Politico: Joe Biden’s Taking On Insurers To Address America’s Mental Health Crisis 
The Biden administration is going after health insurers for flouting a federal law requiring them to provide mental health care on the same terms as other care. The administration has proposed new rules it says will make the insurers comply and it’s threatening big fines if they don’t. Insurers are pleading innocent and, backed by some of America’s biggest companies, claiming the Biden administration plan could make an intractable problem worse. The battle comes as Americans’ mental health care needs are at modern highs, following a pandemic-driven spike that refuses to abate. (Leonard, 9/17)

More on mental health care —

Axios: AI Tools Help Doctors Screen For Mental Health Conditions In U.K., U.S.
A diagnostic "e-triage" tool from Limbic, a British AI startup, has screened more than 210,000 patients with a claimed 93% accuracy across the eight most common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and PTSD, co-founder Ross Harper, a computational neuroscientist, told Axios. (Heath, 9/18)

KUNR Public Radio: Native Americans, Alaska Natives See Spike In Suicide Rates
From 2000 to 2020, the national rate grew 30%, according to an analysis from Pew Charitable Trusts. For Native Americans and Alaska Natives, the rate among women spiked 135%, and the rate among men jumped 92%. (Roedel, 9/14)

CBS News: Doctor Says It's Important To Discuss The Topic Of Suicide To Prevent A Tragedy
There's one death every 11 minutes because of suicide. In any given day, it takes the lives of about 132 people and, on average, 12 are children. Doctors, like Nicholas Westers, say this is a problem we need to talk about. "If you're wondering if your child who is struggling is maybe thinking about suicide, it's okay to ask," he said. "We know that even asking and talking about it can actually decrease the risk of attempting suicide if they're thinking about suicide and it's not going to put the idea in their head." (Katz, 9/17)

USA Today: A Suicide Survivor Is Fighting Mental Health Stigma One Sign At A Time
When Fonda Bryant called her aunt to ask if she wanted her shoes, her aunt knew something wasn't right. "She said, 'Are you gonna kill yourself?'" Bryant remembers. "And I said, 'Yes.' And she went into action, like a superhero. And she saved my life." Unknown to herself or her family, Bryant was suffering from depression that took her to the brink of suicide. Her experience echoes a growing suicide crisis across the nation. September marks National Suicide Prevention Month, spotlighting the pressing need for continued awareness of the signs of suicide and methods to prevent it. But even as conversations about mental health have become more common in public spaces, statistics show the continued challenges of speaking up for help. (Mayes-Osterman, 9/16)

The Gazette: Brandon Act Requires Commanders To Connect Troops To Mental Health Help 
Commanders across the military are now required to help troops get mental health care as soon as possible to help prevent suicides under a new law called the Brandon Act. (Shinn, 9/18)

Los Angeles Times: OC Health Care Agency Granted $10 Million For Crisis Mobile Units
“We are very excited to draw down these funds to better support the efforts of our crisis response system of care,” said Dr. Veronica Kelley, HCA chief of mental health and recovery services. ... The County’s CAT program provides a prompt response in the field when an individual is experiencing a behavioral health crisis. A behavioral health crisis may include a mental health crisis, substance use crisis, or co-occurring mental health and substance use crises. County clinicians respond to calls from anyone in the community and are dispatched 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round. (9/17)

Spotlight PA: How PA Jails Highlight Mental Health Care Gaps 
A monthslong investigation by Spotlight PA and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism found that Pennsylvania’s system for determining whether someone is mentally fit to stand trial often traps them in the very place making them worse — jail. In “A Criminal Solution,” the newsrooms reported that Pennsylvania laws and policies meant to aid people with severe mental health issues and who have been accused of a crime often do just the opposite. (Ohl, 9/18)

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.

