The Washington Post: House Passes GOP Debt Ceiling Bill, As U.S. Inches Toward Fiscal Crisis 
House Republicans on Wednesday approved a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, slash federal spending and repeal President Biden’s programs to combat climate change and reduce student debt, defying Democratic objections in a move that inched the United States closer to a fiscal crisis. Ignoring repeated warnings that the GOP’s brinkmanship could unleash vast economic turmoil, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) muscled his narrow, quarrelsome majority toward a 217-215 vote, accelerating a high-stakes clash with the White House with as few as six weeks remaining before the government could default. (Romm, Sotomayor and Caldwell, 4/26)

CNN: Work Requirements: Republicans Use Debt Ceiling Bill To Push Rules For Millions Receiving Medicaid And Food Stamps
House Republicans are using the debt ceiling standoff to advocate for one of their longstanding goals – requiring more low-income Americans to work in order to receive government benefits, particularly food stamps and Medicaid. They see work requirements as a twofer, allowing them to reduce government spending, while bolstering the nation’s labor force at a time when many businesses are still struggling to staff up. (Luhby, 4/26)

Politico: Why The Senate Isn't Jumping At The Opportunity To End The Debt Crisis
The Senate still isn’t ready to save the day on the debt ceiling. As the House GOP scrambles to pass its ultimately doomed bid to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, across the Capitol almost no one is working to devise legislation that can overcome a Senate filibuster, win a House majority and get President Joe Biden’s signature. And time is ticking: Financial analysts are increasingly worried that the nation could default on its debt by early June if the limit isn’t raised. (Everett, 4/26)

Politico: Biden: I'll Meet With McCarthy — But Not On Debt Limit 
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is open to meeting again with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — but would not give in to the Republican’s demand for negotiations on the debt limit. “Happy to meet with McCarthy,” Biden said at the end of a brief press conference at the White House. “But not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended. That’s not negotiable.” (Cancryn and Haberkorn, 4/26)

In related news about food insecurity and SNAP benefits —

Axios: "Dramatic Disparities" Among Nation's Hungriest
Hunger rates were highest among Black and Latino households, women and adults with disabilities in a snapshot of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The detailed look at who is most vulnerable to food insecurity comes at a time when a long-standing congressional fight over food stamps has become a central issue in the debt limit debate. (Horn-Muller, 4/26)

In other health news from Capitol Hill —

Stat: Pharma Executives Flood Bill Cassidy With Campaign Cash
Sen. Bill Cassidy’s new perch as the top Republican on the Senate health committee has attracted some attention — and some campaign cash — from the executives of pharmaceutical companies, federal disclosures show. (Cohrs and Owermohle, 4/27)

Stat: Another Powerful Committee In Congress Is Ready To Take On PBMs
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer plans to hold a hearing on the results of an investigation into the business practices of drug middlemen, he said Wednesday. Comer is not a fan of pharmacy benefit managers. The Kentucky Republican represents a rural part of the state, and independent pharmacists in rural areas tend to be vehemently opposed to some PBM business practices. (Wilkerson, 4/26)

Axios: Bipartisan Bill Would Subject Nonprofit Hospitals To FTC Oversight
Nonprofit hospitals could be subject to investigations for anticompetitive conduct under a bipartisan House plan first shared with Axios. The nonprofits comprise nearly half of all facilities in the U.S. but fall outside the purview of the Federal Trade Commission. There's been growing concern in Congress over secret contracting practices and other behavior that some lawmakers contend justifies more oversight. (Dreher, 4/26)

Roll Call: Senate Panel Airs Fallout From Supreme Court Abortion Decision 
The Senate Judiciary Committee dove into the partisan divide on abortion policy Wednesday in the aftermath of last year’s Supreme Court decision that overturned a constitutional right to an abortion. Committee Chair Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., framed the patchwork of legal decisions and state legislation on abortion as “chaos” in the wake of the June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. “Lives have been disrupted, lifesaving health care has been declared illegal, and women have been denied their fundamental liberties,” Durbin said. (Macagnone, 4/26)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Woman Denied Emergency Abortion Blames Cruz, Cornyn In Hearing
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, one of the five women suing Texas for abortion access blamed the state’s Republican senators for her near-death experience when she was denied reproductive care in the state. (Wermund, 4/26)

