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After years of litigation to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the deadly abuse of prescription painkillers, payments from what could amount to more than $50 billion in court settlements have started to flow to states and communities to address the nation’s continuing opioid crisis. But though the payments come with stacks of guidance outlining core strategies for drug prevention and addiction treatment, the first wave of awards is setting off heated debates over the best use of the money, including the role that law enforcement should play in grappling with a public health disaster. (Hoffman, 8/14)

States that declared themselves refuges for transgender people have essentially issued an invitation: Get your gender-affirming health care here without fearing prosecution at home. ... Already-long waiting lists are growing, yet there are only so many providers of gender-affirming care and only so many patients they can see in a day. For those refuge states — so far, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Washington and Vermont, plus Washington, D.C. — the question is how to move beyond promises of legal protection and build a network to serve more patients. (McMillan and Schoenbaum, 8/15)

Amber Bohlman tried almost everything to get pregnant. For five years, she took hormones that gave her headaches. Bohlman underwent three rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI), in which her partner’s sperm was directly implanted into her uterus. Though Bohlman, who did two tours in Iraq in her 20s, grew increasingly worried that she would run out of chances to get pregnant. Still, there was one method she still hadn’t tried: in vitro fertilization (IVF), which is generally considered to be the most effective form of assisted reproductive technology. (Luthra, 8/14)

New research finds a large number of LGBTQ people say they’ve experienced discrimination and medical gaslighting from healthcare providers. (Mastroianni, 8/13)

A privately run clean-needle program in Santa Cruz County, aimed at limiting the spread of HIV and other drug-borne diseases, was illegally authorized in 2020 by state health officials who failed to consult with local law enforcement agencies, the program’s chief opponents, a state appeals court ruled Monday. (Egelko, 8/14)

A new law in Illinois restricts the way gun dealers and manufacturers can market and sell their products and subjects them to civil penalties for violations. Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday signed House Bill 218 into law. Labeled the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act, it took effect immediately. “We hold opioid manufacturers accountable. Vaping companies accountable. Predatory lenders accountable. Gun manufacturers shouldn’t get to hide from the law – and now, they won’t be able to. Here’s to an Illinois where everyone feels safe in every corner of our great state,” Pritzker said in a statement. (Hancock, 8/15)

All those extra pounds come at a cost — a $9.3 billion hit to the state’s economy in 2022,or about 2% of the gross domestic product, according to a new report supported by Eli Lilly and Co. London-based GlobalData report finds that in Indiana, where 36.3% of adults self-report as obese and 33.3% overweight, obesity accounts for 69,400 fewer adults in the workforce because of obesity-related unemployment and early deaths. Medical conditions and complications that stem from obesity added up to an extra $1.2 billion in medical spending for employers, the report found. (Rudavsky, 8/15)