The Hill: Federal Court Hears First Oral Arguments In Legal Battle Over Medicare Negotiation
The Southern District Court of Ohio on Friday heard oral arguments from the federal government and the Chamber of Commerce in the latter’s lawsuit challenging the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, with both sides rehashing long-held assertions. Here are some of the key points that were argued on Friday. (Choi, 9/15)

Reuters: US Chamber Of Commerce Urges Judge To Block Medicare Drug Pricing Program 
A lawyer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday urged a federal judge to block President Joe Biden's administration from implementing a new program that would let Medicare negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies for selected costly drugs. Jeffrey Bucholtz, the business group's attorney, told U.S. District Judge Michael Newman in Dayton, Ohio, that the program violated drugmakers' due process rights by giving the government the power to effectively dictate prices for their medicines. (Raymond, 9/15)

PBS NewsHour: Americans Aren’t Giving Biden Much Credit For His Popular Medicare Drug Price Negotiations, AP-NORC Poll Says
President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that any immediate political boost that Biden gets for enacting the overwhelmingly popular policy may be limited. Three-quarters of Americans, or 76 percent, favor allowing the federal health care program for the elderly to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs. That includes strong majorities of Democrats (86 percent) and Republicans (66 percent), according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one in five Americans are neutral on the issue, while 6 percent outright oppose it. (9/15)

In other Medicare news —

Axios: Fight Over Medicare Pay Hinges On Primary Care
A Medicare effort to boost payments to primary care doctors and better coordinate care for patients with complex medical needs has set off a lobbying frenzy to forestall steep cuts specialists would face as a result. The fight over physician payments underscores how Medicare's strict budgeting rules can create unintended consequences, like pitting medical specialties against each other. (Goldman, 9/18)

Modern Healthcare: 2024 Medicare Physician Fees Should Not Be Cut, Providers Say 
Providers want the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reconsider cutting physician pay and avoid financial repercussions that could force them to scale back care. Comments healthcare industry groups wrote in response to the Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule for 2024, which CMS issued in July, object to the agency's plan to reduce doctor pay 1.25% next year. (Berryman, 9/18)

Stat: Medicare To Pay More For Cardiac Rehab In Hospital Outpatient Clinics
Medicare plans to pay more for a type of cardiac rehabilitation that takes place in certain outpatient clinics owned by hospitals. Medicare has admitted it is doing so due to an error in reading federal law, but it also goes against the grain of the current environment, where support for site-neutral payments has never been higher. Some members of Congress and health care experts are pushing for a system that would not pay hospital outpatient departments more for identical services that are provided in lower-priced physician offices. (Herman, 9/18)

Axios: Health Programs Could Be Stranded By Government Shutdown
The threat of a government shutdown is hanging over Capitol Hill. But so is the realization that gridlock could claim an array of health programs that are due to sunset at the end of the month without congressional action. (Knight and Sullivan, 9/18)

The Washington Post: House Republicans Propose Short-Term Funding Deal That Senate Likely To Reject
Half a dozen House Republicans announced a proposed deal Sunday to temporarily fund the government with the goal of averting a shutdown at the end of the month. But it is far from certain that the proposal would unite their fractious conference to send a bill to the Senate, where it is expected to be rejected. (Sotomayor and Caldwell, 9/17)

Pew Research Center: Congress Has Long Struggled To Pass Spending Bills On Time
Congress’ chronic inability to follow its own appropriations process is hardly new. In fact, in the nearly five decades that the current system for budgeting and spending tax dollars has been in place, Congress has passed all its required appropriations measures on time only four times: fiscal 1977 (the first full fiscal year under the current system), 1989, 1995 and 1997. And even those last three times, Congress was late in passing the budget blueprint that, in theory at least, precedes the actual spending bills. (Desilver, 9/13)

CNBC: Why Health Insurance Is Poised To Make Inflation Jump
Inflation is broadly retreating in the U.S. economy. But starting in October, health insurance is poised to act as a countervailing force that buoys inflation for about a year, economists said. That’s significant at a time when policymakers are using inflation data to determine how to set interest rates. (Iacurci, 9/17)

Seattle Times: Health Insurance Rates Are About To Jump For Thousands Of WA Residents 
Health insurance premiums paid by more than 200,000 Washington residents will increase by an average of nearly 9% next year, with some rising by as much as 17.8%. The state Office of the Insurance Commissioner has approved an average increase of 8.94% for 14 health insurers operating in Washington’s individual health insurance market, lower than the 9.11% hike the companies requested earlier this year.  (Saldanha, 9/154)

