AP: US Overdose Deaths Dropped In 2023, The First Time Since 2018
The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. It would be only the second annual decline since the current national drug death epidemic began more than three decades ago. (Stobbe, 5/15)

NBC News: Overdose Deaths Decreased For First Time In 5 Years But Still Topped 100,000
Drug overdose deaths decreased slightly last year, falling for the first time since 2018, early data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Wednesday shows. Still, overdose deaths remain extremely high. More than 107,000 people died of a drug overdose in 2023, down from roughly 111,000 in 2022, the data showed. (Sullivan, 5/15)

Also —

The Hill: Walgreens Offering Cheaper Version Of Opioid Reversal Drug
Walgreens is set to offer a cheaper version of an important opioid reversal drug at its stores soon, according to Wednesday press release. “Walgreens today announced it is expanding access to an over the counter, life-saving medication with the launch of Walgreens Brand Naloxone HCI Nasal Spray,” reads the press release from Walgreens’ parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance. (Suter, 5/15)

The Texas Tribune: The Overdose Rise In Travis County Is Part Of A Growing Trend
When Travis County Judge Andy Brown got a phone call two weeks ago about a rash of overdoses that claimed at least eight lives in Austin over a span of 27 hours, he knew the dark day he had been preparing for had arrived. “That day was absolutely horrible and something we haven’t seen before as far as I know,” Brown said. (Simpson, 5/16)

North Carolina Health News: Many NC Jails Violate Legal Requirements By Skipping Meds For Opioid Use Disorder 
For almost six years, R struggled with addiction. He said he tried to quit using opioids and ​​benzodiazepines more than 50 times — mostly “cold turkey” — but it never worked. In 2020, he got arrested. When he got out of jail on bond a few days later, R said he knew he needed to do something different so his life wouldn’t be cycling in and out of jail. That change came on March 14, 2020, when he started taking Suboxone. The medication containing buprenorphine and naloxone is one of the most effective known treatments for opioid use disorder. (Crumpler, 5/16)

KFF Health News: Addiction Treatment Homes Say Montana’s Funding Fixes Don’t Go Far Enough
Montana health officials have started a voucher system to help people with substance use disorders move into transitional housing as they rebuild their lives. But those who run the clinical houses said the new money isn’t enough to fix a financial hole after a prior state revamp. (Houghton, 5/16)

The Hill: Wegovy Could Bankrupt US Health System, Sanders Says In New Report
Blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy could bankrupt the U.S. health care system unless the price drops, according to a staff report released Wednesday from the office of Senate Health Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Unless prices dramatically decline, Wegovy and weight loss drugs could push Americans to spend $1 trillion per year on prescription drugs, the report concluded. (Weixel, 5/15)

Newsweek: Medicare Could Save $500 Million With Coverage Change
Anti-obesity medications are a hot topic in the medical world, and many Americans remain conflicted on how and when they should be covered by health insurance. Despite the controversy around paying for weight loss drugs like Ozempic, a new Intensity report found covering the anti-obesity medications could in fact save Medicare around $500 million yearly. (Blake, 5/15)

Axios: Weight-Loss Drug Shortages Leave Wegovy Patients Stressed
Patients prescribed highly effective anti-obesity medications are growing anxious about the increasing difficulty of obtaining them amid long-running shortages driven by blockbuster demand for the drugs. (Reed, 5/16)

The Hill: Voters More Aware Of Drug Pricing In Inflation Reduction Act: Poll
President Biden’s messaging about lowering the cost of prescription drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act is resonating with more people, but most voters overall are still unaware of some key provisions, according to a new poll from health policy research group KFF. Lowering health costs has been a key reelection message for Biden, and he has touted passage of the IRA as a signature achievement. (Weixel, 5/15)

In other news —

The Hill: Carper, Scott Introduce Legislation To Extend Hospital-At-Home For 5 Years
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will introduce legislation Wednesday that would extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) waiver program past its 2024 expiration date. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced several waivers and flexibilities in 2020, allowing for various inpatient-level hospital services to be conducted in patients’ homes. (Choi, 5/15)

Politico: What’s In Schumer’s AI Framework For Health Care
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s bipartisan artificial intelligence working group is calling for committees to consider a policy framework that could rein in the technology’s use in health care. The policy proposals, from the working group of Schumer and Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), are the most detailed Congress has offered on AI in health care to date. (Leonard, 5/15)

