Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Maryland Relaxes Its Lockdown As Florida's Immigrants Face Covid Risks
Maryland will lift capacity limits on certain businesses starting this Friday per Gov. Larry Hogan (R)'s latest order issued Tuesday. Restaurants, bars and other businesses will no longer be required to reduce capacity, though customers must social distance and the state's mask mandate will remain in effect. Large outdoor and indoor venues, like conference halls, will still have to limit capacity. (Knutson, 3/9)
Ana鈥檚 9-year-old son was the first in the family to come down with symptoms that looked like COVID-19 last March. Soon after, the 37-year-old unauthorized immigrant and three of her other children, including a daughter with asthma, struggled to breathe. (Dawson, 3/9)
In other news from the states 鈥
Inmates in North Carolina prisons will now receive testing and treatment for hepatitis C, as well as education about how the virus spreads, according to a federal class-action lawsuit settlement on Monday. In 2018, three state inmates sued the Department of Public Safety saying they were denied treatment for their hepatitis C virus because they weren鈥檛 sick enough to receive medication under the prison system鈥檚 former criteria. (Knopf, 3/10)
Buried in President Joe Biden鈥檚 COVID-19 relief bill is a provision intended to entice 12 holdout states to extend health coverage to more low-income adults by expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Although Congress has not yet passed the legislation, Biden鈥檚 strategy appears to be working. A key Wyoming Senate committee this week approved a measure that would extend Medicaid benefits to all poor adults鈥攏ot just older adults, those with disabilities and pregnant women. The bill now moves to the Wyoming Senate floor. If it passes, the law would add about 24,000 Wyoming residents to the Medicaid rolls, according to estimates released by the state鈥檚 Department of Health last month. (Ollove, 3/9)
Environmental advocates are calling for Governor Daniel J. McKee to adopt state regulations for 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥 that can contaminate drinking water. The calls follow a new study that shows the main drinking water sources for tens of thousands of people on Cape Cod contain elevated levels of the toxic chemicals, which can come from firefighting foam, Teflon, and food packaging. Harvard University scientists report that watersheds around Mashpee have 40 times more PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) than new Massachusetts rules allow. (Fitzpatrick, 3/9)
