NBC News: Biden White House Announces Plan To Reduce "Tranq Dope" Deaths
The Biden administration is taking on the growing use of fentanyl laced with the animal tranquilizer xylazine with a plan to reduce overdose deaths from the drug combination, known as "tranq dope," White House officials announced Tuesday. The aim is to reduce overdose deaths from the combination by 15% within the next two years. (Edwards, 7/11)

Axios: White House Maps Plan To Reduce "Zombie Drug" Overdose Deaths
The White House wants to create a clinical algorithm to predict whether a patient has used xylazine, which could require FDA marketing authorization. That would be in addition to establishing treatment protocols. The administration also wants to conduct human research on potential xylazine antidotes and develop a diagnostic code specific to xylazine to better identify overdose deaths in data. (Moreno, 7/11)

Stat: White House Announces New Plan To Address The Growing Threat Of Xylazine In Overdose Crisis 
Since xylazine is not an opioid, it does not respond to naloxone, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. While a significant amount of xylazine is known to suppress breathing and cause unconsciousness, it has no antidote. “[W]e are launching coordinated efforts across all of government to ensure we are using every lever we have to protect public health and public safety, and save lives,” Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement. “As a doctor, I have seen the devastating consequences of xylazine combined with fentanyl firsthand. And as President Biden’s drug policy advisor, I am laser-focused on finding every tool we have and following the best evidence-based practices to take on this new challenge.” (Facher, 7/11)

CBS News: Billions In NIH Grants Could Be Jeopardized By Appointments Snafu, Republicans Say 
The Biden administration allegedly failed to correctly reappoint more than a dozen top-ranking National Institutes of Health leaders, House Republicans say, raising questions about the legality of billions in federal grants doled out by those officials over the last year. Their claim, detailed Friday in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, obtained by CBS News, follows a monthslong probe led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, into vacancies at the agency. (Herridge and Tin, 7/10)

Roll Call: House Committee Questions Legality Of Fauci, NIH Appointments 
The Department of Health and Human Services vigorously rejected the accusations, calling them political and inaccurate. The allegations mark an escalation in lawmakers’ attacks on Dr. Fauci. ... Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., has been especially critical of the agency’s research protocols amid questions about NIH’s ongoing funding of EcoHealth Alliance and its subcontracts with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. (Clason, 7/10)

Also —

Stat: NIH Fellows Want A Pay Raise. Will That Mean Less Money For Grants?
Several thousand research fellows at the National Institutes of Health want to unionize, in large part because they want to raise their pay stipends to something resembling a living wage near the agency headquarters in Bethesda, Md. But with a Congress that is looking on in suspicion at the NIH’s research and a debt ceiling deal that limits budget increases, where is the money going to come from? (Trang, 7/11)

Roll Call: Biden’s Long-Term Care Agenda Faces Headwinds
President Joe Biden has made it a major policy goal to improve long-term care options for older adults and people with disabilities by improving the working conditions of the people who care for them. Two separate but interconnected proposals would require minimum staffing requirements in nursing homes and require that 80 percent of Medicaid payments for home and community-based services go toward compensating direct care workers. (Hellmann, 7/11)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Special Legislative Session Could Ban Most Abortions By Wednesday
Iowa's abortion laws are poised to change quickly and dramatically as state lawmakers gather at the state Capitol Tuesday for a special session to restrict the procedure. Current Iowa law allows abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. But Gov. Kim Reynolds last week called on lawmakers to return to Des Moines for a special legislative session to pass new abortion restrictions. On Friday, Republican leaders announced they would seek to pass a bill banning nearly all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. (Akin and Gruber-Miller, 7/10)

Also —

The Hill: Tuberville’s Hold Leaves Marines Leaderless For First Time In 164 Years
The blockade from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on about 250 of the Pentagon’s general and flag officers has left the Marine Corps without a confirmed leader for the first time in 164 years. ... Tuberville’s hold on the Pentagon nominees, which he began in March to protest the Defense Department’s new abortion policy, shows no signs of weakening, even as the block has sparked bipartisan frustration. (Dress, 7/10)

