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Americans embarking on the annual task of sifting through the health plans offered by their employers to find the one that gives them the most bang for their buck are facing a new reality: many of those options no longer feel affordable. This year, the process isn’t just complex or confusing — it’s painful. (Lisa Jarvis, 10/29)

Currently, based on wastewater testing, the U.S. has up to one million Covid cases per day. Testing is done by gathering sewage and looking for bits of genetic material from germs that indicates ongoing transmission in a community. There is sound evidence that vaccination both reduces transmission of Covid-19 and infection. (Judy Stone and Judith Feinberg, 10/30)

We live in a country where the rising cost of deductibles, for those who have insurance, means that many day-to-day maladies are self-treated. The majority of Americans now seek health information on social media (and even when we don’t seek it, it is dumped into our eyeballs). We are left to separate a world of unproven, exaggerated and sometimes false claims from the truth. (Jessica Grose, 10/30)

In the popular narrative, cannabidiol, or CBD, is portrayed as a natural, non-intoxicating cure for a host of ailments — and sometimes that extends to the anxieties of modern adolescence. CBD is everywhere, infused in products such as gummy candies, vapes, skincare serums, and even fizzy seltzers. Usually derived from the hemp plant, CBD is pitched as a calming remedy with none of the stigma of marijuana. Even a 2018 World Health Organization report noted that CBD shows no signs of abuse or dependence potential. But as a physician and neuroscientist who studies how CBD affects the developing brain, I have to offer a different, more troubling answer: We simply don’t know if it’s safe for teens. (Nima Sadrian, 10/30)

In September, the Food and Drug Administration released its recent complete response letter (CRL) to Lykos Therapeutics, denying approval for MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. It confirmed the issues raised at the 2024 FDA Advisory Committee meeting regarding the approvability of MDMA. When the non-approval was announced in 2024, critics called it the end of psychedelic medicine. Advocates blamed regulatory roadblocks. (Jama Pitman, 10/30)