Health News Illinois reported- Proposals to reform and audit the 340B program were signed into law Friday by Gov. JB Pritzker.

The two bills are the culmination of more than a year of discussions around the future of the program, which gives providers access to discounted drugs.

One proposal would bar drugmakers from imposing any restriction on the ability of a 340B covered entity to contract with or designate a 340B contract pharmacy, including restrictions related to the number, location, ownership or type of pharmacy.

Other provisions would have required covered entities to dispense or administer 340B drugs only when in connection with an outpatient healthcare service received by the patient within 18 months.

Those concerns led to a second bill to be filed this spring. 

A companion plansigned by Pritzker looks to address concerns raised during negotiations that called for greater transparency in the program.

That law tasks the Department of Insurance with auditing the program, granting the agency authority to request that all 340B-covered entities and pharmaceutical manufacturers doing business in the state provide data related to the program.

The report is due to lawmakers by July 2028.

The proposal also gives the Attorney General’s Office the authority to issue fines against entities that do not comply with the audit. Any funds collected would be deposited into the office’s State Projects and Court Ordered Distribution Fund.

Reforms to the program have been a priority for groups like the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, who praised Pritzker for his support.

“At a time when so much about the future of healthcare feels uncertain, (Pritzker’s) willingness to act gives our health centers and the patients they serve a real measure of stability,” IPHCA CEO Ollie Idowu said in a statement. “By signing these bills, the governor is standing with the patients who have the fewest options and the providers who show up for them every single day.”

Illinois Health and Hospital Association CEO A.J. Wilhelmi praised Pritzker for taking action to “protect access to care for vulnerable patients and communities across Illinois.”

“For more than three decades, the 340B program has served as a critical lifeline — helping hospitals stretch limited resources to expand access to affordable medications, support chronic disease management and behavioral health services, and address longstanding disparities in care,” Wilhelmi said. “This legislation preserves these vital patient benefits while also enhancing transparency and accountability around the program, ensuring policymakers and the public have greater insight into how 340B savings are reinvested to meet community health needs.”

The proposals faced stiff opposition from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, who have raised concerns about how providers are abusing the program.

PhRMA reiterated that point on Friday.

“Across the country and here in Illinois, 340B is driving up costs for patients, taxpayers and employers instead of ensuring that these savings reach those who need them most,” it said. “PhRMA will continue working with policymakers to advance solutions that protect patients.”

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted accelerated approval to Tudriqev (vusolimogene oderparepvec-wtpg), a genetically modified oncolytic viral therapy for the treatment of advanced, refractory melanoma. Tudriqev is indicated in combination with nivolumab for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced cutaneous melanoma who experienced disease progression with a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)-blocking antibody-based regimen.

The approval is supported by data from a clinical trial showing that one in four patients responded to treatment, with responses lasting a median of nearly 14 months, offering clinicians a meaningful new tool for a patient population. In reaching this decision, the FDA also considered input from clinical experts and patient advocates who emphasized the urgent need for effective options in this refractory population.

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Erica Schwartz confirmed as CDC director, filling nearly yearlong vacancy as reported by STAT

WASHINGTON — Erica Schwartz was confirmed Wednesday as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making her the second permanent leader of the agency since the second Trump administration took office. 

Her confirmation, approved by the Senate in a 51-44 vote, also ends a nearly yearlong vacancy for the CDC’s top job after health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Schwartz’s predecessor last year. 

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Becker's ASC Review reported: Physician compensation kept climbing in 2026, but the shape of that pay looks different than it did a few years ago, according to Resolve’s “2026 Physician Compensation Report,” an analysis of more than 4,000 physician employment contracts across all 50 states and 116 specialties.

Eight things to know:

1. Base pay growth is slowing. The national average base salary reached $387,000 in 2026, but that figure grew just 2% to 4% over the past year, down from the 5% to 6% annual increases physicians saw in prior years.

2. Pay is becoming more conditional. Rather than raising guaranteed base pay, employers are increasingly leaning on sign-on bonuses, retention incentives and productivity thresholds tied to RVUs, or relative value units, to stay competitive. 

3. Contract structure now matters more than the number on the offer letter. Hybrid compensation models, which blend a base salary with RVU- or performance-based pay, have become more common as organizations look to control fixed costs without losing ground in recruitment. 

4. Pay still varies by region. Median base pay was highest in the South, at $355,000, followed by the West at $350,000, the East at $348,000 and the Midwest at $344,000.

5. State-level pay varies even more. New Jersey topped the list at $400,000, followed by Florida at $396,000. Pennsylvania, Illinois, Washington and Maryland each posted a $350,000 median.

6. The gender pay gap hasn’t closed. Women physicians reported a median base salary of $320,000, about 25% less than the $400,000 median for men, a gap that held steady even as overall pay climbed.

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Health News Illinois reported: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Monday his office has reached a $20 million settlement with disposable vape company Posh over allegedly selling unauthorized flavored e-cigarettes and marketing them to youth.

Raoul sued the company in January 2025, accusing it of violating a state law that prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes unless the Food and Drug Administration has approved them for marketing and sale in the U.S.

Additionally, Posh advertised its products on social media platforms like Instagram in ways that Raoul’s office said were "attractive to young people.”