News Service of Florida: Florida Supreme Court To Hear Abortion Case In September
The Florida Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear arguments Sept. 8 in a case that could play a major role in the future of abortion rights in the state. The court issued an order scheduling a hearing in a challenge to a 2022 law that prevented abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The outcome of the case also will affect a law passed this year that would bar abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — and could determine whether a privacy clause in the Florida Constitution will protect abortion rights. (Saunders, 7/10)

CNBC: How Governors And CEOs Are Negotiating Deals In Abortion-Ban Era
Since the Supreme Court returned abortion law to the states, governors on both sides of the reproductive politics are claiming business wins in the fight. (Cohn, 7/10)

On the foster care system —

Vox: How Abortion Bans Will Strain An Already Failing Foster System
It’s not yet clear how many additional births new restrictions will ultimately cause, or what fraction of those children will end up in foster care, but it’s a population at high risk of coming to the attention of Social Services. An October 2022 forecast by data scientist Russ Clay predicts that the Dobbs verdict could mean an 8 to 11 percent increase, or an additional 3,600 to 4,400 children, in the Texas foster care system by 2040, relative to the baseline forecast. (Dixon-Luinenburg, 7/9)

CNBC: HCA Healthcare Patient Data Stolen And For Sale By Hackers
Personal information for potentially tens of millions of HCA Healthcare patients has been stolen and is now available for sale on a data breach forum as of earlier this week. HCA, one of the largest companies in the U.S., warned patients that critical personal information had been compromised, including their full name, city and when and where they last saw a provider. (Goswami, 7/10)

Stat: HCA Discloses Massive Data Breach Affecting 11 Million Patients
HCA Healthcare revealed Monday that it’s experienced what is likely the largest data breach ever reported by a health care provider, with approximately 11 million patients affected. (Bannow, 7/10)

In other health care industry news —

The New York Times: Who Employs Your Doctor? Increasingly, A Private Equity Firm.
In recent years, private equity firms have been gobbling up physician practices to form powerful medical groups across the country, according to a new report released Monday. In more than a quarter of local markets — in places like Tucson, Ariz.; Columbus, Ohio; and Providence, R.I. — a single private equity firm owned more than 30 percent of practices in a given specialty in 2021. In 13 percent of the markets, the firms owned groups employing more than half the local specialists. (Abelson and Sanger-Katz, 7/10)

KFF Health News: As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending
The public school system here had to scramble in 2018 when the local hospital, newly purchased, was converted to a tax-exempt nonprofit entity. The takeover by Tower Health meant the 219-bed Pottstown Hospital no longer had to pay federal and state taxes. It also no longer had to pay local property taxes, taking away more than $900,000 a year from the already underfunded Pottstown School District, school officials said. (Miller and Hawryluk, 7/11)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Nursing Programs' NCLEX Pass Rate Scores Dip In Philadelphia Area
The state has flagged six Philadelphia-area nursing programs as needing improvement after too many of their graduates failed to pass their licensure exams last year. Pennsylvania Board of Nursing’s watch list swelled this past year, as test scores nationally hit the lowest point in a decade. (Gutman, 7/11)

North Carolina Health News: Naturopaths Say Licensure Would Increase Health Access In NC
While a pre-med student at UNC Chapel Hill, Amy Hawkins had always thought she would continue her education at a traditional medical school. She questioned that path after seeing a loved one struggle to stay healthy despite consistent medical care. As her ailing grandmother suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Hawkins said that she saw a medical system that was more concerned with treatment of symptoms than prevention of disease. (Thomae, 7/11)

Modern Healthcare: Executive Compensation: 5 Trends From Healthcare Systems
Hospitals and health systems seeking executive-level talent must find leaders with the appropriate skills to oversee increasingly complex organizations, all while navigating a tight labor market and challenging economic environment. “This industry is just under enormous pressure and stress,” said Michelle Johnson, senior partner at executive search firm WittKieffer. “I think we have to get a little creative, or at least a little more creative, both in terms of how we structure compensation and also in a willingness to broaden our hiring efforts.” (Hudson, 7/10)

