- KFF 国产精品视频 News Original Stories 2
- Without Medicare Part B鈥檚 Shield, Patient鈥檚 Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight
- A Government Video Would Explain When Abortion Is Legal in South Dakota
- Political Cartoon: 'Under the Weather'
- Spending And Fiscal Battles 1
- 国产精品视频 Measures Don't Make The Cut In Talks Over Smaller Spending Bill
From KFF 国产精品视频 News - Latest Stories:
KFF 国产精品视频 News Original Stories
Without Medicare Part B鈥檚 Shield, Patient鈥檚 Family Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight
Sky-high bills from air-ambulance providers have sparked complaints and federal action in recent years. But a rural Tennessee resident fell through the cracks of billing protections 鈥 and a single helicopter ride could cost much of her estate's value. (Tony Leys, )
A Government Video Would Explain When Abortion Is Legal in South Dakota
South Dakota allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy only if a patient鈥檚 life is in jeopardy. Lawmakers say a government-created video would clarify what that exception actually means. (Arielle Zionts, )
Political Cartoon: 'Under the Weather'
KFF 国产精品视频 News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Political Cartoon: 'Under the Weather'" by Pavel Constantin.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
TAKE CARE OF THOSE PEARLY WHITES
Aging smiles, wise tales 鈥
Medicare, embrace teeth care!
Seniors' wellness blooms
- Sheree Storm
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF 国产精品视频 News or KFF.
Each month, KFF 国产精品视频 News鈥 Rural Dispatch newsletter covers health issues in places where accessing care can be more challenging.
Summaries Of The News:
国产精品视频 Measures Don't Make The Cut In Talks Over Smaller Spending Bill
The latest negotiations to keep the federal government funded have ruled out including health proposals that some lawmakers hoped to include. The tabled measures would have impacted drug costs, price transparency, site-neutral Medicare payments, as well as others policies.
Lawmakers聽who hoped to address price transparency and lower drug costs聽are instead negotiating a smaller health care package after talks broke down again amid a broader stalemate over government funding. (Clason, 2/26)
Congress has abandoned its attempt to reform how pharmacy middlemen operate in an upcoming package to fund the federal government, 11 lobbyists and sources following the talks told STAT. (Cohrs and Wilkerson, 2/26)
Congress will not move forward with a controversial policy to equalize certain Medicare payments to hospitals and physicians鈥 offices in an upcoming government funding package, five lobbyists and sources following the talks told STAT. (Cohrs, 2/26)
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Congress has until Friday to reach a spending agreement, or the nation will face a partial government shutdown. It's the fourth such deadline lawmakers have approached in recent months. The last three times, they opted for short-term deals, pushing off more permanent solutions after failing to reach a funding compromise. ... With only five days to go until a partial shutdown, leaders have still not released bills to fund agriculture, food and drug, energy and water, military construction, veterans affairs, transportation and housing programs. (Beggin, 2/26)
In military health news 鈥
Millions of U.S. veterans will be eligible beginning March 5 for health care with the Department of Veterans Affairs under an accelerated effort to provide benefits and services to those exposed to toxic substances while serving. The VA announced Monday that all veterans who have served in a combat zone since the Vietnam War, as well as those who participated in training or operations and came into contact with hazardous materials, will be able to enroll in VA health care. (Kime, 2/26)
The Defense Department on Monday released a long-awaited review of senior officials鈥 handling of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin鈥檚 recent hospitalizations, finding that there was 鈥渘o attempt to obfuscate鈥 his cancer diagnosis and medical treatment, even though the Pentagon initially withheld it from the White House and public. An unclassified summary of the review did not identify any failures by Austin or his aides as they oversaw the transfer of top-level authority from Austin to his deputy several times while he was undergoing medical treatment in December and January. But the probe, which was conducted by a senior Pentagon official, said that Austin鈥檚 staff was constrained by medical privacy laws and their own concern about their boss鈥檚 privacy. (Ryan, 2/26)
Florida 'Fetal Personhood' Bill Derailed For Now After Alabama IVF Ruling
Republican lawmakers have postponed advancing a bill that would establish new protections for any "unborn child" after Democrats raised concerns that the broad language would impact IVF, as the Alabama decision on frozen embryos have done in that state. News outlets report on other fallout from the controversial ruling.
