Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Getting So Hot In Texas, Even The Mosquitos Can't Cope
Houston Chronicle: Houston Mosquitoes Can't Bear Extreme Summer Temperatures, Study Finds
Houston may be getting too hot even for mosquitoes, whose bites can be both annoying and dangerous, according to a new analysis of daily temperature and humidity in 242 locations across the contiguous U.S. The report, published by climate science research group Climate Central, calculated that from 1979 to 2022, Houston has had a drop in annual number of "mosquito days" — defined as days with daily minimum and maximum temperatures between 50 and 95 degrees and an average relative humidity of 42 percent or higher. (Breen, 7/3)
In other news from across the country —
Axios: East Palestine Train Derailment: Ohio Governor Asks Biden To Declare Disaster
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) asked President Biden Monday to declare a major disaster in response to February's toxic train derailment in East Palestine that led to the release of hazardous chemicals from several rail cars. Officials are still responding to the fallout from the disaster that saw nearby residents raise health concerns from the controlled release amid reports that some had been diagnosed with conditions including chemical bronchitis. (Falconer, 7/3)
Los Angeles Times: He Walked Out Of Hospital, Collapsed And Died. State Finds Facility Isn't Responsible
California public health officials will not hold a San Diego County medical facility responsible for failing to detain a patient who died after leaving the hospital’s intensive care unit Aug. 11, 2022 .A California Department of Public Health “statement of deficiencies” obtained last week instead finds that Paradise Valley Hospital in National City should have more thoroughly documented the condition and circumstances of Alberto Herrera, 32, who fell unconscious in front of a nearby taco shop after walking out against the advice of his caregivers. (Sisson, 7/3)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Illinois Teen In Protective Custody Has Been Stuck For A Year In A St. Louis Hospital Room
For over a year, 14-year-old Charlotte Dubois has been stuck in a hospital room, where she has little contact with the outside world. A hospital is not a homeless shelter or foster home, but that’s what SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital has been for Charlotte since May of last year, when she was taken into protective custody after her mother was charged with neglect and their house in Collinsville was condemned. (Munz, 7/3)
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri To Start Kicking Ineligible Medicaid Patients Off Rolls
Medicaid recipients in Missouri are now at risk of losing their health insurance coverage for the first time in three years. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government issued emergency protections that barred states from removing people from the government-funded health insurance program for low-income people and families. That changes this month. State workers from the Department of Social Services have been redetermining people’s eligibility, but now Medicaid recipients could lose their coverage because they make too much money or did not fill out paperwork. (Fentem, 7/3)
The Colorado Sun: Why Every Public Rate Hearing For The Colorado Option Got Canceled
A highly anticipated showdown between Gov. Jared Polis’ administration and the health care industry won’t take place this year. The expected faceoff had to do with the Colorado Option, a Polis-backed initiative to push private insurance companies and hospitals to provide better care at cheaper prices — or else. The marquee bit of regulatory gladiatorship was to occur during public rate hearings, when officials from the state Division of Insurance could battle insurers over why their plans cost so much. (Ingold, 7/5)
AP: Dispute Over Human Remains Part Of Battle Between North Dakota Medical Waste Facility, Health System
Human remains are at the center of tangled litigation involving a major regional health care system and the company contracted to dispose of its medical waste. Monarch Waste Technologies sued Sanford Health and the subsidiary responsible for delivering the health care system’s medical waste, Healthcare Environmental Services, saying the latter “brazenly” deposited a human torso hidden in a plastic container to Monarch’s facility in March. Monarch discovered the remains four days later after an employee “noticed a rotten and putrid smell,” according to the company’s complaint. (Dura, 7/3)
