Policy

Funding cuts threaten public health programs; emergency room doctors see a surge in heat-related illnesses; national crisis line shows promising results with increased text volumes and reduced wait times.

Off-marketplace plans are widely available, and individuals with higher incomes can obtain silver plans with low premiums off-marketplace.

The FDA has approved the first over the counter (OTC) birth control pill Thursday; the US Chamber of Commerce has filed a motion for preliminary injunction on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation program; individuals living in historically redlined areas are likely to have worse heart health.

Racist assumptions identified in medical education impact maternal outcomes; excessive drinking during the pandemic responsible for increased alcoholic liver disease deaths; Iowa ban will restrict abortions after about 6 weeks of pregnancy.

FDA to import cancer drugs from China; respite programs offer a safe environment for people who experience mental health crisis; White House officials call for more xylazine testing.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asks the FDA to investigate Prime energy drink; Washington state sees hefty fine for failing to provide mental health resources to incarcerated individuals; a new rule would require companies to disclose use of certain “forever” chemicals.

A new proposal from the Biden administration would place more restrictions on certain health insurance plans as part of an initiative to cut costs; Eli Lilly’s obesity treatment retatrutide appears to help lessen liver fat content; Earth’s hottest day on record calls into question what temperatures humans can safely tolerate.

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are struggling to find psychiatrists; the CDC plans to cut state funding for child vaccination programs; almost 50% of American faucets could contain forever chemicals.

Four people in Florida and 1 person in Texas were exposed to malaria; late revisions could counter a pending lawsuit to end abortion restrictions; about 2000 nurses in Texas and Kansas plan to strike.

Black veterans continue to encounter benefits disparities; health workers feel capable of handling future surges after the pandemic; the COVAX initiative aims to redirect remaining vaccine spending

Eli Lilly will gain Dice Therapeutics’ experimental psoriasis drug; about 1.5 million people dropped from Medicaid since April and May; families are uprooting their lives due to transgender care restrictions

Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, will take over the CDC; abortion activists acknowledge 1 year without Roe v Wade; Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) challenges Medicare’s drug price negotiation program.

HHS and CMS extended postpartum coverage in New York through Medicaid and CHIP for an entire year; a minimum of 1.7 million Americans use health sharing plans, even though they lack protections; Pfizer expects pediatric syphilis drug Bicillin L-A to experience a shortage.

Biden administration finalizes a deal on covering preventive care despite legal battle; CMS prepares safety net hospital reimbursement plans; over 1 million Americans have been dropped from Medicaid coverage

The Biden administration will impose drug price inflation penalties on drugmakers; a study reveals massive amounts of COVID-19 relief funds were stolen; experimental vaccine nearly doubles survival in patients in a trial.

The plan aims to reverse a significant surge in sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia.

According to a spokesperson, Merck is prepared to take the lawsuit to the Supreme Court as it challenges drug price negotiations as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

A federal appeals court heard argument about whether to freeze preventative health screenings and care in the Affordable Care Act (ACA); Canadian wildfires trigger health threats as smoke descends south; a large study displayed the safety of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in young children.

Merck sues to stop Medicare drug price negotiations; doctors delay lifesaving therapies due to cancer drug shortages; a federal appeals court will hear Affordable Care Act coverage prevention case.

Health restrictions on transgender adults and children; weight-loss companies to include obesity drugs; hormone patches or creams for menopause may have lower blood pressure risk than pills

The authors find that 340B-covered hospitals and grantees are contracting mainly with pharmacies in significantly more affluent neighborhoods than their own.

The FDA approved Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Wednesday; Medicare announced plans to largely cover a new class of expensive Alzheimer drugs; more states are extending postpartum coverage under Medicaid.

Debt limit deal will not effect Medicaid; a national safety board may make health care safer; experimental hemophilia therapy reduces bleeding.

AHIP president and CEO Matthew Eyles will step down later this year; the House Energy and Commerce Committee moved a series of health care measures concerning pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs); US debt default could stop FDA drug and device reviews, said FDA chief.