Alternative Anaphylaxis Treatment Approved For Use: San Diego-based ARS Pharmaceuticals received FDA approval for a needle-free alternative to the EpiPen for children. Neffy, a 1 milligram dose of epinephrine nasal spray, is geared toward patients 4 years and older who weigh at least 33 to 66 pounds. Read more from The San Diego Union Tribune.
Los Angeles Times: How Children Are Recovering After the L.A. Fires While adult fire victims can be better equipped to process and act on stressful circumstances in rational ways — assessing financial losses, planning next steps, wading through paperwork — children are more likely to express their grief and fear with raw emotion and behavioral regressions. In the two months since the fires, children have been are experiencing meltdowns, sleep issues and separation anxiety. For the youngest fire victims, this can include returning to earlier stages in their development, said Gregory Leskin, a psychologist and program director with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network at UCLA. (Gold, 3/6)
St. Louis Public Radio: Study Reveals Barriers To Care For Black Pediatric Patients
Black pediatric patients believed to have neurological conditions are falling through the cracks. Half of Black pediatric patients completed the necessary genetic tests for diagnosis and treatment. That puts them well behind white pediatric patients at 75%. This is just one disparity highlighted in a new study from Washington University’s School of Medicine. WashU Medicine neurology professor Dr. Christina Gurnett said these tests are necessary to unlock treatment options. (Lewis-Thompson, 3/4)
CapRadio: Reasons Behind This Year’s Severe Flu Season
A preliminary report from the Centers for Disease Control has found that this has been one of the worst recorded flu seasons the country — and state — has experienced in more than a decade. Data from the California Department of Public Health found that roughly 1 in 5 Californians were still testing positive for the week ending Feb. 22. Other respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 and RSV are currently not as prevalent with a 2% and 5% test positivity rate for the same week. (Laschinsky, Gonzalez and Zavala, 3/6)
The New York Times: Unvaccinated New Mexico Resident Dies From Suspected Measles Case
An unvaccinated person who died in New Mexico has tested positive for measles, state health officials said on Thursday, possibly the second such fatality in a growing outbreak that began in West Texas. The officials have not yet confirmed that measles was the cause of death, and said the person did not seek medical treatment before dying. (Rosenbluth, 3/6)
Measles Outbreak Expands to Nine States, Including California: While the focus in recent weeks has been on Texas, eight other states have confirmed cases of the virus, the CDC reports, including one confirmed case in California. Read more from The Hill and CBS News.
The Washington Post: Texas Measles Outbreak Raises Concerns About Vitamin A Use
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s focus on vitamin A use to combat a growing measles outbreak in Texas is raising concerns among public health experts, who fear he is sending the wrong message about preventing the highly contagious disease and distracting from the critical importance of vaccination. (Sun and Nirappil, 3/4)
Judge Orders Trump Administration to Expedite USAID and State Department Payments
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to speed up its payment on some of nearly $2 billion in debts to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, giving it a Monday deadline to repay the nonprofit groups and businesses in a lawsuit over the administration’s abrupt shutdown of foreign assistance funding. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali described the partial payment as a “concrete” first step he wanted to see from the administration. (Knickmeyer and Kunzelman, 3/7)
NBC News: New Report Finds Late Pregnancy Loss More Common in the South
Losing a baby late in pregnancy is more common in the South than in other regions of the United States, according to a new report given exclusively to NBC News. The difference is dramatic: Compared with other parts of the country, the odds of having a high rate of late-stage pregnancy loss are nearly three times greater in Southern states. The lack of Medicaid expansion in the South ... contributes to the high rates of fetal loss in the second half of pregnancy, according to the report by United States of Care, a nonpartisan health care advocacy organization. (Cohen, 3/6)