The Boston Globe: Health Insurance Rates In Rhode Island Are Going Up In 2024
Months after health insurance companies initially requested the state approve steep rate increases in May for 2024, citing higher health care and labor costs, state regulators announced Friday that they have approved increases for the largest companies, but with modifications. Rhode Islanders will save $23.8 million in 2024 compared to what commercial health insurers requested, according to an internal calculation by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, which makes the final decision on how much insurance rates can increase, if at all. (Gagosz, 9/15)

Also —

Wyoming Public Radio: Mountain West Lags In Income And Health Insurance Coverage
Most of the Mountain West ranks below average when it comes to health insurance coverage and median income, according to recently released Census data. Poverty rates, meanwhile, are largely better than average throughout the region. The Census’ yearly reports on the nation’s social and economic wellbeing made national headlines due to several troubling trends. Child poverty doubled, and median household income fell by 2.3 percent – down to $74,580 per year. Post-tax income inequality also grew. (Walkey, 9/15)

WGCU: Florida Health Coverage Rate Is Better But Still Lags Most Of The U.S. 
With top Florida lawmakers signaling that health care issues could be a priority during next year’s legislative session, a report released Thursday showed that Florida saw improvement in 2022 in people having health insurance — but still trailed most of the country. (Saunders, 9/15)

Modern Healthcare: Oregon Basic Health Program Planned
Oregon aims to take advantage of a little-used provision of the Affordable Care Act that enables states to establish Basic Health Programs to cover residents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The Oregon Health Authority voted Tuesday to seek approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to join the Basic Health Program. Only Minnesota and New York have such benefits in place—and those predated the Affordable Care Act of 2010—and Kentucky intends to join them in November. (Tepper, 9/15)

Axios: Sanders' Primary Care Plan Draws Fire
A Bernie Sanders-led plan to fortify primary care and the health care workforce is drawing swift opposition from hospitals — and stirring dissent on the Senate HELP Committee he chairs. (Sullivan, 9/15)

The Washington Post: Trump, Who Nominated Antiabortion Judges, Calls Six-Week Bans ‘Terrible’
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” former president Donald Trump, the front-runner in the GOP presidential primary, said a state abortion law signed by his top challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), which bans the procedure after six weeks, is “terrible.” ... “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” said Trump, who appointed three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling guaranteeing abortion access nationally. (Alfaro and Knowles, 9/17)

The 19th: Americans Don’t Trust Politicians On Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care, Poll Finds
The vast majority of Americans — 7 in 10 — think that politicians are not informed enough about abortion and gender-affirming care to create fair policies, new polling by The 19th and SurveyMonkey found. (Becker and Barclay, 9/18)

The 19th: Total Abortion Bans Are Not At All Popular Among Americans, Poll Finds
Only 9 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances even as 14 states are enforcing near-total bans on the procedure, the 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll has found. Past polling has frequently found that people hold sometimes confusing and conflicting opinions about abortion, and this poll is no different: Some of those who say they support completely outlawing the procedure still believe abortion should be allowed in at least some circumstances. (Luthra, 9/18)

In abortion news from Indiana, Ohio, Florida, and the military —

AP: Indiana Attorney General Sues Hospital System Over Privacy Of Ohio Girl Who Traveled For Abortion
Indiana’s attorney general has sued the state’s largest hospital system, claiming it violated patient privacy laws when a doctor publicly shared the story of an Ohio girl who traveled to Indiana for an abortion. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Indianapolis federal court, marked Attorney General Todd Rokita’s latest attempt to seek disciplinary legal action against Dr. Caitlin Bernard. The doctor’s account of a 10-year-old rape victim traveling to Indiana to receive abortion drugs became a flashpoint in the abortion debate days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. (9/17)

