The New York Times: ADHD Medication Shortage Continues As The School Year Begins 
Parents and caregivers across the country are spending hours each month hunting down pharmacies with A.D.H.D. medication in stock and asking their doctors to either transfer or rewrite prescriptions, a process many equate to having a second job. Others pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for name-brand drugs that are sometimes more readily available but, unlike generics, are not covered by their insurance. Some children end up taking similar but less effective medications or go without medication for months at a time because their families do not have the extra time or cash. (Caron, 8/15)

Houston Public Media: Parents Of ADHD Students Concerned How They Will Fare This School Year As Medication Shortage Persists  
The Simpsons spend a large portion of their time calling various pharmacies to find out if their son's medication is in stock, and when it is, they can only get one month's supply at a time. "One pharmacy said they had Focalin, but since it was the brand name, insurance wouldn't cover it," said Kate Simpson. For 20 days' worth of pills, the pharmacy said the medication would cost $600. Typically, the Simpsons pay less than $15 for a month's supply. "If I knew this was going to happen, I would've stock-piled it," Ryan said. "Instead of giving it to him during the summer, I would've stock-piled it so he could get through the school year." (Noel, 8/15)

More on the youth mental health crisis —

NBC News: Emergency Room Doctors Beg For Help Treating Children With Mental Health Illnesses
Three influential groups of pediatricians and emergency medicine providers are pleading for more support and resources as the number of children and teenagers with mental health concerns overwhelm emergency departments nationwide. "The scope of this problem is really great," said Dr. Mohsen Saidinejad, a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "But our ability to solve it is not there." Saidinejad is the lead author of a joint policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association released Wednesday. (Edwards, 8/16)

NBC News: Latino Kids In Anti-Immigrant States Linked To Poorer Health: Study
Latino children living in states with more anti-immigrant laws and policies — and the resulting inequities in access — were linked to higher odds of chronic physical or mental health conditions, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal Pediatrics. (Flores, 8/15)

The New York Times: Addiction Treatment Eludes More Than Half Of Americans In Need 
Roughly three in 10 adults have been addicted to opioids or have a family member who has been, and less than half of those with a substance use disorder have received treatment, according to a new survey conducted by KFF, a health policy research group. The survey, which polled more than 1,300 adults in July, underscores the broad and often harmful influence of opioid addiction across the nation, which recorded around 110,000 fatal drug overdoses last year alone. (Weiland, 8/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Drug Overdoses In 2023 Could Surpass Deadly 2020, Data Shows
More people died from accidental fentanyl overdoses in San Francisco in July than almost any other month since the city began releasing overdose death data three years ago, according to preliminary figures released by the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office Tuesday. (Ho and Toledo, 8/15)

The New York Times: Restaurant Workers With Narcan Are On The Front Lines Of The Opioid Epidemic
Kevin Foehrkolb was tending bar on a routine Saturday night last September at Kent House Irish Pub in Towson, Md., when he heard a commotion from the corner booth where a group of regular customers were playing the card game Magic: The Gathering.“ They were the type to drink beer, not get rowdy or do shots,” he said. When he ran over, he saw that one man’s face had turned yellow and his eyes had rolled back in his head. He was overdosing. (Krishna and Park, 8/15)

On the opioid settlements —

Reuters: Drugmaker Mallinckrodt Moves Toward Second Bankruptcy Filing 
Mallinckrodt on Tuesday said it was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years after struggling to make a required $200 million settlement payment to opioid victims. The drugmaker, one of the largest makers of opioids, said it is negotiating a restructuring support agreement with its stakeholders, while deferring deadlines for missed debt payments and opioid settlement payments to next week. (Jain and Knauth, 8/15)

Forbes: Meet The Man Who Fought The Sacklers On Their Opioid Bankruptcy Deal
For Michael Quinn, a partner in the New York City law firm of Eisenberg & Baum, the Supreme Court decision is a temporary victory in a battle he’s been fighting on behalf of his clients for years. During Purdue’s original bankruptcy proceedings, he represented the famous photographer Nan Goldin and activists from around the country who, he says, “are really concerned about getting accountability in this case from the Sacklers.” (Brady, 8/15)

