AP: Medicare And Social Security Go-Broke Dates Pushed Back
The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report Monday. Still, officials warn that policy changes are needed lest the programs become unable to pay full benefits to retiring Americans. Medicare’s go-broke date for its hospital insurance trust fund was pushed back five years to 2036 in the latest report, thanks in part to higher payroll tax income and lower-than-projected expenses from last year. (Hussein and Murphy, 5/6)

The Washington Post: Social Security And Medicare Finances Look Grim As Overall Debt Piles Up 
Neither President Joe Biden nor former president Donald Trump have released proposals to right Social Security’s finances. Biden has signaled a desire to raise taxes on individuals earning more than $400,000 and devote that new revenue to the Social Security Trust Fund. In his past two State of the Union addresses, the president declared absolute opposition to cutting social safety net benefits. Trump has floated cuts to the programs, but quickly backpedaled from that position and insisted he wouldn’t support reducing benefits. (Bogage and Weil, 5/6)

In news from Capitol Hill —

Modern Healthcare: New Bill Targets Drug Shortages Through Medicare, Medicaid
In a bid to curtail the ongoing problem of drug shortages, the Senate Finance Committee proposed legislation offering incentives to hospitals and other providers to stockpile certain medications. The bill, which would be known as the Drug Shortage Prevention and Mitigation Act, looks to spur manufacturing of drugs at risk of short supply by inducing providers to sign longer-term purchasing arrangements. (McAuliff, 5/6)

The Washington Post: Congresswoman Battling Brain Disorder Delivers House Speech Using A Text-To-Voice App
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) stepped to the microphone on the House floor Monday to speak about one of her latest pieces of legislation, as she has done many times before during her five years in Congress. But the voice that gave the speech wasn’t hers — it was from a text-to-voice application, an assistive device she uses to help her navigate a degenerative brain condition with which she was diagnosed last year. Wexton’s disorder — progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) — has largely affected her ability to speak, hear and move. With the help of the assistive app, the congresswoman on Monday spoke about legislation she introduced to rename a post office in Purcellville, Va., after former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who lived in nearby Hillsboro, Va. (Alfaro, 5/6)

On the Affordable Care Act —

KFF Health News: Biden Team’s Tightrope: Reining In Rogue Obamacare Agents Without Slowing Enrollment
President Joe Biden counts among his accomplishments the record-high number of people, more than 21 million, who enrolled in Obamacare plans this year. Behind the scenes, however, federal regulators are contending with a problem that affects people’s coverage: rogue brokers who have signed people up for Affordable Care Act plans, or switched them into new ones, without their permission. (Appleby, 5/7)

CNN: Genes Known To Increase The Risk Of Alzheimer’s May Actually Be An Inherited Form Of The Disorder, Researchers Say
Alzheimer’s disease may be inherited more often than previously known, according to a new study that paints a clearer picture of a gene long known to be linked to the common form of dementia. (Goodman, 5/6)

Bay Area News Group: Our Brains Are Growing. Will That Help Prevent Dementia? 
Starting about 3 million years ago, our brains got bigger, helping us master everything from cave painting to particle physics. Now we’re in a modern-day growth spurt. A new study by researchers at UC Davis Health found that the brains of people born in the 1970s had 6.6% larger volumes and almost 15% greater brain surface area than those of people born in the 1930s. (Krieger, 5/6)

In other research —

CBS News: CHOP Helps Restore Vision In 2 Children Using Experimental Gene Editing Treatment
A first-of-its-kind genetic treatment at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is restoring and improving vision, according to a study released on Monday. The treatment was tested on 12 adults and two children who have a genetic form of vision loss. According to the results published, the two children at CHOP had significant improvements. (Stahl, 5/6)

Stat: Pediatric Hypertension Doubles Risk Of Adult Cardiovascular Disease 
Children and adolescents diagnosed with high blood pressure have double the risk of major cardiovascular problems as adults, a new study that followed them into their 20s and 30s reports. (Cooney, 5/6)

