LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to buy up and forgive millions of dollars in medical debt as part of a comprehensive plan to tackle a $2.9 billion burden that weighs on almost 800,000 residents. The measure, authored by supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly Mitchell, allows the county to enter into […]
The post Los Angeles County Approves Medical Debt Relief for Residents first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(12047) "LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to buy up and forgive millions of dollars in medical debt as part of a comprehensive plan to tackle a $2.9 billion burden that weighs on almost 800,000 residents.
The measure, authored by supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly Mitchell, allows the county to enter into a pilot program with Undue Medical Debt, previously known as RIP Medical Debt, a national organization that relieves patients of what they owe by purchasing their medical debt for pennies on the dollar then retiring it.
“Medical debt is largely out of people’s control, but it is devastating families across L.A. County, especially for people living on the brink of poverty,” Hahn said before the vote. “Luckily for us, this is low-hanging fruit. I think we have a moral obligation to seize this opportunity.”
The debt purchase measure is part of a larger county initiative that includes efforts to prevent the debt from accumulating in the first place, such as boosting hospital financial assistance programs and tracking hospital debt collection practices.
The Hospital Association of Southern California raised objections to the county’s overall plan in a letter to the Board of Supervisors, saying it unfairly singled out hospitals and citing a study that said one-time debt relief programs did not improve patient mental well-being. The hospital association declined to speak with KFF Health News further about the debt forgiveness pilot program.
Hahn’s office estimates the county’s $5 million public health investment will help 150,000 residents and eliminate $500 million in debt. The public health department said it hopes to launch the pilot in the coming months and provide Angelenos relief this year. According to Mitchell’s staff, more money could be allocated in the future if the pilot goes well.
Health care debt burdens 4 in 10 adults in the U.S., according to a KFF Health News investigation, and disproportionately affects people of color, low-income people, and families with children. In January, LA County found such debt weighed on 785,000 adults in 2022 and at least doubled the likelihood that patients would delay or forgo health care or prescriptions. The county labeled it a public health issue on par with diabetes and asthma.
Los Angeles County is part of a growing wave of local governments addressing medical debt. Cook County, home to Chicago, invested $12 million with Undue Medical Debt in 2022 to erase $1 billion in debt for its residents. In March, Arizona announced it would commit up to $30 million to medical debt relief.
“This is not a miracle that’s going to relieve all of this burden,” said Allison Sesso, CEO of Undue Medical Debt. “But it’s a worthwhile effort, given the amount of money and how relatively inexpensive it is to relieve a lot of these debts.”
While the program provides immediate relief, the county acknowledged it’s a short-term approach that doesn’t prevent residents from incurring more debt in the future. Mona Shah of Community Catalyst, a national health equity and policy organization, endorsed LA County’s approach of pairing one-time debt forgiveness with other efforts to tackle the root causes of medical debt.
“We don’t want to ever deny that relief, but we really need to focus on preventing medical debt from happening in the first place,” Shah said. “Otherwise, it just ends up being this vicious cycle where you’re relieved, and then the next day you can be back in the same situation again.”
Shah said she also has concerns that these programs let hospitals off the hook for the failures of their legally required financial assistance programs for low-income patients. Nonprofit hospitals, which are exempt from most taxes, are required to provide charity care, and in California it is required of all hospitals.
Undue Medical Debt typically partners with hospitals or physician groups to identify people who make below 400% of the federal poverty line or whose debt is shown by hospital financial records to be more than 5% of their annual income. They then negotiate a purchase price, acquire the debt, and retire it.
Sesso thinks most of these patients would likely have been eligible for hospital financial aid in the first place. However, many patients don’t know these programs exist or are put off by cumbersome approval processes.
Sesso said her organization uses patient eligibility reviews as an opportunity to engage hospitals on how they could improve their policies.
Yolanda Vera, health and wellness senior deputy in Mitchell’s office, said the county understands that a one-time debt relief program isn’t a cure-all but sees value in providing immediate relief.
“We have to try every tool we can to improve the economic well-being in our community,” Vera said. “And this is one of them.”
This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to buy up and forgive millions of dollars in medical debt as part of a comprehensive plan to tackle a $2.9 billion burden that weighs on almost 800,000 residents. The measure, authored by supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly Mitchell, allows the county to enter into […]
The post Los Angeles County Approves Medical Debt Relief for Residents first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(12047) "LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to buy up and forgive millions of dollars in medical debt as part of a comprehensive plan to tackle a $2.9 billion burden that weighs on almost 800,000 residents.
The measure, authored by supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly Mitchell, allows the county to enter into a pilot program with Undue Medical Debt, previously known as RIP Medical Debt, a national organization that relieves patients of what they owe by purchasing their medical debt for pennies on the dollar then retiring it.
“Medical debt is largely out of people’s control, but it is devastating families across L.A. County, especially for people living on the brink of poverty,” Hahn said before the vote. “Luckily for us, this is low-hanging fruit. I think we have a moral obligation to seize this opportunity.”
The debt purchase measure is part of a larger county initiative that includes efforts to prevent the debt from accumulating in the first place, such as boosting hospital financial assistance programs and tracking hospital debt collection practices.
The Hospital Association of Southern California raised objections to the county’s overall plan in a letter to the Board of Supervisors, saying it unfairly singled out hospitals and citing a study that said one-time debt relief programs did not improve patient mental well-being. The hospital association declined to speak with KFF Health News further about the debt forgiveness pilot program.
Hahn’s office estimates the county’s $5 million public health investment will help 150,000 residents and eliminate $500 million in debt. The public health department said it hopes to launch the pilot in the coming months and provide Angelenos relief this year. According to Mitchell’s staff, more money could be allocated in the future if the pilot goes well.
Health care debt burdens 4 in 10 adults in the U.S., according to a KFF Health News investigation, and disproportionately affects people of color, low-income people, and families with children. In January, LA County found such debt weighed on 785,000 adults in 2022 and at least doubled the likelihood that patients would delay or forgo health care or prescriptions. The county labeled it a public health issue on par with diabetes and asthma.
Los Angeles County is part of a growing wave of local governments addressing medical debt. Cook County, home to Chicago, invested $12 million with Undue Medical Debt in 2022 to erase $1 billion in debt for its residents. In March, Arizona announced it would commit up to $30 million to medical debt relief.
“This is not a miracle that’s going to relieve all of this burden,” said Allison Sesso, CEO of Undue Medical Debt. “But it’s a worthwhile effort, given the amount of money and how relatively inexpensive it is to relieve a lot of these debts.”
While the program provides immediate relief, the county acknowledged it’s a short-term approach that doesn’t prevent residents from incurring more debt in the future. Mona Shah of Community Catalyst, a national health equity and policy organization, endorsed LA County’s approach of pairing one-time debt forgiveness with other efforts to tackle the root causes of medical debt.
“We don’t want to ever deny that relief, but we really need to focus on preventing medical debt from happening in the first place,” Shah said. “Otherwise, it just ends up being this vicious cycle where you’re relieved, and then the next day you can be back in the same situation again.”
Shah said she also has concerns that these programs let hospitals off the hook for the failures of their legally required financial assistance programs for low-income patients. Nonprofit hospitals, which are exempt from most taxes, are required to provide charity care, and in California it is required of all hospitals.
