CNN: US Life Expectancy Rebounded In 2022 But Not Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels 
Life expectancy in the United States has started to rebound after historic drops earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s far from recovering. In 2022, a 1.1-year increase brought overall life expectancy at birth to 77.5 years, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that offsets less than half of the 2.4 years of life lost in the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and life expectancy is still lower than it’s been in about 20 years. (McPhillips, 11/29)

The Washington Post: New CDC Life Expectancy Data Shows Painfully Slow Rebound From Covid 
Drug overdoses, homicides and chronic illnesses such as heart disease continue to drive a long-term mortality crisis that has made this country an outlier in longevity among wealthy nations. ... The United States has dug itself into a huge life-expectancy hole, and not just because of the virus that slipped into the country in stealth fashion in 2020. In articles this year, The Washington Post has explored the many reasons this country lags peer nations in life expectancy, and a major finding is that chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer play an underappreciated role in suppressing life spans. (Achenbach and Keating, 11/29)

PBS NewsHour: Rise In U.S. Life Expectancy Is ‘Good News,’ But Gains Aren’t Enough To Wipe Out COVID Losses
Life expectancy is now “what it was 20 years ago,” said Elizabeth Arias, a health scientist and statistician who co-authored the report released Wednesday. (Santhanam, 11/29)

In related news —

Deseret News: Eating These Foods Can Increase Your Lifespan By Up To 10 Years, Study Finds 
A new study published in Nature Food found that sustaining a healthier diet can increase life expectancy to 10 years. The study analyzed the lifespan projections for 467,354 individuals who recorded their dietary patterns as part of UK Biobank research that started in 2006. Each participant was put into a group depending on their eating patterns. “The model found that people in their 40s who switched their unhealthy diet to a longevity-associated diet could add about 10 years to their life expectancy,” per Business Insider. “The change was associated with an extra 10.8 years for women and 10.4 years for men.” (Pitts, 11/27)

CNN: Suicide Deaths Reached A Record High In The US In 2022, Despite Hopeful Decreases Among Children And Young Adults
More people died from suicide in the United States last year than any other year on record, dating to at least 1941, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 49,449 lives were lost due to intentional self-harm in 2022 – more than 14 deaths for every 100,000 people. (McPhillips, 11/29)

ABC News: Number Of Suicides In The US In 2022 Reaches Record Level: CDC
The number of suicides in the United States has hit a record high, new provisional federal data shows. In 2022, an estimated 49,449 people died by suicide, which is 3% higher than the 48,183 people who died in 2021, according to a report published early Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. (Kekatos, 11/29)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Suicides Reached A Record High Last Year 
America’s mental-health crisis drove suicides to a record-high number last year. Nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives to suicide in 2022, according to a provisional tally from the National Center for Health Statistics. The agency said the final count would likely be higher. The suicide rate of 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people reached its highest level since 1941. (Wernau, 11/29)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

More mental health news —

Financial Times: Internet Use Does Not Appear To Harm Mental Health, Study Finds
A study of more than 2 million people’s internet use found no “smoking gun” for widespread harm to mental health from online activities such as browsing social media and gaming, despite widely claimed concerns that mobile apps can cause depression and anxiety. Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, who said their study was the largest of its kind, said they found no evidence to support “popular ideas that certain groups are more at risk” from the technology. (Bradshaw, 11/27)

New York Post: People Born In The ‘90s Not Recovering From Mental Health Issues As They Age: Study
People born in the 1990s have the worst mental health of any generation before them — and the millennials are not recovering as they age, a new study shows. Researchers at the University of Sydney found that there has been a noticeable deterioration in the mental welfare of each successive generation since the 1950s. (Donlevy, 11/29)

Politico: Newsom Embraces Controversial Mental Health Policies In Bid To Reform Care 
Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to finish the job Ronald Reagan started more than half a century ago as he seeks to transform California’s mental health system — even if it means forcing some people into treatment. In the last few months, the state established a court intervention program for people with severe mental illness and passed a law making it easier for relatives and first responders to send people to mandatory treatment. (Bluth, 11/29)

The Baltimore Sun: Mental Health Hotline To Launch At Five Baltimore County Middle Schools Later This Month
Students at five Baltimore County middle schools will soon be able to call a hotline for mental health services, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said at a news conference Tuesday. The 24/7 hotline, called the Cigna Student Support Line, is expected to launch later this month and be available for students at Franklin Middle School in Reisterstown, General John Stricker Middle School in Dundalk, Northwest Academy of Health Sciences in Pikesville, Perry Hall Middle School in Nottingham and Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex. (Price, 11/28)

