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The Keckley Report

It’s the (Health) Economy Stupid!

By September 7, 2025No Comments

Friday’s Labor Department release of its August jobs report prompted political and media pundits to conclude the U.S. economy has entered a period of downturn.

The report showed a light uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.3% and anemic job growth for the month—+22,000 new jobs added offset by adjustments for June and July (-21,000). Those numbers that prompted headlines like these:

And many others.

For healthcare, this picture is extremely problematic. Here’s why:

In the 12th paragraph of BLS news release, it noted: “In August, health care added 31,000 jobs, below the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in ambulatory health care services (+13,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000), and hospitals (+9,000).” It’s not a new trend: over the last 10 years, healthcare has accounted for a disproportionate share of job growth:

  Overall Job Growth Healthcare Job Growth % Difference
8/25 vs. 8/24 22,000 46.,800 +113%
2014-2024 Chg. +13% +25% +92%
Projected 2025-2034 +3.1% +8.7% +181%

This differential is associated primarily with two major trends: increased demand for health services as the population ages, and increased demand for AI-enabled services in new settings—homes, clinics, ambulatory facilities, schools and workplaces. But both fly in the face of well-documented limitations that have stymied workforce modernization in healthcare:

  • Internal disputes: Aggregate healthcare labor costs are a significant component of total costs of care but wages for most non-licensed healthcare jobs trail other industries. And there’s growing tension among workers about executive compensation which, in recent years, has soared well-beyond other jobs in the workforce.
  • Productivity: The productivity of the healthcare workforce is low compared to other industries per industry and academic studies. Education, licensing, and competency-based compensation has not advanced in parallel with clinical innovation and increased demand.
  • Short-term margin expectations: Capital investments (including private investment) and current payment mechanisms incent short-term (1-2 years) labor deployment in specialty and procedural care settings and dis-incent deployment for preventive health, self-care and alternative modalities of care. Uncertainty about tariffs, monetary and fiscal policies, the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and management incentive packages are not geared to healthcare workforce modernization.

The BLS report is reminder that healthcare plays a unique role in the overall U.S.  economy: 27% of total federal spending and the country’s biggest employer (18 million). But it doesn’t tell a complete story:

  • The unpaid workforce isn’t acknowledged: Individuals that provide care for family/friends because they can’t afford to pay others so they can work—numbers 3 million and is growing. It’s contributing to a bifurcation of the U.S. population based on income.
  • The overall job market is distressing and compressing: more than 7 million working age adults have given up on looking for a job
  • The education and equipping of the healthcare workforce is inadequate: The value of a college degree in securing a well-paid job is eroding. The effectiveness of professional training and advanced degrees in science, medicine and ancillary healthcare roles is increasingly second-guessed by current job holders. Health careers are no longer a “special calling” for many.
  • The public’s not happy with the health system and it impacts the workforce: Confidence and trust in the U.S. health system is plummeting: the majority thinks the system is unaffordable and more attuned to its profits than their needs. Healthcare prices and out of pocket obligations have increased above rates of inflation for 20 years and how constitute almost 10% of average household expenses…but almost 25% in low-income households.

Attention to the BLS Jobs Report for August 2025 distracted attention from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s testimony before the Senate Finance Committee the day before. Notably, Republican and Democratic Committee members referenced the enormous cost of the U.S. system and its ineffectiveness in prepared remarks and by the Secretary. The fact that healthcare is labor intense was not noted, nor the reality that modernizing that workforce to deliver better results cost effectively is unwelcome to many insiders who’ve benefited from its lethargy.  Insiders argue for more funding and outsiders see aggressive workforce cost reduction as the first step.

Healthcare is the economy’s most important industry. Modernizing its workforce is the industry’s more urgent challenge. This puts enormous pressure on organizations to re-think “human resources” and modify compensation and performance expectations for every employee.

Paul

PS: For closer look at the August 2025 Jobs Report and what it means for healthcare, check this out:  TKR draft – Google Docs. K Pow is a substack source I follow whose perspective and style is refreshing and always insightful!!!

Resources in addition to citations in this report:

 

Sections in today’s report:

  • Quotables
  • Health Economy
  • Hospitals
  • Physicians
  • Polling
  • Public Health
 

 

Quotables

Politico on Jobs report: “The U.S. job market is showing signs of stalling, a troubling trend for the economy that strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to begin slashing interest rates.

