Spending Package Could Mean Coverage For 2 Million Uninsured In Southeast

Georgia Health news: Georgia’s Uninsured Could Get Coverage Under Biden Proposal
At least 2.2 million low-income adults — nearly all in Texas and the Southeast — would be eligible for government-funded health insurance under the Democrats’ $1.75 trillion social spending and climate change plan. That’s the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act but have been left uninsured because they live in one of the dozen states that have not expanded coverage under the 2010 law. They are in the coverage gap — with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but below the $12,880 annual federal income minimum for an individual to qualify for subsidized coverage in the insurance marketplaces created by the ACA. (Galewitz and Miller, 11/11)

North Carolina Health News: NC Residents Die Of A TBI More Than National Average 
North Carolinians die of traumatic brain injuries at a rate higher than the national average, according to a recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, published in the CDC’s weekly morbidity and mortality report in October, analyzed death statistics collected between 2016 and 2019. It found that Southern states and states where a high proportion of residents live in rural areas see higher death rates from TBIs than other parts of the country. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 11/12)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Officials Hoping To Address Shortage Of ‘Wet Lab’ Space To Retain More Innovators 
The seed of a potentially good business opportunity lies in much of the biomedical research going on at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Both schools have developed technology transfer protocols, incubators and lab space in research parks to help professors, students and would-be entrepreneurs cultivate those seeds into startups. But as those life science, pharmaceutical, medical technology and biotechnology firms grow, they’re finding that Baltimore doesn’t have enough of the kind of real estate they need. (Miller, 11/12)

The Hill: Bloomberg Vows To Spend $120M To Fight Fatal Drug Overdoses
0 seconds of 15 secondsVolume 90% Michael Bloomberg announced on Wednesday that his eponymous philanthropy is making a $120 million investment to help fight fatal drug overdoses. Bloomberg Philanthropies will invest $120 million over five-years in Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wisconsin to help address the opioid overdose crisis, according to a statement from the group. The organization said those five states represent areas that have been “hard hit” by the opioid epidemic. They will each receive $10 million over the next five years. (Schnell, 11/11)

AP: West Virginia Opening First Medical Cannabis Dispensary
West Virginia’s first medical cannabis dispensary is opening more than four years after state lawmakers allowed a regulatory system for those products to be established. Trulieve Cannabis Corp. is set to debut a retail location in Morgantown on Friday with a second shop opening in Weston next Monday. “We’re thrilled to be first to market in West Virginia and to continue building the foundation for the West Virginia’s emerging medical cannabis market,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement. (11/12)

AP: Leaders Stress Need For More Veterans Centers In Minnesota
Four Minnesota political leaders toured a veterans center in St. Paul on Thursday to pay tribute to those who served in the military and call for better access to mental health care and readjustment services for veterans. Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig and Dean Phillips made the visit on Veterans Day to highlight the value of centers like the three in Minnesota for helping veterans get the support they need. Among other things, the centers provide counseling, employment assistance and referrals for other services. (Karnowski, 11/11)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Getting Influx Of Federal Money To Keep Using Hotels To House Homeless People
Throughout the pandemic, the city and county of Los Angeles have rented thousands of hotel rooms for homeless people at risk of contracting coronavirus. This massive effort was partially made possible by the federal government’s willingness to reimburse local governments for each dollar they spent renting the rooms and repurposing hotels into temporary housing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s reimbursement of costs associated with sheltering people in individual rooms was slated to run through the end of the year. (Oreskes, 11/11)

CBS News: LAPD Chief Ready To Fire Officers Who Defy Vaccine Mandate
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said he is ready to fire any of the department's 12,000 employees who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested twice a week for the disease. The LAPD's goal of having a fully vaccinated workforce is to ensure the safety and welfare of the department's officers, civilian workforce, their families and the public, Moore told CBS MoneyWatch. That means enforcing the city's stringent vaccine mandate, which requires that unvaccinated employees get immunized by December 18; meantime, unvaccinated workers must get tested twice weekly on their own time and dime. Those who receive medical or religious exemptions will be reimbursed for the cost of testing. (Gibson, 11/11)

Meanwhile, in Texas —

GMA: Abortion Law In Texas Causing 'Total Disruption' At Clinics Across America
The impact of Texas's near-total ban on abortions is being felt in states as far away as California and Maryland, according to new research. In the weeks since SB8, which outlaws most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, went into effect, Texas residents have undergone abortions in more than one dozen states and Washington, D.C., according to research from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights organization. (Kindelan, 11/11)