USA Today: Medical Misinformation: 52 Doctors Misled Public During The Pandemic
"This was actually comforting to see that they didn't find more," said Dominique Brossard, chair of the department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved in the new study but studies medical misinformation. Roughly 1 million Americans hold medical licenses in the United States, so 52 is a tiny fraction of the total. (Weintraub, 8/15)

More on the spread of covid —

CBS News: COVID Hospitalizations Accelerate For Fourth Straight Week 
A total of 10,320 patients in the U.S. were newly hospitalized with COVID-19 for the week ending August 5, according to the figures published Monday, an increase of 14.3% from the week before. Levels remain far below the summer peak that strained hospitals at this time last year, when 42,813 admissions were reported for the week of August 6, 2022. (Tin, 8/15)

CIDRAP: COVID Shots In Same Arm May Elicit Better Immune Response 
Sequential vaccines, like those used for COVID-19, may elicit a greater immune response if the recipient has the same arm injected, called ipsilateral vaccination, as opposed to contralateral vaccination, in which the primary vaccination is delivered in one arm and booster dose is delivered to the opposite. The research is published in EBioMedicine. (Soucheray, 8/15)

U.S. News & World Report: Who's Got COVID? Dogs Can Quickly Tell
Dogs are so good at it, according to a new research review, that they may be ready for mainstream medical use if people didn’t consider this a curiosity rather than a real possibility. (Murez, 8/16)

CIDRAP: New Standard On Cutting Risk Of Infectious Aerosol Spread Sets High Bar For Building Ventilation But Is Work In Progress 
The first-ever ASHRAE standard on reducing the risk of indoor infectious aerosol transmission sets new targets for building operators in terms of air system design, installation, operation, and maintenance. But both ASHRAE  and other experts acknowledge that buildings have not been designed to reduce disease transmission—only to heat, dehumidify, and cool incoming outdoor air and address off-gassing of volatile organic compounds such as those in building materials through mixing—so compliance may require some heavy lifting. (Van Beusekom, 8/15)

Bloomberg: Amazon Pharmacy Automates Insulin Discounts
Rather than manually entering a coupon code to lower insulin costs to $35 a month, Amazon will provide eligible patients with immediate discounts on more than 15 insulin and diabetes care brands, including insulin vials, pens, continuous glucose monitors and pumps, the online retail giant company said Tuesday in a statement. (Rutherford, 8/15)

In other pharmaceutical developments —

Reuters: Walgreens Must Face US, Virginia Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit Over Hepatitis C Drugs 
A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit in which the United States and Virginia accused Walgreens Boots Alliance of defrauding Virginia's Medicaid program by falsely representing that some patients were eligible for expensive hepatitis C drugs. In a 3-0 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, cleared the way for the nation's largest pharmacy chain to face claims it violated the federal False Claims Act and Virginia state law. (Stempel, 8/15)

Reuters: Trial Against Teva Over Kickback Claims Put On Hold Amid Appeal
A September trial in Boston federal court over the U.S. government's claims that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries used illegal kickbacks to boost sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone has been put on hold while the company appeals a July order that allowed the case to move forward. Normally, appeals are only allowed in federal court after a final judgment has been reached. However, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton, in a brief order Monday, said that the unusual pre-trial appeal was warranted because there was "substantial ground for difference of opinion" about a key legal issue that could decide the case. (Pierson, 8/15)

Stat: Cancer Drug Shortages' Outsize Impact On Ovarian Cancer Patients
Sarah Evans considers herself a lucky ovarian cancer patient, though she is dealing with the second recurrence of the disease since she was first diagnosed in February 2018. She is grateful that, even by her third round of chemo in March of this year, her cancer was still responding to carboplatin treatment — the most common first line of treatment for ovarian cancer, and one Evans tolerates without unbearable side effects. But in May of this year, Evans, who at age 68 has stage three cancer, received a call from the hospital: Due to a national shortage of generic drugs, there was no carboplatin available for her. She was going to be treated with cisplatin this time. (Merelli, 8/16)

