Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Colorado Deals Losses To People With Disabilities, Minors Seeking Trans Care
The Colorado Sun: Cuts To Outings, Cleaning Are Latest Round Of Medicaid Slashes For Colorado’s Disability Community
Medicaid benefits that pay for people with disabilities to go on community outings and cover household cleaning, cooking and laundry are the latest services facing cuts as Colorado deals with a major budget shortage. (Brown, 2/16)
The Colorado Sun: Judge Won't Force Children’s Hospital To Resume Gender-Affirming Care
A Denver judge late Friday sided against several families of transgender kids in a lawsuit challenging the decision by Children’s Hospital Colorado to suspend gender-affirming care for youth in the face of federal threats. (Ingold, 2/13)
More health news from across the U.S. —
CBS News: Los Angeles County Public Health Set To Close 7 Clinics Due To Significant Funding Cuts
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced it will be closing seven clinics due to significant cuts in funding. The department said it has faced more than $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts. A statement from the department said the cuts, along with the increase in operational costs, have led to the consolidation and reduction of services. "While public health clinics offer important services and the closures are deeply upsetting, underscoring the real consequences of disinvestment in public health, clinic patients will be connected to appropriate services that meet their needs," said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the LA County Department of Public Health. (Hylton, 2/13)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Broward's Two Public Hospital Systems Face Legislative Setback
Legislation that would have allowed two taxpayer-funded hospital systems in Broward County to collaborate more freely and bypass certain antitrust laws was “temporarily postponed” in a key Florida Senate committee. (Goodman, 2/17)
New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Lawmakers Consider Shield Law, Repealing Buffer Zones And Other Abortion Bills
Several bills moved through the State House last week that addressed abortion access and legal protection, as lawmakers again considered a repeal of patient buffer zones outside of abortion facilities, and whether to protect New Hampshire abortion providers from out-of-state legal action. New Hampshire is the only state in New England that lacks such shield laws. (Richardson, 2/15)
The New York Times: 2 Killed In Shooting At High School Hockey Game In Rhode Island
The shooter was also dead, apparently by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the authorities said. The shooting, which the police described as a “targeted event,” happened at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket. (Vigdor and Gibbons-Neff, 2/16)
The Boston Globe: New York Man Sentenced In $70M Brain Scan Kickback Scheme
A former New York operations manager has been sentenced for conspiring to offer and pay kickbacks to physicians in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans, prosecutors said. Timothy Doyle, 45, of Selden, New York, was sentenced to 14 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, according to a Feb. 13 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Doyle was also ordered to pay $27,225,434 in restitution and $1,102,725 in forfeiture, prosecutors said. (Goeke, 2/16)
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri S&T Develops An ‘Organ On A Chip’ For Medical Research
Medical research includes a lot of testing on tissues and cells, so a professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla is developing a way to do that cheaper and easier by making a better “organ on a chip.” It’s a device about the size of a playing card that lets researchers test how human tissues and cells respond to new medicines or treatments without testing on animals or people. (Ahl, 2/16)
On the spread of measles —
The Hill: UW-Madison Requires Vaccine Status Amid Measles Rise
The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Thursday it is requiring its students to disclose their vaccination status for certain diseases after a measles case was discovered on campus last month amid a spike nationally. The new policy states students must tell the university their vaccination status for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR); tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap); chicken pox; meningococcal; and hepatitis B, though they aren’t required to be vaccinated against the diseases. (Cochran, 2/13)
CBS News: Riverside County Health Officials Report Second And Third Measles Cases
Riverside County health officials have reported the second and third measles cases of the year, which they say could be connected to the county's first case that was reported last week. In a news release, the Riverside University Health System said that an adult and a child both tested positive, marking a "localized outbreak of three total confirmed cases." They said that the adult provided a verbal report of previous measles vaccination, but said that the child was not vaccinated against the virus. (Fioresi, 2/14)
The Hill: Philadelphia Airport Warns Of Measles Case
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is warning of a potential measles exposure at Philadelphia International Airport. Health officials say a person infected with measles traveled through Terminal E on Feb. 12 between 1:35 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The traveler was passing through Philadelphia at the time. Anyone who was in Terminal E during that time may have been exposed, officials said. The health department is urging those individuals to check their vaccination status and monitor for symptoms, especially if they are not fully vaccinated against measles. (Cole, 2/16)