Along with the funds, the settlement prohibits Posh from selling, distributing or advertising e-cigarettes in Illinois unless and until its products obtain a marketing-granted order from the FDA.

“Today’s settlement ensures one of the most prolific vaping brands in Illinois will no longer sell unauthorized e-cigarettes with flavors that appeal to youth,” Raoul said. “I remain committed to working to protect our communities from the harms of illegal and unregulated e-cigarettes and will continue to hold companies accountable for targeting youth with their addictive products.”

Posh could not be reached for comment.

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KFF Health News reported: A century-old hospital near Michigan’s southern border was one of the nation’s first to convert into a new emergency-focused model Congress created to save rural care.

This story also ran on States Newsroom. It can be republished for free.

Afterward, though, use of Sturgis Hospital’s emergency department fell, according to data collected at the state level. In June, three years after taking the federal lifeline, the hospital closed, leaving residents of Sturgis, a town of about 11,000 people, without critical healthcare. Its leaders had tried “every reasonable option” to remain open, including seeking a buyer, according to a hospital news release.

The closure “could be kind of a canary in the coal mine” for rural healthcare, said Lauren LaPine-Ray, the vice president of policy and rural health at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.

Federal leaders have spent decades trying to prop up rural hospitals, which face persistent staffing shortages, low federal payment rates, and declining patient numbers.

About 1,700 hospitals nationwide are eligible to convert to the stripped-down Rural Emergency Hospital model. So far, more than 50 rural hospitals in over 20 states have signed on, but LaPine-Ray and other hospital leaders nationwide fear Sturgis’ failure is a sign the new model won’t be enough to keep doors open when the anticipated federal funding losses arrive from President Donald Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Last year, the survival of rural hospitals became a central negotiating point as Congress debated the massive tax and spending law, which is expected to reduce Medicaid funding by more than $900 billion over 10 years. The reductions are expected to have a substantial impact in rural areas that often have high Medicaid enrollment. Republicans added the new $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program to win votes from a few holdouts in their ranks.

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From Cook County Health: Parents can get their children vaccinated for the upcoming school year, right on time for National Immunization Awareness Month in August.   Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) is providing back-to-school immunizations at no cost for the 2026-27 school year to children ages 6 months to 18 years old, regardless of immigration or insurance status, now through mid-October.   The mobile vaccination clinics began at community events and back-to-school fairs held throughout suburban Cook County, starting July 18 and running through August 13. Organizations in suburban Cook County can also request a mobile vaccination clinic for their upcoming event by filling out this form.  Students in Illinois are required to have proof of immunization, or have a valid medical or religious exemption, by Oct. 15 each year.  For more information visit https://cookcountypublichealth.org/2026/07/15/cook-county-public-health-offers-back-to-school-vaccinations-at-suburban-cook-county-community-events/. ###

CIDRPA reports: Infants are far more vulnerable than older children to severe illness from viruses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study yesterday in Pediatrics. 

The findings also highlight significant differences in how respiratory infections affect infants, ranging from asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections managed at home to severe illness requiring hospital or emergency department (ED) care. 

For the study, researchers led by a team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center followed up with 1,223 healthy children from birth to age 5 years from November 2019 to August 2025. After collecting weekly nasal swabs from participants and pairing the laboratory results with biweekly symptom surveys, the team identified 15,898 acute respiratory infections (ARIs) caused by different pathogens.

Both silent and severe infections

Overall, more than three-quarters (78.4%) of symptomatic respiratory infections were managed at home, and the remaining 21.6% were treated in a healthcare setting. 

The researchers identified asymptomatic infections for all respiratory pathogens, including influenza (7.6%) and RSV (10.2%). Infants younger than 1 year experienced the most asymptomatic flu and RSV infections—14.5% and 12.5%, respectively. 

No symptoms were reported in one-fifth of SARS-CoV-2, adenovirus, and endemic coronavirus infections or in one-third of rhinovirus and bocavirus infections.

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CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy
Research and Innovation Office, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

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Room-temperature-stable and rapidly reconstituted, this first FDA-licensed product brings new options to emergency and remote settings The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today licensed Ezplaz Freeze Dried Plasma (FDP), making it the first freeze-dried plasma product licensed for use in the United States. Ezplaz is intended for transfusion in adult patients who need plasma and for whom other plasma products are not available. "Patients experiencing life-threatening bleeding in combat zones, disasters, rural settings, or other austere environments may now have faster access to plasma when conventional frozen plasma is unavailable," said Karim Mikhail, B. Pharm., M.S., Acting Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). "This milestone action addresses an important unmet medical need — particularly for our military personnel and others who may be far from traditional hospital infrastructure." Read more> ###

AP reported: A key U.S. government report on mental health, substance use and addiction showed continued improvements in several metrics, especially among young people.

There was some uncertainty about the future of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health last year, when the entire 17-member team responsible for it was laid off by the Trump administration. But the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released the latest report Monday, with data that lets researchers look at trends from 2021 to 2025.

Fewer adolescents aged 12 to 17 reported using tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and binge drinking in the previous month, the survey found.

And in the past year, fewer in that age group reported:

— illicit drug and marijuana use

— starting drinking alcohol, vaping or marijuana

— substance, alcohol or drug use disorders

Adolescents also saw declining trends for major depressive episodes and fewer reported serious thoughts of suicide, making a suicide plan and attempting suicide.

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