Stat: FDA Warns AstraZeneca Over Misleading Promotional Materials
The Food and Drug Administration scolded AstraZeneca for making misleading claims about the effectiveness of a key medicine used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In an Aug. 4 warning letter, the agency admonished the company for a promotional sales aid that suggested the treatment, called Breztri, had a positive impact on death rates and reduced the risk of death in COPD patients. But the suggestions were not supported by a clinical trial cited in the promotional material, according to the FDA. (Silverman, 8/15)

Stat: The Boys, Now 6, Who Are Gene Therapy’s ‘Edge Case’ Problem
In mid-July, Kristen Secrist hopped on a call with her 5-year-old son’s doctor, who had urgent news: The first gene therapy had been approved for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Her son, Hiram, would be a perfect candidate — if, she added, they could get him dosed in time. The treatment was approved only for 4- and 5-year-olds. Hiram turned 6 in three weeks. (Mast, 8/16)

Stat: SEC Wants To Know If Key Supplier Of Research Monkeys Bribed Foreign Officials
A U.S. government probe into a monkey-smuggling operation emanating from Cambodia has gone in a new direction as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission examines whether Inotiv, a key importer, complied with a federal law that governs bribing foreign officials. (Silverman, 8/15)

Military.com: Veterans Health System Surpasses 400K Employees As Record Hiring Continues 
The Veterans Health Administration has added nearly 49,000 new employees this fiscal year as demand spikes amid a deluge of claims and new enrollment from the PACT Act. It is closing in on a total goal of 52,000 hires by Sept. 30. The majority are in occupations that Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal calls the "Big Seven" -- jobs that directly affect patient care and services, including physicians, nurses, licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants, medical support, food service workers and housekeepers. (Kime, 8/15)

In other health industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Pitchbook: Private Equity Deals Slow Amid High Interest Rates
Private equity deals in healthcare services fell nearly 24% during the second quarter, to the lowest point since 2020, according to PitchBook's latest Healthcare Services Report. The report estimated 164 dealsoccurred in the quarter, up from 75 in the same period in 2020 but down substantially from a 362-deal peak in 2021's fourth quarter. The second quarter was the sixth-straight quarter for declining deal counts, the report found. (Hudson, 8/15)

Axios: MOVEit Data Breach Hits Massachusetts Residents 
Some 134,000 Massachusetts residents may have had their personal information stolen in a data breach involving a widely used file-transfer software, state officials and UMass Chan Medical say. Hackers targeted recent or current recipients of MassHealth, state cash benefits, Aging Services Access Points services and other resources, officials said in a news release. (Solis, 8/15)

Modern Healthcare: Epic’s Launching Third-Party Vendor Program With Nuance, Abridge
Epic is going to allow select third-party vendors to work more closely in its electronic health record platform, and one of the first participants is calling it a “stamp of approval” from the company. Epic’s Partners and Pals programs are scheduled to be introduced during the EHR company's annual user conference in Verona, Wisconsin, next week, a company spokesperson confirmed. (Perna and Turner, 8/15)

Fox News: As AI Shows Up In Doctors' Offices, Most Patients Are Giving Permission As Experts Advise Caution
Artificial intelligence has been used "behind the scenes" in health care for decades, but with the growing popularity of new technologies such as ChatGPT, it’s now playing a bigger role in patient care — including during routine doctor’s visits. Physicians may rely on AI to record conversations, manage documentation and create personalized treatment plans. And that raises the question of whether they must get patients’ permission first to use the technology during appointments. (Rudy, 8/16)

KFF Health News: Feds Say Hospitals That Redistribute Medicaid Money Violate Law 
The Biden administration wants to crack down on private arrangements among some hospitals to reimburse themselves for taxes that help fund coverage for low-income people. It contends the practice violates federal law. Federal regulators say these arrangements “appear designed to” redirect Medicaid dollars away from facilities that treat the poorest patients to those that “provide fewer, or even no, Medicaid-covered services,” according to a proposed enforcement plan released May 3 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (Young, 8/16)