Undue Medical Debt typically partners with hospitals or physician groups to identify people who make below 400% of the federal poverty line or whose debt is shown by hospital financial records to be more than 5% of their annual income. They then negotiate a purchase price, acquire the debt, and retire it.
Sesso thinks most of these patients would likely have been eligible for hospital financial aid in the first place. However, many patients don’t know these programs exist or are put off by cumbersome approval processes.
Sesso said her organization uses patient eligibility reviews as an opportunity to engage hospitals on how they could improve their policies.
Yolanda Vera, health and wellness senior deputy in Mitchell’s office, said the county understands that a one-time debt relief program isn’t a cure-all but sees value in providing immediate relief.
“We have to try every tool we can to improve the economic well-being in our community,” Vera said. “And this is one of them.”
This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touted investments in affordable housing and community development on a visit to Minnesota this week, promoting the policies of President Joe Biden as he campaigns for reelection. Yellen, the former chair of the Federal Reserve and the nation’s first woman secretary of the Treasury, visited the Neighborhood Development Center in […]
The post Treasury Secretary promotes Biden housing, economic development policies in Minnesota visit • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(4343) "U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touted investments in affordable housing and community development on a visit to Minnesota this week, promoting the policies of President Joe Biden as he campaigns for reelection.
Yellen, the former chair of the Federal Reserve and the nation’s first woman secretary of the Treasury, visited the Neighborhood Development Center in St. Paul with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to draw attention to a Treasury program that rewards lenders that invest in underserved communities, called community development financial institutions, or CDFIs.
The Neighborhood Development Center offers loans and training to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities. Since 2006, the organization has received $11 million in Treasury funding — which the organization matched with private funds — to help businesses get off the ground.
In her remarks, Yellen said she is working with other agencies to get more money out the door — demand for the CDFI Fund programs are three to five times higher than the available funds, she said.
On Monday, Yellen announced a new Treasury program — part of the CDFI Fund — that will pay out $100 million over three years to support the financing of new affordable housing projects. The funding is a drop in the bucket compared to the need; in Minnesota alone, around $3.9 billion was available for affordable housing programs from 2022 to 2023, including around $500 million in COVID-19 recovery funding.
But the federal dollars are meant to leverage and encourage private investment in new affordable housing construction.
Yellen also promised a streamlining of the application process for CDFI funds and encouraged banks to devote more money to housing programs.
She attributed the country’s strong economy and recovery from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic to efforts by Biden, who is neck-and-neck with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in presidential polls.
“But President Biden and I know that prices for key household expenses like health care, energy and housing are still too high, in large part due to challenges that have been mounting over decades,” Yellen said.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the U.S. needs to build more than 7 million housing units for extremely low-income renters in order to alleviate the pressure of rising housing costs on the country’s poorest households.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touted investments in affordable housing and community development on a visit to Minnesota this week, promoting the policies of President Joe Biden as he campaigns for reelection. Yellen, the former chair of the Federal Reserve and the nation’s first woman secretary of the Treasury, visited the Neighborhood Development Center in […]
The post Treasury Secretary promotes Biden housing, economic development policies in Minnesota visit • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(4343) "U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen touted investments in affordable housing and community development on a visit to Minnesota this week, promoting the policies of President Joe Biden as he campaigns for reelection.
Yellen, the former chair of the Federal Reserve and the nation’s first woman secretary of the Treasury, visited the Neighborhood Development Center in St. Paul with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to draw attention to a Treasury program that rewards lenders that invest in underserved communities, called community development financial institutions, or CDFIs.
The Neighborhood Development Center offers loans and training to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities. Since 2006, the organization has received $11 million in Treasury funding — which the organization matched with private funds — to help businesses get off the ground.
In her remarks, Yellen said she is working with other agencies to get more money out the door — demand for the CDFI Fund programs are three to five times higher than the available funds, she said.
On Monday, Yellen announced a new Treasury program — part of the CDFI Fund — that will pay out $100 million over three years to support the financing of new affordable housing projects. The funding is a drop in the bucket compared to the need; in Minnesota alone, around $3.9 billion was available for affordable housing programs from 2022 to 2023, including around $500 million in COVID-19 recovery funding.
But the federal dollars are meant to leverage and encourage private investment in new affordable housing construction.
Yellen also promised a streamlining of the application process for CDFI funds and encouraged banks to devote more money to housing programs.
She attributed the country’s strong economy and recovery from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic to efforts by Biden, who is neck-and-neck with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in presidential polls.
“But President Biden and I know that prices for key household expenses like health care, energy and housing are still too high, in large part due to challenges that have been mounting over decades,” Yellen said.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the U.S. needs to build more than 7 million housing units for extremely low-income renters in order to alleviate the pressure of rising housing costs on the country’s poorest households.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that four states will launch voluntary pilot programs in the days ahead to test bulk milk tanks on dairy farms for bird flu — a move that’s aimed at making it easier for farmers to ship herds across state lines and for public health officials to […]
The post Four states to begin voluntary testing for bird flu in dairy farm milk tanks • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(5861) "WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that four states will launch voluntary pilot programs in the days ahead to test bulk milk tanks on dairy farms for bird flu — a move that’s aimed at making it easier for farmers to ship herds across state lines and for public health officials to track spread of the virus.
Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas will be in the first round of voluntary participation, with other states likely to follow, officials said on a call with reporters.
“This list of participating states is just the beginning,” said Eric Deeble, the acting senior advisor for H5N1 response at USDA.
“We are in close conversation with about a dozen other states who are very interested in participating as well,” Deeble said. “But it was important for us to get these four states going so that other states could watch how the program works and gain additional confidence.”
The launch of the pilot program, he said, is “an important step forward” for efforts to reduce the spread of bird flu, also known as H5N1, as well as for expanding understanding of the virus.
Farmers who voluntarily enter the program will be able to move their herds across state lines without additional testing after bulk milk tanks or similar representative samples test negative for H5N1 for three consecutive weeks.
“Producers must also comply with continued regular weekly monitoring and testing of their herd for H5N1, but that process can happen with very little effort on the part of the producer, using routine bulk milk samples,” Deeble said.
126 cases of bird flu confirmed
The announcement is part of the federal government’s ongoing response to the months-long outbreak within dairy cattle and years-long challenges faced by the country’s poultry industry.
The USDA has confirmed 126 cases of bird flu in dairy cattle herds in a dozen states as of June 21, including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
Idaho has the most dairy herds affected, with a total of 27. That’s followed by Michigan with 25 herds and Texas with 21 herds. Colorado has reported 18 affected herds, while each of the other states has fewer than 10 herds testing positive for bird flu, according to the USDA data.
Three dairy farmworkers have contracted avian flu this year, though all cases were mild.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforced during the call Tuesday that the risk to the general public remains low, though there is an increased risk of contracting the virus for workers, both on dairy farms and poultry farms.
FDA to do more testing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also announced Tuesday it’s broadening its testing for H5N1 to include about 155 additional samples of dairy products, including aged raw milk cheese, cream cheese, butter and ice cream.
The FDA has repeatedly tested pasteurized milk from store shelves in the months since the first dairy cattle herd tested positive for H5N1 and has continuously emphasized the nation’s milk supply remains safe.
“This retail sampling effort is intended to address remaining geographic and product gaps from the initial sampling of the commercial milk supply that FDA conducted between April and May of this year,” said Don Prater, acting director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA.
