Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Maryland Medical Waste Incinerator Fined For Biohazard Material Release
AP: Maryland Medical Waste Incinerator To Pay $1.75M Fine For Exposing Public To Biohazardous Material
A medical waste processing company has pleaded guilty to dozens of environment-related charges and agreed to pay $1.75 million in fines after state prosecutors in Maryland accused a south Baltimore incineration plant owned by the firm of exposing the public to biohazardous material. The waste comes from hospitals, laboratories and other medical settings. It’s supposed to be burned into ash before being transported to landfills, a process that prevents disease transmission, state officials said Tuesday at a news conference announcing the settlement agreement involving the nation’s largest medical waste incinerator. (Skene, 10/17)
The New York Times: Body Count At Colorado Funeral Home With Decaying Remains Grows To 189
The number of bodies found at a rural Colorado funeral home has grown to at least 189, officials said Tuesday, two weeks after they reported that a foul odor had led investigators to the decaying remains of 115 people there. It is unclear if the additional bodies were also decaying. (Carballo, 10/17)
Modern Healthcare: California Healthcare System Preps For Undocumented Immigrant Coverage
Starting in January, California will accept Medicaid enrollments from all low-income undocumented immigrants who qualify for benefits, and 700,000 people are projected to sign up. California gradually has been opening Medi-Cal, as Medicaid is known in the state, to undocumented immigrants since 2016, starting with low-income children and adults younger than 26 or older than 49, and is poised to lift age restrictions next year. The full expansion will cost an estimated $2.1 billion a year. (Hartnett, 10/17)
On LGBTQ+ health —
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Mayor Jim Kenney Protects Gender-Affirming Care In Philadelphia
Philadelphia joined a growing number of Democratic-led cities calling themselves places of refuge for transgender people when Mayor Jim Kenney signed Tuesday an executive order protecting those who come here for gender-affirming care. ... The newly signed executive order prohibits the city from using any resources to assist states that seek to investigate or punish someone for providing or receiving gender-affirming care in Philadelphia. (Gutman, 10/17)
News Service of Florida: GOP Leaders And Medical Groups Clash Over Florida's Restrictions On Gender-Affirming Care
Republican attorneys general from across the country and major medical organizations are trying to help sway a federal appeals court as it considers Florida restrictions on treatments for transgender people. Briefs filed Friday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals offer clashing views of treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, particularly for adolescents with gender dysphoria. (Saunders, 10/17)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Jefferson Health Opens LGBTQ Clinic For Older Adults In Philadelphia
Jefferson Health is now offering a health program with services tailored for LGBTQ patients who are 55 and older at its clinic for seniors in Center City. The focus represents the first of its kind in the Philadelphia region, where several health systems are investing in the growing field of LGBTQ health. (Gutman, 10/18)
On the fentanyl crisis —
San Francisco Chronicle: SF Drug Overdose Deaths Drop In September, But Worst Year Still Likely
Overdose deaths in San Francisco dropped to 54 in September from a high of 84 in August, a 36% decrease, according to the public health department. ... At the current pace, San Francisco is on track to see more than 800 overdose fatalities this year, topping 2020’s 725. “While we are thankful that those numbers are down compared to last year, that still represents more than two people a day in San Francisco dying largely from fentanyl overdose-related deaths,” Colfax said. (Toledo, 10/17)
NPR: As Teen Fentanyl Deaths Rise, Colleges Grapple With Their Role
Test strips and naloxone are becoming more and more common on college campuses, and at least one health department has recommended they be added to school packing lists. For students who didn't bring their own, many campuses are handing them out at welcome fairs, orientation events or campus health centers. ... "If you are in the position where you have had to give someone naloxone, they've almost died." "Naloxone is what I call an anti-funeral drug," explains Nabarun Dasgupta, a research scientist at UNC-Chapel Hill's school of public health. (Nadworny and Schlemmer, 10/18)