Modern Healthcare: AI In Healthcare Needs Strict Oversight, Rigorous Testing: IHI
Health systems implementing artificial intelligence should have strict oversight, informed patient consent and rigorous testing in place for the technology, according to safety recommendations from a recent Institute for Healthcare Improvement report. The report, published Wednesday by IHI's think tank, Lucian Leape Institute, lays out best practices from 30 patient safety and technology experts on generative AI used in documentation assistance, clinical decision support and chatbots that interact with patients. (Devereaux, 5/15)

Fox News: Health Care Costs Up To 300% Higher For Privately Insured Patients Than Those With Medicare
Most Americans — more than 65% — have private health insurance, but a new report has revealed a potentially very expensive drawback. Patients who have private (commercial) coverage may end up paying significantly more for their medical care compared to those who have public health insurance, such as Medicare, according to recent data from RAND Corp. in Washington, D.C. As of 2022, employers and private insurance companies paid an average of 254% more for medical services than what Medicare programs would have paid. (Rudy, 5/15)

Modern Healthcare: FTC’s Lina Khan Defends Antitrust Probes, Noncompete Rule
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan pointed to her agency's antitrust work Wednesday, including blocking healthcare mergers and investigating vertical integration, in her pitch to boost the FTC's budget. Khan also defended the FTC's recent decision to finalize a rule banning non-compete clauses, and told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services she would like to see the agency's budget grow next year by about 25% to $535 million so she can continue to expand its work. She also wants to add 55 more staffers. (McAuliff, 5/15)

Also —

CNN: FDA Greenlights Self-Collection Of Vaginal Samples For Cervical Cancer Screening
Instead of a traditional speculum-involved pelvic exam to screen for cervical cancer, the US Food and Drug Administration has given the go-ahead for patients to have the option to collect their own vaginal samples for screening in a health care setting, such as at their doctor’s office, an urgent care or even a mobile clinic. (Howard, 5/15)

Reuters: US FDA Approves Expanded Use Of Bristol Myers' Cancer Cell Therapy
The U.S. health regulator on Wednesday approved the expanded use of Bristol Myers Squibb's (BMY.N) cancer cell therapy Breyanzi for the treatment of adults with a type of blood cancer called follicular lymphoma, that has returned or has not responded to prior treatments. The Food and Drug Administration's decision marks the fourth approval for Breyanzi, which can now be used to treat patients who have received two or more prior lines of therapy. (5/16)

Newsweek: Ventilator Recall Issued With Warning Of 'Serious Injuries Or Death'
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered a software recall for a type of ventilator, for fear of "serious injuries or death." The ventilators—the Philips Respironics, Inc. Trilogy EVO, Trilogy EV300, Trilogy Evo O2, and Trilogy Evo Universal—have been assigned a Class I recall, which is the most serious type of recall that the FDA has. (Thomson, 5/15)

AP: UN Agency Authorizes Second Vaccine Against Dengue Amid Outbreaks In The Americas
The World Health Organization on Wednesday authorized a second dengue vaccine, a move that could provide protection for millions worldwide against the mosquito-borne disease that has already sparked numerous outbreaks across the Americas this year. In a statement on Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said it approved the dengue vaccine made by the Japanese pharmaceutical Takeda. ... The two-dose vaccine protects against the four types of dengue. (5/15)

Modern Healthcare: What The Two-Midnight Rule Means For Medicare Advantage Insurers
Medicare Advantage companies and healthcare providers are reckoning with the effects of an updated federal policy that governs how to pay for patients’ hospital stays. The "two-midnight rule," newly applied to Medicare Advantage this year, lets hospitals categorize more patient visits as higher-cost, inpatient stays. In addition to threatening to disrupt carriers' already shaky finances, it could invite more scrutiny of Medicare Advantage companies' coverage policies and decision-making tools. (Tepper, 5/15)

Modern Healthcare: How Blackstone Equity Healthcare Uses Data To Lower Health Costs
Andreas Mang knows that executives like him aren’t always going to get a warm welcome from human resources leaders whose company has been acquired by Blackstone. “A lot of companies will say, ‘Oh God, we were just bought by Blackstone,’” said Mang, CEO of Blackstone Equity Healthcare, which manages benefits for some of Blackstone’s portfolio companies. “I’m sure there are a lot of HR leaders who are saying, ‘Oh geez, what are these guys going to do?’” (Perna, 5/15)

The New York Times: As Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital Faces Closure, Patient Care Suffers
Once a full-service hospital that performed heart surgery and treated a range of stroke patients, Beth Israel on Manhattan’s East Side offers more limited services these days. The number of employees has dwindled from 1,800 to about 1,300 in less than a year. Some floors are nearly empty of patients. That is because for years Beth Israel’s parent hospital system, Mount Sinai, has been trying to close it, saying it loses too much money. (Goldstein, 5/16)

