First Edition: June 10, 2022

KHN: Grassroots Groups Lead Way On Closing Colorado’s Infant Mortality Gap
As Britney Taylor toured the Mama Bird Maternity Wellness Spa during its grand opening this spring, she reflected on the birth of her first child: a confusing and lonely experience that resulted in an unplanned cesarean section and an extended period of postpartum depression. But here in this city abutting Denver, local families and smiling doulas wandered amid a bright space resonating with upbeat music where primarily women of color can get massages, meet with birth professionals and support groups, and attend classes on breastfeeding, childbirth, and infant care. (Bichell, 6/10)

KHN: Long Wait For Justice: People In Jail Face Delays For Mental Health Care Before They Can Stand Trial
Beau Hampton’s long wait for psychiatric treatment began last year, after he was accused of attacking his foster father and charged with a misdemeanor. The 18-year-old Hampton, who has a long history of mental illness, sat in jail east of Atlanta for four months waiting for an expert to evaluate whether he was mentally fit to stand trial. In February, a state psychologist found Hampton incompetent. (Miller and Grapevine, 6/10)

KHN: Medicaid Weighs Attaching Strings To Nursing Home Payments To Improve Patient Care 
The Biden administration is considering a requirement that the nation’s 15,500 nursing homes spend most of their payments from Medicaid on direct care for residents and limit the amount that is used for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements or diverted to profits. If adopted, it would be the first time the federal government insists that nursing homes devote the majority of Medicaid dollars to caring for residents. (Jaffe, 6/10)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Taking A Shot At Gun Control
The House passed a package of bills to restrict the availability of assault weapons to minors and other measures to curb gun violence, but talks in the Senate have yet to produce breakthroughs on what has been a legislative stalemate for years. Meanwhile, as inflation continues to be a top-tier issue for voters, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into the practices of pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals in an attempt to preserve what price competition there is in the bloated U.S. health system. (6/9)

The Washington Post: Senators Raise Concerns Over Red Flag Gun Laws 
Conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill are voicing increasingly sharp objections to any federal effort to promote red-flag laws meant to keep guns away from individuals found to be at risk of committing murder or attempting suicide, a provision that has been a centerpiece of bipartisan Senate talks on gun control. The reservations are being aired at a crucial moment in the Senate negotiations, with Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) aiming to strike a handshake deal in the coming days that would allow a bill to pass Congress by the end of the month. Among those who have objected are the No. 3 Senate Republican leader, John Barrasso (Wyo.), and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a prominent conservative leader in the House. (DeBonis and Caldwell, 6/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Seek Breakthrough On Gun-Control Legislation
Negotiators are circling around several provisions, including boosting funding for mental health and school security, providing incentives for states to put in place red-flag laws and broadening background checks to include juvenile records. There was some discussion about a proposal to raise the age to buy assault-style weapons to 21 from 18, Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said Thursday, after several Republicans said they would be open to the provision. ... A spokesman for John Cornyn (R., Texas) later said that he had ruled out raising the age. “It’ll be a miracle if we get a framework agreement, nevermind a final bill,” Mr. Murphy said. “But sometimes miracles happen.” (Andrews and Collins, 6/9)

Politico: Conservatives Lay Off Senate Gun Negotiations
Something strange is happening among Senate Republicans when it comes to guns. As bipartisan talks on a gun safety package continue, conservatives are pointedly not trying to derail them. Several, in fact, seem open to supporting a modest deal. And Republicans are considering some ideas that would have been a non-starter just a month ago, particularly more scrutiny of gun buyers’ juvenile records. Summing up the view of conservatives at the moment, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said: “I’m a gun owner and I use them a lot. And I think it hurts the Second Amendment over time if you don’t do the stuff [that] makes sense.” (Everett and Levine, 6/9)