Axios: Florida's Post-Roe V. Wade Abortion Uptick 
States near those that banned abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned saw sharp increases in the number of procedures performed, likely due to an influx of out-of-state patients, according to a new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute. Why it matters: Patients are proving highly motivated to travel to get the care they need, according to Guttmacher, a research organization that supports abortion rights. But for some, that involves overcoming logistical and financial challenges. (Felice, 9/18)

Military Times: House Republicans Demand Data On VA Abortion Procedures
Republican leaders from the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee are threatening to subpoena data on abortions performed at Veterans Affairs facilities if the department keeps refusing to turn over the information. In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., and health subcommittee Chairwoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said they will schedule a vote to force the department to turn over the information if it is not released to their panel by the end of the month. (Shane III, 9/15)

In other reproductive health news —

Stat: Midwives Could Help Bridge Maternal Health Disparities In The U.S.
In the wake of growing alarm over the disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality in the U.S., maternal health experts have been pushing for changes — including expanding the midwife workforce. Studies have shown that deliveries attended by midwives tend to have fewer complications and better outcomes, partially because midwife training relies less on medical intervention, leading to fewer C-sections. (Merelli, 9/18)

AP: Baby Found Dead In Hobbs Hospital Bathroom Where Teen Was Being Treated 
Authorities said Thursday they are investigating after an infant was found dead in a Hobbs hospital room occupied by a 16-year-old girl. The teen, accompanied by her mother, was getting treated at Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital on Wednesday. Hospital staff told police they later discovered the dead baby in the restroom. This is the second reported time this year an infant has been found dead in a New Mexico hospital. (9/15)

CBS News: New COVID Vaccine Shots Aren't Being Called "Boosters." Here's Why
"Bye bye, booster. We are no longer giving boosters, and it's going to be very difficult to stop using that word because that word has become pervasive," Dr. Keipp Talbot, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's committee of vaccine advisers, said. Talbot was speaking Thursday at a webinar hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America titled, in part, "COVID-19 New Booster Vaccine & Variants Update." "We are beginning to think of COVID like influenza. Influenza changes each year, and we give a new vaccine for each year. We don't 'boost' each year," said Talbot. (Tin, 9/15)

On the spread of covid —

NBC News: Covid Symptoms Are Now More Mild And Follow A Pattern, Doctors Say
Doctors say they're finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish Covid from allergies or the common cold, even as hospitalizations tick up. The illness' past hallmarks, such as a dry cough or the loss of sense of taste or smell, have become less common. Instead, doctors are observing milder disease, mostly concentrated in the upper respiratory tract. (Bendix, 9/16)

KFF Health News: Health Workers Warn Loosening Mask Advice In Hospitals Would Harm Patients And Providers
Nurses, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals. A CDC advisory committee has been updating its 2007 standards for infection control in hospitals this year. Many health care professionals and scientists expressed outrage after the group released a draft of its proposals in June. (Maxmen, 9/18)

CIDRAP: $4.5 Million USDA Grant Funds SARS-CoV-2 Wildlife Sampling
Penn State researchers will use a $4.5 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test for SARS-CoV-2 in 58 wildlife species, with the goal of tracking potential human spillback. In a news release yesterday, Penn State said the researchers will collect more than 20,000 samples from wildlife such as eastern chipmunks, gray squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, white-footed mice, moose, wolverines, three species of deer, and several bat species. SARS-CoV-2 has already been found in 29 species, such as white-tailed deer, but most species haven't been tested. (Van Beusekom, 9/15)

Reuters: WHO Chief Pushes China For ‘Full Access’ To Determine COVID’s Origins, Financial Times Reports
The chief of the World Health Organization urged Beijing to offer more information on the origins of COVID-19 and is ready to send a second team to probe the matter, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. "We're pressing China to give full access, and we are asking countries to raise it during their bilateral meetings — to urge Beijing to co-operate," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the newspaper. (9/17)

On the spread of misinformation —

CIDRAP: Facebook's Policy On Anti-COVID Vaccine Content Didn't Stop Users From Finding It, Study Suggests 
Facebook's removal of some COVID-19 vaccine misinformation didn't drive down user engagement with the content—likely because the social media platform's architecture allowed users to view and interact with it and let groups boost each other's content or repost deleted posts, suggests an analysis led by George Washington University researchers. (Van Beusekom, 9/15)

