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The White House released its fiscal 2025 budget blueprint Monday, and its healthcare provisions are very much as President Joe Biden previewed them during his State of the Union address last week. The Health and Human Services Department budget request offers more detail about Biden's plans, including how his administration wants to respond to cyberattacks such as the one that has crippled UnitedHealth Group unit Change Healthcare for nearly three weeks. (McAuliff, 3/11)

President Joe Biden paid New Hampshire his first visit in nearly two years Monday, using a brief speech at the Goffstown YMCA to promote his $7.3 trillion proposed federal budget and criticize Republicans as obstructionists. (Rogers, 3/11)

President Biden was in the early stages of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur when the topic of Beau Biden came up — initially with Biden raising it and later as Biden was attempting to get his chronological bearings and wondered aloud when, exactly, it was that his son died. “What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30,” he said, naming the correct day, according to a transcript of the exchange reviewed by The Washington Post. Two others in the room chime in with the year, and Biden questions again, “Was it 2015 when he died?” Not long after the exchange, Hur suggested they consider taking a brief break. “No,” Biden responds, before launching into a long explanation of Beau’s death and its impact on him deciding not to run for president in 2016. “Let me just keep going to get it done.” (Viser, 3/24)

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge will step down from her role in the Biden administration this month, she announced Monday, saying she had “mixed emotions” about leaving an agency that serves those most frequently left behind. ...In a statement, President Biden praised Fudge as someone whose “transformational leadership” led to lower housing costs and increased housing supply, with more housing units under construction now than at any time in the past 50 years. (Wang, 3/11)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: California Voters Are Skeptical That More Money Is The Answer To Homelessness

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s expensive ballot-box attempt to tackle the mental health and addiction crisis on the state’s streets is leading by a razor-thin margin, a week after the March 5 election. The close vote reflects growing skepticism among voters that he can effectively address the state’s homelessness epidemic. Proposition 1 would fund thousands of new housing units and treatment beds with a $6.4 billion bond and by redirecting $3 to $4 billion in existing mental health tax revenue. (Hart, 3/12)

Three more people at a migrant shelter in Chicago have been diagnosed with measles, bringing the city's total to five cases so far this year. The Chicago Department of Public Health reported on Monday that two adults at the shelter had been diagnosed and were in stable condition. That followed a Sunday announcement that a young child residing at the shelter had been hospitalized with measles but was in “good condition.” (Bendix, 3/11)

 A team of experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to arrive in Chicago on Tuesday to help local public health officials manage a measles outbreak there. The Chicago Department of Public Health said last week that the city had its first measles case since 2019. The person is recovering well at home, the department said. (Christensen, 3/11)

A child with a confirmed case of measles may have exposed 300 people from 16 California counties to the highly infectious disease last week, health officials in El Dorado County said Friday. The child was present at two hospitals, San Joaquin Urgent Care and the UC Davis Health Emergency Department, on March 5. People at the hospital may have been exposed during that time. It is the third confirmed case of measles in California in 2024, and it comes as measles cases in the United States are on the rise. (Ho, 3/11)

As measles cases pop up across the country this winter — including several in California — one group of children is stirring deep concerns among pediatricians: the babies and toddlers of vaccine-hesitant parents who are delaying their child’s measles-mumps-rubella shots. Pediatricians across the state say they have seen a sharp increase recently in the number of parents with concerns about routine childhood vaccinations who are demanding their own inoculation schedules for their babies. (Gold, 3/11)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: How The Anti-Vaccine Movement Pits Parental Rights Against Public Health 

Gayle Borne has fostered more than 300 children in Springfield, Tennessee. She’s cared for kids who have rarely seen a doctor — kids so neglected that they cannot speak. Such children are now even more vulnerable because of a law Tennessee passed last year that requires the direct consent of birth parents or legal guardians for every routine childhood vaccination. Foster parents, social workers, and other caregivers cannot provide permission. (Maxmen, 3/12)

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday that it will cover in vitro fertilization treatment for qualifying veterans who are single or in same-sex marriages, after it faced legal challenges last year that said its policies were discriminatory. VA had for years covered IVF costs for veterans with injuries and health conditions from their military service that affected their fertility, but only for those who were legally married and able to produce their own eggs and sperm from that relationship. Those benefits will now be extended to veterans regardless of marital status if they have service-connected fertility problems, VA said. (Somasundaram, 3/12)

