Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hawaii's New Governor Takes Aim At Tax On Medication
AP: Hawaii's New Gov. Green Aims To End Tax On Food, Medication
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green took the oath of office on Monday and immediately vowed to address homelessness and housing, and ask the Legislature to help eliminate the state’s tax on food and medication. (McAvoy, 12/6)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Bangor Daily News: A New Health Insurer In Maine Hopes Its Unique Model Will Lower Costs
Freelance bookkeeper Sara Ameigh of South Portland has never liked traditional health insurance. “I felt like I was paying a ton of money, a few hundred dollars a month, and then nothing was covered at all,” she says. “So it was like, what’s the point of it? Why do I even need this?” (Wight, 12/5)
The Boston Globe: Mass. Could Be The Birthplace Of A Dental Revolution. Here’s Why
The battle over Question 2 on November’s ballot essentially began as a showdown between a disgruntled orthodontist and a well-connected dental insurer. By the time Election Day arrived, it had become so much more than that. Maybe even the start of a revolution. (Chesto, 12/5)
The Colorado Sun: Here Are The Prescription Drugs Colorado Wants To Import From Canada
Colorado took another step toward importing lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada on Monday when it submitted a formal application to the federal government for approval of the program. The application for the first time reveals which drugs Colorado hopes to import — 112 of them in all, at an average cost savings of 65% over U.S. retail price. (Ingold, 12/6)
Stateline: More US Counties Lack A Clear Racial Majority (And People Are Getting Along Pretty Well)
Some booming suburbs, many of them in the Sun Belt, are becoming as racially diverse as major coastal cities — and often with less racial conflict. Sixty-nine counties, mostly in the South and West, had clear racial majorities in 2010 but lost them by last year, according to a Stateline analysis of census estimates. Nationwide, there are now 152 such counties where no racial group is more than half the population, up 33% since 2010. (Henderson, 12/5)
KHN: Florida Leaders Misrepresented Research Before Ban On Gender-Affirming Care
Behind Florida’s decision to block clinical services for transgender adolescents is a talking point — repeated by the state’s governor and top medical authorities — that most cases of gender incongruence fade over time. The Florida Board of Medicine voted Nov. 4 to approve a rule that barred physicians from performing surgical procedures on minors to alter “primary or secondary sexual characteristics” and from prescribing them medication to suppress puberty and hormones. The rule included an exception for patients who were already receiving those treatments. (Reyes, 12/6)
In abortion news —
AP: Minnesota Town Drops Texas-Style Anti-Abortion Lawsuit Plan
A Minnesota town has backed away from a proposal to let people sue abortion providers, including organizations that provide abortion drugs by mail, after the state’s attorney general warned that the plan was unconstitutional. (Karnowski, 12/5)
The 19th: Here’s How States Plan To Limit Abortion — Even Where It Is Already Banned
As statehouses across the country prepare for next year’s legislative sessions — most for the first time since Roe v. Wade was overturned — Republican lawmakers are pushing for further restrictions on reproductive health, even in states where abortion is already banned. (Luthra, 12/5)
AP: Biden's Efforts To Protect Abortion Access Hit Roadblocks
The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right. ... In reality, though, the administration is shackled by a ban on federal funding for most abortions, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court inclined to rule against abortion rights and a split Congress unwilling to pass legislation on the matter. (Seitz and Long, 12/6)
