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The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it was sending initial offers to the makers of the first 10 prescription drugs that have been selected for price negotiations with Medicare under a landmark federal program intended to reduce drug spending. The medicines selected for negotiations are taken by millions of Americans to treat conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. The administration identified them in August, beginning a lengthy process intended to result in an agreed-upon price that would take effect in 2026, assuming the negotiation program survives legal challenges. (Weiland, 2/1)

The drugs include Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara and the insulins Fiasp and NovoLog. Biden administration officials said the initial offers will start a back-and-forth with drug manufacturers over the spring and summer months. Final prices for the first batch of drugs will be made public Sept. 1, and the negotiated prices will take effect in January 2026.(Alltucker, 2/1)

The offers will not be made public unless a manufacturer chooses to publicly disclose information about the talks, a senior administration official said. Companies have until March 2 to either accept the government’s offer or propose a counteroffer. The Biden administration will publish the final prices by Sept. 1 of this year after the negotiation process ends. (Cohrs, 2/1)

Wednesday was the first time that a federal judge asked questions in-person of drug industry lawyers who are trying to stop Medicare from negotiating drug prices. It didn’t go well for them. (Wilkerson, 1/31)

Dozens of drug makers have lost their bid to keep a group of price-fixing lawsuits joined together in Pennsylvania federal court, after a court panel on Wednesday said Connecticut and other state plaintiffs could press their own cases separately. The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted a request from Connecticut and 45 other states to litigate their antitrust lawsuits in Connecticut federal court, where they were first filed in 2016. (Scarcella, 1/31)

Fewer than 1 in 5 adults (17%) say they know how much health care products or services will cost in advance, according to new Gallup polling with Bentley University. (Millman, 1/31)

Cigna is officially exiting the Medicare business, agreeing to sell all of its Medicare insurance plans to Health Care Service Corp., a large Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer, for $3.3 billion. (Herman, 1/31)

Cigna's Medicare plans cover over 3.6 million people, with 2.5 million of those on Medicare Part D plans, according to a Health Care Service news release. As part of the deal, Chicago-based Health Care Service agreed to have Cigna's Evernorth Health Services unit provide pharmacy benefits for four years. "The acquisition will bring many opportunities to (Health Care Service) and its members − including a wider range of product offerings, robust clinical programs and a larger geographic reach," company CEO Maurice Smith said in a statement. (Powel, 1/31)

Insurers who administer private Medicare plans would see their base payments cut slightly next year, by 0.16%, under a federal proposal announced Wednesday. But the insurers still could see $16 billion more in 2025 revenues once payments are adjusted based on how sick their enrollees appear, Medicare officials said. (Goldman, 2/1)

If Texas seceded from the United States, residents might be in for a brutal pushback when it comes to Medicare benefits, experts told Newsweek. While Texas is amid a border crisis, with Governor Greg Abbott disclosing last week that more than six million migrants passed into the United States within the last three years, a movement pushing for the Southern state to leave the country has emerged online, with roughly 211,000 people following the Texas Nationalist Movement page on Facebook. Those in favor of Texas's independence from the United States might be troubled to learn leaving the country could have dire impacts on benefits like Social Security and Medicare. (Blake, 1/30)

Biogen is giving up its ownership of Aduhelm, the Alzheimer’s disease treatment whose 2021 approval led to scrutiny and outrage, turning the page on a tempestuous chapter in the company’s long history. (Garde, 1/31)

Granted accelerated approval in 2021, Aduhelm has not met commercial expectations, with insurers including the federal Medicare program largely refusing to cover the drug because of doubt over its effectiveness and its high cost. When Biogen initially released Aduhelm, it set the price at $56,000 annually, but later slashed the price in half to about $28,200 after an outcry. (Gibson, 1/31)

In a statement, Christopher A. Viehbacher, president and CEO of Biogen, said the company will reprioritize its Alzheimer's disease resources. “When searching for new medicines, one breakthrough can be the foundation that triggers future medicines to be developed," Viehbacher said. "Aduhelm was that groundbreaking discovery that paved the way for a new class of drugs and reinvigorated investments in the field.” (Alltucker, 1/31)

