Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Waterbury, Conn., Making It Easier For Healthcare Workers To Live Affordably Near Their Jobs
The CT Mirror: CT Funds Housing Development For Waterbury Healthcare Workers
The Connecticut Department of Housing and the city of Waterbury are teaming up on a first-of-its-kind affordable housing development aimed at attracting and retaining healthcare workers. (Golvala, 8/25)
More health news from across the U.S. —
Los Angeles Times: L.A. Takes Aim At Phenibut, An Unregulated 'Gas Station Drug' That Is Growing In Popularity
Los Angeles is looking to regulate another “gas station drug” on commercial shelves. In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the L.A. City Council instructed the city attorney to draft new regulations for phenibut, a Cold War-era drug that is said to have been used by Soviet cosmonauts, but is abused now as a central nervous system depressant. (McDonald, 8/25)
AP: California Couple And Surrogate In Legal Battle Over Baby With Severe Heart Defect Testify In Texas
A California couple in an escalating fight with their surrogate over a newborn with a life-threatening heart defect told a Texas court Tuesday that the child’s condition has worsened and they are anguished by attempts to deny them parental rights because they previously wanted an abortion. “He’s our child,” Nausheen Gilkar said, wiping away tears on the witness stand. “She’s unstable,” Gilkar said of surrogate McKenna West, who was sitting across from her in the Dallas courtroom. “She’s trying to take him from us.” (Stengle and Wilder, 8/26)
KFF Health News: In Toss-Up House District, Voters Crave Leadership To Fix Broken Healthcare
Voters in California’s 22nd Congressional District call healthcare a top priority in November’s midterm elections. Although challenger Randy Villegas has built a following among residents craving change, undecided voters say they want to hear more from the Democrat and from GOP incumbent Rep. David Valadao on their affordability plans. (Rangel, 8/26)
AP: Michigan AG Releases Report On Flint Water Crisis
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said a report released Tuesday on the lead-water crisis in the city is the final step her office can take toward accountability, years after a state Supreme Court ruling shut down criminal cases against a former governor and eight other people. Flint residents suffered through years of health concerns after lead from old pipes leached into the city’s drinking water once officials began drawing water from the Flint River to save money in 2014. Most of the 101-page report provides a history of the crisis, local and state officials’ slow response and the attempt to bring 42 felony and misdemeanor charges against nine people, including former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. (Ganun and Collins, 8/25)
The Marshall Project: The Youth ‘Treatment’ Centers Kids Risk Their Lives To Escape
Across the U.S., thousands of kids live locked inside residential treatment centers. They vary in age, but can be as young as 5 years old. They arrive through foster care, court orders, or parents pushed to the brink who were promised their children would finally get help. Instead, many get shipped hundreds of miles across state lines, away from everyone they know. (Bartley and Washington, Jr., 8/25)
ProPublica: Idaho Law Protects Faith Healers. It Wasn’t Always That Way
In Idaho, parents who say their faith prohibits lifesaving medical care for their children can’t be charged with child neglect or manslaughter. Supporters of this protection over the years have included lawmakers who voiced support for “traditional” Idaho values. But from at least the 1880s through the early 1970s, it was illegal for parents in Idaho to choose prayer over medical care when a child’s life was at stake, newspaper archives and historical documents show. (Dutton, 8/26)
