NPR: More People Than Ever Buy Insurance On Healthcare.Gov
The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces just hit a record: Nearly 16 million people signed up for the insurance also known as Obamacare. That is about a million more people than signed up for ACA health insurance last year, and enrollment was still open on Healthcare.gov and in most state marketplaces through this past Sunday. (Simmons-Duffin, 1/13)

CNN: Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment Ended Sunday Amid Record Sign-Ups
A few states that run their own exchanges, including California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, as well as the District of Columbia, are allowing residents to enroll as late as January 31. (Luhby, 1/13)

On uninsured rates —

CNBC: U.S. Uninsured Rate Fell During Covid Pandemic, Medicaid, Obamacare Coverage Grew
The number of people in the U.S. without health insurance declined during the Covid-19 pandemic even as millions of people lost coverage through their employers due to layoffs. The uninsured rate in the U.S. for people under age 65 dropped from 11% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2021, according to a report released Friday by the Health and Human Services Department. (Kimball, 1/13)

Fierce Healthcare: HHS: Uninsured Rates Decline For Younger Americans
More Americans in key demographics that have been historically uninsured saw coverage gains from 2019 through 2021, a new federal report finds. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report Friday detailing gains in coverage from 2019 through 2021. Officials attributed a decline in the uninsured rate from 11.1% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2021 due to expansions in Medicaid and other gains via the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA's) marketplace. (King, 1/13)

From the states —

Capitol Beat News Service: Georgia Affordable Care Act Enrollment Soars
A record number of Georgians – over 846,000 – signed up for health insurance for 2023 under the Affordable Care Act during the latest open enrollment period, which ended on Sunday. That’s about 8% of the state’s population, and at least 145,000 more than signed up for the program last year. (Grapevine, 1/16)

Montana Free Press: How An Obamacare Remnant Survives And Prospers In Montana
As health-insurance cooperatives created by “Obamacare” collapsed like dominoes in the mid-2010s, the Montana co-op faced its own multimillion-dollar chasm, created by an obscure political deal in Washington, D.C. But the Helena-based Mountain Health Co-op scratched out a $15 million loan to stay afloat — and this month hit its highest customer numbers ever, as one of just three Obamacare-created co-ops still alive nationwide. (Dennison, 1/16)

NBC News: Starting Tuesday, All U.S. Military Veterans In Suicidal Crisis Will Be Eligible For Free Care At Any VA Or Private Facility
Beginning Tuesday, U.S. military veterans who find themselves in suicidal crisis will be eligible for free emergency medical care at any Department of Veterans Affairs facility or any private facility. Unlike for most other medical benefits, veterans do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to be eligible. More than 18 million veterans in the U.S. could be eligible. (Kube, 1/13)

Axios: Veterans Eligible For Free Emergency Suicide Care Starting Jan. 17
Any U.S. military veteran in "acute suicidal crisis" will be able to access emergency health care at any facility for free starting next week, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday. (Chen, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Study Finds Insufficient Mental Health Care Access For Many In Military 
Military members and their families have unique mental health needs. But a study shows that up to 35 percent of military recipients don’t have access to adequate psychiatric care despite government insurance that covers such services. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study looked at 39,487 U.S. Zip codes with at least one beneficiary of Tricare, the Defense Department health-care program that covers uniformed service members, retirees and their families. Researchers combined data from a variety of federal sources with community information. (Blakemore, 1/16)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

In other news about the military —

Military Times: An Army Family Doctor Now Leads The Defense Health Agency
The system that delivers health care for more than 9 million service members, retirees and their family members has a new director: Army Maj. Gen. Telita Crosland. She becomes the Defense Health Agency’s fourth director in its nearly 10 years of existence, and the first African American in that position. (Jowers, 1/11)

Health.Mil: Military Pharmacists Face Unique Challenges While Deployed 
Tasked with having to know about hundreds of types of drugs and their interactions, equipment, and much more, pharmacists are vital in keeping warfighters healthy and ensuring that the U.S. military maintains a medically ready force. For deployed pharmacists, they face unique challenges, as they don’t work in a traditional brick and mortar setting. Rather, deployed pharmacists can be on a ship in the middle of the ocean, or in a makeshift building in the Middle East or Africa. The deployed pharmacy workforce may have to take care of warfighters in abnormal situations or locations. (Hammer, 1/12)

Roll Call: Congress Barely Dents Scourge Of Hunger In Military 
A recently enacted income supplement for low-ranking U.S. troops, put in place primarily to alleviate food insecurity in the ranks, will help less than 1 percent of the estimated scores of thousands of hungry U.S. military families, according to Pentagon figures. That statistic, which has not been previously reported, suggests Congress has a lot more work to do to ensure servicemembers who put their lives on the line for their country don’t also have to sacrifice food for themselves and their families, experts and some lawmakers said. (Donnelly, 1/13)

Politico: Airplane Lavatories Deliver New Hope For The CDC’s Variant Hunt 
As Covid-19 cases explode in China and new viral threats loom, the Biden administration is ramping up surveillance of biological samples from international passengers arriving at U.S. airports to scan for new virus variants and other hazards to Americans’ health. (Mahr, 1/16)

