ACA Tax Credits Expiry Would Mean Many Floridians Risk Being Uninsured

WLRN 91.3 FM: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Florida Residents May Become Uninsured In 2023 Without Premium Tax Credits 
President Joe Biden signed a relief package — the American Rescue Plan Act — into law last year that made Obamacare premium tax credits (PTCs) bigger and made more people qualify for those based on their income. When you enroll in an Obamacare marketplace plan, you can have the credit paid to your insurance company to make that monthly plan cheaper. Or, you can get a credit back when you file your tax return for the year. Research from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation suggests that if Congress lets these credits expire, states with the largest losses would include Florida, Georgia, and Texas — states that did not expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act and that had large growth in enrollment for health plans on the Obamacare marketplace for 2022 with the enhanced PTCs. (Zaragovia, 5/11)

In more health news from the eastern U.S. —

AP: New Georgia Law Requires Recess, But Has Several Exceptions
A new Georgia law requires daily recess for most elementary students, but doesn’t say how long recess should last and includes some exceptions. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law, which covers students through fifth grade, on Monday, news outlets reported. “It is time for our students to get moving and learn how to play with each other again,” state Rep. Demetrius Douglas, the Stockbridge Democrat and former Georgia football player who sponsored the bill, told WSB-TV. (5/11)

North Carolina Health News: NC Advocates Reduce HIV Transmission And Stigma
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, North Carolinians sheltered in place, masked up and maintained distance, all in an effort to stop the spread of the infectious disease. Along the way, many people may have forgotten about getting tested for other infectious diseases, such as HIV. But that disease hasn’t gone away. One recent study found that, especially during the onset of the pandemic, HIV testing decreased by as much as 97 percent in multiple locations across the U.S. And testing numbers stayed down by as much as half, even after lockdowns were lifted, as positivity rates increased. (Thompson, 5/12)

North Carolina Health News: Filling NC's Maternal Health Care Desert 
Eight women — three OB-GYNs, three nurse midwives, one gynecologist and one nurse practitioner — comprise the maternity unit at Mission Hospital McDowell. In the 18-county region that makes up western North Carolina, the McDowell County facility is one of just eight hospitals where someone can deliver a baby. To fill the gaps in obstetric and gynecological care in this mountainous region, the McDowell providers travel from the hospital in Marion more than thirty minutes across winding mountain roads up to Spruce Pine to offer regular prenatal clinics. They also spend time working out of the McDowell County Health Department — anywhere they can reasonably get to. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 5/11)

The Washington Post: 911 D.C. Call Taker Put On Leave After Entering Wrong Address For Call 
A D.C. 911 operator has been put on leave after sending help to the wrong address on Monday, delaying an emergency response to a call in which a woman was found dead, according to District officials. The D.C. fire department and Office of Unified Communications, which runs the District’s 911 center, are investigating. (Hermann, 5/11)

The Baltimore Sun: There Is A Rapidly Expanding, Virtually Unregulated Competitor To Medical Cannabis In Maryland. It’s Called Delta-8
You no longer need a medical card to legally get high on cannabis in Maryland. The state spent years setting up a medical cannabis industry that is tightly regulated at every step from seed to sale. Dispensaries, processors and cultivators spent millions of dollars creating an entirely new industry under the impression that everyone would compete under the same rules. Now, anyone can walk into one of hundreds of CBD stores, head shops and gas stations across the state and legally buy a cannabis-derived product that has a psychoactive effect similar to a gummy from a dispensary. It’s called Delta-8. (Bologna, 5/12)

