Texas AG Targets Puberty-Blockers, Pride Week In Schools
Media outlets cover the ongoing push against LGBTQ+ health-related matters in Texas by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is now investigating two drugmakers over off-label use of puberty blockers, and alleges that celebrating Pride Week in Austin schools constitutes sex education and may break state law.
The Texas Tribune:
Ken Paxton Investigates Pharmaceutical Companies Over Puberty Blockers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating two pharmaceutical companies — Endo Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie Inc. — for allegedly advertising puberty blockers to children and their parents to treat gender dysphoria rather than the other medical conditions they are approved to treat. Paxton opened the investigation in December and filed civil investigative demands with the two companies on Thursday. This is the latest move in an ongoing effort by Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott to limit access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender teens in Texas. (Klibanoff, 3/24)
The Washington Post:
It’s Pride Week In Austin Schools. The Texas AG Says That’s Illegal
Students in the Austin Independent School District can collect Pride flags and pronoun buttons this week as they celebrate LGBTQ students and work toward creating an inclusive environment. It’s the eighth year the district has held Pride Week, which includes lessons on diversity and acceptance. But on Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sent a letter to the school district saying the celebrations constituted “sex education.” Without consent from parents, the district’s Pride Week is “breaking state law,” he said. (Mark, 3/24)
And more on transgender health care —
CNN:
Arizona Lawmakers Pass Bill Outlawing Gender-Affirming Treatment For Trans Youth
Lawmakers in Arizona approved two bills on Thursday targeting transgender youth in the state, including one that would restrict access to gender-affirming health care. The measures now will go to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey for his signature. The state’s Republican-led House approved the health care ban on Thursday by 31-26. The bill had passed the state’s GOP-controlled Senate by 16-12 in February. (Cole, 3/24)
Oklahoman:
Oklahoma Looks To Ban Transgender Athletes From Female Sports
Gov. Kevin Stitt will get the final say on a bill that would block transgender athletes from competing in girls or women’s sports. Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate gave final passage to legislation that would bar transgender athletes at K-12 schools or universities from participating in female sports teams or individual women’s sporting events. Senate Bill 2, known as the “Save Women’s Sports Act” passed the House last year and cleared the Senate on Thursday with Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso, crossing party lines to vote in favor. (Forman, 3/24)
CBS News:
Teachers Speak Out Against Florida’s “Parental Rights In Education” Bill
Some of America’s most highly regarded teachers are speaking out against Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, and a growing number of LGBTQ teachers and allies across the country are worried about the impact this and similar legislation could have on students. … Kentucky’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, Willie Carver, drafted an open letter, signed by more than 200 teachers who’ve been honored by their state as a current or former Teacher of the Year, condemning policies that place “politics, misconceptions, teacher comfort, and other concepts above the needs of students.” The signatories represent about 50 states and territories. (Jones II, 3/24)
Salt Lake Tribune:
Growing Latter-Day Saint Support For LGBTQ Rights Tops The National Average
Support among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for LGBTQ rights, including same-sex marriage, has increased noticeably since 2015, mirroring trends across U.S. society generally, according to a recent study by the Public Religion Research Institute. Based on interviews conducted online and by phone of a nationally representative sample of more than 22,000 adults, the report uncovered an overall increase of 8 percentage points among Americans between 2015 and 2021. Nearly 8 in 10 (79%) now favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals. Latter-day Saints’ backing for these same protections jumped by 12 percentage points during the same period to exceed the national average at 84%. (Kemsley, 3/24)
Pandemic Affected Language, Hearing Skills Of Many Ohio Preschoolers
The Columbus Dispatch reports 52% of preschoolers tested in central Ohio neighborhoods failed speech-language screenings, and 40% failed hearing tests in 2021. Pandemic impacts on educational norms across the U.S. are blamed. North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and Georgia are also in the news.
