Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Defense Lawyers Try Legal Trick In Flint Lead Water Case
AP: Court Hears Challenge To Grand Jury In Flint Water Cases
The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday that could wipe out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight others in the Flint water scandal, as lawyers challenged a rarely used, century-old method to investigate crimes and file indictments. It’s the most significant attack by the defense in the 16 months since Snyder and others were indicted by Judge David Newblatt, who served as a one-person grand jury in Genesee County with evidence offered in private by the attorney general’s office. (White, 5/4)
In health news from California —
Los Angeles Times: California Faces Summer Of Dangerous Heat, Extreme Drought
Heat waves. Severe drought. Extreme wildfires. As Southern California braces for unprecedented drought restrictions, long-range forecasts are predicting a summer that will be fraught with record-breaking temperatures, sere landscapes and above-average potential for significant wildfires, particularly in the northern part of the state. “The dice are loaded for a lot of big fires across the West,” said Park Williams, a climate scientist at UCLA. “And the reason for that is simple: The vast majority of the western U.S. is in pretty serious drought.” (Duginski and Wigglesworth, 5/4)
AP: LA Hospital Sued For Racism In Death Of Black Mother
The husband of a Black woman who died hours after childbirth in 2016 sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday, saying she bled to death because of a culture of racism at the renowned Los Angeles hospital. Charles Johnson IV said he discovered the disparity in care women of color receive at Cedars compared to white women during depositions in his wrongful death lawsuit that is scheduled to go to trial next week in Los Angeles Superior Court. (Melley, 5/5)
In news from Maine, Virginia, and Texas —
Bangor Daily News: Maine’s Push To Let Lawns Grow Could Create A Paradise For The State’s Exploding Tick Population
Maine’s key pollinator species — such as bees, butterflies and birds — thrive in tall grass, tall-stemmed plants, leaf litter, decaying damp wood and brush. The problem is, so do ticks. In a perfect world, homeowners could manage yards for tick control and promote pollinator habitat. It’s the unfortunate reality that you can’t do both. This year tick control efforts and pollinator habitat promotion is falling in with the growing trend of “No Mow May,” a movement to pause mowing lawns during the month of May so pollinators will have a chance to dine on early blooming plants such as dandelions and other wildflowers. (Bayly, 5/4)
The Virginian-Pilot: As Demand For Dental Care Skyrockets, Medicaid Providers Struggle To Find An Empty Chair
The Augusta Regional Dental Clinic in Fishersville, like many others that serve Medicaid customers across Virginia, has been very busy for months — especially as more and more have learned about the expanded benefits for adults, according to Sophie Parson, director of the clinic. The need for services is so great, people have called the clinic trying to get an appointment from Louisa County, roughly 60 miles away. On July 1, Medicaid began covering more dental procedures as a result of Virginia’s decision to expand Medicaid eligibility during former Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration. “But there is nobody to deliver,” Parson said. (Munro, 5/3)
KHN: Sex Education Update In Texas Still Lacking, Say Some Students And Educators
Cali Byrd is a junior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. She remembers in eighth grade a group came to talk to her class about sexually transmitted infections. “They had a bunch of tennis balls and wrote [the names] of STIs on them,” Cali said. “Then they had a couple of kids come up, put on gloves, and said, ‘If he throws the ball to her and she has a glove on, then she’s protected. But if she doesn’t have a glove on, then she’ll get the disease or something.’ It was really weird.” Cali said the instructors never explained what the STIs were, just that people should wear condoms to prevent them. “It really was not helpful,” she said. (Rivera, 5/5)
On opioids, marijuana, and fentanyl —
CBS News: Justice Department Charges 12 Medical Professionals For Allegedly Fueling The Opioid Epidemic In Appalachian Region
Over a dozen defendants across eight federal districts have been charged in connection with the illegal prescription and distribution of 5.1 million opioid pills, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The various law enforcement actions were the result of the department's Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force, a multiagency approach that targets the unlawful prescription of opioid drugs across the Appalachian region. According to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, who was part of Wednesday's criminal announcement in Cincinnati, Ohio, over 75,000 Americans died last year due to opioid overdoses. (Legare, 5/4)
AP: Procedural Ruling Kills Medical Marijuana Bill In SC House
A seven-year fight to pass a medical marijuana bill may have abruptly ended Wednesday in South Carolina when a House leader ruled the proposal contains an unconstitutional tax increase and cannot be considered further. The decision shocked leaders in the state Senate and may have repercussions well beyond failing to make South Carolina one of about 40 states allowing patients to use marijuana as medicine. (Collins, 5/4)
KHN: As Overdoses Soar, More States Decriminalize Fentanyl Testing Strips
With time running out in the 2022 legislative session, Georgia lawmakers took up a bill to regulate raw milk. An amendment suddenly got tacked onto the House version of the bill, although the new wording had nothing to do with dairy. The language called for legalizing the use of strips that test drugs for fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid fueling a wave of fatal overdoses across Georgia and the U.S. The amendment, said Sen. Jen Jordan, an Atlanta Democrat who sponsored it, was “a commonsense solution to save lives.” (Miller, 5/5)