KFF Health News: How A Surprise Bill Can Hitch A Ride To The Hospital 
How did three siblings who took identical ambulance rides (from the same car wreck to the same hospital) end up with three wildly different bills? The answer lies in the No Surprises Act. That law has protected patients from some of the most outrageous out-of-network medical bills since it took effect in 2022 — except when it comes to ground ambulances. Host Dan Weissmann and producer Emily Pisacreta unpack the story with Bram Sable-Smith of KFF Health News and PIRG’s Patricia Kelmar and share what to do if you get hit with an out-of-network ambulance bill. (8/16)

Also —

Stat: For Stroke Patients, America's ERs Struggle To Provide Timely Care
In the world of stroke care, time is everything. At stroke onset, a clot or ruptured blood vessel interrupts blood flow to the brain. Within minutes, brain cells starved of oxygen and nutrients begin to die. Every additional second that passes without blood flow increases the chance that the brain suffers irreparable damage, leading to permanent disability. With enough time, strokes become fatal, and sadly this is not uncommon. Nearly 800,000 Americans die from stroke every year nationwide, making it the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. (Bree Iskandar, 8/15)

Dallas Morning News: After Hearing Arguments, Future Of Planned Parenthood In Texas Rests With Federal Judge
A Texas judge will decide whether Planned Parenthood must pay the state of Texas Medicaid reimbursements and fines that could surpass $1 billion after hearing arguments from both sides in Amarillo on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, has not indicated when he will issue a ruling in the case, which could have severe consequences for Planned Parenthood. Kacsmaryk made headlines earlier this year for ordering a hold on the decades-old federal approval of the abortion medication mifepristone. (Wolf, 8/15)

Reuters: Court Revives Anti-Abortion Groups' Free Speech Lawsuit Over D.C. Protests 
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived part of a lawsuit claiming that the District of Columbia enforced an anti-graffiti law against anti-abortion protesters in Washington but not racial justice demonstrators in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a unanimous 3-0 decision, found that two anti-abortion groups had plausibly alleged that the D.C. government “discriminated on the basis of viewpoint in the selective enforcement of its defacement ordinance.” (Goudsward, 8/15)

The New York Times: Man Who Set Fire To Planned Parenthood Clinic Gets 10 Years In Prison 
A man who told the authorities that he had set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Illinois after being reminded of an ex-girlfriend who he said had an abortion against his wishes was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison. (Jimenez, 8/15)

Montana Free Press: Why Montana’s Leading Abortion Access Group Changed Its Name
What was once the Susan Wicklund Fund is now the Montana Abortion Access Program, or MAAP. The name change, however, is also connected to a disagreement between Montana abortion access trailblazer Dr. Susan Wicklund, the organization’s now-former namesake, and its board. (Silvers, 8/15)

NPR: The First Nomination Of A Woman As Navy Leader Is Held Up By Abortion Protest
Adm. Lisa Franchetti is set to become the first woman to head the Navy. Her confirmation is being held up by one senator as part of a protest over abortion policy within the military. (Walsh, 8/15)

The Guardian: Home Test That Checks If An Abortion Has Worked Reduces Follow-Up Surgery, Study Finds 
A home test that checks whether a drug-induced abortion has worked is not only safe but reduces rates of unnecessary follow-up surgery, an Australian-first study has found. People who attend clinics to access medication to terminate a pregnancy, known as a medical abortion, usually need to see a doctor 14 days later and may undergo a blood test to examine levels of a hormone known as hCG, along with an ultrasound to rule out complications. (May, 8/15)

AP: A Pennsylvania Study Suggests Links Between Fracking And Asthma, Lymphoma In Children
Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled western Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening. The taxpayer-funded research by the University of Pittsburgh adds to a body of evidence suggesting links between the gas industry and certain health problems. (Levy, 8/16)

In other environmental health news —

Fox News: Dengue Virus Spreads Across Florida Counties, Health Officials Say
Florida health officials have placed Broward County under a mosquito-borne illness alert this month as dengue virus cases spread. Broward County – home to Fort Lauderdale – joins Miami-Dade County as the illness continues to spread. The Florida Department of Health reported two cases of locally acquired dengue in Broward County in its July 30-Aug. 5 arbovirus surveillance report. (Musto, 8/15)

