NPR: Obamacare Health Insurance Signups Hit Record Numbers In 2023 
The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces appear set to break a record for the number of Americans enrolled, for the third year in a row. More than 19 million people have signed up for the insurance plans often called Obamacare, and there are still three more weeks of enrollment, federal health officials said Wednesday. ... "Four out of five people who are shopping are ending up getting a plan on the marketplace website for $10 or less a month in premiums," Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tells NPR. (Webber and Kelly, 12/20)

Politico: Obamacare Signups On Record-Setting Pace For 2024
More than 19 million people are set to have an Obamacare insurance plan next year, shattering 2023’s record 16.3 million enrollment. The Biden administration announced Wednesday that as of Dec. 15 more than 15.3 million people have signed up for a plan under the Affordable Care Act through the HealthCare.gov website. HHS projects another roughly 4 million have enrolled through state-run marketplaces as of Dec. 9. (King, 12/20)

Reuters: Enrollment For 2024 Obamacare Plans 33% Higher Than Last Year
Consumers who enroll before the deadline will have coverage that starts from Feb. 1, 2024. Those who want to be covered as of Jan. 1 would have had to choose a plan by Dec. 15. Data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month showed nearly 7.3 million Americans had signed up for health insurance so far for next year through the ACA marketplace. (12/20)

The Wall Street Journal: Midsize Cities Struggle With Snowballing Homelessness
Firefighters and mental-health workers set out before dawn in this west Michigan city one November morning, rousing people sleeping on the streets before businesses open and seeing if any need help. Firefighter Mike Waldron spoke to two people sleeping above a steam vent outside a smoothie shop and returned to the group’s van. (Najmabadi and Kamp, 12/20)

The Washington Post: Dozens Died Homeless In D.C. This Year Amid Homelessness Spike
Unhoused people and their advocates marched through downtown Washington Wednesday in an annual vigil to honor those who died homeless in the District in the past 12 months. There were many to remember. At least 77 homeless people have died in D.C. this year, according to city’s medical examiner. They fell prey to intoxication, accidents and homicides amid a record increase in homelessness across the nation. (Moyer, 12/20)

AP: Homeless People Who Died On US Streets Are Increasingly Remembered At Winter Solstice Gatherings
With his gap-tooth smile, hip-hop routines and volunteer work for a food charity, Roosevelt White III was well known in the downtown Phoenix tent city known as “The Zone.” But like many homeless people, White suffered from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He died unexpectedly one sweltering September day at age 36. (Snow, 12/21)

AP: Homeless Numbers In Los Angeles Could Surge Again
In the hours after being elected mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass made a promise that will be an inescapable metric of her time in office: “We are going to solve homelessness.” The Democratic member of Congress, who had been on then-candidate Joe Biden’s short list for vice president, envisioned streets clear of more than 40,000 homeless people — a broken city within a city — and the expansion of housing and health services that would repair troubled lives. (Blood, 12/21)

AP: Methamphetamine, Fentanyl Drive Record Homeless Deaths In Portland, Oregon, Annual Report Finds
Fentanyl and methamphetamine drove a record number of homeless deaths last year in Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland, according to an annual report released by regional officials Wednesday. At least 315 homeless people died in 2022 in the Portland area, the report found. More than half of the fatalities — 123 — were from drug overdoses. Methamphetamine contributed to 85% of overdose deaths, and fentanyl contributed to 74%. (Rush, 12/20)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Medical Board Silent On Abortion Laws 
Last week, in rejecting Kate Cox’s bid to terminate her nonviable pregnancy, the Texas Supreme Court called on the Texas Medical Board to offer doctors more guidance on how to interpret the state’s abortion laws. “While the judiciary cannot compel executive branch entities to do their part, it is obvious that the legal process works more smoothly when they do,” the justices wrote. (Klibanoff, 12/21)

FactCheck.Org: Post Spreads Misleading Information About Texas Abortion Case
Kate Cox petitioned to be allowed to have an abortion in Texas to “protect her life, health, and future fertility,” after receiving news that her baby was unlikely to survive, according to her court filing. A popular Instagram post misrepresented Cox’s specific case and also made misleading claims about trisomy 18, the condition affecting her pregnancy. (Yandell, 12/20)

In other abortion news from the states —

Courthouse News Service: Fight Over 1849 Wisconsin Abortion Law Advances With DA’s Appeal
A Wisconsin district attorney has appealed a court declaration that a state law from 1849 does not ban consensual abortions, bringing the legal fight over the law one step closer to the state’s highest court. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski had promised to challenge Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Schlipper’s Dec. 5 decision shortly after it was handed down. Matthew Thome, Urmanski’s attorney with the Attolles firm in Milwaukee, filed a notice of appeal with the circuit court on Tuesday, and it was docketed in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Wednesday morning. (Kelly, 12/20)

