First Edition: March 31, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
In Texas, Medicaid Coverage Ends Soon After Childbirth. Will Lawmakers Allow More Time?
Victoria Ferrell Ortiz learned she was pregnant during summer 2017. The Dallas resident was finishing up an AmeriCorps job with a local nonprofit, which offered her a small stipend to live on but no health coverage. She applied for Medicaid so she could be insured during the pregnancy. “It was a time of a lot of learning, turnaround, and pivoting for me, because we weren’t necessarily expecting that kind of life change,” she said. (Rivera, 3/31)
KHN:
Judge’s Decision Would Make Some No-Cost Cancer Screenings A Thing Of The Past
It is almost certain to be appealed, possibly by both sides: the conservative groups that brought the case and had hoped the decision would be broader, and the Biden administration, which supports the ACA. ... Now, the Department of Justice must decide whether to seek an emergency order putting the ruling on hold during the appeal process. (Appleby and Andrews, 3/30)
KHN:
KHN's 'What the Health?': A Judicial Body Blow To The ACA
Opponents of the Affordable Care Act may have stopped trying to overturn the entire law in court, but they have not stopped challenging pieces of it — and they have found an ally in Fort Worth, Texas: U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor. In 2018, O’Connor held that the entire ACA was unconstitutional — a ruling eventually overturned by the Supreme Court. Now the judge has found that part of the law’s requirement for insurers to cover preventive care without copays violates a federal religious freedom law. (3/30)
KHN:
Readers And Tweeters Are Horrified By Harm Tied To Dental Device
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. (3/31)
Politico:
Texas Judge Strikes Down Free HIV Drugs, Cancer Screenings Under Obamacare
The employers and individuals had standing to sue, Judge O’Connor wrote, because “compulsory coverage for those services violates their religious beliefs by making them complicit in facilitating homosexual behavior, drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman.” The employers argued that recommendations made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force can’t be enforced because its members are private medical experts who advise the government, not government employees. (Ollstein, 3/30)
NBC News:
Judge Strikes Down Obamacare Provisions Requiring Insurers Cover Some Preventive Care Services
In the decision, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor mentioned his previous ruling on the structure of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which was created under Obamacare and helps determine preventive services coverage, saying it violates the appointments clause of the Constitution and therefore its related preventive care mandates are unlawful. (Shabad, 3/30)
Reuters:
U.S. Judge Blocks Obamacare Coverage Mandate For Some Cancer Screenings, PrEP
Major medical groups criticized the decision. American Medical Association President Jack Resneck called it "deeply flawed" and said that patients "will be subjected to needless illness and preventable deaths" as a result. Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said the ruling could have "huge implications" and make it more difficult to catch treatable cancers early. "We cannot emphasize enough how important screenings are for early detection of cancer," she said. (Pierson, 3/30)
The New York Times:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Obamacare Requirement For Free Preventive Care
The ruling, which is in the form of a nationwide injunction, takes effect immediately, said Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert on health policy at Georgetown University who has followed the case. It will affect a long list of preventive care services, he said, including services like screenings for heart disease, pap smears and tobacco cessation services. “It might be that tomorrow, a woman might wake up and find that her mammogram is not covered,” Mr. Gostin said, adding, “I think we forget what it was like before the Affordable Care Act, where we had to pay and it was unaffordable for basic primary health care services.” (Stolberg and Abelson, 3/30)
Axios:
Don't Expect Big Changes To Insurance, Yet
Thursday's federal court ruling against the Affordable Care Act's preventive services requirement won't bring a seismic shift to employer-sponsored health care. But experts say it could well add new costs for the approximately 100 million privately insured people who use such services. The big picture: The ruling immediately removes a legal requirement of no-cost coverage for certain skin and lung cancer screenings, statins for heart disease, medications that prevent HIV and other services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes. (Reed, 3/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Federal Judge's Ruling Against Affordable Care Act Won't Affect Californians, State Commissioner Says
