Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Federal Criminal Probe Over New York Hospital's Gender-Affirming Care Escalates
The 19th: NYU Langone Faces First Known Criminal Investigation Over Gender-Affirming Care
The federal government is escalating efforts to seek private medical data for children undergoing gender-affirming care, as at least one hospital faces the first known criminal probe of its kind. Last week, NYU Langone Hospitals in New York City received a grand jury subpoena for information about young patients who received gender-affirming care at their facilities anytime in the past six years. (Rummler, 5/12)
Stateline: State Lawsuits Over Gender Dysphoria Could Threaten Disability Rights
Charlotte Cravins’ son Landry turned 2 in January. He’s a smiley little boy who loves singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and recently got his first pair of glasses. Landry was born with Down syndrome and has impaired vision. He receives publicly funded therapies that have helped him learn to crawl, to pull himself up to stand, and to use American Sign Language. (Vollers, 5/12)
News from California, Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois —
Fierce Healthcare: UC Health Workers Prepare For Launch System-Wide Strike
Less than two days away from deadline, tens of thousands of University of California workers show little interest in calling off their system-wide strike. About 42,000 university workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299, including 25,000 who are employed at a UC Health care facility or other healthcare role, are set to walk off the job at midnight, May 14. (Muoio, 5/12)
Central Florida Public Media: 'Who Takes Care Of Me?' Florida Nurses Talk About Underappreciation
A nursing shortage and the difficulties of the job, along with low pay compared to nurses in other states, are adding to the feelings of burnout. (Pedersen, 5/12)
North Carolina Health News: After A Pioneering Program Collapses, NC Organizations Build A New Path Forward
When Christina Schnabel’s son began having gastrointestinal problems a few years ago, his doctor didn’t prescribe medication. Instead, he prescribed a food box. Schnabel, a single mother living in public housing in Henderson County, enrolled in North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot after that visit. Through local food bank Caja Solidaria, she received boxes of healthy food — and her son’s symptoms cleared up. (Baxley, 5/13)
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Health Department Leaves Federal Money On The Table
Throughout last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to protect Chicago’s public health dollars from President Donald Trump. But behind the scenes, his health commissioner voluntarily returned tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 grants to the federal government months before expiration — funds that could have gone to disease surveillance to help prepare for an outbreak or racial equity programming to improve health outcomes across the city. (Yin, 5/10)
Looking toward elections —
Stat: Betrayed By RFK Jr., Targeted By Trump, Bill Cassidy Faces Voters
When it comes to Bill Cassidy, most everyone in Louisiana politics — supporters and detractors alike — feels bad for the senator. For his 20 years in politics, he’s mostly been a doctor in lawmaker’s clothing: evidence-obsessed, carefully calculating the right policy prescriptions for the issues before him, according to more than a dozen people who’ve worked with or for him. Those traits, along with his firsthand knowledge of America’s health care system, made him a respected leader on the subject in the Capitol. (Cirruzzo and Payne, 5/13)
The Hill: Healthcare Cuts Threaten Sullivan’s Reelection Chances In Alaska
Alaskans have been hit hard by the healthcare cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and lapsed ObamaCare subsidies, presenting a prime target for Democrats seeking to oust Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan from office. A Democratic ad campaign released late last month accused Sullivan of voting to raise health insurance premiums in Alaska by more than $1,800 on average, referring to his votes against Democratic bills that would have ended the government shutdown in exchange for extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax subsidies. (Choi, 5/11)
Also —
AP: Drug Counselor Who Brought Ketamine To Matthew Perry Faces Sentencing
A licensed drug addiction counselor who delivered “Friends” star Matthew Perry the doses of ketamine that killed him is set to be sentenced on Wednesday. Prosecutors are asking for 2 1/2 years in prison for 56-year-old Erik Fleming, one of five people who pleaded guilty in connection with the actor’s 2023 death in the Jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home. Fleming connected Perry to Jasveen Sangha, the convicted drug dealer who prosecutors called “The Ketamine Queen.” She was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison. (Dalton, 5/13)