AP: Top Wisconsin Republican Wants To Put Abortion Laws On A Future Ballot
Wisconsin’s top Republican wants to let voters decide whether to shrink the window of time in which women can get abortions. Current state law bans abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, but Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday that he hopes to put a proposal on some future ballot that would lower the limit to somewhere between the 12th and 15th week. (Venhuizen, 12/21)

CBS News: North Dakota Judge To Hear Request To Temporarily Block Part Of Abortion Law That Restricts Doctors
Physicians and the formerly sole abortion provider in North Dakota are asking a state district court judge to temporarily block a part of the state's revised abortion laws so doctors can perform the procedure to save a patient's life or health. (12/20)

The Hill: Backers Say Florida Abortion Ballot Initiative On Track Ahead Of Signature Deadline
A coalition of abortion rights groups in Florida says it is close to collecting enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot next year that would protect abortion. By the end of the month, Floridians Protecting Freedom said it will have submitted 1.4 million signatures to state officials, more than enough to qualify ahead of the Feb. 1 deadline to get signatures submitted and verified. (Weixel, 12/20)

The Washington Post: 12 States Where The Fate Of Abortion Rights Could Be On 2024 Ballots 
Voters in about a dozen states in 2024 could decide the fate of abortion rights with constitutional amendments on the ballot in a pivotal election year — including in several battlegrounds that will be key to deciding the presidential race and which party controls Congress. (Wang and Ann Caldwell, 12/20)

Also —

AP: Ohio Prosecutor Says He's Duty Bound To Bring Miscarriage Case To A Grand Jury
An Ohio prosecutor says it is not within his power to drop a criminal charge against a woman who miscarried in the restroom at her home, regardless of the pressure being brought to bear by the national attention on her case. Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said in a release issued late Tuesday that he is obligated to present the felony abuse-of-corpse charge against Brittany Watts, 33, of Warren, to a grand jury.“ (Carr Smyth, 12/20)

CNN: Emergency Contraception Sales Spike After New Year’s, Study Finds
Sales of emergency contraception in the United States may spike by around 10% following New Year’s celebrations, according to a new study that found the trend has occurred over the past several years. (Rogers, 12/20)

The New York Times: U.S. Regulators Propose New Online Privacy Safeguards For Children
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday proposed sweeping changes to bolster the key federal rule that has protected children’s privacy online, in one of the most significant attempts by the U.S. government to strengthen consumer privacy in more than a decade. The changes are intended to fortify the rules underlying the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, a law that restricts the online tracking of youngsters by services like social media apps, video game platforms, toy retailers and digital advertising networks. Regulators said the moves would “shift the burden” of online safety from parents to apps and other digital services while curbing how platforms may use and monetize children’s data. (Singer, 12/20)

In other news from the administration and Capitol Hill —

The New York Times: Supreme Court Will Consider Hold On Biden’s Air Pollution Plan
The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it would hear arguments in February on whether it should temporarily stop the Biden administration from requiring factories and power plants in Western and Midwestern states to cut air pollution that drifts into Eastern states. The court’s brief order did not suspend the program in the meantime or add the case to the court’s merits docket. Oral arguments in cases that reach the court by way of an emergency application, as in this case, are quite rare. (Liptak, 12/20)

Politico: Artificial Intelligence Is Already In Use At HHS
As Washington scrambles to regulate artificial intelligence in health care, the Department of Health and Human Services already uses the technology in its day-to-day work — and expects AI to play a larger role over the next several years. HHS is one of the top agencies using AI — fourth only to NASA and the Departments of Commerce and Energy — according to a recent Government Accountability Office report which looked at implemented or planned AI uses reported by department. (Cirruzzo, 12/20)

Politico: FAA Creates New Panel To Focus On Air Traffic Controller Fatigue
The FAA said Wednesday that it is creating a new panel of experts to review fatigue issues across its air traffic controller workforce. The three-member panel “will examine how the latest science on sleep needs and fatigue considerations could be applied to controller work requirements and scheduling,” the FAA said on Wednesday. Those experts aim to identify potential ways the FAA “could better address” fatigue among its controllers. The study will also review previous controller fatigue research, the agency said. (Pawlyk, 12/20)

