NBC News: Sanofi Announces Insulin Price Cap Of $35 Per Month Out-Of-Pocket
Sanofi will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its most popular insulin, Lantus, at $35 per month for people with private insurance, the French drugmaker said Thursday. The change will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Sanofi is the last of three major insulin makers in the United States to cut or cap the price of the drug. Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk announced changes to how they price their insulin this month. Together, the three drugmakers make up roughly 90% of the insulin market in the U.S. (Lovelace Jr., 3/16)

Reuters: Sanofi To Cut US Price Of Its Most-Prescribed Insulin By 78% 
In addition to Lantus, Sanofi said it will cut by 70% the list price for its fast-acting insulin, Apidra. Sanofi said it already offered a lower priced version of Lantus but that it had not been taken up widely by insurance programs. The branded list price of Lantus is $438.07 for the pre-filled pens and $292.07 for a 10 ml vial. Those would come down to $96 and $64, respectively. (Wingrove, 3/16)

USA Today: Sanofi Cuts Price Of Insulin Lantus, Following Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk
Drugmakers also are bracing for a drug pricing change under Medicaid, the federal health program for low-income families. Medicaid has required drug companies to pay rebates when they significantly raise prices over time. But the amount drug companies paid Medicaid was capped in previous years. The new provision, part of the American Rescue Plan Act passed in 2021, eliminates the rebate cap beginning next year. In other words, drug companies could face significant financial penalties beginning next year, said Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit that researches drug pricing. (Alltucker, 3/16)

The Hill: Sanofi Cuts The Price Of Its Most Prescribed Insulin By 78 Percent 
“We launched our unbranded biologic for Lantus at 60 percent less than the Lantus list price in June 2022 but, despite this pioneering low-price approach, the health system was unable to take advantage of it due to its inherent structural challenges,” Sanofi’s head of U.S. General Medicines Olivier Bogillot said in a statement. “We are pleased to see others join our efforts to help patients as we now accelerate the transformation of the U.S. insulin market.” These price cuts will go into effect beginning on Jan. 1, 2024.Choi, 3/16)

CIDRAP: Shortages Of 4 Drugs May Complicate Cancer Care
Amid shortages of three generic drugs widely used to treat common cancers in both adults and children, hospital officials worry that they may have to treat patients with less-effective medications or lower-than-recommended doses, Endpoints News reports. Injectable methotrexate, cisplatin, and fluorouracil are all in shortage, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Methotrexate comes in both oral and injectable forms, while the other two drugs are available only as injectables. (Van Beusekom, 3/16)

CBS News: Drug Used To Treat Advanced Prostate Cancer In Short Supply, Novartis Says
Pluvicto, a drug used to treat advanced prostate cancer, is in short supply, the Food and Drug Administration reported last week. Novartis, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Pluvicto, outlined the causes behind the supply issues in a letter posted by the FDA last month. (Howard, 3/16)

In FDA and other administration news —

Stat: Califf Criticizes Insurers For Doing Too Little On Drug Research
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf wants private insurers to chip in on doing post-approval clinical research on drugs. It’s a new request from the agency chief, who’s long pushed to find new ways to test drugs. “I’m not aware of a major effort by the insurance plans to help people get studies done,” he said at America’s Health Insurance Plans conference on Thursday. “In fact, what I’m hearing from clinicians out there is just the opposite, that it’s very hard to do research in the current environment.” (Wilkerson, 3/16)

Stat: FDA To Ask For Expert Review Of Sarepta Gene Therapy For Duchenne
In a sudden about-face, the Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting of outside experts to consider whether or not to approve Sarepta’s experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The announcement Thursday comes just weeks after the company said the FDA had told it an advisory panel meeting to review the treatment, called SRP-9001, would not be necessary. The decision to review Sarepta’s gene therapy without input from outside experts surprised some analysts and patient advocates. (Mast and Feuerstein, 3/16)

Reuters: Alzheimer's Association Lobbies For Medicare Coverage Of Leqembi And Other Drugs
The Alzheimer's Association has deployed 1,000 people diagnosed with, or caring for someone with the disease, to meet with all 535 members of Congress across the United States and urge them to press Medicare for early access to a new class of drugs, beginning with lecanemab, that promise to slow the disease. The grassroots lobbying campaign, which has not been reported in detail, is being led by state-based chapters, according to interviews with four Association national and local officials. (Aboulenein, 3/16)

Also in pharmaceutical news —

Reuters: Pfizer To Replace Migraine Drug Packaging Over Child Safety Concerns 
Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it was working on a new child-proof packaging for its migraine drug, Nurtec ODT, after safety concerns led to a recall alert from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Consumers should immediately secure the recalled product out of the sight and reach of children and contact Pfizer for a free child-resistant pouch to store it, the CPSC said. (3/16)