The Labor Department on Friday said businesses added just 22,000 jobs in August, the fourth disappointing monthly report in a row. The June numbers were also revised down to show that the U.S. actually lost 13,000 jobs that month — the first time that has happened since December 2020. Unemployment ticked up to 4.3 percent, the highest in four years.

And in a further blow to President Donald Trump, manufacturers continued to shed jobs, with employment down by 78,000 this year despite the administration’s drive to promote investment and growth in that corner of the economy.

The report comes as both elevated interest rates and Trump’s sweeping tariffs weigh on an economy that depends on consumer spending. For the first time since 2021, there are now more unemployed Americans than there are open jobs — even as the president’s immigration crackdown reduces the supply of workers.”

Trump’s job market is struggling, building the case for steeper Fed rate cuts – POLITICO September 4, 2025

K Pow on Jobs report: …”August registered a meager 22K gain M/M seasonally adjusted which was well below consensus of 75K. And I’m not a fan of all these seasonal adjustments, but I’ll show it anyway because those numbers grab headlines.

Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate is now at 4.3% (vs 4.2% prev) which was in line with consensus estimates. But again, that’s just one measure of labor underutilization; and there are seemingly endless iterations of this single measure- by age, marital status, industry occupation, race, sex. No wonder Moody’s chief economist finally acknowledged that the unemployment rate might be convincing the general public all is fine in the labor market when it simply is NOT

Speaking of iterations, if you’re a young male recent college grad, the labor market is absolutely atrocious right now. Close to 14% for this cohort….

So, I’ll leave it there for today. I could go on about the seemingly endless signs the labor market is in rough shape- obviously lopsided job growth to healthcare and government, people are staying unemployed longer etc. And of course it’s inappropriate to extrapolate a single report, but taken as a whole, there are clear signs of workforce stress.”

“August Jobs Report Recap K. Pow September 5, 2025  https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect August Jobs Report Recap

HHS employees’ letter to Congress: “Following the August 8th attack on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 750 current and former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) workers sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. That letter urged the Secretary to cease endangering the nation’s health by spreading inaccurate health information, affirm CDC’s scientific integrity, and guarantee the safety of the HHS workforce. Since the letter’s release on August 20th, the number of signatories has grown to 6,370, with 887 from HHS.

But Secretary Kennedy continues to endanger the nation’s health….

We swore an oath to support and defend the United States Constitution and to serve the American people. Our oath requires us to speak out when the Constitution is violated and the American people are put at risk. Thus, we warn the President, Congress, and the Public that Secretary Kennedy’s actions are compromising the health of this nation, and we demand Secretary Kennedy’s resignation…”

Letter from 1040 current HHS employees September 3, 2025 Save HHS | Support Public Health – Take Action Now

Politico on influence, direction of AMA: “The most powerful lobbying group for America’s doctors has a big decision to make: Go to war with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or try to work with him.

For many members of the American Medical Association, publicly opposing Kennedy feels right. It means defending public health against policies — from changes to vaccine guidance to cuts to Medicaid — they see as dire threats. But it could come at a big cost if Republicans decide to overhaul how doctors are paid, as Kennedy has said he wants to do….

The AMA was once a dominant force in GOP politics and influential with Republican officials…

For the better part of 2025, the group was rankled by infighting. Its physician members rallied against its leaders, accusing them of listlessly standing by as Trump sowed doubt in the medical establishment…

The AMA also faces a generational split. Several members said that the old guard hopes the AMA will keep on with its biggest battle: fighting to reverse declining Medicare payments for doctors. But younger physicians are pushing the AMA to speak out on public health.”

RFK Jr. is forcing doctors to make a tough choice – POLITICO

Nick Florko on RFK JR. Senate Finance Testimony: “As Kennedy grows bolder in his attacks, Trump has been his greatest enabler. Trump achieved the rapid delivery of vaccines during the pandemic with Operation Warp Speed, yet he seems to be happily cheering Kennedy on in dismantling that legacy. He might share Kennedy’s views, or perhaps he sees the pitfalls of dismissing a secretary who has some of the highest favorability ratings in the Cabinet. Even recent speculation that Kennedy plans to run for president in 2028 failed to generate a public rebuke from Trump. (Kennedy has since denied that he’s running.) At least for the time being, Kennedy looks invincible. He knows it.”

A Different RFK Jr. Just Appeared Before Congress – The Atlantic

Modern Healthcare on Medicaid work requirements: “A year after concluding a long, messy process to trim the Medicaid rolls of ineligible beneficiaries, states, insurance companies and others in the healthcare system are bracing for impact as work requirements loom. President Donald Trump enacted a sweeping tax law in July that cuts Medicaid spending $960 billion over 10 years and includes significant new restrictions on enrollment. Work requirements promise to be the most impactful.

