The House approved a proposal Wednesday night that lays the groundwork for the implementation of universal mental health screenings in Illinois public schools. [Health News Illinois] 

The plan from Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, tasks the Illinois State Board of Education to work with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative and other stakeholders on resource materials, which will be made available to schools by September 2026.

The materials will include model procedures and guidance to help school districts implement universal mental health screening in schools by the 2027-2028 school year. 

Specifically, the materials will address options for parents, guardians and students to opt out of screenings. It will also address confidentiality and privacy considerations, how to communicate to families and communities about the use of mental health screenings, storage of mental health screening results and connecting individuals to resources after screenings.

School districts will offer screenings at least once a year to students starting in the third grade.

LaPointe said the proposal is the latest in a series from the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, which aims to address the youth mental health crisis.

She stressed that the screenings are a tool that districts can use to discern if youths are at risk and if they have deeper behavioral health issues and to get them access to treatment.

“The work to get to universal mental health screening in Illinois has been incremental,” LaPointe said. “It has been thoughtful. Dare I say it's been slow... but there's a reason for that because we want to get it right.”

Republicans decried the bill, calling it government overreach that did not give parents enough information or input on their children's health.

“This is a very dangerous piece of legislation that removes parental rights,” Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich.

The proposal, which passed the Senate last month, heads to Gov. JB Pritzker for final approval.

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Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna must carry expanded warning labels informing patients of the risk of rare heart inflammation. The FDA is also cracking down on off-brand GLP-1 drugs. Other administration news reports on RFK Jr. and the fallout from health funding cuts.[KFF Health News & CNN]

CNN: FDA Requires Covid Vaccine Makers To Expand Warning About Risk Of Rare Heart Inflammation The US Food and Drug Administration will now require Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna to use expanded warning labels with more information about the risk of a rare heart condition after vaccination. (Christensen, 5/21)

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Revised FDA guidelines also require placebo testing on updated covid vaccines. The new plan has pediatricians concerned for young ones in their care, but one MAHA influencer says the new rules aren't restrictive enough. [KFF Health News] 

The New York Times: F.D.A. Poised To Restrict Access To Covid Vaccines The Food and Drug Administration will permit use of Covid vaccines by adults over 65 and those with certain medical conditions in the fall, but may require additional studies before approving the shots for healthy Americans younger than 65, agency officials said on Tuesday. At this point, the additional doses offer “uncertain” benefits to many young and middle-aged people who have already been vaccinated or have had Covid, Dr. Vinay Prasad, the F.D.A.’s vaccine division chief, and Dr. Martin Makary, the agency’s commissioner, wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine. (Jewett and Mandavilli, 5/20)

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The overall rate of new cancers in the U.S. has been stable in recent years. And age-adjusted death rates have, on average, been falling. But some recent studies have spotted a troubling trend that points to increased cancer diagnoses among younger people. Analyses have found an uptick in early-onset cancers—that is, cancers that occur before age 50—in the U.S. and other countries. The underlying factors that might lead to this rise in early cancer have been unclear. Proposed causes have included increased rates of obesity and better detection through higher rates of cancer screening. [NIH] 

To better understand these apparent changes in cancer rates among different age groups, a research team led by Dr. Meredith Shiels of NIH’s National Cancer Institute examined two large nationwide datasets. These included mortality data from national death certificate information and cancer registry data representing the entire U.S. population. Most previous studies of early-onset cancers looked only at subsets of data from U.S. states and did not include comparison data from older age groups. 

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Illinois is projected to have a shortage of over 6,200 doctors by 2030, but a law that took effect this year cuts regulations and will help foreign-educated doctors start treating patients sooner. [Illinois Policy] 

Inequitable occupational licensing laws are a barrier to economic opportunity in Illinois across a broad range of vocations. A staggering 24.7% of Illinoisans need an occupational license – essentially a government-issued permission slip – to work the job of their choice while another 5% require workforce certification.

These regulatory obstacles hurt Illinois’ economy, including an estimated 135,000 lost jobs and $15.1 billion in misallocated resources. They also resulted in Illinoisans being unable to access medical care, at least until the licensing law passed in 2023 took effect this year.

Senate Bill 1298, championed by state Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, amended the Medical Practice Act of 1987 to allow foreign-trained doctors to apply for a limited license. The limited license allows foreign-trained doctors to practice in Illinois for two years under supervision in an area with underserved populations or “unmet medical needs.” After two years, the doctors receive a provisional license that allows them to practice independently under limited supervision for another two years. Afterwards, if in good standing, doctors receive a full, unrestricted medical license to work in Illinois.

This much-needed change addresses a severe doctor shortage in Illinois. It also extends opportunity to a greater number of qualified medical practitioners. The Migration Policy Institute finds Illinois among the states most dramatically underusing immigrant talent, both foreign- and U.S.-educated, to shore up health care personnel shortages.

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In Chicago, there is no coherent system to identify and help a small subset of severely mentally ill, violent people who cycle through jail, prison and hospitals without regular treatment for their conditions. The first in a six-part investigation by the Sun-Times looks at past cases and what would be needed to prevent them from happening again. [Chicago Sun-Times} 

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to remove CDC recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women and children. Come the fall, it may just be older adults and people with comorbidities who are urged to get a COVID shot. (Wall Street Journal via MSN, New York Times)

In the coming days, the FDA plans to release a new framework for vaccine approvals that will largely focus on COVID vaccines, said Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, PhD. (Washington Post). [MedPage Today]

The World Health Organization recommended that the strains used in currently available COVID vaccines JN.1 or KP.2 -- be used again for next season's shots.

HHS is already using artificial intelligence in its operations amid Kennedy's promise to "do more with less." (Politico)

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There were 30,000 fewer U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before — the largest one-year decline ever recorded. [AP]

An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. That’s down 27% from the 110,000 in 2023.

The CDC has been collecting comparable data for 45 years. The previous largest one-year drop was 4% in 2018, according to the agency’s National Center for Health Statistics.

All but two states saw declines last year, with Nevada and South Dakota experiencing small increases. Some of the biggest drops were in Ohio, West Virginia and other states that have been hard-hit in the nation’s decades-long overdose epidemic.

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The move contradicts the advice from the CDC and professional medical associations that recommend low doses of fluoride supplements for children who live in areas without fluoridated water. HHS also takes on deregulation, infant formula, mental health care, and more. [KFF Health News & NPR]

NPR: FDA Moves To Ban Fluoride Supplements For Kids, Removing A Key Tool For Dentists

Under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Food and Drug Administration is seeking to remove prescription fluoride supplements for kids from the market. These are fluoride tablets, drops or lozenges that are recommended for kids who don't get fluoridated water to help prevent cavities. (Huang, 5/13)

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