Congress remains in session on Capitol Hill this week. The Hill reports that Senate leadership will be bringing up Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bills up for a vote. “The first, as an olive branch to Democrats, will include domestic priorities. The second package will include a mammoth defense bill, which is considered a top priority for Republicans.” The current continuing resolution funding the federal government in the 2020 FY that began on October 1 expires a month from tomorrow November 21 (absent a further extension).

NPR Shots offers an interesting article on the use of genetic tests to identify the preferable drug to be dispensed to the tested individual.

Companies that make [these] genetic tests * * *say they can save patients and doctors from prolonged searching for the right medication and save insurance companies from paying for ineffective drugs. But many researchers say the tests don’t have enough evidence backing them up. The Food and Drug Administration has warned that the tests could potentially steer patients towards the wrong medications. Nonetheless, UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest insurer, began covering them October 1 for its 27 million individual and group plans.

The Wall Street Journal reports that

Vaping-related illnesses and deaths have spurred more young people to seek help to quit, physicians and psychologists treating teenage users of e-cigarettes say, but few treatment options exist and there is rising concern that the public-health response for cessation programs is inadequate. * * *

Dr. Melodi Pirzada, chief of pediatric pulmonology at NYU Winthrop Hospital on Long Island * * * said the hospital has long offered smoking-cessation sessions for adults. But given the vaping epidemic among teens, “we’re considering implementing similar teen-only programs to help teens stop vaping,” she said. The hospital is also looking to do increased screening of teens.

Another tool, she said, is a law change that would permit physicians to prescribe nicotine patches or gum to teens. It is now illegal in New York for anyone under 18 years of age to buy such over-the-counter products.