Reuters: Biden Campaign Taps Pelosi On Obamacare After Trump Threatens Health Law 
President Joe Biden's re-election campaign enlisted former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday to warn about threats to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, after former President Donald Trump pledged new efforts to replace the law if he wins a second term. (Bose, 11/28)

Bloomberg: Biden Campaign Attacks Trump’s Obamacare Threat With Help From Nancy Pelosi
Joe Biden’s campaign seized on Donald Trump’s call to overturn Obamacare, using it to cast the Republican as a threat to Americans’ health benefits ahead of a likely rematch with the president. “The former president reminded us that he is hellbent on destroying the Affordable Care Act,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday on a call organized by Biden’s campaign. “When he says he’s going after our health care, believe him because he’s done it before.” (Woodhouse and Korte, 11/28)

Stat: Gottlieb, Trump FDA Chief, Questions GOP’s Health Strategy
One of the Republican Party’s most prominent health care thinkers doesn’t know what the GOP’s current health care strategy actually is. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Tuesday evening that the party’s previous health care focus — on technocratic strategies like increasing competition in drug markets or supporting private Medicare plans — have largely fallen off platforms and out of stump speeches. (Florko, 11/28)

KFF Health News: GOP Presidential Hopefuls Use Trump’s Covid Record To Court Vaccine Skeptics 
Former President Donald Trump often seems proud to advertise his administration’s record on speedily developing covid-19 vaccines. On the campaign trail to win another term in the White House, though, he also has knocked the use of those very vaccines. In October, for example, he unleashed a barrage of social media attacks on Ron DeSantis’ pandemic record by reposting claims that the Florida governor — who is running against him in the Republican presidential primaries — was too active in vaccinating Sunshine State residents. In a further twist, Trump simultaneously circulated an MSNBC article suggesting DeSantis wasn’t vaccinating his constituents enough. (Tahir and Chang, 11/29)

Also —

The New York Times: Americans Glimpse Jimmy Carter’s Frailty and His Resolve
His face was pale and gaunt, his legs were wrapped in a blanket, and his eyes never seemed to make contact with the family members huddled around him. But on Tuesday, Jimmy Carter was there, in the front row of a church in Atlanta, just a few feet from the coffin holding Rosalynn Carter, his wife of 77 years. Mr. Carter, 99, was some 164 miles from his home in Plains, Ga., where he had been in hospice care since February. He was brought into the church in a wheelchair, as the crowd of mourners at the memorial service looked on, many of them catching their first glimpse of him in nine months. (Rojas and Fortin, 11/28)

The Washington Post: Carters’ Journey Reveals Tough Questions About When To Choose Hospice
The death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter on Sunday and the survival of her husband, former president Jimmy Carter, have exposed one of the most achingly difficult questions faced by people with life-threatening illness: when to choose hospice care. Rosalynn died only two days after entering hospice, the Medicare-supported program for people who have decided to relinquish attempts to overcome illness and focus on the quality of their remaining time. The 39th president made the same decision in February at the age of 98 and has outlasted the initial prediction of six months to live that is standard in hospice. (Bernstein and Keating, 11/24)

WTTW: Senate Judiciary Committee Weighs Whether Gun Violence Is A Public Health Emergency
As America grapples with gun violence, members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee grappled with whether that violence has become such a crisis that it should be a considered a public health emergency, with emergency room doctors and other health care professionals on the front lines. “In cities like Chicago dealing with the constant drumbeat of gun violence, it has turned these public health officials into battlefield experts,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), who chairs the committee. “They’ve seen the aftermath of bullets tearing through bone like it’s tissue paper.” With “132 Americans every day dying from gun violence,” he said, “gun violence is a public health epidemic, plain and simple.” (Vinicky, 11/28)

Colorado Newsline: Gun Violence As A Public Health Crisis Explored By U.S. Senate Democrats
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Tuesday discussed how to treat gun violence as a public health crisis, in hopes of building upon last year’s federal gun safety legislation. “Across the country, gun violence is a public health epidemic,” Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, the chairman of the committee, said in his opening remarks. Senate Republicans pushed back against framing gun violence as a public health crisis and argued that approach would violate the Second Amendment and that the focus should be on mental health. “The fact is a firearm in the hands of a law-abiding citizen is not a threat to public safety,” the top Republican on the committee, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, said. (Figueroa, 11/28)

