MedPage Today: Health Spending Up 7.5% In 2023, CMS Says 
Health spending in the U.S. rose by 7.5% in 2023, to $4.9 trillion, compared with an increase of 4.6% in 2022, according to figures released Wednesday by CMS. "Much of the growth came from faster growth and spending [by] private health insurance, which increased 11.5%, and Medicare, which increased 8.1%," Anne Martin, of the CMS Office of the Actuary, said during a briefing sponsored by Health Affairs. "For Medicaid, although spending and enrollment continue to increase, the rates of growth were lower in 2023 compared with 2022 -- Medicaid spending grew by 7.9% in 2023 compared with 9.7% growth in 2022." (Frieden, 12/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Are Americans Paying So Much More for Healthcare Than They Used to?
The killing of a health insurance executive in New York City prompted a furious outpouring of anger over the industry and healthcare prices. So just how much have healthcare costs and spending been going up? The short answer: a lot. National healthcare spending increased 7.5% year over year in 2023 to $4.867 trillion, or $14,570 per person, according to data released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  (Torry, 12/18)

Modern Healthcare: CMS' TEAM Could Cost Some Hospitals Hundreds: Report 
A mandatory hospital payment model finalized this year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could make earnings uncertain for providers, researchers said. Under the Transforming Episode Accountability Model, or TEAM, hospitals could lose out on an average of $500 per episode of care covered in the model, according to a December report from the Institute for Accountable Care. But the forecast results vary widely: Hospitals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region could gain an average of $900 per episode of included care, the report said, while Denver providers stand to lose $1,300 per episode, on average. (Early, 12/18)

The Washington Post: U.S. Accuses CVS Of Unlawfully Filling Opioid Prescriptions 
The Justice Department on Wednesday accused CVS Pharmacy of incentivizing pharmacists to fill illegal opioid prescriptions for more than a decade, a practice that fueled the nation’s opioid crisis. The complaint, filed in Providence, Rhode Island, where CVS is headquartered, alleges that the country’s largest retail pharmacy violated the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act by filling prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked legitimate medical purpose or were not valid, including prescriptions for “dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids.” (Ziegler, 12/18)

Orange County Register: What To Know About Protonitazene, A Deadly Drug Even More Powerful Than Fentanyl 
A synthetic opioid more powerful than fentanyl is at the center of a Los Angeles County case that is the first-of-its-kind in the nation. The prosecution, involving a 22-year-old victim, is the first to focus on a death caused by the drug, authorities said. (Van Der Brug, 12/18)

Axios: Heroin Use Skyrockets In The West: Data
Heroin use among people who also use fentanyl appears to have seen a "dramatic" rise in the span of just a few months, particularly in the western U.S., according to new data from specialty lab Millennium Health provided first to Axios. "Not only was it a significant jump in heroin positivity, it seemingly happened almost overnight," Dawson told Axios. (Reed, 12/19)

LAist: More Infants In OC Are Getting Exposed To Substances, Report Finds
The number of referrals to Orange County's social services agency for infants who were exposed to substances during pregnancy increased by more than 55% from 2014 to 2023. (Rainey, 12/18)

CalMatters: CA Nurses Say State Addiction Recovery Program Ends Their Careers
Bobbie Sage thought nursing would be her salvation. She was trapped in an abusive relationship with four kids and looking for a steady income. The day she graduated vocational nursing school, she took the kids and left their father. Five years later, a DUI ruined her carefully crafted stability. Sage was waiting for a taxi outside a bar with another partner when he began hitting her, she said. She fled in her own car. A mistake with enduring consequences. (Hwang, 12/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Seafood Company Issues ‘Urgent’ Recall For Oysters
A San Francisco seafood company issued an “urgent product recall” for oysters after they were linked to potential norovirus contamination. S&M Shellfish Co. sold the affected oysters under the brand names Fanny Bay, Buckley Bay and Royal Miyagi. They were harvested from British Columbia between Dec. 1 and Dec. 9, and distributed to restaurants and retailers across several U.S. states, including California, New York and Florida. (Vaziri, 12/18)

CIDRAP: Despite Guidelines, Few US Children Receiving Flu Antivirals 
National guidelines recommend the use of antiviral drugs in children diagnosed with influenza, but only 30% of children and adolescents at higher risk for influenza complications were prescribed antivirals during outpatient visits, according to a study yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Soucheray, 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: More L.A. Cats Appear To Be Infected With H5N1 Bird Flu 
Experts believe three more cats in Los Angeles County have been infected with H5N1 bird flu. Two others succumbed to the disease earlier this month after drinking recalled raw milk from Fresno-based Raw Farm LLC dairies. (Rust, 12/18)

USA Today: Americans Are Living Longer, Thanks To Pandemic's End, Fewer Opioid Deaths
Average life expectancy in the U.S. increased by almost a year in 2023, rebounding to a level not reached since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. average life expectancy was 78.4 years in 2023 ‒ nearly 11 months longer than in 2022 ‒ mostly due to far fewer COVID-19 deaths. It was the second consecutive year the nation's life expectancy increased after dropping more than two years from 2019 to 2021. (Alltucker, 12/19)