Modern Healthcare: Bright Health, Oscar Health Report Biggest Risk-Adjustment Payments
Marketplace health insurers will pay a record $9.24 billion in 2023 through an Affordable Care Act program intended to prevent carriers from targeting healthier policyholders for enrollment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the risk-adjustment program in 2014 to discourage insurance companies from cherry-picking policyholders and stop big year-over-year premium swings. Companies on the exchanges that insure less expensive members must send funds for CMS to allocate toward those covering sicker individuals. (Tepper and Broderick, 7/10)

Also —

CIDRAP: PAHO Warns About Infections Linked To Medical Tourism 
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) last week called on member states to strengthen their capacity to detect, manage, and prevent outbreaks of antimicrobial-resistant organisms linked to medical tourism. The warning comes in the wake of a multinational fungal meningitis outbreak linked to two private cosmetic surgery clinics in Mexico. (Dall, 7/10)

Bloomberg: Primary Care Doctor Shortage Undermines Universal Health Care In Ontario 
Zunera Hashmi, a Toronto resident, has been anxiously waiting in line for three years to be assigned a family doctor. When she gets stressed, the 28-year-old marketing professional calls the provincial help line but hears the same message: “Wait just a bit longer.” She emails them occasionally but gets no reply. (Rai, 7/10)

Bloomberg: FDA Allows More Cancer Drug Imports From China Amid Shortage
US regulators are allowing imports of additional supplies of a cancer drug from China amid a nationwide shortage that has forced doctors to ration care, putting patients’ lives at risk. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed distribution of 10 more lots of cisplatin, an essential chemotherapy drug, from Qilu Pharmaceutical Co., an agency spokesperson said Monday. The FDA previously cleared four lots of Qilu’s version of the drug, which is unapproved in the US, but similar to approved cisplatin sold there. (Swetlitz, 7/10)

In other pharmaceutical news —

Bloomberg: Ozempic, Weight-Loss Drugs Are Being Investigated For Suicide Risks
The European Medicines Agency is looking at adverse events noted by the Icelandic Medicines Agency, including two cases of suicidal thoughts linked to the drugs Saxenda and Ozempic, the EMA said in a statement Monday. One additional case relating to thoughts of self-injury has been raised in connection with Saxenda. The EMA did not report any cases of suicide, and suicidal behavior is not currently listed as a side effect in the EU product information of the drugs. (Ring, 7/10)

Axios: Alzheimer's Drug Leqembi May Not Work As Well On Women
Some experts are questioning whether a newly approved Alzheimer's drug was shown in clinical trials to be less effective on women — even though the FDA didn't flag any such concerns when it was authorized last week. Nearly two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease are female, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The $26,500 drug, Leqembi, also can cause significant side effects, and some experts question whether the benefits outweigh the risks even without accounting for any gender disparities. (Owens and Gonzalez, 7/11)

Bloomberg: Nestlé Said To Weigh Sale Of Peanut Allergy Pill To Stallergenes
Nestlé SA is discussing a potential sale of its peanut allergy medicine to Swiss health-care group Stallergenes Greer, people with knowledge of the matter said. Stallergenes has been holding talks with Nestlé about a possible deal for the Palforzia treatment, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. (Nair, 7/10)

Science: Rare Link Between Coronavirus Vaccines And Long Covid–Like Illness Starts To Gain Acceptance
COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives, and the world is gearing up for a new round of boosters. But like all vaccines, those targeting the coronavirus can cause side effects in some people, including rare cases of abnormal blood clotting and heart inflammation. Another apparent complication, a debilitating suite of symptoms that resembles Long Covid, has been more elusive, its link to vaccination unclear and its diagnostic features ill-defined. But in recent months, what some call Long Vax has gained wider acceptance among doctors and scientists, and some are now working to better understand and treat its symptoms. (Vogel and Couzin-Frankel, 7/3)

Forbes: Is ‘Long Vax Syndrome’ A Rare Covid-19 Vaccine Side Effect? Here’s What’s Known
It’s been tough to study this syndrome in large part because the number of reported cases has been so low to date and there hasn’t exactly been an abundance of funding and support for such work. A pre-print posted on medRxiv back on May 17, 2022, did describe what happened to 23 patients who had reported seemingly nerve-related symptoms that began within a month of getting vaccinated against Covid-19. The patients ranged in age from 27 to 71 years with the median age being 40 years. All but two were women. None of them had any evidence of previous neurological illnesses. (Lee, 7/8)

