CNN: Bottled Water Contains Thousands Of Nanoplastics So Small They Can Invade The Body’s Cells, Study Says
In a trailblazing new study, researchers have discovered bottled water sold in stores can contain 10 to 100 times more bits of plastic than previously estimated — nanoparticles so infinitesimally tiny they cannot be seen under a microscope. At 1,000th the average width of a human hair, nanoplastics are so teeny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells, experts say. (LaMotte, 1/8)

CBS News: Bottled Water Contains Up To 100 Times More Plastic Than Previously Estimated, New Study Says
Scientists have known for years that there's plastic in water. A 2018 study detected an average of around 300 particles of plastic per liter of water. At the time, they were measuring microplastics — small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long. In the latest study, researchers examined nanoplastics, which are particles less than 1 micrometer. For reference, the diameter of a human hair is about 70 micrometers.  (Chasan, 1/8)

The Washington Post: Here’s What You’re Really Swallowing When You Drink Bottled Water
The new study found pieces of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is what most plastic water bottles are made of, and polyamide, a type of plastic that is present in water filters. The researchers hypothesized that this means plastic is getting into the water both from the bottle and from the filtration process. (Osaka, 1/8)

Many schools across the U.S. use only bottled water —

VTDigger: Some Vermont Schools Have Been Without Potable Tap Water For Years 
For just over two years, Craftsbury Academy, which educates roughly 140 students on its Craftsbury Common campus, has had no potable running water. Instead of using fountains, students and staff drink from bottled water that is trucked in — at the state’s expense. But it’s not only drinking water that’s affected. “They’re having to pour water out of bottles to cook with and all of that, which makes it a little more challenging,” said Joe Houston, the Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union’s facilities director. (D'Auria, 1/7)

ABC News: Public Schools Across The Country Plagued By High Lead Levels In Drinking Water
For years, concerns have surfaced over lead in water pipes and fixtures in public schools across the country. In New York, the East Ramapo Central School District shut off many drinking water fountains in 2016 after lead was detected. The students are being provided with bottled water on a daily basis. (Christie, Kofsky, Park, Roberts and Simpson, 11/18)

More on 'forever chemicals' —

Science Alert: It Turns Out Paper Straws Might Pose A Serious Problem, Too
Paper straws are not quite the eco solution many had hoped for. Not only do these liquid slurping alternatives tend to wilt in a frustratingly fast manner, they contain low levels of forever chemicals, according to new research. When researchers tested 39 different straw brands made from plastic, paper, glass, bamboo, or stainless steel, they found PFAS in almost all the materials. Stainless steel was the only consistent exception. (Cassella, 1/6)

Glossy: California’s PFAS Regulation Brings A Reckoning For The Fashion Industry
PFAS are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment and human body, where they can accumulate over time and cause issues linked to reproduction, allergies and cancer. Starting on January 1, 2025, California will prohibit the manufacturing, selling and distributing of textiles containing PFAS levels exceeding 100 parts per million (ppm), which is now considered the unsafe limit. Therefore, brands that want to get ahead of the chemical ban should act now. Outdoor wear, gorp core and even athleisure brands are set to be particularly affected by the PFAS regulation because many of their items typically feature waterproofing or other chemically-created qualities. (Zwieglinska, 1/8)

Bloomberg Law: EPA Releases Rule To Limit Production Of PFAS Listed As Inactive
Companies seeking to make any of hundreds of PFAS that haven’t been produced for years must first seek an EPA review of the proposed new use of the chemical, under a rule the agency finalized Monday. (Sherwood, 1/8)

ABC News: Red Cross Announces Emergency Blood Shortage, Calls On Americans To Donate
The American Red Cross said Monday it is experiencing an emergency blood shortage. According to the humanitarian organization, it is seeing the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. Hospitals are currently receiving blood products -- including whole blood, red blood cells, plasma and platelets -- faster than donations are coming in, the Red Cross said in a release. (Kekatos, 1/8)

USA Today: Red Cross: Blood Shortage At Emergency Levels, Medical Care Jeopardized
The American Red Cross, which collects and distributes about 40% of the nation's blood donations, said the emergency shortage means some patients may get less blood than they need or hospitals may struggle to find suitable matches for patients with rarer blood types. "In more extreme situations," said Eric Gehrie, executive medical director for the American Red Cross, shortages may result in "cancellation of surgeries," including heart surgeries when hospitals and doctors don't believe they have enough blood to safely operate. (Alltucker, 1/8)