The Washington Post: Ultrasound Technology Is Used In Many Ways. Addiction Is The Next Frontier
The use of the high-frequency sound waves is also being adapted to treat Alzheimer’s disease, tumors and psychiatric disorders. (Ovalle, 5/6)

Kansas City Star: Fed Candidates Can Raise Unlimited Cash For MO Ballot Measures 
President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and other federal candidates can now raise unlimited funds to support or oppose Missouri’s abortion rights amendment, under a legal opinion that paves the way for candidates to take a more active role in statewide ballot measures. (Shorman and Desrochers, 5/7)

Mother Jones: New York Is Suing Crisis Pregnancy Centers For Promising 'Abortion Reversal'
On Monday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced she is suing the anti-abortion group Heartbeat International—which claims to operate more than 3,000 CPCs worldwide—and 11 other CPCs throughout the state for “using false and misleading statements” to “aggressively” advertise the so-called treatment, which involves taking repeated doses of progesterone—a hormone the body produces during pregnancy—after someone has taken mifepristone, the first of the two pills in the medication abortion regimen. (McShane, 5/6)

The Hill: Alabama Lawsuit Over Threat Of Prosecution For Abortion Help Can Move Forward, Court Rules 
A federal judge on Monday rejected an attempt to toss a suit challenging Alabama’s attorney general’s threat to prosecute those who help with out-of-state travel for abortions, paving the way for the case to move forward. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, in a preliminary ruling Monday, said the case brought by the Yellowhammer Fund — a group that supports people who need out-of-state abortions in the Deep South — can continue their lawsuit, which argues Attorney General Steve Marshall’s (R) threats create an illegal chilling effect on the group’s freedom of expression. (Nazzaro, 5/6)

CBS News: Minnesota Lawmakers Mull Strengthening LGBTQ+, Abortion Rights With Constitutional Amendment
A House Rules Committee on a proposed Equal Rights Amendment moved the legislation forward Monday following discussion and public testimony — with language changes to include pregnancy protections — in a 9-5 vote. The Equal Rights Amendment would put protections in the Constitution providing for equal rights under the law regardless of sex, race, national origin or gender identity. The amendment proposal would also add protections in the constitution for abortion and LGBTQ rights. It also removes language surrounding religion and creed. (Leone, 5/6)

WUSF: Some Doctors Say Florida's Abortion Ban Exceptions Aren't Enough
Opponents of Florida’s six-week abortion ban say the emergency rules issued by state health officials this week to clarify some medical exceptions don’t go far enough. The rules outline some life-threatening conditions a woman could experience that would allow doctors to perform an abortion after six weeks, including ectopic pregnancy or her water breaking early. (Colombini, 5/6)

In related news —

CNBC: Abortion Bans Drive Away Young Talent: New CNBC/Generation Lab Survey
The youngest generation of American workers is prepared to move away from states that pass abortion bans and to turn down job offers in states where bans are already in place, a new survey from CNBC/Generation Lab finds. (Gewirtz, 5/7)

The Atlantic: A Fundamental Stage Of Human Reproduction Is Shifting
For a long time, having children has been a young person’s game. Although ancient records are sparse, researchers estimate that, for most of human history, women most typically conceived their first child in their late teens or early 20s and stopped having kids shortly thereafter. But in recent decades, people around the world, especially in wealthy, developed countries, have been starting their families later and later. (Wu, 5/6)

CIDRAP: Substantial Rise In Mpox Cases Prompts NYC Health Alert 
Mpox cases in New York City have increased substantially since October 2023, mostly in people who haven’t been vaccinated or have only received one dose, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health) said in a May 3 health alert. For most of 2023, the city averaged about 2 to 20 cases per month, but since October, cases have averaged 36 per month, with a peak of 51 in January. Of 256 cases reported since October, 73% were unvaccinated or had only received one dose, and 94% involved men who have sex with men. Most were Black and Hispanic men ages 25 to 44. Most cases were mild, and 10 people were hospitalized. (Schnirring, 5/6)