Newsweek: Republican's High Gun Death Rate In Home State Exposed During Hearing
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana was confronted about the high firearms death rate in his home state during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence. During Tuesday's hearing, Kennedy asked Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, about gun violence in Chicago, Illinois, a city conservatives frequently say has a high crime rate due to progressive prosecutorial policies. ... Ranney responded by pointing out that Kennedy's home state of Louisiana has a higher firearms death rate than Chicago. Louisiana has a Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, while Republicans hold control of both chambers of the state legislature. (Stanton, 11/28)

In other news from Capitol Hill —

The Washington Post: Senators Accuse Major Anesthesiology Firm Of Anticompetitive Practices
Citing Washington Post reporting and a federal lawsuit, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal are accusing one of the nation’s largest anesthesiology firms of unfair business methods and requesting information from the firm about its prices, executive salaries, payouts to investors and acquisition of competitors. “USAP has engaged in anticompetitive practices that appeared to be designed to jack up prices and suck up as much profit as possible, with detrimental effects to patients and doctors,” Warren (D-Mass.) and Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote in a letter sent on Sunday to Robert Coward, the company’s chief executive. (Whoriskey, 11/27)

Arkansas Advocate: Arkansas AG Rejects Proposed Ballot Measure To Make Abortion Access A Constitutional Right
A proposed constitutional amendment ensuring a limited right to abortion in Arkansas will not appear on the 2024 statewide ballot, Attorney General Tim Griffin wrote in a Tuesday opinion. His seven-page letter to Steven Nichols, the Arkansan who submitted the proposal, pointed out several aspects of the ballot language that Griffin said need clarity or other improvements before he can consider it worthy of approval. (Vrbin, 11/28)

Abortion updates from Texas —

Austin Bureau: Texas Supreme Court Appears Hesitant To Clarify Abortion Ban
Several of the Texas Supreme Court’s Republican justices appeared hesitant on Tuesday to clarify an emergency exception in the state’s abortion ban despite claims from nearly two dozen women that they were forced to continue medically dangerous pregnancies. “Our job is to decide cases, not to elaborate and expand laws in order to make them easier to understand or enforce,” Justice Brett Busby said. (Goldenstein, 11/28)

The Hill: Texas AG’s Office Argues Women Should Sue Doctors — Not State — Over Lack Of Abortion Access
Lawyers in the Texas attorney general’s office said Tuesday that women should sue their doctors, not the state, over a lack of access to abortion in defending the state’s strict law. Beth Klusmann of the Texas Attorney General’s Office made that point in oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in a case challenging Texas’s abortion ban, which bars doctors from providing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected — typically around six weeks into pregnancy — with exceptions only for cases in which the life of the mother is at risk. (Elbein, 11/28)

In other abortion developments —

St. Louis Public Radio: Illinois Abortions Jump In Year After Supreme Court Decision 
Health workers in Illinois are performing about 1,800 more abortions per month on average than before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to data compiled by the Society for Family Planning, a health worker-led nonprofit that advocates for abortion rights. Missouri and many other states banned the procedure after the court’s June 2022 ruling. But the report found the number of abortions nationwide increased slightly, fueled in part by people seeking the procedure in Illinois and other states that didn’t institute bans. (Fentem, 11/28)

CNN: Chris Christie Says He Wouldn’t Sign 6-Week Federal Abortion Ban 
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday he would not sign a six-week federal abortion ban as president because he does not believe such legislation aligns with the views of the American public. “One thing I know for sure is there is no consensus around a six-week abortion ban nationally,” the GOP presidential candidate said Tuesday on “CNN This Morning,” pointing to recent victories at the ballot box for supporters of abortion rights since the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned last year. (Main, 11/28)

The Hill: Supreme Court To Confront Post-Roe Abortion Battles
Supreme Court justices are slated to delve into disputes surrounding abortion during their final session this year, revealing the legal battlefronts forming in the wake of the high court’s stunning decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Several key cases are headed to the justices. One is Idaho’s emergency request to fully enforce its abortion law, a ruling that is possible as soon as this week. At the justices’ Friday conference, they are scheduled to consider whether to take up an appeal seeking to overturn a Supreme Court precedent allowing laws that ban anti-abortion activists from approaching people outside abortion clinics. (Schonfeld, 11/29)