Modern Healthcare: Jefferson Health, Lehigh Valley Health Sign Merger Agreement 
Jefferson Health and Lehigh Valley Health Network have taken a major step toward completing their proposed merger. The two health systems have signed a definitive agreement to merge, according to a Wednesday news release. The organizations said they plan to create a $15 billion regional nonprofit system with more than 65,000 employees, which will operate 30 hospitals and more than 700 care sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (Hudson, 5/15)

The Texas Tribune: New $305 Million Austin State Hospital Unveiled
State leaders on Wednesday unveiled a new $305 million hospital, part of an $2.5 billion overhaul of the state’s aging psychiatric hospital system. Austin State Hospital is a new 240-bed facility that has been built on the existing 80-acre campus located about three miles north of downtown Austin. The Old Main Building, which opened 1861 has been designated a historic landmark. It will continue to be used for offices, when the hospital opens its doors later this summer. (Simpson, 5/15)

The Wall Street Journal: Allianz Backs 2024 Guidance After Profit Jump
Allianz confirmed its 2024 guidance after growth across all of its segments over the first quarter boosted its net profit by 22%. Europe’s largest insurer made a net profit of 2.475 billion euros ($2.68 billion) compared with EUR2.16 billion in the year-earlier period, it said Wednesday. (Vardon, 5/15)

CBS News: How A Philadelphia Health Care Company Provides Culturally Competent Care For Asian Communities
The founder of a Philadelphia-based health care company is going the extra mile to hire caregivers from diverse cultural backgrounds who can communicate with clients in their native languages. There's nothing quite like a home-cooked meal, and caregiver Uknary Rennie recently cooked up something special for her 84-year-old client, Phun Ing — a traditional Cambodian seafood soup with shrimp, vegetables and rice. (Wright, 5/15)

Stat: Galapagos To Make CAR-T Therapies At Blood Centers Across U.S.
Seeking to differentiate itself from other makers of CAR-T cancer therapies, Galapagos NV on Wednesday announced it had struck a deal with Blood Centers of America to open up dozens of manufacturing sites for its cell-based medicines around the U.S. (Joseph, 5/15)

Reuters: Roche Shares Gain On Obesity Drug Results From Early-Stage Trial
Roche (ROG.S) shares gained as much as 4.7% early on Thursday after an early-stage trial showed that the obesity drug candidate by newly acquired Carmot Therapeutics led to significant weight loss. The Swiss drugmaker said the study in the first of three trial stages required for regulatory approval showed the compound known as CT-388 resulted in weight loss of 18.8%, when adjusted for a placebo effect, after 24 weeks in healthy adults with obesity. (Burger, 5/16)

In other industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Ascension Cyberattack Prompts Lawsuits
Ascension is facing the first class-action complaints related to a ransomware attack it reported last week that shut down systems and continues to disrupt operations. The two complaints ... allege that Ascension failed to properly safeguard patients' private information and put them at risk of fraud or identity theft. (Hudson, 5/15)

The CT Mirror: Prospect Medical Sued By CT Hospital Association Over Unpaid Fees
The Connecticut Hospital Association is suing Prospect Medical Holdings and its three financially troubled hospitals, alleging they have failed to pay $1.75 million in dues and other fees over the past two years. (Altimari, 5/15)

Reuters: Pfizer Offers Up To $250 Mln To Settle Zantac Cancer Lawsuits, FT Reports
Pfizer (PFE.N), opens new tab will pay up to $250 million to settle more than 10,000 U.S. lawsuits over cancer risks associated with its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The drugmaker was set to pay between $200 million and $250 million in the settlement, the newspaper reported, citing two people briefed on the deal. The settlement was disclosed in a court filing in Delaware last week, and is aimed at reducing Pfizer's potential liability, the report added. (5/16)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: Providence President And CEO Rod Hochman To Retire
Dr. Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence for 11 years, will retire Jan.1, the health system announced Wednesday. The Renton, Washington-based system, which has 51 hospitals, more than 1,000 clinics and 120,000 employees in seven states, said its board has begun a search for a successor. Hochman will move into the role of CEO emeritus. (Devereaux, 5/15)

Chicago Tribune: Northwestern Recruiting From Within With Free Nurse Training
Taking care of her dad after his two hip replacements awakened Jasmine Barnachea’s desire to be a nurse, but she needed a way to jumpstart her health care education. So when Barnachea, a nutritional aide at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, heard about the Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program, she applied and got in. The program at Northwestern Medicine started in 2022 and is free to employees. It recently opened up to outside candidates as well, and offers a payment plan. (Neumann, 5/15)