Los Angeles Times: The Pesticides Hiding In California's Cannabis Supply Chain 
The overlooked practice is among a number of faults in California’s farm-to-dispensary cannabis supply chain, with troubling consequences for the state’s $5-billion legal cannabis market and serious health risks to its consumers. (St. John, 12/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Taps ‘Body Positivity’ Expert To Work With Public Health Department
San Francisco has tapped author and activist Virgie Tovar, who advocates for body positivity and weight neutrality, as a consultant for its public health department. “I’m working with a team at the San Francisco Department of Public Health as a consultant on weight stigma and weight neutrality,” Tovar wrote on her Instagram page Monday. “I’m unbelievably proud to serve the city I’ve called home for almost 20 years in this way! This consultancy is an absolute dream come true, and it’s my biggest hope and belief that weight neutrality will be the future of public health.” (Ho, 12/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why The Latest CDC Teen Mental Health Report Is A Politically Inconvenient Bombshell For Crusading California Pols
The Centers for Disease Control’s latest biannual survey of 20,000 teenagers just dropped politically inconvenient bombshells into the furor over social media. Maybe that’s why we’re hearing so little about its findings, especially from California officials obsessed with slapping popular but pointless age limits and warning labels on social media. (Males, 12/18)

Modesto Bee: Transgender Patients Report Obstacles Since Golden Valley's Takeover Of Modesto Clinic
Since summer, when Golden Valley Health Centers took over the Paradise Medical Office — formerly operated by Stanislaus County — members of the transgender community have reported challenges accessing their regular healthcare. (Bisharyan, 12/17)

Los Angeles Times: Alameda County Family Sues Amazon One Medical Over Father's Death
An Alameda County family is suing Amazon One Medical, alleging a 45-year-old father of two collapsed and died shortly after he had a video consultation with the telehealth clinic. Philip Tong had a history of diabetes and, according to the lawsuit, was having trouble breathing and was coughing up blood. The suit also mentioned his feet had turned blue. During a video appointment with Amazon’s medical service providers on Dec. 18, 2023, he was told to buy an inhaler. (Hernandez, 12/18)

Los Angeles Times: Women's Prisons Are Rife With Trauma. Can California Set A New Course At Chowchilla?
The program is a part of the California Model, an ambitious effort Gov. Gavin Newsom launched in March 2023 to overhaul a prison system built on fear and retribution and replace it with opportunities for more normalized social interaction. (Wiley, 12/19)

Bay Area News Group: Pacific Autism Center For Education Provides A Safe Learning Environment For Kids With Moderate To Severe Autism 
PACE is a nonprofit that’s been catering to individuals with moderate-to-severe autism since 1989. They have five group homes as well as two schools — one in Santa Clara and the other in Sunnyvale — that serve more than 60 kids ages 6 to 22. (Hase, 12/19)

Orange County Register: Orange County OKs Purchase Of Costa Mesa Property To Create 78 Units For Homeless
The OC Board of Supervisors directed staff to purchase a property in Costa Mesa that once included a Travelodge motel and have it converted into 78 affordable housing units for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of not having a place to live. The board’s approval was needed for the latest Project Homekey development in Orange County to move forward. Homekey is one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state programs that turns aging motels and other surplus properties into housing for the homeless. (Torres, 12/18)

AP: Wisconsin School Shooter Had 2 Guns And Got Messages From Man Accused Of Plotting His Own Attack
The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday. ... A California judge, meanwhile, issued a restraining order Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others. (Richmond, Bauer and Foley, 12/18)

The Hill: Hawley: Kennedy Supports Restrictions On Abortion Pill Mifepristone
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, pledged to support efforts to reimpose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone if Trump wants to. Hawley told reporters Wednesday he suggested to Kennedy during a Tuesday meeting that “it would be a wise idea to return to the rule under the last Trump administration, which required in-person dispensing” of the drug.  (Weixel, 12/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: California's Democratic Senators Split On Schiff's First Major Vote
In one of his first major votes as a senator, Adam Schiff broke with the majority of Democrats — including fellow Californian Alex Padilla — and voted against legislation that included a GOP provision to ban gender-affirming care for children of service members. This was the first major split between the two lawmakers since Schiff joined the Senate on Dec. 9. (Stein, 12/18)

The New York Times: Trump, Egged On By Musk, Condemns Spending Deal, Raising Fears Of Government Shutdown 
A bipartisan spending deal to avert a shutdown was on life support on Wednesday after President-elect Donald J. Trump condemned it, leaving lawmakers without a strategy to fund the government past a Friday night deadline. Mr. Trump issued a scathing statement ordering Republicans not to support the sprawling bill, piling on to a barrage of criticism from Elon Musk, who spent Wednesday trashing the measure on social media and threatening any Republican who supported it with political ruin. (Edmondson and Hulse, 12/18)

The New York Times: What’s Inside The Spending Bill To Avoid A Government Shutdown? 
The stopgap spending bill congressional leaders agreed on this week began as a simple funding measure to keep government funds flowing past a Friday night deadline and into early next year, long after House Republicans elect a speaker and President-elect Donald J. Trump is sworn in. But by the time it was rolled out to lawmakers on Tuesday night, it had transformed into a true Christmas tree of a bill, adorned with all manner of unrelated policy measures in the kind of year-end catchall that Republicans have long derided. It is a 1,547-page behemoth of a package with provisions including foreign investment restrictions, new health care policies and a stadium site for the Washington Commanders. (Edmondson, 12/18)

The Hill: Johnson Considers Plan B Amid Trump World Opposition To Spending Deal
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is looking at a plan B to fund the government ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline as Republicans inside and outside the Capitol, including President-elect Trump and his allies, slam his spending package. The back-up option Johnson is examining is a “clean” continuing resolution, two sources familiar with the matter told The Hill. That would entail dropping the additional provisions that were included in the initial 1,500-page spending package negotiated by congressional leaders, including disaster aid and economic assistance for farmers. (Schnell, 12/18)