NPR: U.S. Airport Screening For COVID Variants Expanded
It's early morning at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.,and Ana Valdez is already hard at work at one of the international gates. "Hello everybody. Welcome," she shouts with a big smile as arriving travelers flood through two large swinging doors. "Do you like to help the CDC to find new variants for COVID?" Valdez works for a year-old program that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently expanded to try to spot new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, coming into the country. The most recent expansion was prompted by China's abrupt decision to abandon its zero-COVID policy. (Stein, 1/14)

CIDRAP: Almost A Fourth Of Air Passengers Screened From China Had COVID-19, Report Reveals 
Italian officials who screened 556 airline passengers from two Chinese provinces in late December found that almost a quarter of them tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, with one flight having 42% of passengers infected, according to a report yesterday in Eurosurveillance. (Wappes, 1/13)

In related news from China —

Bloomberg: China Finds No New Covid Variants But Mutation Threat Lingers
China has yet to detect any dangerous Covid mutations in the six weeks since the virus was unleashed on the country’s 1.4 billion people after the abandonment of the rigid curbs that held the pathogen largely at bay. (Fay Cortez, 1/13)

Reuters: In China, Doctors Say They Are Discouraged From Citing COVID On Death Certificates 
During a busy shift at the height of Beijing's COVID wave, a physician at a private hospital saw a printed notice in the emergency department: doctors should “try not to” write COVID-induced respiratory failure on death certificates. Instead, if the deceased had an underlying disease, that should be named as the main cause of death, according to the notice, a copy of which was seen by Reuters. (Pollard and Tham, 1/17)

Reuters: In China, No Easy Way To Get Pfizer's COVID Drug Paxlovid 
Chinese authorities have acknowledged that supplies of Paxlovid are still insufficient to meet demand, even as Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said last week that thousands of courses of the treatment were shipped to the country last year and in the past couple of weeks millions more were shipped. (Yu and Pollard, 1/15)

The Washington Post: China’s Population Shrinks For First Time In 60 Years
China’s population shrank last year for the first time since the immediate aftermath of a devastating famine in the Mao era, in a clear sign that the country is facing a looming demographic crisis worsened by decades of coercive policy that limited most families to a single child. (Shepherd, 1/17)

The Washington Post: Covid During Pregnancy Increases Risk Of Maternal Death 
Pregnant people infected with the coronavirus have a seven times higher risk of dying compared with pregnant individuals who are not infected, a finding that arrives amid renewed calls for vaccination of those who are expecting a baby. Researchers, whose findings were published Monday in the journal BMJ Global Health, pooled patient data from more than 13,000 pregnant individuals included in 12 studies from 12 countries, including the United States. Along with a higher death rate, infected pregnant people had a greater risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit, needing a ventilator or developing pneumonia if they have a coronavirus infection. (Malhi, 1/16)

The Hill: Meta-Study Highlights COVID Dangers During Pregnancy
A new scientific review published Monday found that a COVID-19 infection at any time during a pregnancy increases the risk of maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidities and adverse newborn outcomes. (Sforza, 1/16)

In other covid research —

The Wall Street Journal: Exercise Helps Blunt The Effects Of Covid-19, Study Suggests 
People who exercise regularly had lower rates of hospitalization and death from Covid-19 in a study published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. ... This latest study goes a step further and suggests that even people whose age or health conditions make them higher-risk have better outcomes if they are regular exercisers. (Janin, 1/16)

More on the spread of covid —

Fox News: Omicron Subvariant XBB.1.5 Possibly More Likely To Infect Those Who Are Vaccinated, Officials Say
"Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 73% of all sequenced COVID-19 cases in NYC," the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene tweeted on Friday. "XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible form of COVID-19 that we know of to date and may be more likely to infect people who have been vaccinated or already had COVID-19." (Musto, 1/14)

Axios: WHO Questions Severity Of XBB.1.5 COVID Subvariant As U.S. Cases Rise
The Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is still gaining ground within the United States, accounting for at least 43% of sequenced cases from the last week, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Scribner, 1/14)

The Atlantic: Let's Call XBB.1.5 The 'Kraken' Coronavirus Subvariant
A new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly taking over in the U.S.—the most transmissible that has ever been detected. It’s called XBB.1.5, in reference to its status as a hybrid of two prior strains of Omicron, BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. It’s also called “Kraken.” Not by everyone, though. The nickname Kraken was ginned up by an informal group of scientists on Twitter and has caught on at some—but only some—major news outlets. (Engber, 1/13)

ABC News: Several Celebrities Test Positive For COVID After Golden Globes
In the wake of the Golden Globes last week, several celebrities said they have tested positive for COVID-19. At least four stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Pfeiffer, revealed they contracted the virus following the awards show. (Kekatos, 1/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Virus Spread Among Animals “Much Wider Than Previously Thought”
The coronavirus has been detected in nearly 400 domestic pets, including cats and dogs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has also been detected in captive zoo animals such as tigers, lions, gorillas, snow leopards, and otters. But experts say transmission among wild species is also common, even though federal officials have so far only detected the virus that causes COVID-19 in three so far —mink, mule deer, and white-tailed deer. (Vaziri, 1/13)