The New York Times: U.S. Suspends Funding For Group At Center Of Covid Origins Fight
The Biden administration, under acute pressure from House lawmakers, moved on Wednesday to ban funding for a prominent virus-hunting nonprofit group whose work with Chinese scientists had put it at the heart of theories that Covid leaked from a lab. The decision, announced in a letter from the Department of Health and Human Services, came on the heels of a scorching congressional hearing this month at which lawmakers barraged the group’s president with suggestions that he had misrepresented work with virologists in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began. (Mueller, 5/15)

The Hill: HHS Looks To Debar Group At Center Of COVID Lab-Leak Theories
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic shared the letter signed by HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions Katrina Brisbon to EHA President Peter Daszak. “A thorough investigation determined that there is adequate evidence that EHA has not been compliant with federal regulations and grant terms and conditions, which affects EHA’s present responsibility,” and HHS spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. (Choi, 5/15)

Politico: CDC To End Program To Vaccinate Uninsured Adults Early
Uninsured and underinsured adults could have a harder time getting the newest Covid-19 vaccine this fall, just as temperatures cool and cases are expected to rise. The CDC’s Bridge Access Program, which provides free updated Covid vaccines to uninsured adults, will end in August, according to the agency. The program was slated to end in December. (Gardner, 5/15)

In covid research news —

Reuters: AstraZeneca's COVID Prevention Drug Cuts Risk Of Disease In Vulnerable Patients
AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 prevention therapy reduced the risk of infection in patients with weaker immunity in a late-stage trial, meeting its primary goal, the drugmaker said on Thursday. The long-acting antibody therapy called sipavibart showed a "statistically significant reduction" in symptomatic COVID-19 cases among immunocompromised patients, the company said. (5/16)

CIDRAP: Study: Before Vaccines, 44% Of COVID-19 Patients In ICU Died
A new analysis of pre-vaccine data from scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 18% of hospitalized patients and 44% of those admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19 died, with wide variations among different groups. The study was published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases and is based on 2,479,423 cases from 21 jurisdictions with hospitalization information reported to the CDC from May 1, 2020, to December 1, 2020, to create a hospitalization dataset. (Soucheray, 5/15)

Newsweek: COVID Face Masks Didn't Stop Infections After First Omicron Wave—Report
In a new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, Hunter and colleagues from the University of East Anglia analyzed official data from the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics from November 2021 to May 2022 to explore how infection risk factors changed before and after the first Omicron wave. Risk factors included history of foreign travel, household size, employment status, contact with children and wearing a face mask. (Dewan, 5/15)

Newsweek: Pig-To-Human Transplants Condemned As 'Cruel And Dangerous' After Death
Animal rights organization PETA has condemned the use of animal organs in human transplantation after the world's first living recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney passed away just weeks after receiving the organ transplantation. ... The transplantation was celebrated as a "historic milestone" in medical research, which experts hope will make organ transplantation more readily available in the future. However, not everyone agrees with the use of animals in this technology. (Dewan, 5/15)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Paying Kidney Donors Would Save Lives, Advocates Say
Gregory Hess was running out of time. His kidneys had stopped working. He’d die without an organ transplant. For two years, Hess had scrambled to find a kidney donor. Friends and family offered to donate, but each potential donor got ruled out for medical or logistical reasons. Hess, an emergency medicine doctor from Wayne, began flying around the country to register with multiple transplant centers, which improved his chances of getting a kidney on a waitlist with roughly 90,000 Americans. (Ruderman, 5/16)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Kidney Donation Was One Act Of Kindness Out Of Many For This South Jersey Woman
Lauren Sheppard decided to perform “28 acts of kindness” for her 28th birthday. She paid for the customer behind her at the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through, left flowers at neighbors’ doorsteps, and wrote heartfelt cards to friends. And, she donated a kidney to a stranger. “It was a no-brainer,” Sheppard said. “I don’t need it. Somebody else does. I’m going to give this away.” (Ruderman, 5/16)

Also —

Chicago Tribune: Northwestern First In Illinois To Reach 10,000 Abdominal Transplants
Twenty-eight years ago, Brad Szczecinski was at a volleyball tournament in prime physical fitness when he ended up in the emergency room. His blood pressure spiked, and he learned quickly he would need a new kidney — the main regulator of blood pressure in the body. (Kalra, 5/15)

