Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Thousands Of Opioid Victims Will Be Left Out Of Purdue Settlement, Records Show
Nearly 140,000 people filed claims against the company for the harm they said its drugs caused. Fewer than half of them will get any compensation. (McCoy and Fernandez, 4/23)
More health news from across the U.S. 鈥
Two Long Island school districts violated New York State law in barring transgender students from bathrooms and locker rooms that aligned with their gender identity, the state鈥檚 Education Department ruled this week. Board members at both school systems, the Massapequa School District and the Locust Valley Central School District, had approved restrictions weeks apart that required students to use facilities that were gender neutral or corresponded with their sex assigned at birth. (Haag, 4/22)
The owner of West Suburban Medical Center鈥檚 property is ramping up efforts to remove his business partner from the hospital, as more details emerge about the depths of the facility鈥檚 financial woes in the months leading up to its abrupt closure. (Schencker, 4/22)
A chemical leak at a West Virginia silver recovery business on Wednesday killed two people and sent about 30 others to hospitals, including one in serious condition, authorities said. The leak occurred at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute as workers were preparing to shut down at least part of the facility, Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said. (Raby, 4/23)
San Mateo County on Tuesday banned the sale of kratom, citing concerns that the herbal substance marketed for its energy-boosting and pain relief properties can cause addiction, overdoses and other health harms. Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance banning the sale of kratom products in unincorporated parts of the county, becoming the first Bay Area county to do so. (Ho, 4/22)
With Delaware reporting its first detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) yesterday, the fatal neurodegenerative disease has now been found in 37 US states. The case was detected in a wild white-tailed deer harvested in Sussex County as part of routine surveillance efforts, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) said in a聽news release. The infection was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL). (Van Beusekom, 4/22)
On Medicaid and the high cost of health care 鈥
Lawmakers voted for a $319 million package on Wednesday to fully fund the state鈥檚 Medicaid program through the end of the fiscal year, settling a monthslong feud with the governor over how much it will cost to avert a projected shortfall in May. While the funding is designed to prevent cuts and maintain the current level of care for the more than 3 million beneficiaries of the subsidized health insurance program for low-income people, the bill adds mandates that immigrant rights advocates say could have 鈥渁 chilling effect鈥 and jeopardize the health of U.S.-born children in immigrant families 鈥 and others in those households who have legal status to be in the country. (Blythe, Fredde and Hoban, 4/23)
麻豆女优 Health News: Medigap Premiums Leap, And Consumers Have Few Alternatives
After decades of selling insurance, Illinois-based broker John Jaggi had never seen anything like it. More than 80 of his customers who were enrolled in the same Medicare supplemental plan from the insurer Chubb got hit last August with a 45% increase. (Appleby, 4/23)
麻豆女优 Health News: Food Stamp Work Rules Don鈥檛 Increase Employment, Researchers Say
A half-dozen cars had been in the queue for nearly four hours by the time the House of Hope mobile food pantry line began to move. Seventy or so more idled behind them by 11:30 a.m., when the food distribution began. The plan was to begin handing out boxes of groceries at 11, but the Facing Hunger Foodbank truck delivering the food blew a tire en route. No one complained. (Sisk, 4/23)
Gov. Mark Gordon approved one-time state funding for SUN Bucks, a federal program that helps supplement school lunches for families with low incomes during the summer months. Wyoming lawmakers voted to opt out of the program during the last three legislative sessions, with some critics citing concerns about over-reliance on government and government overreach. (Habermann, 4/22)
State officials have suspended some federally funded health care services for Missourians living with HIV, a surprise move one St. Louis聽provider called "terribly disruptive" to patients. The state informed providers of cuts to the Ryan White program last Monday, and ended support on Wednesday for mental health and substance use services, emergency rental and utility assistance. (Suntrup, 4/22)