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In the final days of his term, President Biden has issued a series of policy decisions intended to cement his agenda and, in some cases, make it harder for President-elect Donald J. Trump to put in place his own. The 11th-hour decisions, many of them executive actions, include measures on environmental justice, prison reform, immigration and foreign relations. Some are intended to preserve Mr. Biden’s legacy, while others are last-ditch efforts to expand his approach. Many are likely to be undone after Mr. Trump takes office next week. (Kanno-Youngs, 1/16)

President Biden announced on Friday that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses, the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president. ... Mr. Biden said his latest commutations would help those who received sentences based on now-discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, or faced inflated charges for drug crimes. (Green and Kanno-Youngs, 1/17)

More than a dozen state attorneys general, all Democrats, asked on Thursday to join federal legal efforts to preserve two Biden-era gun control policies, a signal of partisan legal fights to come as President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to power. The two policy shifts are different. One would require buyers at gun shows to undergo a background check. ... The other, to ban a kind of trigger that can make a semiautomatic weapon fire like a machine gun. (Schwartz, 1/16)

Every day for the final week-and-a-half of Joe Biden’s presidency, Rosie Couture and other members of the Young Feminist Party she co-founded in high school have been picketing in sub-freezing temperatures outside the White House, urging the outgoing president to make sure the U.S. Constitution protects their rights before he leaves office. (Becker, 1/16)

In a brief and somber farewell address to the nation on Wednesday night, President Biden touched on a number of his administration's accomplishments in healthcare as he summed up his time in office. ... Biden, 82, said it was an "honor to see essential workers getting us through a once-in-a-century pandemic, the heroism of servicemembers, and the first responders keeping us safe." (Frieden, 1/16)

Three Republican-led states will be allowed to move forward with a lawsuit to restrict access to mifepristone, a Texas federal judge ruled Thursday, months after the Supreme Court rejected an earlier argument in the case. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed during President-elect Trump’s first term, said Idaho, Missouri and Kansas can intervene and file a complaint in the case that was originally brought by a group of anti-abortion activists and doctors. (Weixel, 1/16)

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration has rejected proposals that would have allowed Connecticut to stockpile mifepristone, a drug used to end pregnancies, according to a state legislator. (Golvala, 1/17)

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein issued an executive order Thursday that he believes will further protect reproductive health care access across the state. The order directs Cabinet agencies to protect women’s medical privacy, protect doctors providing abortions in the state and not cooperate with efforts to impose penalties, investigations or prosecutions of those seeking reproductive health care like abortion. (O’Connell-Domenech, 1/16)

In advance of this year’s state legislative sessions, lawmakers are filing more than a dozen bills to expand abortion access in at least seven states, and a separate bill introduced in Texas seeks to examine the impact that the state’s abortion ban has had on maternal outcomes. Some were filed in direct response to ProPublica’s reporting on the fatal consequences of such laws. Others were submitted for a second or third year in a row, but with new optimism that they will gain traction this time. (Branstetter and Jaramillo, 1/17)

Four years after Trump left office the first time, the state of access looks radically different. Since the 2022 fall of Roe v. Wade, voters across the political spectrum have repeatedly shown they favor reproductive rights, even while voting for GOP lawmakers. It’s deterred some Republicans, Trump among them, from at least publicly endorsing restrictions that could be politically toxic. Still, once in office, Trump and his administration would have substantial power to further restrict abortion. And with Roe overturned, the avenues to do so are larger than they were last time. (Luthra, 1/16)

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Thursday the global AIDS-fighting program started by President George W. Bush “is certainly in jeopardy” because the Biden administration allowed some of its funding to be spent on abortions. Congressional Republicans had raised concerns about funds from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief going to groups that support abortion rights or provide abortions in 2023 when they allowed the program’s authorization to expire. They ultimately renewed it for one year last March. (Paun, 1/16)

With the new Congress sworn in and President-elect Trump poised for his second inauguration, Republicans have queued up a number of bills that could widely expand veterans’ access to the private health care system, setting up the latest battle over VA’s reliance on what’s known as community care. Efforts to reform how the Department of Veterans Affairs provides health care to millions of veterans are heating up in 2025 as pressures to bring down costs and lower wait times for care mount. (Marshall-Chalmers, 1/16)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: �鶹Ů�� Health News' 'What The Health?': Hello, Trump. Bye-Bye, Biden

With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content. (Rovner, 1/16)