It will likely take several weeks before those results are completed and made public, he said.
That second round of expanded food safety testing will not include raw milk, since it is not approved for interstate commerce, he said.
But the FDA has sent a letter to its local, state and tribal partners, cautioning those that do allow the sale of raw milk to talk with consumers about the additional risks, given that H5N1 is spreading through dairy herds in several parts of the country.
Prater, speaking on the call Tuesday, noted the FDA continues to strongly advise against drinking raw milk.
“We also recommend that the industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products, including raw milk cheese made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with the avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses.”
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that four states will launch voluntary pilot programs in the days ahead to test bulk milk tanks on dairy farms for bird flu — a move that’s aimed at making it easier for farmers to ship herds across state lines and for public health officials to […]
The post Four states to begin voluntary testing for bird flu in dairy farm milk tanks • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(5861) "WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that four states will launch voluntary pilot programs in the days ahead to test bulk milk tanks on dairy farms for bird flu — a move that’s aimed at making it easier for farmers to ship herds across state lines and for public health officials to track spread of the virus.
Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas will be in the first round of voluntary participation, with other states likely to follow, officials said on a call with reporters.
“This list of participating states is just the beginning,” said Eric Deeble, the acting senior advisor for H5N1 response at USDA.
“We are in close conversation with about a dozen other states who are very interested in participating as well,” Deeble said. “But it was important for us to get these four states going so that other states could watch how the program works and gain additional confidence.”
The launch of the pilot program, he said, is “an important step forward” for efforts to reduce the spread of bird flu, also known as H5N1, as well as for expanding understanding of the virus.
Farmers who voluntarily enter the program will be able to move their herds across state lines without additional testing after bulk milk tanks or similar representative samples test negative for H5N1 for three consecutive weeks.
“Producers must also comply with continued regular weekly monitoring and testing of their herd for H5N1, but that process can happen with very little effort on the part of the producer, using routine bulk milk samples,” Deeble said.
126 cases of bird flu confirmed
The announcement is part of the federal government’s ongoing response to the months-long outbreak within dairy cattle and years-long challenges faced by the country’s poultry industry.
The USDA has confirmed 126 cases of bird flu in dairy cattle herds in a dozen states as of June 21, including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
Idaho has the most dairy herds affected, with a total of 27. That’s followed by Michigan with 25 herds and Texas with 21 herds. Colorado has reported 18 affected herds, while each of the other states has fewer than 10 herds testing positive for bird flu, according to the USDA data.
Three dairy farmworkers have contracted avian flu this year, though all cases were mild.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforced during the call Tuesday that the risk to the general public remains low, though there is an increased risk of contracting the virus for workers, both on dairy farms and poultry farms.
FDA to do more testing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also announced Tuesday it’s broadening its testing for H5N1 to include about 155 additional samples of dairy products, including aged raw milk cheese, cream cheese, butter and ice cream.
The FDA has repeatedly tested pasteurized milk from store shelves in the months since the first dairy cattle herd tested positive for H5N1 and has continuously emphasized the nation’s milk supply remains safe.
“This retail sampling effort is intended to address remaining geographic and product gaps from the initial sampling of the commercial milk supply that FDA conducted between April and May of this year,” said Don Prater, acting director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the FDA.
It will likely take several weeks before those results are completed and made public, he said.
That second round of expanded food safety testing will not include raw milk, since it is not approved for interstate commerce, he said.
But the FDA has sent a letter to its local, state and tribal partners, cautioning those that do allow the sale of raw milk to talk with consumers about the additional risks, given that H5N1 is spreading through dairy herds in several parts of the country.
Prater, speaking on the call Tuesday, noted the FDA continues to strongly advise against drinking raw milk.
“We also recommend that the industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products, including raw milk cheese made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with the avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses.”
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
Últimamente, Abraar Karan, médico especialista en enfermedades infecciosas en la Universidad de Stanford, ha atendido a muchos pacientes con goteo nasal, fiebre e irritación en los ojos. Estos síntomas podrían ser señales de alergias, covid o un resfriado. Y este año, existe una posibilidad más, la gripe aviar, pero la mayoría de los médicos no […]
The post Las pruebas para la gripe aviar son difíciles de conseguir. ¿Cómo saber si estamos en una pandemia? first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(14108) "Últimamente, Abraar Karan, médico especialista en enfermedades infecciosas en la Universidad de Stanford, ha atendido a muchos pacientes con goteo nasal, fiebre e irritación en los ojos. Estos síntomas podrían ser señales de alergias, covid o un resfriado.
Y este año, existe una posibilidad más, la gripe aviar, pero la mayoría de los médicos no tienen forma de detectarla.
Médicos como Karan advierten que, si el gobierno no se prepara para que las pruebas para la gripe aviar H5N1 estén más disponibles, otra pandemia podría tomar al país por sorpresa de nuevo.
“Estamos cometiendo los mismos errores que cometimos con el covid”, dijo Deborah Birx, quien fue coordinadora del equipo de respuesta al coronavirus bajo el ex presidente Donald Trump, en un programa de CNN el 4 de junio.
Para convertirse en una pandemia, el virus de la gripe aviar H5N1 tendría que propagarse entre las personas. La mejor manera de monitorear si eso está ocurriendo es realizando pruebas.
Muchos laboratorios de diagnóstico están capacitados para detectar el virus. Sin embargo, la burocracia, los problemas de facturación y la falta de inversión no permiten aumentar rápidamente la disponibilidad generalizada de pruebas.
Por el momento, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA) ha autorizado únicamente la prueba de gripe aviar de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC), que se utiliza solo en personas que trabajan cerca de ganado.
Autoridades estatales y federales han detectado gripe aviar en vacas lecheras en 12 estados. Tres personas que trabajan en distintas granjas lecheras dieron positivo, presuntamente contagiadas de vacas infectadas con el virus. Sin embargo, los investigadores coinciden en que hay un subregistro de casos, dado que los CDC sólo han realizado pruebas de detección a unas 40 personas.
“Es importante saber si el virus está contenido en las granjas, pero no tenemos información porque no la estamos buscando”, dijo Helen Chu, especialista en enfermedades infecciosas de la Universidad de Washington en Seattle, quien alertó al país sobre la propagación del covid en 2020 realizando pruebas de manera más amplia.
Informes de trabajadores agrícolas enfermos a los que no se les hizo pruebas y de una partera que tenía síntomas de gripe en las áreas de Texas donde hubo brotes de H5N1 en el ganado sugieren que las cifras son más altas. Además, los síntomas de quienes dieron positivo (tos e inflamación en los ojos, sin fiebre) fueron leves, lo cual indica que las personas infectadas podrían no buscar atención médica y, por lo tanto, no hacerse la prueba.
Los CDC han pedido a los trabajadores agrícolas con síntomas de gripe que se hagan la prueba, pero a los investigadores les preocupa la falta de acceso y de incentivos para estimular a la gente a hacerse el test, sobre todo en personas con baja seguridad laboral y acceso limitado a la atención médica.
Además, al realizar las pruebas sólo en granjas lecheras, los CDC probablemente pasarían por alto las señales de un brote más amplio.