Minnesota Democrats are pushing to require health plans to cover the cost of infertility treatments and to cement access to the services in state law. (Ferguson, 3/11)

GOP leaders accuse abortion rights advocates of deliberately spreading misinformation and doctors of intentionally denying services in an effort to undercut the bans and make a political point. At the same time, however, some states are taking steps that they say will provide more clarity about when abortions can be legally performed. The Republican-controlled South Dakota Legislature wants to create a video in which medical experts — and the state’s attorneys — would explain to doctors and patients when abortions can be legally performed. The measure was passed last month and is now awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who has indicated she will sign it. (Kruesi, 3/11)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: A New $16,000 Postpartum Depression Drug Is Here. How Will Insurers Handle It?

A much-awaited treatment for postpartum depression, zuranolone, hit the market in December, promising an accessible and fast-acting medication for a debilitating illness. But most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover it, according to a new analysis of insurance policies. The lack of guidance could limit use of the drug, which is both novel — it targets hormone function to relieve symptoms instead of the brain’s serotonin system, as typical antidepressants do — and expensive, at $15,900 for the 14-day pill regimen. (Dembosky, 3/12)

During the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) prevented Medicaid programs from disenrolling people during the public health emergency. For the first time in history, Medicaid-enrolled postpartum mothers were allowed insurance for more than 60 days past birth. This policy change, and other extensions to Medicaid made in 2021, led to a 40% decline in postpartum lack of insurance, according to a new study in JAMA Health Forum. (Soucheray, 3/11)

After Ayra Redondiez’s son was born five weeks early last December, she went straight from the hospital to the Village Postnatal Retreat Center in San Francisco. During her six-night stay, Redondiez, who works in human resources at a software startup, got lactation coaching, baby CPR training and a massage. Her husband joined her, and they were able to sleep through the night while their newborn dozed in a staffed nursery down the hall. (Butler, 3/11)

Providers, associations, technology companies and other health organizations are calling on Congress to extend a federal waiver program offering equal Medicare reimbursement for hospital-at-home care. The program is due to expire at the end of 2024. In a Monday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), more than 50 stakeholders said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program should be extended by at least five years. (Eastabrook, 3/11)

Steward Health Care confirmed it wants to sell its Massachusetts hospitals amid financial troubles and scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers. Steward, a for-profit national hospital operator once owned by private equity firm Cereberus Capital Management, has received a “strong level of interest from numerous qualified health systems” regarding its nine Massachusetts hospitals, a spokesperson said in a statement. (Kacik, 3/11)

Worried about hospitals closing and higher costs for patients, state lawmakers are increasingly tangling with hospitals over potential health care mergers, in some cases derailing deals they think don’t serve the public interest. ... After a pandemic-era slowdown, health care mergers and acquisitions have risen steadily over the past two years. But some proposed hospital deals in Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota and elsewhere have fizzled amid heavy pushback from lawmakers, organized labor and grassroots organizations. (Claire Vollers, 3/11)

The Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs launched a shared electronic health record system at a Chicago hospital on Saturday, completing the military's adoption of the system and moving the VA a step closer to restarting its rollout across its 172 medical centers and clinics. VA officials said the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, which serves more than 75,000 patients per year, adopted the Oracle Cerner electronic health record system -- the first launch for a VA site since it paused the program in April 2023 amid concerns over patient safety, training and user-friendliness. (Kime, 3/11)

Big tech firm Microsoft joined a group of 16 health systems on Monday to launch a stakeholder group that's focused on implementing artificial intelligence guardrails. Microsoft is calling the consortium the Trustworthy & Responsible AI Safety Network (TRAIN). Initial participants include Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine, Boston-based Mass General Brigham, Columbia, Maryland-based MedStar Health and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health. (Turner, 3/11)

The American Academy of Dermatology on Sunday voted to reject a proposal to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, in what Black dermatologists are calling a small victory for the organization and the field in general. The academy, a nonprofit organization of dermatologists in the U.S. and Canada, has been embroiled in DEI-related controversy since February, when dozens of members co-authored a resolution looking to put an end to DEI initiatives and programs being implemented in the institution. (Adams, 3/11)