On long covid —

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID In California: Study Finds ‘Lifelong Disabilities’ From Long COVID
A significant proportion of individuals with long COVID may face lifelong disabilities, according to a comprehensive review of studies of the little-understood post-infection condition published Friday by researchers at Scripps and the Patient-Led Research Collaborative. (Vaziri, 1/13)

The Washington Post: For Long Covid Fatigue, A Strategy Called "Pacing" Helps, But At A Cost 
What is it like to live with the chronic fatigue of long covid? It feels like dragging your body through wet cement, says Judy Schaefer, 58, a once avid hiker who lives in Seattle. It’s knowing that simple tasks, like showering or cooking dinner, will be exhausting, says Alyssa Minor, 36, a physiotherapist in Calgary. It’s trying to exercise and instead, landing in the ER, says Harry Leeming, 31, of London. (Morris, 1/16)

On the "tripledemic" —

Los Angeles Times: 'Tripledemic' Has These LAUSD Parents Seeking Mask Mandate
At the first sign of a sniffle or stormy weather ahead Lourdes Lopez keeps her 10-year-old daughter, Alison, home from school. Alison has Down syndrome and is more vulnerable to illness. A cold can be a major hardship, Lopez said, not only for her daughter but her entire family living in an overcrowded apartment in South Los Angeles. (Reyes-Velarde and Blume, 1/16)

CIDRAP: US Flu Activity Declines Further 
Flu activity continues in the United States, but markers continue to decline across most of the country, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update, which covers the week ending Jan 7. The percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness dropped from 5.4% to 4% last week. Twenty-three jurisdictions reported high (21) or very high (2) flu activity, another indicator of clinic visits for flu, down from 39 in the previous reporting week. Sites still reporting very high flu activity include New York City and New Mexico. (Schnirring, 1/13)

Reuters: Walgreens Removes Purchase Limits On Children's Fever Medicines 
Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said on Monday it has removed online-only purchase limits for its over-the-counter pediatric fever-reducing products, as supply conditions improve. (1/16)

CNBC: CDC Says It’s ‘Very Unlikely’ Pfizer Booster Carries Stroke Risk For Seniors After Launching Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday said it is “very unlikely” the Pfizer omicron booster carries a risk of stroke for seniors after it launched an investigation into a preliminary safety concern detected by one of its monitoring systems. (Kimball, 1/13)

Fox News: CDC Identifies Possible 'Safety Concern' For Certain People Receiving COVID Vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that a preliminary COVID-19 vaccine "safety signal" has been identified and is investigating whether the Bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine creates an increased risk of ischemic stroke in people 65 and older. In the Friday statement, the CDC said that the preliminary signal hasn't been identified with the Bivalent Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Sabes, 1/13)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Bivalent Vaccine Linked To Strokes On Preliminary Data
The potential risk with Pfizer’s vaccine was not seen in other safety databases, nor was it seen with Moderna Inc.’s Covid vaccine, the officials said in a statement on the Food and Drug Administration’s website. The early finding still needs more investigation, and recommendations for the vaccine have not been changed, the statement said. (Langreth and Rutherford, 1/13)

In related news about vaccines and covid treatments —

FiercePharma: Martha Stewart Stars In A 'Kill COVID-19' Spot For Pfizer
Pfizer’s new COVID-19 booster ad starring Martha Stewart is both rather odd and strangely compelling to watch in a definitive departure from its previous conservative vaccine commercials. The 30-second spot, “Unwelcome Guest,” features Stewart in her beautifully perfect kitchen calmly sharpening a massive Samurai sword. (Coey, 1/13)

CIDRAP: Trial Finds That Fluvoxamine Doesn't Speed COVID Recovery
The antidepressant fluvoxamine doesn't shorten the duration of COVID-19 symptoms in mildly to moderately ill adults, according to a randomized clinical trial (RCT) published yesterday in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 1/13)

CIDRAP: Convalescent Plasma May Cut Risk Of Death In Immune-Impaired COVID Patients
A Mayo Clinic–led meta-analysis suggests that transfusion of COVID-19 convalescent plasma improves survival in hospitalized, infected patients who have impaired immune systems. The antibody-rich plasma, donated by COVID-19 survivors, may help prevent the reinfections to which these high-risk patients are susceptible, the researchers said. The study was published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 1/13)

Axios: The Symbolic End Of Operation Warp Speed
The departure of COVID chief science officer David Kessler, announced Friday by the White House, marks the unofficial end of the "Operation Warp Speed" era and the extraordinary all-of-government response to the pandemic. (Owens, 1/14)