“Es difícil no comparar esto con covid, cuando al principio solo hacíamos pruebas a las personas que habían viajado”, dijo Benjamin Pinsky, director médico del laboratorio de virología clínica de la Universidad de Stanford. “Eso hizo que no reconociéramos de inmediato que el virus se estaba transmitiendo en la comunidad”.
En los primeros meses de covid, la distribución de pruebas en Estados Unidos fue catastróficamente lento. Aunque la Organización Mundial de la Salud había aprobado una prueba y otros grupos habían desarrollado sus propias versiones utilizando técnicas básicas de biología molecular, al principio los CDC insistieron en desarrollar y utilizar su propia prueba.
La primera versión que enviaron a los laboratorios estatales no funcionó, agravando las demoras.
La FDA también se retrasó. La agencia no autorizó pruebas de laboratorios de diagnóstico por fuera de la de los CDC hasta fines de febrero de 2020.
El 27 de febrero de 2020, el laboratorio de investigación de Chu detectó covid en un adolescente que no cumplía con los estrictos criterios de prueba de los CDC. Este caso fue la voz de alarma de que covid se había extendido de manera desapercibida. Ampliar los suministros para satisfacer la demanda llevó tiempo, y pasaron meses antes de que cualquier persona que necesitara una prueba de covid pudiera hacérsela.
Chu señala que no es 2020, ni mucho menos. Los hospitales no están llenos de pacientes con gripe aviar. Además, el país tiene las herramientas para actuar mucho mejor esta vez, dijo, si hay voluntad política.
Para empezar, las pruebas que detectan la amplia categoría de influenza a la que pertenece el H5N1, llamada influenza A, están aprobadas por la FDA y están disponibles. Se realizan de forma habitual durante la “temporada de gripe”, de noviembre a febrero. Si los investigadores detectan un número inusual de resultados positivos en las pruebas de gripe comunes durante la primavera y el verano, podría ser una mala señal.
Sin embargo, es poco probable que los médicos pidan pruebas de influenza A para pacientes con síntomas respiratorios fuera de la temporada de gripe, en parte porque algunas aseguradoras no las cubren excepto en circunstancias limitadas, dijo Alex Greninger, subdirector del laboratorio de virología clínica de la Universidad de Washington.
Este problema tiene solución, aclaró. En el pico de la pandemia de covid, el gobierno obligó a las compañías de seguros a cubrir las pruebas, y fijó un precio atractivo para que valiera la pena para los fabricantes. “En Manhattan, te encontrabas con un centro de testeo cada dos cuadras, porque las empresas recibían $100 cada vez que insertaban un hisopo en una nariz”, dijo Greninger.
Otro obstáculo es que la FDA aún no ha permitido que las empresas realicen pruebas de influenza A con muestras oculares, aunque los CDC y los laboratorios de salud pública sí pueden. En el caso de un trabajador agrícola infectado este año, el virus de la gripe aviar se detectó sólo en un hisopado ocular y no en muestras extraídas de la nariz o la garganta.
Superar estas barreras es esencial para aumentar el testeo de influenza A en áreas ganaderas, dijo Chu. “La estrategia más eficaz sería ofrecer estas pruebas de forma rutinaria en los consultorios que atienden a las comunidades de trabajadores agrícolas”, dijo, y sugirió que también estén disponibles en las ferias estatales.
Mientras tanto, se podrían actualizar las nuevas pruebas que detectan el virus H5N1. La prueba actual de los CDC no es muy sensible ni fácil de usar, dijeron investigadores.
Stanford, la Universidad de Washington, la Clínica Mayo y otros laboratorios de diagnóstico que prestan servicios en los sistemas hospitalarios han desarrollado alternativas para detectar el virus que está circulando. Sin embargo, su alcance es limitado, y los investigadores destacan la necesidad de poner en marcha esfuerzos para ampliar la capacidad de testeo antes de que se produzca una crisis.
“Si esto se convierte en una emergencia de salud pública, ¿cómo asegurarnos de no quedar estancados como en los primeros días de covid, cuando no podíamos avanzar rápidamente?”, dijo Pinski.
Una norma reciente que otorga a la FDA más control sobre las pruebas desarrolladas en laboratorio puede demorar la autorización. Un representante de la FDA le dijo a KFF Health News que, por ahora, la agencia tal vez permitirá que se realicen pruebas sin un proceso de aprobación completo.
Los CDC no respondieron a las solicitudes de comentarios.
Pero la Asociación Estadounidense de Laboratorios Clínicos ha exigido a la FDA y a los CDC más claridad sobre la nueva regla. “Está retrasando el proceso porque aumenta la confusión sobre lo que está permitido”, dijo Susan Van Meter, presidenta del grupo comercial de laboratorios de diagnóstico.
Labcorp, Quest Diagnostics y otras grandes empresas de pruebas son las más capacitadas para gestionar el aumento en la demanda de pruebas, ya que pueden procesar cientos al día, en lugar de docenas. Pero esto implicaría adaptar los procesos de testeo para sus equipos especializados, algo que requiere tiempo y dinero, dijo Matthew Binnicker, director de virología clínica de la Clínica Mayo.
“En los últimos años sólo ha habido unos pocos casos de H5N1 en humanos”, dijo, “por lo tanto, les resulta difícil invertir millones cuando no sabemos qué va a pasar”.
El gobierno podría proporcionar fondos para financiar la investigación o comprometerse a adquirir pruebas al por mayor, tal como en el proyecto Operación Warp Speed, que avanzó el desarrollo de la vacuna contra covid.
“Si tenemos que ampliar el testeo, necesitaríamos una inversión de dinero”, dijo Kelly Wroblewski, directora de programas de enfermedades infecciosas de la Asociación de Laboratorios de Salud Pública. Al igual que una póliza de seguro, el gasto inicial sería mínimo comparado con el golpe económico de otra pandemia.
También son fundamentales otros medios para rastrear el virus H5N1. La detección de anticuerpos contra la gripe aviar en trabajadores agrícolas ayudaría a revelar si más personas se han infectado, y si se han recuperado. Analizar las aguas residuales para detectar el virus podría indicar un aumento de las infecciones en personas, aves o ganado.
Como ocurre con todos los esfuerzos de preparación para una pandemia, la dificultad radica en enfatizar la importancia de actuar antes de que ocurra una crisis, dijo Greninger.
“Definitivamente debemos estar preparados”, dijo, “pero hasta que el gobierno no se haga cargo de parte del riesgo, es difícil dar un paso en esa dirección”.
Últimamente, Abraar Karan, médico especialista en enfermedades infecciosas en la Universidad de Stanford, ha atendido a muchos pacientes con goteo nasal, fiebre e irritación en los ojos. Estos síntomas podrían ser señales de alergias, covid o un resfriado. Y este año, existe una posibilidad más, la gripe aviar, pero la mayoría de los médicos no […]
The post Las pruebas para la gripe aviar son difíciles de conseguir. ¿Cómo saber si estamos en una pandemia? first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(14108) "Últimamente, Abraar Karan, médico especialista en enfermedades infecciosas en la Universidad de Stanford, ha atendido a muchos pacientes con goteo nasal, fiebre e irritación en los ojos. Estos síntomas podrían ser señales de alergias, covid o un resfriado.
Y este año, existe una posibilidad más, la gripe aviar, pero la mayoría de los médicos no tienen forma de detectarla.