Politico: House Dems Call For Hearing On Heat-Related USPS Injuries
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Democrats are pushing the panel to investigate whether the U.S. Postal Service is doing enough to protect employees from extreme heat. In a letter sent Tuesday to Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), 14 Democrats said they were "troubled by reports of unsafe working conditions driven by extreme heat and inadequate workplace safety procedures." (Alvey, 12/20)

On medical device safety —

Reuters: US FDA Identifies Recall Of Philips Medical Imaging Devices As Most Serious
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday classified the recall of Philips' (PHG.AS) medical imaging devices as most serious as their use could cause serious injuries or death. The company's U.S.-listed shares were down about 1%. Philips was recalling some models of the Panorama 1.0T HFO device in the U.S. due to risk of explosion during a "quench procedure" caused by excessive buildup of helium gas. (12/20)

Bloomberg: Philips Recalls Medical Imaging Gear On Risk Of Explosion
Royal Philips NV recalled an MRI device as the US Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about a risk of explosion, adding to the company’s woes as it fights litigation over sleep apnea gear. The Dutch medical equipment maker issued a voluntary recall of its Panorama 1.0T HFO magnetic resonance imaging system due to a problem related to excessive pressure buildup of helium gas. In a worst-case scenario this could lead to a rupture with enough force to result in property damage or injury, Philips said in a statement. (Roach, 12/21)

KFF Health News: Deep Flaws In FDA Oversight Of Medical Devices, And Patient Harm, Exposed In Lawsuits And Records
Living with diabetes, Carlton “PeeWee” Gautney Jr. relied on a digital device about the size of a deck of playing cards to pump insulin into his bloodstream. The pump, manufactured by device maker Medtronic, connected plastic tubing to an insulin reservoir, which Gautney set to release doses of the vital hormone over the course of the day. Gautney, a motorcycle enthusiast, worked as a dispatcher with the police department in Opp, Alabama. (Schulte and Hacker, 12/21)

On news concerning menthol tobacco products —

The Hill: Top Biden Officials Meet With Black, Public Health Leaders Following Menthol Ban Delay
Top Biden administration officials this week met with prominent civil rights and public health leaders in the wake of the administration’s decision to delay a ban on menthol cigarettes. The unannounced meeting was not formally on the public schedule, but it followed a similar call officials had last month with tobacco industry lobbyists — including former lawmakers — who advocated against the proposed ban. (Weixel, 12/20)

Reuters: Juul Seeks US Authorization For Its New Age-Restricted Menthol Pods
Juul Labs said on Tuesday it was seeking U.S. authorization for its new menthol-flavored pods, which require user age verification, to be used with its e-cigarette device that is under review by regulators. Juul's e-cigarettes were briefly banned in the U.S. in June 2022 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded the company had failed to show that the sale of its products would be appropriate for public health. Following an appeal, the health regulator put the ban on hold and agreed to an additional review of Juul's marketing application. (12/20)

Also —

KFF Health News: Inside The Pentagon’s Painfully Slow Effort To Clean Up Decades Of PFAS Contamination
Oscoda, Michigan, has the distinction as the first community where “forever chemicals” were found seeping from a military installation into the surrounding community. Beginning in 2010, state officials and later residents who lived near the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base were horrified to learn that the chemicals, collectively called PFAS, had leached into their rivers, lakes, and drinking water. (Norman and Kime, 12/21)

KFF Health News: The Year In Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need To Know
This year, about $1.5 billion has landed in state and local government coffers from court settlements made with more than a dozen companies that manufactured, sold, or distributed prescription painkillers and were sued for their role in fueling the opioid crisis. That money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions of dollars being invested in real time to address addiction. (Pattani, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Expensive Drugs From Big US Pharma Get More Money From FDA Program
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has made over $20 billion in worldwide sales from a cystic fibrosis drug approved four years ago that can cost up to $300,000 a year. With blockbuster sales like that, Vertex wouldn’t appear to need government assistance. But thanks to an obscure program designed to incentivize companies to make drugs for uncommon or neglected diseases, the Food and Drug Administration also awarded Vertex a bonus certificate that it can either use to expedite a future drug approval or sell for around $100 million. (Langreth, Rutherford, and Meghjani, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Hospital Prices: Medicare Warns Companies On Price Transparency
Some of the largest US hospital chains and most prestigious academic medical centers have violated federal rules by not posting the prices they charge for care, according to records obtained by Bloomberg News. For-profit HCA Healthcare Inc., the nation’s largest hospital system, and big nonprofit operators including Ascension and Trinity Health have been cited for failing to make prices fully available to the public, enforcement letters Bloomberg obtained through a public records request show. (Tozzi and Meghjani, 12/20)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Fitch: Healthcare Hiring, Retention Rates Growing
Hospital employment numbers have increased, while healthcare job openings are on the decline—though the industry is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 17.2 million individuals were on the payroll at healthcare organizations in November 2023, compared with 16.6 million in December 2022, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Devereaux, 12/20)