Modern Healthcare: Northwell, Kaiser Permanente Execs Join CEOs Backing Gun Legislation
Top executives from Northwell Health, Kaiser Permanente and Children's Minnesota are among hundreds of corporate leaders urging the Senate to pass gun safety legislation in a letter sent to lawmakers Thursday. The letter from CEOs for Gun Safety calls on senators to "transcend partisanship" and swiftly advance legislation to curb gun violence following the killings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and recent shootings at a medical facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. "The gun violence epidemic represents a public health crisis that continues to devastate communities—especially Black and brown communities—and harm our national economy. All of this points to a clear need for action: The Senate must take urgent action to pass bold gun safety legislation as soon as possible in order to avoid more death and injury," the CEOs wrote. The House passed a gun safety bill Wednesday but the measure faces a stiffer challenge in the evenly divided Senate. (Devereaux, 6/9)

PBS NewsHour: Support For Gun Rights Has Eroded After Nearly A Decade Of Mass Shootings, Poll Shows
Six out of 10 Americans think it is more important to control gun violence than protect gun rights, a significant rise over the last decade evident in the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll, as mass shootings continue to erupt across the U.S. And as midterm elections approach, seven of 10 people say they’re more likely to vote in November after last month’s mass shootings at a school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Nearly a decade ago, four months after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 49 percent of Americans said they prioritized controlling gun violence. In the latest poll, conducted in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that number rose to 59 percent, including 92 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independents. Support for prioritizing gun rights dropped to 35 percent, but remained high among Republicans — 70 percent — and 56 percent of gun owners. (Santhanham, 6/9)

Politico: Florida Supreme Court Hears Gun Law Challenge Amid National Debate Over Restrictions
Amid the national debate over gun restrictions in the aftermath of tragic mass shootings, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments in a long-running legal challenge over a 2011 law that punishes local governments for passing strict gun laws. The legal fight has energized national groups to file briefs with the court, including the National Rifle Association on one side and the Giffords Law Center and League of Women Voters of Florida on the other. The Florida legal challenge has been in the judicial pipeline since 2018, when dozens of local cities and officials filed a challenge after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead and another 17 wounded. (Dixon, 6/9)

NBC News: Man With A Gun Outside Kavanaugh’s Home Told 911, 'I Need Psychiatric Help'
Maryland authorities on Thursday released a heavily redacted version of the 911 call made the day before by Nicholas Roske, the man accused of going to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home planning to kill him. "I need psychiatric help," Roske told the 911 operator soon after 1 a.m. Wednesday. (Shabad, 6/9)

The Washington Post: New 911 Tapes Show How Man Accused In Kavanaugh Murder Plot Abandoned Plan 
Fresh off a flight from California, Nicholas Roske grabbed a cab to the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, according to court records. It was 1 a.m. What he had packed in his bags, law enforcement officials said Thursday, underscored just how serious he was at carrying out his plan to kill the conservative justice: burglary tools, a gun and a pair of made-to-be-quiet boots with outer soles that could allow stealth movement inside a house. “The boots with padding really raised red flags,” said Capt. Sean Gagen, commander of the Montgomery County Police Department’s Bethesda district. (Morse, 6/9)

The Atlantic: The Worst Case Scenario For Monkeypox: Another Syphilis
Where, exactly, is the outbreak headed? When I asked five experts for their predictions, they would say only one thing for certain: Monkeypox is not the next COVID-19. It’s simply not transmissible enough to cause infections on the scale of the pandemic, nor does it seem to be a particularly deadly virus. (None of the 1,200 patients has died so far.) But beyond that, their views ranged widely: The outbreak may be over before we know it; or it might become a modest, intermittent problem; or it could transform into an ever-present risk and inconvenience, like the next genital herpes. Here are three possible paths monkeypox could take. (Gutman, 6/9)

CNBC: Flu, Hepatitis, Monkeypox: Diseases Suppressed During Covid Are Back
The Covid-19 pandemic has abated in much of the world and, with it, many of the social restrictions implemented to curb its spread, as people have been eager to return to pre-lockdown life. But in its place have emerged a series of viruses behaving in new and peculiar ways. Take seasonal influenza, more commonly known as the flu. The 2020 and 2021 U.S. winter flu seasons were some of the mildest on record both in terms of deaths and hospitalizations. Yet cases ticked up in February and climbed further into the spring and summer as Covid restrictions were stripped back. “We’ve never seen a flu season in the U.S. extend into June,” Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Hospital, told CNBC Tuesday. (Gilchrist, 6/10)

