AP: US Judge Finds For 3 Drug Distributors In WVa Opioid Lawsuit
A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one West Virginia county ravaged by opioid addiction. The verdict came nearly a year after closing arguments in a bench trial in the lawsuit filed by Cabell County and the city of Huntington against AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. (Raby, 7/5)

Bloomberg: Opioid Distributors Win Case Alleging They Fueled Drug Abuse In West Virginia
US District Judge David Faber said in an opinion Monday that McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. didn’t create a public nuisance in Cabell County, West Virginia, and its largest city, Huntington. The plaintiffs said that between 2006 and 2014 the companies delivered more than 127 million painkillers to pharmacies in the county -- or about 142 pills annually for each man, woman and child in the area. (Feeley, 7/5)

The Hill: Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of Pharmaceutical Companies In West Virginia Opioid Case
Judge David Faber rejected arguments from the city of Huntington, W.Va., and the Cabel County Commission that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.’s distribution of prescription opioids in Huntington and Cabel County caused an opioid epidemic and a “public nuisance” in those areas. The opioid crisis has taken a considerable toll on the citizens of Cabell County and the City of Huntington,” the ruling reads. “And while there is a natural tendency to assign blame in such cases, they must be decided not based on sympathy, but on the facts and the law. In view of the court’s findings and conclusions, the court finds that judgment should be entered in defendants’ favor.” (Gans, 7/4)

In other news about America's drug crisis —

KHN: Crowdsourced Data On Overdoses Pinpoints Where To Help
Men lined up outside the Corner of Hope, a homeless resource center, eyeing free supplies on plastic shelves inside a white van. Some wanted bags with toiletries or condoms, but others took kits that help them safely use drugs or naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medicine. (Rayasam, 7/5)

Anchorage Daily News: A Simple Solution For A Complex Problem: Palmer Installs Alaska’s First Publicly Funded Used-Needle Box
This month, a shiny blue receptacle that resembles a mailbox was installed in an alley behind Mat-Su Urgent Care in Palmer, across the street from the local fire department. The unassuming box marks a major step in a long-running campaign to combat the public health hazards posed by used hypodermic needles: It’s the first publicly funded used-needle disposal site in Alaska. (Berman, 7/3)

Los Angeles Times: Can A Target Gift Card Help Sway You To Stay Off Meth?
Researchers say such “contingency management” programs use the reward systems in the brain to nudge people away from drug use. “This isn’t just paying people to do what they should do,” said Steve Shoptaw, a UCLA professor of family medicine who has researched treatments for stimulant use disorder. “This is an intervention that actually stimulates the brain to work in different ways so that their goals are met.” (Alpert Reyes, 7/4)

CNN: Illinois Mass Shooting Again Shows Nowhere Is Safe From America's Gun Violence Contagion 
Television pictures Monday of police vehicles in Highland Park rushing to help beneath a billowing American flag added an ironic, new dimension to this latest horror. It took place as Americans gathered to celebrate the 246th anniversary of the freedoms inherent in American independence. Yet what unfolded encapsulated the quintessentially American cycle of death by firearms. When a gunman killed three people in a mall shooting in Copenhagen, Denmark, over the weekend, it was shocking because it was unusual. But while Monday's shooting outside Chicago was unexpected, another mass shooting in the US was hardly a surprise. (Collinson, 7/5)

Chicago Tribune: Highland Park Shooting: 6 Dead At Parade, Suspect In Custody
On an idyllic summer morning, from a rooftop high above the Highland Park Independence Day parade, a gunman aimed down at the floats and lawn chairs and strollers and opened fire... In all, six people were killed. Some two dozen others were injured, either by rifle fire or in the stampede away from the scene. The victims ranged in age from 8 to 85. (Sheridan, Rosenberg-Douglas, Pratt, Sobol, Gorner, Crepeau, Sweeney, Crowley, Lourgos and Good, 7/5)

The Hill: Illinois Governor On Mass Shooting: ‘A Celebration Of America Was Ripped Apart By Our Uniquely American Plague’
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) pointed to the “uniquely American” problem of gun violence in the wake of Monday’s deadly mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in his state, which left at least six people dead. “It is devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely American plague,” Pritzker said in a speech Monday evening from Highland Park. (Gans, 7/4)