The New York Times: What To Know About The Recent Eye Drop Recalls 
Global Pharma, which makes EzriCare and Delsam Pharma’s eye drops, recalled both products in February. Last week, a Florida woman sued Global Pharma, claiming that an infection caused by the eye drops was so severe that doctors had to surgically remove one of her eyes. (Holpuch, 3/16)

Stat: Here's Why There Aren't Many Cheap, Generic Versions Of Inhalers
U.S. regulators approved dozens of inhalers to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease over a recent 15-year period, but a new study found that generic companies have only twice successfully pursued an established pathway to create lower-cost, rival products. (Silverman, 3/16)

Stat: Polio Cases Derived From New Oral Vaccine Reported For First Time
Experts have long understood that a new polio vaccine developed to try to minimize the risks associated with the oral polio vaccine made by Albert Sabin might also cause the problem it was created to sidestep. It’s now clear that theoretical risk is a real one. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced Thursday that six children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one in Burundi have been paralyzed by viruses from the new vaccine, which is referred to as novel oral polio vaccine, or nOPV2. (Branswell, 3/16)

The Atlantic: The Strongest Evidence Yet That An Animal Started The Pandemic
This week, an international team of virologists, genomicists, and evolutionary biologists may have finally found crucial data to help fill that knowledge gap. A new analysis of genetic sequences collected from the market shows that raccoon dogs being illegally sold at the venue could have been carrying and possibly shedding the virus at the end of 2019. It’s some of the strongest support yet, experts told me, that the pandemic began when SARS-CoV-2 hopped from animals into humans, rather than in an accident among scientists experimenting with viruses. (Wu, 3/16)

The New York Times: New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins To Raccoon Dogs At Wuhan Market 
An international team of virus experts said on Thursday that they had found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, linking the coronavirus with raccoon dogs for sale there, adding evidence to the case that the worst pandemic in a century could have been ignited by an infected animal that was being dealt through the illegal wildlife trade. ... The jumbling together of genetic material from the virus and the animal does not prove that a raccoon dog itself was infected. And even if a raccoon dog had been infected, it would not be clear that the animal had spread the virus to people. Another animal could have passed the virus to people, or someone infected with the virus could have spread the virus to a raccoon dog. (Mueller, 3/16)

Science: Unearthed Genetic Sequences From China Market May Point To Animal Origin Of COVID-19
A scientific sleuth in France has identified previously undisclosed genetic data from a food market in Wuhan, China, that she and colleagues say support the theory that coronavirus-infected animals there triggered the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the researchers presented their findings on Tuesday to the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), an expert group convened last year by the World Health Organization. “The data does point even further to a market origin,” says Kristian Andersen, an evolutionary biologist at Scripps Research who attended the meeting and is one of the scientists analyzing the new data. If so, the findings weaken the view of a vocal minority that a virology lab in Wuhan was the likely origin of SARS-CoV-2, perhaps when the coronavirus infected a lab worker, who spread it further. (Cohen, 3/16)

Also —

Roll Call: Energy Department Briefs Senators On COVID-19 Origins
Department of Energy and intelligence community officials briefed members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on classified information related to COVID-19’s origins Thursday but offered no definitive revelations, according to lawmakers. The briefing follows the news that the department now concludes with “low confidence” that the virus more likely originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, rather than through natural evolution. (Clason, 3/16)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Advisers Endorse Paxlovid’s Benefits As A Covid Treatment 
A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday endorsed Paxlovid as a treatment for adults with Covid who are at high risk for progression to severe illness. The move is likely to lead to full approval of the drug, which has been available under emergency use authorization. The 16-1 vote came after the agency released a new analysis showing that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations and deaths among both unvaccinated and vaccinated people. Agency researchers estimated, based on Covid rates in January, that Paxlovid could “lead to 1,500 lives saved and 13,000 hospitalizations averted each week in the United States.” (Zimmer and Jewett, 3/16)

Axios: Questions Still Swirl Over Paxlovid As FDA Full Approval Nears
Pfizer's antiviral Paxlovid is one step closer to gaining full approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but whether that convinces more doctors to prescribe it is an open question. (Moreno, 3/17)

CIDRAP: Paxlovid 80% Effective Against Severe COVID When Taken In First 5 Days
The antiviral drug combination nirmatrelvir–ritonavir (Paxlovid) was estimated to be 54% effective against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 hospitalization or death but was 80% when taken within 5 days of symptom onset, according to an observational study published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 3/16)

