The 19th: Senate Democrats Aim For Expedited Vote To Protect IVF Access
Senate Democrats on Tuesday highlighted their plan to protect IVF, warning their Republican colleagues they will need to decide by Wednesday whether to block a bill that would preserve access to assisted reproductive technologies. (Becker and Davis, 2/27)

Axios Chicago: Sen. Tammy Duckworth Gets Personal In Push To Protect IVF
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is sharing her fertility journey as part of a renewed push for legislation to ensure families have access to procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF). (Shepherd, 2/27)

The Hill: Republican Circulating Nonbinding House Resolution To Support IVF 
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is circulating a nonbinding resolution to Democrats and Republicans expressing “strong support for continued access to fertility care” including in vitro fertilization. In an email sent to congressional offices, Mace’s legislative director said the resolution is being introduced “in light of the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling which has jeopardized access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for couples in the state of Alabama.” (Weixel, 2/27)

Axios: Biden's Next Move On IVF Protections May Be Limited
Fertility providers are talking with the Biden administration about possible steps it can take to ensure access to in vitro fertilization, while legal experts say the administration likely has some limited powers. (Goldman, 2/28)

Axios: Two-Thirds Signal Opposition To Alabama IVF Ruling: Axios-Ipsos Poll
Two-thirds of Americans oppose considering frozen embryos as people, with the issue rapidly resonating with Democrats already charged up by election-year messaging on reproductive rights, a new Axios-Ipsos poll finds. The findings suggest the Alabama Supreme Court decision on in vitro fertilization goes well beyond where public sentiment is in the post-Roe world. (Bettelheim, 2/28)

Updates from Alabama —

Politico: Alabama Republicans Want To Give IVF Doctors Immunity After Court Rules Frozen Embryos Are Kids
Alabama’s GOP-controlled legislature is scrambling to strike a compromise to restore access to in vitro fertilization after a recent state Supreme Court decision declaring that frozen embryos are children forced clinics to pause operations. Under state legislation introduced Tuesday afternoon, Republican lawmakers propose giving doctors who perform in vitro fertilization immunity from civil and criminal prosecution to give clinics enough legal cover to resume providing services. The measure, however, falls short of an earlier draft of the bill that said embryos created during the IVF process that aren’t implanted in the uterus should be considered a “potential life” but not “human life.” (Messerly, 2/27)

USA Today: Biden's Top Health Expert Travels To Alabama To Hear From IVF Families
The Biden Administration dispatched its top healthcare expert here on Tuesday to meet with fertility doctors and families undergoing in vitro fertilization, days after the Alabama Supreme Court effectively halted the treatment in the state. After meeting with affected families, federal Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra noted that the court's decision was possible only because the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe vs. Wade and permitted states to ban abortions. (Hagan and Hughes, 2/27)

Also —

Reuters: Florida Lawmakers Pause 'Unborn Child' Bill In Wake Of Alabama Ruling 
Florida lawmakers have paused efforts to pass a bill that would have provided protections to an "unborn child," but which some worry could expose the state's in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics to lawsuits like one that happened this month in Alabama. Florida state Senator Erin Grall said in an emailed statement on Tuesday that she had requested her bill "be temporarily postponed at this time." (Brooks, 2/27)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Abortion Rights Amendment Would Also Protect IVF
A proposed Missouri abortion rights ballot measure would protect access to in vitro fertilization, supporters and experts say, after an Alabama court decision declaring that frozen embryos are children has led to fears the fertility treatment could be in danger. (Shorman, Bayless and Desrochers, 2/28)

