Note that some links may require subscriptions.

Attacks against medical workers and healthcare in conflict zones was the worst on record in 2022, with at least 232 workers killed and 298 kidnapped, a new report from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition found.

At least 728,000 Medicaid recipients have been unenrolled following the end of pandemic-era continuous enrollment provisions, according to data from KFF.

Insurers are cracking down on providers who prescribe the type 2 diabetes drug semaglutide (Ozempic) for weight loss. (Washington Post)

The Chamber of Commerce is also suing the U.S. Government over a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that gives Medicare more power to negotiate drug pricing. (Reuters)

In Germany, BioNTech’s first hearing alleging harm from COVID vaccine side effects was postponed. (Reuters)

In the U.K., the National Health Service announced it will limit puberty blocking drugs for youth to clinical trials only. (BBC News)

The FDA is seeking new suppliers to ease a shortage of methotrexate. (Reuters)

Meanwhile, the agency expanded the indication of the Inspire neurostimulation device for obstructive sleep apnea to include more severe forms of the condition, said Inspire Medical Systems.

Allina Hospital in Minnesota has paused a policy that cut off care for patients with a certain amount of medical debt after the New York Times reported on the practice last week. (Minnesota Public Radio)

Technical staff at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia voted to unionize. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

A man in Florida nearly lost his leg to a flesh-eating bacteria. (NBC News)

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, MD (D), a former emergency physician, assisted in a roadside accident for the second time in 3 weeks. (CNN)

Top U.S. health officials are calling for more research on fentanyl testing strips. (STAT)

Allergan, Teva, CVS, and Walgreens, among others, will pay a settlement of $18.75 billion to state and local governments over their roles in the opioid epidemic. (Washington Post)

Harald zur Hausen, MD, the German virologist who discovered that HPV causes cervical cancer, died at age 87. (Financial Times)

Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber” and a former mind-control subject in his teens, died by suicide in federal prison at age 81; he reportedly had late-stage cancer. (Washington Post)

And former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at age 86; he had recently been hospitalized in connection with his chronic leukemia. (NPR)

A trial in Montana starts today over whether the government is failing to protect young people from climate change. (AP)

Several large biomedical companies are catching horseshoe crabs en masse and bleeding them alive for their blood’s special toxin-detecting properties. (NPR)

An outbreak of Marburg disease virus in Equatorial Guinea has ended, with 12 confirmed deaths and 23 from probable cases, the World Health Organization announced.

In Peru, an outbreak of dengue has sickened 200,000 people, including 200 deaths. (Fox News)