AP: Rhode Island Reports 1st Probable Case Of Monkeypox 
Public health officials in Rhode Island said Thursday they have identified the state’s first probable case of monkeypox. A man in his 30s who lives in Providence County has tested positive for an orthopox virus, and confirmation for monkeypox is pending testing at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Rhode Island Department of Health said in a statement. (6/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: Monkeypox In Bay Area: Alameda County Has First Suspected Case
San Francisco on Thursday reported three additional cases of probable monkeypox as Alameda County announced its first likely infection, bringing the Bay Area total to five cases amid a rapidly growing global outbreak. The Alameda County case is in an individual who had close contact with someone who had earlier tested positive for the virus. In the San Francisco cases reported Thursday, one person had recently traveled within the U.S., but the other two did not. (Allday, 6/9)

Dallas Morning News: DFW Airport Fields Massive Delivery Of Much-Needed Baby Formula
A flight from Germany carrying 110,000 pounds of infant formula landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday as part of a federally coordinated effort to mitigate the nationwide shortage. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson welcomed the third Operation Fly Formula flight, which was stocked with enough Nestle infant formula to make about 1.6 million 8-ounce bottles. (Wolf, 6/9)

ABC News: Start-Ups Hope For A Better Baby Formula In The Future 
Three startups, Wilk, Biomilq and Haliana, are using bioengineering to create new baby formula products that scientists hope will be a better substitute for breastmilk in the future. Wilk and Biomilq use human breast cells as their starting point, coaxing the cells to produce milk on their own in a lab, while Haliana uses yeast to produce the proteins found in human breast milk. Wilk, which has its lab outside of Tel Aviv, has been using breast milk and mammary cells that have been removed during breast reduction surgeries and provided by a local hospital. (Moscufo, 6/9)

AP: Officials: Millions Of COVID-19 Shots Ordered For Youngest
Millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been ordered for small children in anticipation of possible federal authorization next week, White House officials say. The government allowed pharmacies and states to start placing orders last week, with 5 million doses initially available — half of them shots made by Pfizer and the other half the vaccine produced by Moderna, senior administration officials said. As of this week, about 1.45 million of the 2.5 million Pfizer doses have been ordered, and about 850,000 Moderna shots have been ordered, officials said. More orders are expected in the coming days. (Stobbe, 6/9)

The Washington Post: Covid Shots For Young Kids Are Almost Available. Here’s What You Need To Know
Finally, vaccines for the youngest children are almost here. Federal regulators and their outside advisers will scrutinize coronavirus vaccines Wednesday for the only group in the United States still not eligible for the shots — children younger than 5, a contingent 19 million strong. The long-anticipated action comes a year and a half after the first shots were cleared for adults, and amid a rush of graduations, vacations and camp gatherings as families scramble to enjoy the summer. (Sun and McGinley, 6/9)

The Washington Post: Maryland Ready To Distribute Pediatric Vaccines On June 20, Pending Approval 
Maryland has ordered 65,400 doses of a pediatric coronavirus vaccine that will be ready for children on June 20, pending federal approval, state health officials said Thursday. Deputy Health Secretary Jinlene Chan said at a news conference that the state “will have this important vaccine available for families right away” if it is approved during meetings of federal regulators late next week. (Cox, 6/9)

CIDRAP: Risk Of COVID-Related Syndrome Lower In Kids After Breakthrough Omicron
The risk of COVID-19–related multisystem inflammatory system in children (MIS-C) was significantly lower among vaccinated versus unvaccinated Danish children after infection with the Omicron variant rather than with previous strains, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. (6/9)

