Stat: Prior Authorization Will Have To Move Faster Under New Biden Rule
The Biden administration moved Wednesday to force insurance companies to give specific reasons for denying coverage, and to speed up the pre-approval process in general. The new rule applies to health insurance companies that offer Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Obamacare plans. It concerns so-called prior authorization requests, and will require insurers to return urgent requests within 72 hours and non-urgent requests within seven days. (Trang, 1/17)

Roll Call: Biden Administration Finalizes Prior Authorization Changes 
Specifically, beginning in 2026, the rule would require that Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program managed care and fee-for-service plans respond to non-urgent requests no later than seven calendar days. Those plans, as well as plans on the federally facilitated exchanges, would have 72 hours to respond to urgent requests. The rule allows for extensions in some circumstances. The timelines are the same ones proposed by the Biden administration in 2022. (Hellmann, 1/17)

Axios: New Limits On Prior Authorization Hailed As Good First Step
New federal rules requiring health insurers to streamline requests to cover treatments are being hailed as a good first step toward addressing a problem that's increasingly aggravated patients and doctors. But it may not be Washington's last word on so-called prior authorization, as lawmakers look to jumpstart legislation that would further limit the practice. (Goldman, 1/18)

Also —

Axios: How A Supreme Court Case Over Federal Power Could Affect U.S. Health Care
A Supreme Court hearing on a case that could significantly curtail the federal government's regulatory power has big implications for America's health care system. The justices on Wednesday are considering whether to overturn the 40-year-old legal doctrine known as the "Chevron deference," in which the courts have given leeway to federal agencies to reasonably interpret ambiguous laws or ones subject to multiple interpretations. (Millman, 1/17)

Stat: Copay Coupons To Count Toward Deductibles, After Biden Court Move
Insurers will have to count drug copay coupons toward deductibles and patient spending caps in most cases, after a Biden move in federal court on Tuesday. Drug companies use copay coupons to help patients cover the cost of their drugs. (Wilkerson, 1/17)

Modern Healthcare: Drug Copay Assistance Case: DOJ Drops Appeal
The federal government has dropped its appeal of a court decision that could affect health insurance companies' use of copay accumulator programs. The Justice Department on Tuesday withdrew its appeal of a September ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in favor of three patients and three patient advocacy groups. (Berryman, 1/17)

The New York Times: Six Reasons Drug Prices Are So High In The U.S. 
Florida’s plan to save money by importing medications from Canada, authorized this month by the Food and Drug Administration, has renewed attention on the cost of prescription drugs in the United States. Research has consistently found that drug prices in America are significantly higher than those in other wealthy countries. In 2018, they were nearly double those in France and Britain, even when accounting for the discounts that can substantially reduce how much American health plans and employers pay. Here are six reasons drugs in the United States cost so much. (Robbins and Jewett, 1/17)

How Minnesota and Illinois are trying to lower drug costs —

Minnesota Public Radio: New Minnesota Prescription Drug Board Gets Up And Running But Expects Industry Resistance
Debate in Washington over prescription drug pricing has gone on for a long time. But state leaders, including those in Minnesota, have grown impatient with the pace of activity in Congress, so they’re trying to tackle cost matters themselves. That’s one of the drivers behind a new Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which was established in law last year and will soon begin its work. (Zdechlik, 1/17)

CBS News: Prescription Drug Affordability Act Aims To Set Limits On High Medication Prices
Lawmakers in Springfield, Illinois, are focusing on high prescription drug prices. On Wednesday, they announced the Prescription Drug Affordability Act. The legislation would create an independent Prescription Drug Affordability Board. "Drugs don't work if people can't afford them. Today, 28% of Illinoisans have reported not filling their prescriptions or rationing their medication to save money," said State Rep. and co-sponsor Nabeela Syed (D) Palatine. If passed into law, the board could set upper limits on what people would pay for their medications. (Bizzle, 1/17)

More on the high cost of health care —

Axios: Companies Struggle To Know If They're Overpaying In Health Care
Employers are facing stronger legal requirements to ensure they aren't wasting their workers' money on overpriced health insurance, at the growing risk of financial consequences. But employers say secrecy around negotiated health care prices too often prevents them from accessing data that would help them figure out if they're getting a good deal. (Reed, 1/18)

Stat: Congress’ Negotiations Over Doc Pay, Health Centers Fell Apart Ahead Of Spending Extension
Negotiations to add extra health care policies to Congress’ stopgap funding bill fell apart late last week, five sources told STAT. The provisions at issue included a bump to physicians’ Medicare pay rates and efforts to increase funding for community health centers and enact some behavioral health policies. (Cohrs, 1/17)