A federal judge's ruling Thursday against the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers cover preventive health screenings for cancer, mental illness and other conditions won't affect most Californians because state law mandates that coverage for state-regulated insurers, said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. (Egelko, 3/30)
The Washington Post:
Medicaid Benefits Ending For Millions As Pandemic Protections Unwind
At the end of this week, states will begin to sever an anticipated 15 million low-income Americans from Medicaid rolls that ballooned to record heights because of a pandemic-era promise that people with the health insurance could keep it — a federal promise that is going away. The end to the temporary guarantee that preserved the safety-net health coverage for the past three years saddles every state with an immense undertaking: sorting out which Medicaid beneficiaries actually belong. Around the country, officials have been preparing for months, but the result is a bumpy landscape consisting of states that vary in how ready they are for this daunting work. (Goldstein, 3/29)
KOMU:
Medicaid Annual Renewal Approaches: MO Family Support Division Asks For 'No Panic'
Starting Saturday, April 1, the Missouri Family Support Division (FSD) will restart its annual Medicaid renewal, after a three-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beneficiaries are now required to update their address information and keep up with the renewal deadlines. ... Kim Evans, the FSD director, said her department is working to assure the community has all the needed information to help for a smooth process. She understands the amount of information can be hard to keep track of but advised Missourians to avoid panicking. “We want those individuals to be aware of the coverage options available to them, so that they can continue to have health care coverage, even if it’s not under [the] MO HealthNet umbrella,” she said. (de Carvalho, 3/30)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
End Of Pandemic Relief To Oust Hundreds Of Thousands From Georgia Medicaid
On April 1, the clock starts ticking for hundreds of thousands of poor, disabled or elderly Georgians who face the loss of their Medicaid health insurance. The majority are children. For three years, no one enrolled in the government program has had to renew their paperwork to prove that they still qualified. Existing cases automatically stayed on, and new enrollees were added in droves during the pandemic. The Medicaid rolls in Georgia swelled by 41%, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. (Hart, 3/29)
Fox8.com:
Are You One Of 200K Ohioans Losing Medicaid In April? What To Know And What To Do
About 220,000 Ohioans are expected to lose Medicaid benefits they were allowed to keep during the pandemic, starting in April. ... Ohio’s benefits renewal process started back up on Feb. 1 after three years on hiatus, meaning Ohioans who are still eligible will need to check in with the state and make sure their information is up-to-date, and those who are no longer eligible will need to find new insurance. (Dennis, 3/28)
AP:
New Mexico Seeks To Avoid Coverage Gap For Medicaid Patients
A federal pandemic-related requirement that states offer continuous health care coverage for Medicaid recipients is coming to an end, meaning nearly 980,000 people in New Mexico will have to renew coverage when their applications are due, officials said Thursday. Officials with the state Human Services Department are urging people to renew their applications to avoid having a gap in health care coverage. The first batch of recipients will be receiving bright turquoise envelopes in the mail in the coming days as part of the state’s awareness campaign. (3/30)
WPXI:
Advocates Raise Concerns About Medicaid Cut-Offs
Health care advocates raised concerns over whether the state is equipped to adequately review renewals for the 3.7 million people who are currently on Medicaid. “We’re extremely concerned about whether there is sufficient staff and resources to handle this high volume of renewals,” said Amy Lowenstein, Director of Policy, Pennsylvania Health Law Project. (Kilmer, 3/28)
The Guardian:
Jeffries To The GOP: 'Back Up Off The Women Of America'
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries kicked off the press conference introducing the Women’s Health Protection Act by taking aim at “extreme Maga Republicans” he said want to control women’s health care choices. “The Women’s Health Protection Act is so critical because extreme Maga Republicans want to impose a nationwide abortion ban. We’re gonna stop them,” Jeffries said. “Extreme Republicans want to criminalize abortion care across the nation. We’re gonna stop them.” (Stein, 3/30)
AP:
Maryland Voters To Decide Abortion Constitutional Amendment
Maryland voters will decide next year whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the Maryland Constitution, after the House of Delegates voted Thursday to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The House voted 98-38 for a bill that already has cleared the state Senate by the three-fifths margin needed to bring the question before voters in 2024. A simple majority would be needed by voters to approve it. (Witte, 3/30)
CBS News:
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody Says Abortion Precedents Are 'Clearly Erroneous'
