Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Iowa Law Eliminates Telehealth Option For Patients Seeking Abortion Pills
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Law Adding Restrictions To Medication Abortions Takes Effect
Iowans seeking a medication abortion will now have to see a provider in person, according to a new law that went into effect on July 1. The law requires that the abortion medications misoprostol and mifepristone be prescribed in person and dispensed at a medical center. It marks the latest restriction state lawmakers have placed on abortion. (Krebs, 7/1)
Medicaid news from Illinois and New Jersey —
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Medicaid Patients Wait More Than A Year For Dental Care
Erica Champ has a serious toothache. One tooth has erupted through her gum. Another throbs below the surface. Sometimes she suffers severe pain and facial swelling. She has to rinse her mouth frequently with mouthwash or peroxide to keep the gums from getting infected. (McCoppin, 7/1)
AP: New Jersey Is Set To Charge Companies With Workers On Medicaid. Other States May Follow
New Jersey is launching a new fee on companies whose workers have Medicaid health coverage instead of being covered by their employers. Other states are considering it, too. Democratic lawmakers and governors see it as a way to help pay for the joint federal and state insurance program that covers low-income residents as federal policy changes are expected to make the program more expensive for states and may lead to a reduction in the number of people with coverage. Proponents also say it’s about fairness because employers benefit from having some lower-income workers with taxpayer-funded health coverage. (Mulvihill, 7/2)
More health news from across the U.S. —
MPR News: Minnesota's ‘Sprint Medic' Pilot Program Aims To Get Paramedics To Rural Emergencies Faster
Lourens Nel, a contract farm laborer from South Africa, was working in the grain bins of a Grant County farm about 80 miles southeast of Fargo last August when he was injured in a terrible accident. “Foot slipped and, yeah, got caught in the auger, I suppose,” Nel said. “It cut it clean off.” (Work, 7/1)
North Carolina Health News: NC Lawmakers Consider Changes To Vehicle Child Seat Laws
North Carolina could soon have new child motor vehicle passenger safety rules that put more emphasis on the height of a child than on their weight. Legislation that has been making its way through the state legislature over the past two years could mean that some children have to return to booster seats. (Lopez, 7/2)
AP: Extreme Heat Could Be Turning Air Conditioning In Vermont Into A Necessity
For generations, air conditioning in Vermont has been treated less as a necessity and more like a luxury. That might be changing. “They don’t even look at the forecast,” Tony Rowell, owner of Premier Heating and AC in Barre, said of new customers seeking air conditioning. “They just feel it, and then all of a sudden the phone starts ringing.” (Petenko, 7/1)
The New York Times: Nine Arrested In Federal Crackdown On L.A.’s Sex-Trafficking Corridor
Federal agents on Wednesday raided a section of Los Angeles that has become one of the country’s most notorious child sex-trafficking corridors, arresting nine people on charges related to selling girls as young as 14 for sex. The operation took place near a 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street known as “the Blade,” where girls go from car to car in stilettos, soliciting customers for sex to reach their traffickers’ nightly quotas. The girls can be seen wearing hair bows and dangling condoms from Hello Kitty lingerie, their faces tattooed with their traffickers’ monikers. (Baumgaertner Nunn, 7/1)