Nurses at University of Chicago Medicine on Monday called off plans for a one-day strike, after reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract. Approximately 2,800 nurses had been preparing to walk off the job on Thursday, but National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United confirmed Monday afternoon they had reached a deal with management on a new contract. (Feurer, 3/11)

Healthcare unions say contracts that specify how many clinicians should work each shift aren’t enough to hold hospitals accountable for ensuring sufficient staffing levels. Staffing agreements have become increasingly common in union contracts over the past few years as bargaining committees seek to mitigate nurse shortages that are expected to reach 195,400 by 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Devereaux, 3/11)

The summer before Becca Schmill entered her junior year of high school in 2018, she admitted to her parents that she was self-medicating with opioids and cocaine to cope with the trauma of being raped by a boy she met on social media. Becca’s mother, Deb Schmill of Needham, said she immediately notified Becca’s pediatrician and checked her into an outpatient treatment program for adolescents with substance use problems. Yet ... Becca never received a prescription for buprenorphine — a standard medication for treating opioid addictions. (Serres, 3/11)

The federal government is reforming methadone care for the first time in over two decades. But how far do the changes actually go? To many methadone clinics, the Biden administration’s recent refresh of the rules governing opioid treatment programs represents an unprecedented opportunity to offer care that is more compassionate and responsive to patients’ needs. To many patient advocates, however, it simply nibbles around the edges. (Facher, 3/12)

Every morning, Rebecca Smith, nursing a surgically repaired knee, carefully walks down the hallway of her brutalist brick apartment building, takes the elevator one floor to the lobby, and negotiates the sharply angled driveway outside. There, she waits for an Uber to take her to the last place she wants to go: her methadone clinic. (Facher, 3/12)

Acadia Pharmaceuticals said Monday that its approved medicine called Nuplazid failed to improve the social and emotional symptoms of schizophrenia in a late-stage clinical trial. (Feuerstein, 3/11)

A lawsuit settlement over Florida’s “don’t say gay” statute announced Monday affirms that teachers and students can discuss LGBTQ+ issues and have access to related library books, largely canceling many of the impacts of the signature legislation from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The settlement was immediately praised by rights groups who said it marked a major victory for LGBTQ+ students, teachers and families who were effectively barred from speaking about their own personal lives or loved ones in same-sex relationships. (Rozsa, 3/11)

Both Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who signed the legislation into law in 2022, and the 19 plaintiffs claimed victory in the case. DeSantis’ office said in a news release that “the law remains in effect, and children will be protected from radical gender and sexual ideology in the classroom.” (McDougall, 3/11)

The attorneys general from 15 states are wading into a controversial policy debate in Maine over access to gender-affirming care, vowing to fight a proposal that they contend would violate the U.S. Constitution. In a highly unusual move, the attorneys general called a bill under consideration by the Maine Legislature "constitutionally defective" in a strongly worded letter. The bill in question, LD 227, would protect transgender individuals who receive gender-affirming care in Maine — regardless of what state they live in — as well as the medical professionals who provide that care. The measure seeks to build on protections passed last year for medical professionals as well as patients who receive abortions in Maine. (Miller, 3/11)

Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a think tank report last week and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer. But experts say this correlation is false and oversimplifies the complex role of hormones in the body. (Gaffney, 3/11)

Walgreens has settled charges by New York Attorney General Letitia James that it grossly inflated prices on at least 20 infant formula products after a recall by Abbott Labs led to a nationwide shortage in early 2022. The largest U.S. pharmacy chain did not admit or deny wrongdoing in entering an assurance of discontinuance with James' office, including a $50,000 payment covering civil penalties and costs, that was made public on Monday. (Stempel, 3/11)

Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have fined the directors of the closed Northview Village nursing home in north St. Louis more than $56,000 for violations over three days late last year, when the facility abruptly closed overnight. The Dec. 15 closure unexpectedly scattered approximately 170 residents to different nursing homes in the St. Louis region, and some family members were not able to track down residents for days after the closure. (Fentem, 3/11)

Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan is once again a Level II trauma center, allowing ambulances to bring patients in need of emergency care to the hospital for treatment. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) entered an order Monday afternoon in Chicago lifting the revocation of Vista’s trauma center status imposed on Feb. 5, thus reinstating Vista to a Level II hospital. (Sadin, 3/11)