Republican legislators in Florida hit the pause button on a bill that would have given any 鈥渦nborn child鈥 new protections after opponents raised concerns it would impact women鈥檚 reproductive rights in ways similar to the Alabama IVF ruling. The bill had passed easily through most committees in the Republican-led legislature until Democrats began raising concerns last week that the proposal was so broad that it might also impact in vitro fertilization treatments. (Rozsa, 2/26)
The Biden administration is sending the nation鈥檚 top health official to Alabama on Tuesday for discussions with patients and doctors about the controversial court ruling that upended in vitro fertilization treatment in the state. The ruling by the Republican-controlled Alabama Supreme Court has unexpectedly propelled the issue of IVF into the presidential campaign conversation right ahead of Super Tuesday voting on March 5. The visit by 国产精品视频 and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra comes just days after former President Donald Trump vowed to protect access to the fertility care. (Seitz, 2/26)
Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that he supports Texas families having access to in vitro fertilization treatments and has 鈥渘o doubt鈥 the state will address issues raised by a recent controversial court ruling out of Alabama. Abbott did not call on the Legislature to take specific action to protect IVF treatment. (Klibanoff, 2/26)
In abortion updates 鈥
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the campaign arm that helps elect Democrats to state legislatures, is circulating a new memo in order to highlight what it says is the disproportionate impact of abortion bans on Black women in GOP-led states. Such bans provoke strong emotional responses from Democratic Black women state lawmakers 鈥 sadness, distress, but not surprise. (Mizelle, 2/26)
KFF 国产精品视频 News:
A Government Video Would Explain When Abortion Is Legal In South Dakota聽
South Dakota lawmakers want state officials to create an educational video to help doctors understand when they can end a pregnancy without risking prison time under the state鈥檚 near-total abortion ban. It鈥檚 an example of how states are responding to the national controversy over what exceptions to abortion bans actually mean. Critics point to reports of women developing dangerous complications after hospitals in states with strict abortion laws refused to terminate their pregnancies. (Zionts, 2/27)
Decisions made by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago have come under heightened scrutiny thanks to a lawsuit calling for increased restrictions around the pregnancy-terminating drug mifepristone. (Goldhill, 2/27)
On maternal health and pregnancy 鈥
Amid worsening health outcomes for Black obstetric patients, some hospitals are improving maternal care by offering midwifery support, remote monitoring of patients' vitals and educational resources. Compared with white patients, Black obstetric patients are at disproportionate risk of life-threatening conditions, like preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage, as well as pregnancy-related complications like preterm birth. (Devereaux, 2/26)
鈥淗eartbreaking.鈥 That is how Falon Ensley, a student and former student government president at Lincoln University, described her feelings reading Antoinette Candia-Bailey鈥檚 final email to LU president John Moseley. On Jan. 8, Candia-Bailey, former vice president of student affairs at LU, took her own life. In that final email sent hours before her death, Candia-Bailey describes the toll that life at Lincoln has taken and offers ways that workplace culture could be improved. (McIlwain and Wilson, 2/27)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday joined advocates to call for a slate of new protections for pregnant people and new mothers, including a child tax credit, support for community-based providers and measures to make doulas and midwives more accessible. (Olander, 2/26)
The pitch feels noble, visceral: Prevent newborns from being discarded in dumpsters, and do it in a way that shields the mother and protects her anonymity while safeguarding the baby鈥檚 health and future. In a growing number of states, the answer to the rare occurrence of illegal infant abandonment is a baby drop-off box. ... But a growing chorus of experts and adoption advocates argue that however well-intended, baby boxes are a gimmick, unsupported by scientific research, that won鈥檛 address the real problems facing parents and newborns. (Claire Vollers, 2/26)
国产精品视频 Industry Consolidation In The Spotlight In Change 国产精品视频care Hack
A report in Stat says experts are concerned that health industry consolidation exposes more risks for cyberattacks, with Change 国产精品视频care's systems downed for many days. A ransomware gang is now suspected to be behind the attack, which has left some pharmacies unable to fill prescriptions.
