Politico: Biden Expands Window To Try And Keep Millions More Low-Income Americans Insured
President Joe Biden is widening a critical window for low-income Americans to join Obamacare, in a move aimed at reinforcing a central element of his reelection bid: That he presided over a historic expansion of health care coverage. Tens of millions of people eliminated from Medicaid would now have until Nov. 30 to sign up for new coverage under a plan to be announced Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services and first shared with POLITICO — an extension from the July 31 deadline initially set for the special enrollment period. (Cancryn, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Eases Medicaid, CHIP Enrollment And Renewal Under Final Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued the final rule Wednesday designed to simplify enrollment and renewal of coverage in Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and Basic Health Program and end coverage interruptions. The Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes rule will standardize processes across states and apply consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act. (Desilva, 3/27)

Tampa Bay Times: New Rules On Child Health Insurance Ramp Up Feds Legal Dispute With Florida
New federal rules intended to ensure children from low-income families being removed from Medicaid do not lose health coverage could heighten tensions between the Biden and DeSantis administrations. (O'Donnell, 3/28)

More Medicaid developments —

Axios: Republicans' Plan To Cut Medicaid Could Face Backlash
Former President Trump's recent promise not to cut entitlement programs is notably silent on Medicaid — but GOP ambitions for shrinking the safety-net health care program could risk backlash similar to the party's Obamacare repeal debacle. (Sullivan, 3/28)

AP: Mississippi Senate Republicans Push Medicaid Expansion 'Lite' Proposal That Would Cover Fewer People
A proposal to expand Medicaid to tens of thousands of residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. is still alive in the Mississippi Legislature. But Senate Republicans changed the plan Wednesday so it would cover far fewer people and bring less federal money to the state. Mississippi’s Republican-controlled Legislature is considering expansion after years of opposition to the policy allowed under the Affordable Care Act, a 2010 federal health overhaul signed by then-President Barack Obama. (Goldberg, 3/27)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Medicaid Gaps Can Trap Disabled Texans In Hospitals 
Staffing shortages and mismanaged care can delay when Texans on some Medicaid programs are discharged from hospitals. This can cost the state more and take a toll on patients and caregivers. (Bohra, 3/28)

And in Medicare-related news —

Politico: The Effort To Keep ‘Site Neutral’ Alive
Insurers, unable to push through a top legislative priority in the latest spending bill, are already working on plan B — a lobbying blitz targeting lawmakers at home and in Washington. It’s an uphill climb and requires overcoming opposition from the powerful hospital industry and hesitation by its allies in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. But insurers, employers, unions and consumer groups are eyeing a possible year-end package as a vehicle for a policy that could save taxpayers billions. (Wilson, 3/27)

Modern Healthcare: Inpatient Rehab Facilities To Receive Medicare Pay Bump For 2025
Inpatient rehabilitation facilities would receive a 2.8% pay bump for fiscal 2025 under a proposed rule announced Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The proposal amounts to a $255 million increase for IRFs and reflects a $280 million increase from the update of the payment rate minus a $25 million cut to the proposed outlier threshold. (Eastabrook, 3/27)

Reuters: Unmasking The Hidden Dangers Of Health Care Marketing Arrangements
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released Advisory Opinion 23-15, approving a consultant's request to offer gift card incentives to customers that referred its services to other health care providers. The consultant specifically provided optimization services which could, among other benefits, result in increased Medicare merit incentive payments for health care provider customers. (Whaley, 3/27)

Reuters: Idaho Faces Skeptical Court In Fight Over Out-Of-State Abortion Referrals
A federal appeals court on Wednesday appeared unlikely to overturn an injunction blocking Idaho's Republican attorney general from prosecuting doctors who refer patients out of state to get an abortion. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Seattle sharply questioned a lawyer with Attorney General Raul Labrador's office about whether his boss stood by a letter stating doctors could run afoul of the state's abortion ban if they made such referrals. (Raymond, 3/27)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Abortion Rights Advocates Want Parental Consent Law Repealed
Abortion rights proponents say Michigan lawmakers have more work to do to remove barriers to abortion care. In a new report, advocates deliver an urgent call for lawmakers to repeal Michigan's parental consent law for minors seeking abortions, setting up the next fight over abortion access in the state after voters approved a measure to protect reproductive rights. (Hendrickson, 3/28)