How hospitals are affected as emergency declarations come to an end —

St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Health Director Urges Caution As Hospitals Drop Masks
After a move by three area hospital systems to drop their mask requirements three years into the pandemic, St. Louis’ health director is urging caution. SSM Health, Mercy and St. Luke’s no longer require patients, visitors or staff to wear masks, the hospitals said, citing decreased levels of COVID-19 in the community and low hospitalizations. “We cannot have a black-and-white approach to mandates just because the overwhelming number of us are fortunate enough to maybe be of a certain demographic that doesn’t put us at risk,” Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, the health director for St. Louis, said Thursday. (Bauer, 3/16)

Modern Healthcare: Why Health Systems May Never Recover Pre-COVID Inpatient Volumes
Many hospitals and health systems struggled to maintain inpatient admissions in 2022, adding to financial woes already compounded by labor shortages and higher operating costs. (Hudson, 3/16)

KHN: Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits
To crack down on price gouging, proposed legislation in Missouri calls for allowing felony charges against health care staffing agencies that substantially raise their prices during a declared emergency. A New York bill includes a cap on the amount staffing agencies can charge health care facilities. And a Texas measure would allow civil penalties against such agencies. These proposed regulations — and others in at least 11 more states, according to the American Staffing Association industry trade group — come after demand for travel nurses, who work temporary assignments at different facilities, surged to unprecedented levels during the worst of the covid-19 pandemic. (Sable-Smith, 3/17)

In other pandemic news —

KHN: California’s Covid Misinformation Law Is Entangled In Lawsuits, Conflicting Rulings
Gov. Gavin Newsom may have been prescient when he acknowledged free speech concerns as he signed California’s covid misinformation bill last fall. In a message to lawmakers, the governor warned of “the chilling effect other potential laws may have” on the ability of doctors to speak frankly with patients but expressed confidence that the one he was signing did not cross that line. Yet the law — meant to discipline doctors who give patients false information about covid-19 — is now in legal limbo after two federal judges issued conflicting rulings in recent lawsuits that say it violates free speech and is too vague for doctors to know what it bars them from telling patients. (Wolfson, 3/17)

The Bismarck Tribune: North Dakota Supreme Court Upholds Temporary Block Of State's Abortion Ban
The North Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a temporary block of the state's abortion ban. The ruling came Thursday in the lawsuit brought last summer by the Red River Women's Clinic, formerly the sole abortion provider in North Dakota. The clinic moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, last year after the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade. (Dura, 3/16)

Tampa Bay Times: After Emotional Testimony, Bill Banning Abortion At 6 Weeks Of Pregnancy Moves Forward
A Florida House committee on Thursday voted to advance a bill that would restrict abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy in nearly all cases, before some women know they’re pregnant — despite an ongoing lawsuit challenging a 15-week abortion cutoff that legislators passed last year. Unlike the current 15-week ban, the six-week legislation (HB-7) does have exceptions for rape and incest, but only up until 15 weeks of gestation, and only if there is “documentation proving” the rape or incest, such as a restraining order, police report, medical record or court order. (Farrington, 3/16)

WUSF Public Media: New Filings Are Submitted In A Lawsuit Challenging Florida's 15-Week Abortion Ban
Seven organizations have filed amicus briefs urging the Florida Supreme Court to rule against the state's law banning abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. In June, several health care providers and advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the law as unconstitutional under the privacy clause of the Florida Constitution. In January, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear the case but has not yet set a date. The challenge comes as the Legislature is considering bills that would prevent abortions after six weeks. The measures provide for exceptions for survivors of rape and incest up to 15 weeks, with proof. (Carter, 3/16)

AP: Nevada Mulls Enshrining Abortion Rights In Its Constitution
Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro introduced a constitutional amendment Thursday that — over more than three years — could enshrine existing abortion rights in the state constitution, which would offer the highest level of state protection. (Stern, 3/16)

AP: California Bill To Protect Doctors Who Mail Abortion Pills 
Doctors in California who mail abortion pills to people in other states would be protected from prosecution under a new bill to be unveiled Friday in the state Legislature. The bill would not let California extradite doctors who are facing charges in another state for providing abortion medication. It would also shield doctors from having to pay fines. And it would let California doctors sue anyone who tries to stop them from providing abortions. (Beam, 3/17)

AP: New Mexico Gov. Signs Bill Overriding Local Abortion Bans
New Mexico’s governor signed an abortion-rights bill Thursday that overrides local ordinances aimed at limiting access to abortion procedures and medications. Reproductive health clinics in New Mexico offer abortion procedures to patients from states, including Texas, with strict abortion bans. (Lee, 3/16)

