Texas Officials Reject Insurers’ Pleas Against Medicaid Shakeup
A plan that will shake up coverage for 1.8 million low-income Texans was resisted by several major insurers, but officials rejected their attempts. Also in the news: New Hampshire moves toward legalizing marijuana.
The Texas Tribune:
State Rejects Health Plans’ Protests Over Medicaid Contracts
Texas officials on Thursday rejected attempts by several major insurers for needy families to cancel a proposal that would drop them from the state Medicaid program and shake up the coverage of nearly 2 million low-income Texans. At issue are some $116 billion in Medicaid contracts that Texas Health and Human Services officials are attempting to award by the end of the summer, a plan announced earlier this year that has drawn wide criticism because it would eliminate three major health plans run for decades by the state’s premiere nonprofit children’s hospitals. (Harper, 6/6)
On drug use in New Hampshire and California —
The Boston Globe:
Marijuana Legalization Advances To Final Vote In New Hampshire
A proposal to legalize cannabis in New Hampshire cleared a key hurdle Thursday afternoon, as negotiators from the House and Senate settled on a compromise that’s now cued up for a final vote next week. The compromise, which incorporated several relatively minor changes to the version of the bill that passed the Senate, will head back to each chamber for a final up-or-down vote. (Porter, 6/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bill To Legalize Mushrooms In California Focuses On Three Counties
After seeing three previous efforts fail to legalize psychedelics, a bipartisan pair of California legislators are trying again to permit them for therapeutic purposes, this time narrowing their focus to helping veterans and first responders in three counties, including San Francisco. Republican State Senate Leader Brian Jones of San Diego and Democratic Sen. Josh Becker of Menlo Park introduced legislation Thursday that will create a three-year psychedelic pilot program in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Diego counties. (Garofoli, 6/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Can’t Say Whether Drug Users It Has Arrested Are Getting Treatment
A year after San Francisco launched a multiagency effort to dismantle open-air drug markets in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, it remains unclear whether arrests have led any drug users to engage in treatment programs. The Chronicle spoke to several unhoused people who use fentanyl and who were recently arrested or cited, all of whom said it had not affected their drug habits. (Angst, 6/6)
In health news from Oregon, Colorado, and Pennsylvania —
The Oregonian:
Oregon State Hospital Failed To Conduct Hourly Checks To Ensure Patients Were ‘Alive And Breathing’
Staff at the Oregon State Hospital neglected to conduct hourly checks to ensure patients were alive and breathing, a failure that in one case led to a patient being found dead 4 1/2 hours after the last verification, investigators found. Those findings, outlined in a notice provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive, led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to place the state psychiatric hospital in Salem in “immediate jeopardy status.” (Goldberg, 6/6)
CBS News:
In Funding Crisis, Denver Health Medical Center Wants Voters To Approve A Sales Tax
Times have been getting tougher and tougher in health care. It shows up in the copays, the bills and now Colorado hospitals are facing a crisis. "Reimbursement is down everywhere partly because we have an increase in the number of uninsured patients across the country," said Denver Health's CEO Donna Lynne. Lynne went before a Denver City Council committee Wednesday to ask them to advance a ballot question to Denver voters requesting a sales tax hike. The increase would be devoted to help pay cost shortages and would cost shoppers an extra 3.4 cents on a $10 purchase. (Gionet, 6/6)
Colorado Sun:
Colorado Middle, High Schools Must Provide Free Period Products By 2028
A survey of more than 200 Colorado students showed 90% of teen girls have started their menstrual cycle unexpectedly at school or during a school-related activity when they didn’t have access to period products. Eighty percent of those girls missed class because they didn’t have a pad or tampon; 72% of them used a substitution in place of a typical period product within a year before the study was conducted such as toilet paper, paper towels and napkins; and 59% said they struggled to afford or access period products. (Flowers, 6/7)
CBS News:
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Want To Allow First Responders To File PTSD Claims
A new push to break the stigma around mental health just expanded to first responders in Pennsylvania. Firefighters aren't just responding to fires anymore. They're going out on all sorts of calls. But because of a court decision, firefighters say they're not able to access the care they need for their mental health. (Schiller, 6/6)