Bay Area News Group: More Mosquitos Test Positive For West Nile Virus In Santa Clara County
Sprayings aimed to reduce the adult mosquito population are set to be performed Wednesday and Thursday night after more insects tested positive for West Nile virus in Santa Clara County. The Santa Clara County Vector Control District confirmed the positive tests on Monday and Tuesday. According to the district, the infected insects were located in parts of San Jose and Sunnyvale, in ZIP codes 94086, 94087 and 95132. (Turner, 8/15)

WLRN 91.3 FM: How Deadly Is Florida Heat? Experts Say Official Numbers Don't Show The Whole Picture
Calculating the damage from a hurricane or wildfire is straightforward: simply add up the cost of destroyed buildings, disrupted business and livelihoods lost. For extreme heat — the kind that has gripped Florida and much of the nation for months now — the toll is harder to tally, because the real danger of heat isn’t to homes and power lines, it’s to human health. And, experts say, the official numbers likely don’t capture the whole picture. (Harris and Marchante, 8/15)

AP: Southern Arizona Doctor Dies While Hiking In New Mexico With Other Physicians, Authorities Say 
A southern Arizona doctor has died after suffering an apparent heart attack in New Mexico while on a hike with other physicians. Taos County sheriff’s officials said 61-year-old Renhick Guyer of Marana, Arizona, died Sunday close to the summit of Wheeler Peak near Taos. They said Guyer was hiking the steep trail with his wife and a group of friends who are all medical doctors. (8/15)

NPR: Heat Wave Will Strain The Pacific Northwest Through Thursday
"These temperatures combined with the duration of heat, expected to continue through this week, will increasingly pose a heightened health risk, especially for those without adequate air conditioning," the NWS short range forecast says. The greatest risk is for residents in western Oregon's interior valleys and lower elevations, which could see "one of the hottest four day stretches" on record. (Jones, 8/15)

On vibrio —

AP: Two Connecticut Deaths Linked To Bacteria Found In Raw Shellfish 
Two Connecticut residents have died this summer from infections linked to a bacteria found in raw shellfish or seawater, the state Department of Public Health said Tuesday. Three people in the state are known to have been infected with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which doesn’t make an oyster look, smell or taste any different. The state Bureau of Aquaculture said it does not believe any of the infections are linked to Connecticut shellfish. (8/15)

North Carolina Health News: Warmer Seas Drive Infections, Threaten Fishermen, Public Health
Last month, three people died as a result of infections from a category of bacteria you’ve likely never heard of: Vibrio. It is commonly present in coastal and brackish water, especially during warmer months. “There are almost 80 described species of Vibrio that live in the water,” said UNC Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences researcher Rachel Noble. But Noble also noted that as the seas warm through to climate change, there’s more Vibrio in North Carolina’s waterways. (Atwater, 8/16)

The Washington Post: ‘Asian Glow’ From Alcohol Isn’t Just A Discomfort. It’s A Severe Warning
The redness and other symptoms may be thought of as a severe warning from the body that alcohol is extremely toxic to this individual, much more so than to many others. The associated mutation, known as the ALDH2*2 variant, has been linked to a staggering number of diseases in those who consume moderate to large quantities of alcohol. (Kim, 8/15)

CNN: Saying Hello To Neighbors Could Boost Your Well-Being, A New Survey Says 
It’s hard to be neighborly when you’re raising two kids as a single mom and working long hours. That’s where my sheltie, Dancer, came to my rescue. My sweet boy’s cuteness (of which he was well aware) prompted many people to stop and chat with us on our walks in my Atlanta neighborhood. Little did I know that saying hello to people who live near me would be a key to boosting my well-being after my husband died — but that’s the conclusion of a new Gallup survey released Tuesday. The poll found adults who regularly say hello to multiple people in their neighborhood have higher well-being than those who speak to few or no neighbors. (LaMotte, 8/15)