NPR: An Arizona Lawmaker Announced She Was Getting An Abortion. Here's What Happened Next
There are no bills about abortion currently before the state Senate, so Burch's story won't have an immediate effect on legislation. And Burch says she doesn't have high expectations that her story would change the minds of people on the other side of the aisle "who are very passionately against abortion." But her testimony had an effect on at least one Republican lawmaker. (Schutsky, 3/27)

The Marshall Project: Even Where Abortion Is Legal, People in Jail Face Huge Barriers
New reviews of jail policies in 13 states found vague, confusing or nonexistent guidelines and major hurdles to obtaining an abortion. (Heffernan, 3/26)

USA Today: This Small City Is Now A Frontline Of Abortion Debate
Bristol has a state line running through it – Virginia, where abortion is legal, and Tennessee where it was outlawed after Roe v. Wade was overturned. (Taylor, 3/27)

Also —

Stat: Abortion Pill Case Raises Question: Who Can Sue The FDA?
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito had a clear question at Tuesday’s arguments over the abortion pill mifepristone: If the doctors who brought that case can’t sue the FDA over a drug’s label, who can? And when? (Owermohle, 3/28)

Kansas City Star: Missouri Supreme Court Weighs Wrongful Death Claim Of Fetus
Missouri Department of Transportation employee Kaitlyn Anderson was six months pregnant when she was struck and killed by a driver in 2021 while doing road work. The 25-year-old’s fetus also died in the crash. Anderson’s death, and the death of her fetus, are now part of wrongful death case against the state agency and her supervisors that was considered by the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday. (Bayless, 3/28)

In LGBTQ+ news —

The Hill: Sacramento Declares Itself A Sanctuary City For Transgender People
The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution declaring the California capital a sanctuary for transgender people. The resolution, which went into effect immediately, guarantees that none of the city’s resources — including staff time — are used to enforce laws passed in other states that restrict access to gender-affirming health care for transgender minors or adults. (Migdon, 3/27)

The 19th: Why Some LGBTQ+ Groups Oppose The Current Kids Online Safety Act
When the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was introduced in Congress two years ago, it set off alarm bells for many LGBTQ+ groups. The broad and vague bill that aimed to “protect children online” seemed like a censorship nightmare, empowering state attorneys general to determine what kind of content harms kids. The fears that KOSA would be used to shut down LGBTQ+ content were not unfounded. (Mithani, 3/27)

Reuters: US Offers $10 Million Bounty For Info On 'Blackcat' Hackers Who Hit UnitedHealth
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday offered up to $10 million for information on the "Blackcat" ransomware gang who hit the UnitedHealth Group's tech unit and snarled insurance payments across America. "The ALPHV Blackcat ransomware-as-a-service group compromised computer networks of critical infrastructure sectors in the United States and worldwide," the department said in a statement announcing the reward offer. (3/27)

The Hill: Sanders Calls For Novo Nordisk To Slash Ozempic, Wegovy Prices
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk to slash prices for two of its drugs Wednesday, citing a new study on the costs to manufacture the medications. The research found that a weekly injection of semaglutide — which is the generic name for Ozempic — can be manufactured at a cost between $0.89 and $4.73 per month. (Sforza, 3/27)

Politico: Romney Leads Letter Questioning Marijuana Rescheduling
Loosening federal marijuana restrictions may put the U.S. out of compliance with international drug law, three Republican Senators argued in a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday. "As members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, we write to underscore the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) duty under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to ensure compliance with the United States’ treaty obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (Single Convention)," reads the letter. (Fertig, 3/27)

In other administration news —

Reuters: U.S. FDA Approves Akebia's Anemia Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Akebia Therapeutics' (AKBA.O drug, vadadustat, to treat anemia caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis patients, the drugmaker said on Wednesday. The drug will be available under the brand name Vafseo, it added. The FDA had earlier declined to approve vadadustat - a Hypoxia-inducible factor–prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitor - on safety concerns, as it posed an increased risk of blood clot formations and drug-induced injuries to the liver. (3/28)

CNN: FDA Settles Lawsuit Over Ivermectin Content That Doctors Claimed Harmed Their Practice 
The US Food and Drug Administration has settled a lawsuit over some of its posts about ivermectin, including what may have been one of its more popular pandemic-era social media campaigns. (Christensen, 3/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: Black St. Louisans Question FDA’s New Sickle Cell Treatment 
On Feb. 19, Tanjila Bolden was at home getting ready for bed when she began to feel something unusual in her chest. “It wasn't painful, but it was weird, like fluttery on my left side of my chest, it was going down my left arm into my elbow … and up into my jaw,” she said. “I had never felt it before.” (Henderson, 3/28)

