Stat: House Passes Site-Neutral Policy, PBM Reform Package 
The House passed a relatively major health care package late Monday, an end-of-year victory after the same policies had to be yanked from consideration in September because they lacked bipartisan support. Though the package is unlikely to pass the Senate and become law as-is, its advancing through the House does make each included policy more attractive for a potential government funding deal, as lawmakers draw closer to the Jan. 19 deadline to fund the government and extend funding for certain health programs in particular. (Cohrs, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: House Passes Bill Covering PBMs, DSH Cuts, Site-Neutral Payments
The Lower Costs More Transparency Act of 2023, which passed 320 to 71, would require extensive new disclosures of prices and costs by hospitals, insurers, imaging services, diagnostic laboratories and PBMs. It also bans PBMs from the practice of spread pricing in Medicaid, requiring them to pass on savings they negotiate with drug companies and instead get paid a set administrative fee. (McAuliff, 12/11)

Fierce Healthcare: House Price Transparency Legislation Passes With Bipartisan Support 
In addition to mandating providers and PBMs publicly list prices before they charge patients, hospitals will be required to publish charges through machine-readable files. The bill also calls for the elimination of $16 billion in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program cuts through 2025, $7 billion in funds for the Medicaid Improvement Fund while allocating $15 billion in funds toward community health centers and programs to address physician shortages in underserved communities. Leading House members argue the bill will help patients and employers get the­ best deal possible for patients and employers by codifying price transparency protections, allowing consumers to compare health insurers’ rates and prices hospitals charge. This means insurers will have to disclose all billing codes and modifiers. (Tong, 12/11)

In related news —

Fierce Healthcare: Seniors Would Have Reaped Benefits Of IRA In 2021: Report
A new analysis shows that if Medicare had negotiated the price of 10 of the most expensive Part D drugs in 2021, seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs would have decreased by 23% from $1,250 to $967. (Tong, 12/11)

In other legislative news from Capitol Hill —

Stat: Addiction Doctors Spar With Methadone Clinics Over Legislation 
Lawmakers on Tuesday will debate an addiction medicine proposal that would have been considered unthinkable just years ago: giving a select group of doctors the power to prescribe methadone directly to patients. (Facher, 12/12)

NPR: Senators Push Bureau Of Prisons To Address Reports Of Inadequate Health Care
Two key senators on the committee tasked with overseeing the nation's federal prisons are now urging the Bureau of Prisons to fix a medical care system that has allowed people in its care to die preventable deaths. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were responding to reporting from NPR showing that federal prisoners die from treatable conditions that are not diagnosed or treated in a timely way within the prison system. (Anderson, 12/12)

Military.com: US Military To Screen All New Recruits For Heart Conditions Under Must-Pass Annual Defense Bill 
Beginning next year, the U.S. military is expected to screen all potential recruits for cardiac anomalies under a new program designed to reduce deaths at boot camp and beyond. The current version of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, expected to pass Congress this month, requires the Defense Department to launch a pilot program by next October to give electrocardiograms, also known as ECGs or EKGs, to anyone who undergoes a military accession screening. (Kime, 12/11)

The Washington Post: Pharmacies Share Medical Data With Police Without A Warrant, Inquiry Finds
The nation’s largest pharmacy chains have handed over Americans’ prescription records to police and government investigators without a warrant, a congressional investigation found, raising concerns about threats to medical privacy. Though some of the chains require their lawyers to review law enforcement requests, three of the largest — CVS Health, Kroger and Rite Aid, with a combined 60,000 locations nationwide — said they allow pharmacy staff members to hand over customers’ medical records in the store. The policy was revealed in a letter sent late Monday to Xavier Becerra, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). (Harwell, 12/12)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Reuters: US Consumer Group Seeks Stronger Warnings On Botox, Similar Treatments
Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Tuesday filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking to require makers of Botox and several similar injections to include stronger warnings about the risk of a potentially fatal muscle-paralyzing disease. These injections, which use various versions of botulinum toxins to contract specific muscles by blocking certain nerve signals to erase wrinkles, already have a 'black box' warning in their labels about the risks of the intended effect spreading to other areas. The consumer group asked the FDA to make it clear that these adverse effects could happen even at recommended dosages. (Leo, 12/12)

Stat: Sanofi Ends Deal For Rare Disease Drug After FTC Voices Monopoly Concerns
In its latest bid to police the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sought to block Sanofi from licensing a Pompe disease treatment made by another drug company. And in response, Sanofi is ending the deal. (Silverman, 12/11)

CNBC: Zepbound: Patients On Eli Lilly Drug Regain Weight After Stopping It
Patients who took Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound regained around half the weight they shed after stopping the newly approved treatment for a year, according to data released Monday. The data, which represents the full results from an 88-week study funded by Eli Lilly, suggests that people have to stay on the weekly injection if they want to maintain significant weight loss. (Constantino, 12/11)