Reuters: US Congress Scrambles To Pass Stopgap Bill To Avert Government Shutdown
The U.S. Senate on Thursday will aim to approve a stopgap measure keeping the federal government funded through early March, averting a partial shutdown that would begin in less than two days if Congress fails to act. "I think we're on a good path to getting it done," Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock told Reuters, referring to the prospects of passing the temporary spending bill on Thursday or Friday. ... Senator Susan Collins, the senior Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said on Wednesday she was optimistic a government shutdown will be skirted. "This has been dragging on for a long time and I really don't know why," she said. (Cowan, 1/18)

Also —

KSL.Com: Rep. Blake Moore Proposes Bipartisan Bill To Revamp Congressional Budgeting System 
ep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday alongside Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., that would reform the federal budgeting process, and give Congress the room to address the U.S. debt crisis. "We must break the habit of appropriating with rushed deadlines," Moore said. The current budgeting system's main focus is on discretionary spending, which is the money needed for federal agencies — and their hundreds of programs — to continue functioning. But according to the Brookings Institute, this is only about 45% of government spending. Entitlement programs — like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — account for another two-thirds of federal spending. They don't go through an approval process each year and are on autopilot. (Poonia, 1/15)

The New York Times: Cancer Deaths Are Falling, But There May Be An Asterisk 
Cancer deaths in the United States are falling, with four million deaths prevented since 1991, according to the American Cancer Society’s annual report. At the same time, the society reported that the number of new cancer cases had ticked up to more than two million in 2023, from 1.9 million in 2022. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease. Doctors believe that it is urgent to understand changes in the death rate, as well as changes in cancer diagnoses. (Kolata, 1/17)

ABC News: Cancer Deaths Declining Overall, But Troubling Increase For Colon And Breast Cancer In Younger Adults: Report
Deaths from cancer have declined by 33% since 1991, averting 4.1 million deaths. However, more people are being diagnosed with cancer than ever before, and at an earlier age, according to a major new report from the American Cancer Society. Experts say one big reason cancer deaths have declined is due to decreases in smoking rates, as well as improved treatments and targeted therapies. Still, experts are worried about the increase in some cancers in adults 50 and under - and say it's urgent to understand what's behind the troubling trend. (Thakur, 1/17)

Axios: New Cancer Diagnoses Expected To Hit Record High This Year
New cancer diagnoses in the U.S. are expected to top 2 million for the first time in 2024, driven in large part by an alarming increase in cancers among younger Americans, according to new American Cancer Society data. There have been major improvements in cancer survival, but there's a worrying rise in some cancers at the same time doctors are trying to figure out why they're seeing more young patients with cancer. (Reed, 1/17)

USA Today: More Than 2 Million Americans Will Get Cancer This Year: Here's What You Should Know
Although U.S. cancer cases will eclipse 2 million for the first time this year, there is some good news: lower smoking rates, earlier detection and improved treatments have lowered death rates over the past three decades, a new report said. The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report projects 611,720 cancer deaths this year, a slight increase from a year ago. The cancer death rate dropped 33% from 1991 through 2021, according to the most recent statistics available, the group said. (Alltucker, 1/17)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Your Healthspan Is As Important As Your Lifespan—And It’s Declining
Americans are living longer, but spending less time in good health. The estimated average proportion of life spent in good health declined to 83.6% in 2021, down from 85.8% in 1990, according to an analysis of the latest data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease study, a research effort based at the University of Washington. The decrease of time spent in good health is partly because medical advances are catching and treating diseases that once would have killed us. But it is also because of the rising prevalence, often among younger people, of conditions such as obesity, diabetes and substance-use disorders. (Janin, 1/17)

In potential cancer breakthroughs —

Stat: FDA Clears AI Tool For Detecting Skin Cancer 
The Food and Drug Administration cleared an AI-powered device for detecting skin cancer on Wednesday, giving primary care physicians a new way to evaluate troubling skin spots. Around 5 million skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States. Skin cancer is common, but most types are not that deadly when caught early. (Lawrence, 1/17)

Houston Chronicle: Rice Researchers Say 'Molecular Jackhammers' Can Kill Cancer Cells
Researchers at Rice University are developing “molecular jackhammers” that go inside the body and kill cancer cells by vibrating trillions of times per second. Their research has been tested in lab cultures of human melanoma cells, a kind of skin cancer, with 99 percent efficiency. It has also been tested in mice with melanoma tumors, half of which were deemed cancer-free after treatment. “We’ve found this to be a very efficient way to kill cancer cells,” said Ciceron Ayala-Orozco, a Rice research scientist in the Tour group and lead author on a study published in Nature Chemistry. (Leinfelder, 1/17)

