Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fungal Infection Affects More Than 90 Workers At Paper Mill In Michigan
Detroit Free Press: Fungal Infection Outbreak Affects 90+ Workers At Escanaba Paper Mill
More than 90 employees at an Upper Peninsula paper mill are believed infected with a fungus found in soil and decaying wood, with about a dozen requiring hospitalization. Investigation of a blastomycosis outbreak at the Billerud paper mill in Escanaba is ongoing, and involves local, state and federal health and occupational safety officials. With nearly 900 employees, the Billerud mill is the largest manufacturing employer and economic driver north of Midland in the state, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (Matheny, 4/8)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
AP: US Judge Issues Order In Arizona Prison Health Care Case
A U.S. District Court judge has made permanent an order that aims to improve the way Arizona delivers health care to incarcerated people in state-run prisons. The injunction issued Friday by Judge Roslyn Silver is the latest effort to ensure Arizona prisons meet constitutional standards. She initially ruled last year that Arizona had been violating the rights of incarcerated people by providing them with inadequate medical and mental health care, saying the state knew about the problem for years but refused to correct its failures. (4/8)
North Carolina Health News: Bill Would Make It Easier To Call For Help When There's An Overdose
Mary O’Donnell knows the pain of having a loved one die in such a situation. She’s been fighting for years to get overdose numbers down. In 2017, O’Donnell’s 17-year-old son, Sean, had been drinking with some friends at a quarry near his Chatham County home. His friends, afraid of being caught for underaged drinking, left him behind when he passed out near the quarry’s edge. At some point, Sean — alone and impaired — fell into the quarry and drowned. (Hoban, 4/10)
AP: Nebraska Church Raises $520K To Erase Medical Bills
A Nebraska church has raised more than $520,000 to pay off the medical bills of residents in its neighborhood, ending the 14-month-campaign on Easter Sunday. An estimated 10,000 people contributed to the First-Plymouth Congregational Church effort, The Lincoln Journal Star reports. (4/9)
In Medicaid news —
The New York Times: Will North Carolina Be The ‘Beginning Of The End’ Of The Medicaid Expansion Fight?
Thirteen years after the adoption of the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama, Republicans are abandoning their opposition to Medicaid expansion. Lingering reservations about the welfare state and the cost of expansion are giving way to arguments about Medicaid as an engine for economic growth and a lifeline for struggling hospitals. (Stolberg, 4/9)
KHN: Special Medicaid Funds Help Most States, But Prompt Oversight Concerns
The extra federal money comes through an obscure, complicated mechanism called “directed payments” — available only for states that hire health insurers to deliver services for Medicaid. It’s not Medicaid expansion, which Georgia Republican leaders have rejected. Instead, the state Department of Community Health is using an under-the-radar Medicaid funding opportunity that has been rapidly taken up by more than 35 states — including most of the states that have expanded the government insurance program. (Miller, 4/10)
On LGBTQ+ health care —
San Francisco Chronicle: Why The DEA Is About To Make Trans Gender-Affirming Care Harder To Get
Because of the prescription medication he takes, Jack’s name and Social Security number are in a federal Drug Enforcement Agency database. He had to get blood work done before his prescription can be sent to pharmacists, the results of which go on his file. He can only get 30 days of his medication at a time, and every three months he needs to meet with a medical practitioner. To then receive his medication, he had to sign a form saying he won’t sell it — under penalty of law. (Bishari, 4/8)
Chicago Tribune: LGBTQ Community And Its Supporters Grapple With State’s New Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Minors
Nikki Lynch said she’s disappointed that Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors but isn’t surprised, since the Republican-heavy legislature likely would have overturned a veto anyway. Lynch, 65, of Schererville, is a transgender woman who grew up in western Pennsylvania without the support groups and resources available online and through social media. (Lavalley, 4/7)
