Groups Slam Georgia’s Plan To Limit Access To ACA Health Exchanges

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Plan To Block The Federal ACA Insurance Exchange Draws Criticism
Gov. Brian Kemp wants to block Georgians’ access to the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, instead directing them to buy insurance on the private market where he says they will have more options. Advocacy groups, though, contend the move could result in perhaps 60,000 people going without health insurance, while others may wind up with policies that won’t cover health needs. ...Georgia currently has nearly the highest rate of uninsured people of any state, tied with Oklahoma for second-worst, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Hart, 9/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Families Struggle For Answers In Senior Care Investigations
The case is emblematic of the difficulties families can face when something goes wrong in a senior care home in Georgia and they feel they aren’t getting straight answers. While DCH talks and meets regularly with the industry it regulates, it has a reputation for being less than forthcoming with affected family members and the general public. (Schrade, 9/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Firms Jumped To Make Masks, Shields, Other PPE. Will It Last?
More than 300 Georgia companies scrambled to produce or resell life-protecting equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Nearly six months in, some are still at it, pumping out items such as masks, face shields and bottles of hand sanitizer, but not, apparently, crucial government-certified N95 masks or ventilators. (Kempner, 9/4)

In news from Florida —

Miami Herald: Helping Miami-Dade’s Homeless During Coronavirus Pandemic 
With his pink button-down shirt and jeans, Johnny’s outfit seems to blend with the rest of the passersby on Washington Avenue in South Beach. But a closer look illustrates the contrast that exists in South Florida’s commercial hubs: Johnny’s clothes are worn out and he carries all of his belongings in an overflowing carriage latched to a bicycle. For the past 20 years, he has lived on the streets where others shop, eat and transit. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, people were told to stay home and to practice personal hygiene. These guides were manageable for those with roofs over their heads, but for Johnny and the almost 4,000 individuals who make up Miami-Dade’s homeless population, protecting themselves from COVID-19 suddenly became another daunting task. (Luisa Paul, 9/5)

Tampa Bay Times: WIll Tampa Pay More To Address The Mental Health Calls Police Now Handle?
For months, protesters and advocates have made the argument that police officers shouldn’t be handling calls involving mental health issues on their own. City Council member John Dingfelder has been listening. Last week, at the city’s first public budget hearing, Dingfelder, a citywide member, proposed that the city funnel $1 million to efforts to bolster and, perhaps, supplant police response to people in mental distress. (Frago, 9/8)

AP: The Latest: Florida Reports Its Lowest New Single-Day Cases
Florida reported 1,838 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the lowest single-day number of new infections reported by state health officials since June 15. But health officials across the state were waiting to see if the Labor Day weekend might produce an uptick in the number of coronavirus cases, as might have been the case following the Fourth of July holiday — when the largest single-day surge in new cases was reported about a week later.To date, the state has recorded more than 648,200 cases of COVID-19. (9/7)

In news from Hawaii, Montana and Michigan —

Fox News: Hawaii Public Health Shakeup Follows Other States' Amid Coronavirus Pandemic 
The public health leadership in Hawaii appears to be in turmoil amid the coronavirus pandemic after the state’s embattled epidemiologist was placed on paid leave Friday. Earlier in the week, Bruce Anderson, director of the state Health Department, announced he was stepping down, and Dr. Emily Roberson, who only recently was appointed to lead Hawaii’s contact tracing operation, requested to be placed on leave, the Star Advertiser of Honolulu reported. (Calicchio, 9/5)

Billings Gazette: Meth Use Rose As Pandemic Hit Montana, Other States, Urine Tests Showed 
Millennium Health reported a 34% increase in urine samples that tested positive for methamphetamine after President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency on March 13. The company compared results from Jan. 1 through March 12 against the results from March 13 through May 31. The findings were included in a report the company published in July showing increased illicit drug use nationwide in the early weeks of the pandemic. (Tollefson, 9/7)

Detroit Free Press: COVID-19 Is Complicating Reentry After Prison In Michigan
People who advocate for returning citizens say the pandemic is exacerbating the many challenges to reentry after prison. When it comes to getting an ID, advocates say the process is slowed down, by months in some instances, because Secretary of State branches are open by appointment only. It's a problem that the Department of Corrections says it is addressing through a program it's rolling out across the state later this month that will ensure that people walk out of prison with an ID or a driver's license. (Jackson, 9/7)

In news from Texas and West Virginia —

Dallas Morning News: Federal Judge ‘Concerned’ Over High Rate Of COVID-19 Among Texas Foster Children
Foster children have contracted the novel coronavirus at nearly double the rate of Texas’ general population, according to testimony Friday in a federal lawsuit. In the seven days before Aug. 28, the rate by which the 10,300 children in the state’s “permanent managing conservatorship” tested positive for COVID-19 was 20%, compared with just 12% among all Texans, said a filing by court-appointed monitors late Thursday. (Garrett, 9/4)

AP: As Virus Cases Drop, Governors May Gamble On Bars. Again.
A guy walks into a bar, which still isn’t allowed in Texas. But Jeff Brightwell owns this bar. Two months into an indefinite shutdown, he’s just checking on the place — the tables six feet apart, the “Covid 19 House Rules” sign instructing drinkers not to mingle. All the safeguards that didn’t keep the doors open because Dot’s Hop House & Cocktail Courtyard is a bar under Texas law. And bars, in a pandemic? “Really not good,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s infectious disease expert, told Congress in June. (Weber, 9/6)

AP: West Virginia Nursing Home Virus Outbreak Stabilizes
A COVID-19 outbreak that killed five people at a Monroe County nursing home has stabilized, although several residents and staff members are still infected, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday. The outbreak began with three positive cases reported on Aug. 18 at the Springfield Center, a skilled-nursing facility in Lindside. (9/7)

More states are encouraging residents to get a flu shot —

CNN: Flu Shot: Getting Your Annual Vaccine Is More Essential Than Ever 
With a black suit jacket shrugged off her left shoulder, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer didn't flinch while getting a flu vaccination on live television last week. "Literally the easiest thing I will do today," said Gov. Whitmer, who called the press conference to underscore preparations for this coming flu season. "Preventing the flu will help us save lives and preserve the health care resources we need to continue fighting Covid-19," she said. "It's more important than ever." (Smith, 9/8)

Bangor Daily News: As Flu Season Nears, Experts Recommend Getting A Flu Shot Sooner Than Later
Flu season is just around the corner. With the coronavirus pandemic still present in our daily lives, it is perhaps more important than ever to get the flu shot, both for your own health and for the health of all Mainers. There are still unknowns as to how the annual flu will interact with the coronavirus. That has public health professionals concerned not only about the strain on Maine’s health care system from a confluence of the flu and a pandemic, but also about the potential to have both at the same time. (Schipani, 9/8)