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sees a way to get Alzheimer’s legislation to the president’s desk. In an interview at the “How Fast Can We Solve Alzheimer’s” POLITICO live event Wednesday evening, Kaine said the Senate HELP Committee members are looking to combine their two bipartisan priorities from recent months — reforming pharmacy benefit manager operations and boosting the health workforce — into one health package. (Payne, 1/31)

Senior lawmakers and health policy experts said Wednesday that the United States is well-positioned to move forward on new diagnostics and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease — poised to build on new technologies. But they also pointed out several challenges — including patient access and high care costs. (Lim, 1/31)

The descent into dementia can feel like traversing a minefield, coming across new symptoms without the hope of a cure. But some dementia patients, even up to 10% of people diagnosed with the condition, might actually have undiagnosed liver disease and accompanying neurological problems, a new study in JAMA Open Network suggests. Most importantly, it’s possible their liver-related brain symptoms could be resolved with treatment. (Cueto, 1/31)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday there have been 561 deaths reported since 2021 related to the use of Philips' recalled ventilators and machines for treating obstructive sleep apnea. The health regulator added that in 2023, between July and September, it received more than 7,000 medical device reports, including 111 reports of deaths related to the use of these machines. (1/31)

CVS Health will close 25 MinuteClinic sites in the Los Angeles area by Feb. 25, the pharmacy chain giant said Wednesday. A CVS spokesperson did not share the exact locations of the closures or how many employees would be affected. Some will be moved to other roles at the company, and others will be eligible for severance benefits, the spokesperson said. (Hudson, 1/31)

GSK said on Thursday it had agreed to settle another lawsuit in California that alleged its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, the latest in a series of settlements to end costly litigation. The case was set to go to trial on Feb. 20 and instead, will now be dismissed, the British drugmaker said in a statement. (2/1)

The Food and Drug Administration urged the public to avoid using South Moon, Rebright and FivFivGo eye drops, warning in a news release Wednesday that the products are unapproved drugs that put users at risk of eye infection. The three brands should not be sold in the United States, the FDA said. It added that the “copycat eye drop products” can be easily mistaken for the Lumify drops made by Bausch + Lomb, an FDA-approved, over-the-counter product used for redness relief. (Jeong, 2/1)

�鶹Ů�� Health News and WPLN: Surge In Syphilis Cases Leads Some Providers To Ration Penicillin 

When Stephen Miller left his primary care practice to work in public health a little under two years ago, he said, he was shocked by how many cases of syphilis the clinic was treating. For decades, rates of the sexually transmitted infection were low. But the Hamilton County Health Department in Chattanooga — a midsize city surrounded by national forests and nestled into the Appalachian foothills of Tennessee — was seeing several syphilis patients a day, Miller said. A nurse who had worked at the clinic for decades told Miller the wave of patients was a radical change from the norm. (Sweeney, 2/1)

Surging demand for blockbuster anti-obesity drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy lifted Novo Nordisk's market value past $500 billion on Wednesday, cementing the Danish drugmaker's status as Europe's biggest company by market cap. (Reed, 1/31)

Ozempic-users fear not: Abbott Laboratories is launching a new line of protein-packed drinks to help you maintain muscle while still shedding fat. The company, which makes baby formula as well as adult nutrition products, is targeting the ever-growing number of people on popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy who want to lose weight, but not the muscle critical for metabolism and overall health. Abbott’s Protality will cost $13.69 for a four-pack of milk chocolate or vanilla flavored shakes, a spokesperson for Abbott said in an email. (Muller, 1/31)

Whenever Mark Moran, chief executive officer of the investor relations firm Equity Animal, is about to perform a boring task, he has a ritual. He pops a Zyn nicotine pouch into his mouth. Then his concentration sharpens, at least for a while. “Am I addicted to it? Absolutely,” he said. “But it’s something I very much enjoy.” (Anand, 1/31)

Lawmakers on Wednesday denounced the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord, accusing them of creating “a crisis in America” by willfully ignoring the harmful content against children on their platforms, as concerns over the effect of technology on youths have mushroomed. In a highly charged 3.5-hour hearing, members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee raised their voices and repeatedly castigated the five tech leaders — who run online services that are very popular with teenagers and younger children — for prioritizing profits over the well-being of youths. Some said the companies had “blood on their hands” and that users “would die waiting” for them to make changes to protect children. At one point, lawmakers compared the tech companies to cigarette makers. (Kang and McCabe, 1/31)

