NPR: The Census Bureau Is Dropping A Controversial Proposal To Change Disability Statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau is no longer moving forward with a controversial proposal that could have shrunk a key estimated rate of disability in the United States by about 40%, the bureau's director said Tuesday in a blog post. The announcement comes just over two weeks after the bureau said the majority of the more than 12,000 public comments it received about proposed changes to its annual American Community Survey cited concerns over changing the survey's disability questions. (Lo Wang, 2/6)

The Washington Post: New Air Pollution Rule Could Prevent Thousands Of Premature Deaths
The Environmental Protection Agency is strengthening limits on fine particulate matter, one of the nation’s most widespread deadly air pollutants, prompting praise from public health experts and backlash from business groups. The stricter standards could prevent thousands of premature deaths, particularly in communities of color where people have breathed unhealthy air for decades. While business groups don’t dispute these enormous health benefits, they argue that the standards could cause major economic upheaval by erasing manufacturing jobs across the country. (Joselow, 2/7)

Reuters: US Agency To Hire 50 AI Experts To Crack Down On Drugs, Child Abuse
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to hire 50 artificial intelligence experts this year to help it halt child abuse, counter fentanyl production and assess damage from natural disasters, as it seeks to increase use of the burgeoning technology. The agency, tasked with securing U.S. borders, announced the hiring effort at an event in Mountain View, California, headlined by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen. (Alper, 2/6)

The New York Times: Federal Records Show Increasing Use Of Solitary Confinement For Immigrants
The United States government has placed detained immigrants in solitary confinement more than 14,000 times in the last five years, and the average duration is almost twice the 15-day threshold that the United Nations has said may constitute torture, according to a new analysis of federal records by researchers at Harvard and the nonprofit group Physicians for Human Rights. The report, based on government records from 2018 through 2023 and interviews with several dozen former detainees, noted cases of extreme physical, verbal and sexual abuse for immigrants held in solitary cells. The New York Times reviewed the original records cited in the report, spoke with the data analysts and interviewed former detainees to corroborate their stories. (Baumgaertner, 2/6)

Fox News: KJP Dodges Question On Biden’s Mental Health After He Claimed To Recently Meet With Long-Dead French Leader
White House press secretary Karine Jeane-Pierre on Tuesday dodged a question on President Biden’s mental and physical health after the president appeared to confuse French President Emmanuel Macron with former French President François Mitterrand, who has been dead for nearly 30 years. The gaffe came during a campaign stop in Las Vegas on Sunday. The president was recalling a meeting he had with Macron at the G7 summit in England, shortly after he assumed the White House in 2021. But instead of Macron, Biden dropped the name of "Mitterrand," who was the president of France between 1981 and 1995 and died in 1996. (Betz, 2/6)

In updates from Capitol Hill —

The New York Times: Democrat Al Green, In Hospital Garb, Delivers Vote To Kill Mayorkas Impeachment 
The Democrat from Texas had undergone abdominal surgery but rushed to the Capitol because he said the vote was “personal.” (Guo, 2/6)

Axios: Scoop: China Panel Plans Biotech Field Hearing
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is planning to hold a field hearing on China biotech competition next week in Boston, Axios has learned. Chinese genomics companies are becoming a national security concern in some quarters of Congress, where there's bipartisan support for cutting off some firms from taxpayer funding. (Snyder, 2/6)

Stat: House Panel Passes PBM Reforms For Sliver Of Commercial Market
A House panel passed a bipartisan bill to ban drug middlemen from charging fees based on drug list prices — the first in Congress’ raft of PBM reform efforts that would actually ban the practice in at least some of the employer-sponsored insurance market. (Wilkerson, 2/6)

CNN: Medicare Now Negotiating Price Of Drug That Costs $7,100 In US Vs. $900 In Canada 
Sen. Bernie Sanders is once again taking the pharmaceutical industry to task, issuing a report Tuesday that highlights the cost of three blockbuster drugs that are far pricier in the US than in other countries. The differences are striking. The annual list price of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis, a blood thinner that reduces the risk of stroke, is $7,100 in the US. But in Japan, it’s $940; in Canada, it’s $900; in Germany, it’s $770; in the United Kingdom, it’s $760; and in France, it’s $650. (Luhby, 2/6)

