Children of women who had been hospitalized with infections like the flu, pneumonia and sepsis while pregnant may have a much greater risk of having depression or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.
Why it matters: There's been some debate in the scientific community on whether infections in utero could be a factor in the development of ASD. This large and long-term study — which showed a 79% increased ASD risk and a 24% increased depression risk in those children — offers further evidence there may be a link, plus new information that this could also be a factor in depression, study author Kristina Adams Waldorf tells Axios.
Remember when President Trump campaigned on a health care platform of eliminating "the lines around the states?" Well, that particular white whale has re-emerged.
Driving the news: The Trump administration posted a 15-page document Wednesday asking for public comment on a range of questions related to the interstate sale of health insurance — including questions about using part of the Affordable Care Act to make that change.
Pharmaceutical companies put a lot of the blame for high drug prices on pharmacy benefit managers. But big drug companies are also big employers — which means they rely on PBMs to manage their own health care benefits.
Why it matters: PBMs are part of the system, so it's not necessarily surprising drug companies use them. But it's not clear whether pharma companies are practicing what they preach on the details of PBM contracts and the way savings are distributed.
Between the lines: A lot is still unknown about Haven, other than that it will use "data and technology" to try to improve employer health care and that it is "committed to doing this work for the long term," according to a note from Haven CEO Atul Gawande. We also know UnitedHealth Group views Haven as a competitor.
In 2017, more than 151,000 Americans died of suicide or causes related to drugs or alcohol — the highest rate in U.S. history, according to a new study by Trust for America's Health and Well Being Trust.
Why it matters: The study projects that the three epidemics are on track to kill 1.6 million Americans by 2025. Life expectancy has already fallen in the U.S. three years in a row largely due to these trends, while the global average life expectancy continues to rise.
Freestanding emergency departments, which provide emergency medical care but are physically separate from hospitals, charge many times more than other providers for the same care, according to a new analysis by UnitedHealth Group.
How it works: Freestanding ERs often don't provide treatment for common emergencies like trauma, strokes and heart attacks.
You’d be hard-pressed to find many Trump administration officials with a better reputation, on both sides of the aisle, than Scott Gottlieb. But now he’s leaving.
The big picture: Gottlieb has been an incredibly consequential FDA commissioner. He's not without his critics — no one is — but he's about as close as you can get, especially in this administration.
First lady Melania Trump spoke out against the media for focusing on trivial issues instead of the opioid epidemic, as her youth wellbeing-focused "Be Best" tour wrapped up in Las Vegas Tuesday.
I challenge the press to devote as much time to the lives lost and the potential lives that could be saved by dedicating the same amount of coverage that you do to idle gossip or trivial stories"