States face a January 2027 deadline to have work verification systems in place. Their preparations, which are constrained because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services isn’t due to issue regulatory guidance until next June, occur with fresh memories of a nationwide eligibility redeterminations process in 2023 and 2024 that stripped more than 25 million people of coverage.

That experience plus evidence from Arkansas’ and Georgia’s previous attempts at Medicaid work requirements suggest that carrying out the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will pressure state regulators and lead to millions losing benefits, include many who actually qualify for them…”

What Medicaid work requirements might learn from the unwinding – Modern Healthcare

Milbank on Behavioral Health crisis: “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)’s cuts to Medicaid will heighten the nation’s behavioral health crisis. Nationally, each year an estimated 20 to 25% of children and adults have a mental illness1 and 17% of adults and 9% of adolescents have a substance use disorder. Medicaid is the single largest payer of mental health and substance use services in the United States, and the burden of behavioral health conditions is higher among Medicaid enrollees. Among the 17% of US adults ages 19-64 covered by Medicaid, 35% have a mental illness and 24% have a substance use disorder. Medicaid also covers 40% of children, 30% of whom have a behavioral health condition. In 2020, the drug overdose rate among Medicaid beneficiaries of all ages was 54.6 per 100,000 people, more than twice the national average.2

Medicaid coverage loss due to OBBBA will decrease access to mental health and substance treatment among US adults and children; reduce Medicaid mental health and substance use benefits for those who remain covered; and worsen behavioral health workforce shortages. While OBBBA’s Medicaid provisions primarily target adults, the Act will spill over to negatively impact children: when parents gain or lose Medicaid coverage, their children often do the same. In addition, the Act’s federal funding cuts will require states to save money by cutting optional eligibility and benefit categories, many of which pertain to children.”

Medicaid Cuts Will Heighten the US Mental Health and Substance Use Crisis | Milbank Memorial Fund

Ceci Connolly on prior authorizations: “Risk adjustment was a well-intentioned concept that has grown out of control and overrun with abuse. The current program presents thousands of ways for insurers and vendors to game the system, passing costs onto every Medicare consumer and American taxpayer. This is a failing system and the stark findings in our analysis prove this.”

Ceci Connolly, President and CEO, Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) September 3, 2025

Hal Andrews on HIPPA: “The adoption of technology, particularly for healthcare interoperability, would rapidly accelerate if healthcare providers and their vendors knew that there was a safe harbor for breaches that were not grossly negligent or for some nefarious purpose. The Federal government’s failure to create a safe harbor in 1996 when Internet adoption was nascent was completely understandable; failing to have done that in 2025 suggests that the Federal government still doesn’t understand the practical barriers to a digital health economy.”

HIPAAcracy: The Real Constraint on Innovation in Healthcare Technology

Drew Altman on Marketplace Tax Credits: “The biggest health policy decision still to play out this year is whether or not the ACA enhanced tax credits will be allowed to expire or will be extended in some form…

The enhanced credits were established by Democrats during Covid under the American Rescue Plan, which increased the amount of ACA tax credits and expanded eligibility to households with an annual income over 400% of the federal poverty limit ($103,280 for a family of three signing up for coverage in 2025), capping their out-of-pocket premiums for a benchmark plan at 8.5% of income…

The consequences of allowing the credits to lapse will be serious: An increase of more than 75% in premiums on average for enrollees; a 90% increase in many rural areas; about 4 million more uninsured people, according to CBO, and as much as a 50% decline in Marketplace enrollment, according to the actuaries at Wakely, when combined with the other changes to the ACA made in the budget and spending law. The magnitude of the impact is one reason why some refer to this as a “partial repeal” of the ACA, although other important provisions of the law, such as protections for pre-existing conditions, remain intact. You can check out the KFF tax credit calculator to see how enrollees at different income levels across the country will be affected.

Beyond the Data from Drew Altman: Explaining the Muddle on ACA Tax Credits

McKinsey on CEO effectiveness: “CEOs, on average, seem to be inhabitants of Lake Wobegon. Regardless of tenure, they score themselves higher than direct reports score them 100 percent of the time, and higher than boards score them 80 percent of the time. That 20% of time when the board is more bullish than the CEO tends to be in the leader’s early tenure—which makes sense given that the board is undoubtedly optimistic about its CEO choice; meanwhile, the CEO is still learning the role and therefore not yet feeling totally confident.

