Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Slain Minnesota Lawmaker Played Key Role In Safeguarding Health Care
The 19th: Rep. Melissa Hortman, Killed In Targeted Attack, Was A Champion For Minnesotan Families
Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House speaker who championed the passage of ambitious progressive policies in the state, was assassinated early Saturday in what Gov. Tim Walz called “an act of targeted political violence.” (Panetta, 6/14)
The New York Times: Slain Minnesota Lawmaker Remembered as Pragmatic Problem Solver
Among Representative Melissa Hortman’s final votes in the Minnesota legislature was one she agonized over. Lawmakers in the evenly split chamber had been in a bitter standoff over a Republican-backed provision that would make undocumented adults in Minnesota ineligible for the state’s health care program for low-income residents. The fight, which could have led to a government shutdown, was resolved after Ms. Hortman, the top Democrat in the House, cast the lone Democratic vote in support of the measure earlier this month, paving the way for passage of the state budget. (Londono, 6/16)
Minnesota Public Radio: Senator John Hoffman Awake After Surgery
In a statement shared by Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, State Sen. John Hoffman’s wife says he is stable but not “out of the woods” after being shot nine times on Saturday at his home in Champlin. “John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods. He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” Yvette Hoffman said on Sunday. (Richert, 6/15)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Modern Healthcare: Corporate Practice Of Medicine Law In Oregon Enacted
As private equity investors and large companies such as Amazon and UnitedHealth Group acquire doctors’ offices at a rapid pace, states are considering tougher measures to stem what one senior legislator described as “relentless” consolidation in the healthcare sector. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) enacted a statute on Monday to strengthen the Beaver State’s longstanding “corporate practice of medicine” law. The new law effectively bars private equity firms and other companies from controlling physician offices and mandates that doctors own at least 51% of their practices. (McAuliff, 6/13)
Los Angeles Times: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Halts Transgender Care
Under mounting pressure from the Trump administration, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will shutter its longstanding healthcare program for trans children and young adults this summer, according to emails reviewed by The Times. The Center for Transyouth Health and Development began telling its nearly 3,000 patient families of the closure on Thursday, saying there was “no viable alternative” that would allow the safety-net hospital to continue specialized care. (Sharp, 6/12)
San Francisco Chronicle: He Took Over A Trans Health Group. Trump, Newsom Made His Job Harder
There is a room inside the Gender Health Center where the dead kick it with the living. It’s in the back, on the two-story building’s first floor, in a high-ceilinged common area that holds harm-reduction offices, racks of donated clothes, a curtained fitting area and cubbies stocked with free makeup, bra inserts, tucking underwear and skin-color swatches. Against a wall facing some well-worn couches is the altar, where about 30 people who have died, including the center’s founder, are memorialized in pictures, words, paper flowers, flags and unlit candles. (Hosseini, 6/14)
The Wall Street Journal: This Virginia County Slashed Overdose Deaths In Half. The Secret To How Is Hiding In Plain Sight.
When Officer Chelsea Johnston came across a wanted felon one evening in May, Johnston jerked her cruiser in front of him, sprinted after him and tackled him to the ground. Still catching her breath, Johnston motioned for someone to step out of the cruiser: Joy Bogese. “Thank God,” the man said. “It’s you.” (Wernau, 6/15)
Chicago Tribune: Two Chicago-Area Women In Desperate Search For Kidney Donor
Katie Pappas had kept a secret for weeks from her students at northwest suburban Timber Trails Elementary. The 40-year-old health teacher’s kidney was failing, and she spent around eight to 11 hours every night tethered to a dialysis machine. (Johnson, 6/14)