Roll Call: Spending Fights, Supply Chain Delays Slow Mobile Health Boom 
Nan’s Donuts, located in the central Pennsylvania region of Sugar Valley, is only open Wednesdays and Saturdays. That’s why Don Lynch parks Evangelical Community Hospital’s mobile health clinic in the parking lot of the adjoining Amish grocery on the first Wednesday of each month. (Clason, 12/20)

Modern Healthcare: Final Merger Guidelines May Limit M&A
Federal regulators subtly changed the final merger guidelines this week as the agencies outlined their plan to limit consolidation in all industries, including healthcare. The updated guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department could have a wide-ranging impact on many types of deals, including cross-market health system mergers and acquisitions of physician practices by hospitals and insurers. (Kacik, 12/20)

Bay Area News Group: Sutter Health Eyes Huge Santa Clara Lease In Boost For Office Market
Sutter Health has struck a deal to lease three office buildings at a high-profile Santa Clara campus in a deal that bolsters the Bay Area’s wobbly commercial property sector. ... Sutter Health intends to use the three buildings as medical office sites, according to the commercial property experts familiar with the leasing deal. It wasn’t immediately clear when Sutter Health would be moving into the buildings. Financial terms of the lease weren’t disclosed. (Avalos, 12/20)

Bloomberg: UnitedHealth Receives $610 Million Offer For Brazil Unit
UnitedHealth Group Inc received an offer from local entrepreneur Nelson Tanure valuing its Brazil unit at 2.5 billion to 3 billion reais ($509 million to $610 million), people familiar with the matter said. Private equity firm Bain Capital LP and another Brazilian entrepreneur, Jose Seripieri Filho, have also made acquisition proposals, the people said, asking not to be named because negotiations are private. A decision from the US company about the offers is expected soon, though negotiations could end without a deal, the people said. (Gamarski, Lucchesi, and Tozzi, 12/21)

Stat: SEC Charges Former Device Maker CEO With $41 Million Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday charged the former CEO of Stimwave, a company that sold devices containing dummy pieces of plastic, with defrauding investors out of $41 million. (Lawrence, 12/20)

Stat: Medical Marijuana Companies Are Using Pharma’s Sales Tactics With Little Of The Same Scrutiny
Medical marijuana companies sell medicine, just like pharmaceutical companies. But they’re not playing by the same rules — and that’s putting patients at risk. (Florko, 12/21)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Says Merck’s Chronic Cough Treatment Didn’t Show Substantial Evidence Of Effectiveness
Merck’s candidate to treat chronic cough didn’t show substantial evidence of effectiveness, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The Rahway, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company said Wednesday it received a complete response letter from the FDA regarding its new drug application for gefapixant, a potential treatment for refractory chronic cough or unexplained chronic cough in adults. (Glickman, 12/20)

Reuters: US FDA Declines To Approve Merck's Chronic Cough Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to approve Merck's (MRK.N) drug for chronic cough, the company said on Wednesday, marking the second rejection in less than two years. The health regulator concluded the company's application for the drug, gefapixant, did not meet substantial evidence of effectiveness for treating refractory chronic cough and unexplained chronic cough. Currently, there are no approved treatments in the United States for coughing bouts that don't go away despite treatment of underlying conditions or have no identifiable cause. (12/20)

Reuters: US FDA Approves Sweden-Based Calliditas' Kidney Disease Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to Swedish drugmaker Calliditas Therapeutics' (CALTX.ST) drug to treat rare kidney disease IgA Nephropathy (IgAN), the company said on Wednesday. The company's U.S.-listed shares rose 29% after the bell. The FDA decision makes the drug, branded as Tarpeyo, the first to be granted a full approval in the United States for IgAN, ahead of Travere Therapeutics' (TVTX.O) Filspari which won accelerated approval earlier this year. (Sunny and Santhosh, 12/20)

Stat: In Another Setback, Argenx Drug Fails Trial In Skin Blistering Condition
The Belgian company Argenx said Wednesday that its closely watched antibody therapy failed to outperform placebo in a Phase 3 trial in an autoimmune condition that causes the skin to blister — the second setback in less than a month for the biotech and its drug. (Joseph, 12/20)