Axios: How Trump Could Weaken Medicare Drug Pricing Negotiations
If Donald Trump returns to the White House, the self-proclaimed master negotiator could get his shot at brokering Medicare prices for drugs. Trump first ran for president bucking conservative orthodoxy by vowing to negotiate drug prices, though he later abandoned that pledge. But the Democrats' drug pricing law would require the GOP frontrunner to negotiate Medicare prices for some drugs if he wins a second term, and former Trump health officials expect he would use executive power to soften the government's approach. (Goldman, 2/7)

More about Medicare —

Rolling Stone: Republicans Are Planning To Totally Privatize Medicare If Trump Wins
As Rolling Stone has detailed, the proposed Project 2025 agenda is radically right-wing. One item buried in the 887-page blueprint has attracted little attention thus far, but would have a monumental impact on the health of America’s seniors and the future of one of America’s most popular social programs: a call to “make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option” for people who are newly eligible for Medicare. Such a policy would hasten the end of the traditional Medicare program, as well as its foundational premise: that seniors can go to any doctor or provider they choose. The change would be a boon for private health insurers — which generate massive profits and growing portions of their revenues from Medicare Advantage plans — and further consolidate corporate control over the United States health care system. It would not likely benefit seniors, since the private plans limit the doctors they can see and often wrongfully deny patients’ care. (Perez, 2/5)

Modern Healthcare: Centene May Trim Medicare Advantage Benefits Over CMS Rate Cut
Centene may scale back Medicare Advantage benefits if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services carries out a rate cut next year, executives said Tuesday. The health insurance company is the latest to report higher-than-expected costs for its Medicare Advantage members and to bemoan a CMS proposed rule that would trim benchmark payments by 0.16% in 2025, excluding the effects of risk adjustment. That wouldn't be enough to cover expenses, CEO Sarah London said during a call with investor analysts to announce fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. (Tepper, 2/6)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Medicare Advantage AI Guidance Issued 
Medicare Advantage insurers may utilize artificial intelligence and other technologies to assess coverage decisions, but the tools cannot override benefits rules and medical necessity standards, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wrote in a notice to health insurance companies Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Cigna each is fighting lawsuits alleging they utilize AI, algorithms and similar utilities to routinely decline coverage for post-acute care and other services. (Bennett, 2/6)

AP: Not Wearing Mask During COVID-19 Isn’t A Free Speech Right, Appeals Court Says
A federal appeals court shot down claims Monday that New Jersey residents’ refusal to wear face masks at school board meetings during the COVID-19 outbreak constituted protected speech under the First Amendment. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in two related cases stemming from lawsuits against officials in Freehold and Cranford, New Jersey. (Catalini, 2/6)

In other news about covid —

Axios: Biden Admin Pushes Pharmacy Execs On COVID Treatment Paxlovid Costs
Biden administration officials this week pushed executives from leading pharmacy chains to make sure frontline staff are providing patients with accurate information about costs of the COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, officials told Axios first. Why it matters: Uptake of the Pfizer antiviral has remained stubbornly low since it transitioned to the commercial market in the fall, in part because of patients sometimes being charged up to the full list price of $1,400. (Reed, 2/7)

Los Angeles Times: Has California's COVID-19 Winter Surge Peaked? Here's What Data Show
The winter respiratory virus season may have hit its peak in California, with coronavirus levels in sewage and COVID-19 hospitalizations starting to decline following weeks of steady increases. Should the trend continue, 2023–24 would be the mildest winter of the COVID era in terms of severe illness — free of anything even approximating the devastating and disruptive surges seen in prior years. (Lin II, 2/7)

AP: Cough? Sore Throat? More Schools Suggest Mildly Sick Kids Attend Anyway
Trenace Dorsey-Hollins’ 5-year-old daughter was sick a lot last year. Dorsey-Hollins followed school guidelines and kept her home when she had a cough or a sore throat — or worse — until she was completely better. Near the end of the year, the school in Fort Worth, Texas, called her in to talk about why her daughter had missed so much school. During the pandemic, schools urged parents and children to stay home at any sign of illness. Even though the emergency has ended, she said no one has clarified that those rules have changed. (Toness, 2/7)

Scientific American: Rampant COVID Poses New Challenges In The Fifth Year Of The Pandemic
For four years now, either as a physical virus or as a looming threat, the COVID-causing pathogen SARS-CoV-2 has been the elephant in every room—sometimes confronted and sometimes ignored but always present. While once we dreamed of eradicating COVID, now much of society has resigned itself to SARS-CoV-2’s constant presence—a surrender that would once have been unthinkable. Worldwide, there were more than 11,000 reported deaths from COVID between mid-December 2023 and mid-January 2024, and more than half of those deaths occurred in the U.S. In that same time frame, nearly one million cases were reported to the World Health Organization globally (although reduced testing and reporting means this is likely a vast undercount). In particular, epidemiologists are monitoring the newest variant of SARS-CoV-2, JN.1, and looking for any signs that it may be more severe than previous strains. (Bartels, 2/6)