The New York Times: David Kessler, Leader Of Biden’s Covid Vaccine Effort, Is Stepping Down 
Dr. David A. Kessler, who for the past two years has been the behind-the-scenes force driving a vast federal effort to develop and distribute coronavirus vaccines and treatments, is leaving the Biden administration — another sign that the pandemic is no longer front and center for the White House. As chief science officer for the administration’s Covid-19 response, Dr. Kessler, 71, has operated largely unseen by the public. But his work — on issues like setting up mass vaccination sites, pushing for the development of antiviral medicines and distributing reformulated booster shots — has affected the lives of millions of Americans. (Stolberg, 1/13)

Stat: Biden Covid Adviser Kessler To Exit As Pandemic Response Winds Down
David Kessler, the D.C. veteran who guided government dispatches of millions of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, is exiting the Biden administration this month. (Owermohle, 1/13)

Wyoming Public Radio: Medicaid Expansion Back On The Table In 2023
Medicaid expansion has become a perennial issue in Wyoming. But advocates are hoping that this year is the last legislative session they’ll have to push for a bill that expands Medicaid. (Victor, 1/16)

Wyoming Public Radio: Medicaid Postpartum Extension Narrowly Passes Committee 
A bill that extends medicaid coverage to qualifying pregnant women for 12 months postpartum narrowly made it out of committee. The House Labor, Health and Social Services committee members heard hours of testimony in favor of the extension. During the pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allowed states to extend postpartum care, and Wyoming participated as well so qualifying women had complete medical coverage for a year after they gave birth. This bill would extend that care until 2027. (Kudelska, 1/13)

More on Medicaid coverage in Mississippi, Georgia, and Michigan —

AP: Mississippi Bill Filings: Medicaid, Initiatives, Elections 
Here’s a look at some of the general bills: HOSPITALS — Multiple bills seek to help financially struggling hospitals by creating grant programs or tax credits. MEDICAID — Multiple bills seek expansion of Medicaid to people who work low-wage jobs that don’t provide private health insurance. A 2010 federal health care law allowed expansion, and Mississippi is among 11 states that have not taken the option. Other bills -- including House Bill 426, which has bipartisan support -- would allow extension of Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year after a woman has given birth. (Pettus, 1/16)

WABE: State Lawmakers To Consider Full Medicaid Expansion During The Legislative Session  
State Democratic lawmakers are making full Medicaid expansion a top priority this legislative session. Expanding Medicaid is a move the governor has long resisted, and it’s not included in his proposed $32 billion budget. Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal calls for $52 million to fund the implementation of his Georgia Pathways plan, a limited expansion of Medicaid that would cover around 50,000 people if they meet work or volunteer requirements. (Mador, 1/13)

Detroit Free Press: Doulas: New Medicaid Policy Supports Their Work, But Not Them
Women and infants’ health advocates around Michigan are celebrating a new policy that will allow pregnant people covered by Medicaid to pay for the services of a doula. The policy, enacted Jan. 1, puts Michigan on the list of just a handful of states that cover doula services, which have been shown to improve birth outcomes and decrease health and racial disparities. (Brookland, 1/16)

On Medicare costs —

The New York Times: Medicare Begins To Rein In Drug Costs For Older Americans
Steve Lubin spent a lot last year on insulin to control his Type 2 diabetes. A retired nurse in Philadelphia, Mr. Lubin relies on Medicare for health coverage, including a Part D plan to cover drug expenses. Yet his out-of-pocket costs kept mounting, including a deductible of $480, monthly supplies of two forms of insulin, and higher prices once he entered the “coverage gap.” His total insulin tab in 2022: $1,582. (Span, 1/14)

Stat: Medicare Advisers Warn Of Higher Drug Prices, Despite Negotiation
Despite the pharmaceutical industry’s loud complaints to the contrary, the new law directing Medicare to negotiate drug prices may increase prices for some new drugs, congressional Medicare advisers said Friday. (Wilkerson, 1/13)

Axios: Debt Ceiling Fight Looms Over Medicare, Medicaid
House Republicans don't have much of a path to get major health care changes passed with a Democratic Senate and president, with one possible exception: the debt ceiling fight. (Sullivan, 1/13)

Sun-Sentinel: Florida Agency Warns Pharmacists Not To Dispense Abortion Pills
With pharmacies in some states preparing to dispense abortion pills, Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration sent a letter Thursday to all state healthcare providers warning them that do so in Florida is illegal. (Goodman, 1/15)

Idaho Statesman: New Idaho Lawmaker Floats Bills On Abortion, Gender Identity
A new bill would change Idaho’s criminal abortion statute to define the procedure as “intentionally” killing a “living embryo or fetus.” The change seeks to clarify that Idaho’s near-total abortion ban does not apply to pregnancies in which the fetus has already died, said the bill sponsor, Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle. Those parameters include ectopic pregnancies, when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, if the fetus has died. (Suppe, 1/16)

Politico: ‘The Most Important Election Nobody’s Ever Heard Of’ 
Control of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is on the ballot this spring, and the contest could decide the fate of abortion rights, redistricting and more in the critical swing state. Should a more liberal-leaning jurist win the job in the April election, it would flip the balance of the state’s highest court for at least two years. There are significant policy outcomes hanging on the result. The court chose the state’s political maps for the decade after the Democratic governor and Republican Legislature deadlocked, and it’s likely to hear a case challenging Wisconsin’s 19th-century law banning almost all abortions in the near future. Wisconsin’s Supreme Court also decided major cases on election laws and voting rights before and after the 2020 presidential election. (Montellaro and Messerly, 1/16)