CIDRAP: Study Spotlights Personal, Health System Impact Of Long COVID
A new 12-study meta-analysis outlining the impact of post–COVID-19 condition (PCC), or long COVID, shows substantial functional, daily activity limitation to patients as well as high use of multiple healthcare services. The study is published in JAMA Health Forum. A second new study highlights the most common long-COVID symptoms in kids. (Soucheray, 7/10)

In other pandemic news —

AP: Appeals Court Says Minnesota Governor Had Authority To Impose Mask Mandate 
Gov. Tim Walz had the legal authority to mandate face masks when he declared a public health emergency in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday. Walz declared a peacetime emergency in March 2020 and mandated masking in most indoor public spaces in July 2020. The conservative Upper Midwest Law Center sued, challenging the mask requirement as unconstitutional. Walz lifted the mandate in May 2021, at which point the Court of Appeals declared the case moot. (7/10)

Stateline: Despite Pandemic Pay Boost, Low-Wage Workers Still Can't Afford Basic Needs
Despite the recent gains, low-wage workers have faced stagnant wages for decades. Their costs for basics such as housing and health care have risen even faster than inflation, according to a report from United for ALICE, a project led by the United Way of Northern New Jersey. The effects are significant: The typical retail sales worker, the most common job in the country, lost $26,000 in buying power between 2007 and 2022, according to the report. (Henderson, 7/10)

Bloomberg: Temperatures Will Top 100 Degrees In Multiple US States This Week
A massive heat wave will build in the southern US and expand into the Pacific Northwest this week, with temperatures in the Southwest rising to as much as 120F (49C) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. (Sullivan, 7/10)

WMFE: Heat Advisories Continue In Florida. Hospitals Treat Related Illnesses, With Visitors Feeling Brunt 
The University of Central Florida's Lake Nona Hospital has seen an increase in patients with symptoms associated with heat-related illness, said Michelle Wallen, the emergency room medical director. Although the increases she's seen are not Floridians. “More of the heat-related injuries are probably more from the visitors that are not acclimated with the weather down here,” she said. "And there are a lot more people coming down and visiting now at this time. I think more so surprisingly during this summer than previous years." (Pedersen, 7/10)

AP: How Extreme Heat Takes A Toll On The Mind And Body, According To Experts 
From heavy sweating and dizziness to muscle spasms and even vomiting, experts say heat exhaustion and heat stroke are likely to become more common. In coming decades, the U.S. is expected to experience higher temperatures and more intense heat waves. Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness and happens when the body loses its ability to sweat. (Bryan, 7/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Sierra Heat Spurs Mosquito Boom, Bringing Misery To Tourists
The high temperatures hitting the Sierra Nevada have led to an unexpected surge in the mosquito population just in time for the peak summer tourist season. The area has witnessed an explosion of snowmelt mosquitoes, an assortment of half a dozen highly aggressive species that hibernate beneath the ice and emerge to feed as it melts. However, this year’s boom is happening later than usual due to the record-breaking snowfall in the spring and the late start to the snow melt. (Vaziri, 7/10)

On transgender health —

AP: Kansas Must Stop Changing Trans People's Sex Listing On Driver's Licenses, Judge Says
Kansas must stop allowing transgender people to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses, a state-court judge ordered Monday as part of a lawsuit filed by the state’s Republican attorney general. (Hanna, 7/10)

AP: Wisconsin School District Can't Restrict Bathrooms For Transgender Student, Federal Judge Says 
A federal judge has blocked a Wisconsin school district from requiring transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth while a lawsuit plays out against the school. (7/10)

