Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Millions In Texas' Largest City Under Boil Water Notice
Houston is under a boil water notice after a power outage caused low water pressure across the city, according to Houston Public Works. Power went out at a water purification plant at about 10:30 a.m Sunday. Power and water pressures have since been restored, but the boil water notice is still in effect. (Archie, 11/28)
In other news from Texas —
Alana Bradley darted around a UTHealth Science Center laboratory on a gloomy November afternoon, gathering supplies — gloves, gown, a pen-sized biopsy tool and a blue icebox — for the morbid task ahead. A text flashes on the 26-year-old research assistant’s cellphone, from a doctor at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. (Gill, 11/25)
Carrie Jackson and her family of three fondly remember their home in Denton, Texas. They had moved to the Dallas suburb from the tiny town of Malakoff, Texas, back in 2016. Jackson landed a job she liked as a lead counselor for the Aubrey Independent School District. Carrie said her 17-year-old high school junior, Cass, who is transgender, was thriving. (Connell-Bryan, Kenen and Holzman, 11/27)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced a final settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against Allergan, which is now part of AbbVie, and Teva Pharmaceuticals for its role in the ongoing opioid epidemic. A dozen states, including Iowa, argued the companies failed to take sufficient action in preventing opioid drugs from being diverted to illegal trade. (Ramm, 11/23)
Governor Charlie Baker last month quietly reappointed the state’s chief medical examiner to a new five-year term, a move that could keep the executive branch’s highest-paid employee in place through his successor’s upcoming term. (Stout, 11/23)
A 19-year-old woman’s petition to attend the imminent execution of her father in Missouri has been denied by a federal judge because she is under 21 years old, the minimum legal age to witness an execution in the state. ... In an order denying the motion, also shared by the ACLU, U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes acknowledged the age bar could cause Ramey emotional harm, but did not find that it violated her First and 14th Amendment rights, as her lawyers argued. (Sands, 11/27)
Unsure where to go for help, a homeless single mother named Mary made an important call after she had a baby in 2020. She dialed 211, a social service hotline that put her in touch with transitional housing. (McCoppin, 11/26)
With only two boxes left to unpack, Mary Jensen was hesitant to dive into the rest of her belongings. Having just moved into her third nursing home in four months, she worried that this facility could close unexpectedly, forcing her and her roommate, Sharon Grudzinski, to move — again. (Schabacker, 11/27)
It’s the time of year when millions of North Carolinians will pore through health insurance offerings trying to determine what will be the best coverage for them this coming year. Just under half of the state’s residents receive insurance from their employers, the state’s 710,000 Medicare recipients need to update their enrollment, and about a million people in the state don’t have access to health insurance at all. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 11/28)
