Bob Evans Farms Foods is recalling close to 7,600 pounds of Italian pork sausage that may be "contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically thin blue rubber," according to an alert posted by the USDA.
Why it matters: The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is urging consumers not to eat the sausage products and said they should be "thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday indefinitely postponed a meeting of outside experts to help decide whether to allowover-the-counter sales of birth control pills.
Driving the news: HRA Pharma sought the designation last July for its Opill contraceptive. The scheduling of an advisory committee meeting for Nov. 18 was considered unusually fast for the agency.
Radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists and vascular surgeons are bracing to see if they'll take the worst of Medicare physician payment cuts next year.
Why it matters: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is due to release a final fee schedule as early as this week that's expected to continue phasing in reductions to medical specialties -- and likely prompt appeals to Congress for a year-end reprieve.
States could start the new year grappling with a surge in Medicaid spending to accompany supply chain pressures, workforce shortages and the effects of inflation.
The big picture: The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency could result in state Medicaid outlays growing at a rate of 16.3% in fiscal 2023, even with efforts underway to control future program costs, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Fossil fuel "addiction" is rapidly worsening climate change as the related effects of extreme weather leave 98 million people facing severe food insecurity and heat-related deaths surge, a new report warns.
The big picture: The burning of fossil fuels including coal, oil and natural gas that cause toxic air pollution kills some 11,800 Americans and about 1.2 million people globally every year, according to the report, published in the medical journal The Lancet Tuesday ahead of next month's UN Cop27 climate summit in Egypt.
This article originally appeared in Axios Finish Line, our nightly newsletter on life, leadership and wellness. Sign up here.
Loneliness in America is widespread — and it's a public health problem.
By the numbers: More than 1 in 3 Americans are lonely, per a Harvard study. That rises to 61% when looking at younger people, and 51% among mothers with young kids.
Why it matters: It's not just a feeling. Loneliness has real consequences for your health and can shorten your life.
Clorox is recalling 37 million Pine-Sol products because they may contain bacteria, including pseudomonas aeruginosa, the company said Tuesday.
Why it matters: People with weakened immune systems or external medical devices who are exposed "face a risk of serious infection that may require medical treatment," Clorox said in the recall notice.
Black and Latino Americans saw surges in enrollment in the federal government's health care marketplace between 2020 and 2022, according to a new report released by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Plaintiffs in an Affordable Care Act lawsuit are now asking a federal judge to toss all parts of the law requiring coverage of preventive health services.
Why it matters: The filing raises the stakes in the closely watched case, Kelley v. Becerra: If U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor sides with the plaintiffs, millions of Americans could lose coverage for cancer screenings, behavioral counseling and other recommendations made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Why it matters: Democrats and Republicans disagree on the role of scientists in public policy — and that divide has only grown wider since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reproductive health advocates and Democratic lawmakers are intensifying calls for the Food and Drug Administration to make contraceptives available without a prescription ahead of a closely watched advisory panel meeting next month.
Why it matters: Health experts say making HRA Pharma's Opill pill available without a prescription will prevent more unwanted pregnancies, and the need for abortions. But that hinges on whether insurers will cover it and whether the drugmaker, part of the consumer products giant Perrigo, makes it affordable to those paying out of pocket.