Experts told STAT it鈥檚 a glaring example of the risk of consolidation in health care. Change, which is owned by United国产精品视频 Group, is one of the nation鈥檚 largest insurance claim processing hubs. A cyberattack, first announced Wednesday, took the entire company鈥檚 network down. Hospitals, doctors鈥 offices, and pharmacies have since resorted to sending claims via fax, validating patients鈥 insurance over the phone, and watching helplessly as unpaid bills pile up, multiple hospital employees told STAT. In an update Monday, United国产精品视频 said it was still working to restore its impacted systems. (Trang, Bannow and Herman, 2/27)
Pharmacies across the United States are still grappling with substantial disruptions following a cyberattack on United国产精品视频鈥檚 technology unit, Change 国产精品视频care, as reported by multiple pharmacy chains through official statements and on various social media platforms. The attack led to a nationwide outage of a network designed to communicate data between healthcare providers and insurance companies. The company did not provide a timeline for when services would be restored. Fast Company reached out to Change 国产精品视频care for additional information and will update this post if we hear back. (Hamilton, 2/26)
The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang is reportedly responsible for the massive Change 国产精品视频care cyberattack that has disrupted pharmacies across the US since last week. According to Reuters, citing "two people familiar with the matters," the notorious ransomware-as-a-service operation was behind the United国产精品视频 owned business' attack. The Register has not independently confirmed that ALPHV was involved in the intrusion. (Lyons, 2/26)
The breach also affected military clinics and hospital worldwide, according to a February 22 news release by Tricare, the government's healthcare program for the U.S. military. 鈥淢ilitary clinics and hospitals will provide outpatient prescriptions through a manual procedure until this issue is resolved,鈥 said Tricare, which asked for patience while pharmacies take longer than usual to safely fill prescriptions. (Solitro, 2/26)
$1 Billion Gift Covers All Tuition At Albert Einstein College Of Medicine
The gargantuan donation comes from Ruth Gottesman, a former faculty member and board chair. The Wall Street Journal notes that tuition fees alone at the college cost $60,000 a year. Also in the news, Steward 国产精品视频 Care, United国产精品视频, Elevance, Centene, VillageMD, and more.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine will now be tuition-free for all students, thanks to a historic $1 billion gift from a former faculty member and board chair. The donation comes from Ruth Gottesman, who after joining the faculty at the Bronx, N.Y.-based Einstein in 1968 developed widely used tools to screen children for learning problems and launched an adult literacy program. Gottesman, 93 years old, and her husband, the late billionaire-investor David 鈥淪andy鈥 Gottesman, were longtime donors to the medical school, and Ruth Gottesman serves as chair of its board of trustees.聽Einstein鈥檚 tuition this year is nearly $60,000, and the school recommends students budget at least another $35,000 a year for living expenses, books and other incidentals. The program lasts four years. ...Students assembled Monday morning to hear Gottesman announce the gift jumped up to hug one another, cheered, and grew tearful upon learning their new financial fate. (Korn, 2/26)
In other health care industry news 鈥
Governor Maura Healey on Monday intensified her criticisms of the troubled Steward 国产精品视频 Care hospital system and its chief executive, calling the company鈥檚 financial situation a 鈥渉ouse of cards鈥 and a 鈥渃harade鈥 that is threatening the state鈥檚 health care market. The first-term Democrat鈥檚 comments came just days after Steward officials submitted some financial data, but not all, in response to a Friday deadline set by Healey. (Stout, 2/26)
R1 RCM, a large publicly traded technology company that helps hospitals and physicians collect money from insurers and patients, may be going private. (Herman, 2/26)
国产精品视频 insurance companies had a terrific 2023 on Wall Street鈥攁s investors. Some of the largest publicly traded health insurers raked in the largest investment gains in at least a decade last year, according to a Modern 国产精品视频care analysis of financial filings. These windfalls helped boost finances for insurers contending with headwinds such as higher-than-expected Medicare Advantage spending. (Tepper, 2/26)
Early last year, MD Anderson Cancer Center leadership had a problem on their hands: a contentious dispute between one of its most powerful researchers and a junior scientist over authorship, credit, and charges of verbal abuse. High-ranking officials at the cancer center tried 鈥 and failed 鈥 to resolve the feud, and documents obtained by STAT shed new light on the deep divisions at the heart of this case. (Chen, 2/26)
Walgreens' decision to close dozens of VillageMD primary care clinics attached to its stores has left some industry watchers questioning whether the pharmacy chain's strategy is viable. ... All of the affected clinics are attached to聽Walgreens stores, a model executives had touted as a way to encourage better collaboration between physicians and pharmacists. The convenience of locating a medical office right next to a pharmacy was also viewed as a selling point for patients. (Hudson, 2/23)
Also 鈥
KFF 国产精品视频 News:
Without Medicare Part B鈥檚 Shield, Patient鈥檚 Family Owes $81,000 For A Single Air-Ambulance Flight聽
Debra Prichard was a retired factory worker who was careful with her money, including what she spent on medical care, said her daughter, Alicia Wieberg. 鈥淪he was the kind of person who didn鈥檛 go to the doctor for anything.鈥 That ended last year, when the rural Tennessee resident suffered a devastating stroke and several aneurysms. She twice was rushed from her local hospital to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, 79 miles away, where she was treated by brain specialists. She died Oct. 31 at age 70. (Leys, 2/27)