CNN: Study Finds Bacterial Vaginosis Is an STD, Not Just a Common Vaginal Condition
A common but potentially dangerous vaginal infection that affects nearly 1 in 3 women globally should be considered a sexually transmitted disease, a new study says. Bacterial vaginosis, or BV, is currently viewed as a woman’s issue, thus leaving the sexual partner untreated. (LaMotte, 3/5)
The New York Times: Study Finds Women with Postpartum Depression Experience Brain Changes During Pregnancy
Postpartum depression affects about one in every seven women who give birth, but little is known about what happens in the brains of pregnant women who experience it. A new study begins to shed some light. Researchers scanned the brains of dozens of women in the weeks before and after childbirth and found that two brain areas involved in the processing and control of emotions increased in size in women who developed symptoms of postpartum depression. (Belluck, 3/5)
Axios: Study Finds High Maternity Costs Impact Black and Hispanic Patients the Most
Black and Hispanic people paid more in out-of-pocket costs for maternal care than Asian and white people with the same commercial insurance, a new study published in JAMA Health Forum found. Black mothers in the U.S. face a pregnancy-related death rate that is more than three times the rate for white mothers. About 80% of these deaths are preventable. The maternal mortality rate for Hispanic women is similar to that of white mothers but has surged in recent years. (Goldman, 3/3)
Politico: Newsom Takes Bold Stance on Transgender Sports
Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested fellow Democrats were in the wrong allowing transgender women and girls to participate on sports teams matching their gender identity. “I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom said in his debut podcast episode of “This is Gavin Newsom.” “I am not wrestling with the fairness issue. I totally agree with you.” (Jones and Gardiner,3/6)
Recent Judicial Actions Against Trump Administration's Policies on Transgender Rights
President Donald Trump’s plan to pull federal funding from institutions that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth will remain blocked on a long-term basis under a federal judge’s ruling in Seattle late Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King previously granted a two-week restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, Oregon and Minnesota sued the Trump administration — Colorado has since joined the case. (Johnson, 3/1)
Trump's Transgender Rights Rollbacks Prompt Allies To Adjust Travel Warnings
Federal agencies are carrying out executive orders from President Donald Trump that all share a common goal: removing transgender and nonbinary people from public life wherever possible. Through restricting access to accurate federal identity documents, threatening to withhold hospitals’ federal funding over gender-affirming care, and erasing trans history on federal websites and in schools, the Trump White House is using the federal government as a tool to make it harder for trans Americans to live openly — and safely — without fear of harassment and discrimination. (Rummler and Sosin, 3/5)
Bay Area Reporter: Report Finds LGBTQ Youth in California Face Ongoing Mental Health Struggles
Despite the myriad measures and protective policies California lawmakers have enacted to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth, it has not shielded queer and transgender young people in the Golden State from struggling with mental health issues. A new report is detailing how depression and suicide remain at elevated levels among those aged 13 to 24. According to the Trevor Project's "2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People by State" report, being published Wednesday, 35% of LGBTQ+ young people in California "seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 39% of transgender and nonbinary young people." Eleven percent attempted suicide in the past year, including 14% of transgender and nonbinary young people. (Bajko, 3/5)
'Dangerous': Transgender Actor On Sex Changes For Kids
A spate of recent policy decisions by the Trump administration targeting transgender youth has led to an escalating mental health crisis among an already vulnerable population, experts and advocates say. Even in California, where top state leaders have championed policies to protect transgender people, nonprofit leaders and case workers say they are seeing sharp increases in depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts among the young people they serve. (Wiener and Hwang, 3/5)
Where Do Legal Cases Against Trump's Policies Stand?