Bloomberg: Sanofi Ends Lung Cancer Drug Study After Trial Failure
Sanofi will stop developing an experimental lung cancer medicine after it failed to impress in a late-stage trial. The French drugmaker is terminating the program for tusamitamab ravtansine, an antibody-based treatment that failed to outperform a chemotherapy in treating some patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. (Loh, 12/21)

Stat: Can The FDA Get Companies To Test Drugs In People Of Color?
Sometime next year drug and medical device companies will have to tell the Food and Drug Administration how they plan to include people of color in clinical trials. But planning isn’t the same as doing, the industry’s track record isn’t great, and it’s not clear whether the FDA will twist arms, experts told STAT. (Wilkerson, 12/21)

Fox News: Sleeping Longer During The Weekend Could Help Keep Heart Attacks At Bay, Study Finds
Catching up on shuteye over the weekend could provide the bonus of improved cardiovascular health, according to a new study published in the journal Sleep Health. Researchers from Nanjing Medical University in China analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which compiled information from 3,400 U.S. adults ages 20 years and older between 2017 and 2018. ...The people who slept for at least one hour longer on weekends than weekdays were shown to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease. (Rudy, 12/20)

Also —

Axios: AI Guardrails Can Fall Short In Health Care: Study
When physicians use artificial intelligence tools with baked-in systemic bias to help figure out what's wrong with patients, it's perhaps little surprise they're apt to make less accurate diagnoses. But a common safeguard against potential bias — transparency about how the AI came to form its predictions — doesn't help mitigate that problem, a new JAMA study finds. (Reed, 12/20)

CNN: ‘Great British Bake Off’ Desserts: Are They Good For You? Experts Weigh In
Fans of “The Great British Bake Off” will be delighted to learn that a good many of the show’s famous holiday desserts have ingredients that are good for you, according to new research the authors admit was done for fun. (LaMotte, 12/20)

NPR: Doxy-PEP, A Morning-After Pill For STDs, May Be Less Effective For Women
There's a treatment that works like a morning-after pill for sexually transmitted infections – an antibiotic taken in the hours after unprotected sex. And it can significantly lower the chance of developing common STIs like chlamydia and syphilis. In fact, the approach has proven effective enough that federal guidelines are now being finalized so that more doctors and public health departments can offer it to those who're at high risk of STIs. Except so far, "doxy-PEP" is only recommended for men who have sex with men and transgender women. (Stone, 12/20)

CIDRAP: Study Highlights Factors Linked To Inappropriate Antibiotics In Kids
Ear infections, a general practitioner (GP) as a prescriber, and rural settings were identified as primary drivers of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in children treated in ambulatory care in high-income countries, according to a study published yesterday in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. (Dall, 12/20)

In research relating to covid —

CIDRAP: Most COVID Patients Received Antibiotics Early In The Pandemic, Data Show 
Nearly 80% of COVID-19 patients in 28 countries received early empiric antibiotics during the first year and a half of the pandemic, US and Turkish researchers reported yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 12/20)

CIDRAP: Long COVID Changes Heart Rate Variability, Study Suggests
According to a small case-control study today in Scientific Reports, long COVID can affect heart rate variability (HRV) at rest and during deep breathing, adding to the evidence that persistent symptoms of the virus can be associated with cardiac and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (dysautonomia). This system regulates involuntary functions like heartbeat, blood pressure, and sweating. (Soucheray, 12/20)

CIDRAP: COVID Contact-Tracing Study Suggests Length Of Exposure Biggest Factor In Disease Spread 
An analysis of 7 million contacts of COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom estimates that most transmissions resulted from exposures lasting 1 hour to several days and that households accounted for 40% of spread from spring 2021 to early 2022. A team led by University of Oxford researchers evaluated data from the National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 contact-tracing smartphone app in England and Wales to estimate how well app measurements correlated with real-life transmissions. (Van Beusekom, 12/20)

CBS News: International Traveler Tests Positive For Measles After Arriving In Colorado, Visiting Several Counties
An international traveler to Colorado has tested positive for measles. The adolescent arrived at Denver International Airport on Dec. 13 and visited several counties in the state in the past week. Arapahoe County Public Health is leading the investigation with state and other local public health agencies to notify those who have been directly exposed. The adolescent has an unknown vaccination status and has been in isolation since Dec. 18. (McRae, 12/20)

The Colorado Sun: Officials Confirm First Case Of Measles In Colorado Resident In Five Years
Colorado officials have confirmed the first case of measles in a state resident in five years. The patient is an adolescent who traveled abroad to several countries, returning to Denver International Airport on Dec. 13, according to the state health department. It’s the first confirmed measles case in a Colorado resident since January 2019. (Brown and Ingold, 12/20)