New Atlas: “Zombie” COVID Particles May Be Responsible For Lethal Disease
Following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 there are now seven different coronaviruses known to infect humans. Four of those are associated with generally harmless common respiratory infections, but the other three (SARS, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS) are much more dangerous. Why some coronaviruses are relatively harmless while others are incredibly lethal is still a bit of a mystery. Some answers lie in the proteins each individual virus uses to enter human cells, but what exactly makes SARS-CoV-2 so severe in some people and innocuous in others is unclear. (Haridy, 2/5)

CIDRAP: US Outpatient Care For Serious Mental Health Issues Declined During COVID-19
A study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that while telemedicine helped some groups seeking mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans with serious mental health symptoms suffered from a decline in in-person outpatient mental health visits that has persisted. Moreover, this lack of outpatient care for those with significant mental illness was seen mostly in patients with lower incomes and education levels. (Soucheray, 2/6)

On the RSV vaccine —

CIDRAP: FDA Mulls Extending RSV Vaccine To People Ages 50 To 59 
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted GSK's application for priority review for extended use of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Arexvy in adults ages 50 to 59 at higher risk for complications. (Schnirring, 2/6)

In other outbreaks and health alerts —

AP: Listeria Outbreak Linked To Cotija, Queso Fresco From California Business
A California cheese and dairy company is the source of a decadelong outbreak of listeria food poisoning that killed two people and sickened more than two dozen, federal health officials said Tuesday. New lab and inspection evidence linked soft cheeses and other dairy products made by Rizo-Lopez Foods of Modesto, California, to the outbreak, which was first detected in June 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. (Aleccia, 2/6)

AP: Ecuador Officials Name Likely Source Of Tainted Cinnamon That Poisoned U.S. Children 
Officials in Ecuador have named the likely source of contaminated ground cinnamon used in fruit pouches tied to more than 400 potential cases of lead poisoning in U.S. children, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. Carlos Aguilera, a cinnamon-processing company in Ecuador, supplied the spice added to WanaBana and other applesauce pouches sent to the U.S., according to the Ecuadorian regulatory agency ARCSA. The cinnamon, which was sent to another supplier, Negasmart, was found to be contaminated with high levels of lead and chromium, an FDA analysis showed. Carlos Aguilera is not operating at this time, ARCSA said. (Aleccia, 2/6)

CIDRAP: Probe Confirms Imported Eye Drops As Source Of Extensively Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas Outbreak 
The investigation by researchers with the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and several state and local health departments identified a total of 81 case-patients from 18 states in the outbreak, which stretched from May to November 2022 and was originally linked to an ophthalmology clinic in Los Angeles. Nearly a third of the patients (26) were treated at one of three healthcare facilities in three states. Four of 54 case-patients with clinical cultures died within 30 days of culture collection, 4 of 18 patients with eye infections had to have their eyes removed, and an additional 14 suffered vision loss. (Dall, 2/6)

Modern Healthcare: Workplace Violence Against Nurses On The Rise: NNU Survey
Nearly half of nurses reported an increase in workplace violence last year, leading many to consider leaving their job or healthcare altogether, according to a recent survey from National Nurses United. The survey gathered data from more than 900 nurses nationwide and found that in 2022 and 2023 more than 80% of nurses experienced some form of workplace violence. Attacks ranged from bites, punches, kicks and thrown urinals to “racist and sexually aggressive comments,” the union said. (Devereaux, 2/6)

In other health care industry developments —

Modern Healthcare: Amazon Layoffs Hit One Medical, Pharmacy Divisions
Amazon is cutting "a few hundred roles" across its One Medical and pharmacy divisions, the tech titan said Tuesday. The company declined to share details about the timeline for the layoffs or which positions will be cut. Amazon plans to talk with those affected on Wednesday, Neil Lindsay, senior vice president at Amazon Health Services, said in a company-wide email sent out after an employee leaked information on the job cuts. (Hudson, 2/6)