USA Today: No, Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine Doesn't Cause 'VAIDS'
A Sept. 12 Instagram post shows a post on X, formerly Twitter, that discusses a supposed side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine called “vaccine-induced AIDS.” It includes a photo of a child whose face is covered with sores. ... The study proves no such thing. VAIDS is not a real condition, and there is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to immunodeficiency, medical experts say. The study looked at the immune responses of vaccinated children, and its authors say their research was misrepresented. (McCreary, 9/16)

USA Today: Vaccines Can't Be Sprayed In 'Chemtrails,' Scientists Say
The claim: Post implies researchers developed technology to forcibly vaccinate people through ‘chemtrails’ ... The implied claim is wrong. The inhaled vaccine technology being developed at Yale cannot be sprayed from the sky in a “chemtrail,” as the post suggests. Inhaled vaccines require measured doses delivered directly into the nose. Experts agreed spraying a vaccine from airplanes is not feasible or ethical. (Trela, 9/15)

In research updates —

The Wall Street Journal: Neanderthal Genes Are Linked To Severe Covid Risk
The northern Italian city of Bergamo suffered one of the world’s highest Covid-19 death rates, with army trucks deployed to carry the dead out of the overwhelmed town in the early days of the pandemic. A new study carried out in Bergamo now suggests that genes inherited from Neanderthals, extinct cousins of modern humans, could help explain why some people developed life-threatening forms of the disease while others didn’t. (Stancati, 9/16)

The Washington Post: Fatigue Patient’s Case Prompts Discovery That May Help With Long Covid
Her dogged efforts lead to a new scientific discovery that may help many others with chronically fatiguing illnesses, including long covid. (Vastag, 9/17)

Daily Yonder: Gap Found In End-Of-Life Care For Rural Residents
When it comes to end-of-life wishes, a new study has found that while most people have end-of-life wishes, only a little over a third of them actually get them fulfilled. That is even more true with rural residents, researchers said. (Carey, 9/16)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Rural Hospital Turns To GoFundMe In Fight To Survive
Bucktail Medical Center, a tiny hospital in the sparsely populated Pennsylvania Wilds region, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help keep its doors open. The nonprofit, which has been losing between $100,000 and $150,000 a month, so far has found little resonance on the online fundraising platform since launching the campaign at the end of August. As of Saturday, the 16-bed hospital in South Renovo, in the north-central part of the state, has raised just $12,180 of its $1.5 million goal. (Brubaker, 9/16)

AP: Rural Hospitals Are Closing Maternity Wards. People Are Seeking Options To Give Birth Closer To Home 
Fewer than half of rural hospitals have labor and delivery units and the number keeps dropping. It’s forcing pregnant women to travel longer distances for care or face giving birth in an emergency room. (Rush and Ungar, 9/17)

On cancer care —

The Boston Globe: Nurses Threaten Strike At Dana-Farber Merrimack Valley
Registered nurses at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Merrimack Valley plan to hold a one-day strike later this month as they attempt to negotiate their first contract since organizing as a union last year. The nurses at the institute located in Methuen are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association. In a letter on Friday, the union informed Dana-Farber’s chief nursing officer that the nurses will picket Sept. 27 at the facility, beginning at 6:30 a.m., unless a deal is reached. (Stoico, 9/16)

Boston Globe: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Blindsided Brigham And Women’s
It’s Boston’s biggest divorce since Gisele and Tom split, but this one is epically acrimonious and has real-life repercussions for the region’s hospital industry and its patients. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute said on Thursday that it would end its long and nationally acclaimed adult oncology partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Instead, it plans to open a new freestanding cancer hospital with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where the Joslin Diabetes Center now stands in the Longwood Medical Area. (Joslin will relocate.) The announcement stunned Brigham’s leaders, who say they had been negotiating with Dana-Farber for the past 15 months, including over the weekend, to extend the relationship and jointly invest in new cancer facilities. (Edelman, 9/15)