Bloomberg: Covid During Pregnancy Doubled Babies’ Risk Of Delays In Study
Babies whose mothers caught Covid-19 during pregnancy faced nearly double the risk of being diagnosed with delayed speech or motor skills by their first birthday, according to a study of medical records. While the risk of developmental delays was low overall, it rose to about 6% among babies who were exposed to Covid in the womb, while unexposed infants’ risk was about 3%, according to findings released Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open. The lags were seen in behaviors such as rolling over, reaching for objects or babbling -- basic milestones of infancy. (Goldberg, 6/9)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: COVID-19 Self-Test Kit Vending Machines Installed At Two Locations
As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to inch up in Clark County and Nevada, there is a new option available for Southern Nevadans. COVID-19 self-test vending machines have opened at two locations, according to a Southern Nevada Health District news release. Residents can obtain the tests at the Regional Transportation Commission’s Bonneville Transit Center, 101 E. Bonneville Ave., and Mesa View Regional Hospital in Mesquite. The at-home antigen test kits are free. People who are interested in accessing the tests from the vending machines can register here. A PIN will be issued once registration is completed. (Garcia, 6/9)

The New York Times: Man Pleads Guilty To Selling $2.7 Million Worth Of Unregistered Covid Pesticide 
A New Jersey man admitted in federal court on Thursday to illegally selling $2.7 million worth of pesticides that he falsely claimed had been registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as effective safeguards against the coronavirus. The man, Paul Andrecola, 63, of Maple Shade, N.J., sold the pesticide to several government agencies, including a U.S. Air Force base and the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Federal law requires that pesticides be registered with the E.P.A. to ensure that they are “safe, effective, and bear labeling containing true and accurate information,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. (Medina, 6/9)

Stat: Are These Golden Hamsters A Key To Cracking Long Covid? 
In late 2020, Justin Frere, a wiry M.D./Ph.D. student dressed in head-to-toe white Tyvek, picked up a clear pipette, methodically reached into the cages of 30 unsuspecting, sedated hamsters and drip-dropped 1,000 infectious coronavirus particles down each of their nostrils. Then, he waited. Days for some. A whole month for others. The waiting was essential. His goal was to make a tool experts say will be critical to understanding and perhaps one day effectively treating long Covid, the debilitating and still scarcely understood constellation of symptoms that afflict many Covid-19 patients long after their initial infection has passed. (Mast, 6/10)

The New York Times: Mysteries Linger About Covid’s Origins, W.H.O. Report Says
In its first report, a team of international scientists assembled by the World Health Organization to advise on the origins of the coronavirus said on Thursday that bats likely carried an ancestor of the coronavirus that may have then spilled over into a mammal sold at a wildlife market. But the team said that more Chinese data was needed to study how the virus spread to people, including the possibility that a lab leak played a role. The team, appointed by the W.H.O. in October as the organization tried to reset its approach to studying the pandemic’s origins, said that Chinese scientists had shared information with them, including from unpublished studies, on two occasions. But gaps in Chinese reports made it difficult to determine when and where the outbreak emerged, the report said. (Mueller and Zimmer, 6/10)

Modern Healthcare: Fines Kicking In After Slow Start To Hospital Transparency Rule
Fewer than 6% of hospitals obeyed the price transparency rule during the early months of implementation, a new study shows. Of the 5,239 hospitals studied, 13.9% had a machine-readable file but not a consumer-friendly display, 29.4% had a consumer-friendly display but no machine-readable file and only 5.7% had both, according to research published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Hospitals in unconcentrated healthcare markets were more likely to comply with the rule compared with their counterparts in highly consolidated markets, the findings from July through September of last year show. (Kacik, 6/9)

ABC News: How Rising Gas Prices Are Impacting First Responders 
As gas prices continue to rise, first responders are among those feeling the pain at the pump. MedStar Mobile Healthcare, an emergency medical services system in Fort Worth, Texas, has seen its gas expenses increase dramatically. During the month of May last year, MedStar spent $96,547.94 on fuel; this past May, it spent $223,582.55, according to Matt Zavadsky, chief transformation officer for MedStar. The response volume only marginally increased while the fuel costs rose, he said. (Deliso, 6/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Former Theranos President’s Defense Rests In Criminal-Fraud Trial 
Lawyers for Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani called their second and final witness and rested their brief defense of the onetime Theranos Inc. executive charged with a dozen counts of criminal fraud. Mr. Balwani didn’t testify in his own defense. Thursday’s testimony from technical consultant Richard Sonnier brings the trial, which follows the conviction of Theranos founder and Chief Executive Elizabeth Holmes in January, nearer to completion. Mr. Sonnier’s technical testimony about a database followed testimony from an Arizona physician, who backtracked some of her support for Theranos on the stand. (Somerville, 6/9)