The New York Times: Drugs Like Wegovy Can Fix Teenage Obesity, But Young People Don’t Get Them 
Dr. Edward Lewis, a pediatrician in Rochester, N.Y., has seen hundreds of children with obesity over the years in his medical practice. He finally may have a treatment for their medical condition — the powerful weight loss drug Wegovy. But that does not mean Dr. Lewis is prescribing it. Nor are most other pediatricians. “I am reluctant to prescribe medications we don’t use on a day-to-day basis,” Dr. Lewis said. And, he added, he is disinclined to use “a medicine that is a relative newcomer to the scene in kids.” (Kolata, 12/11)

Also —

Axios: Big Pharmacy Chains' Plans For Transforming The Drugstore Industry
America's big drugstore chains are facing long lines, burned-out pharmacy staff and massive cutbacks, including the closure of hundreds of stores. At the same time, they're determined to right the ship by transforming themselves into hubs for care that draw in customers by going far beyond their traditional role of dispensing drugs. (Reed, 12/12)

The Boston Globe: Pharmacy Dean At URI Focuses On Research, A New Vision For The Industry
In the latest collaboration between higher education institutions and local hospitals, the University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy announced last week that it would establish a research hub in Providence that will expand its research programs at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Kerry LaPlante, a pharmacy professor who will become the dean of the College of Pharmacy in January, said this research partnership will give URI “direct access to patients and patient samples.” (Gagosz, 12/11)

Stat: With Big Ambition, Reed Jobs Charts His Own Course In Biotech
In the months after his father died of complications from pancreatic cancer, Reed Jobs found it difficult to go back to life as it was before. He was a sophomore studying biology at Stanford University and, up until October 2011, had always planned to pursue a career in cancer research. His father had been diagnosed when he was a preteen and he had spent much of his adolescence thinking about treatments and clinical trials, like many people whose parents are diagnosed with the disease during their childhood. But one of his parents was Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, which gave the younger Jobs an unusually close-up view of the latest developments in cancer research. (DeAngelis, 12/12)

ABC News: What To Know As Arizona's Centuries-Old Near-Total Abortion Ban Heads To The State's Supreme Court
The Arizona State Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments Tuesday over whether a centuries-old near-total abortion ban will be reinstated. Currently, abortion is banned at 15 weeks or later in Arizona. Patients are required to make two appointments, the first for an in-person counseling session and the second at least 24 hours later for the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. (Kekatos, 12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Arizona Is The Next Abortion Battleground 
Arizona is poised to take center stage in state-level battles over abortion this week when its highest court weighs whether to allow a near-total ban on the procedure to take effect. The case will kick off an election-year showdown over reproductive rights that is expected to heavily influence the outcomes of Arizona’s hypercompetitive 2024 races, including contests for Congress and the White House. Activists are gearing up to put an abortion-rights measure on the ballot in Arizona next year. (Collins and Kusisto, 12/10)

Abortion updates from Texas —

USA Today: Kate Cox Leaves Texas After State Supreme Court Blocks Abortion
A pregnant Texas woman seeking an abortion after doctors confirmed her fetus has a deadly genetic condition has left Texas for the procedure after the state Supreme Court blocked her from receiving one, attorneys said Monday. Kate Cox, a mother of two from Dallas, is in her 21st week of pregnancy and doctors diagnosed her fetus with trisomy 18, a fatal disorder. They recommended an abortion to preserve her reproductive health – a procedure largely prohibited under several Texas laws. "She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer," said Nancy Northup, chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Cox in a lawsuit challenging the Texas abortion bans. (Villagran, Wagner and Jimenez, 12/11)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Supreme Court Says Doctors Must Decide On Abortion After Blocking Dallas Woman's Procedure
The Texas Supreme Court on Monday ruled doctors must use their “reasonable medical judgment” to determine when a patient qualifies for an abortion and called on the state’s medical board to issue more guidance. The high court’s decision struck down a lower court ruling allowing Kate Cox, the 31-year-old Dallas woman whose fetus was diagnosed with a typically fatal disorder, to get an abortion. It came hours after Cox’s lawyers announced she would leave the state for the procedure. (Goldenstein, 12/11)

More abortion news from across the U.S. —

The Hill: Supreme Court Turns Away Challenge To Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a challenge to a precedent enabling states to enact laws prohibiting anti-abortion activists from approaching someone entering an abortion clinic. In 2000, the high court ruled that the First Amendment did not prohibit such a law in Colorado. Several of the Supreme Court’s conservatives have publicly cast doubt on the decision’s viability, concerns they again raised in the majority opinion overturning the constitutional right to abortion last year. Backed by anti-abortion and religious interests, a Catholic “sidewalk counselor” sought to have the precedent overturned by appealing her challenge to a Westchester County, N.Y., law to the high court. But in a brief order, the justices declined to hear the dispute. (Schonfeld, 12/11)

The Boston Globe: Lawmakers Seeking To Protect N.H. Abortion Rights Push Back On Proposed 15-Day Ban
State lawmakers are fighting a proposal that would ban abortions in New Hampshire after 15 days gestation, and said Monday they plan to introduce a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion in the Granite State. The proposal would enshrine the right to abortion up to 24 weeks in the state constitution, allowing only abortions deemed “necessary” by a doctor after that point. The state’s current law allows abortions up to 24 weeks, with exceptions to protect the life of the mother or if the fetus receives a fatal diagnosis. (Gokee, 12/11)