Reuters: White House Urges RSV Immunization Makers To Meet Demand 
Senior Biden administration officials met with the makers of RSV immunizations for children this week to underscore the need for manufacturers such as Sanofi and AstraZeneca to urgently meet demand as winter approaches, the White House said on Tuesday. At a meeting at the White House on Monday, officials and manufacturers also agreed to plan now to meet next year's demand for the immunizations targeting respiratory syncytial virus, which generally causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can develop into severe illness in infants and older adults. (Heavey and Aboulenein, 11/28)

On flu and other respiratory illnesses —

Fox News: Could The Flu Vaccination Reduce The Risk Of Heart Attacks And Cardiovascular Deaths?
People who get the flu vaccine may have improved heart health, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports. Researchers from the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, concluded that patients who received flu vaccinations had a 26% reduced risk of having a heart attack and were 33% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. This finding is based on a review of five randomized controlled trials that focused on myocardial disease and influenza vaccines. (Rudy, 11/28)

CBS News: New York City Parents Concerned About Respiratory Illnesses Impacting Children In China
"We are seeing increased respiratory illnesses right now, both adults and children, and that's expected with the winter season and holidays," said Dr. Vino Palli, CEO of Mi Doctor Health. ... "Parents are asking questions about the situation in China," Palli said. "We don't need to panic right now based on what we know, but we definitely need to be more vigilant and there's a lot of surveillance being done by the CDC and our scientists at different university hospitals, looking at the current situation in China and, of course, if something crops up we're going to take a look at it." (Carlin, 11/28)

On covid and the pandemic —

Reuters: WHO Authorizes Emergency Use Of Novavax's Updated COVID Shot 
Novavax's updated vaccine has been granted emergency-use authorization by the World Health Organization (WHO) for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged 12 and older, the company said on Tuesday. The updated Novavax shot, which was authorized in the U.S. last month, targets a descendant of the XBB lineage of the coronavirus that was globally predominant earlier this year. (11/28)

CIDRAP: Birth Records Show COVID-19 Caused Spike In Preterm Births
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly raised the risk of preterm birth for expectant California mothers, and vaccination likely prevented thousands of them, according to a study today published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But within 1 year of the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, that risk virtually disappeared in ZIP codes reporting high vaccination coverage, suggesting vaccination was a key strategy in mitigating preterm birth risks caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. (Soucheray, 11/28)

CIDRAP: Maintaining Coping Strategies During Pandemic Tied To Lower Risk Of Anxiety, Depression
People who were able to have steady and stable coping mechanisms throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic were less likely to experience depression and anxiety, according to a new study in The Annals of Family Medicine. The study, conducted via Veterans Affairs health services, was based on more than 2,000 participants who completed three online surveys during the period when COVID-19 vaccines were widely available but restrictions were still in place across much of the United States (December 2 to 27, 2020; January 21 to February 6, 2021; and March 8 to 23, 2021). (Soucheray, 11/28)

Hand sanitizer maker issued warning —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brenntag Great Lakes Receives FDA Warning Letter Over Hand-Sanitizer
Brenntag Great Lakes, a Wauwatosa chemical company, has received an FDA warning letter alleging it produced hand sanitizer with the same equipment used for brake parts cleaner. Inspections at the company's Menomonee Falls plant revealed "significant violations," the Oct. 26 letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration noted. The company had agreed to take corrective action but failed to follow through, according to the FDA. (Barrett, 11/28)

The New York Times: CAR-T, Lifesaving Cancer Treatment, May Sometimes Cause Cancer, FDA Says
A lifesaving cancer treatment may itself cause cancers, the Food and Drug Administration reported on Tuesday. The treatment, called CAR-T, was first approved in November 2017 for life-threatening blood cancers. But, the F.D.A. said, it had received 19 reports of new blood cancers in patients who received the treatment. (Kolata, 11/28)

Stat: Despite FDA Concern, The Risk That CAR-T Causes Cancer Appears Low
The announcement on Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration was investigating whether CAR-T immunotherapy had itself caused blood cancers initially appeared to be a significant blow to one of the brightest spots in cancer care. But experts quickly cautioned that risk of this complication is probably minuscule compared to the known risk of secondary cancers from other cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiation. (Chen, 11/29)