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

Detroit Free Press: Mich. Insurers Seek Premium Hikes As Demand For Weight-Loss Drugs Soar
A report from the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, which reviews and approves insurers' rates, shows that health insurance companies are seeking increases that would average 7.1% for their 2024 small group policies — those for businesses and organizations with fewer than 51 employees. There are currently 428,328 Michiganders enrolled in such plans. (Reindl, 7/10)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: ‘We Deserve Better’: Residents Demand Action To Extend Radiation Exposure Compensation
Sheron Carter’s brother and grandfather died from cancer after working at the Nevada Test Site. Three years ago, the 66-year-old Las Vegas native was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, she’s demanding lawmakers take action to compensate herself and her family for the fallout from years of nuclear testing. “It has destroyed families,” Carter said. (Wilson, 7/10)

Politico: New York City Hotline To Advise Police On Involuntary Hospitalizations Has Gotten Zero Calls 
No one has called a 24/7 city hotline to help NYPD officers determine whether to force someone to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, a resource launched by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration as he sought to involuntarily hospitalize people unable to meet their basic needs. NYC Health + Hospitals, which operates the hotline, disclosed the information to POLITICO Friday in response to a public records request for data on calls since it went live on Jan. 31. (Kaufman, 7/10)

Minnesota Public Radio: Use Of Mental Health Crisis Line Soars 1 Year After 988’s Launch In Minnesota
Minnesota joined the nation in introducing the phone number 988 as a mental health crisis hotline one year ago, localizing and easing access to the service that was before only reachable at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). While the longer number still functions, call center operators said state support for raising awareness of the shorter line contributed to an increase in engagement over the past year. According to most recent data from the Minnesota Department of Health, or MDH, the month of May saw a 74 percent increase in calls statewide compared to the year before. (Stevens, 7/10)

The CT Mirror: CT Takes First Steps To Reform Children's Mental Health Services
More than a year after lawmakers passed broad legislation meant to expand access and boost resources for children’s mental health in Connecticut, a group of health care providers, advocates, legislators and residents affected by the issue convened to begin examining the availability and efficacy of services. (Carlesso, 7/10)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Meeting Youth Mental Health Needs Remains A Priority – And Challenge – For NH Providers
Mental health services for children and teens continue to be a pressing need in New Hampshire in the wake of the pandemic, according to providers and advocates who spoke at a roundtable in Manchester Monday. Depression and anxiety among youth rose during the pandemic, and services have struggled to keep up. (Cuno-Booth, 7/10)

The Boston Globe: How Universities Are Addressing Ongoing Collegiate Mental Health Difficulties 
When Sofia Farrés, 20, started as a freshman at Emerson College two years ago, she found it difficult — as someone who is immunocompromised — to live in campus housing. “I was self-isolating more than most of my friends,” said Farrés. “The pandemic contributed a lot to my social anxiety.” Adjusting to college has always been a challenge for freshmen, but it has become harder since the pandemic. (Obregón Dominguez, 7/10)

KFF Health News: Mental Health Respite Facilities Are Filling Care Gaps In Over A Dozen States 
Aimee Quicke has made repeated trips to emergency rooms, hospitals, behavioral health facilities, and psychiatric lockdowns for mental health crises — including suicidal thoughts — since she was 11. The 40-year-old resident of Le Mars, Iowa, has bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders. “Some of the visits were helpful and some were not,” she said. “It was like coming in and going out and just nothing different was happening.” (Weinstock, 7/11)

Also —

The Washington Post: Family Reaches $5M Settlement After Army Veteran's Suicide At VA Center 
When her husband was having a mental health crisis in 2019, Emma Dash thought the safest place for him to receive treatment was at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., where she had worked. Her husband, former Army Sgt. Brieux Dash, had battled post-traumatic stress disorder since was honorably discharged in 2015, and his mental health struggles had recently worsened. Emma Dash trusted that her husband would be protected at the VA center’s mental health unit. But three days later, Brieux Dash, a 33-year-old father of three, died by suicide there. (Somasundaram, 7/11)

If you are in need of help —

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

NPR: Doxy-PEP, A Dose Of Doxycycline Taken After Sex, May Prevent Some STDs
A promising line of attack against sexually transmitted infections puts a cheap and widely available medication to a new use. The treatment – a form of post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP – is a dose of the antibiotic doxycycline taken in the hours immediately after sex which works to extinguish an STI before it leads to symptoms or spreads to others. (Stone, 7/11)