The question is whether this time will be different. And already, there are indicators that the topic of online child safety may gain more traction legislatively. At least six legislative proposals waiting in the wings in Congress target the spread of child sexual abuse material online and would require platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to do more to protect minors. The efforts are backed by emotional accounts of children who were victimized online and died by suicide. (McCabe and Kang, 2/1)

Zuckerberg faced the brunt of criticism from senators on both sides of the aisle over how the company that owns Facebook and Instagram poses risks to children online.  ... Zuckerberg turned his back to the Senate panel to face the audience filled with parents holding photos of children they said were victims of harms of social media. ”I’m sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through. The things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer,” he said. (Klar and Shapero, 1/31)

Mark Zuckerberg has accumulated a long history of public apologies, often issued in the wake of crisis or when Facebook users rose up against unannounced — and frequently unappreciated — changes in its service. It’s a history that stands in sharp contrast to most of his peers in technology, who generally prefer not to speak publicly outside of carefully stage-managed product presentations. But it’s also true that Facebook has simply had a lot to apologize for. (Hamilton, 2/1)

Data obtained by ABC News found that, in some states such as Oklahoma and Colorado, more than one-third of employees left within months of taking their first call. In addition, turnover rates continue to increase across the United States. In Washington, for example, state data shows attrition rates increased 1.5 times between 2022 and 2023. As calls to 988 balloon with ever-higher demand, and as the line continues to provide much-needed services at a pressing time, officials are expressing concern about what the burnout trends among employees mean for the hotline. (Cahan, 2/1)

The furry red-haired Muppet was not fazed by everyone dumping their troubles on him. Taking to X on Tuesday night, he wrote: "Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you. #EmotionalWellBeing."Other Sesame Street characters also spoke up to support their friend. The Cookie Monster wrote: "Me here to talk it out whenever you want. Me will also supply cookies. #EmotionalWellBeing" (Nanji, 1/31)

Energy drinks could pose a risk to young brains, according to new research. Those who consumed energy drinks — which are intended to boost energy through the use of caffeine or other stimulants — were shown to have a higher risk of mental health issues, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. These findings stem from a review by Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health at Teesside University and Newcastle University in the U.K. (Rudy, 1/31)

For men and boys, caring about sport typically conjures images of passionate competition and fighting for the win. This understanding of care leaves little room for self-care, health and safety, and emotional vulnerability — topics that are fraught with risks for boys and men in a sport culture of hypermasculinity. The National Hockey League Players’ Association recently released its First Line Program to support player mental health. It signals that men’s hockey is finally acknowledging the long-known fact that “a hockey player struggling with mental health would have done so in silence.” (Kehler and Knott-Fayle, 1/31)

Abortion rights supporters mounted another push Wednesday to restore abortion access in Kentucky, but the Democratic lawmaker sponsoring the legislation acknowledged the odds are overwhelmingly against them in the Republican-dominated legislature. A near-total abortion ban has been in place in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The so-called trigger law banned abortions except when carried out to save the mother’s life. It does not include exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. (Schreiner, 1/31)

Laws on abortion are out of step with public opinion. One Republican legislator in Tennessee is working to establish exceptions to his state's strict abortion laws, but he faces a tough battle. (Riddle, 1/31)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: More ‘Navigators’ Are Helping Women Travel To Have Abortions 

Chloe Bell is a case manager at the National Abortion Federation. She spends her days helping people cover the cost of an abortion and, increasingly, the interstate travel many of them need to get the procedure. “What price did they quote you?” Bell asked a woman from New Jersey who had called the organization’s hotline seeking money to pay for an abortion. Her appointment was the next day. “They quoted me $500,” said the woman, who was five weeks pregnant when she spoke to Bell in November. She gave permission for a journalist to listen to the call on the condition that she not be named. (Hughes, 2/1)

Access to telehealth abortion care can determine whether a person can obtain an abortion in the United States. For young people and those living on low incomes, telehealth makes a critical difference in getting timely abortion care. These are the key findings from our recent studies published in the American Journal of Public Health and the Journal of Medical Internet Research. (Koenig and Upadhyay, 1/30)