KHN: KHN's 'What The Health?': Judging The Abortion Pill 
This week, the eyes of the nation are on Texas, where a federal judge who formerly worked for a conservative Christian advocacy group is set to decide whether the abortion pill mifepristone can stay on the market. Mifepristone is half of a two-pill regimen that now accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States. (3/16)

In related news about pregnancy and postpartum care —

AP: Mississippi Governor OKs Longer Postpartum Medicaid Coverage 
Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation Thursday to solidify a full year of Medicaid coverage for women after they give birth, saying it’s part of a “new pro-life agenda” to help mothers now that abortion access is restricted. Mississippi usually allows two months of postpartum Medicaid coverage. The state has allowed a full year of the coverage since the COVID-19 public health emergency started in 2020, although many patients have said the state did little to let them know postpartum coverage continued after the usual two months. (Pettus, 3/16)

Roll Call: OB-GYN Workforce Shortages Could Worsen Maternal Health Crisis
A patchwork of state laws in the aftermath of a Supreme Court decision overturning the right to an abortion, combined with pandemic-related burnout and low reimbursement rates, could exacerbate an already looming national shortage of obstetrician-gynecologists, experts say. (Raman and Cohen, 3/16)

Noticias Telemundo for Axios: Study: Air Pollution, Stress Exposure For Pregnant Latinas Linked To Lower Birth Rate
Exposure to air pollution and psychological stresses among low-income Hispanic pregnant women can have an outsized effect on fetal growth, according to a study linking it to hampered growth. Latino populations in the U.S. are among the groups most consistently exposed to smog, lead poisoning, unsafe water, and toxic waste. (Franco, 3/16)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: 600 Hospitals In Danger Of Closing, Per Study: Is Yours On The List?
More than 600 rural hospitals in the United States are either at immediate or high risk of closure as a result of persistent financial losses on patient services or low financial reserves, a study found. Almost every state is home to hospitals with these characteristics, according to the report by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, based in Pittsburgh. In more than half of the states, 25% or more of the rural hospitals are at risk of closing, and in 12 states, 40% or more are at risk. (Higgs, 3/16)

Modern Healthcare: Crozer Health Layoffs: High Staff, Supply Costs Lead To Restructuring
Crozer Health is laying off 215 employees, or 4% of its workforce, as part of an organizational restructuring. Upland, Pennsylvania-based Crozer, which operates four hospitals, said Wednesday the changes stem from financial struggles, including the effects of the pandemic and rising costs for staffing, supplies and pharmaceuticals. (Hudson, 3/16)

CNN: Pediatric Hospital Beds Are In High Demand For Ailing Children. Here's Why
Effie Schnacky was wheezy and lethargic instead of being her normal, rambunctious self one February afternoon. When her parents checked her blood oxygen level, it was hovering around 80% – dangerously low for the 7-year-old. Her mother, Jaimie, rushed Effie, who has asthma, to a local emergency room in Hudson, Wisconsin. She was quickly diagnosed with pneumonia. After a couple of hours on oxygen, steroids and nebulizer treatments with little improvement, a physician told Schnacky that her daughter needed to be transferred to a children’s hospital to receive a higher level of care. What they didn’t expect was that it would take hours to find a bed for her. (Zdanowicz, 3/16)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Match Day: Emergency Medicine Residency Spots Empty As Unmatched Students, Programs Scramble Through SOAP
Emergency medicine physicians at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery huddled in a room for the last few days, scrambling to fill unclaimed residency spots. Colleagues dropped by with snacks from Wawa. Others rallied on social media to support the program: “Please check us out.” (Gutman, 3/17)

Modern Healthcare: Bright Health Reserves Short Nationwide
Bright Health Group’s financial picture continues to darken, new disclosures from the struggling health insurance company reveal. The insurtech reported a $12.9 million shortfall across its state-regulated insurance divisions as of Dec. 31, according to an annual report filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. (Tepper, 3/16)

Also —

St. Louis Public Radio: Wash U Bows Out Of U.S. News Med School Rankings
Washington University will no longer participate in U.S. News & World Report's annual best medical schools list. Wash U joins Harvard, the University of Chicago, Stanford and other historically top-ranked schools that made similar announcements this year. School officials say they’ll stop submitting data to the publication, which provides one of the nation’s most popular college rankings. (Fentem, 3/17)

Stat: Federal Medicaid Officials Cajole States To Auto-Enroll Beneficiaries
Federal Medicaid officials are working unusually closely with states to avoid enrollment glitches and remove excuses states might have for not doing their job once the pandemic-era requirement to maintain Medicaid enrollment ends. “We meet every week with 300 of our best state friends Friday afternoons,” Medicaid head Daniel Tsai said Thursday. “There are countless meetings, one on one, with states right now negotiating, working through individual issues.” (Wilkerson, 3/16)