Groups representing employers that offer health insurance are gearing up to defend and try to bolster the largest source of health coverage for people under 65 in the U.S., your host reports. Donald Trump’s election and Republican majorities in Congress have raised some uncertainty on what’s coming down the pike for employer-sponsored health insurance, which covers almost 165 million Americans. (Hooper, 1/16)

On the surface, the US health-care industry is facing a pivotal year in 2025 as President-elect Donald Trump re-enters the White House. Trump has promised to “knock out” drug-industry middlemen, a potential disaster for pharmacy benefit managers. He named prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services, which could wreak havoc on shot developers. And his nomination of celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is considered a boon for companies that offer private versions of government health insurance. (Adegbesan, 1/16)

Paul Mango, an integral part of the Trump administration’s drive to invent coronavirus vaccines and treatments, has died at 65. (Owermohle, 1/16)

In UnitedHealth Group’s first public appearance since the killing of a top executive, leaders acknowledged the public’s discontent with the health care system, but quickly piled blame on drug companies and hospitals. (Herman and Bannow, 1/16)

Nurses at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah joined thousands of fellow caregivers nationwide Thursday morning to express concerns over low staffing levels, the need for up-to-date equipment, quality health insurance and artificial intelligence safeguards. The march was organized by the National Nurses United to highlight broad support among nurses for solutions that prioritize patient care. (Cooper, 1/16)

Thousands of registered nurse members of National Nurses United, including many in Northern California, participated in marches and rallies on Thursday, demanding safe staffing levels and patient safeguards with the introduction of artificial intelligence, the NNU says. More than 100,000 NNU members are entering contract negotiations, saying they "plan to confront industry decisions that undermine patients' health and well-being and fail to address chronic RN recruitment and retention issues –  in favor of increasing profits." (Downs, 1/16)

Telehealth companies are unsure they'll feel the impact of the Drug Enforcement Administration's proposed rule on remote prescribing of controlled substances. ... The timing of the proposal, issued in the final days of Biden administration, has led to uncertainty among telehealth companies that aren't sure if the Trump administration will finalize it. (Turner, 1/16)

Three federal agencies on Wednesday said "more effective and vigorous" enforcement is needed to protect patients harmed by healthcare's continued consolidation. In a report released just days before a new administration takes over, the Health and Human Services Department, Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department said comments they sought earlier this year on the state of the industry made clear that worries about access to services and costs have intensified as consolidation and private equity's role have grown. (DeSilva, 1/16)

OrthoCarolina, one of the nation’s largest independently owned orthopedic practices, is close to a deal to sell its physical therapy business to PT Solutions Physical Therapy, an Atlanta-based company backed by private equity, the Charlotte Ledger/NC Health News has learned. (Crouch, 1/17)

Surgeons with higher physiological stress in the first 5 minutes of surgery had fewer major surgical complications, a post-hoc analysis of a prospective study found. Increased sympathovagal balance -- which was used as a measure of surgeon stress -- at the beginning of surgery was significantly associated with reduced major surgical complications (adjusted OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.41-0.98, P=0.04), reported Jake Awtry, MD, of the department of general surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues in JAMA Surgery. (Robertson, 1/16)

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday she wants to impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients, hoping to revive and expand a restriction that was blocked by the courts but could get a new life under the Trump administration. Sanders’ comments come as fellow Republicans in several other states are seeking similar requirements along with other cuts or restrictions to Medicaid, which covers about 80 million people nationally. More than 18,000 people lost coverage when Arkansas previously enacted work requirements under Sanders’ predecessor, Asa Hutchinson, in 2018. (DeMillo, 1/16)

Saying it is time to “build our future,” Governor Maura Healey on Thursday laid out a wide-ranging agenda in her State of the Commonwealth address, vowing to rebuild roads and bridges, make it easier to get a doctor’s appointment, and transition homeless families out of hotels and motels by the end of the year. Addressing lawmakers, elected officials, and a primetime audience, the first-term Democrat laced her near hour-long speech with a series of new plans and calls for the Democratic-led Legislature to join her in realizing her initiatives. (Stout and Huynh, 1/16)

New reports out Thursday provide an inside look at the health of Colorado hospitals: what's coming in and what's being put back into the community. And while hospital profits grow, so do expenses. After years of operating in the dark, hospitals across Colorado are now required to disclose more information than ever before. (Morfitt and Alejo, 1/16)