CIDRAP: Hospital COVID Patients 35% More Likely To Die Than Flu Patients Last Winter, Study Suggests
During the 2023-24 respiratory virus season, hospitalized US COVID-19 patients were at a 35% higher risk for death from any cause than those admitted for influenza, compared with a 61% higher risk the winter before, estimates a research letter published today in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 5/15)

In other research news —

CNN: New Screening Tool Can Identify Preeclampsia Risk Sooner, Test Maker Says
A new blood test can be performed in a pregnant person’s first trimester to help assess their risk of developing preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. It’s the first and only test of its kind available in the United States that can be used between 11 and 14 weeks gestation to determine the risk of preeclampsia before 34 weeks of pregnancy, its maker, Labcorp, announced Wednesday. The first trimester is the period from 0 to 13 weeks of a pregnancy. (Howard, 5/15)

NBC News: Patients With Female Doctors Have Lower Risk Of Death, Research Shows
Having a female doctor could lower the risk of death or major health issues after surgery or hospitalization, studies have shown over and over. The latest evidence, published Wednesday in the British Journal of Surgery, finds that surgical teams with more women see fewer health complications among patients than male-dominated teams. (Bendix, 5/15)

The New York Times: What To Know About CKM, The Link Between Heart Health, Diabetes And Kidney Disease
Heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease are among the most common chronic illnesses in the United States — and they’re all closely connected. ... The three illnesses overlap so much that last year the American Heart Association coined the term cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome to describe patients who have two or more of these diseases, or are at risk of developing them. A new study suggests that nearly 90 percent of American adults already show some early signs of these connected conditions. (Sheikh, 5/15)

Stat: To Spot An Incipient Stroke, Tiny Brain Probe Acts ‘Like A Microscope’
To better understand problems in the brain’s blood vessels that may lead to stroke, we need a better way to see them. Cardiovascular imaging can peer inside coronary arteries to spot clots blocking blood flow to the heart, but those tools are dangerously large for the smaller arteries inside the brain that twist and turn in tortuous ways. (Cooney, 5/15)

Reuters: Exclusive: Musk's Neuralink Has Faced Issues With Its Tiny Wires For Years, Sources Say
Neuralink's disclosure last week that tiny wires inside the brain of its first patient had pulled out of position is an issue the Elon Musk company has known about for years, according to five people familiar with the matter. The company knew from animal testing it had conducted ahead of its U.S. approval last year that the wires might retract, removing with them the sensitive electrodes that decode brain signals, three of the sources said. Neuralink deemed the risk low enough for a redesign not to be merited, the sources added. (Levy, 5/15)

The Hill: Most States Receive D’s, F’s In Maternal Mental Health Report Card
Jaqueline Sharp, 35, remembers her anxiety “went through the roof” shortly after she gave birth to her son in 2019. ... Sharp is one of the millions of women whose mental health declined after delivery. About 1 in 5 pregnant or postpartum women in the United States will experience a mental health disorder like depression, anxiety or suicidal ideation, according to the American Psychiatric Association. But very few of these women will receive treatment. (O’Connell-Domenech, 5/15)

Roll Call: Administration Releases Maternal Mental Health Plan 
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced the first national maternal mental health strategy, seeking specific actions from Congress and multiple federal agencies to reduce the effects of untreated mental health and substance use conditions during and after pregnancy. (Raman, 5/15)

KFF Health News: Federal Panel Prescribes New Mental Health Strategy To Curb Maternal Deaths
Milagros Aquino was trying to find a new place to live and had been struggling to get used to new foods after she moved to Bridgeport from Peru with her husband and young son in 2023. When Aquino, now 31, got pregnant in May 2023, “instantly everything got so much worse than before,” she said. ... Perinatal depression affects as many as 20% of women in the United States during pregnancy, the postpartum period, or both, according to studies. (Platzman Weinstock, 5/16)

ScienceDaily: Infertility Treatment Doubles The Risk Of Postpartum Heart Disease 
A study by Rutgers Health experts of more than 31 million hospital records shows that infertility treatment patients were twice as likely as those who conceived naturally to be hospitalized with heart disease in the year after delivery. (Rutgers, 5/15)

In news relating to abortion —

The Hill: Almost 7M Black Women Of Reproductive Age Have Little, No Abortion Access: Research
More than 50 percent of Black girls and women of reproductive age live in states with little to no abortion access, according to a new report. The analysis from National Partnership for Women & Families and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda found that nearly 7 million Black women ages 15-49 live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion. (Daniels, 5/15)

