Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Patients Seeking Care After Hurricane Ian Strain Hospital Systems
WUSF Public Media: A Sarasota County Hospital Is Dealing With A Surge In Patients After Ian. But Help Has Arrived
Hurricane Ian continues to strain Florida's healthcare system more than a week after the storm tore through the state. Some hospitals are still closed after flooding and high winds damaged their buildings. Others struggled to operate without running water. (Colombini, 10/10)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
AP: Town Employee Quietly Lowered Fluoride In Water For Years
Residents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago, giving rise to worries about their children’s dental health and transparent government — and highlighting the enduring misinformation around water fluoridation.
News Service of Florida: A Federal Judge Will Hear Arguments This Week On Florida's Medicaid Transgender Rule
A federal judge Wednesday will take up a battle about whether Florida’s Medicaid program should pay for treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender people. (10/10)
CBS News/AP: Vanderbilt University Medical Center To Pause Gender-Affirming Surgeries For Minors To Review Practices
Officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced Friday that they are pausing gender-affirming surgeries for minors in order to review their practices. (10/10)
Axios: Columbia University To Pay $165M To Survivors Of Ex-Gynecologist
Columbia University and its affiliated hospitals will pay $165 million to 147 patients who reported instances of sexual abuse or misconduct by former gynecologist Robert Hadden. (Habeshian, 10/7)
The Washington Post: Unions Fight Plan To Privatize Western Maryland Hospital Center Services
Unions representing nurses and other health-care workers at Western Maryland Hospital Center are fighting what they say is Gov. Larry Hogan’s final chance to outsource care at the Hagerstown facility before he leaves office. The powerful three-member Board of Public Works, which includes the governor, is scheduled Wednesday to vote on expediting contracts that would outsource key functions of the public, long-term-care hospital, which cares for patients with complex conditions who often have been turned away from private facilities. (Portnoy, 10/10)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: More Than 12,000 Wisconsin Medicaid Members' Data Potentially Exposed
The state Department of Health Services is warning more than 12,000 Medicaid members that their personal health data — including first and last name, date of birth, gender, county location, Wisconsin Medicaid member identification number and Social Security number — may have been exposed to "unauthorized individuals." (Shastri, 10/8)
Missouri Independent: WIC Benefits Program Enrollment Plummets In Missouri
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified economic hardship and unemployment, Missouri saw one of the nation’s sharpest drops in participation in WIC, a federal benefits program for low-income women and children, according to a report released last week. (Bates, 10/10)