Reuters: Minority Children In US Get Poorer Healthcare, Analysis Finds 
The quality of healthcare for minority children in the United States is universally worse than it is for white children, even after accounting for insurance coverage, an analysis of dozens of recent studies found. The pattern was similar across all medical specialties, including newborn care, emergency medicine, primary care, surgery, hospital care, endocrinology, mental health care, care for developmental disabilities, and palliative care, researchers said. (Lapid, 1/17)

Bloomberg: Black, Latino Children Receive Worse Health Care
The researchers, a group of scientists from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and other US universities, said federal and state policies that cause systemic racial inequality contribute to differences. For example, immigration rules make it harder for some children to access public benefits, they said. And housing policies that have led to racially segregated neighborhoods are linked to worse health outcomes for non-White children. ... The differences start at the earliest phases of life and extend until death, the data show. Black, Hispanic and Asian children that receive palliative care are more likely to die in the hospital, according to the study. (Denham, 1/17)

KFF Health News: Women And Minorities Bear The Brunt Of Medical Misdiagnosis 
Charity Watkins sensed something was deeply wrong when she experienced exhaustion after her daughter was born. At times, Watkins, then 30, had to stop on the stairway to catch her breath. Her obstetrician said postpartum depression likely caused the weakness and fatigue. When Watkins, who is Black, complained of a cough, her doctor blamed the flu. (Szabo, 1/18)

Also —

Bloomberg: Hong Kong No Longer Has The World’s Longest Life Expectancy
Hong Kong residents no longer have the world’s longest life expectancies, with the city relinquishing its crown to Japan as Covid and overall stress weighs on local lifespans. Women in Hong Kong were expected to live until 86.8 years old on average in 2022, compared with 87.1 for their Japanese counterparts, according to the latest statistics published this week by the city’s government. Data for 2023 has not yet been released. (Zhao, 1/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Chinese Lab Mapped Deadly Coronavirus Two Weeks Before Beijing Told The World, Documents Show 
Chinese researchers isolated and mapped the virus that causes Covid-19 in late December 2019, at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details of the deadly virus to the world, congressional investigators said, raising questions anew about what China knew in the pandemic’s crucial early days. Documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by a House committee and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that a Chinese researcher in Beijing uploaded a nearly complete sequence of the virus’s structure to a U.S. government-run database on Dec. 28, 2019. Chinese officials at that time were still publicly describing the disease outbreak in Wuhan, China, as a viral pneumonia “of unknown cause” and had yet to close the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, site of one of the initial Covid-19 outbreaks. (Strobel, 1/17)

USA Today: When Did China Know About COVID? New Info Suggests Earlier Date
The earlier posting doesn't change the virus' origin story ‒ whether it was sparked by a live animal market or leaked from a scientific laboratory. But it does renew questions about how much China knew about the virus and when. It suggests that vaccine development could have started sooner. And it raises new questions about how much the U.S. government knew or should have known about the virus in those early days. (Weintraub, 1/17)

More covid, RSV, and flu news —

The Recount: DeSantis Makes Baseless Claim At NH Town Hall: “Every Booster You Take, You’re More Likely To Get COVID As A Result.”
While campaigning in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Ron DeSantis made a baseless claim about the COVID-19 vaccines. “Every booster you take, you’re more likely to get COVID as a result of it,” the 2024 GOP candidate told a town hall crowd in Hampton. “They lied to us about the COVID shots. Remember, they said if you take a COVID shot, you will not get COVID? How true was that? Not at all,” the Florida governor said. “Now, every booster you take, you’re more likely to get COVID as a result of it.” (1/17)

CBS News: State Of California Relaxes COVID-19 Guidelines
COVID-19 guidelines have changed for the state of California. These guidelines are not coming from the CDC directly, but rather from the California Department of Public Health. Statewide COVID guidelines are now the most relaxed they've been since the start of the pandemic. (Moeller, 1/17)

KFF Health News: ‘Emergency’ Or Not, Covid Is Still Killing People. Here’s What Doctors Advise To Stay Safe
With around 20,000 people dying of covid in the United States since the start of October, and tens of thousands more abroad, the covid pandemic clearly isn’t over. However, the crisis response is, since the World Health Organization and the Biden administration ended their declared health emergencies last year. Let’s not confuse the terms “pandemic” and “emergency.” As Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Stanford University, said, “The pandemic is over until you are scrunched in bed, feeling terrible.” (Maxmen, 1/18)

