Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mississippi, Oklahoma Move Against Transgender Care For Minors
Axios: Mississippi Bans Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth
Mississippi became the third state to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in 2023 after Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed the GOP-led bill into law on Tuesday. The move comes amid a mounting attack on trans rights that has escalated in recent weeks as high-profile Republicans, including former President Trump, are jockeying to establish increasingly extreme positions on gender-affirming care. (Chen, 2/28)
Oklahoman: Oklahoma House Votes To Ban Insurance For Transgender Care
House Republicans approved a bill Tuesday banning insurance coverage for transgender health care, one of many proposals this year seeking to limit gender transition procedures. House Bill 2177 now moves to the state Senate after the House passed the measure with an 80-18 vote. All 18 votes against were by Democratic members. (Felder, 2/28)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
The Colorado Sun: Colorado Lawmakers Target Hospital Facility Fees
Last year, Diane Kruse and her husband, Kevin, went to visit the doctor. Kevin needed to get some things checked out with his heart, nothing urgent or out of the ordinary. After looking through their insurance network, they settled on a cardiologist working at a satellite clinic on the National Jewish Health campus in Denver. The visit felt routine — the only piece of equipment the doctor needed to use was a stethoscope. But it was the bills that came as a surprise. (Ingold, 3/1)
AP: North Carolina Senate Backs Legalizing Pot For Medical Use
The North Carolina Senate voted on Tuesday to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes, giving strong bipartisan support for the second year in a row to an idea that its supporters say would give relief to those with debilitating or life-ending illnesses. ... The proposal is almost identical to a bill the Senate passed last June by a similar margin, which then stalled in the House. (Robertson, 2/28)
North Carolina Health News: Firearm-Related Deaths Rise For NC Teens, Child Death Data Shows
In North Carolina, 1,360 children died from illness, accidents, homicide or suicide in 2021.That equates to about 76 classrooms of children, said epidemiologist Kathleen Jones-Vessey with the N.C. Division of Public Health during a briefing Monday afternoon on the new data. The overall death rate of children ages birth to age 17 — 59.1 per 100,000 resident children — reached its highest level since 2016, according to a separate report to the governor and the General Assembly from the Child Fatality Task Force. (Fernandez, 3/1)
Iowa Public Radio: Annual Cancer Report Finds Increase In Iowa Cancer Cases, But Fewer Deaths
The latest annual report from the Iowa Cancer Registry found Iowa has the second highest incidence rate of cancer cases in the country. According to the 2023 Cancer in Iowa report, Iowa is second only to Kentucky when it comes to incidence rates of cancer and was the only state with a significant increase in cancer cases from 2015 to 2019, the most recent state-level data available. (Krebs, 2/28)
The Washington Post: Woman Dies After Begging Knoxville Police For Medical Help, Video Shows
Over the course of at least seven minutes, Lisa Edwards repeatedly asked the Knoxville, Tenn., police officers surrounding her for her inhaler. The 60-year-old was arrested the morning of Feb. 5 on trespassing charges after she refused to leave the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center that Sunday when she was discharged. While officers were trying to take her into custody, she told them, “I can’t breathe,” according to body-camera footage. As Edwards continued her pleas for help that morning, one officer called them “an act.” (Somasundaram, 2/28)
In environmental health news from Louisiana and Texas —
The Guardian: US Justice Department Sues Two Companies Over Pollution In Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
The US justice department has sued the two petrochemical giants behind a facility in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” responsible for the highest cancer risk rates caused by air pollution in the US in a major federal lawsuit that seeks to substantially curb the plant’s emissions. Unveiled on Tuesday, the lawsuit alleges emissions at the Pontchartrain Works facility in Reserve, Louisiana, violate the Clean Air Act and “present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare”. (Laughland, 2/28)
Houston Chronicle: Union Pacific, EPA Reach Agreement For Tests At Houston Wood Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Union Pacific announced a pact Monday to conduct environmental tests at an old rail yard in Houston's Fifth Ward, a decision that comes after city tests revealed cancer-causing dioxins in dozens of samples from nearby neighborhoods. (Wayne Ferguson, 2/27)