The Colorado Sun: Troubled Delta Clinic Closes After State Pulls Its License
A troubled multicounty clinic based in Delta that offered physical and mental health services to some of the most vulnerable people on the Western Slope closed its doors Friday. Integrated Insight Community Care’s closure comes after insurer Rocky Mountain Health Plans ended its contract with the clinic Jan. 18, citing concerns about patient safety. (Flowers, 2/7)

The Baltimore Sun: Century-Old Harford Memorial Hospital Closes
Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace closed its doors Tuesday — a decision that’s been years in the making, but still evoked some mixed feelings from county and University of Maryland Medical System leadership. The last 36 patients at the century-old hospital left the facility in the morning, traveling by ambulance to the newly updated University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air or the new UMUC Medical Center Aberdeen. (Roberts, 2/6)

Modern Healthcare: Premier To Sell All Or Part Of Contigo Health, S2S Global
Premier said it completed a strategic review of alternatives for the company and was seeking buyers for some or all of its Contigo Health and S2S Global subsidiaries. The group purchasing and consulting company on Monday also announced a $1 billion share repurchase program, including a $400 million accelerated stock repurchase agreement with Bank of America. (2/6)

Modern Healthcare: HHS Settles Montefiore Medical Center Lawsuit For $4.75M
The Health and Human Services Department's Office for Civil Rights has reached a $4.75 million settlement with Montefiore Medical Center for alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HHS announced Tuesday. In 2013, an unnamed former hospital employee sold electronically protected medical records of 12,517 patients to an identity theft group, according to HHS. The New York City hospital did not detect or report the breach to the Office for Civil Rights until 2015. (Desilva, 2/6)

Also —

Modern Healthcare: University Of Rochester Telehealth Kiosks Come To Five Star Banks
University of Rochester Medical Center is testing on-demand telehealth appointments at kiosks inside local bank branches. The pilot program combines the system's telehealth capabilities with physical, internet-connected stations at three Five Star Bank locations in rural areas where the provider does not have physician offices. The goal of the kiosks is to reach patients who face long commutes to in-person care or challenges accessing virtual care in their homes. (Turner, 2/6)

Bloomberg: Alphabet’s Verily Hires Myoung Cha As Chief Product Officer
Verily, Alphabet Inc.’s life sciences unit, hired veteran health technology executive Myoung Cha as chief product officer to help lead strategy as the company ramps up efforts to expand its business. Cha previously served as president and chief strategy officer at startup Carbon Health Technologies Inc. and also worked on health efforts at Apple Inc., Verily said Tuesday in a statement. (Love, 2/6)

Stat: Health VR Firms Are Impressed, Yet Cautious, About Apple Vision Pro
Apple has long touted the potential of the iPhone and Apple Watch to help people live healthier lives, both through its own features as well as with apps from researchers and outside companies. Naturally, with the launch of Vision Pro, it has begun to explore the headset’s potential in health care as well. (Aguilar, 2/7)

Bloomberg: Philips Recalls Medical Imaging System Over Component Failure
Royal Philips NV is recalling one of its older medical scanning devices after a customer complaint brought potential component failures to light. The manufacturer’s SPECT BrightView nuclear imaging system might experience a leadscrew failure in specific circumstances, Philips said Wednesday. The company sent a field safety notice to customers in December after receiving a single complaint. There was no report of injury or serious harm and Philips hasn’t been making or selling the product for a decade. (2/7)

The New York Times: Jennifer Crumbley’s Conviction Offers New Legal Tactic In Mass Shooting Cases 
The guilty verdict on Tuesday against the mother of a Michigan teenager who murdered four students in 2021 in the state’s deadliest school shooting is likely to ripple across the country’s legal landscape as prosecutors find themselves weighing a new way to seek justice in mass shootings. But, legal experts say, don’t expect a rush of similar cases. That’s because prosecutors in Michigan had notably compelling evidence against the mother, Jennifer Crumbley, that jurors felt proved she should have known the mental state of her son, Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time. (Arango, 2/6)

The Detroit News: Gun Control Activists Welcome Crumbley Verdict
"Plain and simple, the deadly shooting at Oxford High School in 2021 should have — and could have — been prevented had the Crumbleys not acquired a gun for their 15-year-old son," said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, a national advocacy group, in a statement. "This decision is an important step forward in ensuring accountability and, hopefully, preventing future tragedies." (Mackay, 2/6)