Time: How Duration Of Exposure Affects Your COVID-19 Risk
With COVID-19 spreading as widely as it is right now, you run the risk of meeting an infected person every time you go into a public place. But every trip to the pharmacy or meal in a restaurant doesn’t lead to a case of COVID-19. So what makes some exposures more harmful than others? The length of time you spend around a person with COVID-19 seems to heavily influence your likelihood of getting sick, according to a recent Nature study that has been peer-reviewed but not fully edited. (Ducharme, 1/17)

The 19th: RSV Shots For Babies: Parents Are Struggling To Find Immunization
When a new RSV immunization for babies was approved this past summer, Eileen Agosta-Weimer was thrilled. Then pregnant with her first child, she was worried about the virus. She had heard the stories of just how debilitating it could be for infants — and she knew her baby would be at risk of falling ill come winter, when RSV infections typically spike. Almost immediately, Agosta-Weimer, 42, began to hear from other moms that the shot — known as Beyfortus and approved for use in August — was nearly impossible to find. (Luthra, 1/17)

CIDRAP: Flu Cases Plummet After Winter, Spring Breaks In Schools, Study Suggests 
Cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) among students in a Wisconsin school district dropped by nearly half after winter and spring breaks, with the largest dips occurring when the breaks coincided with spikes in local flu activity, University of Wisconsin researchers report. (Van Beusekom, 1/17)

In other outbreaks and health alerts —

AP: Zambia Reels From A Cholera Outbreak With More Than 400 Dead And 10,000 Cases. All Schools Are Shut 
Zambia is reeling from a major cholera outbreak that has killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000, leading authorities to order schools across the country to remain shut after the end-of-year holidays. A large soccer stadium in the capital city has been converted into a treatment facility. The Zambian government is embarking on a mass vaccination program and says it’s providing clean water — 2.4 million liters a day — to communities that are affected across the southern African nation. (Sichalwe, 1/17)

The Texas Tribune: Feds Approve 12 Months Of Medicaid For Texas Moms
Texas moms will be able to stay on Medicaid for a year after childbirth, after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid approved the state's application on Wednesday, according to emails obtained by the Texas Tribune. The move caps a yearslong effort to extend coverage for low-income moms. Medicaid covers half of all births in Texas, but coverage currently expires after two months. (Harper, 1/17)

On the gun violence epidemic —

The Washington Post: Uvalde Parents Brace For Federal Review Of Failures In Police Response
Justice Department leaders held an emotional private meeting Wednesday night with the families of victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Tex., preparing them for a mammoth, long-awaited report to be released Thursday that is expected to recount major failures in the police response to the crisis. Attorney General Merrick Garland and other Justice Department officials traveled to Texas to meet with the parents of those killed and survivors of the May, 24, 2022, massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. (Hernandez and Barrett, 1/17)

The Washington Post: Md. Democrats Propose Taxing Guns, Ammo To Offset Cost Of Trauma Care 
Democratic state lawmakers want gun manufacturers to help foot the bill for trauma injuries, including gunshot wounds, following an example set by California last year. A bill from Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel) and Del. Bernice D. Mireku-North (D-Montgomery) would levy an 11 percent excise tax on gun and ammunition manufacturers to feed the Maryland Trauma Physician Services Fund. That fund helps cover emergency medical care for severely injured patients — often people harmed in falls, car accidents or gun violence — and is supported by a $5 motor vehicle registration fee. (Shepherd, 1/17)

On transgender health care —

AP: South Carolina House OKs Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors, Missouri Panel Sees Similar Bills 
The Republican-led South Carolina House overwhelmingly approved a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors on Wednesday, while a Missouri legislative committee discussed a slew of like-minded proposals. The measures’ consideration in the two GOP strongholds highlights the continued interest among conservative lawmakers in targeting issues that impact LGBTQ+ people after a wave of high-profile bills last year. The South Carolina proposal will soon head to the state Senate, where the chair of the Medical Affairs Committee has said it would have his attention. (Pollard and Ballentine, 1/17)

CIDRAP: Study Finds High Rate Of Sexually Transmitted Infections In Transgender Women 
A study of six US cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Miami, New York, and Washington, DC) found a high prevalence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in transgender women (TGW), particularly those with HIV, researchers reported today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The median age of participants was 29 years, 29% were Black, 27% were Hispanic, and 27% had HIV. (Dall, 1/17)