Stat: Dr. Oz Spouts Misinformation, But His Rise May Have Silver Lining For Science
In his run for the U.S. Senate, Dr. Oz repeatedly reminds audiences that, yes, he is a “Doctor.” He refers to himself as a “world-class” surgeon, pausing during campaign stops to measure voters’ blood pressure and pose for pictures with former patients. He’s spent the past year warning voters that “America’s heartbeat is in a code red.” His Trump-like slogan even has a health care twist: “Heal America.” Even as Mehmet Oz brazenly promotes his medical bona fides, the surgeon-turned-TV star has spent much of his career embracing untruths, including touting astrology as a legitimate medical tool and the myth that apple juice contains unsafe levels of arsenic. Still, though, Oz’s strategy of touting his medical career — coupled with a surprise endorsement from President Trump — seems to be working: If the latest polls hold up, he’s poised to eke out a win in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary on May 17. (Facher, 5/12)

AP: Fired Connecticut Health Commissioner Alleges Discrimination 
A former Connecticut health commissioner who was fired in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic has filed a lawsuit against the state, accusing the governor of discriminating against her, a Black woman, by elevating several white people to lead the crisis response. Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who was ousted on May 12, 2020, says in her a federal court filing that she was never provided severance pay or consideration for another position as promised by Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat. She said she has been unable to find another job because of the damage done to her reputation. (5/11)

AP: New Report Addresses Barriers Faced By Massachusetts Latinos 
While the diverse Latino population in Massachusetts continues to struggle through the pre-pandemic issues of reduced educational and economic opportunity, and health care disparities, there is reason for optimism, according to a new report released Wednesday. Even though Massachusetts is among the nation’s wealthiest states, Latino communities have struggled economically relative to Latinos nationwide, according to an introduction to the report by Boston Indicators, the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at UMass Boston, and the Latino Equity Fund. (5/11)

In news from the Midwest and western U.S. —

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Investigating About 10 Cases Of Mysterious Hepatitis In Children 
Missouri health officials say they are investigating about 10 cases of a mysterious form of hepatitis that has sickened hundreds of healthy, young children across the U.S., the United Kingdom and several other countries. Officials with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services are working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the investigation and will not yet say where the cases were reported in Missouri or how severe they were, said Lisa Cox, DHSS spokeswoman. “We are in the process of collecting information, so what we do have is very limited, preliminary and likely to change,” Cox said. (Munz, 5/11)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Patient Visitation Rights Bill Inches Forward Ahead Of Friday Deadline 
Letting people die alone is “just unacceptable,” Sen. Bill White argued Tuesday as the Missouri Senate moved his bill establishing patient visitation rights closer to the finish line. “I can’t think of a better word — it was unacceptable to the human condition what occurred to people in those hospital facilities,” said White, a Republican from Joplin, of visitation restrictions imposed by hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many GOP lawmakers have prioritized enshrining patients’ right to have visitors in the wake of the pandemic, speaking frequently about people who died alone while hospitals were not accepting or limiting visitation in efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus. (Zokovitch, 5/10)

Colorado Sun: How Colorado’s Changing Climate Is Putting Children’s Health At Risk
This March, Colorado State Sen. Faith Winter stood at a podium in the State Capitol and spoke to a gathered crowd about reducing the state’s air pollution. After introductions, Winter, Gov. Jared Polis and others unveiled a package of environmental bills that aim to increase access to public transit, build more energy efficient buildings, and construct safe walkways and e-bike trails in the Denver area. “We know that ozone can cause cancer and heart disease and lung disease,” the Westminster Democrat said, noting that in 2021, the Front Range experienced one of its worst summers with regard to air pollution. “My daughter had cross-country practices canceled because her developing lungs couldn’t be out in our air.” (Santoro, 5/12)

Los Angeles Times: LAUSD Passes Controversial Deaf Education Plan Despite Opposition
The vote capped weeks of controversy and close to three hours of public debate over Resolution 029-21/22, which will create a new deaf and hard-of-hearing education department within the district’s special education program. The vote also will pull American Sign Language into the district’s dual-language and bilingual program. But by far the most controversial change will be to make ASL-English bilingual education the districtwide standard for early intervention with deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Supporters say the move addresses the district’s urgent need for language equity. Opponents decry it as a violation of their parental rights.(Sharp, 5/11)