Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'We Are Panicking': Medicaid Crackdown In Minnesota Has Upended Care For People With Disabilities
Politico: Fraud Investigations Are Crumbling This State’s Medicaid System
Looking across her farm in rural Minnesota, Heather Wright takes stock of what she’s lost. Six months ago, she had a herd of 60 cattle and a full staff on her farm providing therapy for children with autism. Those cows have since been sold off, along with company cars, and several employees have left for steadier jobs at a convenience store. Losses like Wright’s are happening all across Minnesota, where the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on Medicaid fraud is upending the finances of thousands of health care providers that depend on the government program to stay afloat. (Chu and King, 7/15)
More health news from across the U.S. —
The Baltimore Sun: Eastern Shore Pharmacy Asks Worcester County For Help
For 27 years, Snow Hill Pharmacy helped fill a gap in a town with no other drugstore. Now, owner Jeff Sherr says the business is trying not to become another small-town service that goes away. (Davis, 7/15)
KFF Health News: A Sales Tax On Doctor Visits And Medicine? In Missouri, Some Worry
Missouri healthcare advocate Leslie Ortbals and her husband want to start a family, but she worries they can’t afford it. The 27-year-old said she takes 10 medications daily to manage multiple chronic illnesses. Now she worries the cost of those drugs could rise — not because of price increases, but because of a tax system revamp put on the ballot by the state’s Republican-dominated legislature and backed by the Republican governor. (Sable-Smith, 7/16)
Verite News: Advocates, Elected Officials Call For Statewide Siren System After 14 Tornadoes Touch Down Near New Orleans
New Orleans officials joined a coalition of community-based organizations to call for the installation of emergency siren systems across the state weeks after 14 tornadoes touched down in the greater New Orleans area from Tropical Storm Arthur. The coalition, Louisiana Grassroots United, also asked for more tornado education as research suggests Tornado Alley — historically stretching across the Great Plains region — has shifted farther eastward than it has historically to now include Louisiana. The advocates and elected officials said while residents understand hurricanes, there’s a gap in knowledge when it comes to tornado safety. (Parker, 7/15)
North Carolina Health News: Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Research Gains Traction With NC Lawmakers
Ben Ingraham wanted to be a doctor. He planned to attend medical school after serving as a U.S. Navy corpsman, but his time in the military was unexpectedly cut short. A traumatic brain injury and a leg injury forced him to medically retire. (Crawford, 7/16)
The New York Times: The Epicenter Of Drug Deaths In America Is Shifting West
For years, the opioid supply in Arizona was dominated by little blue pills pressed and stamped to look like 30 milligram oxycodone tablets, often called “blues.” But two years ago, that began to change. Now the market is mostly powdered fentanyl, and drug deaths are rising. In Phoenix, this shift in the illicit drug supply has combined with heat, meth and homelessness to create an emerging crisis of overdose deaths in America’s fifth-largest city. (Katz, 7/15)
AP: YouTube Appeals Jury Verdict In Social Media Addiction Lawsuit
YouTube has appealed the verdict of a landmark social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles, seeking to challenge the jury’s determination that the company designed its platform to hook young users without concern for their well-being. Lawyers representing YouTube filed a notice of appeal Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, less than a week after Meta, which was also a defendant in the case, filed its own notice of appeal. The lawyers are expected to provide their arguments related to the appeal in later court filings. (Huamani, 7/15)
AP: Carbon Monoxide Suspected In 3 Deaths In Ford Explorer In Toledo, Ohio
The presence of carbon monoxide was confirmed in a parked vehicle in Toledo, Ohio, where five people were found unresponsive and three of them died Wednesday in what an official described as an accident. The Ford Explorer had pulled over with a flat tire into a parking lot, and the victims were discovered shortly after 11 a.m., Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said. ... Ford Explorers were part of a previous six-year investigation by the federal government into exhaust odors in passenger cabins. (Raby, 7/15)