More health news from across the U.S. —

CBS News: New Pennsylvania Law Expands Access And Coverage For Babies Needing Donor Breast Milk
A new law takes effect across Pennsylvania on Jan. 20 that will help medically fragile babies. Act 32, known as Owen's Law, will provide medical coverage for breast milk that's been donated and pasteurized for infants whose mother's milk is not available. Leaders celebrated at the Mid-Atlantic Mother's Milk Bank in Pittsburgh. Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen explained that donated human milk is the standard of care in NICUs. (Sorensen, 1/17)

Houston Chronicle: Bloomberg Seeds $31 Million For Houston Healthcare High School
An unprecedented, $31 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies to the Memorial Hermann Foundation has led to the creation of a career-technical education high school to prepare students from the Greater Houston area for well-paying careers in health care. Memorial Hermann and Aldine ISD announced on Wednesday that the Health Education and Learning High School, or HEAL, will share a campus with Nimitz High School. The program begins with the 2024 academic year this fall, and grow in phases over the next four years. (Elliott, 1/17)

Reuters: Malpractice Plaintiffs Seek To End Prison Health Co. Bankruptcy 
Lawyers for prisoners suing Corizon Health over allegedly substandard medical care in U.S. prisons have asked a bankruptcy judge to toss the Chapter 11 case of a Corizon subsidiary, saying the prison healthcare provider's bankruptcy was a fraud from the start. The Corizon subsidiary, Tehum Care, was created solely to get rid of medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits for "pennies on the dollar" through the Chapter 11 process, while allowing Corizon to rebrand itself as YesCare, according to a Tuesday filing in Houston bankruptcy court by the official tort committee that represents about 200 prisoners, former prisoners, and family members suing Corizon. (Knauth, 1/17)

Los Angeles Times: Raw Oyster Warnings After Southern California Diners Sickened
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported more than 150 suspected local cases of gastrointestinal illness linked to the consumption of raw oysters, up from 27 cases reported last week. The Orange County Health Care Agency became the latest in the region Tuesday to warn its residents about consuming raw oysters after San Diego and Los Angeles counties reported norovirus illnesses that may be linked to imported shellfish harvested and packaged in Sonora, Mexico. (Garcia, 1/17)

Axios: United States Of Ozempic: Where Prescriptions For Anti-Obesity Drugs Are Rising
For every 1,000 people in Kentucky, roughly 21 were prescribed a drug that belongs to a buzzy class of diabetes and anti-obesity medications last year — the highest rate of any state, according to insurance claims data provided to Axios by health analytics company PurpleLab. It's among a few Southern states, including Louisiana and Mississippi, that had some of the highest prescribing rates for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. (Reed, 1/18)

Axios: Male Birth Control Maker Raises $2.5 Million To Develop “Plan A”
Next Life Sciences has raised $2.5 million to develop a male contraceptive product called Plan A, which could become a nonsurgical alternative to vasectomies. This could help balance family-planning responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women. (Primack, 1/17)

CIDRAP: FDA To Review European-Approved Oral Antibiotic For Urinary Tract Infections
UK-based biotechnology company Utility Therapeutics announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to its new drug application (NDA) for pivmecillinam for treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). The company also announced that it has received a new round of funding led by the AMR Action Fund. (Dall, 1/17)

The New York Times: Apple Says It Will Remove A Health Feature From New Apple Watches 
Apple said on Wednesday that it would begin selling its flagship smartwatches without the ability to detect people’s blood-oxygen levels. The tech giant will drop the feature starting Thursday after losing a patent case over its blood-oxygen measurement technology two months ago. The court ordered Apple to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 devices. Rather than discontinue sales, the company sought permission to continue selling the devices after removing the infringing technology. (Mickle, 1/17)

In health care industry updates —

The CT Mirror: Bid To Halt Birthing At Johnson Memorial Hospital Gets Initial Denial
The Office of Health Strategy issued an initial denial of Trinity Health of New England’s application to close the labor and delivery unit at Johnson Memorial Hospital, according to a proposed final decision published Tuesday. The decision found, among other points, that Johnson Memorial failed to sufficiently demonstrate that the closure would improve accessibility and cost effectiveness of health care delivery in the region. (Golvala, 1/17)

CBS News: Duquesne University Opens New Medical School Amid National Physician Shortage
Amid a nationwide shortage of physicians, Duquesne University opened its new College of Medicine on Wednesday. "This is probably the biggest thing to happen to the university in 50-plus years," said College of Medicine Dean Dr. John Kauffman. In July, the college will welcome its inaugural class of 85 students pursuing their doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees. (Guay, 1/17)