Roll Call: ‘The Right Person’: Harris Takes Lead In Campaign Over Abortion Access 
Vice President Kamala Harris paused briefly after telling an audience last month in Las Vegas, “So, let’s all be clear.” What followed has become a hallmark of her public campaign against states’ abortion bans. “What we are seeing in these states that we are talking about are Trump abortion bans, and he can’t get away from that,” Harris said, repeating the line for effect: “Those are Trump abortion bans.” (Bennett, 5/15)

AP: New Kansas Abortion Clinic Will Open To Help Meet Demand From Restrictive Neighboring States
A new abortion clinic will open in southeast Kansas this fall, bolstering the state’s role as a regional hub for reproductive health services whose neighbors have severely restricted access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. ... After the Roe reversal, Kansas was the first state where voters weighed in on abortion at the ballot box, resoundingly rejecting a constitutional amendment that could have led to an abortion ban in August 2022. (Fingerhut and Mulvihill, 5/15)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Pressure Builds For Supreme Court To Address Transgender Cases
The national legal battle over transgender rights is escalating, making it difficult for the Supreme Court to avoid the hot-button social issue much longer. A growing number of courts have weighed in on several contested issues, including transgender healthcare, medical procedures for minors, participation on school sports teams and limits on drag shows. Some courts have enshrined new rights for transgender individuals, while others have rejected claims for legal protections. (Wolfe and Kusisto, 5/15)

Idaho Statesman: Doctors React To Idaho Ban On Hormone Therapy For Trans Kids
Inside a Boise clinic in April, Dr. Marvin Alviso was meeting with a transgender patient who had been on puberty blockers for a year. The Boise teen was ready and “giddy” to start taking testosterone, Alviso said, as part of the next step in his transition. It’s also a step in the slate of practices recommended in gender-affirming medicine. Alviso was about to prescribe his patient the hormone when he received a message from a nurse to come see her. He left the patient’s room, and the nurse told him the news: The U.S. Supreme Court just allowed Idaho’s gender-affirming care ban for minors to take effect. (Stevenson and Savransky, 5/16)

Miami Herald: Energy Drinks Can Lead To Serious Heart Issues In Kids And Teens, Health Experts Say
Hennessy Sepulveda thought she was going to die. “I began dissociating as I was driving. I was 10 minutes away from my house. My vision started warping and the lights were hitting me really bright,” she said. “I felt my chest pounding, I felt a wave of panic hit me — I knew something was wrong.” Sepulveda, a Florida International University student who was 19 at the time, was admitted to the hospital, and was surprised by the cause of her symptoms: the Monster energy drink she had just a few hours earlier. (Gillespie, 5/15)

CNN: Certain Vegetarian Diets Significantly Reduce Risk Of Cancer, Heart Disease And Death, Study Says
Eating a vegan, vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet significantly reduces the overall risk of developing cancer, heart disease and dying early from cardiovascular disease, according to a new “umbrella” analysis of more than 20 years of research. An umbrella review looks at existing metanalyses of large numbers of studies, providing a high-level view of existing research on a topic. (LaMotte, 5/15)

Newsweek: Are Indian Spices Safe To Eat?
Food safety regulators around the world have launched investigations into two brands of Indian spice blends over concerns that they may be contaminated with cancer-causing pesticides. ... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also gathering information about the alleged contamination, and regulators in New Zealand and Australia have launched their own investigations, according to the report. (Dewan, 5/15)

Politico: WHO Urges Countries To Ban High-Salt Foods
The World Health Organization urged countries Wednesday to set legal limits on the amount of salt in manufactured foods, restaurants and canteens in a suite of recommendations to curb excessive intake and cut rates of heart disease. Nearly all countries in the European region — 51 out of 53 — have an average daily salt intake above the WHO recommended maximum of 5 grams per day. This poses serious health concerns, the WHO says. (Chiappa, 5/15)

NBC News: Climate Change May Be Linked To Rising Migraine Severity And Frequency In Americans, Study Finds
Migraines are increasing in frequency and intensity among Americans: Could climate change be a reason? Although the number of Americans who have migraines has remained stable for the last 30 years, their impact on people’s daily activities — including missing social events or being less productive at school or work — has become much worse, according to a recent study. (Sudhakar, 5/16)

AP: Hawaii Study Shows Almost 75% Of Maui Wildfire Survey Participants Have Respiratory Issues
A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% of participants may have difficulty breathing and otherwise have poor respiratory health, and almost half showed signs of compromised lung function. The data ... comes from what researchers hope will be a long-term study of wildfire survivors lasting at least a decade. Researchers released early results from that research on Wednesday. (McAvoy, 5/16)