In other cancer research —

The Washington Post: Newly Discovered Stem Cell Offers Clues To A Cancer Mystery 
Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in the spine that appears crucial to resolving a long-standing mystery: why far more cancer cells spread to the spine than to other bones in the body. When breast, lung and prostate cancers metastasize to multiple bones in the body, three to five times more cancer winds up in the spine than in the lower and upper limbs. Scientists have known of this disparity for decades, but the reason for it has remained unclear. (Johnson, 11/28)

Fox News: AI Model Could Help Predict Lung Cancer Risks In Non-Smokers, Study Finds: ‘Significant Advancement’
Among the latest artificial intelligence innovations in health care, a routine chest X-ray could help identify non-smokers who are at a high risk for lung cancer. The study findings will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago. Researchers from the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center (CIRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School in Boston developed a deep learning AI model using 147,497 chest X-rays of asymptomatic smokers and never-smokers. (Rudy, 11/29)

CIDRAP: Cancer Patients With COVID At Higher Risk Of Death, Hospitalization Amid Omicron 
A study from Israel finds that adult solid-cancer patients had a higher risk of death and hospitalization after COVID-19 infection than infected patients without cancer during a period of Omicron variant predominance and that vaccination lowered that risk. (Van Beusekom, 11/28)

In other cancer research —

Reuters: SpringWorks' Non-Cancerous Tumor Drug To Be Priced At $29,000 Per Month In US 
SpringWorks Therapeutics' drug for treating adult patients with a type of rare non-cancerous soft-tissue tumor will be sold in the U.S. at a list price of $29,000 for a 30-day supply, the company said on a conference call on Tuesday. The monotherapy nirogacestat, branded as Ogsiveo, became the first approved treatment for desmoid tumors — abnormal growths that occur in connective tissues and are associated with a high rate of recurrence — following the U.S. health regulator's nod on Monday. (Jain, 11/28)

Stat: Colonoscopy Often Costs More For Those At Higher Cancer Risk 
Ashley Conway-Anderson was prepared for a lot of things when it came to her first colonoscopy. She sought out tips to make the daylong prep more bearable. She braced herself mentally for what the doctors would find; her mother, after all, was just a couple years out of recovery from colorectal cancer. When she awoke from the procedure, she said, things seemed relatively fine. “Surprisingly fine,” said Conway-Anderson, a 36-year-old agroforestry professor at the University of Missouri. There was an 11-millimeter precancerous polyp that the doctors had discovered, but they’d snipped it out of her colon and recommended surveillance every three years. “Obviously, it’s big news to hear, but grateful this seems to be manageable. I’ll do it,” she said. “Then the bill came.” (Chen, 11/29)

Minnesota Public Radio: Mayo Clinic Unveils Plans For A New $5 Billion Campus In Downtown Rochester
A $5 billion plan to redesign Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus will attempt to upend the traditional health care model where patients ping-pong between buildings and appointments and replace it with health care neighborhoods that bring services to patients based on their clinical needs. (Richert, 11/28)

Stat: Mayo Clinic Plans $5B Tech-Heavy Expansion Of Minnesota Campus
Mayo Clinic will spend $5 billion to reinvent its flagship medical campus in Rochester, Minn., infusing digital technologies into several new buildings designed to present a 21st-century vision of clinical care, the organization said Tuesday. (Ross, 11/28)

More health care industry news —

Bay Area News Group: Kaiser Permanente Grabs Empty San Jose Land Site In Expansion Quest
Kaiser has bought a big chunk of San Jose land, paving the way for a possible expansion by the health care titan in a deal that also jolts prior plans for an office project on the choice site. ... Kaiser Foundation Health Plan paid $43.5 million for the vacant site, according to documents filed on Nov. 21 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office. Hudson Pacific Properties, acting through an affiliate, sold the land. (Avalos, 11/28)

Modern Healthcare: Community Health Systems Aims To Expand, Acquire Hospitals
Community Health Systems wants to get back to acquiring hospitals, President and Chief Financial Officer Kevin Hammons said Tuesday. In the past year, Community Health Systems has sought buyers for multiple facilities, including hospitals in Florida, West Virginia and North Carolina. But it's not all cuts, Hammons said Tuesday during a presentation at the Bank of America Securities Leveraged Finance Conference. The health system has also pursued acquisition opportunities, although none have come to fruition. (Hudson, 11/28)