CIDRAP: GAO Report Shows Strategic National Stockpile Challenges During COVID, Mpox 
In a new report on the US Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that, during recent public health crises such as COVID-19 and mpox, local officials weren't clear on how and from whom to request supplies, and some tribal officials cited a lack of the facilities to receive and store delivered supplies. (Soucheray, 5/6)

On bird flu —

CIDRAP: Studies Yield More Clues About H5N1 Avian Flu Susceptibility, Spread In Dairy Cows
Two new preprint studies shed more light on why high H5N1 avian flu viral loads have been seen in the milk of infected dairy cows and what the genetic sequences say about transmission among cattle and to other species, with one suggesting cows could be an influenza mixing vessel. (Schnirring, 5/6)

Fox News: Biden Admin Battle With State Officials In Texas, Idaho Over Bird Flu Outbreak: 'Bless Their Hearts'
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials attempting to investigate dairy farms and cows for bird flu are facing opposition from farmers and state officials. The CDC has warned that bird flu cases carry a risk of becoming another pandemic. But the agency, which became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic, is facing resistance from state officials and dairy farmers, especially in Republican-controlled states. "It’s overreach," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told Politico. "They don’t need to do that. They need to back off." (Clark, 5/6)

Stat: WHO's Farrar: Social Context Is Key To Halting Bird Flu Spread 
Jeremy Farrar, now the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, was working in Vietnam 20 years ago when the H5N1 virus started to spread across Asia — at that point in poultry. He recalls there was a reluctance among farmers to cull their chickens because they weren’t being compensated for them. (Branswell, 5/7)

Also —

Axios: Exclusive: Report Urges Sustained U.S. Biodefense Buildup
A new report calls on all levels of government to strengthen U.S. biodefense measures and urges policymakers to codify parts of a national strategy to address an array of biological threats. Threats in the form of infectious disease outbreaks, lab accidents and biology-based weapons are expected to increase in the coming years, according to the report's authors and other experts. (Snyder, 5/7)

Reuters: US FDA Panel To Discuss First Psychedelic-Assisted PTSD Treatment Next Month 
The U.S. FDA's panel of independent advisers will on June 4 deliberate whether they should recommend approval for the first MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, Lykos Therapeutics said on Monday. This would be the first FDA panel of outside experts to review a potential new PTSD treatment in 25 years. (5/6)

The Los Angeles Times: The Longest, Strangest Trip: Some Psychedelic Drug Users Are Stuck With Unwelcome Highs 
A.J. took two small hits off a cannabis vape pen, a common ritual with his morning coffee. Moments after exhaling, a transfigured, kaleidoscopic version of the world emerged before his eyes. “Some colors are seeping into the other colors,” the 30-year-old said, gesturing across his art-filled living room in Yorba Linda. (Sheets, 5/6)

In other pharmaceutical news —

BioPharma Dive: Prologue, Flagship’s Newest Startup, Looks To Mine Viruses For New Drugs 
Flagship Pioneering on Tuesday launched Prologue Medicines, a new biotechnology startup aiming to make drugs by closely studying the proteins of viruses. Prologue is starting out with $50 million and what it claims is the largest known database of viral protein structures. With the help of machine learning tools, the startup plans to mine that database for proteins that can point the way to new medicines. The startup hasn’t said which specific diseases it will go after first or identified a lead program. (Wu, 5/7)

Axios: How MRNA Vaccines Could Be Personalized Cancer Cures
An expanding pipeline of vaccines is giving patients new hope against some of the deadliest cancers, by training the body's immune system to attack malignancies. This personalized approach could make conditions like melanoma and bladder, kidney, pancreatic and breast cancers treatable, and even potentially preventable, via infusion. (Reed, 5/7)

