�鶹Ů��

Nearly half of transgender people in the U.S. have considered moving to another state because of legislation in their home state that threatens to curtail access to things like gender-affirming health care, public restrooms and school sports, according to a survey published Wednesday by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). Roughly half, or 47 percent, of the more than 92,000 transgender and nonbinary people surveyed by NCTE, a nonprofit group that focuses on transgender policy reform, said they had thought about moving to another state at some point during the past year because their state government had either pursued or passed laws that target the transgender community. (Migdon, 2/7)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million 

Halfway through what will be the biggest purge of Medicaid beneficiaries in a one-year span, enrollment in the government-run health insurance program is on track to return to roughly pre-pandemic levels. Medicaid, which covers low-income and disabled people, and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program grew to a record 94 million enrollees as a result of a rule that prohibited states from terminating coverage during the nation’s public health emergency. (Galewitz, 2/7)

Roughly a year ago, a block on Northwest 12th Avenue in Little Havana gained a new tenant. In addition to a barbershop, a nail salon, and a Nicaraguan restaurant it also has Clínicas y Farmacias Dr. Goodprice, a clinic and pharmacy founded by Yessica Gonzalez. The business caters to people who are undocumented and uninsured. (Zaragovia, 2/6)

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Tuesday a bill that makes PrEP — a daily pill that prevents HIV infection — easier to access at pharmacies, potentially improving use statewide and especially in communities where rates of disease have remained stubbornly high. The bill corrects earlier legislation, signed in 2019, that made California the first state in the nation to allow pharmacists to provide PrEP without a doctor’s prescription. But that legislation included critical limitations that prevented wide implementation among pharmacists. (Allday, 2/6)

After a failed attempt to decriminalize a short list of psychedelics last year, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation to make California the third state to legalize psychedelic-assisted therapy for adults. Gov. Gavin Newsom in October vetoed a similar bill, urging state lawmakers to first take steps toward creating regulated treatment guidelines. ... “It was a very thoughtful veto message,” said Wiener, who on Tuesday morning will introduce a new bill with a more clinical approach to expanded access to psychedelic uses. (Sosa, 2/6)

Hospitals throughout Eastern Massachusetts are facing growing challenges in meeting the demand for care, as they cope with hundreds of “stuck” patients — ready for discharge but with no place to go. In the latest sign of a worsening but not unprecedented situation, last week the state Department of Public Health designated hospitals in greater Boston and in cities and towns north of the city as “Tier 3.” A Tier 3 designation, under a pandemic-era system, alerts hospitals to a “high risk” of capacity problems. (Freyer, Piore and Andersen, 2/6)

A medical examiner on Tuesday released the manner of death for a baby whose mother accused a Georgia hospital and others of decapitating during delivery, ruling it a homicide. The Clayton County, Georgia Medical Examiner’s office said the baby died from a broken neck and the baby’s head was detached, according to a news release shared with CNN. (Tamsett, Rosales and Tucker, 2/6)

A former doctor from Arizona is facing a manslaughter charge in New York for his role in the suicide of a woman who died in a Hudson Valley motel room in November, according to his lawyer and law enforcement officials. The former doctor, Stephen P. Miller, 85, is charged with second-degree manslaughter under a provision of New York State law that makes it a crime for one person to intentionally cause or aid in the suicide of another. (Shanahan, 2/5)

A former church day care director in Indiana has been sentenced to six months in jail after admitting that she had fed melatonin gummies to more than a dozen young children without their parents’ consent, court records show. The former director, Tonya Rachelle Voris, 53, was arrested last year after the church’s pastor notified police that she had handed out “pediatric strength melatonin” to children ages 1 to 4 who were under her care at Kidz Life Childcare Ministry in Cumberland, Ind., according to the documents. (Albeck-Ripka, 2/5)

Seattle and the surrounding area recorded the highest number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths on record in 2023, data show. King County, which encompasses Seattle, recorded the most fentanyl-related deaths ever in 2023, at 1,078 fatal overdoses. In all, the county recorded 1,318 deaths due to opioid and drug overdoses last year, meaning fentanyl was involved in more than 80% of overdose deaths last year. (Colton, 2/7)

Oklahomans with mental illness or substance abuse conditions can be detained for stabilizing treatment if they pose an immediate threat of harm to themselves or others. But the requirement that harm be immediate disqualifies many in need of help, leaving them to further deteriorate, often resulting in homelessness, incarceration, serious injury or death. A Tulsa lawmaker aims to change that with House Bill 3451. (Bryen, 276)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Colorado Moves To Connect Agricultural Workers With Mental Health Resources 

Colorado lawmakers have proposed a pair of measures they say will improve the availability of mental health resources for the state’s agricultural industry, as stress, anxiety, and depression among ranchers and farmhands have emerged as critical issues that have worsened since the coronavirus pandemic. The bills under consideration would address a growing need to treat rural mental health issues that have only compounded with the effects of the pandemic and climate change — all in a state that has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. Mental health professionals are scarce in rural parts of Colorado, a significant gap considering suicide rates have been higher in rural America than in metropolitan areas for decades. (Ramachandran, 2/7)