Stateline: Some South Dakota Abortion Rights Groups Don’t Back Ballot Measure To Restore Access
Some South Dakota abortion rights groups do not support a potential ballot measure that aims to restore those rights. The groups say they have concerns about the measure’s language and the way it was drafted. “We are not telling people to donate, or volunteer,” said Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota. “We are staying out of it. We’re not telling people to vote no or yes.” (Haiar, 12/11)

USA Today: Indigenous Women Facing Tougher Abortion Restrictions Call For Action
Indigenous Women Rising, a nonprofit organization that runs the only abortion fund catering to Native and Indigenous women, reported a 116% jump in the number of clients seeking financial help for the procedure, from 277 in 2021 to 600 in 2022, according to evidence submitted to the New Mexico state legislature. The group funded 220 abortions between January and August of this year, and also supports midwifery and doula services.  (Kochi, 12/12)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Declines To Hear Challenge To ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a challenge to a state law in Washington designed to protect LGBTQ+ youths from “conversion therapy,” a decision that drew dissent from three conservative justices. More than 20 states and the District of Columbia restrict mental health counseling that attempts to change a young person’s gender identity or sexual orientation. (Marimow, 12/11)

CBS News: Supreme Court Declines Challenge To Washington State's Conversion Therapy Ban For Minors
"Washington's licensing scheme for health care providers, which disciplines them for practicing conversion therapy on minors, does not violate the First or Fourteenth Amendments," Judge Ronald Gould wrote for the 9th Circuit panel. "States do not lose the power to regulate the safety of medical treatments performed under the authority of a state license merely because those treatments are implemented through speech rather than through scalpel." (Quinn, 12/11)

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Turns Away Case Threatening California Ban On Gay ‘Conversion Therapy’
When the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s first-in-the-nation law in 2014, it ruled the state had broad authority to regulate the practice of medicine and “professional speech” about medical treatments. The appeals court applied the same rule in upholding Washington’s law last year. “States do not lose the power to regulate the safety of medical treatments performed under the authority of a state license merely because those treatments are implemented through speech rather than through scalpel,” wrote Judge Ronald Gould. “As of 2015, every major medical, psychiatric, psychological, and professional mental health organization opposes the use of conversion therapy,” he added. (Savage, 12/11)

Vox: The Supreme Court Hands Down An Unexpected Victory For LGBTQ People In Tingley V. Ferguson
Do therapists have a right to tell patients to "pray away the gay"? The Court is leaving that question open. (Millhiser, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: Medicaid Enrollment Increases Amid CMS Pressure On States
State Medicaid agencies, under intensifying federal scrutiny as millions of people lose coverage, say they are stepping up efforts to identify who should and shouldn't be enrolled as they continue eligibility redeterminations. States have removed nearly 12 million people from Medicaid since April, when they began unwinding a pandemic-era continuous coverage policy that expired earlier this year, according to federal data compiled by KFF. (Bennett, 12/11)

In other Medicaid news —

Mississippi Today: Governor’s Allies On Advisory Board Thwart Effort To Give Poor Moms Timely Health Care 
The state Medicaid director and a hospital CEO — neither of them doctors — bucked recommendations from health care professionals and delayed a vote that could have made it easier for expecting Mississippians to receive timely prenatal care. The move comes just days after the release of a maternal mortality report that shows Mississippi is still one of the most dangerous places in the country to give birth. (Bose, 12/11)

Missourinet: Missouri Works To Make Medicaid Program Sustainable 
Missouri is working to make its Medicaid program sustainable after voters approved the expansion of the government healthcare program. The 2020 campaign added roughly another 230,000 low-income adults to the program. During a state budget subcommittee hearing, Todd Richardson, Director of MO HealthNet, gave an overview on how enrollment is looking versus the expenses it takes to make the department run efficiently. Richardson, a Republican and former Missouri House speaker, said that enrollment from FY21 through the current fiscal year increased by leaps and bounds. (Morabith, 12/11)

NBC4 Washington: Hundreds Of DC’s Medicaid Nursing Home Patients Sent To Maryland 
There’s a growing crisis for some of the aging population in the nation's capital, advocates say. The News4 I-Team found some D.C. residents who need care are being sent long distances from the community they know. Hundreds of D.C. residents, some of them unhoused, are residing in Maryland nursing homes. (Wilkins, Yarborough, Jones, Piper and Olazagasti, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: 9 Hospitals To Offer First FDA-Backed Sickle Cell Treatment
The hospitals that will offer CRISPR Therapeutics' Casgevy genome-edited cell therapy are Boston Medical Center; Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.; City of Hope Children’s Cancer Center in Los Angeles; Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas; Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, Texas; Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio; The Children’s Hospital at TriStar Centennial in Nashville, Tennessee; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio; and University of Chicago/Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago. (DeSilva, 12/11)

In other hospital news —

Becker's Hospital Review: Workers Set To Strike At 4 Prime Hospitals
Members of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West are set to launch a five-day strike Dec. 20 affecting four Prime Healthcare facilities in Southern California. The union represents about 1,800 workers at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, and Encino Hospital Medical Center, according to a union news release shared with Becker's. Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare operates 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states. (12/11)