Médicos como Karan advierten que, si el gobierno no se prepara para que las pruebas para la gripe aviar H5N1 estén más disponibles, otra pandemia podría tomar al país por sorpresa de nuevo.
“Estamos cometiendo los mismos errores que cometimos con el covid”, dijo Deborah Birx, quien fue coordinadora del equipo de respuesta al coronavirus bajo el ex presidente Donald Trump, en un programa de CNN el 4 de junio.
Para convertirse en una pandemia, el virus de la gripe aviar H5N1 tendría que propagarse entre las personas. La mejor manera de monitorear si eso está ocurriendo es realizando pruebas.
Muchos laboratorios de diagnóstico están capacitados para detectar el virus. Sin embargo, la burocracia, los problemas de facturación y la falta de inversión no permiten aumentar rápidamente la disponibilidad generalizada de pruebas.
Por el momento, la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA) ha autorizado únicamente la prueba de gripe aviar de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC), que se utiliza solo en personas que trabajan cerca de ganado.
Autoridades estatales y federales han detectado gripe aviar en vacas lecheras en 12 estados. Tres personas que trabajan en distintas granjas lecheras dieron positivo, presuntamente contagiadas de vacas infectadas con el virus. Sin embargo, los investigadores coinciden en que hay un subregistro de casos, dado que los CDC sólo han realizado pruebas de detección a unas 40 personas.
“Es importante saber si el virus está contenido en las granjas, pero no tenemos información porque no la estamos buscando”, dijo Helen Chu, especialista en enfermedades infecciosas de la Universidad de Washington en Seattle, quien alertó al país sobre la propagación del covid en 2020 realizando pruebas de manera más amplia.
Informes de trabajadores agrícolas enfermos a los que no se les hizo pruebas y de una partera que tenía síntomas de gripe en las áreas de Texas donde hubo brotes de H5N1 en el ganado sugieren que las cifras son más altas. Además, los síntomas de quienes dieron positivo (tos e inflamación en los ojos, sin fiebre) fueron leves, lo cual indica que las personas infectadas podrían no buscar atención médica y, por lo tanto, no hacerse la prueba.
Los CDC han pedido a los trabajadores agrícolas con síntomas de gripe que se hagan la prueba, pero a los investigadores les preocupa la falta de acceso y de incentivos para estimular a la gente a hacerse el test, sobre todo en personas con baja seguridad laboral y acceso limitado a la atención médica.
Además, al realizar las pruebas sólo en granjas lecheras, los CDC probablemente pasarían por alto las señales de un brote más amplio.
“Es difícil no comparar esto con covid, cuando al principio solo hacíamos pruebas a las personas que habían viajado”, dijo Benjamin Pinsky, director médico del laboratorio de virología clínica de la Universidad de Stanford. “Eso hizo que no reconociéramos de inmediato que el virus se estaba transmitiendo en la comunidad”.
En los primeros meses de covid, la distribución de pruebas en Estados Unidos fue catastróficamente lento. Aunque la Organización Mundial de la Salud había aprobado una prueba y otros grupos habían desarrollado sus propias versiones utilizando técnicas básicas de biología molecular, al principio los CDC insistieron en desarrollar y utilizar su propia prueba.
La primera versión que enviaron a los laboratorios estatales no funcionó, agravando las demoras.
La FDA también se retrasó. La agencia no autorizó pruebas de laboratorios de diagnóstico por fuera de la de los CDC hasta fines de febrero de 2020.
El 27 de febrero de 2020, el laboratorio de investigación de Chu detectó covid en un adolescente que no cumplía con los estrictos criterios de prueba de los CDC. Este caso fue la voz de alarma de que covid se había extendido de manera desapercibida. Ampliar los suministros para satisfacer la demanda llevó tiempo, y pasaron meses antes de que cualquier persona que necesitara una prueba de covid pudiera hacérsela.
Chu señala que no es 2020, ni mucho menos. Los hospitales no están llenos de pacientes con gripe aviar. Además, el país tiene las herramientas para actuar mucho mejor esta vez, dijo, si hay voluntad política.
Para empezar, las pruebas que detectan la amplia categoría de influenza a la que pertenece el H5N1, llamada influenza A, están aprobadas por la FDA y están disponibles. Se realizan de forma habitual durante la “temporada de gripe”, de noviembre a febrero. Si los investigadores detectan un número inusual de resultados positivos en las pruebas de gripe comunes durante la primavera y el verano, podría ser una mala señal.
Sin embargo, es poco probable que los médicos pidan pruebas de influenza A para pacientes con síntomas respiratorios fuera de la temporada de gripe, en parte porque algunas aseguradoras no las cubren excepto en circunstancias limitadas, dijo Alex Greninger, subdirector del laboratorio de virología clínica de la Universidad de Washington.
Este problema tiene solución, aclaró. En el pico de la pandemia de covid, el gobierno obligó a las compañías de seguros a cubrir las pruebas, y fijó un precio atractivo para que valiera la pena para los fabricantes. “En Manhattan, te encontrabas con un centro de testeo cada dos cuadras, porque las empresas recibían $100 cada vez que insertaban un hisopo en una nariz”, dijo Greninger.
Otro obstáculo es que la FDA aún no ha permitido que las empresas realicen pruebas de influenza A con muestras oculares, aunque los CDC y los laboratorios de salud pública sí pueden. En el caso de un trabajador agrícola infectado este año, el virus de la gripe aviar se detectó sólo en un hisopado ocular y no en muestras extraídas de la nariz o la garganta.
Superar estas barreras es esencial para aumentar el testeo de influenza A en áreas ganaderas, dijo Chu. “La estrategia más eficaz sería ofrecer estas pruebas de forma rutinaria en los consultorios que atienden a las comunidades de trabajadores agrícolas”, dijo, y sugirió que también estén disponibles en las ferias estatales.
Mientras tanto, se podrían actualizar las nuevas pruebas que detectan el virus H5N1. La prueba actual de los CDC no es muy sensible ni fácil de usar, dijeron investigadores.
Stanford, la Universidad de Washington, la Clínica Mayo y otros laboratorios de diagnóstico que prestan servicios en los sistemas hospitalarios han desarrollado alternativas para detectar el virus que está circulando. Sin embargo, su alcance es limitado, y los investigadores destacan la necesidad de poner en marcha esfuerzos para ampliar la capacidad de testeo antes de que se produzca una crisis.
“Si esto se convierte en una emergencia de salud pública, ¿cómo asegurarnos de no quedar estancados como en los primeros días de covid, cuando no podíamos avanzar rápidamente?”, dijo Pinski.
Una norma reciente que otorga a la FDA más control sobre las pruebas desarrolladas en laboratorio puede demorar la autorización. Un representante de la FDA le dijo a KFF Health News que, por ahora, la agencia tal vez permitirá que se realicen pruebas sin un proceso de aprobación completo.
Los CDC no respondieron a las solicitudes de comentarios.
Pero la Asociación Estadounidense de Laboratorios Clínicos ha exigido a la FDA y a los CDC más claridad sobre la nueva regla. “Está retrasando el proceso porque aumenta la confusión sobre lo que está permitido”, dijo Susan Van Meter, presidenta del grupo comercial de laboratorios de diagnóstico.
