Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Twice As Many States Have High Obesity Rates Than Before Covid
USA Today: CDC Report: States With High Obesity Rates Nearly Double In Two Years
The number of states with high obesity rates nearly doubled over two years as Americans grappled with pandemic stress, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. A total of 16 states had obesity rates of 35% or more in 2020, up from nine states in 2018. Just two decades ago, no state had an adult obesity rate above 25%. Experts say the CDC figures, based on self-reported data of height and weight, represent an alarming trend because obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many types of cancer. It also increases health spending by $149 billion a year and raises the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization and death, according to the Trust for America's Health, which released a report analyzing the CDC figures. (Alltucker, 9/15)
In news about health and race —
Modern Healthcare: Racial Disparities In Maternal Health Have Widened Since The 1980s, Federal Report Says
Maternal mortality in the U.S. has worsened over the past three decades due in large part to mounting disparities in access to quality perinatal care among women of color, according to a report the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued Wednesday. The maternal mortality rate rose from 6.6 deaths for every 100,000 live births in 1987 to 20.1 deaths by 2019, for a total of 754 that year, according to the report. The U.S. maternal death rate ranks among the highest of any high-income nation. (Ross Johnson, 9/15)
Stat: Black Children Have More Complications During Appendectomies
Black children consistently have more medical complications during appendectomies than their white peers, including higher rates of “perforated” or burst appendixes. That not only leads to extended hospital stays for the children, but it’s costing the U.S. health care system millions. (Cueto, 9/16)
In other public health news —
Axios: 1 In 10 Children Live With A Mentally Ill Or Severely Depressed Adult
Nearly 10% of children in the U.S. lived with someone who was mentally ill or severely depressed, data released Thursday from the National Center for Health Statistics show. The datapoint from 2019 was part of a larger effort to understand the number of children with different racial and ethnic backgrounds who are exposed to violence, parental incarceration or have lived with someone with mental health, alcohol or drug problems. (Fernandez, 9/16)
AP: Nutrition Aid Surges, Food Banks Brace For Uncertain Future
Food banks in New Mexico with high rates of childhood poverty and hunger are watching with apprehension as the federal government boosts standard food stamp benefits in October and extends generous emergency allotments temporarily. President Joe Biden’s administration has approved a permanent 25% increase in food aid over pre-pandemic levels, available to all 42 million SNAP beneficiaries across the country. The increase on Oct. 1 coincides with the expiration of a smaller, 15% boost in food-aid benefits that was ordered as a pandemic protection measure. (Lee, 9/15)
The Washington Post: Boy Scouts Reach Agreement With Mormon Church, Insurers In Sex Abuse Case
The Boy Scouts of America’s latest effort to reach an agreement with tens of thousands of alleged victims of sexual abuse is facing opposition from a court-appointed group representing victims in the Scouts’ bankruptcy proceedings as well as other victims’ attorneys. On Tuesday, the Boy Scouts proposed a new settlement — the fifth so far — that includes new money from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and more money from insurers. In total, it would give over $1 billion to about 82,500 individuals who allege they were victims of sexual abuse during their time in the Boy Scouts. (Asbury, 9/15)
NBC News: Homeless In Silicon Valley's Shadow Get Help, But 'Sustainable' Change Is Elusive
Andrea Urton, who grew up homeless in Los Angeles, has seen how little corporate interests tend to care about helping the impoverished. So it was with some surprise when she received a phone call from an Apple representative. “I have never had an Apple or a Google or a Facebook reach out to me personally and say, ‘We really want to work on developing this property that we own and we don’t just want to kick people off,’” said Urton, the CEO of HomeFirst, an organization that provides services to homeless people in Santa Clara County, the Silicon Valley home to numerous tech companies, including Apple. (Farivar, 9/15)
KHN: No Papers, No Care: Disabled Migrants Seek Help Through Lawsuit, Activism
Desperation led José Luis Hernández to ride atop a speeding train through northern Mexico with hopes of reaching the United States 13 years ago. But he didn’t make it. Slipping off a step above a train coupling, he slid under the steel wheels. In the aftermath, he lost his right arm and leg, and all but one finger on his left hand. He had left his home village in Honduras for the U.S. “to help my family, because there were no jobs, no opportunities,” he said. Instead, he ended up undergoing a series of surgeries in Mexico before heading home “to the same miserable conditions in my country, but worse off.” (de Marco, 9/16)
Bloomberg: Simone Biles Testifies On Larry Nasser Abuse With McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman
Star Olympic gymnast Simone Biles denounced the FBI for turning “a blind eye” to the sexual abuse she and other young athletes suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar in emotionally powerful testimony before a Senate panel Wednesday. “It truly feels like the FBI turned a blind eye to us and went out of its way to protect” the USA Gymnastics organization and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said Biles, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee alongside three other women who were abused by Nassar. (Strohm and House, 9/15)
