AP: Former North Carolina Health Official Is Picked To Be New CDC Director
Dr. Mandy Cohen, a former North Carolina official, will be the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House announced Friday. Unlike the last two people to serve as head of the nation’s top federal public health agency, Cohen has prior experience running a government agency: She was secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from 2017 until last year. Before that, she held health-related jobs at two federal agencies. “Dr. Cohen is one of the nation’s top physicians and health leaders with experience leading large and complex organizations, and a proven track-record protecting Americans’ health and safety,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. (Stobbe, 6/16)

In updates from the FDA —

Stat: The FDA Is Testing New Nutrition Labels On The Front Of Food
The FDA wants to make it easier for consumers to know if the foods they’re buying are unhealthy — but doing so is harder than it seems here in the United States. (Florko, 6/20)

USA Today: FDA Approval Weighs Benefits, Harms Of The Alzheimer's Drug Lecanemab
Federal drug regulators will decide by July 6 whether to grant the first traditional approval to an amyloid-busting drug to treat Alzheimer's disease. On June 9, the Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel of experts endorsed the drug, lecanemab, as effective – while not voting on the thornier question of how to advise doctors and patients about known side effects and medical risks. The FDA doesn't have to accept its advisory panel's recommendation when evaluating a drug but often does. (Alltucker, 6/20)

AP: Iowa Supreme Court Declines To Reinstate Strict Abortion Limits, But A New Law Could Be Coming
Abortion will remain legal in Iowa after the state’s high court declined Friday to reinstate a law that would have largely banned the procedure, rebuffing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and, for now, keeping the conservative state from joining others with strict abortion limits. In a rare 3-3 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a 2019 district court ruling that blocked the law. The latest ruling comes roughly a year after the same body — and the U.S. Supreme Court — determined that women do not have a fundamental constitutional right to abortion. (Fingerhut and McFetridge, 6/16)

AP: Abortion Providers In North Carolina File Federal Lawsuit Challenging State's New Restrictions 
Abortion providers in North Carolina filed a federal lawsuit Friday that challenges several provisions of a state law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy in the dwindling days before the new restrictions take effect. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and Dr. Beverly Gray, a Duke University OB-GYN, are asking a federal judge to block numerous provisions they argue are unclear and unconstitutional, or to place an injunction on the law to prevent it from being enforced. (Schoenbaum, 6/16)

Kansas City Star: Fact Check On Kansas’ Mandatory Disclosures For Abortion Care
Kansans voted overwhelmingly last year to protect abortion rights in the state. But despite being legal, patients seeking this procedure still need to undergo a waiting period, and providers are required to share a list of “mandatory disclosures” about the procedure. Now, a group of abortion providers is suing the state over some of these requirements, saying that they “interfere with the principles of bodily integrity and patient autonomy that underlie informed consent.” (Wallington, 6/18)

ABC News: Virginia Legislative Primaries Could Shape Abortion Policy And More
This year's legislative elections in Virginia could determine the fate of local abortion rulemaking and gun policy, control of two narrowly divided statehouses and Gov. Glenn Youngkin's legislative agenda. Political observers say the results could also give some hint about the mood of voters as the 2024 election cycle gets underway. (Gersony, 6/20)

The New York Times: A Year After Dobbs, Republicans Push Into Risky Territory On Abortion
In the year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one of the country’s most emotionally charged issues has come to be defined by two seemingly contradictory political realities. In competitive general elections, abortion rights emerged as among the greatest electoral strengths for Democrats and, often, a clear liability for Republicans: Americans say at record levels that they support at least some access to the procedure, and the issue has fueled Democratic victories across the nation. (Glueck, 6/20)

Crain's Chicago Business: Walgreens, CVS Issue Rules To Stop Denials, Delays For Lawful Reproductive Drugs
Walgreens and CVS are voluntarily implementing new procedures designed to improve timely access to medications that, while they can be used for abortion, have been prescribed for other purposes, according to a statement Friday from a federal agency. (Asplund, 6/18)