In addition to the finding that most CEOs feel illusory superiority across all seasons, our research pointed to a short list of blind spots unique to each season in the role.

We found that in the early years, new CEOs tend to be most overconfident about their ability to shift the culture…

New CEOs also feel overconfident in terms of how well they’re managing their personal effectiveness…”

The four seasons of a CEO career | McKinsey

Health Affairs on primary care compensation: “Access to primary care is associated with better health outcomes and lower health care spending, demonstrating the high value primary care adds in the health care system. Primary care providers care for patients with different backgrounds; medical histories including comorbidities; different polypharmacy; and this requires time, mental focus, and coordination. An adjustment to the work component of the RVUs to reflect this reality is much needed to arrest the decline of primary care in the US health care system.”

Valuing Cognitive Effort in Primary Care: Rebalancing Medicare Physician Payment | Health Affairs

Derek Thompson on Diet and Health: “Americans don’t just want facts about diet and health. They want stories. They want to know who’s wrong, who’s evil, and, best of all, who’s hiding something. They demand the busting of myths, the spilling of secrets, the tasting of forbidden truths.

This desperation for health news that is also a particular kind of darkly delicious entertainment swings open a wide door for media companies and social-media influencers to serve up contrarian takes that are often disconnected from the underlying evidence. The podcast and YouTube space is filled with audacious claims about lying scientists and dubious diets. To add irony to insult, these segments are often sponsored by bullshit supplements with no evidence of efficacy.

The paranoid style of diet science—this obsessive emphasis on myth and conspiracy that confuses basic facts and misleads viewers—is not the exclusive domain of himbo podcasters. Even trustworthy and high-quality news organizations can sometimes fall into the trap of being contrarian rather than clear.”

The Boring Truth About Why America Got Fat

 

Health Economy

BLS: August 2025 Jobs Report: Highlights from Friday’s report for August:

From the household survey:

  • Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in August (+22,000) and has shown little change since April.
  • Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.4 million, changed little in August.
  • Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants decreased by 199,000 in August to 786,000, largely offsetting an increase in the prior month. New entrants are unemployed people who are looking for their first job.
  • The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million in August but has increased by 385,000 over the year. In August, the long-term unemployed accounted for 25.7% of all unemployed people.
  • In August, the labor force participation rate changed little at 62.3%, and the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 59.6%. Both measures have declined by 0.4 percentage point over the year.

From the establishment survey:

  • Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in August (+22,000) and has shown little change since April. Over the month, a job gain in health care was partially offset by losses in federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.
  • In August, health care added 31,000 jobs, below the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in ambulatory health care services (+13,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000), and hospitals (+9,000).
  • Employment in social assistance continued to trend up in August (+16,000), reflecting continued job growth in individual and family services (+16,000).
  • Federal government employment continued to decline in August (-15,000) and is down by 97,000 since reaching a peak in January. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
  • “The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 27,000, from +14,000 to -13,000, and the change for July was revised up by 6,000, from +73,000 to +79,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 21,000 lower than previously reported.”

Employment Situation Summary – 2025 M08 Results

Proposed HHS FY26 Budget: Last Monday, the House Appropriations Committee released the proposed budget bill for the 2026 fiscal year that governs the HHS as well as the departments of Labor and Education, suggesting a $108 billion outlay (6% cut) for the HHS– $7 billion less than what was set aside for fiscal year 2025. It also includes “$100 million for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, which will allow the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to invest in prevention and innovation programs for rural communities, telehealth resources for chronic care, and nutrition services.”

fy26-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related-agencies-subcommittee-summary.pdf

Pitchbook Report: Public PE funds focus on high net worth market for growth: Each earnings season, we look at the top US-listed private equity and credit managers for clues on how these industry leaders are driving GP franchise growth. While the public PE firms have historically thrived raising institutional capital, they have seemingly hit the ceiling, leaving them scrambling for new ways to scale inflows. The answer: the wealth channel.

This channel, also called the retail channel, targets accredited investors, also known as high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). These managers are bringing perpetual capital—evergreen—products across all asset classes to this market to capture a new stream of inflows, which has worked…

PE deployment for these public GPs totaled $21 billion in Q2 and $83.1 billion in the TTM, both sizable year-over-year increases, as these GPs leaned into uncertainty, underwriting sizable deals in anticipation of stronger economic conditions ahead.

