Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Coloradans May Soon Get Prescription Drugs That Came From Canada
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Moving Closer To Importing Prescription Drugs From Canada
Colorado has taken another step toward importing lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, after signing contracts with companies on both sides of the border that will handle the transaction. (Ingold, 8/18)
Stat: Colorado Advances Plans To Win Approval To Import Medicines From Canada
The Biden administration may have signed a law designed to lower prescription drug prices, but Colorado state officials are pressing ahead with plans to win federal approval to import medicines from Canada — and have now signed contracts with two wholesalers as a key part of the effort. (Silverman, 8/18)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
AP: Court: Extraordinary Damages OK In 'Wrongful Life' Case
The Washington Supreme Court says that under state law, it’s OK for judges to award extraordinary damages in so-called “wrongful life” cases where a child has birth defects or disabilities that require extensive care. The unanimous decision Thursday came in the case of a woman who became pregnant in 2011 after a federally funded health clinic mistakenly gave her a shot of flu vaccine instead of the contraceptive Depo-Provera. Her child was born with a condition that causes cognitive delays, slowed speech and language skills, epilepsy and vision problems. (Johnson, 8/19)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Extends Unique Health Care Payment Deal With Feds For Better, Lower Cost Health Care
A unique agreement Maryland made with federal regulators that affects how much everyone in the state pays for medical care, and how they get that care in the hospital or a doctor’s office, has been extended through 2026. (Cohn, 8/18)
AP: Kentucky Offers Cost-Effective Care Program For Older Adults
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration has unveiled an initiative aimed at providing comprehensive, cost-effective care for people age 55 and older. People voluntarily enrolling will receive a variety of medical and social services. Beshear said it will expand services for people who otherwise qualify for placement in nursing homes. (8/18)
The Washington Post: Pennsylvania Becomes The 27th State To Restrict ‘Conversion Therapy’
Over the last decade, more than half the country has moved to protect LGBTQ youth from “conversion therapy,” a widely discredited practice that aims to “cure” queer and transgender people. This week, Pennsylvania became the 27th state to restrict conversion efforts, in a move advocates and medical experts say could have a powerful impact on young LGBTQ people in the state and beyond. (Branigin, 8/18)
The Texas Tribune: Glenn Hegar, Joan Huffman Support Eliminating “Tampon Tax”
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, have added their support to a yearslong call by some state legislators and women’s health care advocates to remove taxes on menstrual products like tampons, sanitary pads and pantyliners. Hegar and Huffman said they’d support efforts in next year’s legislative session to make such products nontaxable. (Melhado, 8/18)
San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Will Have 20,000 Homeless People In 2022, Data Says
Those figures, contained in a report released Thursday, reflect the Sisyphean nature of battling one of the city’s worst crises in some of the starkest terms ever. As dire as those numbers are, though, the report also shows the most significant headway in 17 years in reducing overall homelessness in San Francisco. (Fagan and Moench, 8/18)
Health News Florida: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Will Allow Deputies To Carry Narcan After Years Of Protest
In response to a national opioid epidemic, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said it will allow its deputies to carry a drug used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The previous policy to not carry the medicine was an outlier in the state, where nearly two-thirds of the sheriff's offices issue Narcan and train their deputies, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. (Brutus, 8/18)
