Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Florida School Safety Panel Outlines Yearly Training Goals For Shooter Lockdown Drills; Missouri Appeals Court Reverses $100M Talc Verdict
The Associated Press: Panel: Florida Should Tighten School Shooter Drills
Florida's public schools should have realistic active-shooter drills and any armed school employees must be trained by a sheriff's office and not a private company, the commission investigating last year's high school massacre recommended Tuesday to the Legislature. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, meeting in Orlando, recommended that each school have four active-shooter drills per year and that each be unique so teachers and students have to react to the situation presented. (10/15)
The Associated Press: Missouri Appeals Court Overturns $110 Million Talc Verdict
A Missouri appeals court has overturned a $110 million verdict in a case alleging that Johnson & Johnson products containing talcum powder caused a Virginia woman’s ovarian cancer. The appeals court ruling Tuesday reversed a 2017 judgment on behalf of Lois Slemp. She is among many women whose lawsuits have claimed that Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder contributed to their cancer. Johnson & Johnson says its Baby Powder is safe and does not cause cancer. (10/15)
The Baltimore Sun: ‘More Must Be Done’: STD Cases In Maryland Mostly Outpacing Those Nationally
There were 29 babies born in Maryland last year with the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. The rate of infant infection was the country’s ninth worst. The “tragic” figures were among a host of data about STDs alarming experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently released the numbers. There were record numbers of cases recorded in all of the three most common STDs: syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. (Cohn, 10/16)
Georgia Health News: Georgia Declines In Health Ranking For Women And Children
A recent report ranks Georgia 40th among states on the health of women and children, down three spots from its 2018 ranking.The 2019 United Health Foundation report said among Georgia’s challenges are its high percentage of uninsured women, its low rate of prenatal care before the third trimester, and its low percentage of high school graduation. The state also has high rates of infant mortality and low-birthweight babies. (Miller, 10/15)
MPR: Some Calling For Better Access To HIV Prevention Drugs In Minnesota
A new law in California allows HIV prevention drugs to be prescribed by pharmacists instead of doctors. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law last week. Some in Minnesota, including JustUs Health, are calling for similar availability here. (Crann, 10/15)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa.’s Largest Community College Eliminates Campus Mental Health Counseling For 17,000 Students
Pennsylvania’s largest community college system has eliminated all on-campus mental health counseling for its students, Spotlight PA has learned, a move college health experts called short-sighted and risky at a time of growing need. The Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) told counselors across its five campuses to stop individual and group counseling as of mid-September, according to an internal memo obtained by Spotlight PA. Instead, students with mental health needs will be sent to a dean of student affairs who will refer them to an off-campus provider. (Pattani, 10/16)
Reveal: The Fourth Trimester: Postpartum Takes On A New Meaning For New Moms With History Of Opioid Abuse
In states that have not expanded Medicaid, coverage for pregnant women expires 60 days after childbirth. Missouri almost became the exception last year when it passed a bipartisan law, House Bill 2280, to extend coverage for women with a history of substance abuse to one year after childbirth. The law was to go into effect in August 2018, but more than a year later, implementation is at a standstill as the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services evaluate a waiver that would allow the federal government to grant Missouri flexibility with its Medicaid program. (Giraldo, 10/15)
The Associated Press: Toxic PCBs Linger In Schools; EPA, Lawmakers Fail To Act
At first, teachers at Sky Valley Education Center simply evacuated students and used fans to clear the air when the fluorescent lights caught fire or smoked with noxious fumes. When black oil dripped onto desks and floors, they caught leaks with a bucket and duct-taped oil-stained carpets. Then came the tests that confirmed their suspicions about the light ballasts. (10/16)
St. Louis Public Radio: After Years Collecting Dust, Missouri's Untested Rape Kits Are Getting Sorted Out
Missouri has more than 10,000 untested rape kits sitting on shelves in police departments and hospital — some have been there for decades — but the state is finally set to have a full inventory of those kits by the end of the month. Once the inventory is complete, Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office can move forward with creating an electronic database to not only keep track of the untested kits, but to help prosecute rapists and provide justice for victims. (Driscoll, 10/16)
Sacramento Bee: CA Gov Gavin Newsom Signs Slate Of Marijuana Bills Into Law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom handed a win to the cannabis industry over the weekend when he signed a law allowing marijuana businesses to claim state tax deductions. It’s one of eight laws he signed in the closing weeks of the legislative year aimed at fine-tuning the 2016 ballot initiative voters passed to legalize cannabis and at helping state-registered marijuana companies compete with black market dealers. (Sheeler , 0/15)
California Healthline: No More Tater Tots? California Schools Put Healthier Lunches To The Test
When Miguel Villarreal addresses a crowded education conference, a group of school district administrators or a room full of curious parents, he often holds aloft a foil-wrapped package of Pop-Tarts — the heavily processed, high-sugar snack routinely sold on school campuses. Villarreal, who oversees nutrition for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in Northern California, then speaks clearly and loudly as he unloads the news: “School food services are completely broken.” (Kreidler, 10/15)
Sacramento Bee: CA Prison Whistleblower Blasts State Over Inmate Health Care
The whistleblower who accused California prison leaders last year of providing false and misleading data to a federal court on how the state handles inmate psychiatric care made his first public appearance Tuesday, standing behind his claims and saying corrections officials concocted “utter statistical rubbish” in some cases. Dr. Michael Golding, the chief psychiatrist at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation headquarters, testified in Sacramento federal court Tuesday about what he said were repeated instances to gin up phony data the state needed to present to U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to prove they were making progress on improving psychiatric care in the prisons. (Stanton, 10/15)
WBUR: One California County Combats Homelessness Crisis With New, Sometimes Controversial Methods
There is a radical approach on the table to fight the homeless crisis in Kern County, where Bakersfield sits. The sheriff there is proposing locking up some homeless people for drug and other misdemeanor offenses. The approach has largely been out of favor for decades now. (Mosley, 10/15)