In related news about blood thinners and heart health —

Reuters: Bayer Plans US Expansion Despite Blood Thinner Drug Setback 
Germany's Bayer will continue its expansion into the U.S. despite its November announcement that its promising blood thinner candidate failed to demonstrate superiority over a competing medicine, the drugmaker's pharmaceuticals head Stefan Oelrich said on Monday. Bayer's experimental anticoagulant asundexian could still be a blockbuster if its second trial for stroke prevention reads out positively, Oelrich told Reuters at the JPMorgan health conference in San Francisco. (Wingrove, 1/8)

CIDRAP: Care-Seeking For Heart-Related Illness Fell Amid Pandemic—With Long-Term Fallout Likely
In a related commentary, Rishi Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, warned not to interpret the drop in cardiovascular hospitalizations as a decline in the actual incidence of CVEs. "Clinicians, health systems, and public health leaders will need to prepare for the tsunami of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases that will likely emerge in the years that follow the pandemic," he wrote. (Van Beusekom, 1/8)

The Washington Post: Why The ApoB Cholesterol Test Is A Better Predictor Than Standard Tests
For decades, primary physicians and cardiologists have focused on two numbers: LDL or low-density lipoproteins, known as “bad cholesterol,” and HDL or high-density lipoproteins, a.k.a. “good cholesterol.” The two numbers are considered key determinants of a patient’s cardiovascular disease risk. But a growing number of physicians and researchers are saying that it’s time to move beyond this timeworn emphasis on “good” or “bad” cholesterol. Instead, there’s a potentially more accurate marker of heart attack risk: apolipoprotein B (“apoB” for short). (Gifford, 1/8)

The Hill: Marine Corps Commandant Undergoes Open Heart Surgery
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith on Monday underwent open heart surgery to repair a defect valve that caused his heart attack in late October, the Marine Corps announced. Smith had successful surgery at an unnamed hospital “to repair a bicuspid aortic valve in his heart, which was the cause of his cardiac arrest on Oct. 29,” according to a Marine Corps statement.   (Mitchell, 1/8)

Also —

The Independent: Chinese Doctors Discover New And Extremely Rare Blood Type 
Medical professionals in China’s Jiangsu province have uncovered the genetic sequence behind a rare case of type P blood group – even rarer than the subtypes such as “dinosaur blood” or “panda blood.” According to People’s Daily, the rhesus-negative blood type often referred to as “panda blood” in China, comprises approximately 0.4 per cent of the Chinese population. In comparison, the para-bombay phenotype, known as “dinosaur blood” accounts for about one in 10,000 to one in 100,000. (Muzaffar, 1/9)

Axios: Patients Are Hurt By Diagnostic Errors More Often Than You Think
Hospitalized patients who died or were transferred to the ICU during their stay experienced a diagnostic error nearly a quarter of the time — and in most cases the error caused harm, according to a new study that's prompting calls to rethink how health systems keep patients safe. (Reed, 1/9)

On Medicare Advantage —

Modern Healthcare: 2 Centene Medicare Advantage Plans Terminated Over Falling Stars
A pair of Centene Medicare Advantage plans must suspend enrollment and marketing because of poor star ratings, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified the company. Centene's WellCare Health Insurance of Arizona and WellCare Health Insurance of North Carolina recorded persistently low scores on quality measures and must exit Medicare Advantage, CMS wrote Centene Dec. 27. (Tepper, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Alignment Health Reports 35% Medicare Advantage Growth
Alignment Healthcare's Medicare Advantage enrollment spiked in 2023 with growth outpacing overall industry projections, the company disclosed Monday. Medicare Advantage membership rose 44% to 155,000 by year-end, for-profit Alignment Healthcare revealed in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Tepper, 1/8)