CBS News: About 4 Million New Yorkers Impacted By Medical Company's Data Breach, New York Attorney General Letitia James Says
Attorney General Letitia James is warning New Yorkers affected by a medical company's data breach to take action to prevent identity theft. In May 2023, the medical transcription company Perry Johnson & Associates became aware of a breach affecting their systems. Some of the breached data included social security numbers, insurance information and clinical information from medical transcription files. (11/28)

Modern Healthcare: Academic Partnerships Likely To Increase Amid Financial Hurdles
Health systems and academic medical centers have navigated complex partnerships for decades, and many of the partners argue the reward is worth the risk. Despite the potential financial challenges of those agreements, as illustrated by the latest development between Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota, the affiliations are expected to continue. (Kacik, 11/28)

Axios: How ChatGPT Is Changing The Health Care Industry, Medicine
It's passed medical licensing exams. It's advanced how researchers develop new medicines and cut down on doctors' hefty paperwork. And it's nudged health care closer to a world where AI can offer diagnoses. One year after OpenAI's ChatGPT exploded onto the scene, the generative AI model is already upending health care — an industry not exactly known for its speedy adoption of tech — while accelerating questions about AI's promises and limitations. (Reed, 11/29)

Also —

CBS News: Hennepin Healthcare Nurses Vote "No Confidence" In CEO Ahead Of 2024 Budget Decision
Hennepin Healthcare employees say they aren't happy. Tuesday morning, several union members representing nurses, EMTs, paramedics and other hospital employees gathered to shared their vote of "no confidence" in Hennepin Healthcare's CEO. "At this point the decision is do you stay at Hennepin or do you leave?" Minnesota Nurses Association co-chair with HCMC Janell Johnson Theile said. (Leone, 11/28)

Modern Healthcare: How Hospital Unions Are Advancing Health Equity
Healthcare unions have scored major contract wins amid a wave of labor action across the U.S. and used their muscle to push beyond priorities such as pay and staffing and secure guarantees that their employers will take action to promote health equity. ... While those contracts include pay boosts and similar provisions, they went further by creating power-sharing arrangements, accountability structures, and policies and programs related to racial justice and community health. (Hartnett, 11/28)

WUSF: Lawmaker Proposes Funds For TGH To Build Affordable Housing
A Florida lawmaker has asked the state to budget $25 million to help Tampa General Hospital build a 160-unit, multifamily housing project for health care workers in the greater Tampa Bay region. The hospital plans to use the development to help attract and retain health care workers by providing affordable rental units, according to a budget request filed Nov. 14 by Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa. (Mayer, 11/28)

Iowa Public Radio: Lawsuit Claims Insurance Company Used Exceptional Case To Push For Medical Malpractice Tort Reform 
A new lawsuit claims an insurance company involved in a high profile medical malpractice case helped influence Iowa lawmakers to pass tort reform last session. The civil lawsuit was filed this month by the Obstetric and Gynecological Associates of Iowa City and Coralville, the OB/GYN practice at the center of an exceptional medical malpractice case, and three of its doctors. (Krebs, 11/28)

New Hampshire Bulletin: NH Hospital Shooting Prompts Recommendations For Security Upgrades At State Buildings
The New Hampshire Department of Safety has recommended several security improvements at all state buildings in response to the Nov. 17 shooting at the New Hampshire Hospital that killed a security officer. At the psychiatric hospital, those measures include upgrading the existing weapon detection system to scan staff, visitors, and patients for guns, knives, and other prohibited items; enhancing the emergency notification system; and requiring all staff to enter through a separate security checkpoint. (Timmins, 11/29)

North Carolina Health News: Jail Health Care Likely Falls Short Of Community Standards, Survey Says 
More than 20,000 people cycle in and out of North Carolina’s county jails every year. These individuals are more likely than the general population to have substance use disorders, mental health problems, chronic diseases and infectious diseases, according to years of research. Despite the large health care needs of this population, there is limited information on how that care is delivered and by whom. That’s why a group of local researchers set out to measure the amount and type of health care staffing in jails in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. (Crumpler, 11/29)

Wyoming Public Radio: Routine Vaccinations Against Polio And Measles Are Falling
There are more than 600 kindergartners attending school in Wyoming with no vaccination against measles or polio, according to new figures released by the CDC. The CDC says this means the state has fallen below the threshold for herd immunity. (Victor, 11/28)