Also —

AP: Parents Of Kids Sickened By Lead-Linked Fruit Pouches Fear For Future
When Cora Dibert went for a routine blood test in October, the toddler brought along her favorite new snack: a squeeze pouch of WanaBana cinnamon-flavored apple puree. “She sucked them dry,” recalls her 26-year-old mother, Morgan Shurtleff, of Elgin, Oklahoma. Within a week, the family got an alarming call. The test showed that the 1-year-old had lead poisoning, with nearly four times as much lead as the level that raises concern. Only later did Shurtleff learn that that the fruit puree Cora’s grandmother bought at a Dollar Tree store may have been the cause. (Aleccia, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: Thousands Overdosed On Ozempic, Wegovy In 2023
Some of those taking Ozempic or Wegovy are learning that too much of a good thing is never good. ... Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 this year, at least 2,941 Americans reported overdose exposures to semaglutide, according to a recent report from America’s Poison Centers, a national nonprofit representing 55 poison centers in the United States. ... The nationwide number of semaglutide overdoses this year is more than double the 1,447 reported in 2022, which was more than double the 607 semaglutide overdoses reported in 2021. (Childs, 12/20)

NPR: The Neglected And Deadly Disease Noma Finally Gets Some Attention
It started out as malaria – or at least that's what her grandparents thought. But there was another devious infection lurking beneath the surface of her skin and inside her mouth. Mulikat Okanlawon was a child, only 6 or 7 years old, when she contracted noma – a rare gangrenous infection that ate away at the flesh and bone in her face. Compared to others who get noma, Mulikat was lucky. It almost always leads to death. ... Now, in a great win for noma advocates and survivors, noma has been added to the WHO list of Neglected Tropical Diseases, and with that will bring more attention to the disease than ever before. (Barnhart, 12/20)

Stat: Advocates Call Out 'SNL' Over Stereotypes, Errors In Sickle Cell Skit
Mary Brown was sipping coffee at home in Ontario, Calif., Sunday morning when a friend sent a video clip that ruined her breakfast. It contained a skit from “Saturday Night Live” the night before about the new gene therapies for sickle cell disease. In it, workers gather for an office white-elephant-style gift exchange. A white employee, played by Kate McKinnon, gives a Black employee with sickle cell, played by Kenan Thompson, enrollment in “Vertex Pharmaceutical and CRISPR Therapeutics’ exa-cel program for sickle cell anemia,” explaining that it was a cure and she had an in with the company to get ahead on the waiting list. (Mast, 12/20)

In news on covid —

CBS News: COVID-19, RSV And Flu Cases Spike As UPMC Reinstates Mask Wearing To Slow Spread
UPMC has reinstated its mask mandate.The chief medical officer at UPMC told KDKA-TV that in the last six to eight weeks, more and more people are being treated for respiratory illnesses. The health system is asking everyone to mask up to slow the spread. "That's why the mask inside the hospital and inside the clinics is starting back up. It's not for any other reason. It doesn't have to do with political issues or anything else. We want to do the right things for you," said Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC's chief medical officer. (Bah, 12/20)

NBC News: CDC Director: U.S. Not Near Peak Covid Or Flu Levels For Season Yet
Winter officially begins Thursday, and with the cold season comes an expected rise in rates of flu and Covid, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. is seeing a "sharp increase" in flu levels right now, particularly in the south, Cohen said Wednesday in an interview. Covid cases also appear to be climbing nationally, she said, while cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, seem to have reached their highest point this season. "We’re seeing RSV peak a bit sooner, but we do not believe we’re near yet at the peak of flu or Covid," Cohen said. (Bendix, 12/21)

Bloomberg: Surging JN.1 Variant In Wastewater Spurs Questions About Covid Shift To The Gut
Spiking Covid-19 cases detected in wastewater have prompted some scientists to ask whether JN.1, the strain driving an explosive winter surge, is selectively targeting peoples’ intestinal tracts. The evidence is extremely limited and theoretical, and there’s no data suggesting that more people are experiencing severe digestive illnesses from Covid. Yet there’s no question that the coronavirus has changed its requirements for entering cells, said Sydney virologist Stuart Turville. This may be consistent with more efficient infection of particular tissues including the gut. (Gale, 12/21)

The New York Times: Kendra’s Law Was Meant To Prevent Violence. It Failed Hundreds Of Times
After John Skeene served prison time for beating his mother to death with a chair leg, after he attacked a man with a radiator cover and threatened to murder his therapist, New York State placed him in its gold-standard program for treating mentally ill people at risk of committing violence. The program, which grew out of legislation known as Kendra’s Law and has been held up as a national model, was supposed to ensure that Mr. Skeene complied with a court-ordered treatment plan despite being homeless and living with schizoaffective disorder. (Julia Harris and Ransom, 12/21)