Polycystic ovary syndrome, known as PCOS, has long been known for symptoms such as missed periods or excess body hair. Now, new research has revealed another potential effect: cognitive dysfunction later in life. (Rogers, 1/31)

Essentia Health is facing public outrage after announcing it will end labor and delivery services at the Fosston hospital it operates in north central Minnesota. About 40 community members gathered at Fosston City Hall Tuesday night to tune into a virtual public hearing on the matter, according to Fosston Mayor Jim Offerdahl. Roughly 100 others joined online. (Stockton, Wurzer and Eagle III, 1/31)

Troubled Pennsylvania hospital chain Tower Health is eyeing a turnaround after struggling even before the pandemic hit. It is essentially undoing the ill-fated 2017 merger that transformed it into a six-hospital system. But its plan hit a snag last week when the sale of its shuttered 171-bed Brandywine Hospital to Penn Medicine fell through. (Coleman-Lochner, 1/31)

Saint Peter's Healthcare System and Atlantic Health System have signed a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership, with the goal of merging the two New Jersey providers. Under the terms announced Wednesday, Atlantic would make "significant" but unspecific investments in the 116-year-old Saint Peter's, according to a news release. If a definitive agreement is reached and a merger completed, Saint Peter's would continue to operate as a Catholic hospital and would transition onto Atlantic's electronic medical record system, the systems said. (DeSilva, 1/31)

General Catalysts’s grand vision for a venture capital-owned hospital system seamlessly blending AI and tech into everyday appointments and rewarding staff for keeping patients healthy might sound alluring. But the firm’s bold experiment is facing hurdles even before it has started as the community served by the health system it hopes to buy is pushing back. (Ravindranath, 2/1)

Longtime Cedars-Sinai President and CEO Thomas Priselac will retire after a successor is named and brought onboard, the nonprofit health system said Wednesday. Cedars-Sinai did not provide details on the expected timeline for the search. (Hudson, 1/31)

Alabama’s largest provider of home care services said it abruptly left the state last fall because the state’s “reimbursement and regulatory environment” made it difficult to recruit and retain enough workers, according to Kristen Trenaman, the company’s vice president of public relations. Its departure sent state agencies scrambling to find new caregivers for the people who relied on it. Help at Home’s departure from Alabama “had a significant effect,” according to Debra Davis, deputy commissioner for the Alabama Department of Senior Services. (Claire Vollers, 1/31)

Legislative language to restrict hospital billing rates in outpatient clinics continues to divide lawmakers as they try to coalesce around a broader health care package, with concerns about rural hospitals stalling progress in the Senate. The language is aimed at preventing hospitals from buying up independent physician practices and then billing for the same services at a higher rate. Critics allege the practice unnecessarily increases costs, while hospitals argue their own costs are higher. (Clason and Hellmann, 1/31)

More than half of Americans would accept heart health advice from technology that uses artificial intelligence. And while most Americans would believe health advice given by a computer chatbot, they would check with their doctor before acting on that advice. Those are some findings from the Cleveland Clinic’s 2024 Heart Health Survey, released Thursday to coincide with the start of American Heart Month. (Washington, 2/1)

Tesla Biohealing, which has no connection to the car company, is part of a growth industry marketing unproven cures and treatments to conspiracy theorists and others who have grown distrustful of science and medicine. Experts who study such claims say they’re on the increase, thanks to the internet, social media and skepticism about traditional health care. “There have always been hucksters selling medical cures, but I do feel like it’s accelerating,” said Timothy Caulfield, a health policy and law professor at the University of Alberta who studies medical ethics and fraud. “There are some forces driving that: obviously the internet and social media, and distrust of traditional medicine, traditional science. Conspiracy theories are creating and feeding this distrust.” (Klepper, 1/31)

It happens every year around this time: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases the new year’s immunization schedules, which describe when and how vaccines should be given. ... In addition, this year’s immunization schedule addresses ongoing confusion about those with egg allergies and how/if they should receive the influenza vaccine, which can be “egg-based.” (Mackey, 1/29)