KFF Health News: Amgen Plows Ahead With Costly, Highly Toxic Cancer Dosing Despite FDA Challenge
When doctors began using the drug sotorasib in 2021 with high expectations for its innovative approach to attacking lung cancer, retired medical technician Don Crosslin was an early beneficiary. Crosslin started the drug that July. His tumors shrank, then stabilized. But while the drug has helped keep him alive, its side effects have gradually narrowed the confines of his life, said Crosslin, 76, who lives in Ocala, Florida. (Allen, 5/7)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn Will Stop Using Greenhouse Gas Desflurane For Anesthesia
Philadelphia-area health systems are phasing out a common anesthesia gas that hangs in the atmosphere for 14 years. Desflurane is the most potent greenhouse gas found in hospitals, which are increasingly engaged in efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. (Gantz, 5/7)

Fallout from the Steward Health Care bankruptcy filing —

Modern Healthcare: States Strengthen Defense Against Private Equity Healthcare Deals
States are targeting private equity-backed acquisitions amid the financial fallout from Steward Health Care and Prospect Medical Holdings, threatening to curb corporate investment in healthcare. Over the past two years, more than a dozen states have passed laws bolstering healthcare merger and acquisition notification and financial disclosure requirements, in some cases requiring clearance from state attorneys general when corporate investors are involved. (Kacik, 5/6)

The Wall Street Journal: The Private-Equity Deal That Flattened A Hospital Chain And Its Landlord
In the spring of 2020, Cerberus Capital Management was faced with a tricky financial situation. It owned a struggling hospital chain that needed $400 million to dig out of a deep financial hole, but Cerberus wanted to sell rather than invest more. With the surging Covid-19 pandemic making the financing more urgent, Cerberus convinced the hospital’s landlord to put up the cash. The transaction didn’t make financial sense and, until recently, was impossible to untangle. (Weil, 5/7)

On rural health care —

Texas Community Health News: Rural Texas ERs Face Growing Mental Health Crisis
Across the state, rural hospitals face a shortage of mental health care providers, with over 60% of rural counties designated as provider shortage areas by the Health Resources and Service Administration. At the same time, the number of people experiencing mental health crises has increased, and these patients are often forced to seek care in the emergency room of rural hospitals, where they face long waits for treatment and use resources that are needed by patients with critical conditions. (Kalinina, 5/7)

Axios: America's Most Vulnerable: Rural Hospitals Face Financial Meltdown
Half of America's rural hospitals are running in the financial red, per a recent report from health care consultancy Chartis. Millions of Americans rely on rural hospitals for emergency and other forms of care. (Fitzpatrick and Feng, 5/7)

USA Today: Nursing Home Staffing And Spending Questioned By Democratic Lawmakers
Three U.S. senators and two U.S. representatives have called out the corporate spending of three large nursing home companies amid the industry's opposition to the Biden administration's rule to set minimum staffing levels. In letters sent Sunday to executives of three large chains, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Richard Blumenthal and Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Lloyd Doggett questioned the nursing homes' spending on executive compensation, stock buybacks and dividends as the industry protests a new staffing rule for nursing homes. (Alltucker, 5/6)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 3 In 5 Wisconsin Nursing Homes Need To Hire More Staff Under New Rule
Most nursing homes in Wisconsin will need to hire more nurses or nursing aides to meet minimum staffing requirements newly announced by the federal government, a mandate that some nursing homes worry they will struggle to meet amid staffing challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ... “This is the most important nursing home reform in decades,” said David Grabowski, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. “We need more staff in nursing homes." (Volpenhein, 5/6)

More news about health care workers —

Crain's Chicago Business: UChicago Medicine Residents Vote To Form Union
Medical residents and fellows at University of Chicago Medicine voted in favor of forming a union, following in the footsteps of their peers at other academic medical institutions in the city and across the country. Of the more than 1,000 residents, 98% voted to join the Committee of Interns & Residents, or CIR, a division of the Service Employees International Union and the largest group representing physicians in residency and fellowship programs in the country, the union announced today. (Davis, 5/6)

CBS News: Minnesota Nurses Union Rally Against Proposed Cuts At North Memorial Health
The Minnesota Nurses Association plans to speak out Monday afternoon against proposed cuts to services at North Memorial hospitals and its clinics. North Memorial executives announced cuts that would eliminate outpatient mental health programs and two neonatal intensive care units at North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale, leaving more than 100 employees without a job. (Le, 5/6)