In other health care industry news —

Stat: Hospitals Try A New Pitch To Investors: Other Ways Of Making Money
If you learned anything about nonprofit hospitals on the first day of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, it’s that they’ve all but abandoned the prospect of making significant profit on patient care. Instead, they’re fully throwing their weight into other ways of making money — things like developing drugs or selling insurance. (Bannow, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: JPM 2024: CommonSpirit To Focus On Outpatient Expansion
“We will have a greater emphasis on non-acute assets, on ambulatory care and continuum of care,” CommonSpirit CEO Wright Lassiter told the audience Monday at the 42nd annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. “We will continue to expand outside of the acute environment and continue to think about revenue diversification and what is best way for CommonSpirit to diversify around our traditional set of business.” (Kacik, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Sanford Health, UPMC Invest In Capital Projects To Drive Growth
Cutting costs isn’t always the answer for health systems looking to secure long-term revenue growth. Since COVID-19 struck, many providers have continued to invest in new facilities and expand services, despite the financial challenges related to the pandemic. Projects temporarily stalled and new developments were put on hold, but it wasn’t long before systems resumed their multi-year strategies to reach more patients. (Hudson, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Uber Health, Socially Determined To Integrate Platforms
Uber Health and analytics company Socially Determined have begun integrating their platforms and jointly marketing their products, which they expect mostly insurers to adopt to connect patients to supplemental benefits. The companies are collaborating to provide services to connect high-need patients to transportation, prescription and grocery delivery services, and aim to fully connect their capabilities in the future. (Hartnett, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: CVS Health Ventures Invests In WellBe Senior Medical
CVS Health's venture capital arm made an unspecified investment in WellBe Senior Medical, entering a strategic partnership with the senior primary care provider. A spokesperson for WellBe Senior Medical declined Sunday to disclose the funding amount from CVS Health Ventures. In a news release, WellBe CEO Dr. Jeff Kang said the money would be used to accelerate the company’s national expansion. (Eastabrook, 1/8)

The Boston Globe: Dana-Farber Releases More Details About New Cancer Center
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has made its first official pitch to state regulators about its planned 300-bed freestanding hospital, saying the project will increase competition and is necessary to meet projected needs for cancer care regionally and nationally. The filing kicks off the Department of Public Health’s review of the plans, part of what is likely to be an extensive regulatory process on the $1.68 billion project. The hospital has already begun the process for land use approval with the city. (Bartlett, 1/8)

Modern Healthcare: Rock Health: Digital Health Funding Sinks To 4-Year Low
Digital health funding suffered its worst year since 2019, according to a report released Monday from research and digital health venture firm Rock Health. Total venture capital funding for U.S.-based digital health companies dipped from $15.3 billion in 2022 to $10.7 billion in 2023. Rock Health blamed the drop off on broader economic challenges including higher interest rates and conservative investors. (Turner, 1/8)

KFF Health News: Rising Malpractice Premiums Price Small Clinics Out Of Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
After Iowa lawmakers passed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in March, managers of an LGBTQ+ health clinic located just across the state line in Moline, Illinois, decided to start offering that care. The added services would provide care to patients who live in largely rural eastern Iowa, including some of the hundreds previously treated at a University of Iowa clinic, saving them half-day drives to clinics in larger cities like Chicago and Minneapolis. (Cecelia, 1/9)

The Hill: Sanders, Democrats Launch Investigation Into Asthma Inhaler Pricing
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a group of Senate Democrats on Monday announced an investigation into the high costs of asthma inhalers. Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent letters to the CEOs of the four biggest manufacturers of inhalers sold in the United States — AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Teva — demanding information and documents on internal strategic communications, patient assistance programs and the costs involved in the manufacturing of inhalers. (Weixel, 1/8)

Stat: GSK To Buy Asthma-Focused Aiolos Bio In $1 Billion Deal
GSK said Tuesday it would purchase the asthma-focused drug developer Aiolos Bio for $1 billion upfront, the latest in a string of pharma acquisitions that are bolstering hopes for the industry’s year ahead. The deal includes up to another $400 million in payments if certain milestones are met. (Joseph, 1/9)

Warnings over a common asthma drug —

The New York Times: The F.D.A. Warned an Asthma Drug Could Induce Despair. Many Were Never Told.
In early 2020, the Food and Drug Administration responded to decades of escalating concerns about a commonly prescribed drug for asthma and allergies by deploying one of its most potent tools: a stark warning on the drug’s label that it could cause aggression, agitation and even suicidal thoughts. The agency’s label, which was primarily aimed at doctors, was supposed to sound an alert about the 25-year-old medication, Singulair, also known by its generic name, montelukast. But it barely dented use: The drug was still prescribed to 12 million people in the United States in 2022. (Jewett and Mueller, 1/9)