Stat: FTC Says Pharmacy Benefit Managers Are Stonewalling Requests For Information
A much-anticipated inquiry by U.S. antitrust regulators into pharmaceutical industry middlemen has been stymied because the companies have failed to provide many of the documents that, in some cases, were requested as far back as June 2022. (Silverman, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: PBM Reform Advocates Hold Out Hope Congress Can Still Act
Advocates for tougher restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers are not giving up after Congress reportedly shelved several proposals this week, even if lawmakers see no immediate path forward. PBM legislation has broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Negotiations appear to have broken down, however, regarding which specific measures to include in the full-year government funding bills that must pass by March 1 and March 8. (McAuliff, 2/27)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Shutdown Fears Fade After White House Meeting 
Democratic and Republican congressional leaders struck an optimistic tone that they would avert a government shutdown this weekend after a White House meeting in which lawmakers also stepped up pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) to allow a long-stalled vote on Ukraine aid to go forward. Johnson is expected to put forward legislation in coming days that would keep the government fully open, but the details remained uncertain. The Congress has until Saturday at 12:01 a.m. to fund the departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Agriculture, Energy and several other agencies that have been operating on temporary extensions since Sept. 30. The funding for the rest of the federal government expires after March 8. (Wise, Hughes and Linskey, 2/27)

The Texas Tribune: Judge Rules Against Pregnant Workers In Win For Texas Attorney General
A federal court in Lubbock ruled Tuesday that proxy voting in Congress doesn’t count toward a quorum, weakening a law to protect pregnant workers that was passed with proxy votes. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration last year over a massive government funding package that passed largely by proxy votes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding package, passed in December 2022, included the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which protects accommodations for pregnant employees in the workplace and allows workers to sue employers for failing to do so. It prohibited employers from denying employment opportunities or forcing pregnant workers to go on leave if alternative accommodations were possible. (Choi, 2/27)

More health news from the federal government —

USA Today: Exclusive: CDC Head Aims To Fix U.S. Divisiveness About Public Health
At a time when public health guidance is increasingly politicized and divisive, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a plan to bring Americans back together. Dr. Mandy Cohen, who took the helm at the agency in July, says the key to addressing health issues is to begin with topics people agree on and build a relationship across the aisle. “This is a journey,” she said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. “There’s a lot of threats in the world, let’s start at the places where we have a lot of good agreement.” (Rodriguez, 2/27)

USA Today: Where Do Trump And Haley Stand On Health Care?
As Michigan voters participate in the 2024 Republican primary, the spotlight falls on the contrasting stances of the leading candidates, former President Donald Trump and former Governor Nikki Haley, on the critical issue of health care. Donald Trump, whose tenure as president saw fervent attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, has recently remained relatively reticent on the topic. ... In contrast, Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, has steadfastly opposed the Affordable Care Act. (Yurow, 2/27)

Military.com: VA Has Come A Long Way In Serving Female Veterans, But More Could Be Done, New Report Says 
The Department of Veterans Affairs has made significant progress in providing medical treatment and services to female veterans, but shortfalls still exist, especially in mental health care, largely as a result of gender differences, according to a new report from the nonprofit group Disabled American Veterans. More than 600,000 female veterans receive health care through the VA, and the proportion of those who have a service-connected disability has risen since 2000 from 48% to 73% in 2020. Given that there are more than 2 million female veterans in the U.S., many of whom need support and qualify for VA services but aren't using their benefits, the department should do more to improve services for them, DAV analysts wrote in "Women Veterans: A Journey to Mental Wellness." (Kime and Kheel, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: What The Healthcare Sectors Wants From AI Legislation
Healthcare interests clamoring for congressional action on artificial intelligence would also like lawmakers to remember the Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm. Second, they would like a little protection. Opinions about precisely which needs legislating or protection, of course, vary greatly among interest groups, some of which have competing agendas. (McAuliff, 2/27)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Opens UnitedHealth Antitrust Probe 
The Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth, owner of the biggest U.S. health insurer, a leading manager of drug benefits and a sprawling network of doctor groups. The investigators have in recent weeks been interviewing healthcare-industry representatives in sectors where UnitedHealth competes, including doctor groups, according to people with knowledge of the meetings. (Mathews and Michaels, 2/27)