The Hill: GOP Senators Grow Weary Of Tuberville Abortion Stalemate On Defense Nominees 
Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) prolonged hold on the promotions of Pentagon officials is rattling fellow Republicans, who worry the potential cost to national security is starting to outweigh whatever political points Tuberville may be scoring against the Biden administration.  Tuberville on Tuesday blocked an effort to advance 184 military promotions and vowed not to back down anytime soon. The Alabama senator began holding up military promotions in February to protest the Department of Defense’s policy to give service members up to three weeks of leave to obtain abortions or undergo fertility treatments and reimburse their travel costs.  (Bolton, 4/27)

In abortion news from Kansas and Florida —

Kansas City Star: Kansas Enacts First Anti-Abortion Law Since Roe Fell After Lawmakers Override Kelly’s Veto 
Abortion providers in Kansas will soon face additional criminal penalties if they do not provide care to infants “born alive” in an abortion after lawmakers approved the first anti-abortion bill since voters overwhelmingly opted to retain the state-level right to the procedure last year. The Kansas Legislature voted Wednesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the bill, which goes beyond existing federal law protecting infants “born alive” in abortions to create new criminal penalties. (Bernard and Barackman, 4/26)

The Washington Post: Florida’s Conservative Chief Justice Once Affirmed Abortion Protections Under Privacy Clause 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a strict abortion ban hours after it overwhelmingly passed the Republican-led legislature this month — yet whether the law can take effect hinges on a case before the state Supreme Court. ... A paragraph in a little-noticed 2004 article by Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, then a private attorney, is now cited by abortion rights advocates in the case before the high court that will ultimately decide the fate of abortion access in the state. (Reinhard and Kitchener, 4/27)

Stat: Kaiser Permanente, Geisinger To Merge Into National Health System
Kaiser Permanente has agreed to acquire Geisinger and create a new national not-for-profit system that encompasses health insurance, hospitals, and medical groups. (Herman, 4/26)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: CMS Hospital Price Transparency Enforcement Toughened
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is strengthening enforcement of its hospital transparency rule by imposing stricter timelines and levying fines more quickly, the agency announced Wednesday. (Turner, 4/26)

Stat: Health Insurance CEOs Set Another Record For Pay In 2022
Business has never been better for the largest health insurers in the country, which led to another record-setting windfall last year for their chief executives. (Herman, 4/27)

Modern Healthcare: Walmart Health Expands Into Oklahoma 
Walmart Health plans to add four health centers in Oklahoma City in 2024, adding another state to its growing footprint. The new centers will be about 5,800 square feet each and located next to Walmart Supercenters, the mega-retailer said Wednesday. They will offer primary care, lab, X-ray, behavioral health, dental and hearing services, among others, although the offerings may vary by location. (Hudson, 4/26)

Modern Healthcare: Universal Health Services Considers Expansion As Staff Shortage Eases
Patient volumes rebounded and staff shortages began to moderate in the first quarter at Universal Health Services, signaling what CEO Marc Miller on Wednesday called a "year of continued transition into a post-pandemic world." Universal Health, a King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based for-profit system, reported more patients in acute care and behavioral health during the first quarter. Same-facility admissions in behavioral health grew 7.5% from a year ago, while acute care admissions jumped 7.2%. (Hudson, 4/26) 

The Boston Globe: Point32Health, State’s Second Largest Insurer, Has Yet To Restore Services Following Ransomware Attack
Over a week after it was targeted in a ransomware attack, Point32Health is still facing technical difficulties that have sidelined payments to providers and forced the insurer to use manual workarounds to meet some patient needs. (Bartlett, 4/26)

Also —

Fox News: Most Seniors In America Can’t Afford Nursing Homes Or Assisted Living, Study Finds
As many as 80% of aging adults in America lack the financial resources to pay for two years of nursing home care or four years of an assisted living community. That's according to a new study from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the LeadingAge LTSS Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston. (Rudy, 4/26)

Tampa Bay Times: What Dentists Accept Medicaid Patients In Florida? Too Few.
Every day, Adrienne Grimmett and her colleagues at Evara Health in Pinellas County see stories of inequity in their patients’ teeth, gums and palates. Marked in painful abscesses, dangerous infections and missing molars are tales of unequal access to care. All of these ailments — which keep patients out of work because of pain or social stigma, and children out of school because they can’t concentrate with rotting roots — are preventable. (Peace, 4/27)