“We’re aware that we live in a world where rabies transmission is relatively low,” said Matthew Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University. “But we worry very much about a world in which that won’t be the case, and the way you get there is through vaccine hesitancy." Very few humans die in the U.S. from rabies ... but that was no accident. ... “It’s really tied to our really largely successful dog and cat vaccine programs and livestock to a lesser extent over the last 50 years,” Rohde said. (Santhanam, 1/31)

Limited or inaccurate information about the HPV vaccine has created apprehension among Arkansas parents to vaccinate their children against the virus, according to researchers in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Office of Community Health & Research. Researchers noted that increased efforts in health care providers’ offices to provide education about the shot could increase uptake. (Wise, 1/31)

After more than a year of deliberation, the World Trade Organization appears close to rejecting a waiver on intellectual property protection for Covid-19 diagnostics and treatments, a divisive issue that has pitted low-income nations and civil society groups against medical products companies. (Silverman, 1/31)

Military personnel stationed at Camp Lejeune from 1975 to 1985 had at least a 20% higher risk for a number of cancers than those stationed elsewhere, federal health officials said Wednesday in a long-awaited study about the North Carolina base’s contaminated drinking water. Federal health officials called the research one the largest ever done in the United States to assess cancer risk by comparing a group who live and worked in a polluted environment to a similar group that did not. (Stobbe, 1/31)

At the request of farmworkers and environmentalists, the Biden administration agreed in 2022 to reconsider its 15-year re-approval of paraquat, a widely used herbicide that studies have linked to Parkinson’s disease. But the Environmental Protection Agency now says its review supports paraquat’s continued use. Paraquat has “high benefits for numerous crops” including cotton, soybeans, peanuts, bulb vegetables and vineyards, the EPA said in a preliminary report issued Tuesday. (Egelko, 1/31)

Global cancer cases are predicted to rise by more than 75% by 2050, according to the World Health Organization. Latest figures from the WHO’s cancer arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, makes plain the growing burden of cancer, rising from 14.1 million new cases and 8.2 million deaths worldwide in 2012 to 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths a decade later. The IARC predicts there will be more than 35 million new cancer cases by 2050, an increase of 77% from 2022 levels, and that deaths will have nearly doubled since 2012 to more than 18 million. (Bawden, 2/1)

Naming cancers solely by the organs they originate in is getting a bit old, according to Fabrice André, a medical oncologist at Gustave Roussy in France and the president-elect of the European Society of Medical Oncology. Instead, André hopes to push for a new naming system that emphasizes the molecular characteristics of a cancer, regardless of its tissue of origin. (Chen, 1/31)

Lightning bolts of lime green flashed chaotically across the computer screen, a sight that stunned cancer neuroscientist Humsa Venkatesh. It was late 2017, and she was watching a storm of electrical activity in cells from a human brain tumour called a glioma. Venkatesh was expecting a little background chatter between the cancerous brain cells, just as there is between healthy ones. But the conversations were continuous, and rapid-fire. “I could see these tumour cells just lighting up,” says Venkatesh, who was then a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California. “They were so clearly electrically active.” (Prillaman, 1/31)

Washington state has paid $9.9 million to settle a lawsuit by a woman whose cervical cancer grew terminal while she was incarcerated after prison doctors failed to adequately diagnose and treat the disease. In the latest of a series of deadly and expensive health care failures in state prisons, Paula Gardner, who was serving time for drug and burglary convictions, didn’t receive appropriate medical care for more than two years despite tests showing signs of possible cancer — and eventually a scan revealing a growth inside her uterus, according to her lawsuit. (Brunner, 1/31)

"We're in very poisonous and toxic environments," Mesquite Fire Chief Rust Wilson said. "We have to do everything we can to mitigate the effects of that on the human body." Being a firefighter comes with an increased risk of cancer, heart attack, and other health conditions. Fire departments have invested in ways to help reduce that risk, but the next best thing, they say, is early detection. (Lucia, 1/31)

Chemicals linked to severe health issues including cancer, infertility, birth defects and immune system disruptions are everywhere and no one is safe from them — not even top politicians, according to a campaign advocating for a European Union-wide ban. Former vice-presidents of the European Commission including Frans Timmermans and the current environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius took part in the campaign, which tested EU officials’ blood for per- and polyfluorinated chemicals, also known as PFAS or forever chemicals. The toxic substances were found in all tested individuals, with five politicians exceeding what are deemed safe levels. (Millan, 1/31)

