• District of Columbia: U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Monday announced that he would push for a warning label to be included on social media platforms. In an opinion piece published in the New York Times, Murthy said that the warning label would send a powerful message to parents "that social media has not been proved safe." Murthy cited research that found teenagers who were on social media for more than three hours a day had a significantly higher risk of mental health issues, and that 46% of adolescents said social media made them feel worse about their bodies. According to the New York Times, past warning labels have significantly impacted people's behaviors. For example, warning labels were added to cigarette packages in 1965, and since then, the number of daily cigarette smokers has decreased from around 42% to 11.5% in 2021. "The platforms are designed to maximize how much time we all spend on them," Murthy said. "It's one thing to do that to an adult, and another thing to do it to a child, whose impulse control is still developing, whose brain is at a sensitive phase of development." (Barry, New York Times, 6/17; Murthy, New York Times, 6/17)
• District of Columbia: The Senate last week failed to get enough votes to advance a bill that would protect access to and expand coverage of fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). According to Roll Call, the legislative package combined language from four smaller IVF bills originally introduced by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.). The bill would establish a statutory right for health practitioners to provide IVF, for patients to seek the service, and for insurance plans to cover the treatments without interference. It would also require health plans and insurers that participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program and employer-sponsored plans to cover fertility treatments. The final vote was 48-47, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move the legislation forward. Senate Republicans have pushed for their own IVF bill, which was introduced by Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Under the GOP bill, states that received federal Medicaid funds would not be allowed to prohibit IVF. (Cohen/Raman, Roll Call, 6/13)
• Georgia: According to CDC data, there have been almost 5,000 cases of whooping cough in the first five months of 2024 — more than double the number of cases reported in the same period in 2023. Although cases of whooping cough declined during the pandemic, CDC said that they are now returning to "pre-pandemic patterns," which had over 10,000 cases a year. Certain states, including New York and Pennsylvania, have reported a recent spike in cases. FDA is concerned about this increase in whooping cough cases because the disease can be dangerous to infants and individuals with compromised immune systems. Currently, public health officials are encouraging patients to ensure that their vaccinations against whooping cough are up to date. CDC will also continue to closely monitor the situation and provide weekly updates on the disease's spread. (White, Newsweek, 6/6; Johnson/Malhi, Washington Post, 6/6)

In Advisory Board’s annual survey of health system strategic planners, respondents ranked addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) as a top strategic priority for 2024. While increased pressure on health systems to address health equity may drive verbal commitments to SDOH, can we expect real action to follow? Discover the three key reasons why healthcare leaders are shifting how they think about SDOH to treat it as a critical business imperative.