Columbus Dispatch:
More Than Half Of Preschoolers Tested Failed Language, Hearing Tests
With much of their lives spent in the COVID-19 pandemic, families and health experts in Greater Columbus and across the United States have noticed a sharp increase in very young children with speech and hearing issues. In 12 central Ohio neighborhoods, 52% of children ages 3 to 5 who were tested by the group nonprofit Columbus Speech and Hearing failed their speech-language screenings, and 40% failed their hearing tests in 2021. Before the pandemic, 27% of children overall tested failed their speech-language assessments and 21% failed their hearing screenings in 2019. (Wright, 3/25)
In news from North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida —
North Carolina Health News:
Report: 2020 Saw A Record Number Of Deaths In NC Jails
North Carolina jails saw a record number of deaths due to suicide or substance use in 2020, according to a new report from Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC). There were a record number of 56 deaths in North Carolina jails in 2020, despite estimates that nationwide lockups reduced their populations by a quarter in just months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report found. Of those deaths, 32 were due to suicide or related to substance use, an increase from previous years. By comparison, there were 30 people who died from suicide or substance use in the state’s jails in 2019 and 22 in 2018. (Thompson, 3/25)
North Carolina Health News:
Owners Of Troubled Thomasville Nursing Home Avoid Scrutiny
Pointed questions arose about drastically low staffing and apparent failure to plan by Kinston-based Principle Long Term Care after its facility Pine Ridge Health and Rehabilitation faced a crisis on the icy night of Jan. 16. By the time local EMS and government officials showed up, two residents had died at the Thomasville home and nearly a hundred were left in the care of one nurse and two assistants instead of the 13 to 15 who should have been providing care. (Goldsmith and Hoban, 3/23)
AP:
Seven Children Hospitalized After Taking Prescription Pills
Authorities in Virginia on Thursday were still trying to piece together what happened and whether any adults will face criminal charges after seven children took prescription medicine and ended up in the hospital. Police in Hopewell, a small city about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Richmond, said they were called to a home late Wednesday afternoon, where they found four small children unresponsive. Three more children found in another part of the house were awake, but lethargic. The children ranged between the ages of 1 and 7. Lt. Cheyenne Casale said police believe a 7-year-old boy took medication he had been prescribed for anxiety, then gave some to the other children. (3/24)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Bipartisan Bill To Expand Mental Health Services In Georgia Finds Ire On The Right
It’s been called the “Pedophilia Protection Act,” guided by the World Health Organization and a measure that threatens to “take our guns.” The issue? Crime? Gun control? COVID-19? None of the above. The comments have come in reaction to a bipartisan effort to expand the way mental health is covered in Georgia. In the two weeks since House Bill 1013 was approved by that chamber, the overwhelming support heard in committee meetings and on the House floor has given way to a growing chorus of opponents who believe the legislation will allow pedophiles to avoid prison and deny Georgians their right to bear arms. “There’s only recently been this kind of mass attack on the bill that comes from a very small internet activation,” said the bill’s co-sponsor, state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a Decatur Democrat. (Prabhu, 3/24)
Fresh Take Florida:
Florida Fines Largest Medicaid Payment Vendor Nearly $9.1 Million Over Billing Glitches
Florida fined its largest Medicaid payment vendor nearly $9.1 million over software problems that delayed payments for nearly three months for tens of thousands of health-care claims for the state’s sickest and neediest children, the government’s health regulator said Wednesday. In a letter to the CEO of Sunshine State Health Plan Inc. of Tampa, the Agency for Health Care Administration also demanded detailed explanations for how the problems occurred and how the company responded. It also required the company to demonstrate within 30 days that future claims were being paid promptly and asked for weekly updates in phone calls with the CEO, Nathan Landsbaum, or another senior executive. (Bausch, 3/24)
In news from Michigan, Iowa, Montana, and California —
AP:
Michigan Legislature Votes To Speed Health Care Approvals
Michigan insurers that require health providers to get pre-approval to cover treatment would have to promptly respond to doctors’ requests or those requests would be automatically granted under a bill headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature. The legislation received final, unanimous Senate approval on Thursday. (Eggert, 3/24)
AP:
Jury Awards More Than $97M To Family Of Boy Injured At Birth
The family of a boy whose brain was severely injured during birth at an Iowa City hospital has been awarded $97.4 million — believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Iowa’s history. A Johnson County handed down the award on Monday following a 14-day trial, the Des Moines Register reported. It came in a lawsuit filed by Kathleen and Andrew Kromphardt against Mercy Hospital Iowa City and an obstetrician. (3/24)
KHN:
Montana Is Sending Troubled Kids To Out-Of-State Programs That Have Been Accused Of Abuse
The high demand for treatment for children with behavioral and substance abuse problems has led Montana health officials to spend Medicaid funds to send kids, including those who are foster children and wards of the state, to residential programs in other states with less stringent oversight. Some of those children have been sent to out-of-state programs that have been accused of abuse and mistreatment, according to documents from state agencies and media reports. (Evans, 3/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Calls For Action After Regulators Criticize Delays In L.A. County’s Public Health System
In mid-December, a woman in her early 40s with severe abdominal pain and unexplained weight loss was referred to a gastroenterologist at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. The specialist said she would have to wait two and a half months for an appointment. Then she learned she’d have to wait another two and a half months for an MRI scan of her intestines. And four months for a colonoscopy. The news was frustrating but not a shock— the county hospital system had recently kept her waiting two years for a mammogram, she said. Her experience mirrors those of thousands of other patients who for years have faced delays to see specialists at Los Angeles’ county-run hospitals — waits that have cost some patients their lives. (Dolan and Mejia, 3/24)
In news about Obamacare —
Cincinnati Enquirer:
Cincinnati Health Insurance: Poor Still Struggle Despite Obamacare
Emily Bender still gets medical bills she can’t afford to pay. They arrive every few months. Some are for the miscarriage she suffered more than a decade ago, others for emergency care related to her high blood pressure. All told, she owes as much as $5,000 for medical treatment she received years ago. For Bender, who lived without health insurance for years as a young mom in East Price Hill, those costs remain a burden even as she approaches middle age. The weight of them affects her most basic decisions, from the money she spends on food to the clothes she buys her children to the apartment she rents. (Horn, 3/24)
KHN:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The ACA Turns 12
The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, turned 12 this week, in spite of efforts to repeal it through both legislation and court action over much of its lifetime. But key decisions facing federal and state lawmakers and the Biden administration in the coming year will say a lot about how many Americans the law ultimately benefits, and how much it will benefit them. (3/24)