More on reproductive rights —

Houston Chronicle: Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Named Whip Of The Pro-Choice Caucus
U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, who also represents part of Fort Bend County, has been named Whip of the Pro-Choice Caucus. The caucus is “a coalition of Members in the U.S. House of Representatives who are working to preserve, protect, and advance policies that ensure reproductive autonomy,” Fletcher said in a statement Friday. (Goodman, 1/13)

Anchorage Daily News: FDA Decision Could Increase Access To Abortion Pills Across Alaska
“It definitely has the potential to expand abortion access in Alaska,” said Rose O’Hara-Jolley, director with Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Alaska. “Given the complexity with the health care system, it’s not something that’s going to happen right away. But this is another very important piece of the puzzle in expanding abortion access across the state.” (Berman, 1/16)

AP: Bill Would Force Period Tracking Apps To Follow Privacy Laws
When the Supreme Court last June stripped away constitutional protections for abortion, concerns grew over the use of period tracking apps because they aren’t protected by federal privacy laws. Privacy experts have said they fear pregnancies could be surveilled and the data shared with police or sold to vigilantes. Some Washington state lawmakers want to change that and have introduced a bill related to how consumer data is shared, KUOW reported. (1/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: UC Health Doctors Want Stronger Protections In Contracts With Faith-Based Hospitals
As the University of California’s health system renews contracts with hundreds of outside hospitals and clinics — many with religious affiliations — some of its doctors and faculty want stronger language to ensure that physicians can perform the treatments they deem appropriate, including abortions for women or hysterectomies for transgender patients. University of California Health is in the middle of a two-year process to renew contracts with affiliate hospitals and clinics that help the university deliver care in underserved parts of the state. (Sciacca, 1/15)

USA Today: 2022 'Shkreli Awards' Rank Worst Health Care 'Profiteering' Cases
The Lown Institute, a health care policy think tank, each year ranks the 10 worst instances of “profiteering and dysfunction” in the health-care industry. It calls its rankings the “Shkreli Awards,” named after the former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who rose to notoriety in 2015 when he raised the price of a life-saving medication by roughly 4,000%. Shkreli was nicknamed “Pharma Bro” by the public. He was convicted of securities fraud in 2017, and was released last year. (Mayorquin, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: NEJM Study: 22.7% Of Hospital Patients Experience Adverse Event
Almost one quarter of hospital patients in the U.S. experience an adverse event such as medication-related harm, a pressure injury or infection during their care, according to a new study. The research, which looked at a random sample of 2,809 admissions from 11 Massachusetts hospitals in 2018, found that out of the adverse events, 22.7% were deemed preventable, and 32.3% were classified as serious, life-threatening, or fatal. The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Devereaux, 1/13)

In other health care industry news —

Stat: Hospitals Gear Up To Expand Market Power, Raise Prices In 2023
More than a dozen of the country’s large not-for-profit hospital systems descended on this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference with a subtle but clear message for bankers and municipal investors: Higher costs in 2022 slowed them down, but they are adamant about increasing revenue by expanding their footprints and hiking prices. (Herman, 1/17)

Becker's Hospital Review: Health Systems Integrate Automated Medication Instructions Into Epic, Meditech EHRs
Health systems in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are using artificial intelligence to automatically transcribe medical instructions into their Epic and Meditech EHRs. The health systems employing the SmartRenewal software from health IT company DrFirst include Butler (Pa.) Health System and Gainesville-based Northeast Georgia Health System, a company spokesperson told Becker's. (Bruce, 1/13)

Axios: Hospital Obstetrics On Chopping Block As Facilities Pare Costs
Hospitals trying to shed unprofitable business lines are increasingly scaling back or halting maternity services, adding new stresses to the reproductive care landscape. (Dreher, 1/17)

Becker's Hospital Review: After Preliminary Denial, Hospital Where Nurse Called 911 Gains Full Accreditation
Silverdale, Wash.-based St. Michael Medical Center — which gained media attention after a nurse called 911 from its overcrowded, short-staffed emergency department — has been accredited by The Joint Commission after a preliminary denial. (1/13)

Los Angeles Times: Routine-Care Needs Pack MLK Emergency Department
In the emergency department at MLK Community Hospital, masked patients lay in wheeled stretchers lining the hallways. Others slumped in chairs where nurses attended to them. Amid the crush of people on a recent day in December, only the sickest or most severely injured got one of the 29 rooms. (Alpert Reyes, 1/15)

The Washington Post: Why Nurses Are Striking And Quitting In Droves
This flu season, Benny Matthew — a nurse at the Montefiore Medical Center emergency room in the Bronx — has often been responsible for 15 to 20 patients at a time. By 3 p.m. most days, the emergency room is often exploding with patients, Matthew said. Hospital gurneys stand inches apart. When beds run out, patients squeeze into tightly packed chairs. When the chairs run out, patients must stand. Wait times to see a doctor can be up to six hours. At the same time, the hospital is advertising more than 700 nursing positions. (Gurley, 1/14)