The Nevada Independent: Lawmakers Unveil Plan To Offer Medicaid Regardless Of Citizenship Status 
State Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas) announced more details on Thursday about his plan to expand Medicaid coverage to all Nevadans regardless of citizenship status. Doñate initially pitched the concept of expanding Medicaid to people who are undocumented last month during a press conference held by the Latino Legislative Caucus. But this week, Doñate outlined the goals of a far-reaching measure he called the “Nevada Health Opportunities, Planning, and Expansion (HOPE) Act.” He said it would “build equity,” reduce costs and improve the state’s health care infrastructure by expanding access to care and investing in technology and jobs.  (Calderon and Mueller, 3/16)

The Boston Globe: Up To 30,000 People Could Lose Medicaid Coverage, R.I. Health Officials Say
State health officials estimate that approximately 25,000 to 30,000 Rhode Islanders will lose their health insurance coverage during Medicaid eligibility checks, which is being mandated by the federal government and will begin April 1. (Gagosz, 3/16)

In news about drug use —

AP: Kentucky Senate Passes Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana 
The Kentucky Senate voted Thursday to legalize medical marijuana in the state, delivering a breakthrough endorsement after years of resisting access to cannabis for people suffering from a series of debilitating illnesses. The measure was passed by the Senate on a 26-11 vote, sending it the House, which has supported medical cannabis measures in the past. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers. (Schreiner, 3/17)

NBC News: After A Wave Of Teen Fentanyl Overdoses, A Texas Community Grapples With Shock And Anger At The Epidemic's Toll
The night before Jose Alberto Perez overdosed on fentanyl, the 14-year-old pleaded with his mother not to take him to the hospital because “he was not a drug addict.” “His lips were ash white. His pupils were popping out,” the boy’s mother, Lilia Astudillo, said. But she yielded to his wishes, despite his obvious distress. (Samee Ali and Silva, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Narcan Over-The-Counter Cost May Be Too High To Curb Drug Deaths, Experts Say
Before month’s end, federal regulators are poised to allow over-the-counter sale of a nasal spray that reverses the potentially lethal effects of an opioid overdose. ... “It’s a step in the right direction but I don’t think it’s enough,” said Colin Miller, a co-founder of the Twin City Harm Reduction Collective, which hands out sterile needles and anti-overdose medicines to drug users in Winston-Salem, N.C. “No drug user is going into a pharmacy and paying $47 a kit.” (Ovalle, 3/16)

Reuters: Three Former Virginia Hospital Staff Charged With Murder In Death Of Black Man
Three former employees of a mental hospital in Virginia were arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Thursday, a prosecutor said, over the death of a Black man who was transported to the facility from jail earlier this month. Irvo Otieno, 28, died on March 6 as he was being admitted to Central State Hospital in the city of Petersburg, according to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill. (Clifford and O'Brien, 3/16)

Axios: Irvo Otieno Death: 3 Virginia Hospital Workers Charged With Murder
Three hospital workers have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Irvo Otieno, bringing the total to 10 people charged in the case, the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney said Thursday. The three, who worked at Central State Hospital at the time of Otieno's death, were arrested Thursday after seven Sheriff's deputies arrested and charged earlier this week. (Habeshian, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Video Shows Deputies Smother Va. Man For 11 Minutes Before Death, Family Says
Relatives of Irvo N. Otieno on Thursday watched video of his “traumatic” death at Central State Hospital as a local prosecutor brought second-degree murder charges against three of the facility’s employees — on top of the seven sheriff’s deputies already charged in his death. “My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog,” Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, tearfully told reporters outside the Dinwiddie County Courthouse. ... Two lawyers for Otieno’s family, who watched the video with them, said the three hospital workers dressed in blue uniforms could be seen joining the deputies in brown — putting their weight on him as he lay prone on the hospital floor for 11 minutes, handcuffed, his feet shackled. They called on the Justice Department to investigate. (Vozzella and Rizzo, 3/16)

In other news about alleged medical negligence —

The Washington Post: Disabled Woman Starved To Death At Michigan Group Home, Family Says
Charlene Jones thought her aunt had been eating three meals a day. During her visits last year with Aunt Bertha, who was physically and developmentally disabled, Jones said, she had that noticed the 71-year-old looked more frail, her face sunken in. But the staff at Hoeft Home in Belleville, Mich., reassured Jones that her aunt was eating normally, she said. ... Bertha Jones died May 2, less than a month later, of protein-calorie malnutrition. (Somasundaram, 3/16)