The Washington Post: Study: Many Users Of Skin-Lightening Products Are Unaware Of Risks
Those who rely on skin-lightening products are largely unaware of their potential harm and don’t consult a doctor before trying them, according to an analysis in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. They’re also more likely to exhibit colorist attitudes — beliefs that those with lighter skin are more beautiful and socially advantaged than those with darker skin — than people who don’t use such products. (Blakemore, 8/14)

KFF Health News: Funyuns And Flu Shots? Gas Station Company Ventures Into Urgent Care 
When Lou Ellen Horwitz first learned that a gas station company was going to open a chain of urgent care clinics, she was skeptical. As CEO of the Urgent Care Association, Horwitz knows the industry is booming. Its market size has doubled in 10 years, as patients, particularly younger ones, are drawn to the convenience of the same-day appointments and extended hours offered by the walk-in clinics. (Sable-Smith, 8/16)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’ 
This week on the KFF Health News Minute: A Black Olympic swimmer almost drowned when he was a child. Now, he’s working to reduce racial disparities in drowning deaths by getting Black families excited about swimming. (8/15)

AP: North Carolina GOP Seeks To Override Governor's Veto Of Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care For Youth 
Transgender rights take center stage in North Carolina again Wednesday as GOP supermajorities in the General Assembly attempt to override the governor’s vetoes of legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors and limiting transgender participation in school sports. The state House will hold the first of two votes Wednesday afternoon in a bid to enact the bills over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition. If House Republicans quickly muster the votes needed, the Senate might aim to complete the override with a decisive final vote Wednesday evening, the Senate leader’s office said. (Schoenbaum, 8/16)

The Texas Tribune: In Texas Gender-Affirming Care Lawsuit, Doctors Say Treatments Are Safe
Medical experts pushed back against Texas lawmakers’ assertions that puberty blockers and hormone therapies are experimental and put young transgender patients at risk as they testified Tuesday in a hearing that seeks to block a new law banning such medical treatment for kids. Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a doctor who treats adolescents and has been providing gender-affirming care for 17 years, said the body of medical research demonstrates these treatments have a high success rate in improving mental health outcomes of trans youth. But in her clinical work, the evidence is more obvious. (Melhado, 8/15)

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

Health News Florida: Florida Expands Lawsuit On Release Of FDA Records Related To Canada Drug Imports
The state filed a revised lawsuit Monday adding to allegations that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not properly provided records about Florida’s attempt to get approval for a program to import prescription drugs from Canada. The filing expanded a lawsuit the state filed in April alleging the federal agency violated the Freedom of Information Act. The revised lawsuit includes allegations that the FDA did not properly respond to a records request submitted in May. (8/15)

The Boston Globe: Attorney General Awards $1.5 Million For Maternal Health Equity
Attorney General Andrea Campbell Tuesday announced $1.5 million in grants to 11 organizations that provide maternal care in Massachusetts as part of her office’s efforts to combat rising maternal health inequities in the state. “The goal was to reach organizations doing the real work and reach patients in real time,” Campbell said at an event hosted by the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, one of the grant recipients. “As much as we’re making progress, when it comes to racial disparities we still have work to do.” (Mohammed, 8/15)

St. Louis Public Radio: Counties Win Right To Defend Mo. State Health Regulations
Two Missouri counties have won the right to defend state health regulations struck down by a Cole County judge in 2021. In a unanimous ruling issued Tuesday, six judges on the state Supreme Court wrote that St. Louis and Jackson counties were harmed by the failure of then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt to appeal the ruling from Judge Daniel Green. The regulations, some of which had been around since the 1940s, had formed the basis for COVID-19 public health orders. Tuesday’s ruling did not decide the validity of the regulations – just that the counties could defend them in court. (Lippmann, 8/15)

