The Florida Surgeon General declared a public health emergency this week after cases of Hepatitis A, a vaccine-preventable disease, swelled to 2,034, the Miami Herald reports.
What's happening: 56 new cases of Hepatitis A, a communicable disease of the liver, were reported in Florida from July 20 to July 27. Most of the areas affected are in central and western Florida, according to the Herald.
While the abuse of prescription opioids has received widespread attention, benzodiazepine (BZD) sedatives have seen a similar growth rate, with prescription rates nearly doubling since 2003.
Why it matters: In the U.S., deaths associated with BZDs like Xanax and Valium have increased from 135 in 1999 to over 11,500 in 2017. The dangers of misusing these potentially addictive drugs are particularly acute for adults over 50, who have experienced the largest increase in BZD prescriptions.
Hospitals are the largest contributor to rising health care costs in the U.S., yet have gone unmentioned in the Democratic presidential debates so far — a reflection of their relative political popularity over drug companies and insurers.
Yes, but: Hospitals are fighting multiple battles in Washington, where lawmakers and the White House seem increasingly emboldened to take them on.
