Nevada Becomes Second State To Offer Public Health Insurance Option

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sisolak Signs Nevada Public-Option Health Care Bill
Gov. Steve Sisolak signed several public health-related bills, including state Democrats’ signature legislation establishing Nevada as only the second state in the nation to offer a public health insurance option, during ceremony Wednesday in Las Vegas. “While we have weathered the storm together with our battle-born spirit, COVID has exposed the fact that our state must strengthen our public health infrastructure,” Sisolak said. “Today, we’re taking steps to do just that by signing three bills into law that help us to move forward as a stronger, healthier Nevada. (Appleton, 6/9)

Health News Florida: Florida Board Of Medicine Agrees To Revamp Weight-Loss Rule 
Acknowledging that the regulation is inconsistent with Florida law and is out of step with current practice standards, members of the Florida Board of Medicine agreed to revamp a rule for medication-assisted weight loss that has been in effect for more than two decades. “The whole area of practice has changed significantly since this rule has gone into effect, and the Board of Medicine really has not changed the rules at all since then,” Board of Medicine general counsel Ed Tellechea said during a meeting Friday. (6/9)

The Boston Globe: ‘They Already Had The Air Mattress’: Facing Fewer Options, DCF Has Planned For Kids To Sleep In The Office
In mid-May, the supervisors at one Department of Children and Families office sent an unusual request to staff. Employees were asked to work in shifts in the office, covering nearly every hour of the day for a week — with at least two on premises overnight, according to an e-mail reviewed by the Globe. That last part was crucial. A teenager in DCF custody needed a place to stay, and the office north of Boston appeared to be the best option. “There was nowhere to place her,” said one social worker in the DCF office, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from the agency. At the last minute, the worker said, staff were able to track down an emergency foster home for the teen. “I’ve worked at DCF for over 20 years. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of boarding [a child] in the office. Ever.” (Stout, 6/9)

Georgia Health News: Two Rankings On Health Put Georgia At The Bottom Of States 
For years, in rankings of health indicators by state, Georgia typically landed in the high 30s to low 40s. But never at the bottom. The Peach State, though, has been ranked 50th, ahead of only Oklahoma, in a comparison of states and Washington, D.C., on health care for seniors. It follows a Georgia ranking of 51st last year on overall health care, a ranking largely overshadowed at the time by news of the pandemic. (Miller, 6/9)

AP: Military Medical Service Mission Coming To Eastern Kentucky
A military medical service operation that will provide free health services is coming to eastern Kentucky in July. Military health care workers will operate clinics roughly between July 10 and July 21 as part of the Operation Gateway Kentucky Innovative Readiness Training Medical Mission, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday. (6/10)

KHN: Lawmakers Pressure Newsom To ‘Step Up’ On Racism As A Public Health Issue
After the killing last year of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared racism a public health crisis. The governors of Michigan and Nevada quickly followed, as have legislative bodies in Minnesota, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Yet California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who governs one of the most racially and ethnically diverse populations in the U.S., has not. (Hart, 6/10)

KHN: New Montana Laws Enshrine Health Care Alternatives, For Better Or Worse 
When Paul Rana’s primary care physician left the VA clinic in Kalispell to open her own practice, he followed her. But instead of picking up a new health insurance policy, Rana and his partner agreed to pay a monthly fee that came with the promise of better access. Their provider, Dr. Lexi Tabor-Manaker, opened Glacier Direct Primary Care clinic in 2018. The model known as DPC, which can also stand for direct patient care, furnishes basic health care to patients for a set fee, often billed monthly like a subscription. The arrangement offers patients unlimited access to their doctors and allows them to communicate by phone or email. But the costs are all out-of-pocket. (Halland, 6/10)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Traffic Deaths Spiking, State Could Exceed 2020 Fatalities
Traffic fatalities are spiking across the state, safety officials announced Tuesday as they called on Iowa drivers to slow down, put down the phone and buckle up in an effort to save lives. To date, 119 people have died in traffic-related accidents across the state this year, which is a 25% increase from the same time a year ago, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. May 2021 has been the deadliest month so far this year, and the deadliest May in the last nine years, with 41 deaths — almost double April's total of 25. (Mercado, 6/9)

Gwinnett Daily Post: Gov. Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp Help Break Ground On New Facility To Help Child Sexual Exploitation Victims
As part of a swing through Gwinnett County on Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp attended a groundbreaking for a new Department of Juvenile Justice shelter in Gwinnett County that will help child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The new shelter — whose exact location is being kept a secret by state officials to protect the children who will be helped there — will have 26 beds for kids who have been exploited. The facility is intended to serve as a place where they can be housed and cared for. The idea is to help these children through services offered by agencies such as the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Human Services. (Yeomans, 6/8)

The Boston Globe: EPA Requires Quincy To Spend $100 Million To Reduce Sewage Flowing Into Boston Harbor
Two years after the federal government sued Quincy for discharging sewage and untreated wastewater into Boston Harbor, the city on Wednesday reached an agreement with the US attorney’s office and the Environmental Protection Agency that will require it to spend more than $100 million to repair its antiquated sewer system. Over the past decade, in violation of the Clean Water Act, Quincy has discharged a range of pollutants into the harbor and surrounding waterways, including E. coli and other harmful bacteria, federal officials found. Sometimes, with heavy rains, outfalls from the sewer system spread sewage along the city’s coast, including Wollaston Beach and the Adams Shore area. (Abel, 6/9)

In updates on the opioid trial in West Virginia —

Charleston Gazette-Mail: DEA Official, Opioid Distributors Blame Other Sides For Lack Of Communication, Opioid Crisis
Opioid distribution companies and a retired DEA official pointed fingers at each other during the trial in Charleston on Wednesday, stating that their counterparts were unclear in communication, which fueled the opioid crisis across Appalachia. Joe Rannazzisi, head of the Office of Diversion Control for the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2006-15, and the distributors argued that the other side disregarded requests to comply with regulations and policies, which could have guided them in stopping opioid pills from being illegally diverted as they flowed into local communities. (Hessler, 6/9)