Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NYC Reports Case Of 'Life-Threatening' Clade I Mpox That Spreads By Touching
Fox News: First Severe Mpox Clade I Case Identified In New York City Health Advisory
The first case of severe mpox (formerly monkeypox) has been identified in New York City, according to an advisory issued by the NYC Health Department. One resident has tested positive for mpox clade I, one of the two main genetic groups (clades) of the mpox virus, which causes the illness. (Rudy, 3/16)
More updates from New York City —
The New York Times: Poverty In New York City Inched Higher In 2024 For Third Year In A Row
More than a quarter of New Yorkers lived in poverty in 2024, and more than 50 percent said high costs prevented them at least once that year from doing things like buying food, paying their utility bills or seeing a doctor, according to a report released on Monday on the affordability crisis in New York City. (Harrism, 3/16)
Health news from Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Colorado —
The Connecticut Mirror: ‘Unbelievably Cruel’: Advocates Decry Threat To Home Care Program
Alexi and Lorra Jorden love the personal care attendants who come to their home to assist Alexi with a range of daily activities. Many mornings, one of Alexi’s PCAs helps him brush and floss his teeth and get dressed. Then they prepare a meal and help Alexi, who has multiple disabilities including profound autism, learn to use his “talker” communication device. Two of the attendants are biomedical students at the University of Connecticut who study speech and language, making them deeply interested in Alexi’s progress with the tool. (Tillman and Golvala, 3/16)
Valley News: Dartmouth Health To Open New Addiction Treatment Center In Claremont
Nearly two years after Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont joined the Dartmouth Health system, providers are set to begin seeing patients at an outpatient substance use treatment center Monday. (Shanahan, 3/16)
The Colorado Sun: Providing Health Care To Immigrants Who Are Children Or Pregnant Is Costing Colorado 611% More Than Expected
Providing health care to children and pregnant people who would qualify for Medicaid if not for their immigration status will cost Colorado more than six times what was projected this year. Because of higher-than-forecast enrollment, the state is expecting that the Cover All Coloradans program will cost the state $104.5 million in the fiscal year that began July 1. (Paul and Ingold, 3/16)
The New York Times: Colorado Funeral Home Owner Is Sentenced To 18 Years On Federal Fraud Charges
A Colorado funeral home owner who, with her husband, improperly stored the remains of nearly 200 decomposing bodies and in some cases gave families the incorrect remains was sentenced on Monday to 18 years in prison. Judge Nina Y. Wang of the U.S. District Court in Colorado announced the prison term for Carie Hallford, 49, who owned the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., about 100 miles south of Denver, with Jon Hallford, offering services that included cremation and burials in biodegradable caskets and shrouds. (Hauser, 3/16)
On the gun violence epidemic —
VTDigger: Vermont Lawmakers Narrowly Advance Bill Increasing Gun Restrictions And Crimes
Representatives in the House Judiciary Committee narrowly advanced a bill to increase restrictions on guns in Vermont, with members divided along party lines. Committee members passed the bill Friday just in time to meet a deadline that day, when bills generally must make it out of committee to get a chance at becoming law. All six Democrats on the committee, including chair Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, voted in favor of the bill, H.606, while the five Republicans on the committee voted against it. A fiercely debated provision would bar people from owning or buying guns while they are under a current court order to receive outpatient mental health treatment. (Oliver, 3/16)
Mississippi Today: Mississippi Leads In U.S. Gun Deaths Among Pregnant And Postpartum People
Before dawn one warm Sunday in June 2021, Renata Flot-Patterson and her husband turned a street corner in their Biloxi neighborhood to a scene she remembers as “lit up like Las Vegas.” Police officers crouched on neighbors’ roofs. Dogs sniffed the yard outside the house where her daughter, Keli Mornay, lived. Immediately, Flot-Patterson suspected the worst. (Paffenroth, 3/16)