USA Today: Crumbley Decision: What It Means For Parents And The Future Of Gun Violence
Tony Montalito still feels sadness surrounding the mass school shooting that took his young daughter's life in Parkland, Florida in 2018. But on Tuesday, he also felt some sense of justice. The jury decision in Michigan that found Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of a school shooter, responsible at least in part for the 2021 killings at Oxford High School sends an important signal, Montalito told USA TODAY. It offers parents of shooting victims some hope that people will take steps to keep guns away from their children. "Holding people accountable for their roles in not actively trying to get troubled individuals help before they commit acts of violence will send a strong message," Montalito said. (Jimenez, Santucci and Arshad, 2/6)

Also —

Medical Xpress: Exposure To Gun Violence Is Associated With Suicidal Behavior In Black Adults
Black adults who have been exposed to gun violence are more likely to have lifetime suicidal ideation, according to a study by Rutgers Health researchers. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that Black adults who were shot, threatened with a gun, knew someone who was shot or witnessed or heard about a shooting are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behavior. (Zielinski, 2/6)

USA Today: Biden White House Readies Week Of Events On Gun Violence Prevention
The White House is set to hold a series of events this week focused on combatting gun violence in Black communities as President Joe Biden continues to push Congress to do more on gun control. The events, organized by the newly created White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, kick off Monday with a nationwide virtual meeting with Black leaders on tackling gun violence in their communities. Biden will deliver a message recognizing this week as "Community Violence Awareness Week." (Garrison, 2/5)

The Washington Post: Fact Checker: Is Gun Violence The Leading Cause Of Death For Children? 
Deaths from gun violence, after remaining relatively stable from 1999 to 2014, have spiked in recent years, to a peak of 48,830 in 2021, according to data maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But has gun violence become so horrific that it is now the leading cause of death for children? The Biden White House, in various venues, has made that claim. But the source cited in the White House news release — a 2022 study by the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at Johns Hopkins University — reports data with a broader focus. It cites gun deaths of “children and teens,” meaning it includes deaths of 18- and 19-year-olds, who are legally considered adults in most states. (Kessler, 2/7)

USA Today: Plastics Linked To Thousands Of Preterm Births In U.S., Study Finds
Chemicals commonly used for plastic in food containers, lotion and other products are linked to tens of thousands of preterm births in the U.S. each year, according to a new study. Those babies’ medical bills over their lifetimes cost billions, the study says. The researchers behind the Lancet Planetary Health study published Tuesday looked at daily exposure to phthalates, synthetic chemicals used in everyday items, by examining national data on 5,000 mothers. The study showed an increased risk of preterm birth, which has risen in the U.S. (Cuevas, 2/6)

In other reproductive health news —

Axios: Latina Voices Are Largely Left Out Of Abortion Ban Discourse Despite Disproportionate Impact
Abortion advocates say Latinas and other women of color are disproportionately affected by bans and restrictions, but when it comes to lawsuits and news coverage, their stories are less likely to get attention. The reality underscores the limited resources that Hispanic women have in accessing abortion care, especially since the fall of Roe v. Wade, which has prompted nearly half of all U.S. states to enact more restrictions or bans. (Galvan, 2/6)

The Washington Post: These Vending Machines Are Giving Out Free STI Tests. Can They Save Lives?
In at least two British cities, certain vending machines offer up not snacks and sodas but a more unusual item: free self-test kits for sexually transmitted diseases. The initiative aims to overcome some of the obstacles that keep people from testing: the hassle of going to the doctor, the stigma of visiting sexual health clinics (especially for LGBTQ+ people who are not out) and a lack of awareness about testing options. Such obstacles contribute to more than a million STIs being acquired globally every day, according to the World Health Organization, which has called for better access to testing and diagnostic services. (Vinall, 2/7)

More health and wellness news —

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Study: More Older Adults Are Using Cannabis Post-Pandemic 
A new study, published in the Cannabis and Cannabinoids Research journal, found more older Americans are using cannabis today than before the pandemic. According to researchers with the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, roughly 1 in 8 Americans over 50 currently use the substance. (Boyce, 2/6)

The Washington Post: Toby Keith Had Stomach Cancer. Symptoms Can Be Easy To Miss, Doctors Say
Some lifestyle choices can increase people’s risk of developing stomach cancer. Smoking, eating unhealthy foods and drinking alcohol have been linked to stomach cancer, according to Meira Epplein, a professor for Duke University’s School of Medicine. Another cause stems from bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, which is contagious and causes stomach infections, Epplein said. The bacteria is harmless to most people, Epplein said, but about 3 percent of people who have it develop stomach cancer. Genetics can also play a role, experts said. (Melnick, 2/7)