Labcorp, Quest Diagnostics y otras grandes empresas de pruebas son las más capacitadas para gestionar el aumento en la demanda de pruebas, ya que pueden procesar cientos al día, en lugar de docenas. Pero esto implicaría adaptar los procesos de testeo para sus equipos especializados, algo que requiere tiempo y dinero, dijo Matthew Binnicker, director de virología clínica de la Clínica Mayo.
“En los últimos años sólo ha habido unos pocos casos de H5N1 en humanos”, dijo, “por lo tanto, les resulta difícil invertir millones cuando no sabemos qué va a pasar”.
El gobierno podría proporcionar fondos para financiar la investigación o comprometerse a adquirir pruebas al por mayor, tal como en el proyecto Operación Warp Speed, que avanzó el desarrollo de la vacuna contra covid.
“Si tenemos que ampliar el testeo, necesitaríamos una inversión de dinero”, dijo Kelly Wroblewski, directora de programas de enfermedades infecciosas de la Asociación de Laboratorios de Salud Pública. Al igual que una póliza de seguro, el gasto inicial sería mínimo comparado con el golpe económico de otra pandemia.
También son fundamentales otros medios para rastrear el virus H5N1. La detección de anticuerpos contra la gripe aviar en trabajadores agrícolas ayudaría a revelar si más personas se han infectado, y si se han recuperado. Analizar las aguas residuales para detectar el virus podría indicar un aumento de las infecciones en personas, aves o ganado.
Como ocurre con todos los esfuerzos de preparación para una pandemia, la dificultad radica en enfatizar la importancia de actuar antes de que ocurra una crisis, dijo Greninger.
“Definitivamente debemos estar preparados”, dijo, “pero hasta que el gobierno no se haga cargo de parte del riesgo, es difícil dar un paso en esa dirección”.
In the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, many leading Minnesota businesses announced they were pausing their political donations to review their giving strategy. Some went further, vowing not to bankroll political candidates who supported Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. But today, three and a half years […]
The post Minnesota companies fund election deniers despite vowing not to • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(5725) "In the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, many leading Minnesota businesses announced they were pausing their political donations to review their giving strategy.
Some went further, vowing not to bankroll political candidates who supported Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
But today, three and a half years later, nearly all of them have resumed giving money to politicians engaging in election denial, according to an analysis by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit that investigates government corruption.
Among them were some of Minnesota’s blue-chip mega corporations: UnitedHealth, Target, Best, Buy, 3M, U.S. Bancorp, Ameriprise and Ecolab, which all promised not to donate to members of what CREW calls the “sedition caucus.”
But as of today, they’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians who voted against certifying the 2020 election, opposed the establishment of the Jan. 6 committee, or otherwise supported Trump’s attempt to undo the 2020 results.
A number of other Minnesota companies, including CHS, C.H. Robinson, Thrivent and Polaris, never promised to suspend donations and have continued giving money to candidates who sought to undermine the rightful, peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election.
One of those companies, Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar, has for years been one of the biggest financial supporters of the sedition caucus. According to CREW’s analysis, they’ve given over $1 million since 2021, the third highest amount in the nation. Among other things, they’re focused on maintaining the federal program that keeps sugar prices high and undergirds their profitability.
Only one current Minnesota lawmaker voted against certifying the 2020 election results: Rep. Michelle Fischbach of the 7th District, who falsely told Fox News shortly after the 2020 election that vote tabulators were “finding votes” when in fact they were counting them.
In a sign of the state Republican Party’s post-Jan. 6 radicalization, she was unable to obtain the party’s endorsement this year and is now facing a primary challenge from a Christian nationalist who says his goal is to “harness God’s power to lead ordinary Americans and their legislators in Washington back towards the Lord.”
CREW said the companies should mind the value of a stable democracy.
“Corporations depend on the stability and laws of a strong democracy in order to do business,” CREW writes. “Taking a stand against lawlessness aligns with the long-term interests of companies benefiting from government protection of intellectual property, contract enforcement and support for American business interests at home and abroad.”
According to their analysis, just one Minnesota company has so far upheld a promise to not give money to election deniers: Golden Valley-based Cheerio maker, General Mills.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
In the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, many leading Minnesota businesses announced they were pausing their political donations to review their giving strategy. Some went further, vowing not to bankroll political candidates who supported Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. But today, three and a half years […]
The post Minnesota companies fund election deniers despite vowing not to • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(5725) "In the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, many leading Minnesota businesses announced they were pausing their political donations to review their giving strategy.
Some went further, vowing not to bankroll political candidates who supported Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
But today, three and a half years later, nearly all of them have resumed giving money to politicians engaging in election denial, according to an analysis by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit that investigates government corruption.
Among them were some of Minnesota’s blue-chip mega corporations: UnitedHealth, Target, Best, Buy, 3M, U.S. Bancorp, Ameriprise and Ecolab, which all promised not to donate to members of what CREW calls the “sedition caucus.”
But as of today, they’ve given hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians who voted against certifying the 2020 election, opposed the establishment of the Jan. 6 committee, or otherwise supported Trump’s attempt to undo the 2020 results.
A number of other Minnesota companies, including CHS, C.H. Robinson, Thrivent and Polaris, never promised to suspend donations and have continued giving money to candidates who sought to undermine the rightful, peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election.
One of those companies, Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar, has for years been one of the biggest financial supporters of the sedition caucus. According to CREW’s analysis, they’ve given over $1 million since 2021, the third highest amount in the nation. Among other things, they’re focused on maintaining the federal program that keeps sugar prices high and undergirds their profitability.
Only one current Minnesota lawmaker voted against certifying the 2020 election results: Rep. Michelle Fischbach of the 7th District, who falsely told Fox News shortly after the 2020 election that vote tabulators were “finding votes” when in fact they were counting them.
In a sign of the state Republican Party’s post-Jan. 6 radicalization, she was unable to obtain the party’s endorsement this year and is now facing a primary challenge from a Christian nationalist who says his goal is to “harness God’s power to lead ordinary Americans and their legislators in Washington back towards the Lord.”
CREW said the companies should mind the value of a stable democracy.
“Corporations depend on the stability and laws of a strong democracy in order to do business,” CREW writes. “Taking a stand against lawlessness aligns with the long-term interests of companies benefiting from government protection of intellectual property, contract enforcement and support for American business interests at home and abroad.”
According to their analysis, just one Minnesota company has so far upheld a promise to not give money to election deniers: Golden Valley-based Cheerio maker, General Mills.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
© Minnesota Reformer, 2024 v1.24.0 ABOUT US The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re […]
The post Page not found • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(2450) "
ABOUT US
The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re also on the streets, at the bars and parks, on farms and in warehouses, telling you stories of the people being affected by the actions of government and big business. And we’re free. No ads. No paywall.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
© Minnesota Reformer, 2024 v1.24.0 ABOUT US The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re […]
The post Page not found • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(2450) "
ABOUT US
The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell. We’re in the halls of government tracking what elected officials are up to — and monitoring the powerful forces trying to influence them. But we’re also on the streets, at the bars and parks, on farms and in warehouses, telling you stories of the people being affected by the actions of government and big business. And we’re free. No ads. No paywall.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis, as gun deaths and injuries punctuate daily life in America. On nearly every day of 2024 so far, a burst of gunfire has hit at least four people somewhere in the country. Some days, communities have endured four or five such shootings. The […]
The post US Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence ‘a Public Health Crisis’ first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(11703) "U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis, as gun deaths and injuries punctuate daily life in America.
