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More than 340,000 Missourians signed up for plans on the federal health insurance marketplace before open enrollment drew to a close, a more than 35% increase compared with the year before, according to preliminary data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Fentem, 1/18)

A record number of Marylanders signed up for coverage on the state’s health benefit exchange during this year’s open enrollment period, leadership at the exchange announced at a Thursday news conference. During open enrollment, which began Nov. 1 and ended on Monday, 213,895 people enrolled in coverage through Maryland Health Connection — the state’s health insurance marketplace. That’s 17% more than the 182,166 Marylanders who enrolled last year, said Michele Eberle, executive director of Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. (Roberts, 1/18)

Leaders at Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act exchange reported a record number of sign-ups for health plans during the open enrollment period that ended Monday. A total of 129,000 people enrolled in a qualified health plan for 2024, compared to 108,142 during last year’s enrollment period. This year’s program ran from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. Coverage began on Jan. 1 for people who signed up from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15. For those who enrolled between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15, coverage starts Feb. 1. (Carlesso, 1/18)

The Florida Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a wide-ranging plan that President Kathleen Passidomo and other supporters tout as a strategy to expand health care access as the state's population continues to grow. The plan, which is in two bills, includes trying to increase the number of doctors in the state, shifting patients away from emergency rooms, creating new facilities for women to have babies, and boosting health innovation efforts. (1/19)

The Washington University School of Medicine celebrated Thursday the opening of its 11-story Neuroscience Research Building, touted as one of the largest neuroscience research buildings in the world, built to match the school’s reputation as the nation’s premier research institution in neurology. (Munz, 1/18)

On a cold Wednesday morning, a doctor, a medical assistant and a community health worker drove a minivan along Brays Bayou on the lookout for a man named Steve. ... They parked nearby and unloaded backpacks filled with medical supplies — a blood pressure cuff, an oximeter, syringes, vials, gloves. Each wore a blue vest with the words “HHH Street Medicine.” The HHH stood for Healthcare for the Homeless Houston, which recently launched the region’s first program that takes medical care directly to people living on the streets instead of asking them to come to a clinic. (Schuetz, 1/18)

As temperatures nosedived in the Kansas City area this week, hitting record lows of minus 12 on Sunday and minus 16 on Monday, hospitals saw an influx of patients with injuries related to extreme cold, as well as seasonal respiratory illness. Conditions like frostbite, injuries from vehicle accidents and falls on ice are keeping hospitals busy as Kansas City prepares for another cold stretch, with temperatures forecast to plummet overnight to a low of around 3 degrees with wind chill values between minus 3 degrees and minus 13 degrees. (Calfee, 1/18)

Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe a 2023 Pseudomonas outbreak tied to a hotel swimming pool that lacked a disinfectant feeder system. Twenty-three of 26 people (88%) who swam in the Maine hotel pool on March 4 or 5 reported developing ear pain (70%), rash (65%), or pain or swelling in their feet and hands (30%) after a median of 1 day. (Van Beusekom, 1/18)

This deep winter freeze we are experiencing is not good for the life-saving drug naloxone, or Narcan, used to reverse the affects of an opioid overdose. But Narcan can freeze, making it impossible to administer. Opioid overdose is a growing problem across the Twin Cities. Especially in poor neighborhoods and homeless encampments, there is a huge need for Narcan. (Chapman, 1/18)

Sheila Haennicke’s son was on a Blue Line train in Chicago when he overdosed on fentanyl. The only thing that might have saved his life in the five minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive is naloxone, an emergency opioid overdose reversal treatment. In the wake of her son’s death, Haennicke is part of a growing movement to make the nasal spray, commonly distributed as Narcan, available near public transit. (Xie, 1/18)

In the latest effort to combat the opioid epidemic, Wayne County announced on Thursday, a massive investment in access to the life-saving drug Narcan. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans announced a new partnership with Wayne State University's Center for Behavioral Health and Justice to deploy 100 Naloxone vending machines across Wayne County. (1/18)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Michigan Disbands Racial Equity Group As Tension Mounts Over Opioid Settlement Money

An advisory group formed to help Michigan tackle high rates of opioid overdoses in communities of color has been disbanded by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, leading to hard feelings among some members who say their work is being buried. The Whitmer administration is “trying to … silence in a systematic way the voices of the Racial Equity Workgroup,” said Native American activist Banashee “Joe” Cadreau, a member of the work group. “For two years, we put our blood, sweat, tears, thoughts, time, to …. [come] up with these recommendations.” (Erb and French, 1/19)