Good morning! I’m Lauren Weber, a health accountability and medical misinformation reporter for The Washington Post. I’ve got a story out today with my colleague Sabrina Malhi examining the rise of birth control misinformation — and how influencers and conservative commentators are driving the phenomenon. If you have a tip, send it to lauren.weber@washpost.com. Not a subscriber? sign up here. 

Today’s edition: House Republicans are calling for a probe into unspent mental health funding. A dispatch from Capitol Hill where the federal health secretary spent nearly six hours testifying. But first …

Women are getting off birth control amid misinformation explosion

Search for “birth control” on TikTok or Instagram and a cascade of misleading videos vilifying hormonal contraception appear: Young women blaming their weight gain on the pill. Right-wing commentators claiming some birth control can lead to infertility. Testimonials complaining of depression and anxiety.

Instead, many social media influencers recommend “natural” alternatives to pregnancy prevention, such as timing sex to menstrual cycles — a less effective method doctors warn could result in unwanted pregnancies at a time when abortion is banned or restricted in nearly half the states.

My colleague Sabrina Malhi and I decided to dive in to better understand what was driving this phenomenon — and its consequences in a country with a rapidly changing reproductive landscape.

Physicians told us over and over that they’re seeing an explosion of birth control misinformation online targeting a vulnerable demographic: people in their teens and early 20s who are more likely to believe what they see on their phones because of algorithms that feed them a loop of videos reinforcing messages often divorced from scientific evidence. 

While the doctors stressed that hormonal contraception — which includes birth control pills and intrauterine devices — is safe and effective, they said they worry the profession’s long-standing lack of transparency about some of the serious but rare side effects has left many patients seeking information from unqualified online communities.

That leaves many young women turning to these “natural” methods, which can have an up to 23 percent failure rate. 

Michael Belmonte, an OB/GYN in D.C. and a family planning expert with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said he sees women frequently travel from other parts of the country to seek abortions after taking advice from social media posts about the dangers of hormonal birth control and the effectiveness of tracking periods to prevent pregnancy. Many of his patients had traveled from states that have completely or partially banned abortions, he said, including Texas, Idaho, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Doctors stand a better chance of dispelling misinformation when they listen to patients’ concerns, Belmonte said, recognizing that some are more worried about side effects of birth control than the effectiveness doctors have long been trained to emphasize. 

We decided to write a longer FAQ debunking some of the most common birth control misconceptions, which you can read here, to address those myths regarding weight gain and other distorted realities populated on social media.

And check out the full story here. 

On the Hill

House Republicans ask for GAO probe into unspent mental health funds

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee want an investigation into federal officials’ oversight of mental health funding, citing documents that show more than $3.8 billion remained unspent as of late last year, our colleague Dan Diamond scooped. 

The details: Billions of dollars have poured into the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for emergency pandemic response as well as the 988 suicide and crisis hotline. 

Internal documents reveal that only 54 percent of funds earmarked for emergency coronavirus response had been used as of Nov. 8. Additionally, just 17 percent of the money intended to help states, territories and tribes implement the 988 hotline had been spent.

In a letter sent Tuesday, E&C leaders petitioned the Government Accountability Office to examine why the funds haven’t been spent more swiftly to address mental health needs in the United States. The watchdog confirmed to The Post that it was reviewing the panel’s request.

The view from the Department of Health and Human Services: The agency, which oversees SAMHSA, said it had complied with congressional questions about the mental health funding. HHS also said all 988 hotline programs are using funding for “a range of ongoing activities” and can draw down additional money as necessary.

Worth watching: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra is set to join lawmakers today at the Capitol to unveil “a critical next step” in the 988 program.

In other news from E&C…

The panel voted to advance 28 bills yesterday, including several bipartisan health policies. Measures to ban discrimination in organ transplants, reauthorize a lifespan respite care program and improve treatment for Alzheimer’s disease are among the proposals that received unanimous support from committee members. 

Meanwhile, across the Capitol …

The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are launching a joint investigation into national security threats posed by biological research and technology in the U.S. and abroad. 

Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and ranking Republican Rand Paul (K.Y.) announced yesterday that they plan to hold hearings on life sciences research, biodefense, emerging outbreaks and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, among other areas. 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.):

From our notebook

Xavier Becerra scales the Hill

The Post’s Dan Diamond sends us this dispatch: 

The HHS secretary powered through nearly six hours of testimony across two hearings Wednesday, nominally defending the Biden administration’s latest budget request but mostly just fielding complaints and occasional cheers from dozens of congressmen. 

Becerra faced some of the usual barbs from Republicans — who pressed him on the agency’s care for unaccompanied migrant children and some of its drug price policies — and collected praise from Democrats who hailed HHS for its work on coverage expansion.

The hearings in front of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Appropriations’ labor and health subcommittee also showcased new concerns. Members of both parties repeatedly raised the ongoing fallout from the Change Healthcare crisis, saying they’d heard from constituents about payment problems.

Some friendly fire: Some of the sharpest moments of the hearings came from Democrats demanding more progress on their priorities. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said he “could not be more disappointed” in the administration’s efforts on cannabis, and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) demanded answers on medical device safety.

State scan

Californians vote “Yes” on Proposition 1

Californians narrowly approved a $6.4 billion bond measure championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to combat the mental health and addiction epidemic in his state. 

The Associated Press called the results last night, more than two weeks after voters hit the polls to weigh in on Proposition 1. The ballot measure will fund thousands of new treatment beds and supportive housing units for homeless people with mental illness or addiction challenges, among other broad changes. (For a closer look, check out The Health 202’s deep dive into the ambitious effort). 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D): 

Policy dive

Conservative caucus’s budget wish reveals health priorities

The Republican Study Committee unveiled its fiscal 2025 budget proposal yesterday. 

In a sweeping road map, the bloc of about 180 conservative lawmakers called for a restructuring of Medicare, along with the revocation of its new authority to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs. Notably, unlike previous iterations, the budget doesn’t include a proposal to raise the eligibility age for the safety net program. Other asks include: 

• Eliminating beefed-up tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) shoppers set to expire at the end of 2025. 
• Scrapping most ACA protections for preexisting conditions. 
• Converting Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program into five block grants for states. 
• Abolishing the Title X family planning program, which provides free and subsidized contraception and other services to low-income people. 

Yes, but: The budget is mostly a wish list. Even still, the proposals offer insight into Republicans’ health policy priorities should the GOP see success in the November elections.

In other health news

• On tap today: Post Live is hosting “The Futurist Summit: The New Age of Tech,” starting at 9 a.m. Eastern. The event will feature a session about the intersection of technology and accessibility, including through new artificial intelligence tools. Register here to watch.
• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects federal regulators to select semaglutide, the active ingredient in appetite-suppressing drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, for price negotiations “within the next few years,” according to a new report. 
• Drugmaker GSK will limit out-of-pocket costs for all its inhaler products to $35 per month for eligible U.S. patients beginning next year, mirroring actions taken by two of its competitors this month, Leroy Leo and Mariam Sunny report for Reuters. 

Health reads

A bat infestation, postponed surgeries and unpaid bills: A hospital chain in crisis (By Melanie Evans and Jonathan Weil | The Wall Street Journal)

Fetal tissue research gains in importance as roadblocks multiply (By Olivia Goldhill | Stat)

Biden’s stutter surges into the presidential campaign (By Matt Viser | The Washington Post)

Sugar rush

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow.