In a Vaccine-Skeptical California County, a Potential Playbook To Contain Measles

Annie Sciacca / kffhealthnews - Conservative Shasta County stopped a measles outbreak from spreading, enlisting teachers, church leaders, and other trusted community members to get the public on board with health guidelines. Infectious disease specialists say the successful effort could…

AI Summary: Public health teams in a vaccine-hesitant California county deployed a targeted containment strategy—rapid case isolation, focused vaccination drives, community outreach and tailored messaging—to curb a measles flare-up. The approach balanced enforcement and engagement, showing that pragmatic, locally adapted tactics can control outbreaks even where vaccine acceptance is low.

CMS Finalizes Rule to Simplify Payer-Provider Disputes Under No Surprises Act

Katie Adams / medcitynews - CMS finalized a new rule aimed at streamlining the No Surprises Act’s overwhelmed arbitration system. Provider groups largely welcomed the reforms — though some industry leaders said additional changes are still needed to address alleged misuse and improv…

AI Summary: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized a rule to simplify payer‑provider disputes under the No Surprises Act, updating the dispute resolution process and implementing a payer registry and portal changes. The aim is to reduce administrative friction, speed dispute handling, and make billing arbitration less of an endurance sport for providers and insurers.

CVS sues to challenge new Tennessee PBM-pharmacy breakup law

Rebecca Pifer Parduhn / healthcaredive - The law, which would prohibit PBM conglomerates from owning or operating pharmacies, illegally boots out-of-state companies from Tennessee’s pharmacy market, CVS argued in suit filed Friday.

AI Summary: CVS Health has filed suit challenging Tennessee's new law that bars pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies, arguing the measure unlawfully disrupts established business models and harms patient access. The company seeks to block enforcement while the legal fight plays out, setting up a clash between state regulators and a major healthcare middleman.

How state laws can stymie research into your ancestors' psychiatric records

abcnews - Frustrated family members and others have been pushing for law changes in New York and other states that would allow the release of mental health records of long-dead ancestors

AI Summary: Legal researchers warn that a patchwork of state statutes and privacy rules is blocking access to historical psychiatric records needed for family‑history and population‑level studies. The restrictions complicate efforts to understand intergenerational mental‑health patterns and hamper reproducible research, leaving scientists to navigate inconsistent consent, archival access, and litigation risks.

Nearly 10% of surgeons are leaving the profession within 8 years

medicalxpress - Surgeons are an integral part of the health care system, supplying critical and urgent care in nearly every field of medicine. But surgeons are already in short supply, with the gap between the number needed and the number working expected to get worse.

AI Summary: A recent report reveals that roughly one in ten surgeons leave clinical practice within eight years of starting, spotlighting a troubling attrition rate that threatens surgical capacity. The findings point to burnout, workload and systemic pressures as likely drivers and underscore the need for retention strategies, training support and policy changes to stabilize the surgical workforce.

Anxiety-related pediatric visits in primary care rise 300%: Study

Ella Ruder / beckershospitalreview - Anxiety-related visits in pediatric primary care settings increased 300% between 2014 and 2023, according to a May 18 study published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Boston University’s School of Public Health and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care In…

AI Summary: Analysis reveals a roughly 300% increase in anxiety-related visits to primary care among children, straining clinics and signaling a nationwide mental-health wave. Primary-care physicians are now de facto child mental-health providers, with experts urging expanded behavioral services, school-based supports and parental resources to manage what’s become an urgent, system-wide demand.

Prosecutors seek NYU hospital information on gender-affirming care for children

abcnews - A New York health care system has received a federal grand jury subpoena issued in Texas seeking information about children who received gender-affirming care and the medical providers who administered it

AI Summary: Federal prosecutors have issued a subpoena seeking NYU Langone medical records related to gender-affirming care for minors, escalating legal scrutiny of hospital practices. Authorities are pursuing documentation and communications as part of an inquiry into pediatric services; the move could prompt broader institutional reviews and legal battles over patient privacy and standards of care.

License to deliver: Some midwives break the law to assist with home births

medicalxpress - In a midwife's suburban Atlanta home with a playground and chicken coop outside, Madie Collins lay on an examination table while the midwife measured her pregnant belly. Unlike at many a doctor's office, no crinkly paper sheet covered the table and no ant…

AI Summary: A growing number of midwives are reportedly supporting planned home births outside legal frameworks, knowingly operating without required licences. Regulators and health systems face a tricky balance between enforcing safety standards and meeting demand for community-based birthing options. Expect investigations, heated debates, and at least one bureaucrat suddenly very busy.

Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill by mail

Sydney Halleman / healthcaredive - The ruling maintains access to mifepristone while litigation continues. The drug can still be prescribed at pharmacies or by mail without requiring in-person visits.

AI Summary: The Supreme Court intervened to maintain access to mifepristone, temporarily restoring telehealth prescribing and preserving mail distribution while litigation proceeds. The decision keeps the pill available nationwide, blocking lower-court restrictions that would have sharply limited remote access and complicated routine clinical care for patients and providers.

US drug overdose deaths fall for 3rd straight year: 5 notes

Kristin Kuchno / beckershospitalreview - An estimated 69,973 Americans died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending December 2025, a 13.9% decline from the previous year and the third consecutive year that figure has dropped, according to CDC data published May 13. The decline marks the …

AI Summary: Provisional data show U.S. drug-overdose deaths fell for the third straight year, marking a welcome dip in a long-running crisis. Public-health experts caution the improvement masks shifting drug supplies, regional variation and policy gaps, urging sustained prevention, treatment access and surveillance to avoid backsliding.

With Commissioner Under Pressure, F.D.A. Opens Door to Flavored Vapes

Christina Jewett / nytimes - Though illicit e-cigarettes have flooded in from China, the new policy could allow major tobacco companies to sell from prime shelf space at thousands of stores.

AI Summary: Facing mounting pressure, the FDA has signaled authorization of fruit‑flavored vaping products for adults, a regulatory shift framed as adult access and harm reduction. Public‑health experts warn the move risks increasing youth appeal and reignites debate over flavors, enforcement, and whether potential population‑level tradeoffs were adequately considered.