Modern Healthcare: Cigna Group CFO Brian Evanko Named CEO Of Cigna Healthcare
Cigna Group is revamping its leadership approach as it continues searching for ways to drive growth for the company. Cigna Group Chief Financial Officer Brian Evanko will take on the newly created additional roles of president and CEO of Cigna Healthcare, the company's health insurance division. Evanko will oversee Cigna Healthcare's U.S. commercial, international health and U.S. government businesses, according to a Wednesday news release. (Berryman, 1/17)

Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross North Carolina Acquires FastMed Clinics
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina closed its acquisition of 55 FastMed locations in North Carolina and named a leader for the urgent care provider. Jim Moffett will serve as FastMed's CEO, replacing Webster Golinkin. Moffett previously served as president of Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health’s Holy Cross Medical Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (DeSilva, 1/17)

Stat: VC Firm General Catalyst To Buy Ohio-Based Nonprofit Health System
Venture capital firm General Catalyst has agreed to acquire Ohio-based nonprofit health system Summa Health, and its insurance plan, and reestablish it as a for-profit organization, the health system’s board of directors announced Wednesday. (Ravindranath, 1/17)

Stat: Pumping Milk In Bathrooms At Health Conferences Is Common
Even though Erin Booth was not thrilled about having to travel to Philadelphia for a conference at six weeks postpartum, this one at least advertised having a private lactation space. This was back in 2013, when such accommodations were a rarity. The first bad sign was having to walk clear across the convention center to get there, cutting into her already brief pumping window. Booth’s hopes were fully dashed when she walked in and saw the setup: round tables lined with chairs facing one another. No fridge, no sink, no outlets — which pumps required back then. (Bannow, 1/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: New Data Shows Grim Tally In San Francisco’s Worst Year For Overdoses
San Francisco surpassed its deadliest year last month, with fatalities counted in the first 11 months of 2023 eclipsing the previous peak of 726 deaths in all of 2020. This new preliminary data through the end of December, released Wednesday by the medical examiner’s office, provides a more complete picture of how the overdose epidemic continues to grip the lives of San Franciscans despite efforts by top city and state leaders to curb the crisis. (Angst, 1/17)

AP: South Dakota House Passes Bill That Would Make The Animal Sedative Xylazine A Controlled Substance 
The South Dakota House passed a bill Wednesday that would make xylazine, an animal sedative that is being mixed with fentanyl and then used by some people, a controlled substance. The measure, which passed unanimously in the Republican-held House and now goes to the Senate, would establish penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of up to $4,000 for possession and use of xylazine. There are exceptions for veterinary use, however. (1/17)

New Hampshire Public Radio: In NH, The Opioid Crisis Hasn’t Faded. But Its Role In The Primary Campaign Has
Teresa Gladstone, of Concord, lost her grandson Oliver to an overdose in 2020. In the years since, she's turned to advocacy and helped to organize local overdose awareness vigils. Ahead of this year's presidential primary, Gladstone — who describes herself as a center-leaning independent — has been curious to hear how candidates plan to address addiction. (Cuno-Booth, 1/17)

The Athletic: Colts Owner Jim Irsay Treated After Suspected Overdose, Per Police 
Colts owner Jim Irsay was found unresponsive and struggling to breathe last month at his home in Carmel, Ind., due to what police logged as a suspected overdose, according to police reports obtained by The Athletic on Wednesday. The incident occurred on Dec. 8, when emergency responders were dispatched to Irsay’s home at approximately 4:30 a.m. ET. ... One police officer wrote in his report that Irsay was “cool to the touch and had agonal breathing,” so he used naloxone (more commonly known as Narcan) on Irsay. A different officer wrote in his report that Irsay “responded slightly” to the naloxone before eventually being transported via ambulance to a local hospital. (Boyd, 1/17)

In related news about mental health —

CBS News: Nearly 50,000 Veterans Used Free Emergency Suicide Prevention In First Year Of Program, VA Says
Nearly 50,000 veterans received free emergency suicide prevention care in 2023, the first year of the program, the Department of Veterans Affairs will announce on Wednesday. In January 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs instituted a new policy allowing eligible veterans and certain former service members in acute suicidal crisis to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility to receive emergency care at no cost. The policy covers emergency room care, inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days, and outpatient care for up to 90 days. (Watson and Cook, 1/17)

Military Times: Military Families May Get Better Access To Mental Health Care
Military families may get easier access to mental health outpatient care and counseling under two new provisions in the recently signed defense policy law. The fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act allows Defense Department health officials to waive out-of-pocket costs for the first three outpatient mental health visits each year for active duty families using Tricare. It also expands non-medical counseling services for military families through the Military and Family Life Counseling Program. (Jowers, 1/17)

