Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Warns Of Two Air Toxins With Elevated Cancer Risks
Los Angeles Times: California Announces Two Air Contaminants Pose Higher Cancer Risks Than Benzene
Two toxic contaminants present in California’s ambient air appear to be much stronger carcinogens than previously known, state environmental health officials announced Thursday. The draft finding from the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment finds that acrolein and ethylene oxide may pose an estimated cancer risk more than 10 times higher than benzene, a serious carcinogen linked to leukemia and other cancers. (Smith, 5/14)
ProPublica and The Denver Gazette: Colorado Regulators Privately Concede To 'Rampant' Illegal Hemp Sales
A top regulator for Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division acknowledged in a private meeting with industry representatives that the amount of chemically converted hemp being illegally sold as marijuana is far greater than the agency has publicly disclosed. (Osher, 5/15)
Bridge Michigan: Michigan Teen Tobacco Use Ticks Up As Prevention Funding Lags
While teen tobacco use in Michigan remains far below historic highs, data shows it’s beginning to rise again, fueling renewed calls to boost prevention spending that has fallen far short of federal recommendations. Tobacco use among high school students rose to 16.5% in 2023, up from 14% in 2021, according to the most recent data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. E-cigarettes were the most common form of tobacco used by Michigan high schoolers, including 11% of males and 19% of females, and use of both cigarettes and chewing tobacco products also rose slightly. (James, 5/14)
AP: Texas Agency's Bungled Message About Immigrant Housing Led To Exodus
Until recently, young children ran in and out of their public housing homes in this Gulf Coast town, playing on sun-dappled lawns as mothers looked over their shoulders for the school bus to drop off their older kids. ... Within weeks, the neighborhood was a ghost town and the playground was empty. What prompted the mass exodus was a bungled message from the housing authority in Port Isabel, a South Texas community of 5,000 people, many of whom are immigrants working at hotels and restaurants on the beaches of nearby South Padre Island. The Port Isabel Housing Authority indicated a Trump administration proposal was about to take effect that would end housing assistance to families with at least one member in the country illegally. (Gonzalez, 5/15)
In legislative news —
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Makes Major Changes To Health Care Services
The Missouri legislature sent a nearly 200-page health care bill to Gov. Mike Kehoe on Thursday that includes adding doula services to Medicaid coverage and allows 12-month prescriptions for oral contraceptives. By a 116-21 vote, the House approved legislation to allow patients to start their care through telemedicine, rather than a physical examination, whenever possible. (Halloran, 5/14)
KFF Health News: Minnesota Lawmaker Proposes Using Hospital Tax To Fill Charity Care Gap
Minnesota lawmakers are wrestling with how to sustain the state’s financially distressed hospitals while patients confront growing medical debt. One Minnesota lawmaker wants to steer money from an existing healthcare tax back to hospitals so they can expand their charity care programs for patients who can’t afford their bills. The proposal follows a Minnesota Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation that found hospitals across the state spend far less on charity care than hospitals in many other states, and use widely different standards to decide who qualifies for free or discounted care. (Olson, 5/15)
Wyoming Public Radio: Wyoming Drops Plan To Stretch Out Federal Health Dollars
Wyoming is dropping a proposal to stretch out more than a billion dollars of federal health dollars for decades to come. Late last year, the federal government awarded the state $205 million for the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program. The state expects to get a similar amount for the next five years. Since then, the state and the federal government have been figuring out specifics about how money will be spent. One sticky point has been a “perpetuity fund.” (Merzbach, 5/14)
Also —
Verite News: St. John President Shuts Down Documentary Screening, Sparking First Amendment Fight
A documentary centered on a small Mississippi River parish had been racking up awards, earning prizes at film festivals in San Francisco, London and Milan. But when residents of St. John the Baptist Parish tried to screen “The Big Sea” at a publicly owned theater during Black History Month, Parish President Jaclyn Hotard intervened, shutting down the event without explanation. (Baurick, 5/14)
AP: Ex-Aide To California Democrats Admits Guilt In Scheme To Steal Campaign Funds
A top California Democratic political aide pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud related to a scheme to steal campaign funds from Xavier Becerra when he served as the federal health secretary. The case has drawn attention to Becerra in his bid for California governor, with voting underway and concluding June 2. Several of Becerra’s rivals blasted him over the scandal at a televised debate Thursday night, trying to make him appear unfit for office. Becerra punched back, noting he hasn’t been implicated. “Accept the facts,” he said. (5/15)
