Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
DOJ Petitions Supreme Court To Reverse Tennessee's Gender Care Ban
Axios: DOJ Asks Supreme Court To Review Tennessee's Ban On Gender-Affirming Care
The Biden administration on Monday urged the Supreme Court to reverse Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, saying any delay in review would endanger youths who are or will be denied critical medical care. The Justice Department petition comes after lower courts allowed bans in Tennessee and two other states to move forward this summer. (Bettelheim, 11/6)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Fox News: What To Know About Legionnaires’ Disease, Lung Infection Confirmed At Arkansas Senior Center
A resident at the Methodist Village Senior Living facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas, has been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease. "We have one resident with a confirmed case of Legionnaires'," Cat Hamilton, the director of member services for AHCA, told Fox affiliate KNWA. "We have implemented our water management plan and are working in collaboration with the Fort Smith Utility Department and the Arkansas Department of Health." (Rudy, 11/6)
Charlotte Ledger: Violence Against Doctors, Nurses Is Rising; A New Law Aims To Protect Them
Emergency physician Jennifer Casaletto has been cursed at, shoved, punched, spat on and bitten while trying to do her job. One patient threw a container full of urine at one of her medical residents. Another kicked her when she was pregnant. Violent incidents against health care workers have surged, Casaletto said, and she now tries to work mostly in large hospitals because they tend to have more security. (Crouch, 11/6)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Advocates Argue Telephone Hearings Deny Due Process Rights Of Psychiatric Patients
Civil liberties advocates say New Hampshire’s practice of affording patients who have been involuntarily committed due to mental health concerns an initial hearing over a telephone, instead of in-person, is a violation of their due process rights. The claims come more than five years into a legal battle over the state’s overburdened system for treating people in psychiatric distress, and the long-standing shortage of in-patient mental health beds. (Bookman, 11/6)
CBS News: Scholarship Brings Maternal Care To Colorado's Rural Areas
"Women who give birth in rural areas do have more complications of birth, and we're seeing that there really is an urban-rural disparity in outcomes," said Smith. "The intent is to grow the midwifery workforce to serve populations that are currently underserved by maternity care providers." A new scholarship will fund tuition, fees and living expenses for up to 14 nurses to complete a midwifery graduate program over the next four years. Nurses must commit to working in a rural area after graduation. (Mason, 11/6)
KFF Health News: New California Law Offers Fresh Protection From Steep Ambulance Bills
Last year, Jennifer Reisz’s college-age daughter, Megan, was kicked in the chest multiple times by the family’s horse. Megan fell to the ground, unable to move or speak. Though she was alone, her Apple Watch detected her distress and called 911. She was taken to a hospital in Clovis, a city in Fresno County, near where the Reisz family lives. But the severity of Megan’s injuries — four broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung — prompted doctors to transport her 12 miles by ambulance to the Level I trauma center at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. (Wolfson, 11/7)