CBS News: Northwestern Medicine To Offer 'X' As Sex Designation Option
"Male" and "female" will no longer be the only choices for gender when patients check into any Northwestern Medicine location. Effective Monday, Dec. 18, patients will be able to choose "X" as a sex designation at the Northwestern Medicine's 11 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient sites around Illinois. The designation will be available as part of electronic medical records in the Northwestern Medicine health system. (Harrington and Spector, 12/11)

Health News Florida: Tampa General Hospital Gets OK To Build 13-Story Transplant, Neuroscience Pavilion 
Tampa City Council has granted approved to Tampa General Hospital’s plans to add a 13-story pavilion to house a new transplant and neuroscience departments. The city council voted 7-0 on Thursday to rezone the northern end of the hospital’s campus on Davis Islands for the 565,000-square-foot project, which will have room for 144 beds, 32 operating suites and increased intensive care capacity. (Mayer, 12/11)

Health News Florida: Sarasota Memorial Hospital Announces $25 Million Gift For New Research Institute
Sarasota Memorial Hospital says it has received a $25 million gift that will go toward a new research and education institute, which is expected to open in 2025. Sarasota Memorial broke ground on the Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute in June, with the opening schedule for 2025. (Mayer, 12/11)

The Boston Globe: Shattuck Hospital Update: State Calls It 'far Too Large'
It has been touted as one of the state’s most ambitious public health experiments in generations. A sprawling campus that would serve as a healing sanctuary for thousands of Greater Boston residents struggling with debilitating mental illnesses and drug addictions. But now, members of the Healey administration who had publicly blessed the $550 million expansion of the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital site at Franklin Park say it’s too big and too pricey for taxpayers. (Serres, 12/11)

The CT Mirror: Windham Hospital Is Ending Labor And Delivery. Here's What To Know
On Dec. 1, Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy announced the approval of a plan to terminate labor and delivery services at Windham Hospital, bringing an end to a three-year saga that pitted community organizers against one of the state’s largest health systems. Windham Hospital stopped performing births in June 2020. Three months later, Hartford HealthCare, which owns the hospital, applied for state approval — known as a “certificate of need” — to officially close the unit. (Golvala and DeBenedictis, 12/11)

Also —

Erie Times-News: Mercer County Prisoner Charged With Escape After Exiting Hospital During Treatment
A Mercer County Prison inmate was temporarily released from custody on Friday to undergo medical treatment at UPMC Hamot. The order allowing 31-year-old Alex Rabold to visit the Erie, Pennsylvania, hospital required the inmate, who was unguarded by prison officials and hospital security while at Hamot, to return to the Mercer County Prison immediately after his treatment was finished. Rabold walked away instead. Authorities are now investigating whether Rabold, of Hermitage, stole a UPMC Hamot employee's vehicle and fled town. The vehicle was recovered, unoccupied, in Sharon, Mercer County, on Saturday night, according to Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny. Rabold's whereabouts remained unknown Monday afternoon. (Hahn and Bruce, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: Kroger Testing Senior Primary Care With In-Store Clinics
Kroger is testing a strategic shift for its in-store clinics and moving into primary care for seniors. This month, its Kroger Health unit transitioned eight of The Little Clinic sites in Atlanta to focus on seniors, in addition to their regular services. If the change proves successful, Kroger wants to expand it to other existing locations and potentially new markets, said Jim Kirby, Kroger Health's chief commercial officer. (Hudson, 12/11)

Modern Healthcare: Best Buy Health, Biobeat Launch Partnership
Best Buy plans to expand its healthcare offerings through a new partnership with Biobeat, a remote patient monitoring company. The partnership is the latest effort by the retailer's Best Buy Health unit to bolster its at-home health strategy. Best Buy Health aims to provide the technology side of at-home care through its Current Health subsidiary, which Best Buy acquired in 2021 for $400 million. (DeSilva, 12/11)

Stat: Could The Future Of Health Care Access Lie In Mobile Clinics?
Chongcan Zhu, an 83-year-old longtime resident of Boston, lives alone — but she doesn’t feel a sense of isolation when it comes to receiving health care. That’s thanks to the van that comes straight to the senior residential community where she lives, providing services to people dealing with conditions like high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, and substance use disorders. (Nayak, 12/12)

In other health care industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Norton Healthcare Data Breach Hits Approximately 2.5M Patients
Records for approximately 2.5 million patients of Louisville, Kentucky-based Norton Healthcare were acquired by hackers in a data breach earlier this year. ... Maine’s Attorney General publicly filed information submitted by attorneys representing Norton Healthcare on Friday. While a small number of Maine’s residents were impacted, the state requires organizations experiencing a breach to submit information. (Turner, 12/11)

Stat: United Executive Mike Tuffin To Head Health Insurance Group AHIP
An executive at insurance giant UnitedHealth Group is slated to be the next leader of the health insurance industry’s largest lobbying group, the group announced Monday. AHIP has selected Mike Tuffin, who’s currently UnitedHealth’s senior vice president for external affairs and head of U.S. government affairs, to be its next leader, after Matt Eyles announced his retirement from the group earlier this year after a five-year tenure. (Cohrs, 12/11)