Updates on the Change Healthcare cyberattack —

Modern Healthcare: Change Healthcare Outage: AHA Advises Staying Disconnected
UnitedHealth Group, the American Hospital Association and the Health and Human Services Department remain focused on a cyberattack that has crippled electronic transactions between pharmacies and payers for nearly a week. The AHA continues to advise member hospitals to remain disconnected from UnitedHealth Group division Change Healthcare's systems, which were attacked last Wednesday. (Berryman, 2/27)

In other health care industry developments —

Reuters: Hospitals Sue Leading US Anesthesia Provider Over Non-Compete Contracts
Two hospitals in New York and Florida have sued one of the country’s largest providers of anesthesia services, claiming it unlawfully restricts its physicians from freely choosing where to work. Trinity Health affiliates St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse and Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale sued North American Partners in Anesthesia and related business entities on Monday in federal court in New York and Florida. (Scarcella, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: ChristianaCare, Emerus To Build 3 Hospitals In SE Pennsylvania
ChristianaCare has teamed up with Emerus to build three micro-hospitals in Southeastern Pennsylvania, the health system announced Tuesday. The new facilities are slated to open in 2025, and construction is underway on one hospital at ChristianaCare's West Grove, Pennsylvania, location. Two others are set to be built in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and a spokesperson for ChristianaCare said they are aimed at filling the county's care gaps. Specific locations for those hospitals have not been chosen. (DeSilva, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: CareSource Proposes Deal With ACA Co-Op Common Ground Healthcare
CareSource is looking to bring one of the last remaining Affordable Care Act cooperatives under its umbrella. The nonprofit insurer signed a letter of intent with Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative, a Wisconsin-based individual marketplace and small group insurer, the companies said in a news release Tuesday. The Wisconsin cooperative represents one of just three still operating, according to a Georgetown University Center for Health Insurance Reforms report. (Tepper, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: WellBe Senior Shows What In-Home Care Brings Medicare Advantage
An aging population and an increase in chronic conditions among older adults are driving partnerships between Medicare Advantage plans and at-home care companies, though it could take time to see savings from such programs. Insurers are seeking out these value-based care arrangements as the plans face rising medical care costs and a potential 0.16% rate cut in 2025 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Eastabrook, 2/27)

Stat: Medicare Isn't Yet Testing Food As Medicine
Some twelve percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries have heart failure. Roughly a quarter have diabetes. There’s early evidence suggesting that both conditions — and a slew of others — could be better managed with pre-made healthy meals. So why doesn’t Medicare try out delivering food to sick seniors? (Florko, 2/28)

CBS News: Women Entrepreneurs Look To Close The Gender Health Care Gap With New Technology
A growing sector of the tech industry is working to improve women's health and close the gender health care gap, as more companies run by women are creating devices specifically tailored to track women's health. Bloomer Tech, co-founded by Alicia Chong Rodriguez, has created the Bloomer Bra, an undergarment with sensors that track health information to help detect and fight heart disease in women. "We collect data to detect arrhythmia triggers. We also collect breathing patterns, temperature, posture and movement," Chong Rodriguez said. (Oliver, 2/27)

WLRN: 'Grossly Irresponsible': Florida Congresswoman Blasts Surgeon General Over Measles Outbreak
A South Florida congresswoman is calling for the state’s controversial surgeon general to be ousted over his handling of a measles outbreak in Broward County. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, known for his outspoken skepticism toward the COVID-19 vaccine, sent a letter last week to parents at Manatee Bay Elementary School in Weston where seven students have contracted measles — but refused to declare a public health emergency. A total of nine people in Broward have so far been confirmed with the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus, according to state health officials. (Albert, 2/27)

CNN: Additional Measles Case Reported At Florida Elementary School As Lawmaker Urges Public Health Emergency 
Seven measles cases have now been linked to an outbreak at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston, Florida, the Broward County schools superintendent said Tuesday. The Florida Department of Health is reporting 10 cases statewide. The additional cases were reported as lawmakers and health officials from across the country are calling for parents and state officials to take additional steps to protect students. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo wrote in a letter last week that the health department is “deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance” during the outbreak. (Musa, 2/27)