AP: As Cancer Treatment Advances, Patients And Doctors Push Back Against Drugs' Harsh Side Effects 
For cancer patients, the harsh side effects of powerful drugs have long been the trade-off for living longer. Now, patients and doctors are questioning whether all that suffering is necessary. They’ve ignited a movement to radically change how new cancer drugs are tested, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urging drugmakers to do a better job at finding the lowest effective dose, even if it takes more time. (Johnson, 2/6)

CNN: Can A DNA Analysis Help Improve Your Fitness?
Millions of people around the globe are spitting into vials in the hopes of learning more about their genes. But they’re not just looking for information about their ancestry. Increasingly, people are interested in pursuing how their genes may be affecting their health, nutrition, fitness potential and risk of injury. (McManus, 2/6)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: Americans struggle to find a primary care provider, and some experts on aging are calling on older drivers to sign an advance directive to determine when they should stop driving. (2/6)

The Hill: Half Of Trans People In US Have Considered Moving Out Of State Because Of Anti-LGBTQ Laws: Survey
Nearly half of transgender people in the U.S. have considered moving to another state because of legislation in their home state that threatens to curtail access to things like gender-affirming health care, public restrooms and school sports, according to a survey published Wednesday by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). Roughly half, or 47 percent, of the more than 92,000 transgender and nonbinary people surveyed by NCTE, a nonprofit group that focuses on transgender policy reform, said they had thought about moving to another state at some point during the past year because their state government had either pursued or passed laws that target the transgender community. (Migdon, 2/7)

On Medicaid rolls —

KFF Health News: Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million 
Halfway through what will be the biggest purge of Medicaid beneficiaries in a one-year span, enrollment in the government-run health insurance program is on track to return to roughly pre-pandemic levels. Medicaid, which covers low-income and disabled people, and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program grew to a record 94 million enrollees as a result of a rule that prohibited states from terminating coverage during the nation’s public health emergency. (Galewitz, 2/7)

WLRN 91.3 FM: With Medicaid Expansion Off The Table, Entrepreneurs And Nonprofits Help Florida's Uninsured
Roughly a year ago, a block on Northwest 12th Avenue in Little Havana gained a new tenant. In addition to a barbershop, a nail salon, and a Nicaraguan restaurant it also has Clínicas y Farmacias Dr. Goodprice, a clinic and pharmacy founded by Yessica Gonzalez. The business caters to people who are undocumented and uninsured. (Zaragovia, 2/6)

In updates from California —

San Francisco Chronicle: California Closes PrEP Loophole, Takes Aim At HIV Infection Rates
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Tuesday a bill that makes PrEP — a daily pill that prevents HIV infection — easier to access at pharmacies, potentially improving use statewide and especially in communities where rates of disease have remained stubbornly high. The bill corrects earlier legislation, signed in 2019, that made California the first state in the nation to allow pharmacists to provide PrEP without a doctor’s prescription. But that legislation included critical limitations that prevented wide implementation among pharmacists. (Allday, 2/6)

Los Angeles Times: Bill Aims To Legalize Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy In California
After a failed attempt to decriminalize a short list of psychedelics last year, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation to make California the third state to legalize psychedelic-assisted therapy for adults. Gov. Gavin Newsom in October vetoed a similar bill, urging state lawmakers to first take steps toward creating regulated treatment guidelines. ... “It was a very thoughtful veto message,” said Wiener, who on Tuesday morning will introduce a new bill with a more clinical approach to expanded access to psychedelic uses. (Sosa, 2/6)

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

The Boston Globe: Mass. Hospitals Are Full And Patients Wait Months For Discharge
Hospitals throughout Eastern Massachusetts are facing growing challenges in meeting the demand for care, as they cope with hundreds of “stuck” patients — ready for discharge but with no place to go. In the latest sign of a worsening but not unprecedented situation, last week the state Department of Public Health designated hospitals in greater Boston and in cities and towns north of the city as “Tier 3.” A Tier 3 designation, under a pandemic-era system, alerts hospitals to a “high risk” of capacity problems. (Freyer, Piore and Andersen, 2/6)

CNN: Baby’s Death Ruled A Homicide After Suffering Broken Neck During Delivery At Georgia Hospital
A medical examiner on Tuesday released the manner of death for a baby whose mother accused a Georgia hospital and others of decapitating during delivery, ruling it a homicide. The Clayton County, Georgia Medical Examiner’s office said the baby died from a broken neck and the baby’s head was detached, according to a news release shared with CNN. (Tamsett, Rosales and Tucker, 2/6)

