Morning Briefing for Tuesday, September 3, 2024
September 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Maternal care crisis, mpox, finding a good nursing home, covid shots, uninsured rates, privacy, psychiatric facilities, and more
Iowa Prison Takes Sanitary And Health Measures To Stem Mpox Infections
September 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Iowa Department of Corrections reports that mpox has been detected at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. The number of prisoners infected with the virus is unknown, but a statement says: “Affected individuals are receiving care, and enhanced sanitation and isolation protocols are in place to prevent further spread.”
Minnesota Measles Outbreak Spreads To 30, Shutters Somali Religious School
September 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Officials are asking Minnesotans to consider immunizations, as all but one of the people infected were unvaccinated. Also in the news: West Nile virus, EEE, bird flu, polio, and the Oropouche virus.
CDC Program Offering Free Covid Shots For The Needy Has Run Out Of Money
September 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Without the federal Bridge Access Program that absorbed the cost of the vaccines, under- and uninsured Americans will have to pay up to $200 for an immunity boost. Meanwhile, as Novavax readies its vaccine for a rollout this week, global health officials are monitoring an even more contagious subvariant than the one circulating now.
Number Of Uninsured Americans Fell Under Biden, Went Up Under Trump
September 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
After the first two years of Joe Biden’s presidency, the national uninsured rate declined 1.2%, to the lowest rate ever. After the first three years of Trump’s presidency, the uninsured rate went up 0.6%, USA Today reports. Meanwhile, Trump flip-flops on a Florida abortion ban ballot measure.
First Edition: Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024
September 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
UCSF Favors Pricey Doctoral Program for Nurse-Midwives Amid Maternal Care Crisis
By Ronnie Cohen
September 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
UC-San Francisco is pausing its long-running master’s program in nurse-midwifery and plans to shift to a lengthier, costlier doctoral program. Midwives criticized the move and questioned the university’s motivations at a time of serious shortages of maternal care workers.
Watch: Tips on Finding a Good Nursing Home
By Jordan Rau
Video by Hannah Norman
September 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau explains how to tell the good nursing homes from the bad ones.
Universidad favorece un costoso programa de doctorado para enfermeras parteras en plena crisis de la atención materna
By Ronnie Cohen
September 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
El cambio duplicará con creces el costo para los estudiantes. Expertos dicen que aumentará la escasez de estos profesionales de salud.
Democrats Celebrated At Convention, And Some Went Home With Covid
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
Members of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign staff are among those fighting the virus. People aren’t letting the virus keep them down, The New York Times reports: Folks are shunning covid protocols.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis Case Confirmed In Houston County, Texas
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
As Texas animal health officials urge vets and owners to vaccinate horses against the mosquito-borne virus, officials in Massachusetts begin spraying in hopes of curbing the spread of the disease. West Nile virus, bird flu, and mpox also are in the news.
Northwell Health Promises 5 Years Of Birth Services At Connecticut Hospital
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
In the wake of an antitrust probe into Northwell Health’s merger with Nuvance Health, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has reached an agreement with Northwell to preserve labor and delivery services for five years at Sharon Hospital. In other news, McLaren Health Care says it’s recovered from a cyberattack earlier this month.
San Francisco Offers Antipsychotic Drugs To Unhoused Meth Users
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
In extending aid to help users deal with symptoms like paranoia and delusions, the city hopes to reduce pressure on psych emergency services. Other reports shine a light on how wastewater monitoring could be used to track drug use in the country.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, August 27, 2024
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
Open enrollment, opioid settlement funds, Medicare Advantage overbilling, weight loss drugs, extreme heat, mosquito-borne diseases, and more
CMS Designates $100M For Navigators To Aid 2025 Open Enrollment
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will distribute the money to 44 organizations in 28 states that work on outreach and help people to sign up for health insurance during open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Eli Lilly To Offer Lower Cost, Low-Dose Zepbound; It Comes With Conditions
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
Patients will have to fill their own vials before they give themselves shots. They also will have to order supplies directly from the company, and they’ll have to pay in cash. Separately, researchers find GLP-1 drugs may work differently than they thought.
Planned Parenthood Files Complaints Against Missouri’s Medicaid Law
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
Missouri Planned Parenthoods are challenging a new law in Missouri that bans any funding — including for preventive care like cancer screenings or pap smears — from going to the reproductive health care organization. Related news comes from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and elsewhere.
2,325 People Died From Heat Last Year, Mostly In The Desert Southwest
August 27, 2024
Morning Briefing
The lead author of the report, which was published Monday in JAMA, told USA Today that the deaths were overwhelmingly concentrated in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas. The death toll is likely an undercount.