Stat: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Shows Cancer Centers Are In Vogue
Boston isn’t the only city slated for a new cancer center. Far from it. There’s little appetite to build general acute-care hospitals, especially as their financial outlook dims and more services move outpatient. So on its face, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s plan to build a new cancer hospital with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center seems peculiar. (Bannow, 9/15)

Los Angeles Times: Hope Lives Here: City Of Hope Is Orange County's Most Advanced Cancer Care
“Cancer strikes so many families, and everyone needs to know that the most advanced cancer care is right here, in our community,” says Orange County resident and grateful City of Hope patient Donna McNutt. ... Construction is underway on Orange County’s only specialty cancer hospital exclusively focused on treating and curing cancer, opening in 2025. (9/17)

AP: University Of Kentucky Cancer Center Achieves Highest Designation From National Cancer Institute
The University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center has achieved the highest level of recognition from the National Cancer Institute — a status that will further bolster research and patient care in a state plagued by some of the nation’s highest cancer rates, campus officials said Friday. State and university leaders gathered on UK’s Lexington campus to celebrate the Markey Center’s designation by the NCI as a “comprehensive” cancer center — putting it among several dozen cancer centers nationally to attain the status and the only one in Kentucky. (Schreiner, 9/15)

In other health care industry news —

Chicago Tribune: With New Spanish-Language Pulmonary-Thoracic Program, Northwestern Doctors Hope To Improve Health Outcomes For Hispanic Patients
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago as the child of Mexican immigrants who primarily spoke Spanish, Dr. Daniel Meza was often asked to translate for his parents during medical appointments. “It’s a skill that I grew up with, having that technical language,” Meza said. “I just recall how stressful it was for my parents when they were in clinics, and as well as for myself, being a small child.” (Arougheti, 9/18)

Crain's New York Business: DocGo’s Shares Fall 11% After Report Of CEO’s False Education
DocGo’s shares plummeted 11% Friday after a report that the medical service company’s chief executive Anthony Capone embellished his biography with a false education history. Capone's biography on the company's website stated that he had received a graduate degree in artificial intelligence from Clarkson University. But a spokesperson for Clarkson University told the Times Union that it had no record of Anthony Capone enrolling in or completing a graduate degree at the university. (Spivack, 9/15)

Axios: U.S. Tops 500 Mass Shootings In 2023
There have now been 501 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. A shooting that wounded four people in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday night marked the country's 500th mass shooting in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Hours later, that increased to 501 mass shootings after one person died and five others were wounded in El Paso, Texas, early Sunday. (Rubin, 9/17)

The 19th: Americans Want Gun Restrictions On Those Convicted Of Domestic Violence, Poll Finds
Michele Bell wishes more politicians knew what she saw in her 50 years working as a nurse at a Houston hospital, where she cared for countless women who had been shot by their partners. She wishes they knew what happened to her brother, a former police officer who was shot twice while responding to domestic violence calls and had to retire. She wishes that guns — who can have them, what laws can restrict them — weren’t a political issue. (Gerson, 9/18)

The Washington Post: New Mexico Governor Narrows Firearm Carry Ban After Controversy 
Less than a month after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) issued a temporary public health order suspending open and concealed carry of firearms in the Albuquerque metro area, a federal judge blocked the effort, and Lujan Grisham issued a new order that largely curtails the ambitious and controversial move. Following fierce backlash, the revised order will limit the firearm ban to parks and playgrounds in Albuquerque and its surrounding county. (Kaur, 9/17)

In other health and wellness news —

NBC News: Two Suspects Charged With Murder In Death Of 1-Year-Old Following Alleged Fentanyl Exposure At NYC Day Care
A man and a woman have been arrested on murder charges after a 1-year-old died and three other children were hospitalized following suspected exposure to opioids at a Bronx day care center Friday, police said. (McShane, 9/17)

Houston Chronicle: RÁPIDO, Developed In Houston, Helps Spanish Speakers Recognize Strokes
RÁPIDO, a mnemonic developed in Houston to help Spanish speakers recognize the symptoms of a stroke, was officially adopted for use by the American Stroke Association, the organization announced last week. ... Just 58% of Hispanic adults in the U.S. can recognize stroke signs, compared to 64% of Black adults and 71% of white adults, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death for Hispanic women, and No. 4 for Hispanic men.