As lawmakers consider barring abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, Attorney General Ashley Moody's office late Wednesday urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject more than three decades of legal precedents that have protected abortion rights in the state. (3/30)
Idaho Statesman:
As Doctors Flee State, Idaho Bill Expands Exceptions For Abortion. Health Isn’t One Of Them
In an effort to address complaints about an exodus of Idaho physicians, who fear felony charges for providing pregnancy care, an Idaho bill would add exceptions to the state’s abortion ban. But pregnancies that cause health risks isn’t one of them. (Suppe, 3/30)
Politico:
Sex Ed, Birth Control, Medicaid: Republicans’ ‘New Pro-Life Agenda’
Republicans in staunchly conservative states are championing some atypical legislation this session — promoting sex education, government welfare and more birth control. The proposals are part of what some governors and lawmakers have referred to as a “new pro-life agenda” for the post-Roe era — one that is increasingly breaking with their party’s socially conservative approach to maternal and reproductive health in favor of one more commonly pushed by Democrats. (Messerly, 3/30)
AP:
North Dakota Governor Vetoes Transgender Pronouns Bill
North Dakota’s Republican governor vetoed a bill that would generally prohibit public schools teachers and staff from referring to transgender students by pronouns other than those reflecting the sex assigned to them at birth. The state Senate voted 37-9 to override the veto Thursday afternoon, just hours after Gov. Doug Burgum’s office announced his decision. The House, which will convene Friday, must still vote on the override, The Bismarck Tribune reported. (Stafford, 3/30)
AP:
Maryland Votes To Expand Medicaid Gender-Affirming Care
Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to expanding procedures relating to gender-affirming care that are covered by the state’s Medicaid program. The 93-39 vote by the House of Delegates sends the measure to Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat who has said he will sign the bill. The state’s Medicaid program currently limits gender-affirming care to a handful of procedures, such as mental health services for gender dysphoria, continuous hormone replacement therapy, and gender reassignment surgery. (Witte, 3/30)
Houston Chronicle:
Exemption For Current Patients Added To Texas Ban On Transgender Care
A bipartisan amendment to a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors would create an exception for those who have been on the medications for 90 days prior to the bill’s effective date. (Goldenstein, 3/30)
Stat:
Telehealth Rule Change Threatens Trans Health Care Access
As states across the U.S. introduce anti-trans legislation, transgender and nonbinary people face increasing restrictions in their ability to access gender-affirming care. Now experts say the government’s plans to end the Covid public health emergency on May 11 could further jeopardize the health and safety of trans people across the country. “These targeted political attacks … are another public health emergency,” Crystal Beal, a physician and founder and CEO of telemedicine provider QueerDoc, said at a media briefing on Thursday. “Couple these with the end of the public health emergency, and more trans people will die.” (Gaffney, 3/31)
The New York Times:
Studies Link Common Childhood Viruses To Rare Hepatitis Cases
Although the idea remains speculative, the timing of the outbreak may have been related to the loosening of pandemic precautions, leaving large numbers of young children exposed to common viruses they had not previously encountered. (Anthes, 3/30)
NBC News:
Possible Culprit Identified In Outbreak Of Severe Liver Damage Cases In Children
But importantly, the researchers found that AAV2 didn’t appear to be acting alone. It needed “helper” viruses — other infections — to get into liver cells. Multiple co-infections “was an unexpected finding,” said senior study author Dr. Charles Chiu, director of the University of California-San Francisco’s Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. In 75% of the cases, researchers found evidence of infection with at least three viruses at the same time. In about a third of the cases, there was evidence of four viruses. (Edwards, 3/30)
CIDRAP:
Study Identifies SARS-CoV-2 Variants With Antiviral Resistance Mutations
A study conducted by US and Austrian researchers has identified SARS-CoV-2 variants with resistance to widely used antiviral treatments. The study, published yesterday in Science Advances, found that several naturally occurring variants of Mpro, the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 that is essential for virus replication and is the main target of antivirals, carry amino acid mutations that confer resistance to nirmatrelvir (the main component of Paxlovid) and ensitrelvir, which received regulatory approval in Japan in February. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that these variants predate the use of these drugs, have appeared multiple times independently in different parts of the world, and are capable of spreading. (Dall, 3/30)