Thalia Gonzalez arrived at Long Island Jewish Medical Center prepared. When she checked in for her scheduled induction on July 6, she had her cousin and sister-in-law with her for support, a car seat ready to take her newborn son home, and a small bassinet. But when Gonzalez left the hospital four days later, the car seat was empty, the bassinet unused. Though her son was in good health, Gonzalez was discharged not knowing when she would have him home with her. She still doesn鈥檛 know. (Gerson, 2/26)
Dr. Elizabeth Clayborne is beating the odds. Since she started fundraising in 2021, Clayborne said she鈥檚 raised $3.25 million for her medical device company, NasaClip. As a biracial Black woman, the numbers aren鈥檛 necessarily always on Clayborne鈥檚 side 鈥 in 2021, startups founded by Black women received just 0.34% of venture capital funds nationally 鈥 but she wants to be more than the exception. (Lora, 2/27)
The idea that a full moon drives strange behavior is so deeply ingrained in our culture that some superstitious hospitals even bulk up on staffing when one is coming. New data from hospital safety company Canopy suggests, well, they might be onto something. (Reed, 2/23)
Study Says 134,000 Cancer Diagnoses Were Missed In Early Covid Months
"There will undoubtedly 鈥 and unfortunately 鈥 be a subsequent rise in cancer mortality," the authors said. Separately, a survey shows that over half of Americans don't know that drinking increases risks of colon and rectal cancer.
A new large study based on nationwide surveillance data suggests upwards of 134,000 cancer diagnoses were missed in the United States in the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to a combination of delayed screening and missed appointments. ... Cancers caught by annual screening were the most missed, with prostate cancer accounting for most potentially missed cases (22鈥,950), followed by female breast (16,870) and lung (16,333) cancers, the authors said. (Soucheray, 2/26)
Colorectal cancer cases are rising in the U.S., and many Americans don鈥檛 know the risk factors.聽Slightly more than half of Americans鈥51 percent鈥攄id not know that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for colon or rectal cancer, according to a new 1,000-person survey from The Ohio State University. 聽According to the survey, 42 percent of adults did not know lack of exercise may contribute to these types of cancer and 38 and 37 percent did not know obesity and poor diet are also risk factors.聽Black and Hispanic Americans were less likely to know about the risk factors for colon and rectal cancers than white Americans, according to the survey. (O'Connell-Domenech, 2/26)
On social media and mental health 鈥
The Supreme Court seemed skeptical on Monday of laws in Florida and Texas that bar major social media companies from making editorial judgments about which messages to allow. The laws were enacted in an effort to shield conservative voices on the sites, but a decision by the court, expected by June, will almost certainly be its most important statement on the scope of the First Amendment in the internet era, with broad political and economic implications. (Liptak, 2/26)
In other health and wellness news 鈥
Hundreds of pages of documents obtained by The New York Times and the nonprofit health newsroom The Examination, along with interviews with government and company officials in multiple countries, show that in the weeks and months before the recall, the tainted applesauce sailed through a series of checkpoints in a food-safety system meant to protect American consumers. (Jewett and Fitzgibbon, 2/27)
Almost three weeks before Covid-19 was reported to be spreading in the US, Patricia Cabello Dowd dropped dead in the kitchen of her San Jose, California, home. A previously healthy 57-year-old, Dowd had complained of body aches and flu-like symptoms days earlier, but nothing could explain why she died so suddenly. Lab results 10 weeks later revealed Dowd, a manager at a Silicon Valley semiconductor firm, was one of the first US Covid fatalities. Inflammation of the heart muscle led to a finger-sized rupture which caused lethal hemorrhage, an autopsy report showed. (Gale, 2/26)
A new study out of Australia analyzed data on more than 14,000 people and found that those who adhered to a healthy plant-based diet had a lower risk of obstructive sleep apnea while those on an unhealthy plant-based diet were at higher risk. A healthy plant-based diet is one high in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and nuts not refined carbohydrates like sugary drinks, and high-sugar and high-salt foods. (Marshall, 2/26) 聽
Mauritius will allow a ship belonging to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to dock after no trace of cholera was found in samples taken from passengers on board, a senior health official said on Monday. Authorities on the island nation off the coast of east Africa prevented the Norwegian Dawn from docking over the weekend over what they said were "health risks," without elaborating. (2/26)
When cognitive neuroscientist Charan Ranganath meets someone for the first time, he's often asked, "Why am I so forgetful?" But Ranganath says he's more interested in what we remember, rather than the things we forget.~"We're not designed to carry tons and tons of junk with us. I don't know that anyone would want to remember every temporary password that they've ever had," he says. "I think what [the human brain is] designed for is to carry what we need and to deploy it rapidly when we need it." (Gross, 2/26)
San Francisco Will Try Drug Dealers For Murder
The legal strategy is an attempt to lower the death toll from fentanyl overdoses and is already being used by several California counties. Also in the news from California, an effort to steer public health decisions based on wastewater analysis for drugs; STD in-home tests; and more.