Stat: Decaf Coffee Targeted By Food Safety Group Under Obscure FDA Rule
There’s a fight brewing over the future of decaf coffee. Consumer health advocates are petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to ban a key chemical, methylene chloride, used to decaffeinate coffee beans. While the chemical is almost entirely removed during the decaffeination process, advocates say that a little-known nearly 66-year-old federal law mandates the agency ban the additive because it has been proven to cause cancer in rodents. (Florko, 3/28)

Also —

Reuters: Common Livestock Feed Additive Poses Risks To Human Health, Lawsuit Says
Major food safety, environmental and animal rights groups have sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking to force it to reconsider approvals for a widely-used livestock growth drug they say is putting human health at risk and causing stress in farm animals prior to slaughter. The Center for Food Safety, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and others, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., saying the FDA largely ignored two requests to review its approval for ractopamine. (Mindock, 3/27)

The Hill: NTSB Chair: Hazmat Containers Breached During Bridge Collapse
The cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was carrying dozens of hazardous material containers, some of which were breached during the collapse, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Wednesday. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy on Wednesday said the agency was able to obtain the cargo manifest of the ship, named Dali, which was on its way to Sri Lanka when it smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore overnight Tuesday. (Nazzaro, 3/27)

CIDRAP: National Academies Report Says US Not Ready For Intentional, Accidental Smallpox Outbreak
With the bungled responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent mpox outbreak still fresh in mind, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlights the United States' need to fortify its preparedness for a smallpox outbreak. ... Experts remain concerned that the United States wouldn't be able to marshal enough tests, vaccines, and treatments to contain an intentional or accidental release or natural resurgence—particularly amid evolving threats and technologies. (Van Beusekom, 3/27)

Newsweek: Older Americans Now Have Twice As Many STIs As A Decade Ago
Older Americans now have twice as many sexually transmitted infections (STI) when compared to a decade ago, a new study has found. New research to be presented in April at the pre-congress day at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, Spain, will state the need for urgent ways to manage the rise in conditions such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and genital warts in the Baby Boomer generation. (White, 3/27)

CNN: Regular Exercise Is Associated With Less Insomnia, Study Shows 
Tired from a restless night spent awake? One of the most helpful things to do might be to get some exercise, according to a new study. (Holcombe, 3/27)

KFF Health News: More Women Are Drinking Themselves Sick. The Biden Administration Is Concerned
When Karla Adkins looked in the rearview mirror of her car one morning nearly 10 years ago, she noticed the whites of her eyes had turned yellow. She was 36 at the time and working as a physician liaison for a hospital system on the South Carolina coast, where she helped build relationships among doctors. ... She understood that the yellowing of her eyes was evidence of jaundice. Even so, the prospect of being diagnosed with alcohol-related liver disease wasn’t her first concern. (Sausser, 3/28)

In other health news from around the globe —

AP: Millions In The UK Are Being Urged To Get Vaccinations During A Surge In Measles Cases
U.K. health officials on Monday urged millions of parents to book their children for missed measles, mumps and rubella shots during a sharp increase in the number of measles cases and the lowest vaccination rates in a decade. The National Health Service is launching a publicity campaign after figures showed there were about 250 confirmed measles cases in parts of England last year. Most cases were in children under 10 years old. (Hui, 3/27)

The Washington Post: Puerto Rico Declares Dengue Fever An Epidemic As Cases Rise
On Monday, government leaders in Puerto Rico declared a dengue epidemic after a spike in cases of the mosquito-borne disease hit the island. From the start of the year through March 10, there were 549 cases, including 341 hospitalizations and 29 severe cases, according to the most recent data provide by the Puerto Rico Department of Health. Cases are concentrated in cities including San Juan, Bayamon, Guaynabo and Carolina. (Malhi, 3/27)

AP: A Japanese Supplement Pill Is Recalled After Two People Died And More Than 100 Were Hospitalized
Health supplement products believed to have caused two deaths and sickened more than 100 people have been ordered to be taken off store shelves in Japan. The products from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., billed as helping to lower cholesterol, contained an ingredient called “benikoji,” a red species of mold. ... More than 40 products from other companies containing benikoji ... were recalled, starting last week, a government health ministry official said Wednesday. (Kageyama, 3/27)

