Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Prominent Abortion Doctor Retires, Shutters Colorado Clinic After 50 Years
A 50-year-old Boulder abortion clinic that was criticized and threatened with violence over the decades for performing abortions in later pregnancy has closed. (Brown, 4/23)
Pregnant people living in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, a report released Wednesday found. The risk is greatest for Black women in states with bans, who are 3.3 times more likely to die than White women in those same states. (Luthra, 4/23)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
The Texas House on Wednesday passed a Senate bill that would create a $3 billion Texas research fund for dementia, but another measure to activate the funding for it could face obstacles in the chamber on Monday. (Langford, 4/23)
A federal appeals court Tuesday sided with a Southwest Florida health-care provider in a years-long dispute with the state about payments for treating patients in the Medicaid program. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's decision in favor of Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, which filed the lawsuit after the state Agency for Health Care Administration largely rejected a request for an increased Medicaid reimbursement rate. (4/23)
State lawmakers met this afternoon to hammer out the final details of the proposed $252 billion budget. And Gov. Kathy Hochul is getting some — but not all — of what she wanted. Talks are winding down around her push to lower the standard for involuntary commitment of the mentally ill to hospitals, but lawmakers are signaling they won’t relent on unresolved issues like funding for patients’ post-discharge plans. And some fellow Democratic lawmakers think the thrust of Hochul’s proposal is more bluster than effective policy. (Beeferman, 4/23)
In the first three days of the L.A. wildfires, lead levels detected in the air increased 110 times, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The toxic chemical burned off of old homes, businesses, and cars, filling the air with small particles that eventually rained down over large swaths of the county. (Moss, 4/23)
