President Biden on Monday will sign an executive order aimed at expanding research and improving government initiatives on women’s health, a move that will coincide with a White House Women’s History Month reception. [The Hill]

The president’s executive order will “ensure women’s health is integrated and prioritized across the federal research portfolio and budget,” the White House said, with a focus on the administration’s Initiative on Women’s Health Research. 

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The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced tougher limits on a cancer-causing gas used to sterilize medical equipment, a move aimed at helping disadvantaged communities across the country reduce their exposure to a toxic pollutant. [Washington  Post]

Some environmental and public health advocates criticized the final rule as too weak, saying it would not adequately protect low-income and minority communities that are disproportionately affected. At the same time, the medical device industry warned that the rule could disrupt the supply of safe medical equipment at hospitals and clinics nationwide.

Ethylene oxide pollutes disadvantaged communities but is key to sterilizing medical equipment 

in hospitals and clinics nationwide

The rule targets emissions of ethylene oxide, an odorless, colorless gas that has been linked to several types of cancer, particularly lymphoma and leukemia. It illustrates the tensions between two of the Biden administration’s signature priorities: promoting environmental justice and bolstering domestic supply chains.

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A workgroup would explore ways to reduce burdens facing the behavioral health workforce under a plan approved Thursday by a House committee. [Health News Illinois]

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, would create a workgroup inside the office of the chief behavioral health officer. The officer or their designee could appoint up to 15 members.

They would be tasked to review policies and regulations to identify “inefficiencies, duplicate or unnecessary requirements” as well as other administrative burdens that prevent workers from providing services, according to the plan.

A report highlighting short- and long-term policy recommendations would be due to the General Assembly within a year after the group’s first meeting.

LaPointe told colleagues on the House’s Mental Health & Addiction Committee that hearings held earlier this spring related to the behavioral health workforce made clear that administrative burden is negatively affecting providers.

“We are at an acute moment where we have an intense workforce shortage," she said. "Anything we can do to reduce those barriers is what we want to do."

Tyler Smith, director of policy and government affairs for the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association, said workers often have to deal with a “vast and uncoordinated array of requirements.” That can include repeatedly submitting the same data to access their critical care providers.

Smith said the proposal would make the “industry better for customers, clinicians and clients."

A forthcoming amendment would allow the workforce’s chair to appoint a nonprofit organization to provide administrative support for the group. It would also establish an immediate effective date for the bill.

The plan unanimously passed the committee.

The committee also unanimously approved a plan by Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, related to network adequacy and so-called “ghost networks.”

Her plan would task insurers with auditing at least 25 percent of their provider directories for accuracy at least once a year and to make any necessary corrections. Plans would also have to provide information to allow customers to dispute charges for out-of-network providers or facilities that were incorrectly listed as in-network.

Consumers would be able to file a complaint with the Department of Insurance if charged for out-of-network services incorrectly listed as in-network.

The Department of Insurance would also have to “randomly” audit at least 10 percent of plans each year.

Croke said there is some overlap with Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed sweeping insurance reform, but her proposal gets into finer details on the issue, which can be more difficult in an omnibus package. Specifically, a coming amendment to the plan will insert a mechanism where patients can recoup costs.

“I think that there is some level of bipartisan support when it comes to this particular issue,” Croke said.

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The Board voted to add $500,000 to its Local Food Pantry Infrastructure Investment Program, which provides funding to local food pantries for capital equipment purchases or information technology investments. DuPage County also allocated nearly $1 million to 16 food pantries for infrastructure and technology investments in February. [County of DuPage]

Additionally, the County will provide nearly $1.6 million to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, allowing the organization to distribute fresh produce, protein, and essential commodities to local food pantries in DuPage County. This allocation brings the County’s total funding provided to the Northern Illinois Food Bank to more than $4 million.

"We've heard from our residents that food insecurity continues to be an issue. These two programs will help address the immediate need for fresh food, while also providing funds to create the framework for pantries to be sustainable and successful for years to come," said Human Services Committee Chair Greg Schwarze.

The portal for food pantries to apply for funding through the Local Food Pantry Infrastructure Investment Program will open March 15 and close May 15. To Learn more about the program, visit the County's Food Infrastructure Program website. To apply for funding through the Local Food Pantry Infrastructure Investment Program, please visit the program portal website.

