic, Study Says 
The incidence of firearm injuries among children in the U.S. rose sharply in the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis of data from 49 children’s hospitals. The analysis, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, showed that at least 2,759 children age 17 and younger were treated at hospitals for gun-related injuries between April 2020 and December 2021. That figure is more than 50% above the figure for the corresponding 21-month period in 2018 and 2019. (Mosbergen, 12/19)

More on the gun violence epidemic —

Politico: Judge Strikes Down California Gun Law Modeled On Texas Abortion Measure 
A federal judge has blocked a California gun law that emulated a controversial Texas abortion measure — and which was intended to provoke a court fight. The injunction from Judge Roger Benitez sets California’s law, which enables private citizens to sue manufacturers of illegal guns, on a potential path to the U.S. Supreme Court. That could set up a test of both laws — an outcome that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sought. (White, 12/19)

The Texas Tribune: Uvalde Shooting Victims’ Care Was Delayed By Medical Response
Bullets had pierced Eva Mireles’ chest as she tried to shield students from a gunman’s semiautomatic rifle. But the fourth grade teacher at Robb Elementary was still conscious when police carried her out of classroom 112 and through a hallway crowded with dead and dying victims. “You’re fine. You’re fine,” said her husband, Uvalde school district police officer Ruben Ruiz, who had been frantically trying to rescue her since the attack began. (Despart, Kriel, Serrano, Lee, Hernandez, Cahlan, Piper and Garcia, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: California Could Decriminalize Psychedelics Under New Bill
The possession and personal use of certain psychedelic drugs such as “magic mushrooms” and ayahuasca would be decriminalized in California under a bill introduced Monday backed by mental health professionals and veterans groups. (Wiley, 12/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Narcan Would Be Required In Libraries, Bars In New California Bill
Assembly Member Matt Haney knows firsthand how fast and easy access to opioid reversal medication can mean the difference between life and death for overdose victims. (Gardiner, 12/19)

In other news about drug use —

AP: Anxiety Added As Condition For Medical Weed In New Mexico
Officials in New Mexico have approved anxiety disorders as a qualifying condition under the state’s medical marijuana program. When approving the move last month, the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Advisory Board cited that up to 25 percent of New Mexico’s adult population — roughly 465,000 people — could be experiencing the effects of such disorders. The ruling takes effect Jan. 1. (12/17)

WUFT: As Anxiety And Depression Increase, More Floridians Turn To Medical Marijuana
Imagine you are walking home from the last day of school before spring break. You plop on your bed, kick off your shoes and take a sigh of relief. No school for a week. At least that is what Tatiana Tipton and the class of 2020 thought. Not only did COVID-19 unleash a virus that affected the entire globe, but the growing pandemic also triggered an epidemic of anxiety and depression among America’s Generation Z and millennial populations. And many people turned to cannabis, as opposed to prescribed medication, to calm their minds. (Sheppard, 12/19)

Stateline: As Fentanyl Use Spikes, Feds Urge States To Ease Methadone Rules
Advocates for people with addiction and the methadone industry have long sought the permanent rule changes proposed last week, which would allow more of the nation’s 476,000 methadone patients to take their daily dose in the privacy of their own homes. (Vestal, 12/19)

AP: Massachusetts Court Rules Against Medically Assisted Death
The highest court in Massachusetts said in a decision Monday that allowing doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to mentally competent patients with terminal illnesses is not protected by the state constitution. “Although we recognize the paramount importance and profound significance of all end-of-life decisions, after careful consideration, we conclude that the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights does not reach so far as to protect physician-assisted suicide,” the Supreme Judicial Court wrote in its decision. “We conclude as well that the law of manslaughter may prohibit physician-assisted suicide, and does so, without offending constitutional protections.” (Pratt, 12/19)

The Boston Globe: Supreme Judicial Court Rejects Bid To Legalize ‘Physician-Assisted Suicide’
A doctor who provides life-ending medication to a patient can be prosecuted for manslaughter, the state’s highest court ruled Monday, declaring that the state constitution does not protect a right to what justices termed “physician-assisted suicide.” (Ellement and Weisman, 12/19)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

The Boston Globe: Sudders, State’s Longest-Serving Health Secretary, To Step Down 
Marylou Sudders, who has served longer than anyone else in recent memory as the state’s health secretary, is stepping down. In a note to staff Monday, Sudders said she had filed her papers for retirement for paid public service last month. The effective date will be Jan. 5. (Lazar, 12/19)

Anchorage Daily News: Acting Alaska Health Commissioner Hedberg Is Pick For Permanent Boss
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has named the Alaska Department of Health’s interim leader as the agency’s new permanent commissioner. In a prepared statement Monday, he announced the appointment of Heidi Hedberg, who has served in a variety of roles within the state’s division of public health. Hedberg’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Alaska Legislature. (Brooks and Beacon, 12/19)