More on the high cost of drugs —

Reuters: Canada Says Bulk Importation Not An Effective Solution To High Drug Prices In US 
The Canadian government thinks bulk importation will not provide an effective solution to the problem of high drug prices in the United States after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed Florida to import cheaper drugs from Canada, Health Canada said on Monday. (Singh, 1/8)

Reuters: Walgreens To Pay $360 Million To Humana In Drug Pricing Settlement 
Walgreens has agreed to pay $360 million to healthcare insurer Humana to settle a lawsuit claiming that the retail pharmacy giant for years overcharged for prescription drug reimbursements. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Friday dismissed the Washington, D.C., federal court lawsuit after Walgreens disclosed the settlement in a court filing. The amount was shown in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (Scarcella, 1/8)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Bloomberg: J&J To Pay $700 Million To Settle States’ Talc Baby Power-Marketing Probe
Johnson & Johnson has tentatively agreed to pay about $700 million to resolve an investigation by more than 40 US states into claims that it wrongfully marketed its talc-based baby powder by not warning about possible health risks, according to people familiar with the deal. The settlement would avert potential lawsuits alleging that J&J hid any links between the talc in its powder and various cancers, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the pact isn’t yet public. (Feeley, 1/8)

Stat: Boston Scientific Acquires Urology Company Axonics For $3.7 Billion
Boston Scientific said it will buy Axonics, a device company treating urinary and bowel disorders, on Monday. The deal is worth $3.7 billion. It’s the first billion-dollar medical device deal of 2024 — a rare occurrence in 2023, which saw just a handful of medtech acquisitions reaching the billion threshold. (Lawrence, 1/8)

Reuters: Drugmakers Kick Off Industry Conference With Two Cancer Deals
Johnson & Johnson and Merck on Monday announced plans to buy cancer therapy developers on the first day of a major U.S. healthcare conference, igniting what industry participants hope will be a strong year for deals after a solid end to 2023. Deals announced on Monday had a combined equity value of more than $6 billion, including one by medical device maker Boston Scientific for Axonics Inc. That follows roughly $25 billion worth of U.S.-listed biotech deals last month, according to data provider LSEG Deals Intelligence. (Satija and Roy, 1/8)

Stat: JPM 2024: Biotech’s Most Prolific Dealmaker Sees A Rosy 2024
Eric Tokat, biotech’s most prolific dealmaker, believes 2024 will be another strong year for acquisitions, driven by Big Pharma’s need to restock pipelines with medicines that can generate sales in the coming years. (Feuerstein, 1/8)

CNBC: Post-Ozempic Patients May Eat More Calories, Deutsche Bank Survey Finds
Investors have cheered a new class of weight loss drugs for their ability to help people shed unwanted pounds, but the findings of a recent poll underscore the challenges patients face if they cease treatment. (Berk, 1/8)

CNN: Insurance Denials For Popular New Weight Loss Medications Leave Patients With Risky Choices 
Some patients have been successful on powerful new drugs for weight loss, but then they lose access to them because insurance won’t cover them. (Goodman, 1/8)

Technology Networks: Diabetes And Weight Loss Drugs May Reduce Alcohol Cravings 
In social media posts on the community network Reddit, users reported reduced cravings for alcohol when taking drugs intended to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity. ... An analysis of those posts, together with a remote study of individuals with obesity who reported using semaglutide and tirzepatide, found that the drugs decreased cravings and reduced alcohol consumption, according to a study by Virginia Tech researchers published Nov. 28 in Scientific Reports. (1/9)

Also —

Reuters: Lilly CEO Says Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound Weekly Prescriptions Hit 25,000 In December 
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks on Monday said the company's powerful weight-loss drug Zepbound hit 25,000 new prescriptions per week at the end of December and that its 2024 supply may not be enough to meet demand. "I think it's important to set expectations, but we're working hard to fulfill demand," he told Reuters at the annual JPMorgan health conference in San Francisco. (Wingrove, 1/8)