In other reproductive health news —

CBS News: OB-GYN Shortage Expected To Get Worse As Medical Students Fear Prosecution In States With Abortion Restrictions
A year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the U.S. is facing a shortage of OB-GYN doctors. It's only expected to get worse in the years ahead as medical students make decisions on what and where to practice, in part, based on states' abortion laws. Erin Duggey is a third-year medical student in Florida, but unless things change, she said that is not where she wants to be a doctor. (Shamlian, 6/19)

Modern Healthcare: Lawyers Say Healthcare Clients Want Help With Deals, Reproductive Care
The healthcare industry has been thrown numerous curveballs over the past year, from an unprecedented Supreme Court decision regarding access to abortion care nearly a year ago to the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency last month—along with a rocky economy and staffing shortages. In response to the uncertainty, lawyers working with health systems, nursing homes, digital health startups and provider groups have seen the demand for certain services spike. (Berryman, 6/19)

The Washington Post: In The Death Of An Olympian, Black Moms Hear Echoes Of Their Own Crises
They see themselves in her story. Not necessarily the part about being an elite athlete. But the part about being a Black woman who suffered catastrophic complications of pregnancy and childbirth, hers being fatal. Some poured out their pain on social media, recounting the trauma they endured. Others commiserated in group chats for Black mothers or gasped in solitude, saying quiet prayers of thanks that they survived what hundreds annually do not. And many of the obstetricians, midwives, doulas and reproductive-health equity researchers who said her name — Tori Bowie — with reverence also expressed exasperation that the nation’s worsening maternal health crisis had claimed another victim. (Johnson and Nirappil, 6/19)

AP: More Than 1 Million Dropped From Medicaid As States Start Post-Pandemic Purge Of Rolls
More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork. Though the eligibility review is required by the federal government, President’s Joe Biden’s administration isn’t too pleased at how efficiently some other states are accomplishing the task. (Lieb and DeMillo, 6/19)

Salt Lake Tribune: Health Insurance Is A ‘Great Equalizer,’ But Utahns Are Losing COVID-Era Medicaid
Tens of thousands of low-income Utahns have lost health insurance in recent weeks, and more are expected to lose coverage in the coming months, as a pandemic-era federal policy that barred states from removing people from Medicaid continues to unwind. (Anderson Stern, 6/17)

Related news about poverty, homelessness, and hunger —

Newsweek: Poverty Is Killing Nearly 200,000 Americans A Year
The land of the free is suffering from a "self-inflicted" injustice when it comes to poverty, experts say, as the rich are getting richer while thousands living without sufficient means die every year in the United States, as a recent study shows. The issue, according to an exclusive poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek, worries a majority of Americans. (Carbonaro, 6/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Homeless Numbers Rise In U.S. Cities
The number of homeless people counted on streets and in shelters around the U.S. has broadly risen this year, according to a Wall Street Journal review of data from around the nation. The Journal reviewed data from 150 entities that count homeless people in areas ranging from cities to entire states. More than 100 places reported increases in early 2023 counts compared with 2022, and collectively, their numbers indicate the U.S. might see a sharper climb than in recent years. Most major urban areas reporting data so far have seen increases, including Chicago, Miami, Boston and Phoenix. (Kamp and Najmabadi, 6/19)

KFF Health News: California’s Homelessness Crisis Is Homegrown, Study Finds 
California’s homelessness crisis is a homegrown problem that is deepening amid a shortage of affordable housing and emergency shelter, and it’s often the brutal conditions of living on the street that trigger behavioral health problems, such as depression and anxiety, researchers found in a comprehensive study on homelessness. The new findings by leading researchers at the University of California show that at least 90% of adults who are experiencing homelessness in the state became homeless while living in California. (Hart, 6/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: Here's What Largest Study In Decades Of California Homelessness Found
California’s homeless population is predominantly made up of people who lived in the state before losing their housing, with nearly half over the age of 50 and a disproportionate number who are Black and indigenous, according to a statewide study released Tuesday. (Moench, 6/20)

