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At the Supreme Court on Tuesday, a majority of justices seemed poised to rule against a Colorado law banning licensed mental health practitioners from engaging in any therapy that tries to change a young person’s sexual or gender identity. The justices have until the end of June 2026 to release their decision on the case. (Gaffney, 10/7)

As a teenager, Julie Rodgers attended Tuesday night group therapy sessions in which young people confessed their same-sex transgressions: anal sex, fondling, masturbation, reaching out to an ex or watching “The L Word,” a television show about lesbians. What followed was a kind of psychological analysis, in which participants looked for reasons for their lapses. Maybe they had slipped because of a painful conversation with a parent, or a failure at school or work. Understanding those circuits, the group leader told them, would allow them to reprogram their brains and live as heterosexuals. (Barry, 10/7)

In just a few years, Texas established one of the largest no-cost systems for distributing opioid reversal medications in the United States, thanks to an influx of federal and state funding supporting local community efforts. The sudden loss of $68 million in federal substance abuse response funding this year due to the end of COVID-19 funding, plus the potential for more federal cuts in the future, is threatening this fragile ecosystem. (Simpson, 10/7)

Business leaders, investors and academics have cheered Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s efforts to counter the Trump administration’s research funding cuts with state money — so much so that a recent meeting on the initiative required overflow seating. But the state legislature, whose support is key to making the idea a reality, has yet to hold a hearing on the proposal and has signaled concern about earmarking funds for research from the already-strained budget. (Ryan, 10/7)

Primary care investments are lagging, leading health systems, medical schools and state officials to try and reverse the trend. Health systems and their educational affiliates are employing different methods to beef up primary care resources, including free tuition and tailored programs. The cause is also gaining traction among states. Legislators and healthcare advocates are assessing statutory or regulatory solutions such as spending targets to push for more funding and get payers involved. (Hudson, 10/7)

In a setback for Sarepta Therapeutics, a New York panel has voted unanimously to recommend the state Medicaid program should pause coverage of a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in response to a high-profile safety controversy this past summer. (Silverman, 10/8)

California yesterday reported its fifth West Nile virus–related death this year, in a man from Placer County in the Central Valley. There have been 54 confirmed human West Nile virus cases in the state this year, 5 of them in Placer County, where county officials said high numbers of West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes and dead birds have been found. It's the first West Nile virus–related death in the county this year. (Dall, 10/7)

A new paper describes the first locally acquired cases of mosquito-transmitted malaria in the United States in 20 years. The paper, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, examines the epidemiology of 10 locally transmitted malaria cases that were identified from May to September 2023 in Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and Maryland, and how public health officials responded to and contained the outbreaks. (Dall, 10/7)