Houston Chronicle: Embattled Houston Surgeon Warned Of Threats To Transplant Program
Dr. J. Steve Bynon, the Houston transplant surgeon who has been accused of improperly altering patient records, several years ago expressed disappointment over his inability to improve the abdominal transplant division he oversaw and more recently warned of “major threats” to the program, according to his personnel file from UTHealth Houston, obtained by the Houston Chronicle through an open records request. (Gill and MacDonald, 5/6)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Washington U. Hires Epidemiologist For Public Health School
Washington University is launching a new school devoted to public health and has hired a Boston University epidemiologist to lead the charge. The new school will be WashU’s first in almost a century, and will study a subject that has lived at the center of national debate for much of the past four years. It is slated to launch in the fall of 2026. (Merrilees, 5/6)

The Washington Post: She Worked In Animal Research. Now She’s Blocked From Commenting On It. 
An animal rights activists is embroiled in a court fight with the National Institutes of Health for blocking her online comments on NIH research using monkeys. (Weiner, 5/6)

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Doctor Who Said COVID Vaccines Make People Magnetic Gets Medical License Back
The Ohio State Medical Board reinstated the medical license of a doctor who spread conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines, including the false claim that they make people magnetic. The board voted last month to restore Dr. Sherri Tenpenny's license after suspending it last year and fining her $3,000. State officials said Tenpenny refused to cooperate with their investigation after the board received 350 complaints about her. (Bemiller, 5/6)

North Carolina Health News and WRAL-TV: Former Psych Hospital Staff Allege They Were Told To Falsify Records
Days after her 21st birthday in March 2023, Mo Hatcher found herself short of breath and dizzy, feeling helpless at what she described as minor inconveniences to most people, but major events for her. Hatcher had a history of anxiety, but her panic attacks had become more frequent and intense, at times feeling like a heart attack, she said. Hatcher asked her parents to take her to Brynn Marr Hospital, a psychiatric facility near her home in Jacksonville, so she could gain better control of her anxiety. (Knopf, 5/7)

On teen mental health and social media —

The New York Times: Are Schools Too Focused On Mental Health?
In recent years, mental health has become a central subject in childhood and adolescence. Teenagers narrate their psychiatric diagnosis and treatment on TikTok and Instagram. School systems, alarmed by rising levels of distress and self-harm, are introducing preventive coursework in emotional self-regulation and mindfulness. Now, some researchers warn that we are in danger of overdoing it. (Barry, 5/6)

Vox: What Researchers Want You To Know About Teen Suicide 
Between 2000 and 2015 in an affluent, predominately white community in the US, 19 young people died by suicide through what’s known as suicide clusters. These clusters refer to an unusually high rate of suicide for a community over a short period of time, often at least two deaths and one suicide attempt, or three deaths. Suicide clusters are an extreme example of youth mental health struggles — an issue that’s been getting more attention since the pandemic and one that’s at the center of an increasingly charged national conversation around social media and phones. (Cohen, 5/7)

Politico: Newsom’s Wife Has Tough Words For State’s Premier Industry
The wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the tech industry Monday, accusing one of the state’s premier industries of standing in the way of efforts to protect kids from the harmful effects of social media. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference, took swipes at Silicon Valley, accusing major firms of failing to address social media addiction and mental health problems among young people. (Mason and Korte, 5/6)

Also —

CBS News: Miss USA Noelia Voigt Suddenly Resigns, Urges People To Prioritize Mental Health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in 2023, unexpectedly stepped down on Monday and posted a message to social media urging people to prioritize their mental health. (Chasan, 5/6)

CBS News: Antioch Mental Health Crisis Team Touts Positive Results, No In-Custody Deaths After 1 Year
Across the Bay Area, communities are looking for ways to deal with mental health crises without involving police. Antioch created it's own private crisis response team, and after 12 months the city's mayor says results have been positive. ... While it may be difficult to measure success on such a thing, the numbers are looking good. One number stands out from the rest. Zero. That's how many people have died while in police custody since the community response team was created. (Ramos, 5/6)

