Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Healthcare, Wages Prompt California Clinicians, Others To Launch One-Day Strike
AP: California State Workers Strike Over Wages And Healthcare
California state workers will launch a one-day strike Wednesday, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to agree to a new contract that increases workers’ pay, ensures affordable healthcare access and allows more flexibility for remote work. SEIU Local 1000, the largest union for California government workers which represents more than 100,000 employees, including auditors, nurses and counselors, will picket in cities across the state for the first time since the union’s founding in 2004. Members overwhelmingly voted to authorize the strike earlier this month, accusing the state of failing to bargain in good faith after their contract expired in June. (Austin, 10/21)
Healthcare costs and coverage —
Concord Monitor: Report: Up To 29,000 In NH Could Lose Medicaid Coverage By 2028
As many as 29,000 people across the Granite State could lose Medicaid coverage by the time 2028 rolls around, according to a new report from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. (Wachman, 10/20)
Modern Healthcare: Centene To Exit ACA Markets In Delaware, New Hampshire In 2027
Centene unveiled its Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges strategy for 2027, which calls for both retrenchment and expansion. The marketplace market share leader will no longer sell policies in Delaware and New Hampshire next year, a company spokesperson said in an email. Centene, which sells exchange plans under its Ambetter Health brand, will be in 1,740 counties across 27 states for 2027, according to a news release on Tuesday. That is 40 more than this year. The company counts 3.5 million exchange members. (Tepper, 10/20)
KFF Health News: States Are Forcing Hospitals To Offer More People Financial Aid. In Oregon, It’s Working
Four years ago, Oregon hospitals were under fire from state authorities and patient advocates. Hospitals, critics said, had made it too hard for patients to apply for and receive help paying their bills. Within months, the state enacted a sweeping law that required hospitals to proactively screen patients and give financial aid to those who qualify for it. Oregon’s new rules, which took effect in July 2024, required hospitals to skip applications for nearly all patients — a rarity among hospitals nationwide. (Evans, 10/21)
Regarding mental health —
The Colorado Sun: Partner Of Colorado Man Who Died By Suicide Documents Failures Of Mental Health System
Jeff Trowbridge was taking down Christmas decorations on the morning he got the call that wrecked him. The love of his life, Ian Horner, was missing. One of Horner’s relatives had called to ask Trowbridge if he knew the license plate number on Horner’s car. Soon after, Trowbridge would learn that Horner, 33, died by suicide in the middle of the night. (Brown, 10/20)
The Baltimore Sun: How Does Sports Betting Affect States' Mental Health Services?
Legalizing sports betting is associated with an increase in the number of workers in a state receiving treatment for anxiety or depression, according to a recent Johns Hopkins study. (Hille, 10/20)
More news from across the nation —
New Hampshire Bulletin: Rural EMS Providers In NH Will Get New Equipment, Tech And Training Under New Project Announced During RFK Jr. Visit
While U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was visiting New Hampshire last week, GO-NORTH announced a new $11 million project aimed at strengthening the state’s emergency medical services. (Skipworth, 10/20)
WUSF: Florida AG Uthmeier Digs Into Suspected Carcinogen Used As Bread-Strengthening Agent
Attorney General James Uthmeier says a civil investigative subpoena has been issued to a Georgia company as part of an expanded investigation into the use of potassium bromate. (10/20)
AP: Takeover Of Healthcare Operations In Arizona Prisons Put On Hold
A federal appeals court has put on hold a court-ordered takeover of healthcare operations in Arizona’s prisons that was scheduled to start Monday. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order late Friday blocking the start date as Arizona corrections officials are appealing the takeover, also known as a receivership. The court said letting the takeover start risks irreparable harm to the state if it wins the appeal and that the case raises questions about a federal judge’s authority over state prisons. (10/20)
Chicago Tribune: Advocate Illinois Masonic Cafeteria License Suspended
The Chicago Department of Public Health has suspended the kitchen license at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Lakeview after more than 200 live cockroaches, black slime, grease buildup and other health violations were discovered during an inspection on Friday. (Miller, 10/20)
Plus, election updates from the states —
CalMatters: CA Election To Decide If One Research Institute Gets $4 Billion
One research institute will receive $4.2 billion in bond money if voters approve Proposition 38 in November. Currently only one institute in the state meets the criteria to qualify for the money. (Zinshteyn, 10/20)
The Colorado Sun: What Surgeries Would Proposition 135 Ban? Colorado Hospitals Won’t Say.
If you are an adolescent boy going through puberty, you may develop a condition called gynecomastia. Basically, the haywire hormones of the early teen years cause boys to develop breast tissue. The condition is generally not medically harmful, and it often goes away with time. But, in some cases, it doesn’t go away or is too embarrassing, and teens opt for breast-reduction surgery. (Ingold, 10/20)
Verite News New Orleans: Ballot Measure To Replace New Orleans Homeowners’ Lead Pipes
Louisiana voters will decide whether water utilities should be explicitly allowed to use public funds to replace lead service lines on private property through a proposed constitutional amendment this election season. Early voting started Tuesday (Oct. 20) ahead of the Nov. 3 election with 10 proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot. One of the amendments is tailored to ensure the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans can legally spend federal money earmarked for lead pipe replacement in the city. (Parker, 10/20)
MedPage Today: Doctors Push Back On Claim That El-Sayed Is Not A Physician
A group of Michigan doctors is pushing back against attempts by Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate for Senate in Michigan, to characterize his opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, MD, DPhil, as not being a real doctor because he doesn't practice medicine in the state. "Dr. El-Sayed earned his medical degree and, like many of us at some point in our careers, faced a choice about where to direct a life in medicine," said a letter released Tuesday that was signed by more than 1,000 medical professionals, including 700 physicians. (Frieden, 10/20)
