Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Forever' Cancer-Causing Chemical Still Leaking Into Georgia Rivers
Georgia Health News: Cancer-Causing Chemical In Georgia Water Stays Unregulated
Scientists are currently testing more than 100 water treatment plants in North Georgia for a group of chemicals linked to cancer and other serious illnesses. It’s part of a massive water monitoring program initiated earlier this year by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division targeting perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS for short. (5/8)
In other news from the states —
Health News Florida: AdventHealth ER And Primary Care Facility Coming To Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World and AdventHealth are teaming up to offer a new emergency room and primary care facility on the Disney campus. The AdventHealth Emergency Department and Primary Care Plus will be located at Flamingo Crossings Town Center, near the Western Gateway at Walt Disney World. AdventHealth Central Florida CEO Randy Haffner says both will offer Disney guests, workers and community members urgent and primary care minutes from the parks, seven days a week. (Prieur, 5/7)
AP: Montana Nonprofit To Build Slaughterhouse For Food Bank Beef
A nonprofit in Montana plans to open a slaughterhouse that will kill and process cattle donated for food banks. The $2.5 million Producer Partnership plant outside Livingston will be able to process 300 animals per month by next year, the Billings Gazette reported. Ranchers who donate cattle for food banks will have access to the processing plant for their own retail sales. (5/9)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Group Effort Helps Fill Gap In Mental Care
Lisa Evans remembers a man in Little Rock who did not want to be around his family members because he was afraid they might hurt him. With the help of Little Rock police, the Crisis Stabilization Unit at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where Evans is the director, was able to get the man, who was struggling with psychosis and paranoid thoughts, the mental health care he needed and to reunite him with his family in a matter of days. "We feel most successful when we get someone like that, [when] we get them stabilized and get them into a housing environment," she said. (Vrbin, 5/10)
San Francisco Chronicle: California Budget Windfall Dangles Hopes For Homeless Housing, Immigrant Health Coverage
A year after tackling what state finance officials projected would be a record budget shortfall, California’s government is rolling in so much money that it could be forced to give some cash back to taxpayers. Bolstered by federal aid and an economy that has recovered faster than anticipated, particularly for the wealthiest Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom will reveal his revised budget plan this week. The announcement kicks off a final negotiation with lawmakers over the multibillion-dollar surplus that’s expected to surpass rosy estimates from January. At stake is major spending on homelessness, health care for undocumented immigrants and the worsening drought. (Koseff, 5/9)
In news about marijuana —
Politico: America’s Most Conservative States Are Embracing Medical Pot
Many of the nation’s medical marijuana holdouts are giving in as pot activists make inroads this year with conservative strongholds — and are poised to notch more wins in the coming weeks. Medical marijuana bills are advancing in the Republican-controlled legislatures of North Carolina, Alabama and Kansas for the first time. Efforts to expand limited medical programs in bedrock conservative states like Texas and Louisiana also appear close to passage. (Zhang, Demko and Fertig, 5/9)
The Advocate: As Key Vote To Legalize Marijuana In Louisiana Looms, Some Experts Say Downsides Exaggerated
Proponents and opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana are both mounting a furious last-minute lobbying effort ahead of a potentially decisive vote Monday on a bill before Louisiana’s conservative House of Representatives. The state’s sheriffs, who enjoy huge influence at the State Capitol, are asking lawmakers to vote “no” on Rep. Richard Nelson’s House Bill 699, which would legalize the drug for recreational use by adults over 21. They claim the measure, which has shown surprising viability, is rushed and ignores the downsides of legalization other states have experienced. On Saturday, the Louisiana Republican Party, which rarely wades into legislative issues, issued a "call to action" urging people to contact their lawmakers to get them to vote down the bill. (Karlin, 5/10)