Axios: Injured Workers Need Mental Health Attention: Study
People overcoming physical workplace injuries may have accompanying behavioral health challenges that could keep them off the job almost three times as long, according to an analysis from business insurer Sentry. (Goldman, 5/7)

If you need help —

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

The Washington Post: The Hour After Leaving Day Care Is A Nutritional Fail For Kids, Study Finds
Kids eat fewer healthy foods and take in 22 percent of their day’s added sugar intake in the single hour after they’re picked up from child care, a recent study found. The analysis looked at children’s food consumption during two periods that can be among the most stressful for caregivers and kids — the transition between home and day care. (Blakemore, 5/5)

USA Today: Planters Nuts Recall: See Products Pulled Over Listeria Concerns
According to a news release from the company, the products are being recalled "out of an abundance of caution" because they have the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Hormel says the recall impacts two retailers in five states, and that there have been no reports of illness related to this recall to date. (Hauari, 5/6)

AP: Can Yogurt Reduce The Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes?
Sharp-eyed grocery shoppers may notice new labels in the dairy aisle touting yogurt as way to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes. That’s because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said it’s OK for producers of yogurt to make that claim — even though the agency acknowledged that it’s based on limited evidence. (Aleccia, 5/6)

KFF Health News: What’s Keeping The US From Allowing Better Sunscreens?
When dermatologist Adewole “Ade” Adamson sees people spritzing sunscreen as if it’s cologne at the pool where he lives in Austin, Texas, he wants to intervene. “My wife says I shouldn’t,” he said, “even though most people rarely use enough sunscreen.” At issue is not just whether people are using enough sunscreen, but what ingredients are in it. (Scaturro, 5/7)

The New York Times: Ozempic Is Repairing A Hole In Our Diets Created By Processed Foods 
In the United States (where I now split my time), over 70 percent of people are overweight or obese, and according to one poll, 47 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay to take the new weight-loss drugs. It’s not hard to see why. (Johann Hari, 5/7)

The New York Times: In Medicine, The Morally Unthinkable Too Easily Comes To Seem Normal 
Last month the Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidance requiring written informed consent for pelvic exams and other intimate procedures performed under anesthesia. Much of the force behind the new requirement came from distressed medical students who saw these pelvic exams as wrong and summoned the courage to speak out. (Carl Elliott, 5/7)

Stat: To Track H5N1 Bird Flu Spread, U.S. Must Track Livestock Movements
The presence of H5N1 avian influenza virus, better known as bird flu, among dairy cows in Texas — the second largest producer of dairy cattle — was first confirmed in late March. By then, H5N1 had likely been circulating among dairy cows for months. Six weeks later, the nine states responsible for more than one-quarter of U.S. dairy production, which accounts for 3.5% of the U.S.’s gross domestic product, had each reported H5N1 cases in dairy cows and continue to do so. (Shweta Bansal and Colleen Webb, 5/7)

Stat: With Measles On The Rise, A Personal Story Of A Devastating Disease
At the end of February 1960, my healthy, precocious sister Marcie was halfway through the fourth grade when she contracted measles from a classmate who lived down the street. Their cases were among the nearly 500,000 that year, before the measles vaccination program began in the U.S. in 1963. For every 1,000 people who get measles, one develops measles encephalitis, which can cause permanent brain damage. Marcie was one. (Emmi S. Herman, 5/7)

Stat: Patients' Wearables Can Help Clinicians Prescribe Physical Activity 
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for death. With most adolescents and one-quarter of adults not meeting the World Health Organization’s recommended levels of physical activity, and big disparities across income, age, sex, education and race/ethnicity, it’s more important than ever to re-energize a movement for increasing physical activity (PA) to improve health. The question is: How? (Laurie Whitsel, John Hernandez and Candice Taguibao, 5/6)