Stat: With Mental Health Therapist Shortage, Could Lay Counselors Fill In?
One solution that is gaining support is to create more pathways into the field of mental health care. The requirements of traditional licensure make it quite hard to become a therapist — harder, many advocates and scientists contend, than the evidence suggests is necessary. This is not to say that traditional training and licensure are irrelevant. Licensure exists in part to preserve quality control and prevent charlatans from peddling bogus treatments. John C. Norcross, a professor of psychology at University of Scranton, compiled a history of  disproven treatments and co-created a course on the topic titled “Psychoquackery: Discredited Treatments in Mental Health and the Addictions.” “All I have to do is go Google [quack psychology] and I say, ‘Oh my god, this is why we have licensure,’” Norcross said. (Rubenstein, 1/18)

If you need help —

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

The Wall Street Journal: Children On Instagram And Facebook Were Frequent Targets Of Sexual Harassment, State Says
Children using Instagram and Facebook have been frequent targets of sexual harassment, according to a 2021 internal Meta Platforms presentation that estimated that 100,000 minors each day received photos of adult genitalia or other sexually abusive content. That finding is among newly unredacted material about the company’s child-safety policies in a lawsuit filed last month by New Mexico that alleges Meta’s platforms recommend sexual content to underage users and promote underage accounts to predatory adult users. (Blunt and Horwitz, 1/17)

Reuters: Iowa Sues TikTok Alleging Parents Misled About Inappropriate Content 
Iowa's attorney general on Wednesday sued TikTok, accusing the video-based social media platform of misleading parents about their children's access to inappropriate content on the company's app. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird in a lawsuit, opens new tab filed in a state court in Polk County accused TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance of lying about the prevalence on its platform of content including drugs, nudity, alcohol and profanity. (Raymond and Shephardson, 1/17)

Reuters: Mother Whose Child Died In TikTok Challenge Urges US Court To Revive Lawsuit 
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday wrestled with whether the video-based social media platform TikTok could be sued for causing a 10-year-old girl's death by promoting a deadly "blackout challenge" that encouraged people to choke themselves. Members of a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted during oral arguments that a key federal law typically shields internet companies like TikTok from lawsuits for content posted by users. (Raymond, 1/17)

In other news about youth health —

Reuters: Montana Supreme Court Denies Bid To Pause Landmark Youth Climate Ruling 
The Montana Supreme Court has refused to pause a landmark ruling that found that the state's policies prohibiting regulators from considering the impacts on climate change when approving fossil fuel projects violate the rights of young people. The high court said in a 5-2 ruling on Tuesday that the state had not shown a lower court abused its discretion when it refused to stay its August ruling in favor of 16 young people who said their health and futures are jeopardized by climate change, which the state aggravates through its permitting of energy projects. (Mindock, 1/17)

Politico: Youth Tackle Football Ban Dead After Newsom Vows Veto
California lawmakers on Wednesday shelved a proposal that would have banned youth tackle football a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom took the unusual step of saying he would veto the bill if it reached his desk. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, the bill’s author and a candidate for mayor of Sacramento, said he would not continue advancing the legislation, which cleared its first committee hearing last week and was expected to get a floor vote as soon as this week. (He and Bluth, 1/17)

CBS News: New Bill Would Give California Parents More Control Over Whether State Can Store Their Kid's DNA
Should you have the right to know that the state is storing your child's DNA and that researchers or law enforcement may use it without your consent? This is an issue Julie Watts has been investigating for years, and today, parents are one step closer to getting that right. Most parents have no idea that California has been storing a DNA sample from every baby born here since the 80s. A bill that passed out of the state senate judiciary committee this week could change that. (Watts, 1/17)

The 19th: Nearly 1 In 10 Teenage Girls Have Turned To Pills For Weight Loss, Research Shows
Nearly 1 in 10 adolescent girls have used non-prescription pills to lose weight, according to new research. The report, an analysis of English-language research, noted that teenage girls in North America were the most likely group to have used these so-called weight loss aids, and pointed out that these tendencies — and the mindset driving them — raise the risks for eating disorders and overall harm to physical and mental health. (Gerson, 1/17)

The Washington Post: School Policing And Mental Health Services Decline, Report Finds 
The report found that the overwhelming majority of schools increased social and emotional supports for students affected by the coronavirus, but that fewer schools provided treatment and diagnosis of mental health disorders. (Meckler and Natanson, 1/17)