The New York Times: Ex-Doctor Charged With Manslaughter In New York Woman’s Suicide 
A former doctor from Arizona is facing a manslaughter charge in New York for his role in the suicide of a woman who died in a Hudson Valley motel room in November, according to his lawyer and law enforcement officials. The former doctor, Stephen P. Miller, 85, is charged with second-degree manslaughter under a provision of New York State law that makes it a crime for one person to intentionally cause or aid in the suicide of another. (Shanahan, 2/5)

The New York Times: Ex-Day Care Director Who Fed Children Melatonin Gets 6 Months In Jail 
A former church day care director in Indiana has been sentenced to six months in jail after admitting that she had fed melatonin gummies to more than a dozen young children without their parents’ consent, court records show. The former director, Tonya Rachelle Voris, 53, was arrested last year after the church’s pastor notified police that she had handed out “pediatric strength melatonin” to children ages 1 to 4 who were under her care at Kidz Life Childcare Ministry in Cumberland, Ind., according to the documents. (Albeck-Ripka, 2/5)

Fox News: Blue City Fentanyl-Related Deaths Spiked To All-Time Highs Last Year
Seattle and the surrounding area recorded the highest number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths on record in 2023, data show. King County, which encompasses Seattle, recorded the most fentanyl-related deaths ever in 2023, at 1,078 fatal overdoses. In all, the county recorded 1,318 deaths due to opioid and drug overdoses last year, meaning fentanyl was involved in more than 80% of overdose deaths last year. (Colton, 2/7)

The Oklahoman: New Bill Would Change How Oklahoma Handles Involuntary Holds
Oklahomans with mental illness or substance abuse conditions can be detained for stabilizing treatment if they pose an immediate threat of harm to themselves or others. But the requirement that harm be immediate disqualifies many in need of help, leaving them to further deteriorate, often resulting in homelessness, incarceration, serious injury or death. A Tulsa lawmaker aims to change that with House Bill 3451. (Bryen, 276)

KFF Health News: Colorado Moves To Connect Agricultural Workers With Mental Health Resources 
Colorado lawmakers have proposed a pair of measures they say will improve the availability of mental health resources for the state’s agricultural industry, as stress, anxiety, and depression among ranchers and farmhands have emerged as critical issues that have worsened since the coronavirus pandemic. The bills under consideration would address a growing need to treat rural mental health issues that have only compounded with the effects of the pandemic and climate change — all in a state that has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. Mental health professionals are scarce in rural parts of Colorado, a significant gap considering suicide rates have been higher in rural America than in metropolitan areas for decades. (Ramachandran, 2/7)

CIDRAP: Study Finds Racial, Ethnic Minorities Underrepresented In Antibiotic Trials For Staph Infections 
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on antibiotics for Staphylococcus aureus infections found widespread underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities, researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Dall, 2/6)

CIDRAP: Promising Clinical Results For Novel Antiviral Onradivir For Flu 
Chinese researchers yesterday reported promising results in a phase 2 trial of a novel antiviral called onradivir for treating seasonal flu. (Schnirring, 2/6)

Reuters: Second Malaria Vaccine Highly Protective, Trial Results Show 
A malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India prevented around three-quarters of symptomatic malaria cases in young children the first year after they got the shots, results from a large trial showed on Thursday. The vaccine, which has already been approved for use by regulators in three West African countries and the World Health Organization, is the second to become available this year. (Rigby, 2/1)

CIDRAP: New Single-Dose Dengue Vaccine Shows 80% Protection 
Results of a phase 3 trial in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) show 80% protection for the single-dose tetravalent (four-strain) Butantan-Dengue Vaccine (Butantan D-V) among participants with no evidence of previous dengue exposure and 89% protection in those with a history of exposure. (Soucheray, 2/2)

Reuters: Valneva Sells Chikungunya Vaccine Priority Review Voucher For $103 Mln 
French vaccine maker Valneva said on Monday it had sold the priority review voucher (PRV) it received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for $103 million. Valneva was awarded a tropical disease PRV in November 2023 after it developed Ixchiq, its single-dose vaccine for the prevention of the disease caused by the chikungunya virus, the company said. Ixchiq was the first preventive shot to be approved in the United States for the mosquito-borne disease. (2/5)

