Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Abortion Rights Groups Say Missouri Ballot Measures Are Misleading
Abortion-rights advocates asked a judge on Monday to rewrite what they call misleading descriptions of several constitutional amendments on abortion that voters could see on Missouri鈥檚 2024 ballot. Missouri is among several states, including Ohio, where abortion opponents are fighting efforts to ensure or restore access to the procedure following the fall of Roe v. Wade last year. (Ballentine, 9/11)
More health news from across the U.S. 鈥
Washington University in St. Louis will stop prescribing gender medications to minors, the school said on Monday, citing 鈥渦nacceptable鈥 legal liability under a new Missouri law banning such treatments. The change comes seven months after a former employee of the university鈥檚 youth gender clinic claimed that doctors there were hastily prescribing the treatments, throwing the center into the cross hairs of politicians trying to outlaw so-called gender affirming care for adolescents. (Hughes, 9/11)
L.A. Care, a Los Angeles-based health plan for Medi-Cal recipients, has agreed to pay $1.3 million in a settlement to resolve two privacy and security rule violations and chart a corrective plan to secure their members' information. The violations involve the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that covers what specific healthcare organizations can share about patients without their consent. (Garcia, 9/11)
Last year, state officials fired a warning shot to insurance companies that operate in Georgia: All insurers, they said, must treat mental health services the same as physical health. Now, one year later, a report from the insurance commissioner shows that not a single insurer has proven it is doing so, according to the state鈥檚 insurance department. (Landergan and Prabhu, 9/11)
There are more than 800,000 people who are deaf of hard of hearing in Florida. Over the past year, calls to the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have jumped by 30 percent in the Orlando area alone. As of Friday, the lifeline offers services in American Sign Language. (Prieur, 9/11)
Signaling that health care could be a key issue during the 2024 legislative session, House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, announced Friday that he has created the House Select Committee on Health Innovation. The committee, which will be chaired by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, will 鈥渞eview issues relating to access and affordability in health care,鈥 Renner said in a memo to House members. (9/11)
In Missouri, there are dozens of federally qualified health centers 鈥 government-supported clinics that are required to serve every person who walks in the door. Most of those clinics are operated by nonprofit organizations. But St. Louis County health officials are banking on a plan that would grant its government-operated health clinics a similar status. (Fentem, 9/11)
State officials have ordered additional tests on drinking water at a Minnesota prison after concerns about the water鈥檚 quality and other issues were raised when dozens of inmates refused to return to their cells during a heat wave earlier this month. The 鈥渁dditional and more comprehensive water testing鈥 has been ordered at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater 鈥渢o assure staff and incarcerated individuals that the water is safe for drinking,鈥 the Department of Corrections said in a statement released over the weekend. (9/11)