KFF Health News: North Carolina Hospitals Have Sued Thousands Of Their Patients, A New Report Finds 
North Carolina hospitals — led by the state’s largest public medical system — have sued thousands of their patients since 2017, according to a new analysis that sheds additional light on the aggressive tactics U.S. hospitals routinely use to collect from people who fall behind on their bills. The report, produced by the state treasurer and Duke University School of Law researchers, and related patient interviews offer harrowing accounts of people pursued for tens of thousands of dollars and often surprised by liens that hospitals placed on family homes. (Levey, 8/16)

Axios: Chicago Health Commissioner Allison Arwady Ousted
There's a leadership void in the Chicago Department of Public Health. Mayor Brandon Johnson fired health commissioner Allison Arwady on Friday, a day after the Chicago Board of Health urged him to keep her in the post. After leading the city through the pandemic, Arwady became Chicago's best-known health chief in recent memory. (Eng, 8/15)

Bloomberg: Marijuana With High THC Levels Draws Scrutiny In Colorado, Washington
In Pueblo, Colorado, teenager Noah had smoked marijuana before. But most of his friends were using an extra-strong version, known as dabs. Thinking it might help with the insomnia that plagued him in his senior year of high school, Noah picked up a small torch, grabbed the glass smoking device known as a dab rig and heated a yellow, waxy substance into a vapor that he slowly inhaled. (Kary, 8/16)

Kansas News Service: Aging Population And Scarce Mental Health Care Puts More Midwesterners At Risk Of Hoarding
Jamie Park, who lives here, deals with chronic pain. The house, just south of downtown Wichita, has been in her family for generations — and for generations, she said, her family has struggled with hoarding. “It’s kind of crazy growing up in this environment,” she said. “I couldn’t see the floor growing up.” Park and her family are among thousands of Kansans who deal with hoarding. It’s a problem that’s frequently depicted in the media, but mental health experts say it’s often misunderstood. And they worry hoarding is on the rise in Kansas due to the state’s demographic makeup and a scarcity of support for those who struggle with it. (Conlon, 8/16)

CIDRAP: FDA OKs Priority Review For Antibiotic Combo For Complicated UTIs
Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review its cefepime-taniborbactam antibiotic combination for treating complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs). Cefepime-taniborbactam is an investigational intravenous (IV) beta-lactam/beta-lacatamase inhibitor antibiotic developed for adults with cUTI, including pyelonephritis. The drug has previously received FDA fast-track designation, and the FDA has set a target action date of February 22, 2024. (Schnirring, 8/15)

ScienceDaily: Many Expensive Cancer Drugs Have Unclear Patient Benefit 
New cancer drugs are being launched at a rapid pace, before their long-term effectiveness for patients can be evaluated. Several years later, most of them still lack scientific evidence for actually increasing life expectancy or improving quality of life. (University of Gothenburg, 8/15)

Reuters: Revance's Botox Rival Gets FDA Approval For Painful Neck Muscle Condition 
The U.S. health regulator has approved expanding the use of Revance Therapeutics' Daxxify to treat a painful neck muscle condition, intensifying the anti-wrinkle injection's rivalry with AbbVie's Botox. The approval by the Food and Drug Administration helps Revance enter the $2.5 billion U.S. market for therapeutic neuromodulator, a method that directly acts on nerves, the company said on Monday. (Leo, 8/14)

ScienceDaily: Synthetic Antibiotic Could Be Effective Against Drug-Resistant Superbugs
A scientific journey decades in the making has found a new antibiotic strategy to defeat gram-negative bacteria like Salmonella, Pseudomonas and E. coli, the culprits in many urinary tract infections. (Duke University, 8/9)

Stat: How The Drug-Pricing System Has Tangled American Medicine
American medicine is a tragic paradox. An example: Cancer patients are likely dying as a result of drug shortages that occurred partly because generic chemotherapies have been allowed to become too cheap. At the same time, other patients are suffering, and perhaps dying, because the financial burden brought on by the expensive medicines they need is too high. (Matthew Herper, 8/15)

Los Angeles Daily News: The Pharmaceutical War On Obesity Has Begun 
While the diet industry is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, frequently offering more false hopes than a political campaign, the tide appears to be turning thanks to the billions to be made by Big Pharma who have set their sights on the obesity epidemic. (Doug McIntyre, 8/13)