Fox News: Heart Disease Risk Increases For Young Adults Who Have Lost A Sibling, Study Finds
People who lose a sibling during childhood or early adulthood could be at a higher risk of developing heart disease at an early age, a new study found. Researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong evaluated more than two million people in Denmark who were born between the years 1978 and 2018. Based on 17 years of follow-up data, the researchers found that sibling death in childhood and early adulthood was associated with a 17% increased overall risk of cardiovascular disease. (Rudy, 1/18)

CIDRAP: Study: Nearly Half Of Bloodstream Infection Isolates From Transplant Recipients Were Multidrug-Resistant
A study of patients at a transplant center found a high burden of bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) following organ transplant, researchers reported yesterday in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance. (Dall, 1/12)

CIDRAP: Global Mortality From Fungal Diseases Has Nearly Doubled
Global incidence and mortality from invasive fungal disease is substantially higher than previously thought, according to a systematic review published last week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Using data from literature published from 2010 through 2023, along with 85 papers on individual country and global disease burden, the review estimates that over 6.55 million people annually are affected by invasive fungal infection, including over 2.1 million with invasive aspergillosis, 1.8 million with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, and 1.5 million with a Candida bloodstream infection or invasive candidiasis, 500,000 with Pneumocystis pneumonia, and 194,000 with Cryptococcal meningitis. These infections lead to more than 3.75 million deaths annually, of which 2.55 million are directly attributable to the fungal disease. (Dall, 1/16)

CIDRAP: Outpatient C Diff Infection May Be Underdiagnosed, Study Finds 
A study of two large, integrated health systems suggests that outpatient Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) may be underdiagnosed, researchers reported today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. In a retrospective study of adult members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Kaiser Permanente Northwest, researchers identified 777,533 medically attended diarrhea (MAD) episodes among 592,877 people from 2016 through 2021. The researchers targeted patients with MAD episodes because they haven't been well described and are believed to contribute to a reservoir of undiagnosed CDI cases in the community because these patients don't always get tested for CDI. (Dall, 1/11)

CIDRAP: Study: Infection-Control Measures Stemmed COVID Spread In Hospitals From 2020 To 2022 
Implementation of ventilation standards of at least five clean-air changes per hour, COVID-19 testing, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and universal wearing of respirators prevented most SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in a California healthcare system from 2020 to 2022, suggests a study published yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 1/17)

The New York Times: When Public Health Loses The Public 
“Put on your masks!” My son and I were cycling during the pandemic when a passerby furiously screamed that in our direction. I shouted back something too long about updated recommendations on masking outdoors and was left yelling into the wind, my kid giving me the “Calm down, mom” look. (Pamela Paul, 1/18)

The Washington Post: What If Ozempic Is The New Orthodontia 
We live in a country that worships thinness and abhors, pathologizes or (at best) ignores fat people. When injectable weight-loss drugs become more affordable, weight loss will become even more obligatory. Being thin will no longer be an accident of birth or a perk of wealth; it will be a requirement of being middle class. Is this what we want? (Kate Cohen, 1/18)

Newsweek: The Affordable Care Act Saved My Life. Donald Trump Wants To Destroy It, Again 
When Donald Trump became president, his chief domestic policy priority was repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would have ripped health care away from tens of millions of Americans, increased the cost of health insurance, and allowed insurers to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. While he famously came up one vote short in successfully repealing the health care law, he's increasingly defining his presidential priorities in events like his recent town hall, and in a speech in Iowa, he notably vowed to attack the ACA again if elected. (Sage Warner, 1/17)

The New York Times: Turning Down Food Aid For Millions Of Children Reflects Shocking Political Callousness 
Last week I read something that shocked me, even if it really shouldn’t have: Fifteen states — all but one run by Republican governors — skipped the deadline to apply for a new federally-funded program that will provide $120 per child for groceries during the summer months to families of children who already qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school. (Charles M. Blow, 1/17)

The Boston Globe: Pharmacy Deserts In Black and Latino Communitites Are Harming Residents
A Walgreens pharmacy is closing in Roxbury, a predominantly Black neighborhood, and residents are calling the closure unjust. Rightly so. The closing of a neighborhood pharmacy is not just an inconvenience to the community; the lack of access to a pharmacy can worsen health inequities. (Elaine O. Nsoesie, 1/18)

Stat: Why Is The U.S. Still So Far Behind On Health Data Interoperability? 
In 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act required that the U.S. make progress toward interoperability, which it defined as “all electronically accessible health information” to be accessed, exchanged and used “without special effort on the part of the user.” In December, seven years after the passage of the bill, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule that will penalize providers for blocking access to electronic health information. (John C. (Jack) Lewin and Jane Delgado, 1/18)