Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court First: Deciding Whether Minors Will Have Transgender Rights
The Hill: Supreme Court Sets Stage For Transgender Rights Showdown
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear a challenge to Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban for minors sets the stage for a potentially blockbuster case implicating transgender protections. It marks the first time the justices will weigh in on the issue, which could impact laws passed by 24 Republican-led states since 2021 that ban medications like puberty blockers and hormones for transgender children and teens. Legal challenges mounted by transgender youths, their families and medical providers have been met with mixed results. (Migdon and Schonfeld, 6/24)
Reuters: US Supreme Court To Decide If Retirees Can Sue For Disability Bias
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether retired workers retain the ability to sue their former employers for disability discrimination after they leave their jobs, a question that has divided federal appeals courts. The justices granted a petition by Karyn Stanley, a retired firefighter for the Orlando suburb of Sanford, Florida, who is appealing a lower court ruling that said she could not sue the city for allegedly curbing benefits for disabled retirees because it no longer employed her. (Wiessner, 6/24)
Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court Denies Challenge To BCBS Antitrust Settlement
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from Home Depot and other employers to hear a challenge to policyholders’ $2.67 billion antitrust settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Justices declined a petition from the home improvement retailer, design consultancy Topographic and benefits provider Employee Services alleging that the settlement does not treat self-insured customers fairly and does not go far enough to promote competition between Blue Cross companies. (Tepper, 6/24)
Reuters: US Supreme Court Gives Pharma Companies A Chance To Thwart Terrorism-Funding Lawsuit
Hundreds of American service members and civilians, and their families, sued the defendant companies, part of five corporate families: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GE Healthcare USA, Johnson & Johnson and F. Hoffmann-La Roche. The plaintiffs accused major U.S. and European pharmaceutical and device makers of providing corrupt payments to the Hezbollah-sponsored militia group Jaysh al-Mahdi in order to obtain medical supply contracts from Iraq's health ministry. (Scarcella, 6/24)
Military.com: Paralyzed During Surgery At Walter Reed, Guardsman Asks Supreme Court To Consider Feres Doctrine Challenge
Since April 6, 2018, Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Ryan Carter has been unable to dress himself, eat alone or walk from one room to another. On that day, Carter was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for back surgery to address chronic pain; he left 19 days later, a paraplegic and victim, he says, of medical malpractice. At the time of the surgery, Carter was not on active-duty orders or medical orders -- an inactive status his attorneys argue made him eligible to file a malpractice claim against the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act. (Kime, 6/24)
Also —
NBC News: Supreme Court Rejects Appeals Brought By RFK Jr.-Founded Anti-Vaccine Group Over Covid Shots
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away two Covid-related appeals brought by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The decision by the justices not to hear the cases leaves in place lower court rulings against the group. (Hurley, 6/24)
The CT Mirror: CT Religious Vaccine Exemption Ban Will Hold; SCOTUS Rejects Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case Monday challenging Connecticut legislation that repealed religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements in 2021. (Harkay, 6/24)
