Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Illinois Wipes Out More Than $1.1B In Medical Debt From 500,000 Residents
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Has Erased More Than $1.1 Billion In Medical Debt
Illinois residents have seen more than $1.1 billion in medical debt erased, with the help of a state program that launched less than a year-and-a-half ago. (Schencker, 2/17)
CBS News: New Bill Seeks To Ban Sale Of Medical Debt, Prohibit Impact To Credit Scores In Massachusetts
When a single mother of two was diagnosed with breast cancer, she never imagined how quickly the debt collectors would start calling. A new bill being introduced in Massachusetts is seeking to stop the sale of medical debt and prohibit it from impacting people's credit reports. "You're just thinking about doing what you need to do in order to get better," Nekia Clark said. "And you just assume that your insurance covers everything." (Cole, 2/17)
In health news from Wyoming —
Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming Republicans Advance Bill To Ban Abortion When There’s A Heartbeat
Wyoming House Republicans have advanced two bills related to abortion. The first would ban abortions when there is a “detectable fetal heartbeat,” while the second would set specific informed consent requirements when terminating pregnancies. (Merzbach, 2/17)
Wyoming Public Radio: After Deaths, Wyoming Lawmakers Consider Banning Kratom
Wyoming state senators are backing a bill that would ban a substance called kratom. Meanwhile, a similar effort in the House failed. Kratom is often marketed as an herbal supplement for lifting mood and boosting energy. It’s derived from the leaves of a tree native to Southeast Asia and contains two major psychoactive ingredients that bind to the same receptors in the brain as opioid drugs. (Ouellet, 2/17)
KFF Health News: Wyoming Wants To Make Its Five-Year Federal Rural Health Funding Last ‘Forever’
Wyoming officials say they have a plan to make five years of upcoming grants from a new $50 billion federal rural health program last “forever.” The state could tackle rural health issues long into the future by investing its awards from the Rural Health Transformation Program, the director of Wyoming’s health department, Stefan Johansson, told state lawmakers. But it’s unclear whether the maneuver will pass muster with the federal government. (Zionts, 2/18)
From Florida, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, and Maryland —
News Service of Florida: First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Food Testing Program Snubbed In Florida Budget Plans
Florida first lady Casey DeSantis’ food testing program could fall flat as quickly as it began. The House and Senate released their budget proposals last week, and neither chamber has the total funding requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis for the Healthy Florida First initiative within the Florida Department of Health. (Goni-Lessan, 2/18)
The CT Mirror: To Recruit First Responders, CT Weighs Tuition, Mortgage Assistance
Connecticut is having trouble recruiting first responders. Police and fire chiefs on Tuesday said a proposal by Gov. Ned Lamont to waive public college tuition and offer mortgage assistance for police and firefighters was a good “first step” to attract new recruits. (Otte, 2/17)
Honolulu Civil Beat: Hawaii Corrections Officials Seeking Millions In Funding To Improve Mental Health Services In Prison
Confirmed or suspected suicides accounted for more than half of all deaths in the state’s largest prison in the past two years, and amounted to one-third of all deaths in the statewide Hawaiʻi correctional system during 2024 and 2025, according to data compiled by Honolulu Civil Beat. That data detailing the death toll from suicides in Hawaiʻi prisons and jails was drawn from autopsies and other public documents, and shows prisoners in the state system continue to have an abnormally high fatality rate from suicide. (Dayton, 2/17)
Bridge Michigan: Michigan Wants Schools Ready For Cardiac Emergencies, Fails To Provide Funds
Emily Orta was a seemingly healthy 14-year-old soccer player in Adrian when her life changed in seconds. In the middle of a shooting drill, her heart stopped. She wasn’t breathing. “It was a complete shock,” Orta, now 26, told Bridge Michigan. She’d later discover she was living with a rare heart defect from birth — anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery, or ALCAPA. “We had no idea that there was any issues.” (Newman, 2/17)
The New York Times: Potomac Sewage Spill Becomes Ecological Disaster And Political Fight
An enormous sewage spill that sent hundreds of millions of gallons of raw human waste into the Potomac River is threatening the health of the river and the safety of those who use it. In what appears to be the largest discharge of its kind in the nation’s history, untreated sewage began gushing into the Potomac on Jan. 19, when a section of a sewer line collapsed near the Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, Md., about five miles upstream of Washington. The 72-inch-wide pipe, called the Potomac Interceptor, normally carries up to 60 million gallons of waste a day. (Dance, Joselow and Niiler, 2/17)