New Hampshire lawmakers are trying to address the yearslong struggles of patients who take an ambulance and end up surprised with massive bills even when they have health insurance. The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee held hearings Wednesday on dueling bills that each offer proposed solutions to the problem. (Skipworth, 1/16)

When the letter arrived at Westil Gonzalez’s prison cell saying that he had been granted parole, he couldn’t read it. Over the 33 years he had been locked up for murder, multiple sclerosis had taken much of his vision and left him reliant on a wheelchair. ... But six months have passed, and Mr. Gonzalez is still incarcerated outside Buffalo, because the Department of Corrections has not found a nursing home that will accept him. Another New York inmate has been in the same limbo for 20 months. Others were released only after suing the state. (Kliff, 1/17)

Dr. Grant Colfax, the San Francisco's public health director who oversaw the city's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and fentanyl crisis, announced his resignation on Thursday. Colfax is stepping down after spending nearly six years as the city's leading health official. The San Francisco Department of Public Health did not provide a reason for his resignation. (1/16)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: For Homeless Seniors, Getting Into Stable Housing Takes A Village — And A Lot Of Luck

Over two years ago, Kim Hilton and his partner walked out of their home for the final time. The house had sold, and the new landlord raised the rent. They couldn’t afford it. Their Social Security payments couldn’t cover the cost of any apartments in northwestern Montana’s Flathead Valley. Hilton’s partner was able to move into her daughter’s studio apartment. There wasn’t enough space for Hilton, so they reluctantly split up. (Bolton, 1/17)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory Thursday urging health-care workers treating patients hospitalized with the flu to perform an additional test for bird flu within 24 hours of admission. The advisory reflects increasing concern about the widening outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza that is sickening more people and animals in the United States and Canada. (Sun, 1/16)

By the time the 13-year-old arrived at the main children’s hospital in Vancouver, Canada, in early November, a bird flu infection had robbed her ability to breathe. Pneumonia shrouded her left lung. Her kidneys were failing, her blood platelets plummeting. Within four days, the previously healthy teen, whose initial symptoms were pink eye and a low-grade fever, had deteriorated so dramatically that doctors at BC Children’s Hospital had to deploy a battery of medical interventions to save her life. (Sun, 1/17)

Dartmouth Health will no longer require someone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before receiving a kidney transplant, after the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office intervened on behalf of a patient. The Attorney General’s Office said the health system changed its policy after state officials raised concerns it could violate state law. The law at issue, passed in 2022, forbids health care providers from denying care to patients based solely on vaccination status. (Cuno-Booth, 1/16)

Data released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health shows flu activity continuing to soar. In the Twin Cities seven-county region 537 people were admitted to the hospital Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. That is by far the highest weekly total of the last four seasons. (Helmstetter, 1/16)

Two recent studies, including one published today in Pediatrics, show that exposure to the Zika virus (ZIKV) in utero can have affect children's development later in childhood, with today's study showing the finding holds true even when the children are born without signs of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). The study in Pediatrics is based on outcomes seen in Brazil among mother-infant pairs from 2018 to 2022. The children were assessed for early (congenital anomalies) and long-term adverse outcomes (neurodevelopmental delay), and the study included children with and without CZS, which is a group of birth defects associated with the disease. (Soucheray, 1/16)

Federal health officials on Thursday backed the public health benefits of nicotine pouches, authorizing Philip Morris International’s Zyn to help adult smokers cut back or quit cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration OK’d 10 Zyn flavors, including coffee, mint and menthol. It’s the first time regulators have authorized sales of nicotine pouches, which are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. tobacco market. (Perrone, 1/16)

Charmella Roark remembers the shock that stopped her in her tracks when she learned about her younger sister’s cancer diagnosis. In 2018, Kiki Roark wrote in their family’s group text that she had been diagnosed with stage I breast cancer – the same disease that had taken their aunt’s life just a few years prior. (Howard, 1/16)

Scientists are unraveling the mystery of what triggers Huntington’s disease, a devastating and fatal hereditary disorder that strikes in the prime of life, causing nerve cells in parts of the brain to break down and die. ... New research shows that the mutation is, surprisingly, harmless for decades. But it quietly grows into a larger mutation — until it eventually crosses a threshold, generates toxic proteins, and kills the cells it has expanded in. (Ungar, 1/16)

