Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Another Politician Gets COVID
The Hill: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Tests Positive For COVID-19
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has tested positive for COVID-19 but says that he is currently experiencing no symptoms. Wolf said in a statement he tested positive Tuesday after a “routine” test. “I am continuing to serve the commonwealth and performing all of my duties remotely, as many are doing during the pandemic," he said. (Hellmann, 12/9)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore’s New Mayor To Shut Down Indoor And Outdoor Dining As Coronavirus Surge Continues
Baltimore will close all dining at restaurants in the city to combat the spread of coronavirus, part of the first executive order from newly sworn-in Mayor Brandon Scott, who made the decisive move Wednesday on his first full day in office. Tightened restrictions, which go into effect at 5 p.m. Friday, also include caps at 25% of capacity for retail and religious institutions, gyms, malls and museums. (Opilo and Tkacik, 12/9)
Boston Globe: Stark Inequities Persist In COVID-19 Testing
In Wellesley, wealthy donors have contributed $200,000 so students and teachers can be tested for the coronavirus each week in the comfort of their homes — with results returned from a New York lab in less than two days. Miles away in Dorchester, people must stand in line. It’s first come, first served at DotHouse Health center for anyone who wants a free test. But the wait is typically two or three hours, and results often take more than three days. Nine months into the pandemic, the landscape for COVID-19 testing has shifted dramatically, but it continues to lay bare stark inequities. (Lazar and Krantz, 12/8)
Anchorage Daily News: Antibody Infusion Center Opens In Anchorage To Treat Those Most At Risk For Severe COVID-19 Infections
Two new COVID-19 treatments will be available to eligible patients at a new state-run facility in Anchorage and distributed around Alaska, health officials said Wednesday. The treatments — known as monoclonal antibodies — are what the state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink, characterized as “manufactured fighters against the virus” during a public video call Wednesday afternoon. The treatments are intended for people who have an elevated risk of a severe COVID-19 infection and recently tested positive as a way to potentially reduce their risk of needing hospitalization. (Krakow, 12/9)
In other news from the states —
Los Angeles Times: California Hospices Under Fire For Mistreating Patients
Nicolas Tuparan was eating breakfast at a Pasadena nursing home when he suddenly gasped for air. “Your father choked on eggs and oatmeal,” a nurse with Vitas Hospice Services would later tell Tuparan’s daughter, according to his family’s lawsuit. “He was very demanding and keep on telling me: feed me, feed me! So I kept on feeding him.” Tuparan, 88, stopped breathing and fell into a coma. The nurse said she did not perform CPR because it was against Vitas policy, even though Tuparan had explicitly requested lifesaving measures in the event of a medical emergency, the complaint alleged. Vitas attorneys did not respond to messages seeking comment. (Christensen and Poston, 12/9)
Courier-Journal: Louisville Ordinance Expands Ban On Housing Discrimination
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer signed an ordinance Wednesday adding classes of residents protected from housing discrimination. The new law bans housing discrimination on the basis of homelessness, conviction or arrest history, veteran status and source of income. “This work is particularly critical now, because, as we’ve seen, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to housing insecurity concerns for people across our city, particularly low-wage workers, often renters, often people of color, whose incomes have been reduced or eliminated,” Fischer said during a virtual press conference. (Austin, 12/9)
AP: Montana's Shutdown Of Alternative Treatment Center Is Final
The state’s 2019 shutdown of an alternative teen treatment center in northwestern Montana is final, the Department of Public Health and Human Services said Wednesday. An administrative law judge upheld the department’s removal of 27 children from The Ranch for Kids near Rexford, Montana, and its suspension of the facility’s license. The ranch did not appeal the Oct. 9 ruling, Jon Ebelt, spokesperson for the department, said Wednesday. (12/10)
Clarion-Ledger: Lawsuit: Mississippi's Home Health Care Laws Are Unconstitutional
Butch Slaughter, a longtime Jackson physical therapist, had a simple enough idea: start a home health business where he and his employees would come to the patients. It seemed like a logical move to help an aging population that is demanding more in-home care, as well as those wary of busy clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the 68-year-old — who specializes in ankle, foot and chronic pain issues — soon realized his idea was anything but simple in Mississippi. A 39-year-old law bans new home health agencies. And other state regulations, known as certificate-of-need laws, would make it tricky even if the ban didn’t exist. (Ramseth, 12/10)
KHN: Dialysis Industry Spends Millions, Emerges As Power Player In California Politics
The nation’s dialysis industry has poured $233 million into California campaigns over the past four years, establishing its leading companies as a formidable political force eager to protect their bottom line and influence state policy. Most of the money the industry spent from Jan. 1, 2017, through Nov. 30, 2020, funded the defeat of two union-backed ballot measures that would have regulated dialysis clinics — and eaten into their profits. But the companies and their trade association also stepped up their offense, dedicating about $16.4 million to lobbying and political contributions during the same period, a California Healthline analysis of state campaign finance records shows. (Young, 12/10)