County by county in California, as fentanyl overdoses escalate, local prosecutors are turning to a novel legal strategy to stem the spiraling death toll: charging drug dealers with murder. In July, Placer County reached a landmark plea deal that sent a man to prison for 15 years-to-life on charges of second-degree murder after he provided a Roseville teenager with a fentanyl-contaminated pill that proved lethal. (Wiley, 2/26)
For years, state and local health officials have watched in dismay as drug overdoses spiraled ever higher. Now they could gain a new tool to track the extent of the crisis. If proposed legislation from Assembly Member Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, is successful, California could become the first state to mandate routine testing of wastewater treatment plants statewide for fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs. (Ho, 2/26)
Maria Mercado鈥檚 5- and 7-year-old daughters haven鈥檛 been to the doctor for a check-up in two years. And it鈥檚 not for lack of trying. Mercado, a factory worker in South Los Angeles, has called the pediatrician鈥檚 office over and over hoping to book an appointment for a well-child visit, only to be told there are no appointments available and to call back in a month. Sometimes, she waits on hold for an hour. Like more than half of children in California, Mercado鈥檚 daughters have Medi-Cal, the state鈥檚 health insurance program for low-income residents. (Gold, 2/26)
Free and confidential in-home test kits to detect sexually transmitted infections are now available for San Mateo County residents, the county announced Monday. Home kits available for residents to use include tests for HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and Hepatitis C. Dr. Vivian Levi, County 国产精品视频鈥檚 STI (sexually transmitted infection) control officer said in a statement that getting tested for infections is 鈥渆ssential to maintaining good health overall.鈥 (Macasero, 2/26)
3 Prisoners Escape 3 Different Hospitals In Same 24-Hour Period
The unrelated incidents happened in Louisiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, a man accused of stealing a Virginia ambulance after being taken to the hospital for an earlier car crash has been found and arrested. Also in the news: An adult in Polk County, Florida, has measles.
Three prisoners attempted to escape police custody after being treated at hospitals across the country 鈥 all within the same 24 hours.聽The unrelated incidents took place at hospitals in Louisiana, Florida and Pennsylvania. In two cases, police are still searching for the escapees.聽(Kayser, 2/26)
The man accused of stealing a Fairfax County ambulance Monday after being taken to the hospital for a crash in a stolen vehicle hours earlier was arrested Friday, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Officials arrested Manassas, Virginia man Rickey Lowe, 32, days after he stole and drove off in a hospital ambulance before leaving the vehicle in Annandale and running away. He was found near a Manassas hotel and taken into custody. (Rogers, 2/24)
In other health news from across the U.S. 鈥
Florida鈥檚 measles outbreak, first identified at a Broward County elementary school 10 days ago, has made its way to Polk County, according to the state Department of 国产精品视频. One confirmed case of the highly contagious disease was reported by someone 20 to 24 years old in Polk County, the department reported Sunday on its Reportable Diseases Frequency Report. (Mayer, 2/26)
The Minnesota Department of 国产精品视频 announced on Monday that Krabbe disease will now be a part of its Newborn Screening Program. Krabbe disease is an inherited condition that prevents newborns from fully breaking down certain fats, according to MDH. That fat buildup can cause severe neurological problems and possibly death within the first two years of a child's life. (Swanson, 2/26)
A disagreement between Connecticut鈥檚 chief public health official and the nursing home industry will cost the state tens of millions of dollars, legislators learned last week. (Phaneuf, 2/27)
A group of Black nurses wants children to know about opportunities in the field and is working to pique their interest while they're young.聽They may not know it now, but for some, it may be a way out. Others may not want to leave, but instead, will stay and try to make their communities better. Either way, seeds are being planted. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Area Black Nurses Association聽held its second annual Mini Nurse Academy at General George G. Meade School in North Philly. (Lewis, 2/26)
Food access. Housing. Education. Job security. Climate change. These and other nonmedical factors that shape where people are born, live and work have become known as social determinants of health. And though they are not related to the health care system, they arguably have an even bigger impact on people鈥檚 health outcomes, well-being and daily life. (Crumpler, 2/27)
Global Endocrinologists Society To Review Gender Care Guidelines
The Endocrine Society said its move was mere routine, and not prompted by politics 鈥 with high-profile efforts by some U.S. states to limit gender-affirming care. The process is set to take three years. Meanwhile, the VA says it won't cover gender care for vets until it reviews PACT Act implications.