Wyoming Public Radio: Reports Shows Wyoming 27th For Children’s Wellbeing, But 46th For Children's Health
A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Wyoming Community Foundation ranks Wyoming 27th for overall child wellbeing. That ranking takes into account economic factors, like how many children are living in poverty, as well as educational factors, like how many eighth graders are proficient in math. It also takes into account family factors and health. Community Foundation Director of Programs Micah Richardson said Wyoming's health metrics are some of the worst in the nation. The report ranks Wyoming in 46th place. (Victor, 6/19)

Stat: ‘Food Apartheid’ Starves Minority Neighborhoods On Long Island 
James Boone wakes up at 6 a.m. nearly every Sunday, driving his van to Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores on Long Island in order to rescue food destined for the dumpster. After gathering mountains of produce, Boone heads to a parking lot in his hometown of Hempstead, where a small army of volunteers joins him in unloading the bounty and packing the food into hundreds of cardboard boxes. (StFluer, 6/19)

Also —

CNN: Loneliness, Social Isolation Linked With Early Death
 If you’re lonely or socially isolated, you might have a higher risk of early death, according to a large new study. People who experienced social isolation had a 32% higher risk of dying early from any cause compared with those who weren’t socially isolated. Participants who reported feeling lonely were 14% more likely to die early than those who did not. (Rogers, 6/19)

Fox News: Most Women Diagnosed With Early Breast Cancer Will Survive Beyond 5 Years, Study Finds
Death rates from breast cancer have been on a steady decline in recent decades, dropping 43% between 1989 and 2020. The average risk of dying from breast cancer in the five years after an early diagnosis has fallen from 14% to 5% since the 1990s, according to a recent study from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, that was published in the British Medical Journal. (Rudy, 6/20)

The Washington Post: Obesity Increases Risk Of 13 Types Of Cancer
Being overweight or obese increases a person’s risk for at least 13 types of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those diseases are breast cancer (in postmenopausal women), multiple myeloma, meningioma (a type of brain cancer) and cancers of the esophagus, colon and rectum, uterus, gallbladder, upper stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas and thyroid. (Searing, 6/19)

Also —

AP: Martina Navratilova Says She Is Clear Of Cancer After Tests
Martina Navratilova says she is clear of cancer. The tennis Hall of Famer announced the news Monday on Twitter after what she said was a full day of tests at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, proton and radiation magicians etc- what a relief,” she wrote. Navratilova, 66, revealed she had been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer in January and that she would begin treatment that month. She had been diagnosed with a noninvasive form of breast cancer in 2010 and had a lumpectomy. (6/19)

Bloomberg: Cancer Warnings On Beer, Wine In Ireland Spark Industry Alarm
New health warnings by Ireland set to be the world’s strictest on beer, wine and spirits have sparked alarm from alcohol-producing countries that argue the labels would impose an obstacle to trade. The US and Mexico have raised concerns over the legislation ahead of World Trade Organization committee meetings this week. Argentina, Australia, Chile, Cuba and New Zealand have also expressed reservations about the law, which Ireland passed last month. While the European Commission gave Ireland the green light, at least nine wine- and beer-producing member countries opposed the measure. (O'Dwyer, 6/19)

Axios: Startup Prenuvo Now Offering Full Body Scans In Chicago — And I Did It 
Throughout history, humans have asked the elusive questions: When and how will we die? Though we can't predict our mortality, a new technology wants to give patients more control over how to live. The Silicon Valley startup Prenuvo has improved upon imaging technology to create a whole body scan that screens for cancers and long-term diseases. They recently started offering the scans in their new practice in Chicago, on Van Buren in the West Loop. And I did it. (Kaufmann, 6/18)

In related news about cancer —

NBC News: Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Rates Are Soaring: What To Know
The rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — which can lead to life-threatening conditions, including cirrhosis and cancer of the organ — have been soaring over the past three decades, a new study finds. (Carroll, 6/16)