The New York Times: Windows Installed In Skulls Help Doctors Study Damaged Brains 
Some neurosurgeons are testing an acrylic prosthesis that lets them peer into patients’ heads with ultrasound. (Kolata, 9/16)

KFF Health News: Watch: Thinking Big In Public Health, Inspired By The End Of Smallpox
One of humanity’s greatest triumphs is the eradication of smallpox. Many doctors and scientists thought it was impossible to eliminate a disease that had been around for millennia and killed nearly 1 in 3 people infected. Smallpox is the first and only human disease to be wiped out globally.  KFF Health News held a web event Thursday that discussed how the lessons from the victory over smallpox could be applied to public health challenges today. The online conversation was led by Céline Gounder, physician-epidemiologist and host of “Eradicating Smallpox,” Season 2 of the Epidemic podcast. (9/18)

On climate change and health —

Reuters: Climate Change Impeding Fight Against AIDS, TB And Malaria 
Climate change and conflict are hitting efforts to tackle three of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has warned. International initiatives to fight the diseases have largely recovered after being badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Fund’s 2023 results report released on Monday. (Rigby, 9/18)

The Boston Globe: Regular Bouts Of Deadly Heat Are Coming Sooner Than Expected
With a sweltering heat wave in Massachusetts not far behind us, new research is finding that periods of heat and humidity so great that humans cannot survive without sources of cooling are likely coming much sooner than previously believed. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide could be regularly exposed, including in parts of the southern United States, it concludes. (Shankman, 9/17)

AP: Kansas Will No Longer Change Trans People's Birth Certificates To Reflect Their Gender Identities 
Kansas will no longer change transgender people’s birth certificates to reflect their gender identities, the state health department said Friday, citing a new law that prevents the state from legally recognizing those identities. The decision from the state Department of Health and Environment makes Kansas one of a handful of states that won’t change transgender people’s birth certificates. It already was among the few states that don’t change the gender marker on transgender people’s driver’s licenses. (Hanna and Hollingsworth, 9/15)

The Guardian: Nashville Elects Tennessee’s First Openly Transgender Politician 
A transgender woman won election to a seat on Nashville’s city council, becoming the first openly transgender person to be voted into political office in Tennessee. Olivia Hill, 57, secured one of the four open at-large seats on the metro council of Nashville, a politically liberal city in an overwhelmingly conservative state. (Oladipo, 9/16)

The 19th: Views On Gender-Affirming Care Are Influenced By Personal Relationships, Poll Finds
The majority of Americans believe adults, but not minors, should be able to access gender-affirming care — and opinions are significantly influenced by whether they personally know someone who is transgender, a new 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll finds. (Rummler, 9/18)

In news from California —

Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Pass Lead-Testing Bill For Schools
California lawmakers have passed a bill that would require kindergarten-to-12th-grade schools in the Golden State to test for brain-damaging lead in all drinking water outlets. ... The legislation comes on the heels of alarming data revealing that one in four of the state’s child-care centers has dangerously high levels of lead in their drinking water, suggesting that thousands of infants, toddlers and children are being exposed to the potent neurotoxin. (Pineda, 9/16)

Axios San Francisco: ER Wait Times In California Rise To 3 Hours
The median time Californians spent in emergency rooms was three hours last year — the latest in a steady increase from pre-pandemic times, according to the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data. Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance. Increasing ER visit times is an indication that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's need or is facing other issues. (Chen and Fitzpatrick, 9/15)

CBS News: Oakland County Health Officials Investigate Suspected Hepatitis A Case At Pine Knob Music Theatre
The Oakland County Health Division says it is investigating a suspected case of hepatitis A reported at the Ivy Lounge at the Pine Knob Music Theatre. Health officials say all season members, guests, and staff who consumed food at the lounge between Aug. 26 and Sept. 8 should monitor their symptoms. Anyone unvaccinated, who was possibly exposed from Sept. 1-8, is urged to receive the vaccine by the 14-day deadline. (Booth-Singleton, 9/15)