The New York Times: A Local Obstetrician Rushed To Help The Wounded
Along with a local emergency room doctor, a surgeon and a few nurses, Dr. David Baum, 64, began triaging to help the victims — putting pressure on wounds and, when paramedics arrived, hanging intravenous drips. “I don’t think I did anything heroic,” he said. “I just did what a person who’s a physician would do to try and help a little bit.” The six people who were killed, Dr. Baum said, were clearly identifiable by their catastrophic, “evisceration-type” injuries. (Fahy, 7/4)

The New York Times: Illinois Has Among The Strictest Gun-Safety Laws In The Country, But Neighboring States Do Not
The authorities in Highland Park, Ill., said they had recovered a high-powered rifle after the mass shooting during the community’s Fourth of July parade. It was the state’s third mass shooting since Friday. Illinois has the sixth strictest gun-safety laws in the country, and the ninth-lowest rate of gun ownership, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading gun control advocacy group. The state has universal background checks, red flag warnings and safe storage requirements, though no assault weapons ban. (Hassan, 7/4)

And from Philadelphia —

Newsweek: Philadelphia July 4th Shooting Videos Go Viral: 'America Is A Horror Movie'
At the close of Independence Day celebrations in Philadelphia, masses of people gathered to watch fireworks. But the celebrations were marred when two police officers working security were shot near the Philadelphia Museum of Art at around 9:50 p.m. local time. The gunfire prompted a stampede on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with videos on social media capturing the panic as people ran for blocks in all directions in an effort to flee the violence. (Rahman, 7/5)

Fox News: Philadelphia Shooting: Democrat Mayor Rips Second Amendment, Says Only The Police Should Have Guns
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney suggested the Second Amendment and the United States Supreme Court were too lenient when it came to gun rights, following a shooting that injured two police officers near a Fourth of July event on Monday night. Standing outside the hospital where the two police officers were treated for gunshot injuries, Kenney told a group of reporters that only police officers should be allowed to own guns and that he is looking forward to retiring, so he no longer has to deal with gun violence. (Richard, 7/5)

Also —

Bloomberg: New York To Ban Guns In Most Public Places To Block Court Ruling
New York lawmakers on Friday passed gun legislation that would severely limit where guns can be carried and require background checks to buy ammunition. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) negotiated the legislation with leaders and said she would sign quickly. The bill is almost certain to draw a lawsuit. (Clukey, 7/2)

The Washington Post: Trauma Physicians Have Become Depressingly Prepared For Mass Shootings
“As we have said repeatedly since declaring gun violence a public health crisis in 2016, gun violence is out of control in the United States, and, without real-world, common-sense federal actions, it will not abate,” American Medical Association president Gerald Harmon said in a recent statement alongside the group’s latest letter to members of Congress. (Anders, 7/4)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Can Enforce 1925 Abortion Ban, State Supreme Court Says
Texas can enforce its abortion ban from 1925, the state Supreme Court ruled late Friday evening, a decision that exposes abortion providers to lawsuits and financial penalties if they continue to perform the procedure. The court overruled a district judge in Houston, who on Tuesday had temporarily blocked the state’s old abortion law from going into effect. (Despart, 7/2)

The Texas Tribune: At New Mexico Abortion Clinic, Calls From Texas Flood In, Wait Times Grow
With sympathy in their voices, the receptionists at the University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health relayed the same news into the phone over and over again Wednesday morning. “We’re scheduling about four weeks out.” (McCullough, 7/1)

From Oklahoma —

Oklahoman: Abortion Rights Groups Sue Over 2 Oklahoma Bans, Including Pre-Roe Law
Abortion providers and advocates filed a lawsuit Friday asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to strike down two laws that make it a felony to perform an abortion — one that’s been on the books since 1910, and one set to go into effect next month. In the lawsuit, the groups argue that the laws go against protections for personal liberty enshrined in the Oklahoma Constitution. (Branham, 7/1)

From Mississippi and Georgia —

Politico: Mississippi's Governor: Full Speed Ahead With New Abortion Restrictions 
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Sunday his state intends to press forward with its efforts to make abortion exceedingly rare in Mississippi, even as complex questions associated with its law — and others around the nation — continued to bubble up. “This entire court battle was never about winning a court case; it was always about creating a culture of life, and that’s exactly what we are doing here in Mississippi,” said Reeves, a Republican, on “Fox News Sunday.” (Cohen, 7/3)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Abortion Ruling Spotlights Immigrants’ Limited Access To Reproductive Care
In a statement, Georgia’s largest Asian American civil rights organization, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, called the Supreme Court decision “devastating” for women’s right to choose. Nationwide, women of color account for a disproportionately high share of abortions, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Georgia, non-White women accounted for 79% of all abortions in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available. (Grinspan, 7/5)

From Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Protesters Call For Abortion Access, Boycott July 4
For those gathered at Red Arrow Park Monday morning, the usual Fourth of July traditions of backyard barbecues and neighborhood parades were replaced with protesting and activism against the overturning of Roe v. Wade. "We are standing up for women's rights and human rights," said Jennifer Shevey, who attended the protest with her father and sister. "That's more important than celebrating Fourth of July right now." (Reid, 7/4)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Illinois Abortion Clinics Say More Medical Providers Needed To Meet Out-Of-State Demand
With Roe v. Wade overturned, Illinois abortion providers are trying to shore up enough medical staff to handle the anticipated influx of patients traveling for the procedure from other states — without disrupting or delaying care for Illinois residents. (Lourgos, 7/3)

Indianapolis Star: With Indiana Abortion Laws, Pregnant People Come From Other States
On Monday three days after the Supreme Court issued its groundbreaking decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, took a call from a colleague, a child abuse doctor in Ohio. Hours after the Supreme Court action, the Buckeye state had outlawed any abortion after six weeks. Now this doctor had a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant. Could Bernard help? (Rudavsky and Fradette, 7/1)

Missouri Independent: Missouri Doctors Fear Abortion Law's Vague Emergency Exception
Some Missouri medical providers are fearful that patients with high-risk pregnancies will face delayed care in life-threatening situations because doctors fear prosecution under Missouri’s newly-enacted abortion ban. “I’m following the rules that are made by people that have no understanding of medicine and science, and that’s extremely, extremely dangerous,” said Iman Alsaden, a doctor and medical director of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. (Weinberg and Kite, 7/3)

From Virginia, Maryland, and Maine —

ABC News: Supreme Court Marshal Asks State Officials To Prohibit Picketing Outside Justices' Homes
Supreme Court marshal Gail Curley is asking Maryland and Virginia officials to enforce state and local laws that prohibit picketing outside the homes of justices. Curley sent the requests to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Montgomery County executive Mark Erlich in letters dated July 1, citing an uptick in demonstrations since May -- when the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public. (Hutzler, 7/3)

Bangor Daily News: Maine Lawyer Who Won Right To Same-Sex Marriage Says That Decision Is Secure Despite Threat After Roe
The Maine lawyer who successfully argued for same-sex couples’ right to marry before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 said that decision was correctly reached despite Justice Clarence Thomas saying otherwise late last month as the court rolled back abortion rights. Despite expected legal challenges, that and other civil rights on which the court has previously ruled should be secure, Mary Bonauto said, and advocates like her are prepared to fight off those challenges. (Russell, 7/5)

The Hill: Why Kansas Will Be A Bellwether In Abortion Fight 
Kansans will vote on a state constitutional amendment on abortion on Aug. 2, setting the state up as a key bellwether for how abortion rights resonate as a voting issue ahead of the midterm elections. The amendment would overturn a 2019 state Supreme Court ruling finding that the Kansas constitution protects abortion rights, and then leave it up to the GOP-controlled legislature to decide how far to go in adding restrictions or bans on abortion. (Sullivan, 7/4)

Slate: Kansas Set Up an Election for Voters to “Decide” Abortion. Then It Stacked the Deck
On Aug. 2, Kansas will become the first state to put abortion policy in “the people’s” hands, holding a vote on whether to amend its constitution to remove the right to abortion. But there’s a catch: Kansas will hold its vote on abortion rights during the state’s primary election—a scheme deliberately crafted to minimize Democratic and moderate turnout and ensure the Amendment passes. (de Nevers, 7/5)

In other election news —

Vox: The States Pushing Abortion Ballot Measures In 2022 Post-Roe
Abortion rights are literally on the ballot in both red and blue states this year following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Voters in California and Vermont will consider ballot measures that would enshrine the right to abortion in their state constitutions. Meanwhile, Kansas and Kentucky are weighing their own measures to clarify that their state constitutions do not establish a right to an abortion, and Montana is considering whether to provide personhood protections to infants born alive after attempted abortions. (Narea, 7/3)

