Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Investigating Tennessee Hospital That Gave Trans Health Records To AG
AP: Tennessee Hospital Faces Civil Rights Investigation Over Release Of Transgender Health Records
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a federal civil rights investigation after turning the medical records of transgender patients over to Tennessee’s attorney general, hospital officials have confirmed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ investigation comes just weeks after two patients sued VUMC for releasing their records to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti late last year. (Kruesi and Mattise, 8/11)
The Oklahoman: Cancer Patients In Rural Oklahoma Are More Likely To Die, Partially Due To Travel Barriers
Statistics from the OU Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma’s largest cancer center and the state’s only National Cancer Insitute-Designated Cancer Center, show that more than 35% of new patients seen at Stephenson reside in a federally designated rural area. Additionally, about 40% of the patients who receive recurring care reside 50 miles or more from Stephenson’s main Oklahoma City site. (Aston, 8/12)
AP: St. Louis Activists Praise Biden's Support For Compensation Over Manhattan Project Contamination
St. Louis-area activists have been fighting for years to get government compensation for people with cancer and other serious illnesses potentially connected to Manhattan Project nuclear contamination. This week marked a major victory, with support coming from the president. Uranium was processed in St. Louis starting at the onset of World War II as America raced to develop nuclear bombs. In July, reporting as part of an ongoing collaboration between The Missouri Independent, the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock and The Associated Press cited thousands of pages of documents indicating decades of nonchalance and indifference for the risks posed by uranium contamination. (Salter, 8/11)
North Carolina Health News: Mental Health Agencies Agree To Consolidate
Two organizations that manage behavioral health services for people with Medicaid and for some uninsured people in different areas of North Carolina have agreed to merge into a single entity that will serve more than 100,000 people across 21 counties. (Baxley, 8/14)
Los Angeles Times: Eating Disorder Surge In Medi-Cal Patients Shows Gaps In Care
The crisis is particularly acute for teenagers, many of whom are hospitalized repeatedly for complications of malnutrition while waiting to be approved for mental health care. “Kids with eating disorders who have Medi-Cal, they get into this vicious cycle,” Accurso said. “Some of these kids have well over 10 hospitalizations.” (Sharp, 8/11)
Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Public Health Warns Of Possible Hepatitis A Exposure
On Saturday, the Public Health Department issued a notice alerting customers who visited a Panda Express in Lancaster, at 44411 Valley Central Way between July 21 and Aug. 4, after a food handler was found to have the liver infection. The department said no additional cases have been identified. As a result of the identified infection, the department is offering free hepatitis A vaccinations to those who were exposed, beginning Monday and continuing until Friday. The vaccine is not necessary if an individual has already completed the hepatitis A vaccine series or has had a past infection. (Gomez, 8/13)
On medical marijuana —
AP: Alabama Panel Approves Companies To Grow, Distribute Medical Marijuana
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has awarded new licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana after discovering problems with the initial selection process. Commissioners voided their original selections made in June after discovering what they described as human errors in the scoring of applications. On Thursday, the commission selected 24 companies to receive licenses, many of which were among the original winners. (8/11)
WUSF 89.7: Ruling Is Eyed In A Guns And Medical Marijuana Case In Florida
With an appeals court slated to hear arguments in October, a Florida lawsuit challenging a federal prohibition on medical marijuana patients buying and possessing guns might have received support this week. The lawsuit alleges that the prohibition violates Second Amendment rights. But U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in November granted a request by the federal government to dismiss the case. (Saunders, 8/13)
On the opioid crisis —
The Texas Tribune: U.S. Sen. John Cornyn Has Made Fentanyl Crisis A Priority
Horrified by the skyrocketing number of fentanyl-related deaths and motivated by families who lost a child to the dangerous drug, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has made addressing the crisis a priority. Cornyn, R-Texas, has introduced legislation to decriminalize fentanyl test strips and address drug trafficking at the U.S. border with Mexico, where criminal cartels are blamed for producing the vast majority of fentanyl. (Alafriz, 8/14)
Reuters: Opioids Expose Unhealthy Bankruptcy Addictions
Two big opioid cases suggest the U.S. bankruptcy process is unjustly providing relief for some while inflicting pain unnecessarily on others. The first involves Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, which may be headed for insolvency a second time. Between 2006 and 2014, it manufactured roughly 30 billion opioid pills. When states, Native American tribal governments and thousands of localities started suing all involved in the addictive medicine’s supply chain, from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) to CVS Health (CVS.N), creditors decided the drugmaker would be better off resuscitated than sold off for parts. It emerged from Chapter 11 in June 2022, agreeing to pay plaintiffs some $1.7 billion over eight years and warrants equal to a 20% stake in the company while sheltering executives including former CEO Mark Trudeau from legal liability. (Cyran, 8/11)
KFF Health News: Watch: As Opioid Settlement Money Starts To Flow, States And Local Officials Debate How To Use It
Over 18 years, more than $50 billion in settlement funds from pharmaceutical companies that made and sold opioid painkillers will be paid to state and local governments across the country. But the debate around how this money should be spent is just beginning. PBS NewsHour featured KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani as it reported on how this debate is playing out in North Carolina and Ohio. (8/11)