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

New Hampshire Bulletin: Federal Officials Say NH Is Kicking Too Many Kids Off Of Medicaid. The State Says That's Not The Whole Story
Federal officials are raising concerns about New Hampshire and eight other states they say are leading the country in terminating Medicaid coverage for children now that pandemic protections have ended. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, New Hampshire ended coverage for 19,810 children between March and September, an 18% drop. Only South Dakota and Idaho had bigger decreases, each with a 27% drop, according to CMS. (Timmins, 12/20)

WLRN: A New App In Palm Beach County Aims To Prevent Dangerous Falls
Falls were the leading cause of traumatic injuries last year in Palm Beach County. They can lead to chronic pain and even the loss of independence. Now, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County is promoting a free smartphone application about fall prevention. (Zaragovia, 12/20)

Politico: ‘A Fiefdom’: One Brooklyn Health Board Sued Over CEO’s Ouster
A member of One Brooklyn Health’s board is suing chair Alexander Rovt, a billionaire businessperson and major political donor in New York, over a recent vote to oust the hospital network’s chief executive. The yet-to-be-reported petition , which was filed by board member Maurice Reid and former State Assemblymember Annette Robinson, accuses Rovt of breaching his fiduciary duties by making “reckless” and false statements maligning One Brooklyn Health CEO LaRay Brown in an interview with POLITICO in September and “lavishing expensive perks” on fellow board members. (Kaufman, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Supervisors Name Developer Of General Hospital Revamp
A Culver City-based developer that specializes in bringing capital to low-income communities has been selected to renovate the landmark General Hospital building in Boyle Heights and develop its 25-acre grounds as a community and wellness center. “Revitalizing the historic General Hospital building and developing the surrounding land represents an opportunity to create a significant number of housing units,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who spearheaded the project. (Smith, 12/20)

Houston Chronicle: Houston UMMC Hospital To Pay More Than $2M For Alleged Overbilling
United Memorial Medical Center, a Houston hospital that entered the national spotlight during the pandemic, has been ordered to pay more than $2 million after allegedly overbilling the government for COVID-19 tests and patient care, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.  Positioned in a low-income and medically vulnerable part of the city, UMMC provided rare media access in the heat of the public health crisis, making the relatively small, unknown hospital a nationwide symbol of tireless frontline health care workers and reaping millions from the City of Houston. (Gill, 12/20)

State House News: PFAs Exposure: Massachusetts Lawmakers Urge Legal Action
Nearly half of the Legislature signed onto a letter to Attorney General Andrea Campbell this week, imploring the state to join Worcester firefighters diagnosed with cancer in their lawsuit against companies that make firefighting gear alleged to include toxic PFAS chemicals. “Our firefighters place themselves in harm’s way to protect the Commonwealth’s residents and property. In doing so, they utilize gear, procured by the government, with the expectation that the gear will help protect them from harm." (Young, 12/20)

Minnesota Public Radio: St. Cloud Mental Health Center Aims To Be A Bridge To Healing
The walls inside Bridge Healing Center in St. Cloud are painted soothing hues of blue and green, a deliberate effort to help visitors feel relaxed and welcome. The hallways are lined with colorful paintings by a local artist featuring people in East African dress, with encouraging phrases in both English and Somali. (Marohn, 12/21)

AP: Judge Weighs Request To Stop Nation's First Execution By Nitrogen, In Alabama
A federal judge heard diverging arguments Wednesday about the humaneness and risks of execution by nitrogen gas as he weighs whether to let Alabama attempt the nation’s first use of the method. Attorneys for Kenneth Eugene Smith are asking a judge to block his Jan. 25 execution by nitrogen hypoxia. They argued that the method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and said the mask, which is fitted seal over his nose and mouth, would interfere with his ability to pray with his spiritual adviser. (Chandler, 12/21)

The Baltimore Sun: Tuerk House To Open East Baltimore Treatment Center For Pregnant People, Teens
Tuerk House, a nonprofit substance use disorder treatment health system, announced this week that it is developing a second residential treatment facility in Baltimore that will care for pregnant people and teenagers struggling with addiction and provide another crisis stabilization center. (Roberts, 12/21)