Calorie labels in supermarkets and restaurants have little impact on consumer choices, researchers found, fueling doubts about whether the practice is worth keeping. The effect of the dietary information is a calorie reduction of about 1.8%, which amounts to removing two almonds from a 600-calorie meal, according to a review by the UK nonprofit Cochrane. The researchers aggregated results from 25 studies from countries including the US, UK and France. (Wind, 1/17)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Junk Food Turns Public Villain As Power Shifts In Washington

For years, the federal government has steered clear of regulating junk food, fast food, and ultra-processed food. Now attitudes are changing. Some members of President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle are gearing up to battle “Big Food,” or the companies that make most of the food and beverages consumed in the United States. Nominees for top health agencies are taking aim at ultra-processed foods that account for an estimated 70% of the nation’s food supply. (Armour and Hilzenrath, 1/17)

Susan Scarbro stares down a bowling lane at the distant pins. She hears a sound that breaks her focus. Was that a cough? Will her mask protect her? COVID-19 remains a very present threat for the 55-year-old. Scarbro has multiple immune disorders, making her vulnerable to infection. “Any minute anybody could cough, just incidentally,” said Scarbro, who lives in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. “And that cough could be the one thing that could make me sick.” (Bose and Johnson, 1/16)

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead HHS has a long history of discounting and peddling misinformation about the HPV vaccine. (Hellmann, 1/16)

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the deadliest tick-borne disease in the U.S., is a big problem on tribal lands in the Southwest. A community-led response on Apache lands in Arizona is helping save lives. (Huang, 1/15)

Billions of taxpayer dollars invested in for-profit facilities from Africa to Asia were supposed to improve access to healthcare. But stories of abuses have piled up. (Finch, Taggart and Kocieniewski, 1/16)

In recent years, Dutch psychiatrists have seen a steep upswing in requests for medical assistance in dying, or MAID, on psychiatric grounds, rising from an average of about 30 per year from 2012 to 2018 to 895 in 2023 — though some research suggests those numbers are likely an undercount. (Just a fraction of these requests were granted and pursued.) Some clinicians are concerned about the number of young people seeking the procedure, and want to put more guardrails in place, like a higher age requirement. Others, meanwhile, are calling for fewer barriers, arguing that euthanasia is the most humane approach when a patient is experiencing treatment-resistant mental anguish. (Klotz, 1/15)

Medical professionals constantly battle insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers to get our patients’ medical treatments covered. We tussle with our own institutions to expedite CT scans and medical appointments. We write advocacy letters for things like walkers and dental clearance and problems with bathroom mold and jury duty. But in this upcoming era we may have to face off against our own federal government. (Danielle Ofri, 1/17)

We’re lawyers and lobbyists who work frequently with healthcare, and last year we petitioned the Texas Medical Board to give doctors specific guidelines that clarify exactly when women and girl's life-threatening pregnancies necessitate abortions. (Amy Bresnen and Steve Bresnen, 1/17)

“What do you think of Dr. Fauci?” friends and colleagues asked me throughout the Covid pandemic. As a medical epidemiologist, I was flattered they trusted me, but soon recognized that this was a trick question. They were simply applying their “Dr. Fauci test” of pandemic allegiance. This was a forced binary: Was I an acolyte of the gold standard of sound science, or a denier who dismissed his knowledge in favor of the dogma of zealots and crackpots? Did I “follow the science,” or sell out to political ideologues? (Steven Philips, 1/17)

I’ve long known that obesity is a problem in America. I hear about it all the time in TV ads for miracle drugs and from fitness centers that insist clients do more than they’re willing to do. Americans need another Richard Simmons, a fitness cheerleader who can keep his eyes on our potbellies. From an essay Rev. Al Sharpton wrote for The Washington Post, whites need a Simmons less than Black folk do. (Justice B. Hill, 1/17)

The United States continues to face a pervasive public health challenge: lack of access to behavioral health providers and resources. Behavioral health conditions have been significantly increasing in prevalence, but despite the widespread need, there continues to be a large gap between demand and availability of behavioral health resources. Persistent shortages within the behavioral health workforce often result in lengthy wait times for a behavioral health appointment and delayed patient care, which ultimately lead to worse outcomes. (Meena Seshamani, Emily Parris, Doug Jacobs, Michelle Tarver, David McMullen and Josh Rising, 1/17)

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, 1 in 40 adults will develop OCD. Also, 1 in 200 children and adolescents will have this condition. (Georgia La Grone, 1/17)