Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gov. Beshear Halts Conversion Therapy For Minors In Kentucky
The Washington Post: Kentucky Governor Bans Conversion Therapy, Setting Up Legal Battle
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday signed an executive order banning “conversion therapy” for minors — skirting the Republican-led state legislature and setting up a likely legal challenge. Beshear said the new policy, which goes into effect immediately, is an overdue step to protect children from a widely discredited medical practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. (Paul, 9/18)
Indianapolis Star: Lawsuit: Indiana Medicaid Overpaid Providers By Up To $700 Million
A federal whistleblower lawsuit accuses insurance companies and hospitals of defrauding Indiana's Medicaid program of up to $700 million ― money that could have helped prevent a $1 billion shortfall that prompted state officials to cut services. Instead, the lawsuit claims, industry-friendly officials in the state's Medicaid office bowed to political pressure and in 2017 began curtailing efforts to recoup the improper payments, even after they were flagged by the state's fraud detection contractor. (Cook and Dwyer, 9/18)
The New York Times: Emails Suggest Cuomo Undersold His Role In Altering Covid Report
Earlier this summer, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo squared off for a closed-door interview with seven members of a Republican-led congressional subcommittee investigating how New York handled the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Cuomo was asked repeatedly about a State Health Department report that deflected blame for the thousands of people who died of Covid at nursing homes in early 2020. Mr. Cuomo stood by the report and said he certainly did not review it and insisted he had no memory of seeing it before its release. But a review of emails and congressional documents appears to show how Mr. Cuomo not only saw the report, but personally wrote parts of early drafts. (Oreskes, 9/19)
The Boston Globe: Generational Nicotine Bans Proposed In Lexington, Medford
Lexington and Medford are tiptoeing toward considering prohibiting their youngest adults from buying nicotine products in their municipalities throughout their lifetimes, potentially joining a growing list of Massachusetts cities and towns with similar generational bans. At Lexington’s Board of Health meeting Tuesday, leaders heard about both the public health benefits of such a policy — which would ban sales of cigarettes and vaping products to people born after a certain year — and the potential business impacts for convenience stores and other retailers who sell cigarettes and vaping products. (Tannenbaum, 9/18)
Stateline: States, Hospital Systems Try Less Punitive Drug Testing Of Pregnant Women And Newborns
Some states and hospital systems have updated their policies on drug testing for pregnant women and newborns, aiming to better support patients’ treatment and recovery from substance use disorder and combat racial disparities in testing and reporting. Under federal law, medical professionals must notify child protective agencies when an infant has been affected by the mother’s substance use, including alcohol use. However, the federal rules ... emphasize that substance use disorder on its own doesn’t constitute child abuse. (Hassanein, 9/18)
CBS News: State's First Organ Donation Center To Open At Chicago's Rush University Hospital
Illinois' first hospital-based organ donation center will begin operations on Thursday, and CBS News Chicago got an exclusive sneak peek at the new setup that could save hundreds of lives a year. The beeping inside Rush University Medical Center is about to intensify. In a few weeks, they'll be very busy, according to transplant surgeon Dr. Edie Chan, who is in charge of the new Gift of Hope Organ Donor Care Center at Rush, which uniquely focuses on deceased patients whose lungs, hearts and more will live on in others. (Victory, 9/18)
KFF Health News: These Alabama Workers Were Swamped By Medical Debt. Then Their Employer Stepped In
Like most medical offices, the small suite of exam rooms at the PhiferCares Clinic fills daily with patients seeking help with bumps and bruises, sore throats, and stuffy noses. But there’s an important difference about this clinic in central Alabama: No one gets a bill, including for prescriptions. That’s because the clinic is owned by a manufacturing company with a specific agenda. “We don’t want you to spend money on health care,” said Russell DuBose, vice president of human resources at Phifer. (Levey, 9/19)
KFF Health News: California Medicaid Ballot Measure Is Popular, Well Funded — And Perilous, Opponents Warn
The proponents of Proposition 35, a November ballot initiative that would create a dedicated stream of funding to provide health care for California’s low-income residents, have assembled an impressive coalition: doctors, hospitals, community clinics, dentists, ambulance companies, several county governments, numerous advocacy groups, big business, and both major political parties. (Wolfson, 9/19)
KFF Health News: Abortion Clinics — And Patients — Are On The Move, As State Laws Keep Shifting
Soon after a series of state laws left a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, Missouri, unable to provide abortions in 2018, it shipped some of its equipment to states where abortion remained accessible. Recovery chairs, surgical equipment, and lighting from the Missouri clinic — all expensive and perfectly good — could still be useful to other health centers run by the same affiliate, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, in its three other states. Much of it went to Oklahoma, where the organization was expanding, CEO Emily Wales said. (Sable-Smith, 9/19)