Stat: Cigna-Humana Deal Collapse Highlights Increasing Antitrust Scrutiny
Less than two weeks after reports surfaced saying Cigna and Humana were considering combining into a giant health insurance company, those merger talks are now dead. Investors hated the merger proposal, with some believing it would not have yielded enough profit quickly. Cigna’s stock sank by nearly 10% over the ensuing days. But a Cigna-Humana deal also raised a bunch of antitrust problems for a Biden administration that has shown an eagerness to challenge big transactions. (Herman, 12/11)

CBS News: "Largest Gift In The History" Of University Of Northern Colorado Granted, $25 Million To Help Rural Colorado's Medical Field
The University of Northern Colorado will soon be the home to the region's newest school for osteopathic medicine. Thanks to a $25 million grant from The Weld Trust, UNC plans to have its newest school open by 2026. "This is the largest gift in the history of this university," said Andy Feinstein, President of UNC. The donation was made by The Weld Trust, a nonprofit that was founded after Northern Colorado Medical Center was sold to Banner Health in 2019. (Thomas, 12/11)

CBS News: Sierra College Ranked As Best Nursing School In California
Sierra College's nursing program was just named the best in all of California. The program was ranked number one by RegisteredNursing.org. Nancy James is the dean of nursing and allied health sciences at Sierra College. She said the results were a little surprising. "Because the competition is fierce," she said. "All of the nursing programs in the Sacramento area, and honestly state, are amazing nursing programs." James added that now is a great time to enter the field. (Garcia, 12/11)

KFF Health News: Listen: What Our 2-Year-Long Investigation Into Medical Debt Reveals 
Across the country, Americans are losing their homes, emptying their retirement accounts, and struggling to feed and clothe their families because of medical debt. For two years, KFF Health News and NPR have been investigating this crisis through the “Diagnosis: Debt” project. The award-winning project has exposed the enormous scale of this problem, finding, among other things, that 100 million people in the U.S. are saddled with some kind of health care debt. (Levey, 12/12)

CNN: Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates For Executive Branch Employees And Troops Thrown Out By Supreme Court 
The Supreme Court on Monday threw out several cases challenging the federal government’s now-defunct Covid-19 vaccine mandates for executive branch employees and military service members. The court’s action comes after the federal employee vaccine requirement was rescinded by President Joe Biden in May, and the Pentagon – as a result of congressional action – rescinded its mandate for the military in January. (Cole, 12/11)

Newsweek: Florida Official Raises Alarms About DNA In COVID-19 Vaccines
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is raising alarms about what he sees as the risk of potential cancer posed by COVID vaccines. Ladapo, who rose to national prominence during the pandemic for spreading misinformation about the virus and promoting vaccination hesitancy, is asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to answer questions about his concerns regarding DNA integration in mRNA vaccines. In a December 6 letter, Ladapo said he believed the drug delivery system used by mRNA vaccines could be an "efficient vehicle for delivering contaminant DNA into human cells." (12/11)

CIDRAP: Public Health Officials Detail Threats, Changed Landscape Post-Pandemic 
Kris Ehresmann, MPH, former director of the Minnesota Department of Health, said her experience during the pandemic included daily hate mail and threats to her personal safety. The harassment began shortly after the pandemic started in spring 2020 and ramped up when vaccines were introduced statewide in early 2021. Eventually, the threats pushed her to retire early in 2022, a move she had been contemplating. "I just decided I don't want to die early from stress," Ehresmann told CIDRAP News. "I had no idea people you didn’t know could be so hateful on something. It was just so surprising to me that something like wearing a mask could elicit this response." (Soucheray, 12/11)

More on the spread of covid —

The Kansas City Beacon: Kansas City Health Providers See ‘Little To No Interest’ In Latest COVID Vaccine
Alexandria Thompson’s job is to convince the most vulnerable people in her community to get vaccinated for the flu and COVID-19.She can offer education, transportation and up to $50 in gift cards to entice people to get the shots. But, she says, often that is not enough. “I just tend to lead with the flu shot, and then I’ll say COVID right after,” said Thompson, the lead canvasser for G.O.T.V. (Get Out the Vaccines), an initiative of the Kansas City advocacy organization Communities Creating Opportunity. “Many times, people say no to the COVID shot and, a lot of times, people say yes to the flu shot.” (King, 12/11)

The Boston Globe: Free COVID And Flu Tests, Telehealth, And Treatment Now Available
COVID-19 and influenza cases are on the rise, but many people face obstacles to getting tested and treated. Having to travel to a testing site or to a pharmacy to purchase a test kit when feeling sick often deters people from getting the health care they need. But eligible Americans can now receive dual influenza and COVID-19 tests as well as free telehealth and treatment options, thanks to an expansion of the federal government’s Home Test to Treat program. (Scales, 12/11)