The e-commerce giant eBay will pay $59 million in a settlement with the Justice Department over thousands of pill press machines sold on the platform, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The machines can be used to manufacture counterfeit pills that look just like prescription pills but instead can be laced with substances like fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug that is largely fueling the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history. (Whitehurst, 1/31)

In an unusual move, Boston will give some of the opioid settlement money it receives to families coping with an overdose death. Boston plans to create a $250,000 annual fund using a small portion of the more than $22 million the city expects to receive through 2038 from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Families will be able to apply to the fund for help with funeral costs, legal expenses or child care. (Bebinger, 1/29)

The Medical Examiner’s Office of King County — home to Seattle, WA — says its morgue is running out of space to store bodies following a rise in fentanyl-related deaths. The Director of Public Health for King County, Dr. Faisal Khan, brought attention to the situation at a recent Board of Health meeting, “A key indication of just how bad things are at the end of 2022, and likely to get worse in 2023 — the Medical Examiner’s office is now struggling with the issue of storing bodies because the fentanyl-related death toll continues to climb.” (Bartsch, 1/31)

A new bill would require California workplaces to stock their first-aid kids with a nasal spray that can prevent opioid overdoses. ... AB 1976, introduced Wednesday by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), would build on existing requirements for California employers to have “adequate first-aid materials” for workers. Including naloxone in the kits would ensure its availability in stores, repair shops and other work sites, giving bystanders more places to turn for the lifesaving medication when they see that someone is overdosing, Haney said. (Alpert Reyes, 1/31)

A nonprofit street outreach organization is planning to open the state’s first supervised drug use site this summer, the culmination of years of efforts and a couple of changes in plans. It will be the nation’s first state-regulated overdose prevention center, organizers say. Project Weber/RENEW is teaming up with clinical partner VICTA to open the location at 45 Willard Ave., a building that’s near Rhode Island Hospital. (Amaral, 1/31)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is suing five Texas cities over their decriminalization of marijuana. In a Wednesday press release, the office of the attorney general (OAG) said it was suing the cities for “instructing police not to enforce Texas drug laws concerning possession and distribution of marijuana. (Elbein, 1/31)

The thought of going to the dentist’s office and having tartar scraped off your teeth might send chills through you similar to those caused by the screech of fingernails on a chalkboard. There’s a word for that: dentophobia. Here’s something dentists want their patients to know as they try to calm those fears: It’s best not to smoke a joint or down a gummy or use other products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to try to chill out before an appointment. (Blythe, 2/1)

Mississippi could allow Medicaid coverage earlier in pregnancy in an effort to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in a poor state with the nation’s worst rate of infant mortality. With wide bipartisan support, the state House passed a bill Wednesday to allow up to 60 days of “presumptive eligibility” for Medicaid, starting July 1. This means a pregnant woman’s outpatient medical care would be paid by Medicaid as her application for coverage by the government insurance program is being considered. (Pettus, 1/31)

A group of privacy, technology and health care advocates on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission urging an investigation into Deloitte Consulting LLP, claiming that hundreds of thousands of Texans were wrongfully denied Medicaid coverage due to errors in the consulting firm’s eligibility software. (Rubin, 1/31)

California state lawmakers introduced a slate of reparations bills on Wednesday, including a proposal to restore property taken by “race-based” cases of eminent domain and a potentially unconstitutional measure to provide state funding for “specific groups.” The package marks a first-in-the-nation effort to give restitution to Black Americans who have been harmed by centuries of racist policies and practices. California’s legislative push is the culmination of years of research and debate, including 111-pages of recommendations issued last year by a task force. (Korte, 1/31)

The Department of Veterans Affairs placed 46,552 veterans in permanent housing in 2023, exceeding its goal to house 38,000 individuals in 2023 by nearly 23%.VA officials said Tuesday the department was able to ensure that nearly 96% of those who were housed in 2023 remained in their homes, exceeding its goal for the year by nearly 1%. The VA also rehoused -- or is in the process of helping -- nearly all the 1,919 veterans who returned to homelessness after receiving housing. (Kime, 1/31)

