Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Disney California Partially Reopening, Disneyland On Hold
Los Angeles Times: Disney California Adventure Park To Reopen For Food And Shopping Event
About a year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of theme parks statewide, Disney California Adventure park plans to reopen starting March 18 at limited capacity, welcoming visitors who buy tickets to stroll through the park and purchase food, drinks and merchandise. Months ago, Disney reopened its park-adjacent Downtown Disney shopping and dining area, as well as parts of the food- and retail-centric Buena Vista Street in California Adventure. But the “A Touch of Disney” event will mark the first time in nearly a year that guests can explore the entire park, including Cars Land and Pixar Pier, albeit without jumping on the attractions. (Martin, 2/24)
Charlotte Observer: NC Loosens COVID-19 Rules, Lets Bars Serve Inside Drinks
Charlotte bars and restaurants are feeling major relief Wednesday, following Gov. Roy Cooper’s announcement he is allowing bars to start serving people inside again and extending late-night alcohol sales. Other groups are exulting as well, with Cooper easing restrictions on outdoor amphitheaters and concert venues as well as high school, college and pro sports sites. (Muccigrosso, Marusak and Getzenberg, 2/24)
AP: Tennessee Lifts Restrictions On Nursing Home Visits
Tennessee’s Department of Health announced Wednesday that it will soon lift its state-specific visitation restrictions for long-term care facilities. According to a news release, nursing homes and other facilities should use the federal guidance provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services starting Feb. 28. (2/25)
New York Post: Tourists Accused Of Breaking Hawaii COVID Quarantine Rules
A California couple has been accused of trying to break quarantine rules in Hawaii by pretending to be locals, prosecutors said. Miriam Rosas, 22, and Abel Rosas, 34, of Fresno tried to check into a hotel after arriving last week to the state without providing a negative coronavirus test, the Hawaii General Attorney’s Office said. After being told they needed to quarantine, they refused to check in and left the premises, prosecutors said. The pair then checked into another hotel on the pretense of being Hawaii residents, officials said. (Salo, 2/23)
In other news from Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oklahoma and Montana —
Philadelphia Inquirer: For The First Time, Legal Weed Gets Republican Senate Support In Pa.
For years, Democrats in Pennsylvania’s legislature have introduced bills to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But without any Republican support, those bills were dead on arrival. On Wednesday, the landscape shifted. State Sen. Dan Laughlin, a Republican from Erie, proposed new legalization legislation — but with a conservative stamp. Laughlin’s measure would set up a cannabis industry that encourages small businesses and includes language to render moot a federal rule that supposedly bars marijuana users from buying guns. (Wood, 2/24)
Georgia Health News: How COVID And Poverty Have Ravaged Rural Georgia
It’s not just the actual infections that have altered the medical landscape in Cook County. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many more people with depression and anxiety, says Dr. Jairaj Goberdhan, a family physician in the South Georgia county. (Miller, 2/24)
Modern Healthcare: Aetna Challenges Exclusion From Oklahoma's New Medicaid Managed-Care Program
Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma has filed a protest against the state's healthcare agency, alleging the group's "fatally flawed" process for awarding contracts for its $2.1 billion Medicaid managed-care system lacked legal authority and violated open records laws. The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer's protest comes just weeks after the state's medical agency filed an injunction to the Oklahoma Supreme Court that aims to stop the privatization of the service for low-income residents. (Tepper, 2/24)
KHN: With GOP Back At Helm, Montana Renews Push To Sniff Out Welfare Fraud
Montana is considering becoming the latest state to intensify its hunt for welfare overpayments and fraud, a move expected to remove more than 1,500 enrollees from low-income health coverage at a time when the pandemic has left more people needing help. With Republicans now controlling both chambers of the Montana legislature and the governor’s office, a lawmaker is reviving an effort to both broaden and increase the frequency of eligibility checks to search for welfare fraud, waste and abuse. Proponents say it’s about what’s fair — weeding out people who don’t qualify, protecting safety nets for those who do, and saving the state millions. But advocates for low-income people who rely on such services and some policy analysts say such changes would unfairly drop eligible people who need the aid. (Houghton, 2/25)