The Washington Post: For Maui Fire Survivors, Health Conditions Are Worsening
In west Maui, thousands of people are living in the burn zones — in or near homes that absorbed heavy amounts of toxic smoke from the most deadly wildfire in U.S. history. Many residents say their health is compromised or declining because of exposure to ash, debris and smoke, according to a new health report released Wednesday and first reported by The Washington Post. (Sacks, 5/15)

On other developments across the country —

Politico: Lawmakers Demand Plan For Health Care Worker Minimum Wage
State lawmakers voiced frustration on Wednesday over a lack of detail on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promised $25-per-hour minimum wage for health care workers, saying they need to know soon as they work to pass his newly proposed budget. “We’ll have to see it soon, because we need to pass this budget in like a month,” Assembly Health Budget Chair Akilah Weber told administration representatives at a hearing Wednesday. (Bluth, 5/15)

KFF Health News: California’s $12 Billion Medicaid Makeover Banks On Nonprofits’ Buy-In
For much of his young life, Jorge Sanchez regularly gasped for air, at times coughing so violently that he’d almost throw up. His mother whisked him to the emergency room late at night and slept with him to make sure he didn’t stop breathing. “He’s had these problems since he was born, and I couldn’t figure out what was triggering his asthma,” Fabiola Sandoval said of her son, Jorge, now 4. “It’s so hard when your child is hurting. I was willing to try anything.” (Hart, 5/16)

AP: Missouri Lawmakers Renew Crucial $4B Medicaid Tax Program
Missouri’s GOP-led Legislature on Wednesday renewed a more than $4 billion Medicaid program that had been blocked for months by a Republican faction that used it as a bargaining tool. The bill which now heads to Gov. Mike Parson will renew a longstanding tax on hospitals and other medical providers. Money from the tax is used to draw down $2.9 billion in federal funding, which is then given back to providers to care for low-income residents on Medicaid health care. (Ballentine, 5/15)

AP: North Carolina Lawmakers Push Bill To Ban Most Public Mask Wearing, Citing Crime
Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are pushing forward with their plan to repeal a pandemic-era law that allowed the wearing of masks in public for health reasons, a move spurred in part by demonstrations against the war in Gaza that have included masked protesters camped out on college campuses. The legislation cleared the Senate on Wednesday in a 30-15 vote along party lines despite several attempts by state Senate Democrats to change the bill. (Seminera, 5/16)

AP: West Virginia GOP Senate President, Doctor Who Opposed Drawing Back Vaccine Laws Ousted In Election
West Virginia voters ousted the Republican state Senate president on Tuesday, as well as a doctor who drew fire for breaking with his party over school vaccination policy. They were among at least eight incumbent GOP legislators who lost in the state’s primary elections.(Willingham and Raby, 5/16)

Missouri Independent: Missouri Bill Restricting Pesticide Cancer Suits Faces Long Odds 
Time is running out for legislation that would make it harder to sue pesticide manufacturers over claims their products cause cancer, with an unusual coalition of opponents working to ensure they’ve stalled the bill’s progress. The bill, critics argue, shields large corporations at the expense of everyday Missourians who have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma they attribute to the use of pesticides formulated with glyphosate — most prominently, Roundup. (Kite, 5/16)

The CT Mirror: CT’s ‘Food Insecure’ Population Rose By 90K In 2022, Report Finds
In a state that ranks among the top 10 wealthiest, nearly half a million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. One in eight Connecticut residents experienced “food insecurity” in 2022, rising from one in 10 in 2021, according to the latest annual “Map the Meal Gap” report from hunger-relief organization Feeding America. (Phillips, 5/15)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Looks To Get The Lead Out Of Aviation Fuel
The gas you put in your car has an octane rating between 85 and 91 in Colorado, but, to get off the ground, airplanes need a little more oomph. Standard aviation fuel for piston-engine aircraft — think Cessnas and other small planes —  has an octane rating of at least 100. But that extra pop comes with a price: The fuel typically has lead in it. (Ingold, 5/15)

Lexington Herald Leader: 2 More Whooping Cough Cases At Lexington Schools, 6 Total.
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is spreading at Lexington schools with six total cases so far, and all central Kentucky families should look for symptoms while ensuring kids are up-to-date on their vaccines, Lexington-Fayette Health Department officials said Wednesday. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory illness spread by coughing and sneezing. It affects people of all ages but can be most serious in infants and those with chronic diseases., officials said. (Spears, 5/16)

