Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pennsylvania Decriminalizes Fentanyl Test Strips
On Nov. 3, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf approved House Bill 1393, which decriminalizes fentanyl test strips. The bill amends the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act of 1972 to no longer define fentanyl test strips as drug paraphernalia, a release from the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and the Department of Health explained. (Van Etten, 11/3)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
A group of the country's leading maternal health doctors is threatening legal action against the Texas Department of Health and Human Services over its delayed release of a long-awaited report on pregnancy-related deaths. (Blackman and Gill, 11/3)
A Santa Clara County resident died from West Nile virus after a long illness, according to the Public Health Department.While the death was recorded in the county, the person contracted the virus in Contra Costa County, the department said in a statement to the Bay Area News Group on Thursday. (Green, 11/3)
North Carolina’s health agency is weighing whether to challenge a judge’s order demanding that the state ramp up services for people with intellectual and development disabilities to allow more of them to live at home or in their communities. In 2020, Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour ruled that too many such people were forced to live in institutions in violation of state law. (Robertson, 11/3)
A Louisiana prison’s treatment of its mentally ill prisoners — including inadequate care, incomplete medical records and prolonged stints in solitary confinement — violates federal law and the Constitution, a federal judge has ruled. (McGill, 11/3)
On LGBTQ+ health care —
As the health and safety of trans and queer youth are jeopardized across the country, there were a few minutes of hope on Wednesday in Boston when Adm. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services and first transgender federal official confirmed by the U.S. Senate, visited the Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth. (Gaffney, 11/4)
Medical boards appointed by governors in some red states may be opening a new front in the ongoing political battle over government restrictions on gender-affirming care. (Gonzalez, 11/4)