Boise State Public Radio News: New Registry Could Shed Light On Link Between Wildland Firefighting And Cancer 
In 2019, Kat Navarro worked a season with the Redmond Hotshots, a Forest Service crew based on the east side of the Oregon Cascades. Late that summer, they were on a fire in the Malheur National Forest. In videos she recently shared with me, thick smoke filled the dense woods. Navarro was doing the same tough work as everybody else, and that long summer served as an intense crash course on the complex reality of wildland working conditions. (Woodhouse, 6/16)

ABC News: Health Experts Worry As Meta Rolls Back Some COVID Misinformation Policies 
Public health experts fear that Meta's decision to roll back some of its COVID-19 misinformation measures will lead to more disinformation about the virus, treatments for it and vaccines. The company announced the changes on Friday after it asked its independent oversight advisory board whether it should continue its COVID-19 misinformation policy for Facebook and Instagram or take a "less restrictive approach." (Kekatos, 6/19)

NBC News: YouTube Removes Video Of RFK Jr. And Jordan Peterson For Misinformation
YouTube said Monday that it had removed a video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking with podcast host Jordan Peterson for spreading what the company said was vaccine misinformation. The decision is the latest challenge for Kennedy as he seeks to find support for a Democratic presidential run after years as an anti-vaccine crusader. The video was removed amid a broader tug-of-war online between vaccine conspiracy theorists and prominent doctors. (Ingram and Goggin, 6/19)

CNN: Peter Hotez Says He Was 'Stalked' In Front Of Home After Joe Rogan Twitter Exchange About Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 
A prominent vaccine scientist said he was accosted outside of his home after a Twitter exchange with podcaster Joe Rogan, who challenged him to debate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over the weekend. “I just was stalked in front of my home by a couple of antivaxers taunting me to debate RFKJr.,” Houston-based scientist Peter Hotez tweeted Sunday. (Maruf, 6/19)

KFF Health News: Doctor Lands In The Doghouse After Giving Covid Vaccine Waivers Too Freely
A Tennessee doctor has lost his medical license for issuing covid-19 vaccine waivers to patients he never met in at least three states. One, it turned out, was a dog named Charlie Kraus. Robert Coble, 76, of Goodspring, Tennessee, agreed to surrender his license in a May settlement with the Tennessee Department of Health that was announced by the agency on June 15. (Kelman, 6/16)

More on the spread of covid —

CIDRAP: Gestational Diabetes, Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes Increased During Pandemic
More pregnant women were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during the pandemic, and more kids received a type 2 diagnosis, according to new research presented this week at ENDO 2023, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Chicago. (Soucheray, 6/16)

St. Louis Public Radio: Wash U Study Finds Organ Donations From COVID Patients Safe 
Kidneys donated from deceased patients who tested positive for COVID-19 are safe to transplant and don’t pass the infection on to recipients, according to a study from researchers at Washington University. (Fentem, 6/16)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: Long COVID-19 Can Make You Thirsty - A First Look At The Data Showing Us What Scientists Have Learned
Scientists are now sharing a first look at the data they had collected from adults with long COVID-19 and they found some interesting patterns. Among them, thirst is a common complaint among long haulers. The national study followed nearly 10,000 patients for six months. It included those who had received a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis within 30 days of entering the study and patients who started the study never having been infected with the virus. The findings were published May 25 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Kroen, 6/19)

Los Angeles Times: Could Fourth Of July Trigger Summer COVID-19 Spike? What L.A. County Data Show
Summer has been a fraught and cautious time in the pandemic era, with travel and gatherings for holidays and vacation fueling COVID-19 spikes each of the last three years. Could the fourth time be the charm? (Lin II and Money, 6/19)

Asheville Watchdog: Lawsuit: HCA Healthcare Overcharged Mission Patients
Two long-time emergency room doctors have blown the whistle on what they say is fraudulent overcharging by HCA Healthcare, which owns Mission Health, and its medical staffing company, TeamHealth, according to a recently unsealed lawsuit filed last year. HCA Healthcare and TeamHealth have intentionally run up patient costs with medically unnecessary trauma alerts and added tests, such as CT scans, extra blood samples and X-rays, according to the complaint from Allen Lalor and Scott Ramming. Both have served for more than two decades as emergency physicians in Mission Hospital in Asheville and its regional affiliates. (Durr and Jones, 6/19)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Is Taking A Gamble With Failing Insurer Friday Health Plans
Colorado regulators are taking a gamble that a failing health insurance company will fail less quickly here than in other parts of the country. The concern is over Friday Health Plans, the start-uppy, for-profit insurer that aimed to use technology to operate in leaner, more consumer-friendly ways. To industry analysts, these kinds of companies are known as “insurtechs.” (Ingold, 6/20)

