Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Opts Out Of Federal Summer Lunch Program For Low-Income Kids
The Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott Vetoes Summer Lunch Program For Children
Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed a $60 million budget measure that would have allowed Texas to enter a federal summer lunch program for low-income children. (Langford, 6/23)
The Washington Post: Texas Governor Signs MAHA Bill To Add Warning Labels On Food Products
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed sweeping legislation Sunday to slap warning labels on potentially tens of thousands of food and beverage packages — a move that could have ripple effects across the country. The first-of-its-kind legislation requires labels on foods containing 44 dyes or additives commonly found in the country’s food supply, such as in baked goods, candy and drinks. The new mandate will set off a scramble within the food industry, which must decide whether to reformulate its products to avoid warning labels, add the newly mandated language, stop selling certain products in Texas or file lawsuits against the measure. (Roubein, 6/23)
The Texas Tribune: Rural Americans More Likely To Live With Chronic Pain Than Urban Peers, UT-Arlington Study Finds
Rural Americans are likelier to develop chronic pain than their urban counterparts, a grim trend exacerbated by limited access to health care, age and economic status. About 3 million Texans live in the state’s 200 rural counties. More people call rural Texas home than states such as Kansas, Mississippi and New Mexico. (Ramos, 6/23)
In health news from New York —
Politico: Adams Administration Changes Course On Medicare Advantage
Mayor Eric Adams announced he will not move forward with a contentious effort to cut costs by shifting retired city workers to a Medicare Advantage plan, bringing a sudden end to a four-year saga. (Kaufman, 6/23)
Politico: Spike In Homelessness Followed Cuomo’s Move To Cut Off Voucher Funds As Governor
Mayoral frontrunner Andrew Cuomo thinks the state should take on a larger role funding rental subsidies for homeless New Yorkers — a pledge that’s at odds with his actions as governor. During his tenure in Albany, Cuomo did the opposite: he cut off state funding in 2011 for a rental voucher program known as Advantage, prompting City Hall to eliminate the program altogether. Housing experts have long blamed the subsequent sharp rise in the city’s homeless shelter population on those critical decisions, even as they disparaged the voucher program at the time. (Chadha, 6/23)
ProPublica, New York Focus: How Hotels Became New York’s Go-To Fix For Homelessness
Jasmine Stradford sat on her porch near Binghamton, New York, with toys, furniture, garbage bags full of clothing and other possessions piled up around her. She and her partner were being evicted after falling behind on rent. So last June, they and their children — then ages 3, 12 and 15 — turned to New York’s emergency shelter system for help. It was built to provide homeless residents not only beds, but also food, help finding permanent housing and sometimes child care so parents can find work, attend school or look for apartments. (Norris, 6/24)
From Missouri, North Carolina, and Georgia —
St. Louis Public Radio: St. Luke’s To Close Des Peres Hospital In August
St. Luke’s Hospital in Des Peres will close its doors permanently on Aug. 1, officials told employees on Monday. The 143-bed hospital on Dougherty Ferry Road in St. Louis County didn’t have enough patients to justify keeping it open, spokeswoman Kelly Webb-Little said in an emailed statement. (Fentem, 6/23)
North Carolina Health News: A Safety-Net Dentist Adapts And Rebuilds In Helene Aftermath
On a bitter November morning in Newland, North Carolina, Ashton Johanson climbed aboard the purple dental bus parked outside High County Community Health’s medical clinic. Inside the cramped mobile unit, the floor heaters sputtered. Supplies were running low. The suction machine had been acting up for weeks. (Mirmow, 6/24)
The New York Times: A Doctor Posted Video Of Their Decapitated Baby. They Were Awarded $2.5 Million.
A jury on Wednesday awarded nearly $2.5 million to a Georgia couple whose baby was decapitated during childbirth, after they accused a doctor of posting a video from the infant’s autopsy on social media without their consent, according to a defense lawyer and court documents. Jessica Ross had been in labor for several hours with her first child on July 10, 2023, when the baby became stuck behind her pelvic bone, according to court documents. Ms. Ross and her partner, Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., accused their obstetrician in a separate lawsuit of applying excessive force to the baby’s neck, separating the head from the body. (Kirk, 6/20)