KFF Health News: Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Makes Other Public Assistance Harder To Get 
An hour before sunrise, Shelly Brost walked a mile in freezing rain to the public assistance office. She was running out of time to prove she still qualified for food aid after being stymied by a backlogged state call center. Twice, she’d tried to use Montana’s public assistance help line to complete an interview required to recertify her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. Each time, the call dropped after more than an hour on hold. (Houghton, Pradhan and Liss, 11/29)

In environmental health news —

KFF Health News: ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Thousands Of Private Wells Near Military Sites, Study Finds 
Water tests show nearly 3,000 private wells located near 63 active and former U.S. military bases are contaminated with “forever chemicals” at levels higher than what federal regulators consider safe for drinking. According to the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that analyzed Department of Defense testing data, 2,805 wells spread across 29 states were contaminated with at least one of two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, above 4 parts per trillion, a limit proposed earlier this year by the Environmental Protection Agency. That new drinking water standard is expected to take effect by the end of the year. (Kime, 11/29)

Axios: Appeals Court Orders Dismissal Of Lawsuit Against Makers Of "Forever Chemicals"
Makers of "forever chemicals" won a legal victory Monday when an appeals court overruled an earlier decision that would have allowed millions of Ohio residents to join a class action lawsuit against the companies. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructed a lower court to dismiss the case filed against 3M, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Chemours, Corteva and other manufacturers of the synthetic compounds, referred to collectively as PFAS. (Saric, 11/28)

NBC News: How Fast Should You Walk To Lower Your Diabetes Risk?
The American Diabetes Association recommends taking 10,000 steps per day or walking daily for at least 30 minutes to reduce your diabetes risk. Walking at a faster pace can improve that benefit, but researchers haven't identified an ideal speed — until now. An analysis published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that, independent of distance or step count, walking at least 2.5 mph can significantly lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. That's the equivalent of a brisk walk — around 87 steps per minute for men and 100 steps per minute for women. (Bendix, 11/28)

WMFE: Study Could Help Doctors Prescribe The Right Exercise To Battle Dementia
Physical exercise is good for our brains as we age. But why is that? And what's the right amount to deter dementias like Alzheimer's disease? And why do some older adults stay the course and others don't? Kirk Erickson, a leading researcher on exercise and dementia working at the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute, is coordinating a major study to answer those questions. (Byrnes, 11/28)

The Denver Post: Patients With Neurodegenerative Diseases Turn To Pingpong For Rehabilitation. Scientists Are Paying Attention
Mark Lauterbach was leaving a brewery in Fort Collins earlier this year when he found himself being pelted by hail. Instinctively, he took off running toward his car. When he made it, he burst into tears. “I felt like Forrest Gump,” Lauterbach said. “I ran, and I just cried. It’s been incredible.” The 58-year-old, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis eight years ago, thought his running days were long over. But playing pingpong, he said, had brought back the gift of running. (Hernandez, 11/28)

ABC News: Cannabis Use Does Not Reduce Long-Term Heroin Use, Study Finds
People with heroin dependency don't use less of that drug if they start also using cannabis, according to a new study. The findings cast some doubt on the idea that cannabis might help people reduce their dependence on opioids, experts say. "Cannabis is becoming increasingly recognized as a therapeutic product," says study author Dr. Jack Wilson, a researcher at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney. (Jhaveri, 11/29)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: Conflicting definitions of preventive care can leave patients with surprise bills, and high demand for a new RSV shot to protect babies this flu season leaves parents scrambling. (11/28)

Stat: White House Official Dings Bristol Myers Squibb
A top White House official on Tuesday delivered a pointed attack at a drugmaker fighting the administration’s Medicare negotiation plan in court. Christen Linke Young, White House Domestic Policy Council’s deputy assistant to the president for health and veterans affairs, took on Bristol Myers Squibb, which makes the blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis. Eliquis is one of 10 high-cost drugs the federal program has targeted first for negotiated prices. (Owermohle, 11/28)

In other pharmaceutical industry developments —

Reuters: US FDA Flags New Problem With Philips Machines, Shares Fall 
Philips shares fell more than 6% on Wednesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is alerting patients about a new safety issue with machines made by the group that are used for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The Amsterdam-based healthcare technology company has been grappling with the fallout of the global recall in June 2021 of millions of respirators used to treat sleep apnea over worries that foam used in the machines could become toxic. (11/29)