TheStreet: Eli Lilly Leaps As Weight-Loss-Drug Sales Drive Earnings And 2024 Outlook 
Get Free Report posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, while issuing a robust near-term outlook, thanks in part to surging sales of its diabetes and weight-loss treatments, which continue to offset a slump in revenue for its legacy diabetes drug Trulicity. (Baccardax, 2/6)

Reuters: AbbVie Raises 2027 Sales Forecast For New Immunology Drugs To $27 Billion 
AbbVie on Friday raised its 2027 forecast for sales of its immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to $27 billion, up $6 billion from its previous prediction. The Chicago-based drugmaker has been counting on revenues from its newer immunology medicines to help make up for declining sales of blockbuster arthritis drug Humira. (Leo and Wingrove, 2/2)

Stat: The Biogen Aduhelm Mess Could Happen Again 
Last week, Biogen announced it will cease both the study and sale of Aduhelm, its FDA-approved monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Its decision, the company explained, is not a response to new data about the drug’s safety or efficacy, but instead “a reprioritization of resources.” Simply put, it wasn’t about science or medicine. It was about money. (Jason Karlawish, 2/6)

Newsweek: Congress Has A Duty To Modernize Opioid Treatment 
For individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), methadone is a gold standard medication that has been proven to prevent overdose and save lives. Since the 1970s, methadone has been prescribed to decrease opioid cravings, ease withdrawal symptoms, and dramatically reduce illicit drug use. Most importantly, studies show methadone has been effective in decreasing opioid overdose deaths by nearly 60 percent. (Don Bacon, 2/6)

Bloomberg: Ozempic, Wegovy: Novo Nordisk Bulks Up In The Obesity Drugs Battle
The healthcare industry has a simple problem — a shortage of capacity to meet soaring demand for the new generation of appetite-suppressants such as diabetes treatment Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy. Novo Nordisk A/S has found a neat solution: An opportunistic takeover of a contract manufacturer that transforms it from being a dependent customer to becoming a controlling owner. (Chris Hughes, 2/5)

Houston Chronicle: Pharma Companies Abuse Our Patent System — And Texans Feel The Pain
Keytruda, a cancer drug, cost $59,642 a year on average for a Medicare patient in 2020. Prices for the arthritis drugs Enbrel and Humira have jumped 617% and 506% respectively since launch. The diabetes drug Trulicity has risen 82%. (Patricia Kelmar, 2/2)

The Washington Post: Hypertension, The World’s Leading Killer, Needs Focus And Funding
Hypertension, the “silent killer,” is the deadliest but most neglected and widespread pandemic of our time, killing more than 10 million people a year worldwide. More than a third of deaths from high blood pressure occur in adults younger than 70 years old and this proportion is even higher in low-income countries. (Tom Frieden, 2/7)

Newsweek: U.S. Social Policy Is In Crisis. Academic Medicine Should Address It 
Almost everyone who is currently enrolled in medical school has only ever trained in the context of crisis. Since the moment we submitted our applications in 2020, the United States has grappled with a never-ending stream of previously unprecedented public health events. A global pandemic, a reckoning with systemic racism, and a historic reversal of abortion rights have punctuated the consistent stream of environmental catastrophes, socioeconomic injustices, mass shootings, hate crimes, and overdose deaths that have unfortunately become our norm. (Sarah McNeilly and Vivian Kim, 2/6)

The Star Tribune: Protect ACA As Enrollment Grows
The glitches accompanying the Affordable Care Act's rollout generated understandable criticism for years after its 2014 debut. But the landmark law's successes deserve the spotlight, too. (2/6)

Stat: Problems With A Popular Proposal To Regulate AI In Health Care
As leaders across federal agencies swiftly advance regulations for AI in health care, one proposal now seems too big to fail. That proposal is for the implementation of AI assurance laboratories — places where AI model developers can develop and test AI models according to standard criteria that would be defined with regulators. (Mark P. Sendak, Nicholson Price, Karandeep Singh and Suresh Balu, 2/7)

Time: Guns Are Not Just A Public Health Problem
The notion that guns cause a public health crisis best addressed through harm reduction strategies like background checks, red flag laws, or safe storage guidelines courses through the language of experts, doctors, activists, and media commentators. ... Yet I’ve spent the past five years interviewing gun owners and gunshot victims across the U.S. South for a new book, What We’ve Become, that tells the story of the 2018 Nashville Waffle House mass shooting. My research showed me time and again how, while the health frame can be effective on clinical and moral levels, it is less so at political ones. (Johnathan M. Metzl, 2/5)