Axios

U.S. abortion rights advocates this week met with their Latin American counterparts in Washington, D.C., to learn about the successful strategies they've used to dramatically increase access in several countries

The big picture: While U.S. courts and states have gutted or chipped away at abortion rights, a movement in Latin America known as the "Green Wave" (Marea Verde) has helped increase abortion access in several countries across the majority Catholic region through protests and legal action.

Children in Texas who live along the U.S.-Mexico border have a 30% higher risk of death within five years of being diagnosed with the most common type of childhood cancer compared to those living elsewhere in the state, a new study found.

The big picture: Childhood cancer is the second-leading cause of death for kids under 16 years of age, and people who live in Texas border communities — about 80% are Hispanic — have long had less access to health care.

Hospitals and health systems are dealing with a shortage of the inhalation drug albuterol after one of the last manufacturers producing the drug shuttered operations.

Why it matters: Liquid albuterol is a mainstay for treating asthma in kids and was in heavy use for RSV and COVID-19. Health systems have scrambled to get more supplies and figured out workarounds after drugmaker Akorn ceased operations in late February, the Washington Post reported.

The inability to pin down COVID's origins has opened the door to politically charged speculation and fierce debate, but without concrete evidence, people are forming narratives based on incomplete information with major geopolitical consequences.

Why it matters: The lingering questions about how the virus emerged could likely only be filled through intelligence or new information gathered from Wuhan, China, in the early days of the pandemic.

Alarming new findings offer more evidence of a puzzling rise in colorectal cancer in patients under 50 and the challenges of reaching them with timely screening.

Driving the news: Research published Wednesday showed the uptick in new colorectal cases — among the top causes of cancer death in the U.S. — among younger patients as well as an increase in colorectal cancers diagnosed at more advanced stages.

Railroad union leaders are claiming that rail workers are falling ill at the site of the East Palestine, Ohio, toxic freight train derailment, according to a letter sent to government officials on Wednesday.

The big picture: The union that represents workers on Norfolk Southern Railroad, the rail operator of the train that derailed last month alleges that workers at the cleanup site are getting sick with "migraines and nausea" and are not being provided necessary protective equipment.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended Wednesday the second vaccine in two days against the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, for adults over 60.

Why it matters: If approved by the FDA, the vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer would be the first publicly available against a respiratory virus that claims thousands of lives every year.

Health insurers' margins in Medicare Advantage were more than double those seen in other markets in 2021, reinforcing the way the program can produce strong financial returns for plans, a new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis shows.

Why it matters: Private Medicare plans are expected to draw more than half of eligible beneficiaries this year. But government payments to insurers for administering the plans could get ensnared in a politically charged fight over the program's finances.

By the numbers: Gross margins in the Medicare Advantage market in 2021 averaged $1,730 per enrollee, similar to levels seen in 2018 and 2019 before the pandemic began, per KFF.

• That was substantially higher than margins seen in the individual ($745 per enrollee), fully insured group ($689 per enrollee) and Medicaid managed care ($768 per enrollee) markets.
• The individual and group markets had not recovered to pre-pandemic margins by the end of 2021.
• Gross margins are a common way to assess insurer profitability and reflect the amount total premium income exceeds total claims costs per enrollee.

Go deeper: Medicare Advantage is a lucrative and fast-growing business for insurers. UnitedHealth Group posted profits of $14.4 billion, up 20% over the prior year, buoyed in large part by increases in enrollment in MA plans.

• UnitedHealth had more than 7.1 million Medicare Advantage members in 2022, up about 9% from members 6.5 million the year prior. It’s projected to add 900,000 more members in 2023.
• Humana, recently announced plans to exit the commercial market to focus, in part, on its MA plans. It’s expecting at least 625,000 signups in 2023, a 14% year-over-year increase.

More people are being diagnosed at younger ages and with more advanced cases of colorectal cancer, according to new research published Wednesday.

Why it matters: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third most common cause of cancer‐related death in both men and women in the U.S.

The FDA is launching a search for the newly created deputy commissioner for human foods, promising that person will have "a clear line of authority" over the proposed human foods program, the agency announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: It's the latest attempt to detail a plan to reorganize its oversight of food products after the agency faced significant scrutiny in recent years, culminating with last year's baby formula crisis.

Eli Lilly is slashing prices on its most-prescribed insulins and capping out-of-pocket costs for patients amid pressure from consumers and the Biden administration.

Driving the news: After years of price hikes on insulin, Lilly on Wednesday said people with diabetes would see 70% reductions on its most common versions.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it will restrict imports of an animal sedative infiltrating the opioid supply and making the effects of fentanyl even deadlier.

Why it matters: Xylazine, known as "tranq" or "zombie drug," is causing blackouts, dangerously low blood pressure levels and heart rates, and severe skin-rotting wounds in users that can lead to amputation if untreated. Since it's not an opioid, the sedative resists common overdose reversal treatments such as naloxone.

Black Americans are nearly twice as likely as white Americans to go to hospital emergency departments for mental health care, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report based largely on pre-pandemic data.

Why it matters: Demand for behavioral health services is swamping the health care system, but those turning to an ER indicate which groups might be facing extra barriers to care.

The increasing criminalization of abortion in the U.S. is exposing major gaps in the legal protection of health information, as more health data ends up in the hands of patients rather than doctors.

Why it matters: Health privacy in the post-Roe digital age is fraught as prosecutors seeking to enforce anti-abortion laws are free to go after reproductive health data in mobile apps, where it is unprotected by federal law.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the COVID-19 pandemic "most likely" resulted from a potential lab leak in Wuhan, China, as the debate continues over the coronavirus' origins.

The big picture: The new lab leak assessment could have broader implications for U.S.-China relations at a particularly sensitive time.