A federal judge extended a nationwide block Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s executive orders halting federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19. The judge’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president’s orders. (3/5)
Los Angeles Times: Court-Ordered Audit Reveals Major Issues in L.A.'s Homeless Services
Homeless services provided by the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority are disjointed and lack adequate data systems and financial controls to monitor contracts for compliance and performance, leaving the system vulnerable to waste and fraud, an audit ordered by a federal judge has concluded. The audit by the global consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal found that the city was unable to track exactly how much it spent on homeless programs and did not rigorously reconcile spending with services provided, making it impossible to judge how well the services worked or whether they were even provided. (Smith, 3/6)
The Washington Post: GOP Must Cut Medicaid Or Medicare To Achieve Budget Goals, CBO Finds
The House GOP’s budget, which passed last week in a hairline vote, asks the committee responsible for federal health-care spending to find at least $880 billion in savings over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that reducing costs that much won’t be possible without cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. (3/5)
KFF Health News: Proposed Medicaid Cuts Are Seen as a Personal Affront by Patients, Parents, and Caregivers
Cynthia Williams is furious with U.S. House Republicans willing to slash Medicaid, the government-run insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The 61-year-old Anaheim resident cares for her adult daughter, who is blind, and for her sister, a military veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions. Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, pays Williams to care for them, and she relies on that income, just as her sister and daughter depend on her. (Wolfson, 3/6)
The Hill: CBO Finds Republicans Must Cut Medicaid to Meet Budget Savings Targets
Republicans can’t achieve their goal of slashing $2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade without cutting Medicaid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In a report released Wednesday, CBO found that the government spends $381 billion on programs other than Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that are under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee. (Weixel, 3/5)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Drops Medicaid Waivers Tied to Housing and Nutrition
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rescinded waivers for programs that fund housing, nutrition and other social services for high-risk Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollees. The agency rolled back guidance linked to health-related social needs programs under Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers. States use these programs to pay for wraparound services such as temporary housing and meals for children and adults who may become homeless, struggle with mental illness and transition from institutional care, among other risk factors. (Kacik, 3/4)
Axios: How Medicaid Cuts Could Leave Millions Without Access to Dental Care
If Congress cuts Medicaid funding to states to help extend tax cuts, dental care for adults could be one of the first casualties as legislators and governors re-sort priorities and try to make do with less. (Goldman, 3/5)
Modern Healthcare: Federal Judge Blocks NIH Funding Cuts
A federal judge blocked the National Institutes of Health’s grant funding cuts that academic health systems warn would stymie research. U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Judge Angel Kelley on Wednesday granted a motion from attorneys general, medical schools and universities requesting a nationwide preliminary injunction. The injunction replaces a national temporary restraining order Kelley issued Feb. 10, likely setting up a win for the states and hospitals and a possible government appeal. (Kacik, 3/5)
Politico: NIH Nominee Pledges to Combat 'Frivolous' Research Spending
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya promised to cut wasted research dollars and focus on funding studies to find the root causes of chronic diseases during his confirmation hearing to direct the $48 billion National Institutes of Health this morning. Every dollar wasted on a frivolous study, every dollar wasted on administrative costs that are not needed, is a dollar not spent on research,” Bhattacharya told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. (Schumaker and Payne, 2/5)
Stat: NIH Ends Ongoing Grants for LGBTQ+ Research
The funding was supposed to last for at least several more months, said Jace Flatt, an associate professor of health and behavioral sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. But on Friday, he and several other scientists studying LGBTQ+ health received a letter from the National Institutes of Health informing them that some existing, ongoing grants from the federal government were terminated, effective immediately. (Chen, 3/3)
Becker's Hospital Review: The Overlooked Factors Behind Nurse Retirements
It's well known that a "silver tsunami" is on the horizon with millions of adults turning 65 each year — but the additional compounding impact of nurse retirements on systems is often overlooked. "I don't think we fully realize the tsunami that’s coming in less than five years," Syl Trepanier, DNP, RN, chief nursing officer at Renton, Wash.-based Providence, told Becker's. "It's underestimated how many nurses will be retiring versus those entering the profession. The time to prepare is now, and I’d argue that the biggest risk we face is maintaining the status quo. The biggest risk we face is doing nothing." (Taylor, 3/4)
Is California's For-Profit Psychiatric System Causing Harm to Patients?: Psychiatric hospitals operated by for-profit companies are now the fastest-growing destination for tens of thousands of Californians experiencing emergencies. But some say companies have capitalized on lax state regulations, generating massive earnings while exposing patients to deadly neglect. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
KFF Health News: CDC Firings Have Broader Impact on Public Health Work Across the U.S.
The Trump administration’s sudden firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees gutted training programs across the nation whose participants bolstered the workforce of state and local public health departments that for decades have been starved of resources. The programs are designed to cultivate a new generation of public health leaders, many of whom have gone on to work at the CDC. That was far from its only purpose. Local and state officials said the departures threaten to undermine the nation’s constant effort to identify and control infectious disease outbreaks. (Pradhan, 3/5)
ABC News: CDC Monitoring Unknown Disease Outbreak in Congo
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring an unknown disease that has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency said in a statement on Monday. "CDC is monitoring the situation closely and engaging with DRC officials on what support the agency can offer," the agency's spokesperson said. At least 1,096 people have been sickened and 60 people have died from the disease, the World Health Organization said Thursday in its most recent update. (Benadjaoud and Forrester, 3/3)