ABC News: Blood Test Could Help Predict Which Patients With Colon Cancer Need Chemotherapy After Surgery: Study
A blood test under study may soon be able to help many patients with colon cancer decide whether they need chemotherapy after surgery, or if they can safely skip it. The results, which oncologists described as promising, were published in the journal Nature Medicine. (Nasser, 1/16)

Stat: Liquid Biopsy May Be Better Way To Decide Who Gets Chemo 
They’re far too small to be seen by even the most sophisticated medical imaging device. But bits of tumor DNA adrift in a patient’s blood are an important bellwether for whether cancer will return — and, as a new study shows, can predict which treatments are likely to work. (Wosen, 1/16)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Patients Scramble For Care Amid Online Prescribing Crackdown
Catherine was getting nervous about her ADHD prescription. In 2022, the 29-year-old New Yorker had started using Done, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company that treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The medication her provider had prescribed, a stimulant called Vyvanse, was helping her manage distraction so severe that she frequently had car accidents. (Palmer, 1/17)

USA Today: FDA Rule Lifted On Animal Testing For Drugs; Substitutes Not Ready
For generations people have associated the terms "lab rat" and "guinea pig" with scientific research. Animal testing remains a standard and has been required for drug approval. Just before Christmas, though, Congress ended the requirement that all new drugs  must be tested in two species – usually mice and a "higher order" mammal like rabbits or primates – before being tried in people. (Weintraub, 1/15)

The Hill: Study Suggests US Freshwater Fish Highly Contaminated With ‘Forever Chemicals’
Eating just one serving of freshwater fish each year could have the same effect as drinking water heavily polluted with “forever chemicals” for an entire month, a new study finds. The equivalent month-long amount of water would be contaminated at levels 2,400 times greater than what’s recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) drinking water health advisories, according to the study, published Tuesday in Environmental Research. (Udasin, 1/17)

In other health and wellness news —

CNN: Enjoying Nature May Lessen Need For Some Medications, Study Finds 
Going for a walk in a park or along a lake or a tree-lined space may reduce the need for medication for anxiety, asthma, depression, high blood pressure or insomnia, a new study found. (LaMotte, 1/16)

CBS News: Alcohol-Related Liver Disease Rising Among Young People
Jessica Dueñas was leading a double life. Named Kentucky's teacher of the year in 2019, she had also developed a heavy drinking problem. "The day that I won my award, I was in withdrawals," she said. "I could not wait to go home so that I could drink." (Chen, 1/16)

CBS News: MDMA-Assisted Therapy For PTSD Shows Promising Results
Devastated by post-traumatic stress disorder, Jonathan Lubecky tried to take his own life in 2006. "I put a loaded nine-millimeter to my temple, and I pulled the trigger," he said. "That was the first suicide attempt that I had. I've had a total of five." (Lapook, 1/13)

The Boston Globe: He Collapsed From Cardiac Arrest. The Next Four Minutes Would Determine If He Would Live
Massachusetts doesn’t track statewide cardiac arrest survival rates, but some municipalities do, and their data shows that survival varies widely. In Boston, 11.2 percent of people who experienced a cardiac arrest in 2021 survived, but in Worcester, one recent study found those rates were between 3 and 4 percent. (Bartlett, 1/14)

KHN: Rural Seniors Benefit From Pandemic-Driven Remote Fitness Boom 
Eight women, all 73 or older, paced the fellowship hall at Malmo Evangelical Free Church to a rendition of Daniel O’Donnell’s “Rivers of Babylon” as they warmed up for an hourlong fitness class. The women, who live near or on the eastern shore of Mille Lacs Lake, had a variety of reasons for showing up despite fresh snow and slippery roads. One came to reduce the effects of osteoporosis; another, to maintain mobility after a stroke. (Saint Louis, 1/17)

KHN: Will Your Smartphone Be The Next Doctor’s Office? 
The same devices used to take selfies and type out tweets are being repurposed and commercialized for quick access to information needed for monitoring a patient’s health. A fingertip pressed against a phone’s camera lens can measure a heart rate. The microphone, kept by the bedside, can screen for sleep apnea. Even the speaker is being tapped, to monitor breathing using sonar technology. In the best of this new world, the data is conveyed remotely to a medical professional for the convenience and comfort of the patient or, in some cases, to support a clinician without the need for costly hardware. (Norman, 1/17)

Also —

The Washington Post: ‘The Last Of Us’ Zombie Fungus Is Real, And It’s Found In Health Supplements
The zombie apocalypse depicted in the popular video game series and newly adapted HBO series “The Last of Us” derives from a mutation to a type of fungus called cordyceps. Surprise! Cordyceps is real, and some 600 variations of it can be found around the world, primarily in Southeast Asia. (Hume, 1/15)