AP: Croatia: Years After Protecting Abortion Rights, The Legacy Is Under Threat
With vigils outside clinics, marches drawing thousands and groups of men kneeling to pray in public squares, religious and neo-conservative groups have been ramping up pressure to ban abortions in staunchly Catholic Croatia. The fierce debate has fueled divisions in the European Union nation of about 3.9 million people where abortion remains legal but access to the procedure is often denied, sending many women to neighboring Slovenia to end a pregnancy. (Bandic and Gec, 3/27)

Newsweek: Neurodegenerative Disorders Linked To Higher Brain Acidity
Scientists have long suspected that our brain chemistry is responsible for many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, there is a lot we still don't about the molecular mechanisms behind many of these disorders. ... In a new study, published in the journal eLife, a team of 131 researchers from over 100 different laboratories around the world have demonstrated that decreasing pH levels in the brain, or increased acidity, are a common feature of a diverse range of disorders, including depression, epilepsy and Alzheimer's. (Dewan, 3/27)

ScienceAlert: Scientists Discover Heightened Toxicity Risk For Children With Autism, ADHD
A study revealed there's a difference in how children with autism or ADHD clear the common plastic additive bisphenol A (BPA), compared to neurotypical children. ... Researchers from Rowan University and Rutgers University in the US ... found that kids with ASD and ADHD couldn't clear out BPA and another similar compound called Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) with as much efficiency as other kids, potentially leading to longer exposure to their toxic effects. (Nield, 3/28)

CIDRAP: Strategy To Prevent Hospital-Onset C Diff Shows Mixed Results
A strategy designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent one of the leading causes of healthcare-associated infections in US hospitals was not associated with reduced incidence over time, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open. ... But the study also found that the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the results by preventing full implementation of measures included in the strategy. (Dall, 3/27)

ScienceAlert: Drinking Coffee Dramatically Lowers The Risk Of Bowel Cancer Coming Back
Coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of cancerous tumours re-growing in the bowels, according to new research. An observational study among 1,719 people in the Netherlands has found that patients with colorectal cancer who nurse at least two cups of joe a day are less likely to relapse in the future. Drinking a few cups a day also seemed to reduce their chances of an early death. (Cassella, 3/27)

Stat: GLP-1 Drugs Linked To Increased Risk Of Post-Endoscopy Infection
Diabetes and obesity GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, which can delay stomach emptying, have introduced a predicament for patients undergoing surgeries and endoscopies — the patients in some cases may still have food in their stomach even if they’ve fasted, raising concerns that they could accidentally breathe food into their lungs during the procedures. (Chen, 3/28)

Stat: Scientists Boost Immune System In Aging Mice By Making It Youthful 
One of the indignities of getting older is the way your body’s defenses against microbes begin to break down, leaving you extra vulnerable to infection. Researchers studying the ways these systems change with age refer to them collectively as “immunosenescence,” or, more poetically, the “twilight of immunity.” But even as scientific understanding of the phenomenon has grown over the past decade, the forces driving it remain murky. (Molteni, 3/27)

Newsweek: HIV Cure Nearer With Way To 'Shock And Kill' Latent Virus
We might be a step closer to curing HIV, as researchers have developed a way to knock out a version of the virus lurking in the body. Using something called an HIV-like particle (HLP)—which are dead HIV particles containing HIV proteins that trigger an immune response in a patient—may help treat the disease, scientists from the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and the U.K.'s University of Bristol reveal in a paper in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infections. (Thomson, 3/27)

Stat: Multiple Sclerosis Has Subtypes With Different Best Treatments: Study
For years, researchers have been hopeful they could get under the hood of multiple sclerosis. The neurological condition shows up in over 2.5 million people around the world, but it doesn’t always look the same. If science could point its light in just the right way, patients might be sorted into disease subgroups, and treated more successfully depending on their kind of MS. (Cueto, 3/27)

CNBC: Altimmune Weight Loss Drug Minimized Muscle Mass Loss In Trial
Altimmune on Wednesday said its experimental drug helped patients shed weight but also minimized the loss of muscle mass in a midstage trial, a finding that could set it apart in a potentially crowded market. (Constantino, 3/27)