AP: Feds Wrote $128M In Duplicate Checks To Docs, Report Finds
The federal government wrote duplicate checks to doctors who provided care for veterans, costing taxpayers as much as $128 million in extra payments, according to a new watchdog report out this week. In nearly 300,000 cases, private doctors were paid twice — once by the Veterans Health Administration and another time by Medicare — for the same care provided to veterans from 2017 to 2021, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found in its report. There’s been a spike in those duplicate payments since 2020, when the program that allows veterans to seek care from private doctors was expanded. (Seitz, 4/27)

The Boston Globe: ‘Everyone Gets Away With It Because There Isn’t Accountability’: Boston Center Launches New Plan To Reduce Medical Errors 
Nearly 30 years after Betsy Lehman died from an accidental overdose of chemotherapy drugs, Massachusetts facilities are still grappling with the issue of medical errors. (Bartlett, 4/26)

KFF Health News: How One Patient’s Textured Hair Nearly Kept Her From A Needed EEG 
Sadé Lewis of Queens, New York, has suffered migraines since she was a kid, and as she started college, they got worse. A recent change in her insurance left the 27-year-old looking for a new neurologist. That’s when she found West 14 Street MedicalArts in New York. MedicalArts recommended that she get an electroencephalogram (EEG) and an MRI to make sure her brain was functioning properly. (Lofton, 4/27)

KFF Health News: Expectant Mom Needed $15,000 Overnight To Save Her Twins 
It was Labor Day weekend 2021 when Sara Walsh, who was 24 weeks pregnant with twins, began to experience severe lower-back pain. On Wednesday, a few days later, a maternal-fetal specialist near her home in Winter Haven, Florida, diagnosed Walsh with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare complication that occurs when fetuses share blood unevenly through the same placenta. The doctor told her that the fetuses were experiencing cardiac issues and that she should prepare for treatment the following day, Walsh said. (Rayasam, 4/27)

AP: US Adult Cigarette Smoking Rate Hits New All-Time Low
U.S. cigarette smoking dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released Thursday. Meanwhile, electronic cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults. The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are based on survey responses from more than 27,000 adults. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and it’s long been considered the leading cause of preventable death. (Stobbe, 4/27)

In other health and wellness news —

USA Today: Uterine Cancer Rapidly Rising In Young, Hispanic Women In The US
For six years, Martha Dejulian Ronquillo suffered severe anemia and depression. The mother of two in her late 30s often called out of work as a housekeeper because of fatigue and pain. During those years, Ronquillo bled daily and heavily outside of her periods. The blood loss led to chronic depression and so much iron deficiency that she needed three iron transfusions. (Hassanein, 4/26)

Miami Herald: Havana Syndrome’s Victims Reject U.S. Intelligence Assessment
“Patient Zero,” an American official stationed at the U.S. embassy in Cuba, was in his Havana apartment one night in December 2016 when he heard a strange sound and felt what he described as a “head-crushing pressure” and a “massive ear pain.” The sound stopped after he moved to another residence, but the symptoms remained, he told the Miami Herald: “I would wake up with nosebleeds that wouldn’t stop.” (Torres, 4/26)

American Homefront Project: Navy Beefs Up Mental Health Care For Sailors Dealing With 'Rude Awakening' Of Military Life
The Embedded Mental Health Clinic at Naval Base San Diego is just steps away from the bustling waterfront that’s home to 51 Navy surface vessels. The clinic, which opened in October, serves the thousands of sailors stationed on those ships. San Diego’s clinic is one of several now in operation across the Navy’s surface fleet concentration areas around the world. Capt. Tara Smith, the mental health officer for Surface Force Pacific Fleet in San Diego, said the clinic’s 20 providers have been busy since it opened. Sailors working on ships experience stressors unique to their jobs, she said. (Dyer, 4/26)

Also —

Bloomberg: Amazon Is Winding Down Its Halo Health Trackers In Latest Cut
Amazon.com Inc. is pulling the plug on its line of Halo health devices as Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy seeks to wind down marginal programs and streamline the retail and cloud-computing giant’s businesses. (Day, 4/26)

The Washington Post: Keto, Paleo Diets Aren’t Helping Your Heart, Report Says 
Ketogenic and paleo diets may be trendy, but they won’t do your heart any favors. That’s the conclusion of a report from the American Heart Association, which analyzed many of the most popular diets and ranked them based on which approaches to eating are best and worst for your heart. (O'Connor, 4/27)

