Census Data: Texas’ Uninsured Rate Is Twice National Average

Roll Call: Texas Lags Nation In Health Insurance Coverage Rate In Census Data 
While health insurance coverage has broadly expanded across the country since implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, many impoverished communities continue to lag behind, according to census data released Thursday. Overall, the nation’s uninsured population fell to 8.7 percent in 2020, from 15 percent in 2013. In Texas, however, American Community Survey results released Thursday show the uninsured rate was twice the national average — 17.3 percent, which was 3 percentage points more than the state with the next-highest uninsured rate, Oklahoma. (Macagnone, 3/17)

In news about LGBTQ+ health care —

NBC News: Biden Administration Meets With Florida LGBTQ Students Over 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
Biden administration officials held a closed-door meeting Thursday with several Florida LGBTQ students and their families about the state's so-called Don't Say Gay bill, the Education Department said. The legislation — officially named the Parental Rights in Education Act — would prohibit “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in Florida primary schools. Its passage in Florida's House and Senate in recent weeks sparked national debate. (Lavietes, 3/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Could Become ‘Refuge’ For Trans Kids And Their Parents For Receiving Gender-Affirming Care In Other States
Transgender children and their parents from states that criminalize receiving gender-affirming care would be protected if they come to California under new legislation announced Thursday by state Sen. Scott Wiener. The legislation would keep families together by rejecting out-of-state court judgments that seek to remove transgender children from their parent’s custody due to gender-affirming health care. Also, California would not comply with subpoenas from states seeking to criminalize parents for allowing their children to receive care in California, and the legislation would establish a statewide policy to de-prioritize out-of-state arrest warrants for people violating laws prohibiting gender-affirming health care. (Hernández, 3/17)

The Texas Tribune: Family Of A Trans Teen Faces Child Abuse Investigation 
It took Max three years and one letter, written with shaky hands, to tell his mother the truth. He gave her the letter at the worst possible moment, with dinner on the stove and a house full of other kids needing her attention. But as soon as Amy started to read his words, she stopped, sat down and let it all sink in. The child that she had given birth to and raised for 13 years as a daughter was telling her that he was, in fact, her son. (Klibanoff, 3/18)

In news about marijuana and vaping —

AP: Kentucky House Passes Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana 
The Kentucky House endorsed legalizing medical marijuana, passing a bill Thursday to strictly regulate the use of cannabis for a list of eligible medical conditions. The high-profile measure cleared the Republican-dominated House on a 59-34 vote after a long, sometimes-emotional debate. The years-long debate now shifts to the GOP-led state Senate on whether Kentucky should join the majority of states allowing medical marijuana. (Schreiner, 3/17)

Health News Florida: Administrative Law Judge Sides With Marijuana Doctor Accused In An Undercover Sting
A Tallahassee doctor who ordered medical marijuana for two undercover investigators posing as patients didn’t do anything wrong, an administrative law judge decided Wednesday. The Florida Department of Health sought to strip physician Joseph Dorn of his medical license for five years, permanently ban him from ordering medical marijuana for patients and impose a $10,000 fine. The proposed penalties against Dorn — who has practiced in Florida for more than three decades – stemmed from a 2019 complaint alleging that the physician violated state law by failing to conduct physical examinations of “Patient O.G.” and “Patient B.D.” The complaint also accused Dorn of employing a “trick or scheme” in the practice of medicine. (Kam, 3/17)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania’s Sudden Move To Recall Marijuana Vapes Raised Questions. Were These Products Harmful All Along?
For years, the Pennsylvania Department of Health allowed the state’s medical marijuana companies to sell hundreds of medicines that the agency now considers potentially unsafe. Something changed in November when regulators started a process that led last month to a massive recall and ban of 670 types of cannabis concentrates for vaping — $12 million worth — that they had previously approved for sale in Pennsylvania’s roughly 150 marijuana dispensaries. The move blindsided patients and an industry dominated by companies hyper-focused on broader legalization of marijuana. And regulators declined to explain the action beyond saying the medicines contained “added ingredients that have not been approved for inhalation” by the FDA. (Brubaker, 3/17)

AP: Part Of Indiana's New Vaping Tax Cut Before Taking Effect
Indiana’s new tax on vaping is being cut even before it takes effect despite protests from anti-smoking advocates. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill this week that included provisions cutting the 25% tax that wholesalers were to be charged for closed-system vaping cartridges such as Juul devices to 15%. State lawmakers approved the higher rate last year for Indiana’s first tax on electronic cigarettes to start in July 2022. (3/17)

In other news from across the U.S. —

AP: Settlement Sets Better Treatment For Mentally Ill Inmates 
The Montana State Prison will no longer be allowed to punish inmates with severe mental illnesses for behavior caused by their illnesses by putting them in solitary confinement or setting unreasonable behavioral expectations, under a settlement to a federal lawsuit announced this week. “This settlement represents huge gains for the humane treatment of inmates with severe mental illness,” Bernadette Franks-Ongoy, executive director of Disability Rights Montana, which filed the lawsuit against the Department of Corrections in 2015. (Hanson, 3/17)

AP: NH House Votes To Repeal Paid Family Medical Leave Program 
The New Hampshire House on Thursday voted to repeal the state’s paid family medical leave program less than a year after it was signed into law, saying that it’s no longer needed because private insurance carriers have now filed similar plans in the state. The vote to repeal passed on a vote of 172-164 in the Republican-led House. (3/17)

Fresno Bee: Fresno County CA Has Acute Mental Health Needs Among Children 
California’s ill-equipped mental health system has failed many children — in Fresno County in particular, where demand for services skyrocketed by more than 40% in recent years. Data obtained by The Bee offer a glimpse of the mental health crisis’ toll among children under the age of 18 in Fresno County. The story of a Fresno girl through the lens of her family shows the impact mental health can have on local families, and how their struggles can be compounded when Child Protective Services gets involved. (Amaro, 3/15)