Many sleep experts want to permanently stay in the standard time zone; Medicare will cover mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists beginning in January; a new Minnesota law requires hospitals to check if patients are eligible for financial assistance before referring medical debt for collections.
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The American Cancer Society expanded eligibility for lung cancer screening; experts advised patients to do their research before choosing a plan from the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces; Republican-led states partnering with rideshare companies for medical appointment rides.
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A panel of experts agreed that exa-cel, a sickle cell disease gene therapy, was safe enough for clinical use, setting the stage for a potential FDA approval; the United States saw an increase in infant mortality rates for the first time in more than 2 decades; the new antiburnout campaign from the CDC asks leaders to better support health care workers.
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What We’re Reading: Pharmacy Staff Walkout; Male Parental Leave; FDA Reviewing SCD Therapy
October 30th 2023Pharmacy workers embark on a multiday strike; Fathers are taking paid family leave to bond with their newborns; the FDA is set to evaluate a pioneering gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD).
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The number of suicides among US military members and their families slightly decreased in 2022; Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation that would require employers to provide paid time off following a pregnancy loss; Pfizer and BioNTech’s flu–COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response against strains of the viruses in an early- to mid-stage trial.
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The Biden administration requested $1.55 billion from Congress to help address the nationwide fentanyl crisis; the US Department of Agriculture reported that millions more Americans were food insecure in 2022; the Biden administration released an updated cybersecurity toolkit to help defend the US health care infrastructure against hackers.
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Senators advocate for TRICARE to stock and cover the OTC birth control pill; double the amount of health care workers experienced workplace harassment in 2022 compared with 2018; a survey found that young adults in the United States experienced depression and anxiety twice as often as teenagers.
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FluMist Quadrivalent could become the first self-administered flu vaccine in the United States; the American Society of Reproductive Medicine updates its definition of infertility to be more inclusive; the Environmental Protection Agency moves to ban the use of a cancer-causing chemical .
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Medicare Advantage (MA) plans pose financial challenges for small rural hospitals; 2 bans proposed in Texas would prohibit transportation for abortion procedures; delays in reauthorizing US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) risk the program’s effectiveness and integrity.
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Three US senators asked the Social Security Administration to respond to a report saying it reduced or suspended benefits for those who received COVID-19 relief payments; mifepristone, a drug taken to help manage miscarriages, remains widely unavailable to patients experiencing pregnancy loss; pharmaceutical companies are beginning trials to get weight-loss shots approved for patients with obesity 6 years and older.
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Monica Bertagnolli, MD, fielded questions on hot-button issues during the long-delayed Senate hearing on her nomination to head the National Institutes of Health; Pfizer announces the list price for a 5-day course of its COVID-19 antiviral, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid); a federal initiative is distributing funds to programs aiming to prevent drug overdoses in pregnant women.
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Medicare Part A and B premiums are set to increase by $9.80 next year; 20 experts from various specialties and institutions have developed updated brain death guidelines; many Black patients are strongly affected by multiple COVID-19 infections due to a lack of health insurance and health care access.
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What We’re Reading: Alzheimer Blood Tests; Year-Long Adderall Shortage; Type 2 Diabetes Management
October 12th 2023Blood tests offer a less invasive and more accessible means of detecting Alzheimer disease; Democrats address a year-long Adderall shortage; A new study shows significantly improved clinical outcomes in Type 2 diabetes management with a digital behavioral therapy app.
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What We’re Reading: Rising Breast Cancer Rates; Pharmacists Walkout; School Blood Drives on Hold
October 11th 2023Advances in treatments and early detection methods have led to improved survival rates; staffing shortages and rising demands take their toll; the US blood supply is under increasing strain.
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