Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers Ban Gender-Affirming Care For Minors In Kansas, Overriding Veto
AP: Kansas Bans Gender-Affirming Care For Minors As Lawmakers Override Veto
Kansas became the latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors Tuesday after the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode the Democratic governor’s veto of the measure. Kansas is the 27th state to ban or restrict such care. GOP lawmakers reversed Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto less than a month after President Donald Trump issued an order barring federal support for gender-affirming care for youth under 19. (Hanna, 2/19)
More health news from across the U.S. —
KFF Health News: Deny And Delay? California Seeks Penalties For Insurers That Repeatedly Get It Wrong
When Colleen Henderson’s 3-year-old daughter complained of pain while using the bathroom, doctors brushed it off as a urinary tract infection or constipation, common maladies in the potty-training years. After being told her health insurance wouldn’t cover an ultrasound, Henderson charged the $6,000 procedure to her credit card. Then came the news: There was a grapefruit-sized tumor in her toddler’s bladder. (Mai-Duc, 2/18)
The Current and ProPublica: Georgia Touts Its Medicaid Experiment as a Success. The Numbers Tell a Different Story.
Plagued by enrollment and verification barriers, the program is a warning for other states looking to cut Medicaid under Trump. (Coker, 2/19)
NBC News: Measles Outbreak Grows Bigger In Rural Texas, And Officials Expect More Cases
At least 58 new cases of measles have been reported across northwest Texas in recent weeks, state health officials said Tuesday, in a "highly contagious" outbreak that might be linked to lack of vaccination. ... At least four patients had been vaccinated, but the "rest are unvaccinated, or their vaccination status is unknown," the health department said. Most of the infections are in school-age kids, and 13 have been hospitalized. (Li, 2/18)
CBS News: NYC Council Member Proposes Two Bills Aimed At Keeping Used Needles Out Of Parks
The pollution of syringes and needles in Bronx parks has been a reoccurring issue CBS News New York has been following for several months. The battle continues as New York City Councilmember Oswald Feliz, of the 15th district, pushes for more to be done within the city's Syringe Exchange Program to keep the needles away from parks and schools. (Lunsford, 2/18)
And a Columbine shooting survivor has died —
The New York Times: Anne Marie Hochhalter, Paralyzed In Columbine Shooting, Dies At 43
Anne Marie Hochhalter, who spoke publicly about the long-lasting effects of gun violence after she was paralyzed in the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, was found dead on Sunday at her home in Westminster, Colo. She was 43. ... The Adams County coroner, which initially handled Ms. Hochhalter’s case, said it had been transferred to the Jefferson County coroner, “given that her death was likely related to complications of paraplegia associated with the Columbine shooting.” (Levenson, 2/18)