Fox News: Secret Of Keeping The Brain Young? Learn To Play A Musical Instrument, Says New Study
A new study has found that learning to play a musical instrument could be the secret to keeping our brains young. Scientists connected to the new study also shared a second benefit: They found that the ability to play music can make us better listeners as we get older. (Mackey, 4/26)

The Washington Post: Jogging And Weight Training Can Help Addiction Recovery, Study Shows
At a moment when substance-use disorders and overdoses are on the rise, new research offers hope for the addicted: People who exercised as part of their addiction treatment programs were substantially more likely to reduce their substance use than those who didn’t. The study, published Wednesday in PLOS One, found that incorporating simple workouts such as jogging or weight training into treatment improved the likelihood of recovery from a variety of substance-use disorders, including to cocaine, opioids, cannabis and alcohol. (Reynolds, 4/26)

KFF Health News: As US Life Expectancy Falls, Experts Cite The Health Impacts Of Incarceration 
After spending 38 years in the Alabama prison system, one of the most violent and crowded in the nation, Larry Jordan felt lucky to live long enough to regain his freedom. The decorated Vietnam War veteran had survived prostate cancer and hepatitis C behind bars when a judge granted him early release late last year. “I never gave up hope,” said Jordan, 74, who lives in Alabama. “I know a lot of people in prison who did.” At least 6,182 people died in state and federal prisons in 2020, a 46% jump from the previous year, according to data recently released by researchers from the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project. (Clasen-Kelly, 4/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: Judge Temporarily Blocks Missouri Transgender Care Restrictions
A St. Louis County judge has temporarily blocked Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s restrictions on transgender minors and adults accessing gender-affirming care. After a hearing Wednesday afternoon, Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo stayed implementation of the emergency order that was slated to go into effect Thursday. Among other reasons, Ribaudo said she wanted time to review a brief from Bailey’s office on a temporary restraining order requested by those suing to stop the restrictions. (Rosenbaum, 4/26)

St. Louis Public Radio: Trans Missourians Are 'Terrified' By Gender-Affirming Care Ban 
With Missouri on the brink of becoming the first state to implement sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for adults, transgender people and doctors in the state are warning that discarding years of established health care practices will put patients' lives at risk. “At this point, I'm terrified,” said Axel Pollack, 24, who began his own gender-affirming care in September through a Washington University gender clinic in Creve Coeur. (Wicentowski and Fentem, 4/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Sues To Block Tennessee Restrictions On Transgender Healthcare 
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Tennessee’s recent ban on certain healthcare for transgender minors, arguing the law violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. The suit targets a law signed last month by Tennessee’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee. Under the measure, doctors are prohibited from providing certain treatments to anyone under 18 even with parental consent if the procedure is used as part of transgender healthcare. (Timms, 4/26)

NPR: Trans Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr Punished By Montana Republicans
Republicans, who dominate the Montana House of Representatives, have voted Wednesday to formally punish Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr. Zephyr, who is transgender, has been blocked from speaking since last week. That's when she told supporters of a bill to ban gender-affirming care that when they bowed their heads in prayer, she hoped they would see "blood on [their] hands." She says she was alluding to studies that show that transgender health care can reduce suicidality in youth. (Ragar and Squires, 4/26)

The Baltimore Sun: Activists Demand Changes To Gender Identity Policies At Maryland Correctional Facilities: ‘It’s A Scary Place To Be’ 
Activists took to the streets in downtown Baltimore late Wednesday afternoon to call on state corrections officials to revise policies that affect transgender people who are detained in state facilities. At the rally led by Baltimore Safe Haven, a local outreach organization that provides support services for members of the trans community, advocates cited concerns over violence and safety as reasons for reform in the state’s corrections department, demanding updated rules governing how state-run facilities assign housing to trans people. (Belson and Lora, 4/27)

Also —

The New York Times: California Reconsiders Its Boycotts Of States Over Their L.G.B.T.Q. Laws 
On Tuesday, San Francisco — a bastion of gay and transgender inclusion — repealed its boycott, which had expanded to encompass 30 states that had passed laws targeting L.G.B.T.Q. rights or that had passed abortion restrictions or laws deemed to suppress voters. Unlike California’s ban, the city ordinance had gone beyond travel and prohibited business dealings with identified states. (Cowan, 4/26)