From Arkansas, New Mexico, and New Jersey —

Fox News: Arkansas Toddler Dies Of Rare Brain-Eating Amoeba Infection Likely Contracted At Country Club Splash Pad
A toddler who was his parent's "pride and joy" died from a brain-eating amoeba after playing at an Arkansas country club’s splash pad. ... In a press release, the Arkansas Department of Health confirmed that the toddler had died from an infection caused by the amoeba, also known as Naegleria fowleri. Officials said that the young toddler was likely exposed to the brain-eating amoeba while playing in a splash pad at a Little Rock, Arkansas, country club. (Rumpf-Whitten, 9/16)

AP: Puppy In New Mexico Tests Positive For Rabies In State's 1st Case In A Dog In 10 Years
ew Mexico has its first reported case of a dog with rabies in a decade, state health officials said Friday. A puppy in Bernalillo County is confirmed to have rabies, the New Mexico Department of Health said in a news release. The animal showed textbook symptoms, including a lack of coordination, tremors and aggression. The puppy was euthanized. (9/15)

The New York Times: How A Lawsuit In N.J. Could Bring Aid In Dying To Millions 
The plaintiffs want the state to drop its residency requirement. Oregon and Vermont have already done so. (Span, 9/16)

Chicago Tribune: Women’s Reproductive Freedom Is Moving Backward — Almost Weekly
“We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they’ve come.” That quote from Barbie creator Ruth Handler — or at least the one written for the actress playing her — in the new “Barbie” movie had me reflecting on just how far we’ve come from my grandmothers’ generations. Sadly, when it comes to reproductive freedom, we’re moving in the wrong direction. (Lilian Bui, 9/18)

Scientific American: Forgotten Memories May Remain Intact In The Brain
Forgetting is a fact of life—one that many people find frustrating. But mounting evidence pushes back at the notion that a slip or lapse in our recollection is inherently bad. Indeed, forgetting can sometimes help people cope psychologically or let go of useless knowledge. (Daisy Yuhas, 9/15)

Bloomberg: Covid Vaccine Maker Moderna Faces Tougher Competition 
Moderna Inc. made a pitch to investors this week at its annual R&D day that the unprecedented success of its Covid vaccine wasn’t a one-off, and the company is well on the way to becoming a big biotech contender. (Lisa Jarvis, 9/15)

The Washington Post: The CDC’s Covid Booster Recommendation Is Too Broad, But Still Correct 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed another round of updated coronavirus vaccines for everyone 6 months and older. While some have rightly criticized the recommendation for being overly broad, federal health officials made the right call given the many competing factors they had to weigh. (Leana S. Wen, 9/15)

Stat: People With Substance Use Disorder Deserve Online Privacy
The era of rampant, unconsented, and unregulated online data collection may finally be winding down for consumer health data. But the advances in consumer privacy have not yet fully reached the millions of people with health information related to their drug use, substance use disorder treatment, or recovery. (Jacqueline Seitz, 9/18)

USA Today: Is Drug Decriminalization Working In Oregon? Sadly, No. Here's Why
The global response to the substance use epidemic is failing. It’s not only opioids. Every year we throw billions of dollars at this issue; yet, more and more people die from the use of addictive drugs. (Judy Grisel and Marvin Seppala, 9/18)

The Washington Post: Septic Shock Nearly Killed Me. I Want Others To Know Its Red Flags
The terror began the morning of May 22, 2021, when the respiratory therapist inserted the ventilator tube down my throat. It was like swallowing a vacuum cleaner hose. Paralytic drugs were injected to keep me from instinctively yanking it out. I futilely tried to blink out an SOS and searched for my husband with my eyes. It felt like I was trapped behind soundproof glass. Disembodied voices murmured above me as I lay on an emergency room gurney. “Surgery … and a colostomy … perhaps a tracheotomy,” I heard. There was talk of sending me to a trauma center 75 miles away. Was I dying? (Jackie Duda, 9/16)