North Carolina Health News: Climate Change Spurs Agencies To Provide Health Resources
One gift North Carolinians can be thankful for this holiday season is that the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was a quiet one. This is not an insignificant gift when you consider how many residents are still recovering from hurricanes Matthew and Florence, which struck the state in 2016 and 2018 respectively, not to mention 2019’s Dorian and 2020’s Isaias. Beyond the environmental and property damage that occurred during the storms, many people are still grappling with the emotional trauma of having their lives altered — whether temporarily or permanently. (Atwater, 12/20)

Also —

KHN: The Official Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths In Your Town May Be A Doctor — Or Not 
When a group of physicians gathered in Washington state for an annual meeting, one made a startling revelation: If you ever want to know when, how — and where — to kill someone, I can tell you, and you’ll get away with it. No problem. That’s because the expertise and availability of coroners, who determine cause of death in criminal and unexplained cases, vary widely across Washington, as they do in many other parts of the country. “A coroner doesn’t have to ever have taken a science class in their life,” said Nancy Belcher, chief executive officer of the King County Medical Society, the group that met that day. (Young, 12/20)

Bloomberg: Alzheimer’s Blood Tests May Detect Disease Years Before Symptoms Show
Even doctors who were initially skeptical about blood tests for the condition are gaining confidence that products from Quest Diagnostics Inc., Quanterix Corp. and C2N Diagnostics can help distinguish which patients may qualify for treatment with the experimental drug lecanemab, expected to be approved next year. The drug is the first ever to clearly slow the progress of Alzheimer’s, the brain-wasting disease that affects some 6 million Americans. (Langreth, 12/19)

The Washington Post: How Hobbies May Help Gird Against Dementia 
To many, the word “hobby” signifies something lightweight or trivial. Yet taking on a new hobby as one ages might provide an important defense against dementia, some experts say. About 5.8 million adults over 65 in the United States live with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 9 Americans over 65 has Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. And although the rate of dementia may be falling thanks to lifestyle changes, more of us are living longer, which means the societal burden of dementia is rising. (Rowan, 12/19)

In other mental health news —

CBS News: Navy Concludes Suicides Of Three Sailors Assigned To USS George Washington Were Not Connected
The Navy's investigation into the suicides of three sailors assigned to the USS George Washington concluded the deaths were not connected, but stress related to life in a shipyard environment was a "contributing factor" in at least one of the suicides. (Watson, 12/20)

The 19th: Missing Mental Health Data On Incarcerated LGBTQ+ Youth Worries Experts
Existing research shows that LGBTQ+ youth are at a greater risk of disenfranchisement that will put them on the path to prison. Yet how their mental health is affected while incarcerated, and the details of what they experience behind bars, is barely studied, experts say — dampening urgency to demand resources and inclusive policies. (Rummler, 12/19)

More health and wellness news —

CIDRAP: Report Describes Misdiagnoses Of Mpox 
A new study from Israel describes 26 cases of misdiagnosed mpox. Of the 26, 6 patients (23%) who were given a diagnosis of bacterial tonsillitis, 6 (23%) primary syphilis, 5 (19.2%) oral or genital herpes, and 4 (15.3%) bacterial proctitis or anal abscess. The study was published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. (Soucheray, 12/19)

Stat: Racism Can Put Sleep — And Its Health Benefits — Out Of Reach
Lots of people struggle to get enough sleep — and the responsibility for fixing the problem tends to fall on the individual. Experts offer advice like reducing screen time, exercising more, or just going to bed earlier in the evening. But many restless nights can’t be solved with blackout curtains, ear plugs, or other typical suggestions. (Courage, 12/20)

CNBC: Key Things To Know About Health Savings Accounts As You Near Retirement
If you have a health savings account and are nearing retirement age, be aware that some of the rules are different for the older crowd. HSAs, which can only used in conjunction with so-called high-deductible health plans, offer a “triple tax” benefit: Contributions are made pre-tax, any earnings are tax-free and qualified withdrawals also are untaxed. (O'Brien, 12/19)

In news about weight loss and obesity —

The Wall Street Journal: The $3,000 Fat-Removal Surgery Trending on TikTok
For anyone in the market, there are numerous ways to get a new face—not just Botox, facelifts and nose jobs, but injectable fillers, thread lifts and adhesive tape, among others. Now, yet another face-altering procedure is stirring attention online: buccal fat removal. Pronounced like “buckle,” buccal fat removal is a cosmetic surgery that extracts fat from the cheeks, giving patients the appearance of dramatic cheekbones and a thinner face. Photos of celebrities with exaggerated hollow cheeks have caused speculation to swirl on social media about who has undergone the surgery. Meanwhile, people on TikTok are posting warnings, jokes and updates about their own buccal surgeries. (Wong, 12/19)