The major global medical association for endocrinologists will review its clinical guidelines for gender-affirming care, the Endocrine Society told CNN on Monday. Despite recent moves by some US states to restrict or ban such care, the society said it鈥檚 a routine update that was not prompted by politics. The society鈥檚 guidelines help the organization鈥檚 18,000 members 鈥 doctors, nurses, educators and students who focus on hormone-related health 鈥 determine the best practices to provide appropriate care for people who are transgender and gender-diverse. The organization said it will take about three years for the guidelines to come together. (Christensen, 2/26)
The Department of Veterans Affairs will not move forward with covering gender-affirmation surgery for transgender veterans while it studies the effects of a sweeping law that expanded VA eligibility to millions of veterans, VA Secretary Denis McDonough confirmed Monday. McDonough did not rule out proceeding with covering gender-affirmation surgery after the PACT Act analysis is done. But the move further delays the availability of a treatment that transgender veterans have been eagerly anticipating since McDonough first announced the VA would provide it two and a half years ago -- a year before the PACT Act became law. (Kheel, 2/26)
Hundreds of medical professionals in West Virginia have signed a letter condemning a bill advancing in the House of Delegates that would bar transgender youth at risk for suicide from accessing medical interventions such as hormone therapy. The bill before the full House would completely ban minors鈥 access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers, removing a narrow exemption passed by lawmakers last year that allows kids at risk for self-harm and suicide to receive such care. (Willingham, 2/26)
On transgender IDs and housing 鈥
Mack Allen, an 18-year-old high school senior from Kansas, braces for sideways glances, questioning looks and snide comments whenever he has to hand over his driver鈥檚 license, which still identifies him as female.
They鈥檝e come from a police officer responding to a car accident. They鈥檝e come from an urgent care employee loudly using the wrong name and pronouns. They鈥檝e come from the people in the waiting room who overheard. (DeMillo and Hanna, 2/27)
The Colorado state legislature advanced a bill on Friday aimed at mandating K-12 schools statewide to implement policies requiring educators to address transgender students by their preferred name in all school settings 鈥 including in records and documents 鈥 independent of parental approval or a formal legal name change.聽The bill will need one more round of voting before advancing to the Senate floor. (Joseph, 2/26)
When Steven Rocha received his new driver's license 鈥 one that matched his gender expression 鈥 he nearly cried. There were so many spaces he would have to present his ID, and as a queer transgender man, it was "always kind of uncomfortable and sometimes scary depending on where I was to essentially be outed by my license that wasn't up to date." Why it matters: Without identification that matches their gender expression, trans Floridians face the risk of being outed at every traffic stop, visit to the polls, beer run, hotel check-in and more, advocates say. (Brugal and Varn, 2/26)
Transgender and gender-nonconforming adults are more likely to be homeless, with many of them kicked out of their homes by disapproving relatives, according to聽the National Alliance to End Homelessness.聽About 1 in 5 transgender people have experienced homelessness at some point, the National Center for Transgender Equality聽reports, and Black people make up a聽disproportionate聽number of them. Residents can stay for up to a year at Capital Tea鈥檚 safe house, which is reserved for transgender women. This summer, Diaz said, the group plans to open a house for transgender men. She hopes to grow the program beyond Florida and create a model program for other states and cities. 鈥淚 want it to be to where it is not just Tallahassee-based,鈥 Diaz said. 鈥淚 want Capital Tea to be the Underground Railroad of trans housing.鈥 (Hassanein, 2/25)
Lubricant Eye Ointments Are Recalled Because Of Infection Risk
CBS News reports on the recall, which involves four products under the brands Equate, CVS 国产精品视频 and AACE Pharmaceuticals. Also in the news: New Zealand will repeal its tobacco ban, what eating disorder experts want to know about weight-loss drugs, and more.