The New York Times: Life-Saving ECPR V CPR: What To Know
CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. When a person collapses and is found to have no pulse, bystanders carry out CPR by doing chest compressions while waiting for professional help to arrive. ... But now a small number of hospitals are trying a new approach. Patients who are in cardiac arrest ... can be connected to an ECMO machine, which then takes over the work of their heart and lungs. When this high-tech treatment is used during cardiac arrest, the intervention is called ECPR. (Ouyanf, 3/27)

CIDRAP: Swedish Study Suggests Link Between Long COVID And Severity Of Illness
The strongest link for developing long COVID was between severity of early illness and long COVID; 61% of those with long COVID had been hospitalized or had needed intensive care or noninvasive or mechanical ventilation. Use of mechanical ventilation during initial illness correlated with PCS (odds ratio [OR], 114.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 105.1 to 125.3) compared with requiring no medical care during initial COVID-19. (Soucheray, 3/27)

CIDRAP: Meta-Analysis: Global COVID Reinfection Rate Less Than 1%, Depending On Variant, Country, Time
The global SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rate was just under 1% as of a year ago, with significant differences by variant, country, and time, according to a meta-analysis of 55 studies on more than 111,000 cases. Published in BMC Infectious Diseases, the meta-regression analysis by Sichuan University researchers in China included 46 cohort, 6 case-control, and 3 cross-sectional studies on COVID-19 reinfection rates up to March 2023. (Van Beusekom, 3/27)

Stat: Covid Silver Lining: Unprecedented Look At Human Immune System
While an increasingly anxious world watched a new coronavirus spread across the globe in early 2020, veteran immunologist Rafi Ahmed quickly grasped that his field was about to experience something truly extraordinary. His former student Ali Ellebedy was gnawed by frustration as Covid shutdowns stalled his influenza research; it took until the summer, when mass vaccination planning hit his radar, before the same realization kicked in. (Branswell, 3/28)

Reuters: UnitedHealth Group Paid Over $3.3 Bln To Care Providers Hit By Cyberattacks
U.S. insurer UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) on Wednesday said it has advanced more than $3.3 billion so far to care providers impacted by a cyberattack last month on insurance claims system Change Healthcare. UnitedHealth said it has paid more than 40% of that total to so-called safety net hospitals and federally qualified health centers serving high-risk patients and communities. (3/28)

In other news from the health industry —

Reuters: Moderna Secures $750 Million From Blackstone Life Sciences To Develop Flu Shots
Moderna (MRNA.O) on Wednesday said Blackstone's (BX.N life sciences arm would offer $750 million to help fund development of its flu vaccines, bolstering the company's efforts to advance multiple vaccines in the face of a steep decline in sales of its COVID-19 shots.Moderna is developing several new vaccines, including for cancer and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), resulting in high research and development spending. (Leo and S K, 3/27)

Reuters: Blackstone Cures Two Ailments In One Moderna Shot
Lending to a company is fine; taking a piece of its most promising investments is better. With higher costs of capital making spending decisions tougher for chief executives and buyout firms simultaneously struggling to invest stockpiles of cash, the deal, opens new tab between Blackstone (BX.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) unveiled on Wednesday offers a crafty cure. The hard end of such bargains: surrendering value from potentially lucrative developments. (Guilford, 3/27)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Expands PACE Nationally With Joint Venture
Kaiser Permanente and healthcare investment firm Town Hall Ventures announced a joint venture, Habitat Health, on Wednesday that will provide integrated home and center-based healthcare services to low-income older adults across the country. Habitat Health will provide services through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, a Medicare and Medicaid-funded care model. Executives from both organizations would not disclose financial details of the for-profit company, which will open its first two PACE programs in Los Angeles and Sacramento, California, in 2025. (Eastabrook, 3/27)

The CT Mirror: CT Approves Prospect Medical-YNHH Deal, Paving The Way For Sale
After 16 months of consideration, the state’s Office of Health Strategy on Wednesday approved an application for a Certificate of Need from Yale New Haven Health, paving the way for it to potentially purchase three troubled hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings. (Altimari and Carlesso, 3/27)

AP: Steward Health Care Strikes Deal To Sell Its Nationwide Physician Network To Optum
Financially embattled hospital operator Steward Health Care has struck a deal to sell its nationwide physician network to Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, as it works to stabilize its finances. The move comes as Gov. Maura Healey has said state monitors are keeping eye on the nine health care facilities operated by Steward Health Care in Massachusetts, including hospitals in some of the state’s poorer communities. The Dallas-based company operates more than 30 hospitals nationwide. (LeBlanc, 3/27)

