Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals, Hospices, Nursing Homes Brace For Loss Of Thousands Of Immigrant Workers After Supreme Court Ruling
The New York Times: How the Supreme Court Decision Upends Life for Thousands of Migrants
Employers — including hospitals and hospices, construction companies and retail stores — will have to fire Haitian and Syrian workers whose sole authority to work comes through the program. ... The Supreme Court’s decision will fall most heavily in the health care industry, where Haitians in particular have been concentrated, especially in elder care facilities. Health care has been the American economy’s fastest-growing industry for years now, and the vacancy rate is substantially higher than it is for others, so finding new workers on short notice will be very difficult. (Ulloa, DePillis and Jordan, 6/25)
The Washington Post: Nursing Homes, Factory Owners And Immigrants Brace For Fallout From Supreme Court Ruling
Immigrants began making plans to sell or rent their homes, secure bank accounts and figure out thorny issues like child custody arrangements. Business owners started calculating how many days they can continue to employ workers whose legal status is set to expire. And nursing home leaders warned they would have fewer beds to offer if health aides are forced to leave the country. Panic rippled through communities from Florida to Ohio and beyond in the hours after the Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration Thursday to strip humanitarian protections from Haitians and Syrians — and potentially all 1.3 million immigrants from over a dozen countries who had been previously shielded from deportation. (Sacchetti and Gurley, 6/26)
Fox News: House Republican Breaks With Trump, Says Ending Haitian TPS Risks US Healthcare 'Crisis'
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday decision in Mullin v. Doe. ... Lawler pointed to the large number of Haitians on TPS working in the U.S. healthcare system. "Of the 350,000+ lawful Haitian TPS holders, roughly 1/3rd work in our healthcare system. Immediately shutting off TPS will create a crisis in our hospitals, nursing homes, and in the I/DD [intellectual and developmental disabilities] community," he said in a post on X. (McGreevy, 6/25)
McKnight's Senior Living: ‘Confounding And Heartbreaking’: Provider Groups Decry Supreme Court Decision That Could See The Departure Of Immigrant Workers
LeadingAge said the decision puts older adults and senior living and care providers in an “untenable position.” “Staff and caregivers who support older adults every day — legal employees who in some of our communities represent 8% or more of the entire workforce — can now lose their jobs overnight,” LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan said in a statement. “There is no workforce waiting in the wings." ... The American Seniors Housing Association said that the decision creates “immediate workforce uncertainty” as many TPS holders are legally authorized employees in healthcare and long-term care roles. (Bonvissuto, 6/26)
Related news on the immigration crisis —
The Hill: Trump Plans Deportation Of 500 Migrant Children: Sen. Ron Wyden
The Trump administration is planning to bypass legal protections and hastily deport more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children, a top Democratic senator warned Thursday. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a letter that he “obtained credible information” that the Trump administration had a list of more than 500 migrant children currently in the care and custody of the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) who were being targeted for fast-track removal in a matter of days. The children have been in ORR custody, primarily in long-term foster care, for at least six months and do not have any relative or guardian in the U.S. to act as a sponsor. (Weixel, 6/25)
AP: Judge Blocks Tennessee From Reporting Sick Children To Immigration Authorities, For Now
A judge temporarily ordered the Tennessee Department of Health not to give immigration authorities information about roughly 400 seriously sick and disabled immigrant children who are enrolled in a healthcare assistance program. The restraining order was issued Wednesday at the request of three Nashville doctors who treat some of those children and who sued after state officials sent letters to providers and immigrant families saying a new law required them to share identifying information for those on the program after the end of June. (Hall, 6/26)
The Supreme Court also issued rulings about cancer lawsuits and gun laws —
NBC News: Supreme Court Ruling On Roundup Weed Killer Leaves MAHA Leaders Feeling Betrayed
Many prominent figures in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement said they felt betrayed Thursday after the Supreme Court ruled that Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup, did not need to warn consumers of a potential cancer risk associated with its weed killer. The ruling is likely to prevent thousands of lawsuits from arguing in state courts that Roundup should come with a cancer warning. (Bendix and Tsirkin, 6/26)
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Strikes Down Hawaii Limits On Carrying Guns In Public
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that sharply restricts where people can carry guns in public, the latest ruling by the high court in recent years rolling back firearm restrictions. In an ideologically split 6-3 ruling, the justices found a statute that requires gun owners to get consent to carry a firearm onto private property open to the public violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. (Jouvenal, 6/25)