The Current: Louisiana Teens Travel Hours For Inpatient Mental Health Care
Until this year, there were no inpatient beds for children under 12 in Acadiana. Now, there are 10 beds available at the only local facility currently offering those services to patients under 18, but the resources still fall short compared to the growing need for adolescent mental health services. The area “is under-resourced for inpatient adolescent and pediatric needs, and really all psychiatric needs,” explained Dr. Foster Kordisch, who oversees Lafayette General’s emergency department. ERs are often the entry point into the mental health care system for those in crisis. (Maschkle, 5/8)

Stat: Cherokee Nation Medical School Graduates Its First Class 
There are so few Indigenous physicians in the United States — just 0.3% of doctors — that their numbers barely show up in charts and graphs depicting the diversity of the medical workforce. But as of Thursday, there will be at least nine more. (McFarling, 5/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland To Hire Local Company To Provide Prison Health Care
Maryland will part ways with its troubled provider of medical care in state prisons, following a decision Wednesday by the Board of Public Works to forgo contracting with the company again. (Roberts, 5/15)

Billings Gazette: Utilities Ignore Health Impacts Of Colstrip Pollution
Colstrip Power Plant owners and politicians are ignoring the public health impacts of air toxics emissions as they blame the EPA for costly air pollution controls, several health and environmental organizations said Tuesday. Since the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out tougher standards on mercury and air toxic emissions April 25, Montana elected officials and power plant owners have characterized the new rules as unreasonably expensive, a potential power plant killer for Colstrip. But the rules have been in the works for years and the health benefits going unmentioned are significant, said those speaking during a Tuesday press conference. (Lutey, 5/15)

KFF Health News: Medics At UCLA Protest Say Police Weapons Drew Blood And Cracked Bones
Inside the protesters’ encampment at UCLA, beneath the glow of hanging flashlights and a deafening backdrop of exploding flash-bangs, OB-GYN resident Elaine Chan suddenly felt like a battlefield medic Police were pushing into the camp after an hours-long standoff. Chan, 31, a medical tent volunteer, said protesters limped in with severe puncture wounds, but there was little hope of getting them to a hospital through the chaos outside. (Castle Work and Kelman, 5/16)

CIDRAP: Report Calls For 'Urgent Action' To Boost Antibiotic Pipeline 
A new report indicates that without additional investments in antibiotic research and development (R&D) from governments and other stakeholders, the pipeline for new antibiotics could become considerably weaker over the next decade, with only a few candidates in the late stages of development. (Dall, 5/15)

ScienceDaily: New Insights Into Phage Therapy Design 
Results from a new study are providing new insights into the therapeutic potential of bacteriophage (phage) therapy for treating diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF). (The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 5/15)

ScienceDaily: First Case Of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Transmitted From Cow To Human Confirmed 
Texas Tech University's Biological Threat Research Laboratory (BTRL) played a key role in detecting the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H5N1) transmitted from a mammal (dairy cow) to a human. (Texas Tech University, 5/13)

ScienceDaily: Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu Detected In New York City Wild Birds 
A small number of New York City wild birds carry highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Virology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. (American Society for Microbiology, 5/15)

Scientific American: Disregard For Women's Lives Explains The Comstock Act's Origins. It Also Explains Its Revival Today
The saga of Anthony Comstock and the Comstock Act mostly lingered as a dusty historical tale until March 26, 2024. On that day, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys representing a small group of anti-abortion physicians who sought to restrict access to mifepristone, a safe and effective abortion drug approved by the FDA in 2000. (Amy Werbel, 5/15)

Stat: Chronic Pain Treatment Should Go Far Beyond Medications
There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the new non-addictive pain pill that is up for FDA approval. It works as well as opioids for treating acute pain, and shows promise in treating chronic neuropathic pain as well. We are constantly getting messages from patients we are treating for all different types of chronic pain — arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, and pain we just can’t seem to figure out — along the lines of “Doc, have you heard about it? When it’s available, sign me up!” But treating chronic pain is so much more than a prescribed pill — even a non-addictive one. (Antje M. Barreveld and Edin Randall, 5/16)

The New York Times: Lessons Of Past Pandemics Take On New Urgency As Bird Flu Looms 
In 1918, an influenza virus jumped from birds to humans and killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people in a world with less than a quarter of today’s population. Dozens of mammals also became infected. (John M. Barry, 5/16)

Modern Healthcare: Ban On Noncompetes Likely To Make Healthcare Hiring Even Harder 
Healthcare added more than 650,000 jobs last year. How many of those new hires signed a noncompete agreement with their employment contract when they walked through the door? (Mary Ellen Podmolik, 5/13)