Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Denver ER Visits, Overdoses Drop Thanks To Mental Health Program
CBS News: Denver Mental Health Program Contributes To Significant Decrease In Overdoses, Jail Bookings
A Denver mental health program for the community's most vulnerable members is sharing its success. That program is called Transforming Health by Reducing Inequities for the Vulnerable (THRIVE). The program helped nearly twice as many people in the first year as it had anticipated. In year two, the program has expanded to have an even greater impact on communities that battle with addiction, homelessness or dealing with the justice system. (Susel, 6/5)
North Carolina Health News: State Health Plan Considers Legal Action Against CVS Caremark
The health plan that covers some 750,000 current and former state employees and their families has hit a stone wall in negotiations with its pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark, and is pondering legal action against the company, the Office of the State Treasurer announced on June 5. The company owes the state tens of millions of dollars and is trying to rewrite their contract to get out of having to pay it back, State Treasurer Brad Briner claimed in an exclusive interview with NC Health News. (Vitaglione, 6/6)
CBS News: Maryland Could See A Spike In Health Insurance Costs In 2026
Thousands of Maryland residents who buy health insurance from the state could see an 18% spike in their premiums in 2026. The Maryland Insurance Administration announced the proposed increases from healthcare providers on Tuesday, June 4. (Eber, 6/5)
CBS News: Emergency Room Visits For Nitrous Oxide Misuse Surge 757% Over 4 Years In Michigan
Michigan health officials are reporting a dramatic increase in emergency medical incidents relating to the recreational use of nitrous oxide, also known as "laughing gas." The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services related the circumstances in a press release issued Wednesday. Specifically, calls to the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center involving recreational nitrous oxide use and its adverse health effects increased by 533% from 2019 to 2024. (Wethington, 6/5)
Modern Healthcare: Nebraska Rural Hospitals Form Clinically Integrated Network
Nineteen critical access hospitals in Nebraska have formed a clinically integrated network, the third coalition of its kind created over the past three months. The Nebraska High Value Network aims to give rural hospitals the scale to lower costs, invest in new technology, improve treatment and expand value-based contracts while remaining independent. The network, announced Thursday, follows similar alliances in Montana, Ohio, Minnesota and North Dakota. (Kacik, 6/5)
Bloomberg: Celebrity Deepfakes Supercharged Florida Health-Care Hustle
The ads were deceptive, but they weren’t trying to con people out of their money—at least not directly. The goal was to sign them up for actual government-subsidized health-insurance plans, whether they wanted them or not. People responding to the ads were routed through a network of middlemen to call centers, many of them in South Florida. Telemarketers there would wave off questions about cash giveaways and sign up customers for health insurance instead, sometimes without their knowledge. (Faux and Mider, 6/5)
CBS News: Mosquitoes In 2 Illinois Counties Test Positive For West Nile Virus
The DuPage County and McHenry County health departments confirmed that mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus for the first time this year. The mosquitoes tested in McHenry County for the virus were found in Lake in the Hills. DuPage County health officials tested mosquitoes from Roselle, Medinah, Clarendon Hills, and Burr Ridge in May. While the mosquitoes tested positive in both counties, no human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in either county. (Kaufman, 6/5)