The Baltimore Sun: As Flu, Colds, COVID Take Over The Season, What Will You Turn To? Some Consider Vitamin Shots, IV Therapy, Probiotics 
Alondra Ramos rolled up her sleeve this week for a vitamin shot she hopes will prevent her from getting her husband’s cold. The Fort Lauderdale accountant says the shot, a mix of potent vitamins, usually boosts her immunity levels when traveling and during her busy season at work — now she’s counting on it for cold and flu season. “It’s like taking a high-dosage multivitamin,” Ramos said. (Goodman, 12/11)

CIDRAP: Obesity Tied To COVID-Related Inflammatory Syndrome, Poor Outcomes In Kids 
Obesity is more common in patients diagnosed as having COVID-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) than those with Kawasaki disease (KD) and is tied to worse outcomes, suggests a study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. ... KD inflames blood vessels and can lead to long-term complications and death. MIS-C is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by heart abnormalities that usually resolve within weeks, the authors noted. (Van Beusekom, 12/11)

In other outbreaks and health alerts —

CBS News: Minneapolis Law Firm Files Suit Over Contaminated Cantaloupe
 A court battle is brewing over contaminated cantaloupe spreading salmonella across dozens of states. Three people have died, including two in Minnesota. Minnesota also has the highest number of infections, with 20 reported cases of salmonella. Local law firm Pritzker Hageman, P.A. says a severe salmonella infection sent a 13-month-old Florida boy to the hospital for days. The law firm wants Sofia Produce, or Trufresh, to cover treatment and other costs. The company's brands, Rudy and Malichita, are still under recall. (Moser, 12/11)

The New York Times: To Revive Portland, Officials Seek To Ban Public Drug Use 
After years of rising overdoses and an exodus of business from central Portland, Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon said on Monday that state and city officials are proposing to roll back a portion of the nation’s most wide-ranging drug decriminalization law in a bid to revive the troubled city. Under the plan brokered by Gov. Kotek, a Democrat, state lawmakers would be asked to consider a ban on public drug use and police would be given greater resources to deter the distribution of drugs. Ms. Kotek said officials hoped to restore a sense of safety for both visitors and workers in the city’s beleaguered urban core, which has seen an exodus of key retail outlets, including REI, an institution in the Pacific Northwest. (Baker, 12/11)

Reuters: EPA Pollution Permitting Discriminates Against Kids, New Climate Lawsuit Says 
A group of 18 young California residents has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for “intentionally” discriminating against American children by allowing the release of dangerous levels of climate change-causing greenhouse gas pollution. The young people filed their lawsuit Sunday night in a California federal court, arguing the EPA is violating their equal protection, due process and other rights under the U.S. Constitution by permitting factories, refineries and other sources of pollution to release too much climate-warming pollutants like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. (Mindock, 12/11)

North Carolina Health News: A Turning Point For Firefighters: Navigating Toward PFAS-Free Gear
Firefighting has been shown to be a carcinogenic occupation — depending on the situation, firefighters can encounter toxic fumes and particulate matter during a fire. For years, those within the firefighting community have worked to reduce the health risks associated with their work. But recently, researchers have shown that fluorinated compounds applied to firefighters’ protective gear to repel liquids can contribute to cancer-related illnesses. The rate at which firefighters develop cancer outpaces the general population by 9 percent, and their risk of dying from cancer is 14 percent higher, according to a study published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (Atwater, 12/12)

CBS News: Ramsey County Offering Free Naloxone Kits To Residents
Ramsey County is launching a pilot project that will offer residents a potentially life-saving drug, county officials announced Monday. Ramsey County Public Health is offering county resident free naloxone kits while supplies last. Naloxone, as commonly known as Narcan can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose from drugs such a heroin, fentanyl and pain relievers like oxycodone. Residents can order a kit online and they will be mailed directly to their homes. (Moser, 12/11)

KFF Health News: People With Disabilities Hope Autonomous Vehicles Deliver Independence 
Myrna Peterson predicts self-driving vehicles will be a ticket out of isolation and loneliness for people like her, who live outside big cities and have disabilities that prevent them from driving. Peterson, who has quadriplegia, is an enthusiastic participant in an unusual test of autonomous vehicles in this corner of northern Minnesota. She helped attract government funding to bring five self-driving vans to Grand Rapids, a city of 11,000 people in a region of pine and birch forests along the Mississippi River. (Leys, 12/12)

The Texas Tribune: Stats On Suicides Involving Guns Shows Need For More Laws, Texas Groups Say
The number of Texans who used a gun to take their life last year was the highest since at least 1999, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC researchers say multiple factors likely contributed to a similar increase nationally, including the COVID-19 pandemic that might have exacerbated risk factors for suicide like social isolation, relationship stressors and substance use. In Texas, gun safety and mental health advocates point to another factor: Easy access to guns. Nationally, the rate of people using a gun in their suicide reached a record high last year when there were approximately 27,000 such deaths, according to a CDC report this month. (Serrano and Simpson, 12/12)