Modern Healthcare: Sanford-Fairview Merger In Jeopardy Due To New Minnesota Law 
Minnesota lawmakers haven't been shy about their concerns over the proposed merger between Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health, most recently crafting a new law that could doom the $14 billion deal. (Hudson and Kacik, 6/19)

In other health care industry news —

The Press-Enterprise: VA Tolerates Hostile Work Environment At Hospital, Congressman Says 
Several VA Loma Linda Healthcare System whistleblowers have come forward with new allegations of retaliation, harassment and hostile working conditions amid a widening investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, according to a lawmaker. On Friday, committee member U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, met behind closed doors with VA Loma Linda’s interim director Bryan Arnette, and other officials to discuss the whistleblower complaints and map out needed changes. (Schwebke, 6/18)

USA Today: Why Nursing Home Residents May Not Be Reporting Abuse, Neglect: Report
Fear of retaliation from staff is a major barrier to nursing home residents asking for their needs or complaining of abuse or neglect, a new survey found. The survey by the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advocates for residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, examined 100 complaints by nursing home residents across the country. (Hassanein, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: Virtual Nursing Boosts Workforce, Closes Gaps
More health systems are developing virtual nursing teams to augment their workforce and close care gaps. Nurses in remote positions tend to take on many administrative responsibilities, freeing up their in-person colleagues to provide hands-on care and spend more time with patients. Health systems are experimenting to determine which technology solutions and workflows are most effective, while unions raise concerns about patient safety and push for in-person hiring instead. (Devereaux, 6/19)

The Boston Globe: Unanswered Questions About Stolen Body Parts Eroding Public Faith In Harvard, Crisis PR Experts Say
Harvard Medical School has gone largely silent as it confronts an unfolding body parts scandal, leaving critical questions unanswered and potentially allowing more fear and distrust to seep in, according to experts in crisis communications. (Lazar and Freyer, 6/19)

On data breaches —

Axios: Hospitals Could Be One Cyberattack Away From Closure
Cyberattacks against hospitals are taking a toll beyond patient safety and privacy: they're threatening to put the most financially vulnerable facilities out of business entirely. The costs of recovering from a 2021 ransomware attack were too much for St. Margaret's Health in Spring Valley, Illinois, which is closing today. (Reed, 6/16)

The Boston Globe: Harvard Pilgrim Data Breach Affected Millions, Yet Insurer Struggled To Contact Many Potential Victims For Months
A ransomware attack and subsequent data breach at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in April affected over 2.5 million members, but the system outage caused by the ransomware attack has prevented the insurer from directly informing many of the potential victims, because the insurer could not access their contact information. (Bartlett, 6/18)

AP: Popular 'Low T' Treatment Is Safe For Men With Heart Disease, But Doctors Warn It's No Youth Serum
Testosterone replacement therapy is safe for men with “low T” who have heart disease or are at high risk for it, a new study suggests. But doctors warn the popular treatment is no “anti-aging tonic.” The research, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that heart attacks, strokes and other major cardiac issues were no more common among those using testosterone gel than those using a placebo. (Ungar, 6/16)

In other pharmaceutical news —

The Wall Street Journal: Drug Shortages Stem From Quality Problems In Indian Factories 
Shoddy conditions at factories in India have sickened Americans and stoked a shortage in chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients, raising calls to make the generic-drug supply more resilient. (Mosbergen and Abbott, 6/19)

