Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Radon-Mitigation Bill Heads To Iowa Governor's Desk After EPA Classifies State As High-Risk
New single and two family homes would need to have passive radon mitigation systems installed, under a bill (HF 2297) now headed to the governor鈥檚 desk. (Luu, 4/30)
More health news from across the U.S. 鈥
Saying they want to help policyholders who鈥檝e faced skyrocketing rates on long-term care insurance plans, senators on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to advance a bill that imposes consumer safeguards and requires greater financial transparency from insurance companies. (Carlesso, 4/30)
Be Lanier, a sophomore at Cape Fear Academy, recently turned 16 years old 鈥 a milestone that often brings new independence. But for Lanier, it鈥檚 hard to think about getting older when she thinks about Solly Wynn, a 15-year-old from Wilmington who died from health complications related to vaping.聽(Fredde, 5/1)
麻豆女优 Health News: Gavin Newsom, Early Champion Of Single-Payer, Moderates In The Face Of Fiscal Limits
In his earliest days in the governor鈥檚 office, Democrat Gavin Newsom huddled with his advisers to consider how to realize a key campaign promise: transforming a healthcare system replete with insurance company intermediaries into the nation鈥檚 first state-run single-payer model providing comprehensive coverage to all residents, similar to those in Canada and Taiwan. (Hart, 5/1)
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan this week accused a national chain of opioid addiction clinics with multiple locations in New Hampshire of improper business practices that undermine the quality of care in pursuit of profit. (Skipworth, 4/30)
Six transgender Idaho residents are suing the state in federal court, asking a federal judge to declare a strict new bathroom ban unconstitutional. The law, which goes into effect in July, is the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, subjecting people to time behind bars if they knowingly enter a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth 鈥 even if the bathroom is in a privately owned business. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense, or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense. (Boone, 4/30)
The surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in St. Cloud earlier this year created a climate of intense fear and anxiety in the Somali American community that lasted for months, and left some still feeling the effects on their mental health. (Marohn, 5/1)
An expanded residential mental health facility is opening Friday in Geauga County, increasing local capacity for people who need intensive, short-term support outside of a hospital setting. (Walsh, 4/30)
With their son in the throes of a mental health crisis last November, Bill and Faith Piersing did what they鈥檇 been told to do countless times before: They dialed 911. The couple were hoping for a helping hand to deescalate the situation and transport him to a hospital. Instead, the law enforcement officers who showed up at their home seemed intent on arresting their son, sparking an altercation that would quickly escalate, Bill Piersing told Bridge Michigan. 鈥淭hey came in the house and made him a felon,鈥 he said. (Gibbons, 4/30)
Hawai驶i will need nearly 60,000 additional housing units by 2050 to meet future demand driven largely by an aging population and to prevent younger residents from getting squeezed out of the housing market. Residents age 65 or older will need 44,000 of the new units, according to a new report released by AARP Hawai驶i, which also said the housing shortage is driving up prices and pushing younger residents to leave the state. (Hay, 4/30)
Aditi Gandhi spends a lot of time in the pool. The 17-year old started swimming when she was four, and she now swims competitively for her high school, the Blake School in Minneapolis. (Bloch, 5/1)
Camp Mystic on Thursday halted plans to reopen this summer on the Texas river where floodwaters killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors, backing down in the face of outraged families and investigations that accused the all-girls Christian camp of dangerous safety and operational deficiencies. The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners鈥 determination to reopen, follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. (Vertuno and Murphy, 4/30)