Modern Healthcare: Steward Health Care System Settles Kickbacks Accusations For $4.7M
Steward Health Care System ended a whistleblower lawsuit supported by federal and Massachusetts prosecutors for $4.7 million, the plaintiffs' attorneys announced Thursday. Three whistleblowers, including two doctors who worked at Steward Health Care System hospitals in Massachusetts, filed the lawsuit in 2018. The plaintiffs alleged the Dallas-based for-profit health system paid clinicians for work they didn't perform and offered other inducements in exchange for patient referrals. The multi-state, physician-owned company denies any unlawful actions. (Berryman, 6/9)

Columbus Dispatch: Cardinal Health Grove City Distribution Center To Open By End Of 2022
Grove City is the solution Cardinal Health has found to help the company accommodate its expanding at-Home Solutions business. The Dublin-based company on June 2 announced plans to build its 10th distribution center at 6335 Seeds Road in Grove City to support at-Home Solutions, which provides medical supplies and care in the home for people with chronic and serious health conditions. The new distribution center is expected to be up and running by the end of 2022 and primarily serve the central Ohio region, said Rob Schlissberg, Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions president. (Froman, 6/9)

WUSF Public Media: Plans Remain For A Moffitt Cancer Center Campus In Pasco Despite DeSantis' Veto 
Plans to build a new biotech campus for Moffitt Cancer Center in Pasco County are on hold - at least temporarily - after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed funding for it in the upcoming state budget. About $600 million in recurring money over the next 30 years would have gone to Moffitt project. “I do not support the provision of funding that would tie the state to a long-term, 30-year commitment that inhibits budget flexibility,” DeSantis wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Cord Byrd. "These state funds could be used to support more than $300 million of bonding capacity that would impact the state's debt capacity without any state oversight." (Newborn, 6/9)

Bloomberg: Respiratory Syncytial Virus: GSK RSV Vaccine Delivers Positive Trial Results
GSK Plc said its vaccine targeting a respiratory virus that causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations in older adults each year delivered positive results in a trial, a boost for the drugmaker after falling behind in the quest to develop a Covid shot. The vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, surpassed its primary goal in the study without safety concerns, becoming the first to show significant efficacy in adults over 60, the company said in a statement Friday. The UK pharmaceutical giant said it expects to file with regulators in the second half of the year. GSK shares rose as much as 2.7% in London. (Paton, 6/10)

Stat: FDA Advisers Endorse Bluebird Bio’s Gene Therapy For Rare Disorder 
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously in favor of approving an investigational gene therapy from Bluebird Bio on Thursday, concluding that its benefits for children with a rare and deadly disorder outweigh a demonstrable risk of causing cancer. The FDA’s independent advisers voted 15-0 to recommend Bluebird’s eli-cel, a one-time treatment for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a genetic neurological disorder that affects young boys. The agency, which has promised to make a final decision on eli-cel by Sept. 16, is not required to follow the advice of its advisory committees. (Garde, 6/9)

Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Will Soon Decide Whether To Hear Bayer's Weedkiller Case 
The U.S. Supreme Court could announce as soon as Monday whether it will hear Bayer's bid to dismiss claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer as the company seeks to avoid potentially billions of dollars more in damages and payouts. Bayer is seeking review of an appeals court decision that upheld $25 million in damages awarded to California resident Edwin Hardeman, a user of glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup, who blamed his cancer on the product. (Hurley and Burger, 6/10)

NBC News: Geico Must Pay $5.2 Million To Woman Who Got HPV From Sex In Man's Insured Car, Court Rules
Geico must pay a Missouri woman $5.2 million after she caught HPV from unprotected sex with her then-boyfriend in his insured automobile, a state appellate court ruled. In an opinion published Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri affirmed the multimillion-dollar payout against the insurance company, best known for its ubiquitous TV ads that frequently feature a talking gecko. The woman — identified in court papers only as "M.O." — said that she "engaged in unprotected sexual activities in Insured's vehicle" in November and December 2017 and that he "negligently caused or contributed to" her catching the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection, court papers said. (Li, 6/9)

