Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Hampshire Governor Signs Bill Banning Gender Surgery For Minors
The Hill: Sununu Signs Bill Barring Gender-Affirming Surgeries For Youth Into Law
Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.) signed a bill into law on Friday that bans health professionals from performing gender-affirming surgeries for minors. Sununu signed another bill that will ban transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. (Irwin, 7/20)
New Hampshire Public Radio: By Relaxing English Requirements, NH Aims To Train More LNAs
A new law will make it easier for people who speak English as a second language to become licensed nursing assistants in New Hampshire. This comes as a shortage of LNAs is taxing the state’s health care system. In April, one in five LNA positions at hospitals were vacant, according to a survey by the New Hampshire Hospital Association. (Cuno-Booth, 7/22)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
AP: Tennessee Will Remove HIV-Positive People Convicted Of Sex Work From Violent Sex Offender List
HIV-positive people who were convicted in Tennessee of sex work under a decades-old aggravated prostitution law will no longer be required to face a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” under a lawsuit settlement finalized this week. Last year, LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Volunteer State’s aggravated prostitution statute, arguing that the law was enacted in response to the AIDS scare and discriminated against HIV-positive people. (Kruesi, 7/19)
The Mercury News: Northern California Town Lifts Fluoride Requirement It Once Fought For In 1950s
The legacy of a public health achievement in Oroville — adding fluoride in drinking water — is now on its way to being reversed as Oroville councilors pleaded for personal choice over its widely-researched public health benefits, leaving health experts worried on dental care costs likely increasing for rural children. The City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday and passed an ordinance to begin working with the California Public Utilities Commission on lifting its fluoride requirement with Cal Water. (Weber, 7/19)
Missouri Independent: Doctors Warn Missouri Kids Are Rapidly Losing Medicaid Coverage
Dr. Maya Moody, a community pediatrician in St. Louis, knows a new month has begun when her clinic’s billing department runs patients’ names and she hears about the children no longer covered by Medicaid. One of those patients, now 3 years old and deaf in one ear, was scheduled for a cochlear implant. But when his family unexpectedly lost Medicaid last year, they had to cancel the appointment. (Bates, 7/21)
Los Angeles Times: Heat-Related Texas Deaths Climb After Beryl Left Millions With No Power
As the temperature soared in the Houston-area home Janet Jarrett shared with her sister after losing electricity in Hurricane Beryl, she did everything she could to keep her 64-year-old sibling cool. But on their fourth day without power, she awoke to hear Pamela Jarrett, who used a wheelchair and relied on a feeding tube, gasping for breath. Paramedics were called but she was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the medical examiner saying her death was caused by the heat. (Stengle and Oyekanmi, 7/21)
The New York Times: Fund To Aid Children Harmed At Birth Hasn’t Kept Promises, Families Say
The birth had been long and difficult. Denise Olivio requested a cesarean section, she said, but was rebuffed until a doctor decided it was an emergency. The baby, GianRaul, came out purple, and it took doctors 15 minutes to locate his heartbeat. Hours later, Ms. Olivio and her husband — exhausted but relieved that their son had survived — said they saw their doctor and midwife being pulled aside by a man in a suit who they believed was the hospital’s lawyer. “We locked eyes,” Ms. Olivio recalled, “like, ‘Oh, I think we need to talk to someone in a suit, too.’” (Ashford, 7/20)