Stat: The Addiction Crisis Is Causing A Spike In Endocarditis Cases. Hospitals Are Struggling To Respond
Increased injection drug use has led to a spike in cases of the life-threatening heart condition endocarditis, with cases rapidly accelerating since the onset of Covid-19. The increased case count is one of the lesser-known side effects of the deadly addiction epidemic. (Facher, 1/17)

More on the illegal drug epidemic —

AP: Fentanyl Fuels Record Homeless Deaths In Seattle Area
A record 310 homeless people died in the Seattle area last year, highlighting the region’s struggle to house the thousands of people living on its streets. The 310 deaths in King County surpassed the previous record of 195 homeless deaths set in 2018, the Seattle Times reported, and marked a 65% jump over 2021. (1/17)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Dangerous Mix Of Fentanyl And Animal Tranquilizer Detected In Few Seizures In San Diego
The medication xylazine is used to sedate horses and cattle. But when mixed with opioids and injected by humans, it can cause people to black out for hours and leave festering wounds that can result in amputations. The withdrawal symptoms are said to be worse than those from heroin or methadone. When the animal sedative is cut into fentanyl and heroin and sold on the street, it’s commonly referred to as “tranq” or “tranq dope.” (Riggins, 1/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: She Failed To Save Daughter From Fentanyl. Year Later, She Remains Stuck In SF
Dealers clustered at Seventh and Mission streets, openly selling drugs. At their feet, people smoked fentanyl off tinfoil while others nodded off. Tents dotted the sidewalks. Piles of food scraps, trash and feces filled the gutter. Pedestrians, including a woman pushing a baby in a stroller, nearly swerved into traffic on Seventh Street to get past. Laurie Steves, 57, stood amid the commerce and the chaos, waiting. (Knight, 1/14)

The Boston Globe: Fatal R.I. Overdoses Remained High In 2022. Here’s What Two Organizations Want To Do About It
It’s too soon to say whether 2022 will be the deadliest year on record for accidental drug overdoses in Rhode Island. Determining causes of death takes time, and the data lags by months. But the early picture does not look good. For nearly every month in 2022 for which there is full data — January to June — the number of people who fatally overdosed in Rhode Island is higher than the same month of 2021. Only February was lower, and only slightly. (Amaral, 1/13)

AP: 2nd Colorado Library Closes Due To Meth Contamination 
For the second time in a month, a Colorado library has closed its doors to clean up methamphetamine contamination. Officials in the Denver suburb of Englewood shut down the city library last week within a couple of hours of getting test results Wednesday showing that the contamination in the facility’s restrooms exceeded state thresholds, city spokesman Chris Harguth said. (Slevin and Peipert, 1/17)

The CT Mirror: Athena Nursing Homes Pressured By Lawsuits, Fines, Complaints
Athena Health Care Systems, one of the biggest long-term care providers in Connecticut, has come under the scrutiny of officials in three New England states after receiving consistent complaints about conditions in its nursing homes. (Altimari and Carlesso, 1/15)

Billings Gazette: Nursing Homes Plead For Financial Help As Closures, Staffing Shortages Endanger Care
After Carol Dietrich suffered a concussion in a fall and then spinal fractures from lifting too much, her husband had to face that he was unable to take care of her at his age. Rudi and Carol spent down her assets on assisted living until she qualified for Medicaid to receive long-term care in a nursing home. Near enough for Rudi to walk for regular visits. (Jones, 1/16)

On children's care in Illinois and Arizona —

Illinois Answers Project: Feds To Investigate Centene Contract For Failing Foster Kids
In response to an Illinois Answers Project investigation, federal authorities are probing the massive Illinois contract that provides health care to 36,700 foster children. Insurance powerhouse Centene Corp. often failed to deliver basic medical care from dental visits to immunizations, the nonprofit newsroom reported in November. Some foster parents waited months for critical medical appointments for the abused and neglected youth in their care. (Jackson and Hinton, 1/13)

AP: Arizona Dad Seeking Answers After Son Dies In State Care
Richard Blodgett, a single father, was jailed on a drug charge when a worker from Arizona’s child welfare agency delivered the news: His son was brain dead and on life support — just days after being taken into state custody. ... A medical examiner listed Jakob’s death in late December as natural with complications from diabetes, a condition he was diagnosed with as a toddler. Specifically, Type 1 diabetes, which means his body was unable to produce enough insulin to survive. Blodgett said he suspects the Arizona Department of Child Safety failed in its duty to protect his son, either by not monitoring his blood sugar levels or not ensuring that Jakob had enough insulin to prevent a serious, life-threatening complication known as ketoacidosis. (Fonseca, 1/16)

In other news from Minnesota and Texas —

MPR News: 'Cannot Learn While We Are Leaking': Bill Seeks Free Period Products At School
Minnesota lawmakers are trying once again to require school districts to provide free menstrual products to students. Last year, led by an initiative from Minnesota students, House Democrats introduced a similar bill. Advocates say access to the products would help keep students from having to miss class when they can’t afford products. (Shockman and Stroozas, 1/13)

