Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Utah Now Allows AI To Prescribe Acne Drugs Without Human Oversight
Bloomberg: AI Can Now Prescribe Acne Drugs In This US State
An AI-based healthcare startup on Monday started offering prescriptions to Utah patients without direct human oversight, the first time a state has allowed such technology to replace the role of a doctor. The move, limited to acne medications, sets the stage for a new era in healthcare in which AI takes on a larger role in routine medical care. It also comes months after the state’s efforts to expand the role of AI in healthcare via its pilot program drew scrutiny and anger among doctors. (Inampudi, 10/5)
On food and nutrition —
New Hampshire Public Radio: SNAP Benefits Increase Slightly; NH Takes On Additional Operating Costs
If you receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, your monthly benefit could increase slightly this month, as part of an annual adjustment for inflation. The maximum benefit for an individual went up $8, while the maximum for a household of four went up $29. But Oct. 1 also marks the beginning of new Trump administration policies that reduce the federal government’s investment in food assistance. (Dario, 10/5)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Creates Healthy Food Grant Program, Funding Questions Remain
Baltimore has created a new grant program to bring healthy food to neighborhoods with limited grocery options, but questions remain about how much impact the city can achieve with the budgeted money and where additional funding will come from. (Baugh, 10/6)
Bloomberg: Oprah-Backed True Food Kitchen Seeks Chapter 11 Protection, Closes Locations
True Food Kitchen, a health-food focused restaurant chain that counts Oprah Winfrey among its investors, has filed bankruptcy after struggling with management turnover and lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said in court papers that it closed a dozen locations after filing Chapter 11 protection on Sunday and will seek to either recapitalize or sell the business. The chain said it grappled with “significant management turnover, which resulted in frequent changes to expansion strategy, brand direction, and menu offering.” (Randles, 10/5)
The Washington Post: He Volunteered At A Food Bank. He Was Surprised At What He Saw.
Michael Jensen’s social media post struck a chord and led to an outpouring of donations to the nonprofit in Washington state. (Penman, 10/6)
On air and water pollution —
Floodlight: NJ Data Center Emitted Staggering Amounts Of Air Pollution For Nearly A Year Before Regulators Intervened
DataOne, the Microsoft-linked New Jersey datacenter recently hit with a $1 million fine for running unpermitted generators, emitted large amounts of health-harming air pollution for nearly a year before state regulators stepped in, according to public records obtained by Floodlight. The Vineland facility’s 62 gas-fired generators became public in August after a Floodlight/Guardian visual investigation found them operating without permits. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection last week fined the company over the fleet but didn’t disclose how long the generators had been operating nor how much air pollution they had released into the surrounding community over the past year. (Simon, 10/1)
AP: Well Reopening Near Red Hill Stirs Up Lingering Concerns
In the coming weeks, the Navy plans to reopen a well closed since an estimated 20,000 gallons of jet fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility spilled, seeped into the aquifer and contaminated drinking water for thousands of homes. Following a March report by the Environmental Protection Agency that declared the drinking water in the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system “free of fuel contamination since 2022,” the state Department of Health notified the U.S. Navy earlier this month it would grant conditional approval to reopen the ʻAiea-Hālawa Shaft. (Greenaway, 10/5)