Stat: Opaque Conflicts Of Interest Permeate Prescription Drug Benefits
Employers across the country — from big names like Boeing and UPS to local school systems — pay consulting firms to handle a straightforward task with their prescription drug coverage: Get the best deals possible, and make sure the industry’s middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, aren’t ripping them off with unfair contracts. But a largely hidden flow of money between major consulting conglomerates and PBMs compromises that relationship, a STAT investigation shows. (Herman, 6/20)

Stat: Trade Group Scolds Drugmaker For 'Unethical' Attempt To Gain Info About Rival Product 
In a notable move, a U.K. trade group has rebuked Leo Pharma for a “serious and extremely concerning” violation of voluntary codes after learning a company manager coerced staff into gaining competitive information. And by doing so, the drugmaker discredited and lowered confidence in the pharmaceutical industry. (Silverman, 6/16)

AP: NCAA Committee Recommends Dropping Marijuana From Banned Drug List For Athletes 
An NCAA panel is calling for the removal of marijuana from the organization’s list of banned drugs, suggesting that testing should be limited to performance-enhancing substances. The proposal released Friday from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports would mark a big change for the NCAA, which has been conducting drug tests at championship events since 1986. Committee members recommended halting cannabis tests at such events until a final decision is made, likely this fall. Legislation would still have to be introduced and approved by all three NCAA divisions to take effect. Administrators in Divisions II and III had asked the committee to study the issue. (Marot, 6/16)

The Hill: ‘Magic’ Mushroom Use By Young Adults Has Nearly Doubled In Three Years 
Consumption of “magic” mushrooms and other hallucinogens by young adults nearly doubled over the past three years, a new study has found, illustrating the accelerating pace of America’s “psychedelic revolution” and growing societal acceptance of mind-altering drugs. Researchers found that 6.6 percent of adults from ages 19 to 30 used hallucinogens other than LSD, a category dominated by psilocybin, in 2021, up from 3.4 percent in 2018. LSD use by young adults rose from 3.7 percent to 4.2 percent in the same period, according to an article published this month in the journal Addiction.  (De Vise, 6/19)

In other health and wellness news —

The New York Times: Collective Force Of Head Hits Increases Odds Of CTE, Study Says
A new study published on Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature Communications added a critical wrinkle: A football player’s chances of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., are related to the number of head impacts absorbed, but also to the cumulative impact of all those hits. (Belson and Mueller, 6/20)

CNN: A Daily Aspirin May Lead To Anemia In Older Adults, Study Says
Aspirin is one of the most commonly used medications in the US. Studies show that more than 40% of adults ages 60 or older take an aspirin every day to prevent dangerous blood clots that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. In recent years, experts have backed away from blanket use of aspirin therapy for all older adults, however, after studies showed that it carried an increased risk of major bleeding that most likely outweighed any benefit in preventing first heart attacks or strokes. However, it’s still recommended in some cases for people who have had a heart attack or stroke, to prevent another. (Goodman, 6/19)

NBC News: Disease Screening For Newborns Varies By State, Leading To Delayed Diagnoses
Arthur Hutchinson was a happy, goofy 1-year-old until a few months ago, when he mysteriously stopped crawling and sitting up on his own. Genetic screening revealed that he had Krabbe disease, a rare disorder that can lead to nerve damage. (Bendix, 6/17)

USA Today: Sleep Study: Smoking, Alcohol Behind Why 'Night Owls' May Die Younger
Morning larks tend to live longer than night owls, research has shown. But a new report suggests that may have less to do with sleep and more to do with what happens when you’re awake. Finnish researchers analyzed data from more than 20,000 people who took a survey in 1981 about their sleep habits, according to the study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Chronobiology International. (Rodriguez, 6/19)

KFF Health News: Dementia Can Take A Toll On Financial Health, As Some Families Learn The Hard Way 
Angela Reynolds knew her mother’s memory was slipping, but she didn’t realize how bad things had gotten until she started to untangle her mom’s finances: unpaid bills, unusual cash withdrawals, and the discovery that, oddly, the mortgage on the family home had been refinanced at a higher interest rate. Looking back, Reynolds realizes her mother was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease: “By the time we caught on, it was too late.” (Boden, 6/20)