AP: Health Officials Push To Get Schoolchildren Vaccinated As More US Parents Opt Out
When Idaho had a rare measles outbreak a few months ago, health officials scrambled to keep it from spreading. In the end, 10 people, all in one family, were infected, all unvaccinated. This time, the state was lucky, said the region’s medical director Dr. Perry Jansen. The family quickly quarantined and the children were already taught at home. The outbreak could have been worse if the kids were in public school, given the state’s low vaccination rates, he said. (Shastri, 12/20)

CIDRAP: Study Shows HPV Vaccination Gaps In Preteens 
A research letter yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics study shows that children younger than 13 years still have significant gaps in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage, despite the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices recommendation for routine HPV vaccination for girls aged 11 to 12 years since 2006, and for boys since 2011. (Soucheray, 12/19)

CIDRAP: Early Paxlovid For COVID-19 Halved Death, Hospitalization In New Study 
Starting the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) 0 or 1 day after COVID-19 symptom onset halved 28-day all-cause death and hospitalization rates compared with waiting 2 or more days, University of Hong Kong researchers report in Nature Communications. (Van Beusekom, 12/19)

CIDRAP: Daily In-Hospital Toothbrushing May Reduce Pneumonia 
A meta-analysis today in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that daily tooth brushing in hospitalized patients lowers the risk of hospital-onset pneumonia. The effect was strongest in patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation. (Soucheray, 12/18)

CIDRAP: Noma Added To WHO List Of Neglected Tropical Diseases 
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced late last week that the gangrenous disease noma has been added to its official list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Also known as gangrenous stomatitis or cancrum oris, noma is a rapidly progressive bacterial infection of the face and mouth. It begins as inflammation of the gums, and, if not treated early with antibiotics, spreads quickly to destroy facial tissue and bone, frequently leading to death or severe disfigurement. Diagnosis and treatment in the early stages of the infection can lead to proper wound healing. (Dall, 12/18)

The New York Times: We Know How To Put People On Ozempic. Do We Know How To Get Them Off It? 
Even without enough knowledge about the ramifications of long-term use, it seems people may have to stay on semaglutide drugs indefinitely to keep weight off and their blood sugar regulated. There are potentially serious side effects to being on the drug for even brief periods, and there are side effects to coming off it. In July, Aria Bendix reported for NBC News that “Ozempic has been on the market for less than six years, and Wegovy for two, so doctors and patients are learning in real time what it’s like to use the drugs for extended periods.” (Jessica Grose, 12/20)

Bloomberg: Ozempic, Wegovy Drove Hype-Filled Debate About Obesity Drugs In 2023
This year, the incredible potential of obesity medicines like Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound started to come into view. The drugs work so well for so many that it’s starting to look like they could change the literal and metaphorical shape of society — starting with our waistlines and extending to our overall health and our habits around food and alcohol. (Lisa Jarvis, 12/20)

Stat: Why Health Care Costs Have Stayed Mostly Flat Since 2010 
All Americans are worried about inflation. The prices for housing, clothes and food at the supermarket are eyepopping and threatening President Biden’s re-election. But there is one totally unexpected exception to inflation recently: health care. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 12/21)

The Tennessean: Employers Should Make Sure Health Care Plans Are Inclusive To Transgender Employees
Whether you run a small business, a large company, or a nonprofit organization, you may want to reevaluate the health care plan(s) you provide to your employees if you have not done so since 2020. No, we are not talking about COVID-19, but the United States Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020). In 2020, the Supreme Court left little doubt that the protections in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extend to transgender individuals. (Joycelyn Stevenson and Sarah Belchic, 12/20)

New England Journal of Medicine: Deciding For Patients Who Have Lost Decision-Making Capacity — Finding Common Ground In Medical Ethics 
The 1990 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health riveted the public and sparked discussions about how to make decisions for patients who had lost decision-making capacity. After Cruzan, empirical studies showed that many widely supported approaches to this problem did not work as planned, and ethical analyses showed that many of the key concepts and arguments involved were unsound. (Bernard Lo, 12/21)

New England Journal of Medicine: Fundamentals Of Medical Ethics — A New Perspective Series 
Ethical issues in medicine have been hashed out for centuries, but advances in medical science often give rise to new ethical dilemmas. At the dawn of hemodialysis, for instance, a 1962 Life magazine article thrust medical ethics into public awareness when it described a predominantly lay committee that decided which patients with end-stage renal failure would have access to the new, potentially lifesaving technology — only five slots were available.1 In making these decisions, the committee was guided primarily by their individual consciences because no settled guidelines existed. (Bernard Lo, M.D., Debra Malina, Ph.D., Genevra Pittman, M.P.H., and Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., 12/21)