Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minnesota Officials Urge Sign-Ups Ahead Of Medicaid Deadline
Minnesota Public Radio: As Medicaid Sign-Up Deadline Looms, Minnesota Health Officials Urge Recipients To Act Now
State and federal health leaders on Thursday had a message for Minnesotans: Please open your mail. Ahead of the first-phase deadline for Medicaid recipients to re-up their enrollment or risk losing coverage, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra made a trip to Minneapolis to highlight what’s at stake. (Ferguson, 6/8)
Roll Call: New Food Stamp Requirements Test States And USDA
State agencies and the Agriculture Department face a perfect storm of legislative and regulatory demands as they turn the new food stamp work requirements in the debt ceiling law into reality. (Ferguson, 6/8)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Oklahoman: Oklahoma Launching Harm Reduction Campaign To Combat Fentanyl Overdoses
Over the next few months, the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services officials will install vending machines across the state with Naloxone and fentanyl testing strips as part of its Harm Reduction campaign, which seeks to stop the stigma associated with asking for help regarding substance abuse. Already, billboards have gone up across the city warning of fentanyl contaminating controlled substances. (Aston, 6/8)
AP: Jury Returns $63M Verdict After Finding Chevron Covered Up Toxic Pit On California Land
A California jury has returned a $63 million verdict against Chevron after finding the oil giant covered up a toxic chemical pit on land purchased by a man who built a house on it and was later diagnosed with a blood cancer. Kevin Wright, who has multiple myeloma, unknowingly built his home directly over the chemical pit near Santa Barbara in 1985, according to his lawsuit. (6/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Residents Can Eat Garden Produce Despite Toxic Refinery Dust
Toxicologists tested soil samples taken across about a dozen miles and centered in Martinez, a city in the backyard of a major oil refinery, PBF Energy’s Martinez Refining Co., which processes 157,000 barrels of crude oil each day. Scientists analyzed levels of a variety of heavy metals, such as chromium, barium and nickel, to determine if there were any long-term health risks from the dust that coated the ground the day after Thanksgiving. (Johnson, 6/8)
North Carolina Health News: NC Disability Rights Organization Asks A Judge To Take A Step Back
In the seven months since a judge issued an extensive order in a long-running North Carolina disability rights lawsuit, a creeping sense of trepidation has persisted in some families whose members with intellectual and developmental disabilities live in long-term care facilities. (Blythe, 6/9)
Also —
Axios: State Laws Can Impact Where You Die, Study Shows
Policy can have a big impact on where we die. A new JAMA Open Network study found that cancer patients in states with palliative care laws, which can require health care providers to tell patients about their end-of-life treatment options, were more likely to die in the comfort of their home or in hospice care rather than a hospital bed. (Dreher, 6/9)
Minnesota Public Radio: For UMN Researchers, Finding A Better Way To Educate About Cancer Starts In The Community
On a hot day in late May, Abdifatah Ali walks through a community health and wellness fair at Currie Park in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis. As kids run in the fountains and play in the bounce house, Ali, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, is searching for someone who might be willing to leave the festivities and go across the street to fill out a survey about cancer. (Wiley, 6/9)