Time: Florida's War On Public Health 
A measles outbreak in a Florida school reveals the chilling effect of the state's turn against public health. (Rivkees, 2/27)

CBS News: Philadelphia Health Department Announces End Of Measles Outbreak
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health officially announced the end of the citywide measles outbreak that spiked between December 2023 and January 2024 on Tuesday. The outbreak impacted nine people, eight of whom -- two adults and six children -- were from Philadelphia. Health Department officials said six of the positive Philadelphia cases were hospitalized at one point but have since been released. (MacAulay, 2/27)

On flu and norovirus —

CBS News: New York And New Jersey Report More Than A Dozen Child Flu Deaths So Far This Season
More than a dozen children have died from the flu this season across New York and New Jersey.New York health officials say 11 children have died from the flu. Their ages have not been released. New Jersey reports two child influenza deaths. The victims were between the ages of 5 and 17 years old, and one had significant health conditions. Health officials urge people to get their flu shots, if they haven't already. (2/27)

Food Safety News: Norovirus Sweeps The Country; CDC Says Northeast Particularly Hard Hit 
Norovirus, the highly contagious illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea, has surged in the Northeast region of the United States in the past few weeks, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC statistics show that food is the most common transmission vehicle for noroviruses. While surveillance data show an increase in positive test results nationwide—as is typical for norovirus during the winter months—northeastern states have been hit especially hard, with a three-week average of 13.7 percent for positive norovirus tests. Those tests have held above a 10 percent positive rate since December 2023. (2/27)

On cholera and HIV —

Stat: Cholera Vaccine Supplies Dangerously Low, Outbreaks Surging
An unprecedented shortage of cholera vaccine has public health experts fearing that a recent surge of outbreaks across developing countries will only worsen, a situation they argue is as regrettable as it was avoidable. (Merelli, 2/27)

The New York Times: A Fading Weapon In The HIV Fight: Condoms
Gay and bisexual men are using condoms less than ever, and the decline has been particularly steep among those who are young or Hispanic, according to a new study. The worrisome trend points to an urgent need for better prevention strategies as the nation struggles to beat the H.I.V. epidemic, researchers said. Over the past decade, prevention medication known as PrEP has helped fuel a moderate drop in H.I.V. rates. And yet, despite persistent public health campaigns promoting the drugs, they have not been adopted in substantial numbers by Black and Hispanic men who are gay or bisexual. (Ryan, 2/27)

Los Angeles Times: California Seized Enough Fentanyl Last Year To Kill Everyone In The World ‘Nearly Twice Over’
Roughly 62,000 pounds of fentanyl smuggled into California was confiscated by authorities in 2023. The total amount of the potent synthetic opioid seized last year “is enough to potentially kill the global population nearly twice over,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Tuesday. In 2023, the California National Guard supported other law enforcement agencies in counter-drug operations across the state, seizing a record 62,000 pounds of fentanyl at ports of entry, according to a news release from Newsom’s office. (Solis, 2/27)

In related news from California —

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Collected And Incinerated 10 Cable Cars Worth Of Pills
San Francisco has collected and destroyed 140,000 pounds of unused pills and other medications — equivalent to the weight of 10 cable cars — as part of a program urging residents to discard unused drugs so they don’t contaminate landfills and water sources, or fall into the wrong hands, city officials said Tuesday. The drugs were collected from 2017 to 2022 under the Safe Medicine Disposal Program, which was created by a 2015 ordinance spearheaded by then-Supervisor London Breed. (Ho, 2/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Funds At Risk For California Program Steering Drug Users To Treatment
Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs. Supporters of CA Bridge’s behavioral health navigator program, which started in 2022, say its reliance on one-time money makes it hard for hospitals to retain navigators amid a growing drug crisis. (Sánchez, 2/27)

