Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Utah Law Aims To Rein In Unqualified Life Coaches
ProPublica, The Salt Lake Tribune: New Utah Law Seeks To Crack Down On Life Coaches Offering Therapy Without A License
Utah legislators this session took aim at life coaches who harm their clients’ mental health, but the law that the governor signed Wednesday stops short of prescribing minimum standards or ethical guidelines for the burgeoning profession. Anyone can call themselves a life coach, which, unlike being a mental health therapist, does not require any kind of education, training or license. (Schreifels, 3/27)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Crain's New York Business: New York Single-Payer Advocates Renew Effort
A long-shot push to get New York to adopt a single-payer healthcare system persists despite a federal landscape far less amenable to government health spending than at any point in the proposal's yearslong history. The New York Health Act would establish government-backed health coverage for every resident in the state, an idea popular among progressives that has failed for decades to gain the political steam needed to advance in Albany. (Geringer-Sameth, 3/27)
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa House Bill Would Limit SNAP Benefits To ‘Healthy’ Foods And Drinks
The Iowa House passed a bill Wednesday that would restrict purchases in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to only “healthy foods and beverages.” According to the bill, healthy food includes grains, dairy, meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables, or foods and beverages “based on necessary nutrition for good health.” Under the proposal, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services would have to request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service to override the current list of eligible foods and beverages. (Luu, 3/27)
Politico: 23andMe Collapse Raises Questions For California’s Nation-Leading Privacy Laws
Mounting concerns about genetic data privacy in the wake of 23andMe’s dramatic collapse are stress-testing California’s uniquely tough privacy laws, demonstrating the real-world challenges of actually implementing the protections outlined on paper. California has some of the strongest privacy laws in the country — and the only dedicated privacy agency — but 23andMe has revealed the limits of legislation when the worst happens, with even the state attorney general admitting he struggled to delete his own data from the company. (Katzenberger, 3/27)
ProPublica: A North Carolina Political Power Grab Disrupted Funding For Sexual Abuse Survivors
For years, North Carolina’s Republican-majority Legislature has taken steps big and small to wrench power from Democratic governors and the agencies under their control. One move that didn’t get much attention — tucked into a 628-page budget bill four years ago — was to direct $15 million in funding for sexual assault victims away from Democratic-led agencies that had long overseen such money. The money instead would be funneled through the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, an obscure group that’s part of the state’s GOP-helmed courts system. (Bock Clark, 3/28)