The Washington Post: 1.3 Billion People Worldwide Projected To Have Diabetes By 2050 
The number of people worldwide with diabetes is projected to more than double in the next three decades, reaching 1.3 billion by 2050, according to research published in the Lancet. The researchers found that 529 million people had diabetes in 2021 and that the climb in diabetes numbers would increase the prevalence of the disease from 6 percent of the world’s population to nearly 10 percent by 2050. The study’s findings are based on the analysis of data from more than 27,000 sources in 204 countries and territories. (Searing, 7/10)

The Hill: A Record Share Of Americans Is Living Alone 
Nearly 30 percent of American households comprise a single person, a record high. Scholars say living alone is not a trend so much as a transformation: Across much of the world, large numbers of people are living alone for the first time in recorded history. (De Vise, 7/10)

NPR: What To Know About Prime, The Logan Paul Drink That One Senator Wants Investigated
It's fruity flavored, it pops in TikTok videos and, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, it poses a serious risk to the health of America's teenagers. Prime energy drinks (stylized by the company as PRIME), a growing status symbol among Gen Z'ers, are facing backlash this week after Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate the products, saying they contained more caffeine than is safe for child consumption.Here's what to know about the hype and the risks. (Olson, 7/11)

CIDRAP: Five More European Countries Report Severe E-11 Infections In Newborns 
Following reports in May of enterovirus-echovirus 11 (E-11) neonatal sepsis cases in France, five more countries in Europe have reported similar cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a recent update. (Schnirring, 7/10)

Bloomberg: How Much Heat Can The Human Body Stand
The June that just ended was the Earth’s hottest recorded — ever. And the first week of July saw the trend continue. The surging summer temperatures made me wonder: Just how much heat can the human body stand? (F.D. Flam, 7/10)

Dallas Morning News: How Diabetes Sneaked Into My Life
Sunday morning at the supermarket. My wife likes to shop, but today I’m scouring labels to keep sugar and too many carbs out of my diet. You see, I’m one of the 96 million Americans that the Centers for Disease Control says has pre-diabetes. Texas and the “Deep South” States lead the nation. Over 25% of our older Americans have the disease. (Steve Fischer, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Summer Birthdays Can Bring Surprising Health Risks For Kids
For a characteristic we don’t get to choose, our birthdays affect many important parts of our lives. Our research has shown that there are some surprising and important considerations families and health providers alike should address for kids whose birthdays happen to be in the summer. (Anupam B. Jena and Christopher M. Worsham, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Compensating Kidney Donors Could Save 100,000 Lives Immediately 
The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 created the framework for the organ transplant system in the United States, and nearly 40 years later, the law is responsible for millions of needless deaths and trillions of wasted dollars. The Transplant Act requires modification, immediately. (Ned Brooks and ML Cavanaugh, 7/9)

The Hill: Medicaid Is Falling Down In Front Of Us And Taking American Families With It 
If you care about women’s health, or the health of the U.S. economy for that matter, you should be paying attention to Medicaid. Medicaid,  the publicly funded health insurance program designed to provide a safety net for low-income and disabled Americans, is unraveling at an alarming pace  — and that’s bad news for women, families, communities and the nation as a whole. (Martha Nolan, 7/9)

Stat: The Aspartame In Diet Coke Probably Isn’t Giving You Cancer 
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is used in a lot of products, including Diet Coke and Coke Zero. Like most artificial sweeteners, we have a wonderful love/hate relationship with it. It’s sweet but doesn’t have any calories, so it’s great for people who want to lose a bit of weight. Also, a bunch of people are convinced that anything artificial is basically poison, and that diet soft drinks are probably killing us all. (Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, 7/8)

Stat: Maternal Mortality Is Hard To Measure — And That May Get Worse
Every new data point or report appears to confirm it: The U.S. is in the midst of a mounting maternal mortality crisis. A recent JAMA study lends fresh insight into the magnitude of the problem, showing that maternal mortality rates more than doubled in the U.S. during the two decades from 1999 to 2019. (Annalisa Merelli, 7/11)