Reuters: Pfizer To Remain Aggressive On Obesity Market After Setback
Pfizer will remain aggressive in trying to break into the lucrative obesity market, even after dropping a high profile weight-loss drug candidate late last year due to strong side effects, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Monday. "Pfizer's position is that we believe that obesity is a place that we have the ability to play and win. So we will have to play," Bourla told reporters ahead of his presentation at the JPMorgan healthcare conference in San Francisco. (Erman, 1/8)

ABC News: Respiratory Illnesses Elevated In 38 States, According To CDC
Respiratory illness activity is elevated or increasing across most areas of the country, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some 38 states plus New York City are experiencing "high or very high" levels of respiratory illness activity, according to the CDC. Of those states, 21 are experiencing "very high" activity. Last week, 31 states were experiencing "high or very high" activity. (Benadjaoud, 1/8)

WUSF: COVID-19 Variant JN.1 Leads A New Surge Of Cases In Florida
COVID-19 variant JN.1 is driving a rise in cases brought on by the winter months. In the beginning of December, the variant made up about 20% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Now, JN.1 accounts for about 60% of cases, according to federal health data from the last two weeks. (Guan, 1/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Wastewater Data Reveals Alarming COVID Spike
The Bay Area is seeing the highest levels of COVID-19 infections recorded in wastewater surveys since they began in mid-2022. But unlike previous waves of the pandemic, fewer people are becoming severely ill with the disease. Data collected by the public health company Verily indicate elevated concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 particles, the virus responsible for COVID-19, in nearly all Bay Area sewer sheds. Throughout December, these levels more than tripled in most cities, reaching highs at treatment plants in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Novato around Christmas day. (Vaziri, 1/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Reports Its First Flu-Related Death Of Season
San Francisco has reported its first flu-related death of the 2023-24 respiratory virus season, public health officials announced Monday. Officials did not disclose the gender or age of the person who died, other than to say they were younger than 65 years old, had not gotten vaccinated and had preexisting medical conditions. The person died last week. Statewide, 126 Californians have died from the flu as of Dec. 30, the most recent date for which data is available, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Ho, 1/8)

In other pandemic news —

The Hill: Fauci Sits Through First Seven Hours Of Questioning With COVID Select Subcommittee
Former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci sat for a seven-hour closed-door meeting Monday, facing questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and offering his expertise on preparing for potential outbreaks in the future. The former government official last year agreed to two days of transcribed interviews back-to-back with the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The first meeting Monday ran about an hour long. (Choi, 1/8)

Bloomberg: Moderna Sales Were $6.7 Billion Last Year On Rising Vaccine Share
Moderna Inc.’s sales for 2023 modestly beat analyst estimates as it eked out a bigger US market share for Covid shots, though the biotech giant reiterated a downbeat outlook for the year ahead. The company reported $6.7 billion in unaudited Covid vaccine sales ahead of its presentation Monday at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. That includes includes $6.1 billion from its coronavirus shots — which have a 48% market share in the US — and $600 million in deferred revenue related its work with GAVI, a global health initiative to boost immunization. (Langreth and Smith, 1/8)

New research on long covid —

Bloomberg: Exercise Could Be Harmful For Some People With Long Covid, Study Shows 
Exercise is good for health, but it can be harmful for some long Covid sufferers, new research shows. Those experiencing debilitating crashes after strenuous activity — a condition known as post-exertional malaise — risk severe tissue damage from hardcore exercise, scientists in the Netherlands found. (Gale, 1/9)

The Hill: Speaker Johnson Faces Conservative Unrest Over Funding Deal
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faces a daunting task in getting a deal to fund the government over the finish line amid strenuous opposition from conservatives in his conference. The Speaker, elected just a few months ago after his predecessor was tossed for working with Democrats to fund the government, is now himself likely to rely on the minority party in the House to get his deal approved over outrage from his right flank. (Brooks and Schnell, 1/9)

Politico: Lawmakers Mull Short-Term Patch As Funding Plan Slowly Advances
As a result, there’s a growing sense inside the Capitol that another funding patch will be needed to buy more time for a broader government funding bargain — even though Johnson has vowed no more short-term funding extensions. “I hate to start talking short-term this early in the process,” Senate Majority Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of another extension. “We know from history, it's possible.” (Emma and Scholtes, 1/8)