Also —

WCVB: Most Pediatricians Not Prepared To Treat Teen Opioid Use
Even with teen opioid overdose deaths soaring, a new study finds most pediatricians aren't prepared to treat young patients struggling with addiction. The nationwide survey was conducted by researchers at Mass General for Children and Yale School of Medicine. Of those pediatricians surveyed, 48% said they felt prepared to counsel teen patients struggling with opioid use. That's despite the fact nearly all of those surveyed believe it's their responsibility to do so. And, even though 24% said they'd diagnosed Opioid Use Disorder in a young patient, just 5% said they had prescribed any medication considered the standard of care for the disorder. (Brown, 2/27)

The Colorado Sun: Harm Reduction Van Aims To Stem Overdoses In Arapahoe County
A new mobile harm reduction service is bringing overdose prevention to the streets of Arapahoe County to help people who use opioids and other drugs. The Arapahoe County Public Health department says it’s using an equity-focused approach on its new harm reduction van to help reduce the toll of the opioid epidemic on the community. (Flowers, 2/28)

Stat: Neuroscience Renaissance Leads To New Crop Of Psychiatric Drugs
One by one, the companies behind Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil soured on psychiatry. It was the early 2000s, and as America warmed to the sounds of Sisqó and Shakira, the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms were running out of ideas to treat mental illness. Their blockbuster treatments for depression and schizophrenia had reshaped society and made billions of dollars in the process, but the old cash cows were soon to go generic. (Garde, 2/28)

The New York Times: Appeals Court Allows Indiana Ban On Transition Care For Minors To Take Effect 
Indiana’s ban on hormone treatments and puberty blockers for transgender minors can go into effect, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday, undoing a lower court decision last year that had largely blocked the law. The three-paragraph ruling by a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based in Chicago, said it was staying a preliminary injunction that the district court had issued in June, just before the law was scheduled to take effect last summer. (Smith, 2/27)

CBS News: Colorado Doctor Says Removing Pain & Suffering Jury Award Caps Could Increase Consumer Costs, Force Some Doctors Out
Some people opposed to removing caps on pain and suffering damages are speaking with CBS News Colorado following this story showing why some Colorado attorneys feel the removal is necessary to ensure people who suffer life-altering injuries receive the money they deserve. ... Some Colorado doctors worry removing those caps could make it hard for small business owners to stay afloat, and could end up passing higher costs on to consumers, because doctors' insurance premiums would increase. (Weis, 2/27)

Fresh Take Florida: Sunshine State Looks To Require Some Insurers To Cover Costs Of Skin Cancer Screenings
Lawmakers are poised to make it easier and cheaper for Florida residents to undergo potentially lifesaving skin cancer screenings by ensuring that all costs are covered by health insurance. (Friedman, 2/27)

North Carolina Health News: Dentists Lobby For Better Medicaid Reimbursement
The phones at many dental offices across North Carolina have been ringing repeatedly in recent months with requests for oral health care from newly enrolled Medicaid recipients. The state’s expansion of Medicaid benefits to nearly 600,000 low-income residents on Dec. 1 opened a robust array of services such as dental exams, routine cleanings and more complicated care for many people who previously had little access to a dentist because of the cost. (Blythe, 2/28)

KFF Health News: California Lawsuit Spotlights Broad Legal Attack On Anti-Bias Training In Health Care 
Los Angeles anesthesiologist Marilyn Singleton was outraged about a California requirement that every continuing medical education course include training in implicit bias — the ways in which physicians’ unconscious attitudes might contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Singleton, who is Black and has practiced for 50 years, sees calling doctors out for implicit bias as divisive, and argues the state cannot legally require her to teach the idea in her continuing education classes. She has sued the Medical Board of California, asserting a constitutional right not to teach something she doesn’t believe. (Cohen, 2/28)

Fresh Take Florida: Lawmakers Look To Localize Purple Alerts For Missing Adults With Mental Disabilities
Florida lawmakers in Tallahassee are considering major changes to the state's Purple Alerts used to help find missing adults who suffer from an intellectual or developmental disability. The bills, sponsored by Democrats, would limit the number of statewide alerts in favor of local, countywide notifications where someone may have vanished. (Teitel, 2/27)