ABC News: Democrats Look To Raise $10M For Key Governors' Races With Abortion Access Fund
The Democratic Governors Association hopes to turn anger at the overturning of Roe v. Wade into big-dollar fundraising for critical races where governors will hold sway over abortion access at the state level. The DGA on Tuesday launched the "Protect Reproductive Rights Fund" to support gubernatorial races in states where access to abortion is at risk. (Demissie, 7/5)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tim Michels Won't Say If He Would Ban Plan B Pills In Wisconsin
Two of the three leading Republican candidates for governor are pledging not to ban emergency contraceptives in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that has halted abortion procedures in the state. While former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Delafield management consultant Kevin Nicholson say they won't ban Plan B and other such pills if elected governor, the leading candidate in the field won't say. (Beck, 7/5)

Politico: Abortion Fight Strains Democratic Alliance With Gen Z
A debate is raging inside the Democratic Party about whether it’s giving its base — especially those under 30, the generation that most strongly supports abortion rights — enough motivation to keep voting for the party, as federal Democrats struggle to meaningfully push back against the overturning of Roe v. Wade. (Schneider, 7/5)

Also —

Politico: HHS Was Asked To Seek An ‘Aggressive Strategy’ On Abortion By Biden, Becerra Says
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told NBC’s Chuck Todd that although the country must “heed the word of the Supreme Court,” the Biden administration is still seeking avenues to make sure people “have access to the care that they need, including abortion care.” President Joe Biden "has asked us to seek as aggressive a strategy as we can. But unlike the previous administration, we do intend to respect the law,” he said.

KHN: Listen: Julie Rovner Rehashes The ‘Roe’ Decision 
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on NPR/WAMU’s “1A” on June 24. She also discussed the impact of the ruling in the Carolinas on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks With Mike Collins” on June 27, and joined WBUR/NPR’s “Here & Now” on June 29 to discuss the Biden administration’s response to the Supreme Court’s decision. (7/2)

Columbus Dispatch: Abortion Pills Online? Ohioans Weigh Options Following Six-Week Ban
Ohio prosecutors won't be able to charge foreign doctors, and it's unclear whether a doctor in another state could be if a patient misrepresented their residency. Attorneys general and governors in several states have already pledged not to aid in the prosecution of abortion providers or patients. Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, doesn't think Ohio could tell the U.S. Postal Service what it can and cannot ship. And when asked whether he supported efforts to block people from obtaining abortion medication by mail, Gov. Mike DeWine said, "No." (Staver, 7/4)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans Stock Up On Plan B, Consider Sterilization After Roe Ruling
The day after the draft decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was leaked in May, 36-year-old Columbus resident Kristen Porter scheduled an appointment to have her fallopian tubes removed at the end of July. "If I have a health issue with a pregnancy, I don't feel confident anymore that I am going to have the ability to take the necessary medical steps to maintain my health or my life," she said. (Laird and Lagatta, 7/1)

More on abortion pills, Plan B, and misinformation surrounding both —

The Washington Post: People Seeking Abortions Encounter Flood Of Online Misinformation
False and misleading information about abortion is spreading online, and researchers fear it will only get worse in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs. On TikTok, videos suggesting that people use herbs to self-manage an abortion have racked up thousands of views. Antiabortion activists have shared false information on Twitter about the supposed dangers of abortion. And the New York attorney general sent a letter to Google last week urging the company to point abortion seekers on Google Maps to valid health-care offices that offer the treatment, rather than to “crisis pregnancy centers,” which try to dissuade people from getting abortions. (Lerman, 7/4)

Politifact: Fact Check: Does Plan B Cause Abortions?
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a slew of claims about reproductive health and what constitutes as an abortion have flooded the internet. Even topics that seemed like settled science — such as emergency birth control — have been thrown into the mix. (Putterman, 7/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Little-Known Abortion Pill Maker Faces Scrutiny
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has put a spotlight on a small manufacturer of abortion pills, which are emerging as a flashpoint between advocates and opponents of the procedure. Abortion-rights advocates have for decades lobbied for more access to mifepristone, the abortion medication that Danco Laboratories LLC manufactures under the brand name Mifeprex and sells for about $50 a pill. They want the Food and Drug Administration to remove safety restrictions on the drug, make it available without a prescription or expand its label to approve it for miscarriage, for which it is also sometimes prescribed, off label. (Whyte, 7/4)

Can employers be prosecuted for helping women? —

The Washington Post: Post-Roe, Can States Ban Employer Abortion Aid? It’s Not That Simple.
Offering abortion employment benefits carries legal risks for employers that go far beyond the usual threat of consumer boycotts of companies that take a position on a polarizing issue. Thirteen states have trigger laws criminalizing abortion immediately or within 30 days of Roe being struck down, and other states are expected to enact abortion bans soon. That means companies that offer abortion-related benefits to employees in those states could be accused of aiding and abetting criminal activity. (Miller, 6/30)

