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As a gerontologist who has helped countless older adulhttps://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/5617927-congress-medicare-reform-dangers/ts navigate the Medicare maze, I’ve seen how one enrollment decision can shape someone’s quality of life for decades. That’s why the new legislation before Congress, H.R. 3467, should alarm anyone who cares about protecting older Americans’ health and autonomy. 

The bill, sponsored by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and introduced in May, would automatically enroll new Medicare beneficiaries into the lowest-premium Medicare Advantage plan available in their ZIP code unless they actively opt out. Even more troubling, it would lock them into that plan for three full years, limiting their ability to switch back to traditional Medicare or select a new plan except under narrowly defined hardship circumstances.

At first glance, “auto-enrollment” sounds efficient, with fewer decisions to make at a confusing time. But when you dig deeper, this proposal removes freedom rather than simplifying a decision. Many would find themselves stuck in private insurance plans they never chose, possibly unable to access trusted doctors, specialists or hospitals outside their network. 

Older Americans are far from a uniform group. Their health, medications and financial circumstances vary dramatically. Yet H.R. 3467 assumes everyone will benefit from being placed in the cheapest available plan.

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Cases of infant botulism tied to the ByHeart infant formula recall have nearly tripled across 15 states since the recall was first announced less than a month ago.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported 13 cases across 10 states when the recall was first announced on Nov. 8. Since then, the number has jumped to 31 cases across 15 states, according to the latest update on Nov. 19.

ByHeart has also expanded its recall to include all batches of the ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula cans and single-serve “Anywhere Pack” sticks.

Cases of infant botulism tied to the ByHeart infant formula recall have nearly tripled across 15 states since the recall was first announced less than a month ago.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported 13 cases across 10 states when the recall was first announced on Nov. 8. Since then, the number has jumped to 31 cases across 15 states, according to the latest update on Nov. 19.

ByHeart has also expanded its recall to include all batches of the ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula cans and single-serve “Anywhere Pack” sticks.

"We continue to urge parents and caregivers to stop using ByHeart formula immediately," the company stated in an Instagram post. "Monitor your child for symptoms of infant botulism and seek medical care immediately if they develop symptoms."

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A federal judge officially approved drug maker Purdue Pharma’s latest deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of the opioid epidemic and pay victims, according to multiple media reports.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane on Tuesday, Nov. 18 approved OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harms of the opioids, the AP reported. The judge's decision orders members of the Sackler family, who own the drug-making company, "to contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years."

The move comes on the heels of Reuters reporting last week that the New York-based judge said he would approve a restructuring plan for the drug maker that includes a $7.4 billion settlement.

The deal aims to resolve claims Purdue Pharma fueled the United States opioid epidemic by selling addictive pain meds linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths over the past two decades.

Some of the money will be given to people who had OxyContin prescriptions, as well as their survivors, the outlets reported.

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This fall, multiple states including Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Wisconsin have reported outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease, a contagious virus that commonly infects children under 5 but can also cause symptoms in older kids and adults, too.

“This year, [cases seem] to be out of control,” said Dr. Allison Agwu, a professor of adult and pediatric infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. For example, in Agwu’s state of Maryland, cases are at “four to five times what they saw this time last year,” she said.

Dr. Matthew Thomas, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s in West Virginia, said spikes typically happen in cycles. “Some years you’ll see a lot of cases, like we’re seeing this year, and then it kind of fades away, where you don’t hear about it for a while,” Thomas said.

With cases higher than normal, it’s important to know the signs of the virus and what to do if you (or your kids) get sick. Here’s what to know:

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Heights University Hospital, which has served Jersey City for over 150 years, closed its doors on Saturday after failing to secure millions in critically needed state funds to keep it operational and pay employees, according to its parent company.

Hudson Regional Health, which owns the hospital, announced via its social media platforms on Saturday that only the hospital’s emergency room would remain open. Hudson Regional Health itself took control of the hospital and two others in Bayonne and Hoboken from Hudson County’s struggling CarePoint Health System in April.

“It was difficult to conceive of an employer that could be more harmful to its employees and its community than CarePoint has been in Hudson County,” read a statement by Health Professionals and Allied Employees, the union representing the hospital's staff. “But Hudson Regional Health has surpassed CarePoint as the worst employer in Hudson County.”

The union’s statement also said its members have been left without future employment and a paycheck for two weeks of work.

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A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug appears safe and effective for cutting cholesterol, possibly for life, according to a small early study released Saturday.

The study, which involved 15 volunteers, found one infusion of a drug that uses the CRISPR gene-editing technique could safely reduce cholesterol, as well as levels of harmful triglycerides, by about half.

"Rather than a lifetime worth of medicine, we have the potential to give people a cure," said Dr. Luke Laffin, a preventative cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who helped conduct the study. "It's very exciting."

The results of the study were presented Saturday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

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