Republican lawmakers declined to advance a bill Wednesday that would have reduced legal protections for transgender Iowans. The bill proposed removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act and adding gender dysphoria and “any condition related to a gender identity disorder” to the disability category. (Sostaric, 1/31)

Someone who suffers a stroke in South Elgin has access to prompter treatment thanks to access to mobile unit operated by Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital now available in the South Elgin & Countryside Fire Protection District. (Danahey, 1/31)

Learn how to perform CPR in minutes is a new technology aimed at helping the 350,000 people who have cardiac arrest each year. The North10 Lenfest Center in Hunting Park now has a new mobile hands-only CPR kiosk that trains people how to help someone in cardiac arrest. The kiosk has a touchscreen with a video program that instructs users to first call 911 and then explains how to press hard and fast on the chest to the music of the Bee Gees "Staying Alive" 100 to 120 beats a minute. (Stahl and Nau, 1/31)

A longitudinal study yesterday in Frontiers in Public Health shows Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) COVID-19 patients in America had greater post-COVID-19 burdens than non-Hispanic, white peers. The long-term negative consequences were seen in health status, activity level and missed work, despite White and BIPOC patients having similar initial symptoms of infections. The findings are part of the ongoing INSPIRE study, a collaboration of eight major academic medical centers looking at the long-term effects of COVID-19. (Soucheray, 1/31)

A survey study of older Americans who considered undergoing elective surgery in the previous 5 years reveals that concerns about out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, COVID-19 exposure, and taking time from work dissuaded some from going ahead with the procedure. A survey For the study, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, a University of Michigan–led team surveyed a nationally representative sample of adults aged 50 to 80 years through the University of Michigan National Poll on Heathy Aging via the National Opinion Research Center AmeriSpeak panel in August 2021. Of 2,110 participants, 53% were women; average age was 63.7 years. (Van Beusekom, 1/31)

In an attempt to establish a definitive objective cognitive marker for PCC, or post-COVID-19 condition, researchers tested long COVID patients in Germany and the United Kingdom with cognitive speed tests, and found long COVID patients have a significant lag, suggesting cognitive slowing. The study, published yesterday in eClincialMedicine, was based on findings on an initial 194 long COVID patient seen at a PCC clinic in Germany. Findings were then replicated in a follow up COVID clinic in the United Kingdom. (Soucheray, 1/29)

Two new studies show immune-compromised patients, including those with cancer and HIV, have varied times until they clear the virus, with some at increased risk for persistent COVID-19 infections. (Soucheray, 1/29)

Many nurses admit: They feel repulsed by our bodies and do not want to touch us. Doctors are more likely to view us as a waste of their time and have less desire to help us. We are hence, unsurprisingly, far more likely to die with serious health conditions that have gone undiagnosed. (Kate Manne, 1/31)

Across our state and nation, we have a behavioral health crisis intersecting with a homelessness crisis. The epicenter of this crisis is on our local streets and in our schools. Whether in our urban or rural communities, our 5-year-olds know what the blue tarps are for and our teenagers understand the peril and availability of fentanyl. (Julio Cortes and Jim Theofelis, 1/31)

When the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was being debated in 2009, it drew abundant criticism for alleged flaws — that it would mean socialized medicine, higher health care costs and even “death panels.” What drew little fire was a mandate that health insurance cover treatment for transgender people to align their bodies with their gender identity. It was just another form of medical care. (Steve Chapman, 1/31)

While COVID hospitalizations are nowhere near previous peaks, winter has brought a concerning increase in the number of people needing this level of care. Far too many people have not taken advantage of booster shots that fight new variants. Breakthrough infections can sometimes occur in those who are up to date, but the vaccine remains a potent weapon against the virus. (1/31)

Ihave worked in the field of bioethics for more than 20 years. My introduction to bioethical questions came in December 1997, when my mother-in-law entered hospice at 59 years of age. She had been diagnosed 10 months earlier with breast cancer that had metastasized to her bones. As this was her second round with breast cancer, the prognosis was poor, and she died in January 1998. (F. Matthew Eppinette, 1/31)