NBC News: What Will Abortion Assistance From Your Employer Look Like? It's Complicated
Many companies, quick to announce abortion assistance policies following last month’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, were vague on the details. Many offered reimbursement for travel, but few laid out plans on how employees could use such a benefit and maintain their privacy. “It’s important for companies to structure this in a way where an employee has to reveal as little as possible," said Brietta R. Clark, a professor of law at Loyola Law School. (Fieldstadt, 7/2)

Doctors struggle with new reality —

Houston Chronicle: Roe V. Wade Ruling Could Jeopardize The Quality Of OB-GYN Education In Texas, Experts Say
Dr. Paul Klotman, CEO and president of Baylor College of Medicine, acknowledged the potential disruptions in an email to faculty on Tuesday. Baylor is one of four major medical schools in the Houston area, including McGovern Medical School, the largest in Texas. (Gill, 7/3)

Stat: Fear Of Prosecution Forces Doctors To Protect Themselves Or Patients 
Last Wednesday, a patient walked into Julie Rhee’s fertility clinic in St. Louis with pelvic pain that was getting steadily worse. She had a history of ectopic pregnancies and, following months of IVF treatment, was showing all the signs of another one. A recently implanted embryo was growing inside the fragile walls of her fallopian tube, threatening to burst them open and cause internal bleeding at any moment. She needed surgery, and fast. For the first time, though, Rhee discovered her clinical judgment wasn’t enough. She would have to present her case to a hospital ethics committee. (Goldhill, 7/5)

AP: For Now, Wary US Treads Water With Transformed COVID-19 
COVID-19 is still killing hundreds of Americans each day, but is not nearly as dangerous as it was last fall and winter. “It’s going to be a good summer and we deserve this break,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. With more Americans shielded from severe illness through vaccination and infection, COVID-19 has transformed — for now at least — into an unpleasant, inconvenient nuisance for many. (Johnson, 7/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why UCSF’s Bob Wachter Says COVID Variant BA.5 Is ‘A Different Beast’
The new BA.5 strain of the COVID-causing virus is “a different beast” from ones we’ve already seen — more infectious and better able to evade immune responses — and “we need to change our thinking” about how to defend against it, according to a data-packed Twitter thread posted today by Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s chair of medicine. (Fagone, 7/4)

Los Angeles Times: Ultra-Contagious Coronavirus Subvariants Spread In California
In a sign of how the new coronavirus wave continues to spread across California, two-thirds of the state’s counties are now in the high COVID-19 community level, in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in indoor public spaces. This comes as health officials are warning of concerning weeks ahead as two new ultra-contagious Omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — spread. ... (Lin II and Money, 7/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: Is ‘Hybrid Immunity’ Still Possible In The Face Of New COVID Variants?
Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease doctor at Stanford, suffered the same fate as many people in January. Despite being vaccinated and boosted, he got infected with COVID during the surge of the highly infectious omicron variant. Then, just a few months later in May, he performed a routine COVID test one day before work and found himself infected with the coronavirus yet again. (Echeverria, 7/4)

In mask news —

AP: CDC Recommends 6 Washington Counties Should Wear Masks Again 
People in six Washington counties should begin wearing masks indoors in public and on public transportation again, according to recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest information from the CDC shows that Lewis County, Pacific County, Thurston County, Grays Harbor County, Garfield County and Spokane County all have COVID-19 community levels rated “high,” meaning they have had 200 or more new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, or they’ve had more than 20 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people within a seven-day period. (7/2)

The New York Times: A Clunky, Reusable Mask May Be The Answer To N95 Waste 
In the early 1990s, long before P.P.E., N95 and asymptomatic transmission became household terms, federal health officials issued guidelines for how medical workers should protect themselves from tuberculosis during a resurgence of the highly infectious respiratory disease. Their recommendation, elastomeric respirators, an industrial-grade face mask familiar to car painters and construction workers, would in the decades that followed become the gold standard for infection-control specialists focused on the dangers of airborne pathogens. (Jacobs, 7/3)

On the vaccine rollout —

WFSU: A West Palm Beach Nursing Home Owner Will Pay $1.75M In A Federal COVID Vaccine Probe
The owner of a West Palm Beach nursing home will pay $1.75 million to settle claims that it improperly diverted doses of COVID-19 vaccine to members of its board of directors and donors. (7/5)