Q2 2025 US Public PE and GP Deal Roundup | PitchBook

In major U.S. cities, the average cost of a fast-food meal has climbed to $11.56, according to LendingTree, making even a simple combo feel like a splurge

 

Physicians

Milbank Report on primary care funding: “Primary care is the only part of the health care delivery system where evidence shows that more of it leads to improved health outcomes and fewer health disparities. Yet the Health of US Primary Care Scorecard shows that the US has financially neglected primary care, which has contributed to the steady weakening of the country’s primary care capacity. Smaller portions of the country’s rocketing health care spending are going to primary care, with smaller shares of clinicians working in primary care and fewer people reporting that they have a regular source of care.

As the 2021 National Academy of Science and Engineering and Medicine report on “Implementing High Quality Primary Care” pointed out, we need to pay more and pay differently for primary care. Medicare, the country’s largest payer, is the main reason that we don’t… Commercial insurers have followed the lead of the country’s largest health care payer in setting rates, and the result has been a less-than-virtuous cycle of more specialists and specialty care that led to a health care system ill-prepared for a pandemic and a decline in life expectancy.  ..

A willingness and commitment to redistribute resources is exactly what is needed here. Addressing a chronic condition – whether it be related to physical or policy health – requires resolution, followed by action and consistency. To improve the health of Americans, the administration has resolved to start to address Medicare’s undervaluing of primary care, and now it has shown it will act. Their willingness to hold the course and finalize these proposed changes will be a test of their commitment. “

Proposed Changes to How Medicare Pays Can Help Primary Care’s Chronic Condition  | Milbank Memorial Fund

Study: Physician opinions about pharmaceutical manufacturers marketing:  Drug companies spend over $35 billion per year marketing drugs, often directly to health care professionals. In 2011, researchers surveyed 3495 medical students and 1815 residents about their interactions with and attitudes toward the pharmaceutical industry and 1130 of the same trainees 13 years later. Results:

On follow-up, respondents were more likely to strongly agree that trust in medicine was threatened by industry marketing interactions (5.6% in 2011 vs 14.5% in 2024) but also that physicians can receive useful information from marketing (66.3% in 2011 vs 76.9% in 2024). There were no shifts in perceptions that interactions with pharmaceutical representatives lead to more free drug samples for patients in need, to increased use of more expensive drugs without additional benefit, or to creating unconscious bias in favor of sponsors’ products. The perception that limits on pharmaceutical consulting can hamper drug development became slightly more common (23.1% in 2011 vs 28.5% in 2024; P = .01). We found increased agreement that medical schools should not permit interactions between industry and students in training facilities (59.6% in 2011 vs 72.2% in 2024) and greater agreement that schools should require faculty to disclose conflicts of interest before lectures (88.9% in 2011 vs 99.7% in 2024).

This 13-year longitudinal survey study found that physician perceptions of industry evolved, with increasing confidence in industry information about drugs but growing concern about the role of industry-physician marketing interactions in trust in medicine. Shifts in attitude may be attributable to respondents’ leaving training and assuming professional roles or may represent secular changes over time. The 13-year timeline and survey methodology limited our response rate and led to an oversampling of academic researchers. Our survey also relies on self-reporting, and participants might have reported less favorable attitudes toward industry due to social desirability bias.

Despite these challenges, this interval survey provides further evidence of physician concern about and reliance on pharmaceutical marketing…”

Physician Perspectives on Pharmaceutical Promotion | Health Policy | JAMA Health Forum | JAMA Network

 

Polling

KFF Poll: The national survey of 2,716 parents found that 81% of parents believe that public schools should require vaccines for measles and polio, with some exceptions. Nationally, most Republicans — 75%— wanted schools to require those two vaccines with exceptions, compared with 91% of Democrats.

Most Parents Nationally and in Florida Want Schools to Require Vaccines | KFF Quick Takes

Economist YouGov Poll released September 3: 1691 U.S. adult citizens were surveyed between August 29 and-September 2,2025. Highlights:

  • Favorability of HHS Secretary Kennedy: 37% favorable vs. 50% unfavorable (10 vs. 80 Dems, 30 vs. 54 Ind, 70 vs. 17 Rep)
  • Most important issues: #1 Inflation and prices (24%), #2 jobs and the economy (16%) and #3 healthcare (9%)
  • Mood about economy: Getting better (24%), getting worse (52%), about the same (20%) and unsure (5%).
  • Change in personal finances in past year: better off, (16%) worse off, (38%) about the same (42%), NA 4%
  • Trust in medical doctors: A lot (46%), somewhat (33%), neither trust of distrust (12%), distrust some/a lot (6%), not sure (3%).
  • Trust in pharmaceutical companies: A lot (5%), somewhat (22%), neither trust of distrust (20%), distrust some/a lot (49%%), not sure (5%).
  • Trust in CDC: A lot (26%), somewhat (25%), neither trust of distrust (15%), distrust some/a lot (30%%), not sure (5%).