Dallas Morning News: DPS Opens Applications For More Medical Cannabis Dispensaries In Texas
The Texas Department of Public Safety is opening an application process to potentially add more medical cannabis dispensaries, the agency announced in a news release Monday. Only three dispensaries have been licensed in Texas in the past three years. The application process to add more dispensaries under the Compassionate Use Program opened Monday and will run until April 28, the agency said. (Torres, 1/16)

Reuters: Davos 2023: Climate Change Leads To More Malaria, Tuberculosis Up In A Recession 
Climate change is increasing malaria infections, the executive director of the world's biggest health fund said in Davos on Monday. Huge surges in malaria infections followed recent floods in Pakistan and cyclones in Mozambique in 2021, said Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (de Kretser, 1/16)

In other global news —

CIDRAP: BARDA Funds Development, Production Of Ebola Sudan And Marburg Vaccines 
The Sabin Vaccine Institute announced yesterday that it has been awarded a multiyear contract from the US government to advance the development and production of vaccine candidates for the Ebola Sudan and Marburg viruses. Under the agreement, the US Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will initially invest approximately $35 million to produce up to 100,000 doses of Sabin's Ebola Sudan virus vaccine (ChAd3-SUDV). (Dall, 1/13)

The New York Times: Global Push To Treat H.I.V. Leaves Children Behind
The stories the mothers tell when they gather at the Awendo Health Centre in western Kenya are a catalog of small failures, missed opportunities and devastating consequences. What unites the two dozen or so women who meet periodically, on wooden benches in a bare clinic room or under a tree in the courtyard, is their children: All have H.I.V. It has been two decades since efforts to prevent the transmission of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, from mother to child during pregnancy and birth began in earnest in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet some 130,000 babies are still becoming infected each year because of logistical problems, such as drug shortages, and more pernicious ones, such as the stigma that makes women afraid to seek tests or treatment. (Nolen, 1/17)

ABC News: Mexico Imposes One Of World's Strictest Anti-Smoking Laws
One of the World’s strictest anti-tobacco laws has been imposed in Mexico, setting in force a total ban on smoking in public places, including hotels, beaches and parks. The new law, which is part of the country's General Law for Tobacco Control reform, came into force on Sunday. It will also see the total ban on the promotion, advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products. The sale and use of e-cigarettes and vapes are also due to face new restrictions. (Ogao, 1/16)

Bloomberg: Drugmakers Eli Lilly, AbbVie Leave UK Medicine-Pricing Agreement
Drugmakers Eli Lilly & Co. and AbbVie Inc. have pulled out of a voluntary drug-pricing agreement with the UK in a blow to the country’s attempts to control costs for medicines. Opposition is rising amid the industry against the country’s attempt to control prices, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said Monday. (Pham, 1/16)

Scientific American: Gene Drives Could Fight Malaria And Other Global Killers But Might Have Unintended Consequences
Every year more than 600,000 people die from mosquito-transmitted malaria, most of them children under age five. Some insects that are disease vectors, such as mosquitoes, are currently expanding their range around the world, bringing new threats. Genetic engineering can fix this by permanently altering insect genes through what is known as a gene drive. (Matthew Cobb, 1/13)

USA Today: We Treat, Prevent Breast Cancer As One-Size-Fits-All. That Must Change
I lost my mother to breast cancer when I was 13, and she was only 40. At age 19, I felt the first of many lumps in my breasts. A few years and a handful of biopsies later, I learned that I had a precancerous condition, called atypical hyperplasia, which indicates a strong risk of breast cancer. (Alyssa Cotler, 1/15)

The Atlantic: The Surprising Reason For The Decline In Cancer Mortality 
America finally got some good news in the all-important category of keeping its citizens alive. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. cancer-mortality rate has fallen by one-third, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. (Derek Thompson, 1/15)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Needs A Streamlined Approach To The Consumer Experience
As we enter 2023 with a "tripledemic" of RSV, COVID-19 and influenza—on top of continued margin pressures, a recessionary climate, high inflation and labor shortages—the healthcare industry is facing a tough environment. (Dr. Mark Davis, 1/16)

The Star Tribune: On Health Care Front Lines, We Are Not OK
I am a hospital doctor and medical staff leader, and have worked extensively over the past two years with critical care experts and others in trying to provide appropriate medical care for Minnesotans. We are worried. (Tom Klemond, 1/16)

The Mercury News: Students' Backpacks Are Too Heavy And Why It Matters
As a ninth-grader, I know firsthand the burden of carrying a heavy backpack. Mine weighs close to 20 pounds, the same weight as a large watermelon. Upon returning to in-person classes after COVID-19 shutdowns, I noticed that the skin under my backpack straps was red and my back ached. (Naomi Burakovsky, 1/13)

Stat: Melding Clinical Decision Support Software With The AI Bill Of Rights
The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights the White House recently published didn’t come a moment too soon for the health care industry. The number of health care-related artificial intelligence models on the market has increased steadily over the past decade, with the health care AI market expected to grow from $7 billion today to $67 billion in 2027. (Christine Swisher and Gabriel Seidman, 1/17)