Newsweek: Republicans Want You To Pay More For Medicine—Again 
One year ago this week, I joined President Joe Biden as he signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. This transformational law finally reversed longstanding legal restrictions put in place by a Republican Congress 20 years ago that explicitly prevented Medicare from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies on the prices seniors pay for prescription drugs. (Frank Pallone, 8/14)

Scientific American: Why Just One Sleepless Night Makes People Emotionally Fragile
For decades, researchers and medical professionals considered sleep loss a by-product or symptom of another, more “primary” condition, such as depression or anxiety. In other words, first comes the anxiety, and then sleep loss follows. Today we know that this order can be reversed. In fact, sleep loss and anxiety, depression or other mental health conditions may feed into one another, creating a downward spiral that is exceedingly difficult to break. (Eti Ben Simon, 8/15)

Bloomberg: Rising Alcohol Deaths Among Women Should Spur Public Health Campaign 
New data show that more US women are dying from alcohol than ever before. Public health authorities need to adopt more effective strategies to help women realize when their drinking is a problem. Considering the many marketing messages pushing a “rosé all day” lifestyle, that campaign will be an uphill battle. (Lisa Jarvis, 8/15)

The Washington Post: Therapy Won’t Automatically Make You A Better Person 
Too many therapists assume the role of advocate — possibly rendering them worse than no therapist at all. Their patients should dump them and find replacements who are brutally unafraid of crushing their egos. (Foster Kamer, 8/16)

USA Today: Going Back To School Helps Kids' Mental Health. That's Only Part Of It
Three and a half years after the pandemic halted in-classroom education, scrambling the worlds of students throughout the country, parents are seeing a rebound in their children’s mental health. As the new school year starts, parents are reporting that their kids are improving academically, too. (Jill Cook and Will Johnson, 8/16)

The Washington Post: Japan Can Teach The World A Better Way To Care For The Elderly 
Where you will see what lies ahead for many other countries, including the United States, is in rural areas and regional cities outside greater Tokyo: lots of people aging and dying, and relatively few giving birth and raising kids. (Bina Venkataraman, 8/15)

Stat: We Need To Change How We Count Heat-Related Deaths 
In late July, as parts of the southern U.S. approached 30 days of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, President Biden took to the podium to announce a plan to mitigate the impacts from extreme heat. During this speech, the president reiterated a truth surprising to most people: Heat kills more people in the U.S. than any other weather-related event. (Ashley Ward, 8/16)

Chicago Tribune: My Chicago Neighbors And I Have Lived With Lead In Our Water For Too Long
Safe drinking water is a fundamental human right. Yet, year after year, families in my community still struggle with lead-contaminated drinking water — and it’s coming straight from their faucets. The Southeast Side of Chicago is made up of several vibrant communities, full of old houses like mine, plagued by many environmental impacts including dangerous lead service lines that bring toxic, contaminated drinking water into our homes, schools, day care centers, senior living facilities, restaurants and more. For too long, we have lived under constant threat from poisoned water that harms our health and jeopardizes our children’s futures. Enough is enough. (Vanessa Bly, 8/16)

The Wall Street Journal: The 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Picking A Medicare Plan
If you’re thinking about retiring, or are already covered by Medicare, you might be overwhelmed by all the choices out there. No wonder so many people make poor choices about their plan. At the same time, those mistakes can be disastrously costly: Healthcare matters more the older we get, and we also need more of it. With that in mind, here’s a look at the mistakes people make all too often when selecting Medicare options, how they can make better choices—and which types of plans I recommend. (Amitabh Chandra, 8/15)

Stat: Beware The Threat Of Staffing Cuts At The CDC 
The nation’s health faces a dual threat — one anticipated, the other, self-inflicted. Covid-19 has not gone away; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that infections are showing signs of a late summer wave. The new strain, EG.5, spreads easily and is more resistant to neutralizing antibodies but does not, to date, seem to be more virulent. The second threat does not take the form of a new pathogen. Rather it’s an attack on the CDC itself. (Steve Brozak and Richard Marfuggi, 8/16)