AP: Military Moves To Cut Suicides, But Defers Action On Guns 
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care on Thursday to reduce suicides in the military, but held off on endorsing more controversial recommendations to restrict gun and ammunition purchases by young troops, sending them to another panel for study. An independent committee in late February recommended that the Defense Department implement a series of gun safety measures, including waiting periods for the purchase of firearms and ammunition by service members on military property and raising the minimum age for service members to buy guns and ammunition to 25. (Copp and Baldor, 3/17)

Stateline: To Prevent Gun Suicide, States Consider Allowing People To Deny Themselves A Gun
As lawmakers and mental health advocates wrestle with how to stop the avalanche of suicides by firearm in this country, some are looking to a novel idea at work in a handful of states: Register yourself as a suicide risk so you can’t buy a gun on a whim. (Henderson, 3/16)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 9-8-8 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

In other mental health news —

Stat: Large Network Of Clinics Offering Ketamine For Depression Closes
One of the largest operators of ketamine clinics in the country abruptly closed its facilities this week, leaving patients in the dark and out of treatment for depression and other chronic conditions. (Cueto, 3/16)

Fox News: COVID And Kids’ Mental Health: Financial Hardship Took A Big Toll
It’s well-known that COVID-19 protocols caused financial hardship — particularly among lower- and middle-class families — and now a new study highlights the toll those struggles took on children’s mental health. A new study led by researchers from Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine, both in New York, suggests that family economic hardship was the biggest driver of "stress, sadness and COVID-related worry" among kids. (Rudy, 3/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Coaches Aren’t Always Equipped To Help Student-Athletes In A Mental Health Crisis. A Maryland Bill Hopes To Change That
Olivia Lubarsky showed up to Towson University her freshman year in 2017 shouldering the weight of high-functioning depression stemming from an immobilizing fear of failure. Acknowledging it, she said, made her feel as if she were finding a way to justify her shortcomings as a college gymnast. Her sport became her outlet — a way to ignore her worsening mental health. (Cohn, 3/16)

Oklahoman: Lawmakers 'Thought They Were Voting Against The Bible,' Author Of Anti-Spanking Bill Says
When it became clear Tuesday that there was strong opposition to the bill, one of its co-authors expressed shock at the impending result. State Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, said he thought the bill would easily pass "because there's nobody who's going to be for corporal punishment on students with disabilities." "I apologize to the author, because apparently I was wrong," he said. Moore also noted that research by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that children who experience physical punishment are at increased risk for negative behavior, cognitive psycosocial and emotional outcomes. (Denwalt, 3/16)

Detroit Free Press: Gov. Whitmer Signs Bill Expanding Michigan Civil Rights Law To Include LGBTQ Protections
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday expanded the state's civil rights law to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, a change long sought by LGBTQ advocates. (Hendrickson, 3/16)

AP: Kentucky Lawmakers Pass Ban On Youth Gender-Affirming Care 
Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a measure Thursday to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, completing whirlwind voting on a repackaged proposal that triggered outrage and tears among opponents unable to stop the sweeping policymaking on a culture wars issue. Supporters of the proposal — which affects how gender is discussed in schools — beat a Thursday deadline to retain their power to override an expected gubernatorial veto. (Schreiner, 3/17)

The 19th: Florida Gender-Affirming Care Ban For Transgender Youth Takes Effect
The other shoe finally dropped for Caitlin and her 6-year-old daughter Thursday. If her daughter wants to start puberty-blocking medication as she gets older, she won’t be able to in their home state of Florida. “Nobody wants their child to have to go through what our child is going through,” said Caitlin, who asked to use only her first name to protect her family. (Rummler, 3/16)

Dallas Morning News: Bills To Ban Youth Transgender Medical Treatments Get First Debate In Texas Committee
Jacqueline Murphy, 22, waited until 7:00 p.m. to testify against the bill. “I understand that this committee is unlikely to be swayed by the facts of the issue,” said Murphy, a transgender woman from Austin who said she began puberty blockers and hormone therapy as a minor. “Whether it is because of genuine bigotry or merely political expediency, you have made your political mission clear. You are not protecting me.” (McGaughy, 3/16)

On gender expression and sex education in schools —

The Boston Globe: N.H. Senate Passes Bill That Would Force Teachers To ‘Out’ Transgender Kids To Their Parents
In a party-line vote, the New Hampshire Senate signed off Thursday on a Republican-backed bill that would require schools to answer “truthfully and completely” when parents ask about their child’s gender expression. (Porter, 3/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Gwinnett County School Board Delays Decision About New Sex Ed Curriculum
The Gwinnett County school board decided not to vote on a proposed new health and sex education curriculum that has drawn much attention from the community and even from Georgia’s top school official. The board unanimously agreed Thursday night to remove from its meeting agenda a vote about buying new HealthSmart textbooks and resources. The board did not set a date for a decision about the health curriculum, and board members did not discuss the decision at its meeting. (Reyes, 3/16)