AP: States Promise To Help Disabled Kids. Why Do Some Families Wait A Decade Or More? 
When Lilly Miller was in elementary school, teachers told her parents they needed to immediately sign up their youngest daughter, who has Down syndrome, for a wait list so the state would pay for a day program when she grew up. The teachers predicted a six-year wait. The Millers have been waiting 10 years. Lilly is now 21 and has aged out of special education programs in the public schools in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas. Her parents, also teachers, have hired a home caregiver. A day program, where she would learn new job skills or flex existing ones while socializing, would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 a month, Marvin Miller said. (Hanna, 2/28)

CNN: Any Use Of Marijuana Linked To Higher Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke, Study Says
Smoking, vaping or eating marijuana is linked to a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke, even if a person had no existing heart conditions and did not smoke or vape tobacco, a new study found. (LaMotte, 2/28)

CBS News: FDA To Develop New "Healthy" Logo This Year – Here's What Consumers Could See, And Which Foods Could Qualify
The Food and Drug Administration could roll out a new logo as soon as this year for companies to stamp on the packaging of "healthy" foods they make, aimed at clearing up confusion on what products actually should count as good for you. The new symbol will follow a long-awaited update to the FDA's definition, due to be published this April, of what foods can claim to be healthy to eat under federal rules. It comes as the agency is also working on another major new rule: front-of-package nutrition facts. (Tin, 2/27)

The New York Times: Why Is Mercury Stubbornly High In Tuna? Researchers Might Have An Answer. 
Old accumulations of the toxic metal in the deep sea are circulating into shallower waters where the fish feed, new research found. (Tabuchi, 2/27)

Chicago Tribune: Can Mixed Reality Technology Help Solve The Blood Shortage?
Samantha Peterson sat in a reclining chair with a headset stretched across her face. Colorful lights danced over her eyes as she peered around the room. Through the glasses, a holographic garden bloomed. Meanwhile, a narrow tube protruded from her forearm into a blood bag dangling below. She was the latest donor to try mixed reality technology at a blood drive at the Field Museum on Tuesday. (Armanini, 2/27) 

Fox News: Cancer Prevention For The Esophagus Could Be Just A Pill Away, Doctor Says: ‘Tremendous Benefit’
A vitamin-sized diagnostic could be the future of esophageal cancer prevention. Cancer of the esophagus — the muscular tube that moves food from the mouth into the stomach — has just a 20% five-year survival rate. Yet there are no standard or routine screening tests for the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Lucid Diagnostics, a New York-based biotech company, is looking to change that with its newly developed test, which only requires taking a single, pill-sized diagnostic. (Rudy, 2/27)

Mayo Clinic News Network: Why Confirmed Cases Of Lyme Disease Have Increased
Recent tracking rule changes led to a significant increase in reported Lyme disease cases in the U.S. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated definitions to better understand the tick-borne disease. In 2022, reported cases rose by 68.5% after the new definition went into effect. (Balzer, 2/28)

KFF Health News: Say That Again: Using Hearing Aids Can Be Frustrating For Older Adults, But Necessary 
It was an every-other-day routine, full of frustration. Every time my husband called his father, who was 94 when he died in 2022, he’d wait for his dad to find his hearing aids and put them in before they started talking. Even then, my father-in-law could barely hear what my husband was saying. “What?” he’d ask over and over. (Graham, 2/28)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute' 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: Pain specialists say injections for kids don’t have to hurt so much, and states overwhelmed by the housing crisis are using Medicaid funds to curb homelessness. (2/27)

CNN: Drugs Like Ozempic And Wegovy Could Boost The US Economy By A Trillion Dollars In A Few Years, Goldman Sachs Predicts
The US economy is set to reap considerable benefits from Americans taking popular medications used for weight loss, including Ozempic and Wegovy, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent research report. (Mena, 2/27)