Michigan has confirmed its first pediatric death due to influenza this flu season. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported the death Friday, and said it involves a child who contracted Influenza A (H1N1). Nationally, there have been at least 93 flu-related pediatric deaths this flu season. No other details about the child were released, including age, hometown and date of death. (Dixon, 3/11)

The Federal Trade Commission and 10 U.S. states on Monday sued what they called a "sham" charity that raised $18.25 million to help women fight cancer, but spent just $194,809 for that purpose. According to a complaint filed in Houston federal court, telemarketers hired by Women's Cancer Fund and its founder Gregory Anderson lied to tens of thousands of prospective donors by promising their money would "help save lives," and help cash-strapped patients pay for rent, utility bills and food. California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin joined the FTC lawsuit. (Stempel, 3/11)

Stay-at-home orders, border closures, mask-wearing and other measures aimed at stemming Covid-19’s spread led to the global disappearance of a notorious winter germ. Now, scientists say it might be feasible with better vaccines to rid the world of a second one. For decades, flu epidemics were driven by four strains. One of them, the so-called Yamagata-lineage of type B influenza, was struggling to compete before the pandemic and hasn’t been seen since March 2020. (Gale, 3/12)

When it comes to cancer survival, early detection is key. Unfortunately, that's next to impossible for ovarian cancer. Right now, there is no screening or tool to detect ovarian cancer early, leading to 80% of women diagnosed at a late stage. ... Now, a new lab in Denver is turning that hope into reality. AOA Diagnostics – a women-founded startup – is working to develop a first-of-its-kind tool that could transform women's healthcare. Instead of an invasive surgery, a simple blood test could detect ovarian cancer before it's too late. (Werthmann, 3/11)

Ultra-processed foods may not only affect our bodies, but our brains too. New research suggests links between ultra-processed foods—such as chips, many cereals and most packaged snacks at the grocery store—and changes in the way we learn, remember and feel. These foods can act like addictive substances, researchers say, and some scientists are proposing a new mental-health condition called “ultra-processed food use disorder.” Diets filled with such foods may raise the risk of mental health and sleep problems. (Petersen, 3/11)

Massachusetts may be the U.S. state where residents get the most aerobic exercise, according to new Apple Watch data. Many adults don't put in the recommended 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise, although they could hit that number with five 30-minute brisk walks weekly. Among participants in the study, the states with the highest percentage of people getting 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise were Massachusetts (67.2%), New York (66%) and Connecticut (64.1%), followed then by California (62.3%). (Mallenbaum, 3/11)

Almost half of teenagers say their parents at least sometimes get distracted by their phones during conversations, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. However, 31 percent of parents said this is something they do. (Kelly, 3/11)

The Change Healthcare outage that has dominated the headlines for the past few weeks shows just how exposed healthcare is. Consumers had probably never heard of Change, part of UnitedHealth Group, until a cyberattack paralyzed transactions and claims processing systems, affecting providers, payers, pharmacists and patients. (Mary Ellen Podmolik, 3/11)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an uptick in the number of measles cases around the nation since early December. If the pace of infections continues to follow this trajectory, 2024’s total will top the surge reported in 2014 (667 cases), or even the 1,274 cases reported in 2019. Should we be concerned? (Sheldon H. Jacobson and Janet A. Jokela, 3/12)

Over the past year, I have watched many children die of measles. In the final stages, little lungs, filled with fluid and racked with inflammation, struggle for oxygen. The victims breathe faster and faster, gasping for air until, exhausted, they stop. (Paul Law, 3/12)

While CRISPR has created almost infinite opportunities to address some of the health-related challenges facing society, including recent therapies for sickle cell disease in humans, it’s not likely to be successful in controlling avian influenza. (Carol Cardona and Michelle Kromm, 3/11)

Few patients have even heard of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). That’s because PBMs like to stay out of sight. But you need to know about PBMs because they are powerful go-betweens in the prescription drug delivery system and what they do impacts every patient. They tell your doctor what drugs will be available in your Medicare or private insurance plan – often restricting your access to cheaper, but equally effective generic medicine. (Patsy Writesman, 3/8)