Lawmakers express concern over latest baby formula recall —

The 19th: Nutramigen Formula Recall Draws Concerns From Congress And Caregivers
It’s been two years since the start of a formula shortage launched a mad dash to keep babies across the country fed and investigations into the formula market. Now, another major recall of a specialty formula is sparking concerns and drawing questions from Congress. (Carrazana and Luterman, 1/8)

In updates from the Biden administration —

The Washington Post: Austin Leaves Intensive Care Amid Growing Scrutiny Of Pentagon Secrecy
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose failure to disclose his need for emergency hospitalization has ignited a firestorm, was moved out of intensive care on Monday, as Democrats and Republicans intensified their calls for accountability, and senior officials at the White House and Pentagon struggled to defuse the uproar. Austin, 70, remains under doctors’ supervision at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. He was taken there by ambulance Jan. 1, while in “severe pain” with undisclosed complications from a Dec. 22 medical procedure that included an overnight stay, administration officials said. (Lamothe, Viser and Ryan, 1/8)

Stat: HHS’ Becerra, Once ‘Invisible,’ Races To Bolster Legacy
He’s been called the “invisible” secretary. So far removed from the White House sphere of influence that he’s rarely spotted there, even at health care events. Once, officials openly discussed who might be better for the job. Now, however, health secretary Xavier Becerra is making inroads with the president’s closest advisers. (Owermohle, 1/9)

CBS News: Gov. Walz Open To Constitutional Amendment Protecting Abortion Rights On November's Ballot
Minnesota is seeing a dramatic surge in patients coming here from other states to get abortions. Planned Parenthood officials have told Gov. Tim Walz they expect a surge to continue as more states move to restrict abortion access. "Since Roe was overturned a year and a half ago, Minnesota has become an island with access for abortion care," Minnesota Planned Parenthood CEO Ruth Richardson said Monday. Officials estimate that there has been a 25% increase in abortions in Minnesota in that time. (Murphy, 1/8)

AP: More Women Join Lawsuit To Challenge Tennessee's Abortion Ban 
More women on Monday joined a Tennessee lawsuit challenging the state’s broad abortion ban that went into effect shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The legal challenge is part of a handful of lawsuits filed across the U.S. in Republican-dominant states seeking clarity on the circumstances that qualify patients to legally receive an abortion. (Kruesi, 1/8)

WLWT 5: Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Bill That Would Give General Assembly Authority Over Implementing Issue 1
Two Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill that would change how Issue 1, regarding reproductive rights, including abortion, is implemented. The bill would make it so the Ohio General Assembly, not the courts, would have exclusive authority over implementing Issue 1, which covers reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one's own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion. (Sanderson, 1/4)

The Hill: Supreme Court Can’t Dodge Abortion Cases
The Supreme Court is finding itself at the center of questions surrounding access to an abortion less than two years after the conservative majority said judges would no longer be the ultimate deciders of such policy.  The court will hear two cases on abortion this term, both dealing with a clash between federal law and the near-total abortion bans of red states. More cases are making their way through the legal system and likely will reach the Supreme Court. (Weixel, 1/9)

Also —

The Washington Post: Pope Francis Calls Surrogacy ‘Deplorable,’ Calls For Global Ban 
Pope Francis called Monday for a global ban on surrogate motherhood, equating it with child trafficking in remarks at a meeting with ambassadors to the Vatican and adding fuel to efforts in Italy to pass the West’s most restrictive law on a practice used by infertile and same-sex couples to become parents. “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” Francis said in prepared remarks. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.” (Faiola and Pitrelli, 1/8)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Cori Bush Calls For Investigation Of St. Louis Nursing Home
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, on Monday called for an investigation into the closure of Northview Village Nursing Home, the 320-bed facility that shut down without notice last month in St. Louis. Northview’s former workers staged a rally outside the owners’ offices in Brentwood on Monday morning, calling to be paid for their final days at the facility. (Merrilees, 1/8)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

CBS News: 2 More Measles Cases Confirmed By Philadelphia Health Department, Bringing Total To 8
Two more measles cases were confirmed by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to eight since the outbreak began. The health department says seven of the eight cases are in Philly and the other case is outside the city. The city's health department also expanded the number of locations in the Philadelphia region that were potentially exposed to the virus. (Ignudo, 1/8)

