Sen. Bernie Sanders' push for sweeping legislation to address a growing shortage of primary care providers, the opioid crisis and other key health issues faces an unusual obstacle: escalating tensions among members of the health committee he chairs.
Why it matters: If the progressive firebrand secures passage of the roughly $25 billion package, it will overshadow complaints about how it got done.
The life expectancy gap between women and men in the U.S. widened again in 2021, meaning men currently die nearly six years before women, according to research published in JAMA on Monday.
Why it matters: Women have outlived men for more than a century, but since hitting a low in 2010, the gap has steadily broadened over the past decade.
Doctors are getting inundated with patients' requests for wildly popular new anti-obesity drugs, including from many who don't really need them.
Why it matters: Primary care doctors in particular, who typically have little training in obesity, have found themselves as gatekeepers for a class of injection drugs, including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy, that are effective but still face questions about who should take them.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it's committed to studying whether psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin are effective treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder ahead of a House hearing expected to touch on the substances.
Why it matters: It shows growing recognition that hallucinogenic drugs, when paired with psychotherapy, could potentially have mental health benefits.