Axios: Americans Don't Think Weight-Loss Drugs Will Fix The Obesity Epidemic
Most Americans who've heard of Ozempic and other new GLP-1 drugs think they can help people with severe weight problems, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. The public recognizes the injectable treatments' potential to help on the individual level, but they're less convinced that drugs being touted as a major breakthrough — and already upending markets — will put a major dent in America's obesity problem. (Millman, 2/27)

Stat: Obesity Drug From Viking Hits In Trial, Fueling Competition In The Field
An obesity medication from Viking Therapeutics succeeded in a Phase 2 clinical study, the company said Tuesday, helping patients lose up to nearly 15% of their weight over about three months and further fueling the competition in the exploding obesity drug market. (Joseph, 2/27)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Becker's Hospital Review: FDA Recalls More Saline, Sterile Water Products
The FDA is recalling additional saline and sterile water products made by Nurse Assist after receiving reports of adverse events. On Nov. 6, Nurse Assist, a Texas manufacturer of water-based medical products, voluntarily recalled some products that were found to not be sterile. At the time, no adverse events were associated with the affected products. However, a Feb. 13 FDA update said the agency has received reports of adverse events associated with Nurse Assist products. The events are under investigation and no details were provided. (Taylor, 2/27)

Reuters: FDA Warns Of Potential Risk From Hologic's Devices Implanted In Soft Tissue 
The U.S. health regulator on Tuesday warned patients and healthcare providers about the potential risk of serious complications arising from the use of Hologic's devices that are implanted in soft tissue. The company's devices, BioZorb Marker and BioZorb LP Marker, are implanted in soft tissue, including breast tissue, where the site needs to be marked for future procedures, such as radiation for breast cancer treatment. (2/27)

KFF Health News: KFF Health News' 'An Arm And A Leg': Wait, Is Insulin Cheaper Now? 
Pharmaceutical companies that manufacture insulin made headlines last year when they voluntarily agreed to provide discount cards that lower the monthly cost of insulin for many people to $35. But getting your hands on this card — and persuading a pharmacist to accept it — can be a hassle. (2/28)

On pesticides and PFAS —

Reuters: Bayer Again Asks Appeals Court To Shield It From Roundup Cases 
Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE), opens new tab has asked the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider, for the second time, a three-judge panel's ruling that it must face a lawsuit by a Georgia doctor who says the company's Roundup weedkiller gave him cancer. The petition for en banc rehearing, filed Monday, is the latest effort by the German conglomerate to shield itself from Roundup-related lawsuits by invoking the legal doctrine of preemption, in which federal law overrides, or preempts, state law. (Pierson, 2/27)

Reuters: US Military Says It Is Immune To Dozens Of PFAS Lawsuits 
The United States government has asked a federal judge to dismiss more than two dozen lawsuits filed against it for allegedly contaminating water and soil at hundreds of sites near military bases and facilities across the country with toxic “forever chemicals. ”The U.S. told a federal judge in Charleston, South Carolina, late Monday that it is immune to the lawsuits filed by state and local governments, businesses and property owners who say the U.S. military is liable for property and environmental damage caused by its use of firefighting foams containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. (Mindock, 2/27)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Insurer Billed $14,000 For An Insulin Pump Even With Exemption
The Enquirer is investigating readers’ medical bills. For our first story, we talked to Ashley Hack, the mom of a 12-year-old with Type 1 diabetes. (Kim, 2/27)

CIDRAP: CARB-X Announces Funding For Gonorrhea Vaccine 
CARB-X, the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, announced it's giving $2.2 million to LimmaTech Biologics AG, a Swiss biotech firm, to fund the development of its novel vaccine candidate targeted to prevent Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections. (Soucheray, 2/27)

CIDRAP: FDA Rejects New Drug Application For Cefepime-Taniborbactam
Manufacturing issues have led the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reject a New Drug Application (NDA) for cefepime-taniborbactam, a combination antibiotic under review as a potential treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. (Dall, 2/27)

ScienceDaily: Researchers Develop Molecules For A New Class Of Antibiotics That Can Overcome Drug Resistant Bacteria 
A global problem In what has been called an overlooked pandemic, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global problem that affects all walks of life. In 2019, an estimated 1.3 million deaths around the globe could be attributed to AMR. (University of California - Santa Barbara, 2/21)