KFF Health News: Journalists Cover Air Quality, Tick Risks, And … Brazilian Butt Lifts? 
KFF Health News senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health Céline Gounder discussed health concerns from hazardous air quality on CBS’ “CBS Mornings” on June 8. And on May 29, she dug into the number of tick-borne disease cases on the rise in the U.S. ... KFF Health News Florida correspondent Daniel Chang discussed the draw and dangers of Brazilian butt lifts in Miami on Al Jazeera’s “Fault Lines” on June 7. (6/17)

Also —

AP: Donald Triplett, The 1st Person Diagnosed With Autism, Dies At 89
The Mississippi man known as “Case 1,” the first person to be diagnosed with autism, has died. Donald G. Triplett was the subject of a book titled “In a Different Key,” a PBS documentary film, BBC news magazine installment and countless medical journal articles. ... Triplett’s autism diagnosis arose from a detailed 22-page letter sent to a Johns Hopkins researcher in Baltimore containing telling observations by his parents about his aptitudes and behavior. The letter remains a primary reference document for those who study the disorder. (6/16)

Stat: Why ADHD Is Under-Diagnosed Among Asian Americans 
Behind a veneer of accomplishment, underneath good grades and musical talents, Emily Chen was in disarray. She never knew what she was missing, perpetually cycling through potential mistakes in her mind in a desperate attempt not to slip up. At the age of 23, after navigating school and college in a nearly perpetual state of panic, Chen was diagnosed with ADHD. At the time, she was the only Asian American she knew with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Goldhill, 6/19)

AP: Federal Judge Blocks Much Of Indiana's Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors 
A federal judge issued an order Friday stopping an Indiana ban on puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors from taking effect as scheduled July 1. (Davies, 6/16)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GOP Lawmakers Back Ban On Some Transgender Health Services Coverage
Wisconsinites who are transgender would be barred from utilizing Medicaid health care coverage to pay for puberty-blocking drugs or surgeries under a provision Republican lawmakers voted to include in the next two-year state budget plan. GOP lawmakers on the state Legislature's budget-writing committee voted to include the measure early Friday as part of a $3 billion spending plan for health care but it's unclear whether the provision will withstand legal scrutiny. (Beck, 6/16)

KFF Health News: Medical Exiles: Families Flee States Amid Crackdown On Transgender Care
Hal Dempsey wanted to “escape Missouri.” Arlo Dennis is “fleeing Florida.” The Tillison family “can’t stay in Texas.” They are part of a new migration of Americans who are uprooting their lives in response to a raft of legislation across the country restricting health care for transgender people. (Sable-Smith, Chang, Rodriguez and West, 6/20)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Becomes Transgender-Care Outlier As More In Europe Urge Caution 
The U.S. is becoming an outlier among many Western nations in the way its national medical institutions treat children suffering from distress over gender identity. For years, the American healthcare industry has staunchly defended medical interventions for transgender minors, including puberty blockers, which suppress the physical changes of adolescence as a treatment for those distressed over their gender. The European medical community, by contrast, is expressing doubts about that approach. (Sapsford and Armour, 6/19)

Updates from Florida —

News Service of Florida: DeSantis Signs Off On Managed Care Pilot For People With Developmental Disabilities
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed off on creating a pilot program to provide Medicaid managed-care services to people with developmental disabilities. The pilot was included in a broader health care bill (SB 2510) that DeSantis signed Thursday with the state budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. (6/19)

Health News Florida: DeSantis Signs Measure Allowing CNAs To Become Qualified Med Aides At Nursing Homes
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed 11 bills, including a measure that allows certified nursing assistants in nursing homes to become trained as “qualified medication aides.” The aides could then administer “routine” medications to residents, freeing up registered nurses to provide other needed care. The aides could also perform tasks such as checking blood glucose levels. (Mayer, 6/19)

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

Fox News: West Nile Virus Cases, Positive Samples Detected Across The Country
Health officials around the country are reporting cases and positive samples of the West Nile virus. In Iowa, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that the first case of West Nile virus infection was reported this year in an older adult — age 61-80 years — from Plymouth County. The case was confirmed through a test at the State Hygienic Lab. (Musto, 6/17)

