Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Illinois Enacts Medical Aid-In-Dying Law Despite Controversy, Protests
Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed into law a measure that would allow doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives after the controversial bill barely cleared the Senate during the fall legislative session, where one skeptic said it could bring 鈥渁 culture of death鈥 to Illinois. (Gorner and Olander, 12/12)
It may soon be easier for Illinois residents to find therapists who accept their insurance, after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday taking aim at insurance reimbursement rates for behavioral health services. (Schencker, 12/12)
Health news from California, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania 鈥
Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to announce on Monday that California has hired two former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who accused the Trump administration of abandoning scientific standards. One is Susan Monarez, a former director of the C.D.C., who was fired by the White House in late August after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to remove her from her position and she resisted leaving. The other is Dr. Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer of the C.D.C., who quit partly in protest over the firing of Dr. Monarez. Both will now serve as consultants for the California Department of Public Health. (Rosenhall and Mandavilli, 12/14)
A growing group with unique medical needs 鈥 older adults living with inflammatory bowel disease 鈥 now have a practice tailor-made for them: a UCSF clinic in San Francisco focusing exclusively on patients 65 and older. Among them is 81-year-old Peter Milkie. Every four weeks, he goes to an infusion center at UCSF Mount Zion for about an hour, where he gets a dose of a medication that helps with bloating, cramping and other symptoms of ulcerative colitis. (Ho, 12/14)
North Carolina Treasurer Brad Briner has made waves during his first year in office among state employees, who will see a sharp uptick in their health insurance premiums starting next month.聽Briner says the increase is necessary to address a shortfall in the North Carolina State Health Plan he found when he arrived. (Hoban, 12/15)
Medetomidine, a veterinary sedative mixed into fentanyl, has sent thousands to hospitals, not only for overdose but for life-threatening withdrawal. It is spreading to other cities. (Hoffman, 12/15)
