Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Says Georgia Can Impose Work Requirements For Medicaid
AP: Judge Reinstates Work Requirement In Georgia Medicaid Plan
In a victory for Georgia’s Republican governor, a federal judge on Friday reinstated a work requirement in the state’s plan to expand Medicaid coverage to more low-income residents. U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood said the Biden administration’s decision to revoke approval of the work requirement and a related Georgia proposal to charge some Medicaid recipients monthly premiums was “arbitrary and capricious on numerous, independent grounds.” (Thanawala, 8/20)
In Medicaid expansion news from North Carolina —
Stat: How North Carolina Hospitals Justify Thwarting Medicaid Expansion
North Carolina hospitals just helped kill a major expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. Both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature had been working toward expanding the program to another 600,000 low-income people, but the deal fell apart this month. (Herman, 8/22)
In other health news from Tennessee, Utah, Texas, and California —
AP: Tennessee's Covenant Health Settles Disabilities Act Claims
The United States has reached a settlement with Knoxville, Tennessee,-based Covenant Health over claims that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The settlement Friday comes in the case of a deaf man who alleged that he was denied effective communication during emergency department visits and an in-patient admission at Parkwest Medical Center. That’s according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. (8/22)
The Washington Post: Utah Judge Rules Transgender Girls Allowed To Play Girls’ Sports
A Salt Lake City judge Friday temporarily halted a Utah law that banned transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. The decision came as he considered a lawsuit by the families of three transgender students and opened the door for those students to compete in girls’ sports this school year, though a state-created commission will make that determination. (Hill, 8/21)
Texas Tribune: Abbott Joins Key Republicans In Support Of Repealing “Tampon Tax”
On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott signaled support for a yearslong call by women's health care advocates to remove taxes on menstrual products like like tampons, sanitary pads and pantyliners. His statement comes after Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, voiced their support from eliminating the "tampon tax" on Thursday. (Melhado, 8/21)
KHN: California Wants To Snip Costs For Vasectomies And Condoms
California is trying to ease the pain of vasectomies by making them free for millions of residents. Federal law and state law require most health insurers to cover prescription contraceptives at no cost to the patient. But those provisions apply to only 18 FDA-approved birth control options for women, so anyone with testicles is out of luck. (Bluth, 8/22)
San Francisco Chronicle: Mothers Rally To Stop The Fentanyl Deaths Of Their Children
Roman Vardanega has been in county jail for five months, and his mother, Tanya Tilghman stood on the steps of City Hall Sunday to beg that he be left there. “If they release my son, he will die and be one of these pictures on the steps,” Tilghman told a crowd of about 150 gathered on National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. It also marked the first anniversary of Mothers Against Drug Deaths, a Bay Area coalition formed by women whose children are either on the streets or have died of overdoses. (Whiting, 8/21)