USA Today: 4 Dead In Klebsiella Pneumoniae Outbreak At Seattle Hospital
Four patients at a downtown Seattle hospital are dead in connection to an outbreak of a bacteria often found in health care settings that has developed resistance to some antibiotics. The infected patients, who contracted Klebsiella, were hospitalized in various departments, including inpatient medical beds, an ICU, and an operating room at Virginia Mason Medical Center, the hospital said in a statement released Wednesday. (Neysa Alund, 4/26)

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

North Carolina Health News: Contentious Blue Cross NC Bill Sails Through Legislature
A bill that would allow the state’s largest health insurer to restructure its corporate model has progressed quickly through North Carolina House of Representatives committees over the past two days, and it appears to be sailing toward becoming law. House Bill 346 would give Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina the leeway to create a nonprofit holding company that would become a parent to the 90-year-old insurance company and to any of Blue Cross NC’s current and future subsidiaries. (Hoban, 4/27)

Colorado Sun: Colorado Cities Still Won’t Be Allowed To Authorize “Overdose Prevention Centers” After Legislature Rejects Bill
Colorado cities still won’t be allowed to authorize the formation of centers where people could openly use illicit drugs under the supervision of health care workers or others trained in reversing overdoses after a state Senate committee Wednesday voted down a bill that would have provided a legal pathway for the sites. (Paul, 4/26)

AP: Ex-UCLA Gynecologist Sentenced To 11 Years In Sex Abuse Case
A former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing female patients, in a criminal trial that came after the university system made nearly $700 million in lawsuit payouts connected to the case. Dr. James Heaps, 66, has been in custody since a jury convicted him in October of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of two patients. After sentencing Heaps, Judge Michael D. Carter ordered him to register as a sex offender, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said. (4/27)

Minnesota Public Radio: Minnesota Sees Sharp Increase In Syphilis Cases
Syphilis cases in Minnesota rose 25 percent in 2022, reaching their highest level in years according to new data from the Minnesota Department of Health. Syphilis is a sexually-transmitted infection spread through direct contact with a sore. (Wiley, 4/26)

Wyoming Public Radio: As Seasonal Animal Activity Increases, The Wyoming Department Of Health Warns Of Rabies Dangers
The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is warning Wyomingites of the dangers of rabies as seasonal animal activity increases during the spring and summer. While there hasn’t been a noticeable increase in the number of rabies cases statewide, a rabies season is more noticeable during some periods of the year. (Cook, 4/25)

The Texas Tribune: Unaccompanied Migrant Children Face Unique Health Care Challenges
The number of migrant children traveling to the United States without a parent or guardian reached a record high last year, with nearly 130,000 eventually detained in federal shelters after crossing the border alone. In the same time period, 19,071 unaccompanied migrant children were released from federal shelters to Texas relatives or sponsors while their immigration cases made their way through the U.S. legal system. A new report released this week by the Migration Policy Institute and the American Academy of Pediatrics took a closer look at barriers to health care these children face once they are released to families and how those obstacles can impede their success in the United States. (Simpson, 4/26)

The New York Times: Century-Old TB Vaccine Fails To Protect Against Covid 
An old tuberculosis vaccine known to bolster the immune system did not prevent Covid infections among health care workers, scientists reported on Thursday. But the trial was shorter and smaller than originally designed, and the investigators said that the results did not rule out other potential benefits associated with the vaccine, known as B.C.G. for bacille Calmette-Guerin. (Rabin, 4/26)

CIDRAP: Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine 80% Effective Among US Teens 
The vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine was 79.5% among US adolescents before the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged, but the monoclonal antibody combo tixagevimab and cilgavimab showed little benefit for nonhospitalized COVID patients, according to two randomized, controlled trials published today in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 4/26)

Reuters: Second Judge Says US Not Liable In Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Case 
Moderna Inc failed to persuade a Delaware federal judge on Wednesday to shift liability from the company to the U.S. government for alleged patent infringement by Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. (Brittain, 4/26)

AP: Ban On COVID Vaccine Mandates Clears North Carolina House 
State agencies and local governments in North Carolina would not be allowed to deny employment to someone who refuses to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or prove they’ve been vaccinated, under legislation passed Wednesday by the state House. The bill passed the House 73-41, with three Democrats and all present Republicans voting in favor, and was sent to the Senate. (4/26)

More on the spread of covid —

Chicago Tribune: Illinois’ Blue Cross Will Stop Covering At-Home COVID-19 Tests When Public Health Emergency Ends Next Month 
Many Illinois residents will soon have to pay for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, with the state’s largest insurer saying it will no longer cover them once the federal emergencies for COVID-19 end next month. (Schencker, 4/26)