Bloomberg: GSK’s New Vaccine Hire Looks Beyond Covid In Quest For Next Hit
GSK Plc is planning to launch a Covid shot that comes almost two years after Pfizer Inc. took the world by storm. For Phil Dormitzer, it’s a reminder of why he was hired at the UK drugmaker: to help return its immunization business to the top after it stumbled during the pandemic. (Paton, 7/3)

KHN: How Pfizer Won The Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Profit And Influence 
The grinding two-plus years of the pandemic have yielded outsize benefits for one company — Pfizer — making it both highly influential and hugely profitable as covid-19 continues to infect tens of thousands of people and kill hundreds each day. Its success in developing covid medicines has given the drugmaker unusual weight in determining U.S. health policy. Based on internal research, the company’s executives have frequently announced the next stage in the fight against the pandemic before government officials have had time to study the issue, annoying many experts in the medical field and leaving some patients unsure whom to trust. (Allen, 7/5)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Taking Steps Toward Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Requirement
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' announcement last week that it plans to start using payroll data to ensure nursing homes comply with staffing requirements is a move toward stricter regulation, experts said. Beginning Oct. 24, surveyors will use the Payroll Based Journal staffing data for inspections to ensure staffing requirements are met, such as having a registered nurse on site for eight hours per day or having licensed nurses on staff 24 hours a day. (Christ, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Proposes CoP For New Rural Emergency Hospital Model
Hospitals that participate in the new Rural Emergency Hospital model will have to meet criteria of participation similar to those for critical-access hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed Thursday. Rural Emergency Hospitals would need to accept Medicare, have average lengths of stay of 24 hours or shorter, eliminate acute care inpatient services, have transfer agreements with Level I or Level II trauma centers and meet federal employee training and certification requirements, according to a draft regulation. ... (Kacik, 7/1)

In other health industry developments —

Modern Healthcare: Aetna Drops Prior Authorization For Most Cataract Surgeries
Aetna will no longer require prior authorization for most patients seeking cataract surgery. The insurer reversed the year-old policy for its 24.5 million members except Medicare Advantage enrollees in Georgia and Florida. The change took effect Friday, and came after the insurer reviewed a year's worth of data on the surgeries, an Aetna spokesperson wrote in an email. (Tepper, 7/1)

Stateline: As Drugmakers Cut Off Discounts, Providers Fret For Low-Income Patients
Hospitals and community and rural health clinics that serve low-income patients say drug manufacturers have threatened their financial stability by dramatically cutting back their participation in a federal drug discount program that saves those health providers millions of dollars a year. (Ollove, 7/1)

Modern Healthcare: Cigna Sells International Assets To Chubb For $5B
Cigna completed a $5.36 billion sale of its life, accident and supplemental benefits businesses in six countries to Chubb, the insurance company announced Friday. Cigna agreed to divest its accident, health and life business in Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand in October. These assets will boost Chubb's premium revenues by $3 billion, the property and casualty, accident and health, reinsurance, and life insurance company said in a news release. (Tepper, 7/1)

ABC News: Listeria Outbreak Linked To Florida Ice Cream Brand
A listeria outbreak that caused one death in Illinois and sickened at least 23 other people has been linked to a Florida ice cream brand, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC advises consumers to discard Big Olaf Creamery brand ice cream they have at home. It also recommends cleaning any containers, utensils and areas that may have touched a Big Olaf ice cream product. (Alfonseca, 7/4)

In other public health news —

The Washington Post: At Last, Medical Guidelines Address Care For Adults With Down Syndrome
In the 1960s, the life span of a person with Down syndrome was just 10 years. Today, those life spans have stretched to 60 years. But until recently, no guidelines existed for treating the special health problems many adults with Down syndrome face. Now, a guide for families and caretakers breaks down a new set of advice on caring for the medical needs of adults with the chromosomal abnormality. (Blakemore, 7/4)

CBS News: Salmonella Found In A Third Of Ground Chicken, Consumer Reports Says
The nation is making little to no headway in preventing bacteria-laden chicken from landing in U.S. grocery stores and sickening thousands of Americans annually, with Consumer Reports finding in a recent test that one-third of ground chicken samples contained salmonella. (Gibson, 7/1)

USA Today: Binge Drinking May Create Risks Among Moderate Drinkers, Study Says
A study published in June in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found moderate drinkers were more likely to engage in binge-drinking behaviors, leading to an increased risk of alcohol-related problems. Researchers surveyed 1,229 drinkers ages 30 and older in 2004 to 2005, and again from 2015 to 2016. The participants were separated between moderate and heavy drinkers, with moderate drinking defined as having an average of one drink per day over the course of a week. (Fulton, 7/2)