On nearly every day of 2024 so far, a burst of gunfire has hit at least four people somewhere in the country. Some days, communities have endured four or five such shootings.
The nation’s top doctor called on policymakers to consider gun safety measures such as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and universal background checks for all firearm purchases. His advisory also urges a “significant increase” in funding for research on gun injuries and deaths, as well as greater access to mental health care and trauma-informed resources for people who have experienced firearm violence.
In 2022, more than 48,000 people were killed by guns in the U.S., or about 132 people a day, and suicides accounted for more than half of those deaths, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An additional 200-plus Americans seek emergency care for firearm injuries each day, according to estimates from Johns Hopkins University research. No federal database records nonfatal gun injuries.
The Office of the Surgeon General does not set or carry out gun policy, but historically its reports and warnings have nudged policymakers and lawmakers to act.
Murthy, a physician, told KFF Health News he hoped to convey the broader toll of gun violence on the nation and the need for an urgent public health response. He cited soaring gun deaths among children and teens and noted that “the mental health toll of firearm violence is far more profound and pervasive than many of us recognize.”
“Every day that passes we lose more kids to gun violence,” Murthy said, “the more children who are witnessing episodes of gun violence, the more children who are shot and survive that are dealing with a lifetime of physical and mental health impacts.”
Firearm-related homicides over the past decade and suicides over the past two decades have driven the sharp rise in gun deaths, the advisory says.
Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens, with higher death rates among Black and Hispanic youths. Researchers from Boston University found that during the height of the covid pandemic, Black children were 100 times as likely as white children to experience gun injuries. Hispanic and Asian children also saw major increases in firearm assault injuries during that time, that study showed.
Joseph Sakran, executive vice chair of surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and chief medical officer for Brady United Against Gun Violence, said the surgeon general’s declaration is a “historic moment that sounds the alarm for all Americans.”
But Sakran added: “It cannot stop here. We have to use this as another step in the right direction. No one wants to see more children gunned down.”
Murthy has long said gun violence should be framed as a health issue. He argued that the approach has been successful in combating significant societal problems, citing tobacco control efforts that took hold following the then-surgeon general’s landmark 1964 report concluding that smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer and other diseases.
“We saved so many lives, and that’s what we can do here, too,” Murthy said.
Murthy’s move is one of several recent Biden administration actions designed to combat gun violence, as most gun-related measures remain political nonstarters in Congress. Federal officials have allowed states to use Medicaid dollars to pay for gun violence prevention, and the White House has called on hospital executives and doctors to gather more data about gunshot injuries and to routinely counsel patients about the safe use of firearms.
While available data points to tragic outcomes across American communities, government officials and public health researchers have long been stymied by sparse federal funding devoted to gun violence research and the scope of its health effects.
“I’ve been studying gun violence for about 33 years now and there’s still some really basic and fundamental questions I can’t answer,” said Daniel Webster, a gun violence researcher at Johns Hopkins University.
“To really understand gun violence, you need to do more than just look at publicly available surveillance data,” he said. “You need to actually do in-depth studies involving the populations at highest risk for shooting or being shot.”
A Brady analysis found that of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., firearm injuries received the third-lowest amount of federal research funding through the National Institutes of Health for each person who died. The only causes of death that garnered less research funding through NIH were poisonings and falls, according to the analysis.
Sonali Rajan, an adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University who researches the effects of gun violence on children, said political leaders and others need to reframe the debate on gun violence from crime to public health.
“We are raising a whole generation of children for whom exposure to gun violence is normal,” Rajan said.
In Michigan, “we had a kid survive the Oxford High School shooting only to go to Michigan State University and see another mass shooting,” she said. “It is unbelievably shameful.”
Serving as President Joe Biden’s surgeon general since 2021, Murthy has, at times, caused political controversy with his views on gun violence.
Over a decade ago, former President Barack Obama nominated Murthy to be the nation’s top doctor. But Murthy’s support for a federal ban on the sale of assault weapons and ammunition and additional restrictions on gun purchases drew the ire of the National Rifle Association, as well as Republicans and some Democrats in Congress. The U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Murthy to the job in December 2014, more than a year after his nomination.
Murthy has previously issued advisories on social isolation and loneliness, youth mental health, and the well-being of health workers. He said gun violence comes up in many of his conversations with young people about the mental health challenges they’re facing.
“Fears around gun violence have really pervaded so much of the psyche of America in ways that are very harmful to our mental health and well-being,” Murthy said.
Many other causes of death are treated differently as to understanding the problems and developing solutions, Webster said. But “that’s generally not what we’ve done with gun violence. We’ve oversimplified it and overpoliticized it.”
As Sakran put it: “As we look at firearm injuries, there’s arguably no public issue that’s as urgent.”
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis, as gun deaths and injuries punctuate daily life in America. On nearly every day of 2024 so far, a burst of gunfire has hit at least four people somewhere in the country. Some days, communities have endured four or five such shootings. The […]
The post US Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence ‘a Public Health Crisis’ first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(11703) "U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis, as gun deaths and injuries punctuate daily life in America.
On nearly every day of 2024 so far, a burst of gunfire has hit at least four people somewhere in the country. Some days, communities have endured four or five such shootings.
The nation’s top doctor called on policymakers to consider gun safety measures such as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and universal background checks for all firearm purchases. His advisory also urges a “significant increase” in funding for research on gun injuries and deaths, as well as greater access to mental health care and trauma-informed resources for people who have experienced firearm violence.
In 2022, more than 48,000 people were killed by guns in the U.S., or about 132 people a day, and suicides accounted for more than half of those deaths, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An additional 200-plus Americans seek emergency care for firearm injuries each day, according to estimates from Johns Hopkins University research. No federal database records nonfatal gun injuries.
The Office of the Surgeon General does not set or carry out gun policy, but historically its reports and warnings have nudged policymakers and lawmakers to act.
Murthy, a physician, told KFF Health News he hoped to convey the broader toll of gun violence on the nation and the need for an urgent public health response. He cited soaring gun deaths among children and teens and noted that “the mental health toll of firearm violence is far more profound and pervasive than many of us recognize.”
“Every day that passes we lose more kids to gun violence,” Murthy said, “the more children who are witnessing episodes of gun violence, the more children who are shot and survive that are dealing with a lifetime of physical and mental health impacts.”
Firearm-related homicides over the past decade and suicides over the past two decades have driven the sharp rise in gun deaths, the advisory says.
Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens, with higher death rates among Black and Hispanic youths. Researchers from Boston University found that during the height of the covid pandemic, Black children were 100 times as likely as white children to experience gun injuries. Hispanic and Asian children also saw major increases in firearm assault injuries during that time, that study showed.
Joseph Sakran, executive vice chair of surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and chief medical officer for Brady United Against Gun Violence, said the surgeon general’s declaration is a “historic moment that sounds the alarm for all Americans.”
But Sakran added: “It cannot stop here. We have to use this as another step in the right direction. No one wants to see more children gunned down.”
Murthy has long said gun violence should be framed as a health issue. He argued that the approach has been successful in combating significant societal problems, citing tobacco control efforts that took hold following the then-surgeon general’s landmark 1964 report concluding that smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer and other diseases.