AP: Law Barring Abortions Because Of Disability Goes Into Effect
A new West Virginia law going into effect Friday prevents patients from getting abortions because they believe their child will be born with a disability. The ban, which was signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in March, provides exceptions in the case of a medical emergency or in cases where a fetus is “nonmedically viable.” (Willingham, 6/10)

The Washington Post: Sweltering Heat To Bake Southwest, California Before South, Southeast
Temperatures are soaring as we head into the weekend beneath an intense and sprawling heat dome that will bring triple-digit heat to 45 million Americans in the coming week. Heat advisories and excessive heat watches and warnings blanket the map in the Desert Southwest and California, with the heat set to expand into the central United States this weekend. By early next week, the stifling heat dome will shift to the eastern Lower 48, baking the Ohio Valley, Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Highs could run 10 to 15 degrees above normal, with readings peaking in the upper 90s and heat indexes topping 100. (Cappucci, 6/9)

NBC News: DeSantis Weighs Ordering Child Protective Services To Investigate Parents Who Take Kids To Drag Shows
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested Wednesday that he might urge the state's child protective services to investigate parents who take their children to drag shows. When asked by reporters whether he would support proposed legislation from a Florida state representative that would punish parents who take their children to such performances, the governor said he has asked his staff to look into the idea. (Lavietes, 6/9)

AP: Lawsuit: LA Shelter For Kids Was A Den For Sexual Abuse 
A Los Angeles County-run shelter meant to be a safe space for children as they awaited placement in foster homes was for decades a den for sexual predators among the staff — and some residents — who preyed on children as young as 5, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by dozens of former residents. Some of the more than 30 plaintiffs spoke at a news conference and wept and trembled as they detailed abuse and some victims’ attempts to escape the hall’s barbed-wire fences and guarded gates. Among the victims was a 6-year-old boy who in 1990 was molested by a male staffer who locked the boy in a closet as punishment for screaming during the assault, according to the lawsuit. (Weber and Dazio, 6/9)

NBC News: Most Police Departments Make Recruits Undergo Psychological Evaluation. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies? Not So Much
It’s long been the norm for big city police departments to require potential officers to sit through psychological evaluations before they get badges and guns. But the thousands of agents assigned to the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other agencies under the Justice Department don’t need psychological assessments to police American streets, documents obtained by NBC News reveal. That means the federal agency tasked with forcing local police departments to reform their standards, including telling cities like Baltimore and New Orleans to have applicants sit through psychological evaluations, isn’t following its own instructions. (Weichselbaum, Siegel and Rappleye, 6/10)

Fortune: Workplace Mental Health Benefits Can Reduce Sick Days, Increase Productivity—And Even Provide Savings For Employers
Two-thirds of Americans, 66%, have experienced some anxiety- or depression-related symptoms over the last six months, according to a recent Fortune survey conducted by the Harris Poll at the end of May. ... The effects of mental health issues, particularly depression, can be extensive—not only for patients, but for their families and even employers. Workers with ongoing depression are typically 35% less productive. Plus the cost of absenteeism, reduced productivity, and medical expenses related to ongoing and unresolved depression totals an estimated $210.5 billion per year, according to data from the American Psychiatric Association. (Leonhardt, 6/9)

NPR: Median Rents Have Crossed The $2,000 Threshold For The First Time
A new report from Redfin shows that nationally listed rents for available apartments rose 15% from a year ago. And the median listed rent for an available apartment rose above $2,000 a month for the first time. Rents are up more than 30% in Austin, Seattle, and Cincinnati. In Los Angeles the median asking rent is $3,400. Even in formerly affordable cities such as Nashville it's now $2,140, up 32% from last year. "Housing is getting less affordable for everyone at every level," says Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist for Redfin. She says after the last housing crash we didn't build enough homes for a decade. And that lack of supply is the biggest force pushing up home prices and making it harder for people like Drotar to afford to buy a home. (Arnold, 6/9)