The New York Times: What Is Buccal Fat? And Why Is Everyone Obsessed With Removing It? 
Before you ask, it’s pronounced like buckle. Buccal fat became the talk of some corners of the internet this week after social media users started speculating about celebrities who might have removed some for an extra-chiseled look. Buccal fat is a type of fat found in the midsection of the face that can, in some people, make a face appear more rounded. Surgically remove some of that fat, and the face will immediately look more sculpted. Well, almost immediately. Initially, most patients experience some swelling, but once that goes down, it’s hello, cheekbones! (Kircher, 12/16)

The Washington Post: New Drugs To Battle Obesity: What You Need To Know 
Getting the drugs has been a challenge for some patients. Huge demand and production problems have led to supply shortages in some cases. In addition, the costs are high and the insurance coverage for treating weight-loss — as opposed to diabetes, the original use — is patchy. But the market is changing rapidly, so stay tuned. (McGinley and Bernstein, 12/19)

Stat: An Insatiable Child, And A New Finding About The Genetics Of Obesity
Since infancy, she showed a constant desire for food. Throughout childhood, she was continually hungry except after eating very large meals. By the age of 12, her body mass index was 47.6 and she underwent bariatric surgery. Now, researchers have discovered a new genetic mechanism that likely explains her condition as a form of monogenic obesity, a rare type of severe obesity that starts at a young age and is caused by a defect in a single gene. (Chen, 12/19)

Stat: Pharma Wins Changes In Bill Regarding FDA’s Accelerated Approval
A bill that makes it easier for the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw drugs that were approved under an accelerated timeline also dropped provisions the industry had opposed, according to three drug lobbyists. (Wilkerson, 12/19)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Modern Healthcare: DEA: Truepill Wrongfully Filled Prescriptions For Stimulants
The Drug Enforcement Administration has alleged that online pharmacy Truepill wrongfully filled thousands of prescriptions for stimulants used to treat Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. (Turner, 12/16)

Stat: Eli Lilly Diabetes Drug Mounjaro In Short Supply, FDA Says 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared a shortage of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, the latest diabetes drug to be in short supply. Due to increased demand for the medication, pharmacies may experience delays in receiving full shipments of the 5-milligram dose through January, according to a posting this week on the regulator’s website. (Chen, 12/17)

Stat: Madrigal Experimental NASH Drug Delivers Strong Results 
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals said Monday that its experimental treatment for fatty liver disease improved liver biopsies by two different measures in a study of 950 patients, reducing the fat deposits and fibrotic scarring that are hallmarks of the disorder, known medically as NASH. (Herper, 12/19)

The New York Times: They Created A Drug For Susannah. What About Millions Of Other Patients? 
Susannah was the first person to receive a drug designed to treat KIF1A-associated neurological disorder, or KAND, a progressive disease caused by genetic mutations that affect just 400 people in the world. In doing so, the young girl and her parents have found themselves on the edge of personalized medicine. ... But other rare-disease experts doubt that a funding model based on donations will ever be large or sustainable enough to help millions of patients. They are searching for other ways to accelerate the technology’s development, which includes seeking help from for-profit businesses. (Hayden, 12/19)

On sickle cell disease —

Stat: Drugmakers Race To Find New Sickle Cell Drugs 
Next year, two curative gene therapies could be approved for sickle cell disease. Yet drugmakers are pouring billions into developing new and more conventional drugs for the disease, even if they are likely to be far less transformative for individual patients. (Mast, 12/19)

Stat: Why Are So Few Patients Taking The New Sickle Cell Drugs? 
At first, Lena Harvey didn’t realize anything had changed. She just started doing strange, unexpected things: Cleaning her living room, for example, or playing with her puppy, a black schnauzer named Apollo. It hit her as she walked in from the patio one day. She looked at her husband, Anthony, and asked, “Honey, I haven’t been complaining about pain, have I?” (Mast, 12/19)

Modern Healthcare: Health Systems Recruit Retired Clinicians To Rejoin Workforce
Bayhealth has been feeling the vice grip of the “Great Resignation” for years. The Dover, Delaware-based health system has offered bonuses and partnered with local nursing schools to alleviate its clinician shortage, but the strategies have only done so much. “A lot of people had to start thinking out of the box,” said Director of Education Angel Dewey. (Devereaux, 12/20)

