Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP Prosecutor Pushes For Fast Decision On Wisconsin Abortion Ban
AP: Republican DA Asks Wisconsin Supreme Court To Decide Abortion Lawsuit Without Lower Court Ruling
A Republican prosecutor asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide whether a 174-year-old state law bans abortion in the state without waiting for a ruling from a lower appellate court. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, reactivated an 1849 law that conservatives have interpreted as banning abortion. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit arguing that the law is too old to enforce and conflicts with a 1985 law permitting abortions before fetuses can survive outside the womb. (Richmond, 2/20)
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Senate Approves 12 Months Of Postpartum Medicaid With A More Restrictive Income Limit
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal to extend Medicaid pregnancy coverage from 60 days postpartum to a year after giving birth passed in the Senate Monday. Her bill would also lower the program’s income limit so fewer pregnant Iowans and infants would qualify for Medicaid, keeping government costs from significantly increasing. Sen. Mark Costello, R-Imogene, said this expands Medicaid for people who truly need public assistance. (Sostaric, 2/20)
Wyoming Public Radio: A Bill Moving Through The House Could Temporarily Close Wyoming’s Only Remaining Abortion Clinic
New restrictions to abortion access in Wyoming could come out of the Legislature this session. Introduced last week, House Bill 148 would require clinics that provide surgical abortions in the state to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers — also known as day surgery centers. For now, the law would only impact the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, which is the only facility that provides surgical abortions left in Wyoming. (Clements, 2/19)
Daily Beast: Oklahoma Pols Want A Database Of Everyone Who Has An Abortion
An Oklahoma bill that would create a database of every person who obtained an abortion is one step closer to becoming law. The so-called Oklahoma Right To Human Life Act, authored by state Rep. Kevin West, passed out of the Public Health Committee last week and moves to a full House vote next month. The bill would require the Oklahoma State Department of Health to create a database in which each patient is identified by a “unique patient identifier” to track how many abortions a patient has and when. That information and the identity of the patient could be released to authorities under a court order. (Shugerman, 2/20)
NPR: South Carolina Woman Sues State Alongside Planned Parenthood Over Abortion Ban
The state law has been interpreted as banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood argues the ban is vague and shouldn't apply until at least three weeks later in pregnancy. (Hansen, 2/20)
North Carolina Health News: Chatham Maternity Care Center Bucks Trend Of Rural Maternity Closures
In the past decade, 14 rural hospitals in North Carolina have stopped providing maternity care. Betsy Johnson Hospital in Harnett County shuttered its labor and delivery unit in October — the most recent closure. Maintaining labor and delivery services at rural hospitals across North Carolina and the nation has become increasingly difficult as costs stay high, birth volumes stay low and staff gets harder to recruit and retain. More units are closing their doors, leaving women without a place to give birth close to home. Chatham County is bucking that trend. (Crumpler, 2/21)
The Baltimore Sun: The Funding Will Be Awarded To 129 Community Organizations.
Maryland state lawmakers on Tuesday announced $111 million in grant funding for child-serving organizations across the state to help them bolster their behavioral health service offerings, including counseling, early intervention and parent encouragement programs. (Roberts, 2/20)
In other news from across the country —
AP: San Francisco Wants To Offer Free Drug Recovery Books At Its Public Libraries
The most stolen books from San Francisco public libraries’ shelves are not the hottest new novels or juicy memoirs, they are books about recovering from addiction. Now, city officials want to provide universal access to free drug recovery books, including Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12-step recovery book. San Francisco City Supervisor Matt Dorsey on Tuesday introduced legislation to expand a pilot program to distribute addiction recovery books for free at the city’s 28 public libraries. A record 806 people died of a drug overdose in the city last year. (Rodriguez, 2/21)
Missouri Independent: Missouri House Bill Would Allow Further Testing For St. Louis Radioactive Waste
Local governments in the St. Louis area could request radioactive waste testing from the state under a Missouri House bill that would appropriate money to a long-unfunded program. The Missouri House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee on Monday heard testimony on a bill that would transfer $300,000 to a radioactive waste investigations fund created six years ago. Despite the fund passing the legislature in 2018 and being signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson, it has never had any money allocated to it. (Kite, 2/20)
KFF Health News: Death And Redemption In An American Prison
Steven Garner doesn’t like to talk about the day that changed his life. A New Orleans barroom altercation in 1990 escalated to the point where Garner, then 18, and his younger brother Glenn shot and killed another man. The Garners claimed self-defense, but a jury found them guilty of second-degree murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole. When Garner entered the gates at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, he didn’t know what to expect. The maximum security facility has been dubbed “America’s Bloodiest Prison” and its brutal conditions have made headlines for decades. (Hawryluk, 2/21)