NBC News: Covid Variant 'Arcturus' Is Spreading: What To Know About XBB.1.16
XBB.1.16 — dubbed “Arcturus” on social media — is another descendant of omicron. It was first detected in early January and the majority of cases have been seen in India so far. It’s been steadily rising in the U.S. in recent weeks, although it still made up slightly less than 10% of new confirmed Covid cases as of Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Syal and Miller, 4/26)

CIDRAP: Increased Physical Activity Associated With Lower Risk Of Severe COVID-19
A South Korean study shows a complex relationship between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and COVID-19, with a regular exercise habit linked to COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic but also associated with a significantly lower risk of developing severe symptoms. The study was published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Soucheray, 4/26)

AP: First Pill For Fecal Transplants Wins FDA Approval 
U.S. health officials on Wednesday approved the first pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste to fight dangerous gut infections — an easier way of performing so-called fecal transplants. The new treatment from Seres Therapeutics provides a simpler, rigorously tested version of stool-based procedures that some medical specialists have used for more than a decade to help patients. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the capsules for adults 18 and older who face risks from repeat infections with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can cause severe nausea, cramping and diarrhea. (Perrone, 4/27)

In updates on drug shortages —

Bloomberg: Penicillin Shortage In US As Syphilis, Strep Cases Rise 
A common type of penicillin used to treat syphilis is in short supply in the US as cases of the sexually transmitted disease continue to rise. Penicillin G benzathine, an antibiotic sold in the US by Pfizer Inc., was added to the Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list on Wednesday. Pfizer has limited supply of the drug because of increased demand, according to the agency, and the situation may persist into September. (Swetlitz, 4/26)

CIDRAP: Some Critical Drugs Have Been In Shortage For More Than 8 Years 
At least 20 critical drugs have been intermittently in shortage since 2015, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) database. All but three of these drugs are also on the Resilient Drug Supply Project's (RDSP's) Critical Acute and COVID-19 Drug List. The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) drug shortage database includes some, but not all, of the drugs as being in shortage. (Van Beusekom, 4/26)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Alnylam’s ‘Upstream’ Alzheimer’s Treatment Shows Early Promise
An early-stage Alzheimer’s disease treatment from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals showed promising signs of benefit in a small clinical trial, the company said Wednesday, suggesting the medicine might be able to prevent the toxic brain plaques thought to drive the disease. (Garde, 4/26)

Stat: Early Look At Gene Therapy Death Suggests CRISPR Wasn't Cause
In February, four months after the first patient in the trial of a designer CRISPR therapy suddenly died, around 100 researchers gathered in a Tucson, Ariz., conference hall to hear investigators in the study walk through the results of an autopsy. (Mast, 4/26)

NBC News: Ritalin, Amphetamines Often Prescribed With Antidepressants, Research Finds
A large number of U.S. adults are being prescribed drugs like amphetamines, which have a risk for misuse, along with medications for depression and anxiety, a new study has found. The practice, the authors say, could lead to higher rates of misuse and addiction and cause unknown side effects. (Lovelace Jr., 4/26)

The Atlantic: Weight-Loss Surgery Still Beats Ozempic
The Ozempic craze shows no signs of slowing. Demand for the drug, popularly used for weight loss, is so monumental that it is already changing the diet industry and spurring a “marketing bonanza” among the dozens of telehealth start-ups that now prescribe it. A highly public ad campaign from one start-up, Ro, banks on the drug’s simple premise: “A weekly shot to lose weight.” (Tayag, 4/25)

Also —

CNBC: No Prison Yet For Elizabeth Holmes Following Last-Ditch Appeal
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will not go to prison this week, despite a judge’s order that she begin serving her 11-year sentence on Thursday. Late Tuesday, Holmes’ attorneys appealed that ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Under the court’s rules, that means Holmes will remain free on bail for now. (Cohn, 4/26)

CIDRAP: Urgent Care Survey Links High Expectation For Antibiotics With Patient Satisfaction 
A survey of patients at urgent-care centers (UCCs) in five states suggests patient satisfaction scores are associated with higher expectation for antibiotics, researchers reported today in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology. (Dall, 4/26)