Stat: Vertex Pressured To Expand Access To Cystic Fibrosis Treatments
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is being accused by a group of advocates and physicians of refusing to take several steps that would widen access to its pricey cystic fibrosis medicines in predominantly poor countries. In a recent Zoom call, company executives were urged to drop patent claims and implement a global pricing model reflecting R&D and production costs, which could make the treatments more affordable. Instead, the Vertex team maintained the company will use a nascent donation program to address the concerns, according to people who attended the Oct. 12 session. (Silverman, 11/28)

CIDRAP: Studies Suggest Even One Vaccine Dose May Cut Risk Of Long COVID 
In Sweden, University of Gothenburg researchers led an observational evaluation of the efficacy of primary COVID-19 vaccination (two doses followed by a booster) against long COVID, or post-COVID condition (PCC), among adults whose first infections were recorded in a national registry from December 2020 to February 2022. Average follow-up was 129 days. (Van Beusekom, 11/28)

Stat: Argenx Antibody Fails Study In Autoimmune Disorder
Belgian drugmaker Argenx said Tuesday that its antibody medicine failed to achieve the goals of a late-stage study for a platelet-destroying autoimmune disorder — a setback in the company’s efforts to expand the drug’s use. (Feuerstein, 11/28)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Antibiotic Awareness Campaign In England Met Key Goals
A mass media campaign in England helped improve knowledge about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and attitudes regarding inappropriate antibiotic use, according to a study published last week in Eurosurveillance. (Dall, 11/28)

ScienceDaily: Understanding Subjective Beliefs Could Be Vital To Tailoring More Effective Treatments For Depression And ADHD 
Taking into account whether people believe they are receiving a real treatment or a fake one (placebo) could provide better insights that could help improve interventions for conditions such as depression and ADHD. (University of Surrey, 11/28)

Stat: What Don’t We Know About An Alzheimer’s Drug Side Effect? 
Since the FDA’s approval of lecanemab (marketed as Leqembi) and Medicare’s recent decision to cover the drug, I have met with Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones who are anxious to know whether they may benefit from this new treatment. They come in hope that this new medication may slow the progression of a cruel memory-robbing and personality-eroding disease. (Madhav Thambisetty, 11/28)

The Washington Post: Here’s How To Fix The Crumbling U.S. Pharmacy Industry 
The tectonic plates beneath retail pharmaceuticals are shifting, and drugstores are falling. The total number of drugstores has been falling since 2015, but the trend has been particularly pronounced in rural areas, which have lost about 10 percent of their pharmacies in two decades. (Robert Gebelhoff, 11/27)

Chicago Tribune: Renaming PTSD Could Help Reduce Stigma, Encourage Treatment
Although Veterans Day is firmly in the rear view, the difficult and critical work of offering veterans relief from their trauma remains a daily challenge. Reducing post-traumatic stress among military veterans can lead to a reduction of a host of social ills, but first, we must end its stigma as a “disorder.” (Eugene Lipov, 11/29)

USA Today: Rosalynn And Jimmy Carter Bring Needed Attention To Hospice Care - And Questions
Generally, people associate hospice with imminent death, especially if they have no close experience with it. And in many cases they are right: Out of the more than 1.5 million choosing hospice services in America, half die within 18 days of admission to hospice, and 1 in 10 die in the first two days. (Cara L. Wallace, 11/29)

The Washington Post: Poland’s Near-Total Abortion Ban Has Been A Disaster 
A right-wing government in Poland, in league with the Catholic Church and legitimately worried about plummeting birthrates, pushed for the toughest abortion law of any major European country three years ago. The results are now in, providing a telling lesson in unintended consequences. (Lee Hockstader, 11/29)

Also —

East Bay Times: Hospitals Are Shortchanging Black Cancer Patients
A new analysis from researchers at the American Cancer Society suggests that the distressing disparity in outcomes for Black and White colon cancer patients could narrow if hospitals simply treated all patients with the same level of high-quality care. (Lisa Jarvis, 11/28)

Stat: Neuroscience’s Long Legacy Of Racism 
Many parts of neuroscience research have a race problem. Black people are often excluded from studies due to the texture of their hair, receive erroneous and inaccurate readings due to the melanin content of their skin, and are severely underrepresented in neuroimaging datasets. Now neurotechnology is undergoing a moment of tremendous change, as Elon Musk’s Neuralink has obtained independent review board approval to conduct its first human trials for the R1 robot and N1 brain implant. That makes it an especially good time to have a frank conversation about who gets to lead innovation in neuroscience, especially within neuroengineering. Getting this wrong has vast consequences. (De-Shaine Murray, 11/29)