Stateline: Many States Decline To Require Water Breaks For Outdoor Workers In Extreme Heat
Even as summer temperatures soar and states wrangle with protecting outdoor workers from extreme heat, Texas last week enacted a law that axes city rules mandating water and shade breaks for construction workers. In state after state, lawmakers and regulators have in recent years declined to require companies to offer their outdoor laborers rest breaks with shade and water. In some cases, legislation failed to gain traction. In others, state regulators decided against action or have taken years to write and release rules. (Barrett, 6/20)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: AJC Investigation: DeKalb Jail Had Medical Staff Shortages
Staffing shortages caused some of the DeKalb County Jail’s inmate health care operations to “cease” last month before Sheriff Melody Maddox replaced its medical providers with a $16.9 million contract, records show. (Redmon, 6/19)

The New York Times: The Science Of What We Eat Is Failing Us
The World Health Organization recently advised people to avoid using artificial sweeteners for weight loss or to reduce their risk of health issues like heart disease and diabetes. This was based on the agency’s review of available research on artificial sweeteners to date. (Anupam B. Jena and Christopher M. Worsham, 6/19)

CNN: Cancer Didn’t Mean I Had To Go Bald. But Why Isn’t Scalp Cooling More Accessible?
Society sends the message that caring about one’s hair is superficial, but once I learned there was a way to keep from going bald, I had an easier time accepting the recommendation for chemotherapy. Now that I’m on the other side of the treatment, I want to advocate for others to have this same opportunity — and for the health insurance industry to stop dismissing patients for whom retaining their hair is important. (Maggie Mulqueen, 6/19)

The Washington Post: How To Stop So Many American Women From Dying In Pregnancy And Childbirth
For Black women, pregnancy and childbirth bring the toll of racism in the United States into sharp focus. A large body of research shows that being Black in America wears on women’s bodies, leaving them uniquely vulnerable during pregnancy. (Alyssa Rosenberg, 6/20)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois And Immigrants Lacking Permanent Legal Status Make For A Health Care Conundrum
Should immigrants lacking permanent legal status arriving in Chicago in big numbers get free health care paid for by the state? (6/20)

The Baltimore Sun: Climate Change A Disaster For Human Health 
The health impacts of climate change will be multifaceted and stress our healthcare system. This past week we have seen the impact of more frequent wildfires and increased air pollution. As our climate changes disease-carrying insects will become more abundant and spread more widely. (Nicholas Rizer, M.D., and Jace Bradshaw, M.D., 6/18)

Los Angeles Times: Rape Victims Often Have To Pay For Emergency Medical Care. That's Cruel And Wrong 
Immediate medical care after a rape — usually delivered in emergency rooms — is essential to the health and recovery of victims of sexual violence. In many ERs, specially trained nurses perform forensic exams to collect evidence for use in a prosecution if the attacker is ever caught. (Samuel Dickman, 6/20)

Stat: Bringing Science To The Absence Of Evidence For Wellness Solutions
When pandemic lockdowns prevented access to traditional health care facilities, the demand for alternative and complementary health products skyrocketed. Do-it-yourself remedies went viral and biohacking, which is quantifying your biology in order to monitor and optimize your health, became more mainstream. Challenged public health communication fueled skepticism in science and medicine, compelling consumers to seek influencer-led health solutions to boost immunity, defy disease, and perhaps contest aging altogether. (Richard Joseph and Rachele Pojednic, 6/19)

Stat: Medical Records Are Filled With Copy-Paste Errors 
I recently took care of a patient whose medical records included multiple notes about her past open-heart surgery. Only she had never undergone open-heart surgery. That would have been obvious if the authors had taken the time to notice that she had no scars on her chest or breastbone. She was being prepared for an invasive procedure based on this misinformation when the true facts of her condition were revealed and the procedure canceled — though by then the false information had virally propagated through the chart and into multiple notes, becoming “chart lore.” (Sandeep Jauhar, 6/20)