Reuters: US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To California Flavored Tobacco Ban 
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's challenge to a voter-approved measure in California that banned flavored tobacco products in the most-populous U.S. state. The justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco, and other plaintiffs of a lower court's ruling holding that California's law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products. (Raymond, 1/8)

Capitol News Illinois: Illinois Aims To Aid Drug Abuse Prevention Staff Shortages 
Amid five straight years of record overdose deaths in Illinois, a new state program aims to alleviate a shortage of professionals who work to prevent substance use disorders. (Raju, 1/9)

The Mercury News: Free Narcan: Santa Clara County Will Mail Fentanyl OD Medicine To Residents
With fentanyl and other opioids continuing to take a deadly toll on the country, Santa Clara County has begun distributing Narcan, the opioid overdose-reversing nasal spray, by mail to residents free of charge. ... .Santa Clara County has already stocked free Narcan in several of its libraries, making the mail-order effort just the latest initiative to combat the opioid crisis. (Hase, 1/8)

WMFE: As Children's Mental Health Issues Rise, A New Orlando-Area Clinic Offers Free Service
A Central Florida mental health clinic is expanding its services to uninsured children free of charge. The Mental Health Association of Central Florida is expanding its services to Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard, Lake, and Polk counties to meet the crisis needs of ages 6 to 17. (Pedersen, 1/8)

North Carolina Health News: Crooning For A Cure: The Song That Changed NC’s Health Landscape 
No matter where you went in the early months of 1947, the song “It’s All Up To You” was inescapable. A recording of the song by Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore played in heavy rotation on the state’s radio stations and jukeboxes. Though largely forgotten today, “It’s All Up To You” was written to raise awareness of North Carolina’s poor health conditions. (Baxley, 1/9)

KFF Health News: These Patients Had To Lobby For Correct Diabetes Diagnoses. Was Their Race A Reason? 
When Phyllisa Deroze was told she had diabetes in a Fayetteville, North Carolina, emergency department years ago, she was handed pamphlets with information on two types of the disease. One had pictures of children on it, she recalled, while the other had pictures of seniors. Deroze, a 31-year-old English professor at the time, was confused about which images were meant to depict her. Initially, she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, as shown on the pamphlet with older adults. It would be eight years before she learned she had a different form of diabetes — one that didn’t fit neatly on either pamphlet. (Sable-Smith, 1/9)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: In Philadelphia’s Measles Outbreak, A Reminder Of The Importance Of Vaccines 
From so-called vaccine skeptics like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to anti-vaccine advocates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., some politicians are hoping to gain political power by exploiting the misguided fears of worried parents and the curdled selfishness of American individualism exemplified by the anti-vaxxer movement. (1/9)

Stat: The SUPPORT Act Is Critical To Fighting The Opioid Crisis 
Few public health challenges have been more daunting and persistent than the opioid crisis, which started because of egregious conduct by opioid manufacturers and now is driven by an influx of fentanyl. In my home state of New Hampshire — which has been at the forefront of this heartbreaking epidemic for more than a decade — too many promising futures have been snatched away. (Maggie Hassan, 1/9)

Chicago Tribune: Incalculable Damage Wrought By COVID-19 Is Everywhere
The ledger on COVID-19 has been closed for 2023. But the contagion is not, as some have proclaimed, “over,” with the Upper Midwest dealing with a mini-surge that will probably continue through January. Because reporting and interest in general have tailed off, no one has a good idea how many cases are actually occurring, but there are enough that hospitalizations have doubled since autumn. (Cory Franklin, 1/8)

USA Today: COVID Is Surging Again. Vaccines Are Our Best Defense Against It
The COVID-19 deniers are being faced with a new reality, that of long COVID-19, and no amount of disinformation on how it is not dangerous can make this danger go away. A study published last month documented that long COVID-19 is more dangerous than the flu. And the coronavirus' dangers are compounded by how easily it can spread. (Dr. Kevin Kavanagh, 1/9)

Modern Healthcare: Will this Year Be The Tipping Point For Health Equity? 
In 2022, the American Hospital Association launched its Health Equity Roadmap, which offers an electronic assessment and tools to help hospitals and health systems determine a program that best fits their individual needs. The program is seeing some uptake. As of last month, according to the trade group, 37% of its member hospitals have requested and received the assessment. Only 13% have completed it. (Mary Ellen Podmolik, 1/8)