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Illinois is moving to join 10 other states that limit toxic forever chemicals in underground sources of water. [Chicago Tribune] Photo credit E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune

Regulations unveiled Wednesday by the Illinois Pollution Control Board are intended to protect millions of people from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, some of which build up in human blood, cause cancer and other diseases and take years to leave the body.

Nearly 300,000 Illinoisans rely on utilities where PFAS in well water exceed the state’s proposed standards, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis of testing conducted between 2020 and 2022. Chicago-area communities with contaminated wells include Fox Lake, Lake In The Hills, Marengo, Rockdale, South Elgin and Sugar Grove.

It is unknown how many of the 1.4 million people in the state who depend on private wells are drinking PFAS-contaminated water. The Tribune reported last year that state officials had decided it is up to individual well owners to have their water tested.

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There’s another new subvariant of omicron rapidly spreading across America, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Known as BA.2.12.1, the new strain is a sublineage of the BA.2 subvariant. Here’s what to know about BA.2.12.1 as its spread continues. [Fast Company]

• What is BA.2.12.1? It’s a sublineage of the BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19. These subvariants are offshoots of omicron, which the CDC lists as a Variant of Concern (VOC)

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As anticipation builds for President Biden’s State of the Union address [tonight]  the American Public Health Association commends the Biden administration for its efforts to address critical issues affecting the nation's well-being, while recognizing we still have a long way to go to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to be healthy. [APHA]

Throughout his presidency, Biden has prioritized initiatives to improve the health and well-being of communities across the country by following the science. Since taking office, the administration has guided the country through challenges from COVID-19 and the end of the public health emergency while emphasizing the importance of vaccines, combating misinformation and supporting funding for the nation’s federal, state and local public health systems. This funding has been a critical lifeline for the public health infrastructure, and it needs to continue if we expect to have a public health system that is prepared for the next pandemic or public health emergency.

Under Biden’s leadership, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has moved forward with several important rules to protect the public’s health, especially the nation’s most vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly and communities of color. Recently, the EPA finalized rules to significantly reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, and issued more health-protective rules to reduce the dangerous particulate matter pollution that can lead to increased asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and premature death. 

The EPA is also moving forward with a new rule to reduce the amount of lead and copper in the nation’s drinking water supply and has secured billions in funding to help communities replace existing lead service lines — which negatively impact the health of more than 21 million individuals — to strengthen the nation’s commitment to environmental justice. We call on the EPA to finalize a critical rule to protect the public from the health threats associated with climate change by drastically reducing carbon pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

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CDC Director Mandy Cohen joins Bloomberg News reporter Riley Griffin to discuss new Covid-19 guidance, the fentanyl crisis and maternal healthcare in America.

Watch Video here>

Increased attention to harmful race-based clinical algorithms—equations and decision-making tools that misuse race as a proxy for genetic or biologic ancestry¹—has led to the reconsideration of these algorithms in many medical specialties. Most such algorithms were developed or endorsed by medical specialty societies, ensuring their widespread use. [JAMA Network]

Advocacy to eliminate the misuse of race in clinical algorithms has grown from grass-roots efforts to organized, coalition-based efforts² supported by numerous medical societies. The American Medical Association (AMA) has specifically called for eliminating the misuse of race in clinical algorithms and implementing strategies to redress related harms.³ This call aligns with a growing movement to advance reparative approaches, which appropriately use race as a social construct, to identify and redress harms.⁴

Given the influence of medical societies in developing and legitimizing clinical algorithms, as well as anecdotal reports of societies’ efforts to eliminate harmful algorithms from use, we surveyed societies on their activities related to this and other equity issues. This article presents descriptive findings on organized medicine’s efforts to eliminate harmful race-based clinical algorithms.

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Adolescents who use substances have more psychiatric symptoms than peers who do not use.^1,2 There are, however, conflicting findings on whether various substances have unique or nonspecific associations with co-occurring psychiatric symptoms.^2,3 Similarly, dose dependence of these associations and presence of increased psychiatric symptoms among adolescents with infrequent use are debated.¹ With increasing rates of adolescent mental health–related problems, particularly suicide,^4,5 clarification on these issues is needed to inform screening, prevention and intervention, and policy.⁶ We examined associations between common substances and psychiatric symptoms among adolescents. [JAMA]

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