USA Today: Suicides Rates In The US Spike Among Particularly Hard To Reach Group
The hardest group for Dennis Gillan to get to talk about suicide is older men. They also happen to have the highest rate of suicide in the United States. Gillan, 60, is from Greenville, South Carolina, and he has been a front-row observer to the crisis. He's a self-trained suicide expert who speaks on college campuses and at corporate training offices about mental health awareness. He draws on his personal experience after the deaths, about a decade apart, of his brothers Mark and Matthew by suicide. Both men were in their early 20s. (Cuevas, 12/11)

CBS News: Brain Of Maine Mass Shooter To Be Studied At Boston University's CTE Center
The brain of the Lewiston, Maine gunman Robert Card is now being tested for potential trauma. Boston University's CTE Center will take a closer look at Card's brain in hopes of learning about any injury or trauma it may have received during his service in the Army reserves. Card is accused of opening fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston in October, killing 18 people and injuring more than a dozen others. (Schooley, 12/11)

In other mental health news —

Axios: Pew: Many Teens Use Social Media "Almost Constantly"
Nearly 1 in 5 teens say they're on YouTube or TikTok "almost constantly," according to a Pew Research Center report. The report paints a picture of a rising generation whose lives are dominated by a handful of social platforms — amid ongoing debate over the possible mental health harms that could result. Pew's latest survey on teens and technology — which polled 1,453 kids online, ages 13-17 — found roughly the same amount of internet use as last year, but substantially more than when the survey was conducted in 2014-2015. (Kingson, 12/11)

Bloomberg: JPMorgan Client With Dementia Loses $50 Million In 5 Years
By the time Peter Doelger signed the paperwork to have JPMorgan Chase & Co. handle his fortune, he had built a company spanning the US, sold it to a conglomerate and bet the proceeds on stocks and oil, beating the markets. By 78, he said he was worth at least $50 million. And, according to his family, he was starting to show signs of dementia. (Schoenberg, 12/12)

Macomb Daily: Experts Offer Suggestions For Dealing With Holiday Anxiety And Depression 
At this time of year, everywhere around there are full of holiday images of family gatherings, brightly lit trees, lavish gifts and tables laden with rich foods, beverages and desserts. For those whose depression and anxiety is triggered by the holiday season and those who have lost a loved one, a treasured pet, or even a job and are grieving, the holidays can be tough to navigate. (Smiley, 12/11)

The Hill: 7 Out Of 10 People Feel Cared For By Others: Survey
Supportive relationships play a big role in how people handle life’s ups and downs.  Luckily, most people across the planet feel socially supported, according to newly released findings from Meta-Gallup’s report on the Global State of Social Connections.  The findings show that seven out of 10 people feel very and fairly supported in their daily lives.  Meanwhile, nearly one out of every 10 people said they did not feel supported at all. About 143,600 people across 142 countries took part in the survey last year, which defined social support as “how much you feel cared for by people.”  (12/12)

KFF Health News: LA County Invests Big In Free Virtual Mental Health Therapy For K-12 Students 
Los Angeles County public schools are rolling out an ambitious effort to offer free mental health services to their 1.3 million K-12 students, a key test of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping, $4.7 billion program to address a youth mental health crisis. Spearheaded by the county’s Medi-Cal plans — which provide health insurance to low-income residents — in collaboration with its Office of Education and Department of Mental Health, the LA school program relies on teletherapy services provided by Hazel Health, one of a clutch of companies that have sprung up to address a nationwide shortage of mental health services that grew much worse during the covid-19 pandemic. (Castle Work, 12/12)

If you are in need of help —

Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.

Reuters: Red Cross Elects US Humanitarian To Lead Network After Rocky Meeting 
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies elected a U.S. candidate on Monday as its new president after an acrimonious meeting that nearly saw the vote postponed amid a controversy involving a rival candidate. Kate Forbes, an existing IFRC board member, became the second woman to ever hold the top job at the world's largest humanitarian network after two rounds of votes. "Now is the time to lean into our fundamental principles to deliver on our mission and make communities stronger,” she said, vowing to address the impacts of climate change, geopolitical tensions and health emergencies. (Farge, 12/12)

In other global health news —

The New York Times: ‘We Are All Sick’: Infectious Diseases Spread Across Gaza 
Infectious diseases are ravaging the population of Gaza, health officials and aid organizations said on Monday, citing cold, wet weather; overcrowding in shelters; scarce food; dirty water; and little medicine. Adding to the crisis in the enclave after more than two months of war, those who become ill have extremely limited treatment options, as hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients injured in airstrikes. (Gupta, Yazbek and Harouda, 12/11)

CIDRAP: Zambia Reports 684 Suspected Anthrax Cases, 4 Deaths 
The outbreak began in June in Sinazongwe district in Southern province. Twenty-six people developed sores on their face, arms, and fingers after eating meat from three wild hippopotamus carcasses. Around the same time, cattle, goats, and hippos were reportedly dying from an unknown cause in surrounding areas. (Wappes, 12/11)

CIDRAP: Sexually Transmitted Infections Climbing In Europe
New data from Europe show a sharp increase in sexually transmitted infections, according to surveillance reports published late last week by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The surveillance reports on gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, congenital syphilis, and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) "collectively reveal a dynamic and challenging landscape," the ECDC said in a press release. (Dall, 12/11)