Oklahoman: Researchers Say Running Might Help Cartilage In Our Knees As We Age
While researchers continue to examine why this appears to be the case, the most common hypothesis is that regular, weight-bearing exercises like running can help cartilage thrive. Indeed, a small study found that non-runners who participated in a 10-week running program saw improvements in a marker of cartilage strength and quality. For those who don’t or can’t run, a new study on walking offers hope. Scientists found that in more than 1,000 people aged 50 and over with OA in their knees, those who walked for exercise experienced the fewest bouts of new knee pain.(Cohen and McEver, 7/5)

In news about dementia and Alzheimer's disease —

The New York Times: New Dementia Prevention Method May Be Behavioral, Not Prescribed
Dementia cases are climbing along with an aging world population, and yet another much-anticipated Alzheimer’s medication, crenezumab, has proved ineffective in clinical trials — the latest of many disappointments. Public health experts and researchers argue that it is past time to turn our attention to a different approach — focusing on eliminating a dozen or so already known risk factors, like untreated high blood pressure, hearing loss and smoking, rather than on an exorbitantly priced, whiz-bang new drug. (Span, 7/3)

The Boston Globe: Can Biogen’s Backup Plan For Alzheimer’s Succeed? 
Everyone needs a backup plan, including one of the biggest biotech companies in town. So when Biogen earlier this year gave up on turning a profit from its beleaguered Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, the Cambridge company moved its chips to another experimental Alzheimer’s treatment. (Cross, 7/3)

AP: Colorado's Drop In Life Expectancy Blamed On COVID, Drugs 
Life expectancy dropped in Colorado for the second straight year in 2021. It’s the kind of decline, driven by the pandemic, not seen in decades, data from the state health department show. The average life expectancy for Colorado residents fell to 78 years in 2021. ... Key drivers for the decline were COVID-19 and overdose deaths. (Daley, 7/2)

Iowa sees its first case of monkeypox —

Fox News: Iowa Health Officials Say First Probable Case Of Monkeypox In The State Has Been Reported
A man in Iowa is infected with the state's first probable monkeypox case, according to health officials. The man was likely infected during a recent international trip and is isolating, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Officials are contact tracing to track possible exposure to other individuals. (Sabes, 7/3)

Bloomberg: Sexual Health Clinics Need Resources On Monkeypox, Study Shows
Health officials should review how they define monkeypox cases and urgently provide more resources to sexual health clinics, researchers said, as new infections climb across Europe. The first study of 54 monkeypox patients in the UK found that their symptoms differed from those seen in previous outbreaks and can potentially be mistaken for other infections, such as herpes and syphilis, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis. (Paton, 7/1)

And New York City addresses its bathroom shortage —

NPR: New York City Officials Work To Increase The Number Of Public Restrooms
Though New York City has the largest population in the country, it has around 1,400 public restrooms, according to a city report from 2019. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said Tuesday at a rally and press conference on the New York City Hall steps advocating for more restrooms. "That number, weighed against a city of eight and a half million [people], is paltry," he said. (Cope, 7/3)

Bloomberg: NHS To Trial Drone Delivery For Chemotherapy Drugs
The NHS is to use drones to courier chemotherapy drugs in a bid to speed up the delivery of vital medicines. It is hoped that using drone technology will one day enable doctors to make "same-day delivery" orders for drugs and medical equipment from anywhere in the country. (Pickover, 7/5)

In covid news from Britain and France —

AP: COVID Cases Up By More Than 30% In Britain Last Week 
The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious omicron variants. Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in the U.K. had COVID-19 last week, although there has not been an equivalent spike in hospitalizations. (7/1)

The Guardian: Dangerous Incidents At UK Laboratories ‘Potentially Exposed Staff To Covid’
Dangerous incidents at UK laboratories, hospitals and Covid test centres potentially exposed staff to coronavirus and other hazards over the course of the pandemic, according to official reports obtained by the Guardian. Many involved leaks and spillages of virus-laden fluids, but investigations also took place into a flood at an animal facility housing Covid-infected monkeys, mix ups that led scientists to work on live virus by mistake and a researcher being bitten by an infected ferret. (Sample, 7/5)

AP: With Hospitalizations Up, France Weighs Return To Masks
Tourism is booming again in France — and so is COVID-19. French officials have “invited” or “recommended” people to go back to using face masks but stopped short of renewing restrictions that would scare visitors away or revive antigovernment protests. (Surk and Le Deley, 7/2)