The New York Times: Babesiosis, A Tick-Borne Disease, Is On The Rise In The Northeast, C.D.C. Reports
Cases of a tick-borne disease, called babesiosis, more than doubled in some Northeastern states between 2011 and 2019, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday. Although many people with babesiosis are asymptomatic, others develop flulike symptoms, including fevers, chills, sweats and muscle aches. The disease can be severe or even fatal in people who have compromised immune systems or other risk factors. (Anthes, 3/16)

In other health and wellness news —

The Washington Post: Lunchables In School Cafeterias Have Child Nutrition Experts Concerned 
Kraft Heinz, the company that makes them, has developed two styles of Lunchables that meet the federal nutritional guidelines set out for the National School Lunch Program, which provides meals to nearly 30 million kids across the country. The company says the two offerings — turkey and cheese, as well as pizza — are distinct from the products sold in grocery stores, retooled to increase the serving size and reduce saturated fats and sodium. (Heil, 3/16)

NBC News: Having A Pet May Take A Toll On Your Sleep, Study Suggests
Your beloved pet may be hurting your sleep, research published Thursday finds. Though pets can have many positive effects on health, pet ownership was linked with poorer sleep, according to the study published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions. (Sullivan, 3/16)

The Washington Post: 5-Minute Breathing Exercises Can Improve Your Mood And Reduce Anxiety 
A study in Cell Reports Medicine showed that just five minutes of breathwork each day for about a month could improve mood and reduce anxiety — and these benefits may be larger than from mindfulness meditation for the same amount of time. (Sima, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Here Are The Worst Cities In The U.S. For Allergies 
A report released Wednesday by the nonprofit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America revealed last year’s U.S. “allergy capitals.” These were the most challenging places to live for those with pollen allergies. The rankings were based on pollen counts and took into account use of over-the-counter medication and the number of allergy physicians in the area. ... The most difficult spot to live with allergies last year was Wichita, according to the report, followed by Dallas; Scranton, Pa.; Oklahoma City; and Tulsa to round out the Top 5 locations. Seven cities in the Top 20 were in Florida. (Patel, 3/16)

Fox News: 'Silent Pandemic' Warning From WHO: Bacteria Killing Too Many People Due To Antimicrobial Resistance
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of a "silent pandemic" of antimicrobial resistance from infections caused by deadly pathogens that doctors are not able to cure because of a lack of novel agents. That’s according to an early release of special presentations by Dr. Valeria Gigante and Professor Venkatasubramanian Ramasubramanian of an online "pre-meeting" of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases on April 15 to 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Sudhakar, 3/16)

And an update on mpox cases —

CIDRAP: WHO Reports Mpox Decline In Most Regions, But More Deaths
In an update covering the past 2 weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today that it has received reports of 323 new mpox cases and 11 more deaths. Cases are slowly declining in most regions but with no clear downward trend in Africa, where the virus spreads with a mixed pattern of both human-to-human and zoonotic spillovers. Outside of Africa, countries continue to report sporadic cases and small clusters. (Schnirring, 3/16)

The Washington Post: Your Therapy Session Could End Up On TikTok 
Patients share their deepest fears and darkest secrets within the safe confines of a therapist’s office. And increasingly, therapists are sharing versions of those stories with millions on TikTok. As social media plays an ever-more-central role in society, therapists have taken to online spaces to discuss mental health issues. Many of them share video vignettes that reenact conversations with clients. As a result, more patients are being asked to sign social media consent forms that allow therapists to use behind-closed-door revelations to inspire online content. (Javaid, 3/10)

The New York Times: Aggressive Medical Care Remains Common At Life’s End 
Although studies repeatedly show that most patients want to die at home, 25 percent of the community dwellers and almost 40 percent of the nursing home residents died in hospitals. Hospice leaders, palliative care specialists, health care reformers and advocacy groups have worked for years to try to lower such numbers. “Patients who received this type of aggressive care experience more pain, actually die sooner, have a much poorer quality of life at the end. And their families experience more doubt and trauma,” said Dr. Sara Douglas, a co-author and oncology researcher at the Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing. (Span, 3/14)