Modern Healthcare: Tenet Healthcare Completes Sale Of 4 Hospitals To UCI Health 
University of California Irvine's health system said Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of four Tenet Healthcare hospitals and their affiliated outpatient locations in Southern California in an $800 million deal. The deal comprises Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Los Alamitos Medical Center, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, and Placentia-Linda Hospital, which are now part of Orange, California-based UCI Health. (Desilva, 3/27)

Axios: Hospital Cuts Challenge Expectations Of Post-COVID Rebound
Even as financial conditions improve at health systems across the U.S., a rash of recent stories about layoffs or unit closures underscore a complex picture for the industry. High inflation, worsening reimbursement and increasingly fierce competition for outpatient services are challenging the post-COVID rebound hospitals are hoping for as patients seek delayed care. (Reed, 3/28)

Modern Healthcare: Walgreens-Backed VillageMD To Close 5 Nevada Clinics
Walgreens' VillageMD is adding Nevada to the list of states where it is closing clinics. The primary care provider will close five clinics in Nevada to exit the state, effective April 30. (Hudson, 3/27)

Also —

Reuters: J&J Can Contest Evidence Linking Its Talc To Cancer, US Judge Rules
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), opens new tab will get a new chance to contest the scientific evidence linking talc to ovarian cancer, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday, potentially disrupting more than 53,000 lawsuits the company is now facing over its talc products. In a brief written order, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton, New Jersey, who is overseeing the lawsuits that have been consolidated in his court, said recent changes in the law and new scientific evidence require a fresh review of the evidence that linked J&J products to ovarian cancer. (Knauth, 3/27)

AP: West Virginia Gov. Justice Vetoes Bill That Would Have Loosened School Vaccine Policies
Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday broke with West Virginia’s GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies. West Virginia is only one of a handful of states in the U.S. that offers only medical exemptions to vaccine requirements. ... The governor said ... he had to defer to the licensed medical professionals who “overwhelmingly” spoke out in opposition to the legislation. (Willingham, 3/28)

Politico: Fulop Says He'd Target Hospital Monopolies, Horizon If Elected Governor
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop promised to scrutinize hospital “monopolies” and the state’s largest health insurer if he’s elected governor. Fulop, who is one of three declared Democratic candidates seeking to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy, presented his health care and human services agenda on Tuesday. The mayor’s proposals are part of a broader effort to define his candidacy as one based around issues. He's released white papers over several months on issues ranging from housing to transportation. (Han, 3/27)

Politico: Why Portland Failed Where Portugal Succeeded In Decriminalizing Drugs
America’s first experiment in treating hard drugs as a public health problem, rather than one for the police, looks like it’s about to end. The Oregon Legislature has voted to repeal the state's three-year-old law decriminalizing drug possession for personal use this month, joining cities from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., that are adopting new tough-on-drugs policies. Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek is expected to sign the bill, passed after a surge in fatal overdoses and public drug use, in the coming days. (Paun and Herbández-Morales, 3/27)

Connecticut Public: CT Warning Parents And Kids Of Illegally Packaged Cannabis Edibles
A new public service ad warning parents of cannabis edibles that are illegally packaged to look like common kid snacks is now running in Connecticut. (Srinivasan, 3/27)

St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Committee OKs Medical Debt Forgiveness Bill 
A St. Louis aldermanic committee has given its approval to a bill that would use federal money to pay the medical debt of thousands of St. Louisans. The five-member Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee voted this week to send the bill to the full Board of Aldermen with the recommendation of “do pass.” (Fentem, 3/28)

The Colorado Sun: How Research In Denver Helped Lead To A New Drug For Food Allergies
Carly Edwards found out at just about the worst time possible that her oldest daughter is allergic to eggs. It was Elsie Jane’s first birthday. And shortly after the birthday girl dived head-first into her smash cake, the allergic reaction hit: hives, vomiting. (Ingold, 3/28)

AP: Being HIV-Positive Will No Longer Automatically Disqualify Police Candidates In Tennessee City
Having HIV will no longer automatically disqualify someone from serving as a Metropolitan Nashville Police Officer, the Tennessee city agreed in a legal settlement on Friday. The agreement settles a federal discrimination lawsuit filed last year by a former Memphis police officer of the year. The officer, who filed under the pseudonym John Doe, said Nashville police rescinded a job offer in 2020 upon learning that he had HIV. (Loller, 3/27)