NBC News: America Is Waking Up To The Nightmare Of Women Being Jailed For Abortions
What do you do when the U.S. Supreme Court says your past reproductive choices could have earned you a prison sentence? As women who have had abortions, that is the question we ask ourselves after the court threw out 50 years of precedent that protected the right to abortion care when it reversed Roe v. Wade last month. (Aliyah Tihani Salim and Shivana Jorawar, 7/3)

The Washington Post: After Dobbs, Digital Privacy Is More Important Than Ever
In the 21st century, our phones might know we are pregnant before the people closest to us do — a reality that, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has become more dangerous than ever. (7/4)

The New York Times: I’m Terrified For My Patients Now That Roe Is Gone 
My wife and I practice in medical fields — obstetrics and pediatrics — that should be filled with happiness. And often they are, though we have selected sub-specialties that are often shrouded in sadness — high-risk obstetrics for me, and pediatric oncology for my wife. We have both watched children die while held in their mother’s arms. (David N. Hackney, 7/5)

The Boston Globe: It’s Time To Put Abortion Clinics On Federal Land
Immediately following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Senator Elizabeth Warren called on the Biden administration to act boldly. One of her requests was for the administration to use federal lands in antiabortion states to provide abortion care. (David S. Cohen, Greer Donley and Rachel Rebouche, 7/1)

Houston Chronicle: An IUD Saved Me. Supreme Court Should Leave Contraceptive Rights Alone
Earlier this month, I turned 50, not exactly the prime child-bearing age of someone you’d think would be fretting over the Supreme Court’s ruling. But anyone reading between the lines — or in the case of Justice Clarence Thomas, the actual, literal lines of his concurring opinion — knows that there’s no guarantee this court will stop with abortion. (Lorie Ruiz, 7/1)

Los Angeles Times: Abortion Ban 'Exceptions' Cannot Protect Life 
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade has already set into motion legal processes to criminalize abortion in at least 15 states, with immediate and catastrophic health consequences for pregnant people. (Jocelyn Viterna, 7/5)

Scientific American: Regulating Power Plants Is A Health Issue 
The recent Supreme Court decision in the case known as West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency weakened the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. At the heart of this ruling is the capacity of the U.S. federal government to regulate the release of substances that can be harmful to American people. (Matthew Meyer, 7/1)

Chicago Tribune: Internationally Trained Doctors Can Help Solve Doctor Shortage
When Adebola Olutoyin Hassan, a doctor and child health specialist, won the green card lottery, she was elated. Hassan, who was also an executive staffer with the United Nations, left her native Nigeria with her physician husband and two preteen sons. In 2019, the family settled in Illinois. (Jina Krause-Vilmer and Jeremy Robbins, 7/5)

Bloomberg: The Tampon Shortage Won’t Outlive America’s Period Taboo 
Over the past couple of years, shortages of everyday goods have become a fact of life. First came toilet paper, then infant formula. But messed-up supply chains have now claimed another victim: tampons. (Stephen Mihm, 7/2)

The New York Times: My O.C.D. Diagnosis Was A Blessing, Until It Became Too Central To My Life
Five years ago, seemingly out of nowhere, my brain fell into an abyss of unrelenting intrusive thoughts — What if I harm myself? What if I harm others? What if I’m crazy? — each of which was accompanied by electric shocks of anxiety and full-on sensations of dread. It was, by far, the most terrifying, vexing and isolating period of my life. My first moment of relief came four weeks later, when I finally got in to see a psychiatrist. (Brad Stulberg, 7/3)

Stat: Pulse Oximeters Accuracy Shouldn't Depend On A User's Skin Color 
Covid-19 made pulse oximeters an even more important tool for measuring the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream than they had been before. Widely used in hospitals and health systems, these small finger clips were also flying off the shelves in pharmacies and being ordered online. But pulse oximeters aren’t as accurate as many people — and doctors — believe. (A. Ian Wong, 7/5)

The Boston Globe: Gender-Affirming Health Care Is Simply Good Health Care
Gender-affirming care consists of listening to patients’ needs, providing options and clinical expertise. It removes judgment and barriers to accessing trained medical providers. While much of the dialogue has been focused on GnRH agonists (puberty blockers), hormones, or surgery, gender-affirming care is so much more. Gender-affirming care provides a framework of better health care for all, in a country whose overall health care system is badly in need of improvement. (Dallas Ducar, 7/4)