CIDRAP:
COVID During Pregnancy Might Raise Obesity Risk In Children
A study of about 150 babies born to women who had COVID-19 during pregnancy found growth patterns that have been linked to developing obesity and other health problems. A research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reported their findings yesterday in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. (Schnirring, 3/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Hollywood To Drop COVID Safety Measures As Federal Emergency Declaration Ends
Key protocols used on film and TV sets to limit the spread of COVID-19 are set to end in May, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said in a statement Thursday. (Sakoui, 3/30)
The Boston Globe:
SJC Rules Mayor Wu Had The Authority To Require Municipal Workers To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine
The state’s highest court on Thursday handed a victory to Mayor Michelle Wu in her legal battle with city unions over her vaccine mandate, ruling the city of Boston had proper authority in December 2021 to require municipal workers to get inoculated against COVID-19. (Andersen, 3/30)
Fox News:
COVID Vaccine Fatigue: Study Explores Why Many Are Refusing Booster Shots
As the world continues to move toward a post-pandemic life — and as the World Health Organization (WHO) recently predicted that COVID-19 will end in 2023 as a public health emergency — Americans may have reached a state of "vaccine fatigue," data suggests. (Rudy, 3/30)
NBC News:
Prescriptions For ADHD Drugs Spiked During The Pandemic, CDC Report Finds
Prescriptions for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder medications spiked in the first year of the pandemic, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Sullivan, 3/30)
The Hill:
ADHD Drugs Saw Pandemic Surge, CDC Analysis Finds
Prescriptions for stimulants used primarily to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, as access to the drugs expanded via telehealth opportunities, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC study found that the percentage of adult males, as well as adolescent and adult females with employer-sponsored insurance, who got prescription stimulants climbed between 2016 and 2021, with a particular increase noted in 2020-2021, the first year of the pandemic. (Mueller, 3/30)
Reuters:
Biden Admin Urges Supreme Court To Hear 'Skinny Labels' Case Between Teva, GSK
The Biden Administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that it should agree to hear a patent appeal over drug labels involving Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc and GlaxoSmithKline LLC that could have significant ramifications for the generic-drug industry. The U.S. Solicitor General said Teva's generic version of GSK's heart drug Coreg could not have violated GSK's patent rights because Teva omitted the infringing use of the drug from its labeling. (Brittain, 3/30)
CIDRAP:
US Tops 1 Million Mpox Vaccine Doses Given, But Coverage Lags In Risk Groups
In its latest snapshot on the nation's mpox vaccine campaign, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said though more than 1 million doses have been given, only 23% of the at-risk population is fully covered with two doses. In other developments, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest global update that cases continue to decline, except for in the Western Pacific region. (Schnirring, 3/30)
AP:
US Navy Deploys More Chaplains For Suicide Prevention
Mental health problems, especially among enlisted men under 29, mirror concerns in schools and colleges, which are also increasingly tapping campus ministry for counseling. The isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated depression and anxiety for many. But chaplains, civilian counselors, families of suicide victims, and sailors from commodores to the newly enlisted say these struggles pose unique challenges and security implications in the military, where suicides have risen for most of the past decade and took the lives of 519 service members in 2021, per the latest Department of Defense data. (Dell'Orto, 3/30)
The Washington Post:
Social Media Is Addictive For Many Girls, Especially Those With Depression
Nearly half of adolescent girls on TikTok feel addicted to it or use the platform for longer than they intend, according to a report that looks at social media as a central facet of American girlhood. TikTok leads the way in total time on its platform, with girls who use it logging more than 2.5 hours a day, according to researchers from Brown University and the nonprofit Common Sense Media. But YouTube is only a bit behind, at nearly 2.5 hours, with Snapchat and messaging apps at about two hours, and Instagram at 92 minutes. Many of the girls surveyed, ages 11 to 15, use multiple platforms each day. (St. George, 3/30)
CBS News:
PFAS In Clothing: Is What You Wear Dripping In "Forever Chemicals"?
There could be more than just fashion risks involved when buying a pair of leggings or a raincoat. Just how much risk is still not clear, but toxic chemicals have been found in hundreds of consumer products and clothing bought off the racks nationwide. (Norman, 3/30)