Bloomberg: Sunak Defends Keeping UK Scientists In Dark Over His Covid Plans
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he kept government scientists in the dark about his controversial Eat Out to Help Out, an acknowledgment likely to fuel questions over his judgment in pushing a policy that encouraged Britons to mingle in pubs and restaurants during the pandemic. In a long-awaited appearance at the UK’s official Covid-19 inquiry, Sunak said his signature idea to subsidize meals after the first lockdown was a “micro-policy,” calling the secrecy around the plan normal Treasury practice ahead of “fiscal events.” (Ashton, 12/11)

Bloomberg: ‘Cash For Kidneys’ Allegations Hit One Of India’s Top Hospital Chains
Earlier this month, the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper published an investigation alleging impoverished people from Myanmar were enticed to sell their kidneys to wealthy patients at a flagship Apollo Hospitals Enterprise facility in New Delhi. The report outlined how individuals were selling their kidneys due to financial hardships exacerbated by Myanmar’s economic and political turmoil. Paying for organs is illegal in India and living donors must be either close relative or receive special permission. (Kay, 12/11)

Bloomberg: China’s Child Pneumonia Outbreak Shows Danger Of Drug Resistance
The harm caused by antibiotic drug resistance was clear to see in China’s packed pediatric hospitals. An outbreak of walking pneumonia, normally a mild infection, struck millions of children in the second half of 2023, creating Covid flashbacks and raising fears about another novel pathogen. But doctors say another real danger is the rise of superbugs, crafted by drug resistance that’s been building for years and rendering life-saving antibiotics less effective. (12/11)

Reuters: Mexico President To Push Forward Anti-Vape Bill 
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to present a law banning e-cigarettes and vapes before he leaves office in 2024, he said on Monday, after the supreme court overruled his previous attempt to outlaw their sale. "It's proven they're bad for your health," he said at a regular news conference on Monday. Mexico has one of the world's strictest anti-tobacco laws, after passing a bill for a total ban on smoking in public places - including the street - in January. (12/11)

Stat: CRISPR Treatments For Sickle Cell Won’t Be Enough For All Patients
After decades of limited progress in the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD), both patients and physicians are on the verge of monumental change. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Vertex/CRISPR Therapeutics’ Casgevy and Bluebird Bio’s Lyfgenia, the first one-time gene therapies that will treat the underlying cause of SCD rather than just the symptoms. They are the first therapeutic treatments using CRISPR gene editing technology approved by the FDA for any medical condition. (Robert Brodsky, 12/12)

The New York Times: A Texas Case Shows That Abortion Ban Exemptions Are A Sham 
Soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, horror stories started emerging of women denied medically urgent abortions for pregnancies gone dangerously awry. In response, the anti-abortion movement developed a sort of conspiracy theory to rationalize away the results of their policies. (Michelle Goldberg, 12/11)

The Washington Post: Texas Abortion Case Undermines Rationale For Abortion Bans 
Abortion rights activists, medical professionals and ordinary women warned the Supreme Court in advance of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision: Legislatures cannot dictate medical decisions without creating horrendous injustices and medical travesties. (Jennifer Rubin, 12/11)

Newsweek: The Health Information Gap Is Making LGBTQ Americans Sick 
LGBTQ Americans have long experienced discrimination, stigmas, and exclusion in the health care system. In a survey last year, nearly a quarter (24 percent) said that during a doctor's appointment, they were blamed for their own health problems, compared to only 9 percent of non-LGBTQ respondents. And 16 percent said they were denied medical services; less than half as many non-LGBTQ respondents said the same. (Tayla Mahmud and Mark Westall, 12/8)

The Washington Post: These Three Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Add Years To People's Lives
Over the past year, I’ve been reporting on how artificial intelligence can improve patient safety, enhance diagnosis and expand access to care. While technological innovations offer great promise in medicine, let’s not forget about low-tech solutions that have been shown again and again to improve health and add years to people’s lives. (Leana S. Wen, 12/12)

Stat: CMS Should Re-Evaluate The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit 
In 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created the annual wellness visit (AWV), a new visit type with no cost to Medicare patients, better reimbursement to primary care practices, and higher assigned credit for clinicians’ work. The visit takes about 30 minutes and includes a questionnaire covering home safety, falls risk, and ability to perform activities of daily living, along with a survey of recommended preventive services and depression and dementia screening. No physical assessment is required beyond vision screening and vital signs. (Jeffrey Millstein, 12/12)

Newsweek: Biden's Health Care Agenda Will Make A Broken System Worse 
With President Joe Biden stumbling in the polls, the White House is searching for a strategy to stabilize itself leading into the 2024 election. And according to recent reporting, the administration is betting on elevating health care reform as a key campaign platform to shore up support and enthusiasm. (Tom Price and Elaine Parker, 12/11)

Stat: The Woman Behind The Dana Farber-Brigham & Woman's Breakup
Dr. Laurie Glimcher learned early on from her father, a prominent physician-researcher, that success in science was built on a basic principle: Big discoveries require big risks. (Shirley Leung, 12/11)