CIDRAP: European Advisers Green-Light 2 H5N1 Avian Flu Vaccines 
At its meetings last week the European Medicines Agency human medicines committee recommended approval for two human H5N1 avian flu vaccines, one called Celldemic and the other Incellipan. Both are inactivated adjuvanted cell-based vaccines manufactured by Seqirus. (Schnirring, 2/26)

New England Journal of Medicine: Omalizumab For The Treatment Of Multiple Food Allergies 
In this trial, we assessed whether omalizumab, a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, would be effective and safe as monotherapy in patients with multiple food allergies. (Wood, M.D., et al, 2/25)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Insurers' Rules For Expensive Drugs Are Hurting Doctors And Patients 
As a pediatric rheumatologist, I care for children with rare forms of chronic illness for which we now have highly effective therapies. But too often, my patients can’t access these effective therapies because insurers put up many barriers to coverage. (Dori Abel, 2/28)

New England Journal of Medicine: A Salon-Based Intervention To Improve PrEP Uptake Among Black Women 
Disparities in PrEP uptake affecting Black cisgender women arise from a lack of both targeted media outreach and interventions for this population.2,4 Hair stylists have long been established as effective leaders in health promotion activities, especially in the Black community.5 Therefore, we codesigned a mixed-methods study using a community-partnership approach involving Black women, hair stylists, and an established community advisory council to develop and pilot a salon-based intervention, UPDOs Protective Styles (Using PrEP and Doing It for Ourselves). (Schenita D. Randolph, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., F.A.A.N., and Ragan Johnson, D.N.P., F.N.P.-B.C., C.N.E., 2/24)

Bloomberg: Is Pot Actually A Healthier Than Alcohol? New Data On Cannabis 
The evidence is mounting that your daily toke can be bad for your heart. A large new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that the more often someone partakes in cannabis, the higher their risk of heart disease, heart attack or stroke. Daily users had a 25% higher chance of having a heart attack and 42% higher odds of a stroke than non-users. (Lisa Jarvis, 2/28)

Los Angeles Times: Florida Shows How To Bungle A Measles Outbreak 
As life-saving as the COVID-19 vaccines have been, the measles vaccine has been an even greater success story. Before the vaccine was developed in 1963, outbreaks that occurred every two to three years were killing 2.6 million people worldwide a year, most of them children. Others developed pneumonia, or suffered brain injury and deafness from measles-associated encephalitis. (2/28)

The Washington Post: How To Protect Yourself From America's No. 1 Killer
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 5 deaths is attributed to the condition. (Leana S. Wen, 2/27)

Kansas City Star: Commentary: Our Sons’ Agony Taught Us The Importance Of Medical Aid In Dying
We are two moms whose only sons, Miguel Carrasquillo and Andrew Flack, lived in Illinois and died young from cancer. Our boys, both in their 30s, made emotional videos pleading to die peacefully from aggressive cancers. As similar as our two stories are, our sons experienced very different deaths. (Nilsa Centeno and Suzy Flack, 2/28)

Stat: Medicare Advantage Isn’t Working — For Anyone 
In 2023, enrollment in Medicare Advantage, the version of Medicare run by private insurers, surpassed 50% of eligible beneficiaries for the very first time. Going by this headline, or perhaps the predictable flood of advertisements for plans during the fall’s open enrollment period, you might be fooled into thinking 2023 was MA’s best year yet. In fact, the opposite is true. (Wendell Potter and Philip Verhoef, 2/28)

Roll Call: Congress Will Improve Military Housing 
Sewage overflows in restrooms, methane gas leaks, mold, brown tap water, extreme temperatures, bedbugs, rodents and cockroaches. These are just some of the conditions that our servicemembers have been subjected to in their barracks. (Rep. Mike Rogers, Rep. Mike Waltz, Rep. Jim Banks and Rep. Don Bacon, 2/27)