The Washington Post: Orthopedic Surgeon Felicity Fishman Draws Art On Her Patients' Casts
Her patients often save their casts, which are decorated by Chicago pediatric orthopedic surgeon Felicity Fishman. “If they can look at my drawing and remember a positive experience, that’s wonderful to me,” she said. “Anything you can do to connect with a child during the course of a surgery is helpful in maintaining that relationship.” (Free, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: If We Knew Then What We Know Now About Covid, What Would We Have Done Differently? 
How easy it is to forget those first nightmarish months of the pandemic. Epidemiologists, doctors and scientists haven’t forgotten, though. Those who spent time on the pandemic’s front lines have since asked themselves: What have we learned? What do we now know about Covid-19 that we didn’t know at the start of the pandemic, and what would we have done differently had we known? Answering those questions about this pandemic, they hope, will help us better manage the next one. (Morris, 3/11)

AP: Not Magic: Opaque AI Tool May Flag Parents With Disabilities 
Over the past six years, Allegheny County has served as a real-world laboratory for testing AI-driven child welfare tools that crunch reams of data about local families to try to predict which children are likely to face danger in their homes. Today, child welfare agencies in at least 26 states and Washington, D.C., have considered using algorithmic tools, and jurisdictions in at least 11 have deployed them, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. (Ho and Burke, 3/15)

The Wall Street Journal: The American Diet Has A Sandwich Problem
Sandwiches are the number one source of sodium and saturated fat in Americans’ diets, making up about one-fifth of our daily sodium intake and 19% of our daily saturated fat calories, according to an analysis of federal survey data. Sandwiches contribute 7% of daily added sugars, the same percentage as breakfast cereals and bars. “The standard deli sandwich with processed meat and cheese, you’re literally eating a heart bomb,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University. (Petersen, 3/14)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Doctor-Rating Websites Lack Convictions And Medical Malpractice Claims Against Some Physicians 
An Indiana doctor has top marks on several physician-review sites, with one patient writing that the doctor was the best she had seen in years. The site, however, is missing some key information—including his conviction for insurance fraud, medical-malpractice claims and a licensing-board sanction. Doctor-rating websites regularly fail to mention such black marks on physicians’ records, according to research published in November in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. (Wernau, 3/10)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Hospitals Still Make Serious Medical Errors—And How They Are Trying To Reduce Them 
Hospitals are turning to technology to address one of the most intractable risks their patients face: medical errors. More than two decades after the launch of a national patient-safety movement to tackle the alarming toll of medical mistakes, preventing those errors has proved much harder than expected. Despite research that shows some improvement over time, hospitalized patients are still at substantial risk of medication mishaps, hospital infections, breakdowns in nursing care, and complications from surgery and other procedures. (Landro, 3/12)

Miami Herald: Politicians Have No Place In Women’s Medical Decisions 
Last week, Florida lawmakers filed a dystopian bill that would ban abortions after six weeks and threatens to steal that currency from us. House Bill 7 has its first hearing Thursday, Healthcare Regulation subcommittee. (Monica Skoko Rodriguez, 3/16)

Dallas Morning News: I’m Suing Texas Over Its Abortion Laws. Here’s My Story
What I needed was an abortion, a standard medical procedure. An abortion would have prevented the unnecessary harm and suffering that I endured. Not only the psychological trauma that came with three days of waiting, but the physical harm my body suffered, the extent of which is still being determined. I needed an abortion to protect my life, and to protect the lives of my future babies that I hope and dream I can still have one day. (Amanda Zurawski, 3/16)

The New York Times: Walgreens Is Caught In The Cross-Fire Of The Abortion Wars 
The abortion pill decision by Walgreens reflects the right’s success in using corporations to affect public policy. (Mary Ziegler, 3/17)

Also —

The New York Times: Britain’s National Health Service Is Exhausted 
On Dec. 15, nurses walked out and began the largest nurses’ strike in the history of Britain’s National Health Service. They were protesting working conditions that have left them burned out and stretched thin — and compromised patient safety — and wages that fell in the last decade in real terms. (Allyson Pollock and Peter Roderick, 3/17)

The Star Tribune: Fund The New 988 Mental Health Crisis Line
Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death across the nation and the second among young people, according to Mental Health Minnesota, a nonprofit advocacy group. A connection during a crisis can be the difference between life and death. (3/16)

The Washington Post: After Three Years Of Covid, Three Questions Remain 
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially designated the novel coronavirus as a pandemic. Two days later, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. (Leana S. Wen, 3/16)

Stat: New HIPAA Privacy Rule Would Create Financial Burden
The already beleaguered U.S. health care system is facing a new and costly threat that will affect patient care and ultimately may lead to hospital closures: paying for and processing a torrent of medical record requests. (Angie Comfort, 3/17)