Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida's DeSantis Signs Bill Mandating CPR Training For Youth Coaches
WFSU: DeSantis Signs A Bill That Requires Youth Coaches To Undergo CPR And AED Training
A law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday requires youth athletic coaches to learn how to render lifesaving aid — including CPR. State Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, sponsored the measure. He says as a parent he wants every coach to know the basics. (Andrews, 3/26)
Chicago Tribune: Questions About The Measles Outbreak In Chicago
Chicago health officials recorded the city’s first measles case in five years earlier this month with an unknown origin. Soon after, an outbreak spread to the city’s largest migrant shelter. On Tuesday, Chicago’s total sat at 31 cases, with two reported in suburban Will County and Lake County. Though most vaccinated people have close to zero chance of contracting the virus, here’s what to know about the disease. (Guffey, 3/27)
New Hampshire Public Radio: NH Health System Still Reeling From Cyberattack On Billing Platform, Officials Say
State insurance regulators say last month’s cyberattack on a major billing platform continues to affect New Hampshire’s health care system, putting medical practices under financial strain and disrupting patient care. The attack shut down services at Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth that many insurers use to process claims. (Cuno-Booth, 3/26)
AP: NYC Subway Violence: Rider Pushed Onto Tracks, Killed
While violence in the nation’s largest transit system is rare, being shoved from a subway station’s narrow platform onto the track has long loomed large in riders’ fears. ... Mayor Eric Adams renewed that discussion Tuesday, saying at a City Hall news conference that New York City still has a “severe mental health illness problem” that “played out on 125th Street and Lexington Avenue at the subway station.” (Matthews and Attanasio, 3/27)
The New York Times: What’s Going On With Legal Marijuana In New York?
In New York, the recreational cannabis market hasn’t quite taken off as planned.It’s been three years since New York legalized marijuana, and the state has awarded few licenses to applicants who want to open cannabis businesses. Today, illicit head shops far outnumber licensed dispensaries. So this month, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered a review of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, with the goal of speeding up its licensing bureaucracy. (McGinley, 3/26)
In other health news from across the country —
Minnesota Public Radio: Addressing The Disparity In Access To Colon Cancer Screenings In Minnesota
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Minnesota, according to the state department of health. And like most cancers, the chances of survival are much higher when you catch it early. But studies show colorectal cancer screening rates in Minnesota are only 50 to 55 percent in non-white populations, compared to 75 percent in white populations. The pandemic made that disparity worse. (Wurzer and Elder, 3/26)
The Maine Monitor: Study Finds Treating Self-Neglect Can Prevent Later Abuse
A few years ago, Adult Protective Services put Polly Madson Cox in touch with an older woman who was neglecting herself. She lived alone, struggled to meet her basic needs and was on the verge of eviction. Madson Cox, who was an advocate with the Elder Abuse Institute of Maine, worked with the woman to try and find a way to stay in her apartment. During that time, the woman invited someone to live with her. Madson Cox soon learned this person was exploiting her, controlling her medications, ability to leave the house and her finances. A recent study found this is a common problem. (Lundy, 3/24)
Iowa Public Radio: Report Says Some Iowa Jails Unlawfully Charge Inmates For Health Care
At least nine Iowa jails are breaking the law when charging jail inmates for health care, according to a report from the state ombudsman’s office. While investigating complaints from inmates, the ombudsman found some county jails take money directly out of inmate commissary accounts to pay for medical expenses, violating Iowa law. (Smith, 3/21)
Axios: More States Are Adding Protections Against Big Ambulance Bills
More states are jumping in to shield patients from large, unexpected bills for ambulance rides in the absence of federal protections. Ground ambulances are a major source of surprise bills, and it's unlikely Congress will pursue nationwide protections anytime soon after excluding them from the landmark No Surprises Act in 2020. (Goldman, 3/27)
Reuters: Ex-Leaders Of Massachusetts Veterans' Home Avoid Prison Over COVID Outbreak
Two former leaders of a Massachusetts veterans' home that was the site of one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks at a U.S. long-term care facility on Tuesday resolved criminal neglect charges against them without having to go to prison. Former Holyoke Soldiers' Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director David Clinton withdrew their previous not guilty pleas during hearings in Hampshire Superior Court and admitted there were facts sufficient to find them guilty of the charges against them, prosecutors said. (Raymond, 3/26)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland's Drug Affordability Board Starts Cost Review Process
Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board Monday selected eight drugs to consider for its first cost review – an intensive process that will determine whether the drugs are too expensive and suggest strategies for making them more affordable. (Roberts, 3/26)
Wyoming Public Radio: Hospitals Across The State Will Be Getting New Ultrasound Imaging Devices
Hospitals throughout Wyoming will receive 143 ultrasound imaging devices. Plus the University of Wyoming (UW) will provide training opportunities so physicians can use the devices to the best of their ability. That’s all thanks to a nearly $13.9 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust. (Kudelska, 3/26)
Minnesota Public Radio: Minneapolis At Forefront Of Alternatives To Policing, Mental Health Crisis Response
On a warmer-than-usual February night in Minneapolis, a nurse dialed 911 because one of her patients sounded disoriented or inebriated. The 911 dispatcher didn’t forward the welfare check to police like she would have done just a few years before, but sent it to the Minneapolis Behavioral Crisis Response team — otherwise known as BCR. (Collins, 3/27)
Also —
AP: Lawsuit Says Ohio's Gender-Affirming Care Ban Violates The State Constitution
Two families of transgender minors filed a constitutional challenge on Tuesday to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming health care for youth under 18. ... The legislation in question contains a ban on transgender surgeries and hormone therapies for minors, unless they are already receiving such therapies and it’s deemed a risk to stop by a doctor, as well as restrictions on the type of mental health services a minor can receive. (Carr Smyth and Hendrickson, 3/26)
The Hill: ACLU Sues Ohio Over Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the state of Ohio on Tuesday over a law set to take effect next month that bans gender-affirming medical care for minors. Ohio lawmakers in January overrode Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of legislation barring transgender minors from accessing treatments including puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgery. DeWine in December said the consequences of such a law for transgender children and their families “could not be more profound.” (Migdon, 3/26)
Reuters: Pharmacies Take Appeal Of $650 Mln Opioid Award To Ohio Top Court
Pharmacy operators CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens, on Tuesday urged Ohio's highest court to conclude they cannot be held liable for fueling an opioid epidemic in two of the state's counties that won a $650.9 million judgment against them. Jeffrey Wall, a lawyer for Walgreens, told the Ohio Supreme Court that state law bars Lake and Trumbull counties' claims that the dispensing of addictive pain medications by the pharmacy chains created a public nuisance in their communities that the companies should be forced to help remedy. (Raymond, 3/26)
Reuters: Walgreens Sues To Block ‘Egregious’ $987 Mln Arbitration Award
Retail pharmacy giant Walgreens has asked a Delaware federal judge to strike down what it called an “egregious and improper” arbitration award of nearly $1 billion for telemedicine provider PWNHealth in a contract dispute between the companies. PWNHealth, which does business as Everly Health Solutions, separately asked the judge to affirm the arbitration award, according to court filings unsealed on Tuesday. (Scarcella, 3/26)
Reuters: AstraZeneca Sues Arkansas To Block Drug-Discount Program
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has sued to block an Arkansas law that it said would unlawfully expand a federal drug-discount program to include for-profit pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's lawsuit, filed in Little Rock federal court on Monday against the Arkansas insurance department, said the state measure violates provisions of the U.S. Constitution and federal patent law. (3/26)