CIDRAP: In Low-Resource Nations, Lack Of Diagnostics Hampers Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance
In a study published last year in The Lancet, an international team of researchers estimated that 1.27 million people died in 2019 from an antibiotic-resistant infection, and nearly 5 million deaths were associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR).The study—one of the first to put hard numbers on the global burden of AMR—revealed that drug-resistant bacterial pathogens are a major global health threat and are as deadly as infectious diseases like HIV and malaria. And while they are threat to the whole world, the highest mortality burden is in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. (Dall, 4/19)

ScienceDaily: A Simple Paper Test Could Offer Early Cancer Diagnosis
Engineers designed a nanoparticle sensor that could enable early diagnosis of cancer with a simple urine test. The sensors, which can detect many cancerous proteins, could also be used to distinguish the type of a tumor or how it is responding to treatment. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 4/25)

CIDRAP: Study: ICU Patients Suffer From More Post-COVID Symptoms 
A small German study today in Scientific Reports reveals higher levels of post-COVID-19 symptoms and problems in patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) compared with non-ICU patients. The single-center study at the University Hospital of Wuerzburg looked at outcomes for 85 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from March to December 2020, with patients interviewed 3 and 12 months after discharge about quality of life, lingering symptoms, and mental health following their infection. (Soucheray, 4/26)

ScienceDaily: Study Links Nutrients, Brain Structure, Cognition In Healthy Aging 
In a new study, scientists explored the links between three measures known to independently predict healthy aging: nutrient intake, brain structure and cognitive function. Their analysis adds to the evidence that these factors jointly contribute to brain health in older adults. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau, 4/25)

Chicago Tribune: I Was Diagnosed With Autism At 33. Here Is Why Autism Diagnostic Tests Leave Females Behind
The vast majority of women on the autism spectrum will never be diagnosed. Many are not diagnosed until well into adulthood, sometimes only when their own children are assessed. Or, as I experienced, they will be misdiagnosed and labeled with other cognitive conditions or intellectual disabilities. These errors are not harmless; misdiagnosis can lead to inappropriate or ineffective treatment, even exacerbating some of autism’s most debilitating symptoms. (Aspen Matis, 4/26)

Stat: Judge Orders Religious Exemption For Vaccines In Mississippi 
Mississippi consistently ranks last or near-last in the United States on measures of health. But for decades, it ranked highest in vaccination rates, because of its strong vaccination law. Now, that singular achievement may change, thanks to a case brought by an anti-vaccine group. (Dorit R. Reiss and Arthur L. Caplan, 4/27)

Miami Herald: Abortion Ban Makes Women And Girls Of Color More Vulnerable 
On April 13, during Black Maternal Health Week, a week-long campaign begun six years ago by reproductive and birth justice advocates, Gov. Ron DeSantis banned most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — effectively, a total ban. (Jamarah Amani and Melanie Williams, 4/26)

The New York Times: They’re Severely Mentally Ill. Is It Ethical To Help Them Die?
Next year, Canada’s health care system is set to undergo a controversial change, when people struggling with severe mental illness will gain the legal right to request help from a doctor in ending their lives. (Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 4/27)

Dallas Morning News: Texas Bill Can Help Patients With Chronic Conditions
I have had a long career in health care and saw firsthand how devastating it was for patients to be turned away from the care they need because of sticker shock. For more than a decade I worked at a national pharmacy chain. (Clorinda Walley, 4/27)

The New York Times: Who’s To Blame For A Million Deaths? 
It has been a brutal three years. As the Covid-19 death toll first grew past 100,000 and then did that 11 times over, the country cast around desperately for those to blame, not just for the growing mountain of American deaths but also for unprecedented disruptions to the lives of survivors. (David Wallace-Wells, 4/26)

The Star Tribune: Stay Ahead Of COVID Whenever You Can
New guidance from federal health officials has cleared a second "bivalent" COVID booster shot available for those 65 and older and those with health conditions that weaken their immune systems. "Bivalent" just means that the shot protects against new strains of the COVID-19 virus. (4/26)

Also —

Bloomberg: Biogen’s Qalsody Is A First For ALS Treatments 
The Food and Drug Administration’s conditional approval of Qalsody, a drug developed by Biogen Inc., could be carving out a new path for treatments for ALS. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/26)

Bloomberg: PBMs: Pharmacy Benefit Managers Help Explain High US Drug Prices
The US spends more on prescription drugs than any other country in the world. It’s easy to blame drugmakers, but they’re by no means the only ones at fault. Lowering costs will also require lawmakers to scrutinize pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen in a bewilderingly opaque supply chain. (4/26)