Multiple brands of lubricant eye ointments are being recalled due to a risk of infection after federal inspectors found unsterile conditions at the Indian plant where the products were manufactured. ...聽Sold nationwide by retailers including CVS 国产精品视频 and Walmart, the latest recall involves four products by brands Equate, CVS 国产精品视频 and AACE Pharmaceuticals, according to the notice posted Monday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.聽(Gibson, 2/26)
On cigarettes and tobacco 鈥
Pretty soon, Americans who crave a nicotine hit will be more likely to reach for a vape or an oral nicotine pouch than a cigarette. Few tobacco companies look ready for this milestone. According to data from Marlboro maker Altria MO -1.02crease; red down pointing triangle, cigarettes鈥 share of the U.S. nicotine industry fell to 60% last year, down from 80% in 2018. Smokers are switching to smoke-free products such as vapes in higher numbers than expected. If the trend continues, it will only take another three years for cigarettes鈥 share to slip below 50%. (Ryan, 2/26)
New Zealand will repeal on Tuesday a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and campaigners warned of the risk that people could die as a result. Set to take effect from July, the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world would have banned sales to those born after Jan. 1, 2009, cut nicotine content in smoked tobacco products and reduced the number of tobacco retailers by more than 90%. (Craymer, 2/27)
In other pharmaceutical news 鈥
Base immune, a British startup that uses AI to develop vaccines for future pathogen mutations, raised 拢9 million in venture capital funding. Lots of the AI chatter right now is "what comes after chatbots," and the most likely (and consequential) answers are in biotech. (Primack, 2/26)
There is still much researchers don鈥檛 know about popular weight loss medications 鈥 and those lack of studies could have consequences for eating disorders, according to experts. (Holcombe, 2/26)
The Aztecs called it teonan谩catl, or 鈥渇lesh of the Gods.鈥 Some who ate the intoxicating mushroom 鈥渟aw themselves dying in a vision and wept,鈥 according to an account by a 16th-century Franciscan friar. 鈥淥thers saw themselves being eaten by a wild beast; others imagined that they were capturing prisoners in battle, that they were rich . . .鈥 (Piore, 2/26)
Editorial writers tackle the IVF ruling and palliative psychiatry,
These days, I鈥檓 a reproductive endocrinologist at Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital and teach at Harvard Medical School, but I have also practiced in my native Italy, including during the heartbreaking years of what was known as Law 40. In the spring of 2004, under a coalition government led by populist media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Parliament passed a shocking new law giving full personhood rights to the human embryo. In a Western republic with clear right-to-choice reproductive laws, a blatantly unconstitutional law was enacted. (Antonio Gargiulo, 2/26)
When my wife, Laurie, completed her ninth in vitro fertilization cycle in the spring of 2000, we had more than 150 fertilized embryos in frozen storage at the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical College of Cornell University. We were not stockpiling them for later use. At the time, our son Henry was 5. At birth, he had been diagnosed with a fatal genetic disease, Fanconi anemia. We were using IVF together with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in hopes of having a healthy baby who could also save Henry鈥檚 life with a cord blood transplant. (Allen Goldberg, 2/27)
As a result of the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision permitting would-be parents to sue for wrongful death over the negligent destruction of I.V.F.-created embryos, the hope and miracles that I was blessed to experience are at risk for families whose clinics have suspended treatments. (Kristen Soltis Anderson, 2/27)
The Canadian surgeon and urologist Balfour Mount is considered the father of palliative care in North America. He was inspired and mentored by Cicely Saunders, a British nurse and social worker. Before she became a physician, Saunders developed the first modern hospice, St Christopher鈥檚 in London in 1967. Mount adapted and transplanted approaches to the care of the terminally ill he had learned at St Christopher鈥檚 to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. (Anand Kumar, 2/27)