Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Medical Board Blocks Doctors From Giving Gender Care To Minors
The New York Times: Florida Restricts Doctors From Providing Gender Treatments To Minors
Florida has effectively banned medications and surgery for new adolescent patients seeking gender transitions after an unprecedented vote by the state’s medical board. ... The board voted 6-3 (with five others not present) on Friday to adopt a new standard of care that forbids doctors to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones, or perform surgeries, until transgender patients are 18. Exceptions will be allowed for children who are already receiving the treatments. The Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine also voted to restrict care for new patients on Friday, but allowed an exception for children enrolled in clinical studies. Doctors who flout the rules risk losing their medical licenses. (Ghorayshi, 11/4)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
WFSU: Florida's Attorney General Launches The One Pill Can Kill Website To Combat Fentanyl
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has launched the One Pill Can Kill website with resources about the dangers of fentanyl. More and more, she says the opioid is being hidden in drugs like marijuana and cocaine, unbeknownst to the user. (Jordan, 11/4)
AP: West Virginia's Opioid Crisis Transcends Partisan Politics
Dr. Frank Annie sees desperation in his hospital, where 30- and 40-year-olds come in with organ failure after injecting opioids with dirty needles. Joe Solomon finds it in the faces of those who line up in the church gyms and parking lots where he passes out overdose reversal drugs. Sheena Griffith encounters it on the streets she navigates with a car packed with HIV test kits and disinfectant for sanitizing syringes. Annie is a Republican, Solomon a Democrat and Griffith an independent. All three are running for city council in the capital city of battle-scarred West Virginia, where the devastating toll of the opioid crisis transcends party politics. (Willingham, 11/6)
AP: Maine Clarifies Limits On Medical Marijuana Providers
Maine delivered an October surprise to medical marijuana providers with guidance limiting the sale of pre-rolled marijuana and liquid concentrates by treating them like tobacco. The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy released guidance on Oct. 7 that effectively bans medical marijuana caregivers without a storefront from providing those products altogether while medical marijuana dispensaries and stores must treat them like tobacco products with an age limit of 21. Previously, those could be provided to people 18 and older with a medical marijuana card. (Sharp, 11/4)
Stateline: States Struggle To Curb Fake Emotional Support Animals
Numerous websites promise to qualify any pet as an emotional support animal that the sites claim can go nearly anywhere — inside restaurants and stores, into “no pets” apartments and throughout college dorms. The easily obtained certificates are making it tough for states to crack down on fake support animals without running afoul of federal fair housing or anti-discrimination laws. (Povich, 11/4)