The Economist/YouGov Poll -1691U.S.Adult Citizen econTabReport_S3c69M7.pdf

 

Public Health

Important studies/reports about opioid treatment:

Vaccine mandates: FL Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said he is directing the Florida Department of Health to eliminate all vaccine directives issued by the health agency, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will work with the legislature to repeal any laws requiring immunizations. The American Academy of Pediatrics said Florida’s move would endanger residents. Separately, the Democratic governors of California, Oregon and Washington said they were planning to issue their own vaccine recommendations because the Trump administration had politicized the CDC.

Florida surgeon general on ending vaccine mandates: Not ‘actually a scientific debate’ September 6, 2025 https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5489802-florida-surgeon-general-vaccine-mandates/

WSJ Report: Fentanyl use in workplace: “More Americans are testing positive for fentanyl use in randomized workplace drug tests, highlighting a persistent challenge for employers.

The positive rate for urine tests indicating the presence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl was 1.13% in 2024. That is up from 0.91% in 2023 and double the rate in 2020, according to a recent analysis of more than eight million drug tests by Quest Diagnostics DGX 0.45%increase; green up pointing triangle, one of the U.S.’s largest drug-testing labs.

Overall, the positive rate for the various substances Quest Diagnostics tested for declined last year, to 4.4% from 4.6% in 2023, after three years of rising.

The findings on fentanyl come as the nation continues to grapple with an opioid-addiction epidemic. Deaths involving synthetic opioids—a category largely fueled by fentanyl—declined 2% to about 74,700 last year, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as overall overdose deaths in the U.S. fell for the first time in years. The CDC has estimated that seven of every 10 U.S. overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids.”

Exclusive | More Fentanyl Shows Up in Random Workplace Tests – WSJ

Study: Food insecurity and childhood mental health: Researchers analyzed the associations of household food insecurity with child mental health, parenting stress, and family functioning. Findings:

“…greater day-to-day fluctuations in household and child food insecurity were associated with more severe child internalizing problems and total mental health problems. Additionally, the daily association between food insecurity and parent-child conflict was fully mediated via 2 sequential pathways of caregiver hunger and negative affect and caregiver hunger and attention and impulse control. This model explained 17% of variability in daily parent-child conflict.”

Food Insecurity and Rural Child and Family Functioning | Nutrition | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

WSJ Report: Fentanyl use in workplace: “More Americans are testing positive for fentanyl use in randomized workplace drug tests, highlighting a persistent challenge for employers.

The positive rate for urine tests indicating the presence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl was 1.13% in 2024. That is up from 0.91% in 2023 and double the rate in 2020, according to a recent analysis of more than eight million drug tests by Quest Diagnostics DGX 0.45%increase; green up pointing triangle, one of the U.S.’s largest drug-testing labs.

Overall, the positive rate for the various substances Quest Diagnostics tested for declined last year, to 4.4% from 4.6% in 2023, after three years of rising.

The findings on fentanyl come as the nation continues to grapple with an opioid-addiction epidemic. Deaths involving synthetic opioids—a category largely fueled by fentanyl—declined 2% to about 74,700 last year, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as overall overdose deaths in the U.S. fell for the first time in years. The CDC has estimated that seven of every 10 U.S. overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids.”

Exclusive | More Fentanyl Shows Up in Random Workplace Tests – WSJ

STAT on alcohol guidance study: “A key government study about alcohol and its health harms will not be released publicly, despite several years of taxpayer-funded work and a growing body of evidence connecting drinking with disease.

A final version of the Alcohol Intake and Health Study led by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will not be published…

The question of how much alcohol is safe to consume remains a dicey one. The at-times-contradictory federal reports only added fuel to the debate. Kennedy, who is in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug use, has not weighed in on the issue. Trump has said he does not drink.

Meanwhile, Americans are seemingly making up their own minds. Drinking patterns continue to shift toward lower consumption in many groups, according to a Gallup poll released last month.”

Major report on alcohol and health being downplayed under Kennedy | STAT