Mental health news from across the country —

Sahan Journal: All Minnesota Public School Students Can Access Free Mental Health Care 
In 2000, few of Minnesota’s public school students had access to mental health therapy within the school building. Today, over half of students do. A new study, published in the Journal of Human Resources, quantifies how many lives these embedded therapists may have saved. Researchers calculated that suicide attempts decreased by 15 percent across 263 Hennepin County schools that implemented school-based mental health. (Eldred, 3/27)

UNC Media Hub: Students Advocate For Harm Reduction Strategies 
After Bella Grumet, a UNC Chapel Hill senior majoring in neuroscience, lost a close friend to an overdose last year, she was motivated to become an advocate for harm reduction strategies in hopes of preventing more drug-related deaths among college students. (Long, 3/28)

KFF Health News: California Is Expanding Insurance Access For Teenagers Seeking Therapy On Their Own
When she was in ninth grade, Fiona Lu fell into a depression. She had trouble adjusting to her new high school in Orange County, California, and felt so isolated and exhausted that she cried every morning. Lu wanted to get help, but her Medi-Cal plan wouldn’t cover therapy unless she had permission from a parent or guardian. Her mother — a single parent and an immigrant from China — worked long hours to provide for Fiona, her brother, and her grandmother. Finding time to explain to her mom what therapy was, and why she needed it, felt like too much of an obstacle. (Dembosky, 3/28)

ScienceDaily: Researchers Turn Back The Clock On Cancer Cells To Offer New Treatment Paradigm 
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists reversed an aggressive cancer, reverting malignant cells towards a more normal state. (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 3/27)

ScienceDaily: Social, Environmental Factors May Raise Risk Of Developing Heart Disease And Stroke
Neighborhoods with more adversity have up to twice the increased risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new study. (American Heart Association, 3/27)

ScienceDaily: Getting Too Little Sleep Linked To High Blood Pressure
Sleeping fewer than seven hours is associated with a higher risk of developing high blood pressure over time, according to a new study. (American College of Cardiology, 3/27)

CIDRAP: Study: Gut Microbiota Mix May Affect Risk Of Hospitalization From Infection 
An observational study of patients in Finland and the Netherlands suggests gut microbiota composition may be linked to risk of hospitalization for infection. (3/26)

CNN: Oncologist: The Princess Of Wales’ Diagnosis Is Part Of A Troubling Trend
The recent revelation of the cancer diagnosis of Catherine, Princess of Wales, who is 42, has left many observers shocked. As a medical oncologist, I am heartbroken — but hardly surprised. Early-onset cancer, which is defined as happening in adults under 50 years of age, is no anomaly. In fact, it is part of a rising global trend in which newly diagnosed cancer patients are getting younger. (Dr. Jalal Baig, 3/27)

Scientific American: Viral Genetics Confirms What On-The-Ground Activists Knew Early In The Mpox Outbreak 
In June 2022 I sat shaking my head as I heard from senior U.S. government officials that mpox (then monkeypox) was under control. At the time, my dear friend back home in New York, to whom I’d spoken on the phone, had mpox. (Joseph Osmundson, 3/27)

USA Today: AI Can Help Doctors Treat Patients, Improving Healthcare And Burnout
Are you tired of feeling like just another number at the doctor’s office? As current and future members of the physician workforce, we believe that well-regulated artificial intelligence presents an opportunity to tackle burnout within the medical workforce and restore patient-centered care. (Rotimi Kukoyi, Victor Agbafe and Dr. Joan Perry, 3/27)

USA Today: Supreme Court Mifepristone Case Is Latest GOP Attempt To End Abortion
I have spent much of the past few years covering abortion access and our reality after the Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. A lot of that time has been spent talking to people whose lives are dedicated to ensuring abortion access, whether they work for Planned Parenthood, an abortion fund or a different group. (Sara Pequeno, 3/28)

Stat: Oprah Kicked Off A National Conversation On Obesity. Let's Have It 
Oprah Winfrey, true to form, is forcing America to yet again grapple with a complex topic: weight loss. Her full-throated endorsement on national television last week for using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to treat obesity has opened the door for an important conversation about the use of these drugs for people struggling with their weight. (Lisa Shah, 3/28)