KHN: Inside A Children’s Hospital: Struggling To Cope With A Surge Of Respiratory Illness
Waiting for their turn in the emergency room, dazed-looking parents in winter coats bounced crying children in their arms, trying to catch the eye of Dr. Erica Michiels. Us! Pick us next! they seemed to plead with tired eyes. Michiels directs pediatric emergency medicine at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lips pressed together in a thin line, she surveyed what she calls the “disaster” area. “People have been out here waiting for a couple hours, which is heartbreaking,” she said. (Wells, 12/20)

Bangor Daily News: Houlton Regional Named One Of Nation’s Best Rural Hospitals
When it comes to providing outstanding care to its patients, the Houlton Regional Hospital is viewed as one of the best in the business. For the second year in a row, the hospital has been named by the Leapfrog Group as one of the nation’s top rural hospitals. (Cyr, 12/19)

The Mercury News: Santa Cruz County Mental Health 911 Calls Analyzed In New Report
The front-line response to emergency calls involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis has been the subject of much debate on the local and national levels in recent years. But for the first time in Santa Cruz County, officials say they have a cross-jurisdictional survey that can serve as a “baseline of understanding” for ongoing discussions about how the response effort can be refined and improved. (Hattis, 12/19)

Bloomberg: Instacart Founder Apoorva Mehta Sued For Creating ‘Copycat’ Startup
Instacart Inc. cofounder Apoorva Mehta was accused in a lawsuit of using stolen trade secrets to create a healthcare startup that was a copy of an existing company. (Schneider, 12/20)

In global news —

Bloomberg: NHS Faces Crisis Week As UK Nurses, Ambulance, Health Workers Strike
People in Britain can call 999 if they have chest pains but shouldn’t contact the emergency services for problems that aren’t life threatening, a health minister said as nurses and ambulance workers go on strike. (Akil Farhat and Chandler-Wilde, 12/20)

AP: UK Sending 1,200 Troops To Fill In As Ambulance Crews Strike
The British government said Sunday it will dispatch 1,200 troops to fill in for striking ambulance drivers and border staff as multiple public sector unions walk off the job in the week before Christmas. (Lawless, 12/18)

The New York Times: One Day With An Ambulance In Britain: Long Waits, Rising Frustration
Rachel Parry and Wayne Jones, two paramedics with the Wrexham Ambulance Service, pulled up to a hospital in northern Wales with a patient just after 10 a.m. one early December morning. That’s when their wait began. It would be 4:30 p.m. before their patient, a 47-year-old woman with agonizing back pain and numbness in both of her legs, would be handed over to the emergency department of Wrexham Maelor Hospital. It was more than 12 hours since she had first called 999, the British equivalent of 911. (Specia, 12/20)

Bloomberg: Rise In Strep Throat Infections Should Worry Parents 
As if parents don’t have enough to worry about between the flu, RSV, Covid and all the other viruses circulating, here’s something new to add to the list of anxieties: severe cases of bacterial infections caused by strep A. (Lisa Jarvis, 12/19)

Stat: Stopping Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Starts With Kids
Americans have been warned — again — about lax attention to routine vaccinations. This time the warning comes from measles, an age-old, vaccine-preventable disease, with an outbreak in central Ohio among nearly 80 children and counting, almost all of them unvaccinated against measles. (Rhea Boyd, Bruce Lesley and Alexandra Quinn, 12/20)

Scientific American: RSV Is Surging. Progress In Preventing It Looks Promising 
Currently, we have no vaccine to prevent RSV. This may be partly why RSV is so unknown, as flu shot campaigns have made the influenza virus a part of our culture. We have only one preventative treatment for RSV that we save for the most vulnerable babies, a monoclonal antibody administered as a monthly injection during RSV season. (Janet A. Englund, 12/19)

CNN: Don't Send Grandma To The ICU This Christmas
It started with one person releasing a long, productive unmasked cough into the stale, recycled air on the rush hour train. The bodily fluids hung in the air like a certified holiday wrecking ball. In a matter of days, that single exhalation had transformed into a chorus of viral aerosols reverberating, unbridled coughs and sneezes and gargled throat clearings working in a sort of crude, sick harmony backed by a nose blowing percussion I envisioned infecting all bystanders, myself included. (Allison Hope, 12/20)

Houston Chronicle: Report Shows Poor Outcomes For Pregnant Women In Texas. Again
It took more than three months for the state of Texas to release its report Thursday documenting wide racial disparities and an increase in severe medical complications for pregnant women. (12/20)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare, Philanthropy Leaders Must Join Up To Aid Children's Health 
Healthcare leaders must harness the power of partnerships—and the fuel of philanthropy—in order to meet the rising needs of our patients. (Katy Welkie, 12/20)