“We saved so many lives, and that’s what we can do here, too,” Murthy said.
Murthy’s move is one of several recent Biden administration actions designed to combat gun violence, as most gun-related measures remain political nonstarters in Congress. Federal officials have allowed states to use Medicaid dollars to pay for gun violence prevention, and the White House has called on hospital executives and doctors to gather more data about gunshot injuries and to routinely counsel patients about the safe use of firearms.
While available data points to tragic outcomes across American communities, government officials and public health researchers have long been stymied by sparse federal funding devoted to gun violence research and the scope of its health effects.
“I’ve been studying gun violence for about 33 years now and there’s still some really basic and fundamental questions I can’t answer,” said Daniel Webster, a gun violence researcher at Johns Hopkins University.
“To really understand gun violence, you need to do more than just look at publicly available surveillance data,” he said. “You need to actually do in-depth studies involving the populations at highest risk for shooting or being shot.”
A Brady analysis found that of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., firearm injuries received the third-lowest amount of federal research funding through the National Institutes of Health for each person who died. The only causes of death that garnered less research funding through NIH were poisonings and falls, according to the analysis.
Sonali Rajan, an adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University who researches the effects of gun violence on children, said political leaders and others need to reframe the debate on gun violence from crime to public health.
“We are raising a whole generation of children for whom exposure to gun violence is normal,” Rajan said.
In Michigan, “we had a kid survive the Oxford High School shooting only to go to Michigan State University and see another mass shooting,” she said. “It is unbelievably shameful.”
Serving as President Joe Biden’s surgeon general since 2021, Murthy has, at times, caused political controversy with his views on gun violence.
Over a decade ago, former President Barack Obama nominated Murthy to be the nation’s top doctor. But Murthy’s support for a federal ban on the sale of assault weapons and ammunition and additional restrictions on gun purchases drew the ire of the National Rifle Association, as well as Republicans and some Democrats in Congress. The U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Murthy to the job in December 2014, more than a year after his nomination.
Murthy has previously issued advisories on social isolation and loneliness, youth mental health, and the well-being of health workers. He said gun violence comes up in many of his conversations with young people about the mental health challenges they’re facing.
“Fears around gun violence have really pervaded so much of the psyche of America in ways that are very harmful to our mental health and well-being,” Murthy said.
Many other causes of death are treated differently as to understanding the problems and developing solutions, Webster said. But “that’s generally not what we’ve done with gun violence. We’ve oversimplified it and overpoliticized it.”
As Sakran put it: “As we look at firearm injuries, there’s arguably no public issue that’s as urgent.”
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988,” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741. GRINNELL, Iowa — The farmers’ co-op here is a center of hope every spring. It’s where farmers buy seed and fertilizer for […]
The post Therapists Learn How To Help Farmers Cope With Stress Before It’s Too Late first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(19114) "If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988,” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741.
GRINNELL, Iowa — The farmers’ co-op here is a center of hope every spring. It’s where farmers buy seed and fertilizer for the summer’s crops, and where they seek tips to maximize their harvest of corn and soybeans.
But on a recent morning, a dozen mental health professionals gathered at the Key Cooperative Agronomy Center to discuss why so many farmers quietly struggle with untreated anxiety and depression.
Studies have concluded that suicide is unusually common among farmers. Researchers believe it’s not just because many farmers have other risk factors, such as rural addresses and access to guns.
The tragic trend has caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sponsors training sessions like the one in Grinnell to help health care professionals learn how to talk to farmers about the pressures they face in wringing a living out of the land.
“A lot of them are born to it. They don’t have any choice,” family therapist David Brown explained to the session’s participants. He noted many farms have been passed down for generations. Current owners feel that if they fail, they would be letting down their grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren.
Brown, who works for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, led the training in Grinnell. He said farmers’ fate hinges on factors out of their control. Will the weather be favorable? Will world events cause prices to soar or crash? Will political conflicts spark changes in federal agricultural support programs? Will a farmer suffer an injury or illness that makes them unable to perform critical chores?
Brown said surveys show many farmers are reluctant to seek mental health care, partly because they think therapists or doctors couldn’t understand their lives.
Tina Recker, a mental health therapist in northeastern Iowa, attended the training session. She has lived on farms, and she has seen how the profession can become a person’s entire identity. “It’s just farm, farm, farm, farm,” she told the group. “If something goes wrong with it, that’s your whole world.”
It’s difficult to estimate how much of farmers’ increased risk of suicide is due to their profession.
Part of the reason for the elevated rate could be that many farmers are middle-aged or older men, who tend to be more at risk in general. “But it’s broader than that for sure,” said Edwin Lewis, a USDA administrator who helps oversee efforts to address the situation.
The Grinnell training session was part of a federal program called the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. Lewis said the program, which also funds counseling hotlines and support groups, spends $10 million a year.
Jason Haglund sees the issue from multiple angles. He’s a mental health advocate who farms part-time near the central Iowa town of Boone. He and his brother-in-law raise corn and soybeans on the 500-acre farm where Haglund grew up. His family has farmed in the area since the 1880s. His parents hung on despite going into bankruptcy during the 1980s farm crisis, and he embraces his role as caretaker of their legacy.
Haglund is trained as an alcohol and drug addiction counselor, and he co-hosts an Iowa podcast about the need to improve mental health care.
He said it can be stressful to run any kind of family business. But farmers have a particularly strong emotional tie to their heritage, which keeps many in the profession.
“Let’s be honest: Farming at all these days isn’t necessarily a good financial decision,” he said.
Farmers traditionally have valued self-sufficiency, he said. They try to solve their own problems, whether it’s a busted tractor or a debilitating bout of anxiety.
“With the older generation, it’s still, ‘Suck it up and get over it,’” Haglund said. Many younger people seem more willing to talk about mental health, he said. But in rural areas, many lack access to mental health care.
Farmers’ suicide risk is also heightened by many of them owning guns, which provide an immediate means to act on deadly impulses, Haglund said.
Guns are an accepted part of rural life, in which they are seen as a useful tool to control pests, he said. “You can’t go into a rural community and say, ‘We’re going to take your guns away,’” he said. But a trusted therapist or friend might suggest that a depressed person temporarily hand over their guns to someone else who can safely store them.
Haglund said health care professionals shouldn’t be the only ones learning how to address mental stresses. He encourages the public to look into “mental health first aid,” a national effort to spread knowledge about symptoms of struggle and how they can be countered.
A 2023 review of studies on farmer suicides in multiple countries, including the U.S., cited cultural and economic stresses.
“Farmers who died by suicide, particularly men, were described as hard-working, strong, private people who took great pride in being the stoic breadwinners of their families. They were often remembered as members of a unique and fading culture who were poorly understood by outsiders,” wrote the authors, from the University of Alberta in Canada.
Rebecca Purc-Stephenson, a psychology professor who helped write the paper, said health professionals face two challenges: persuading farmers to seek help for mental stress, then encouraging them to keep coming back for therapy.
Back at the training in Iowa, instructors urged mental health professionals to have flexible schedules, and to be understanding when farmers postpone appointments at the last minute.
Maybe one of their animals is sick and needs attention. Maybe a machine broke and needs to be fixed immediately. Maybe the weather is perfect for planting or harvesting.
“Time is money,” said Brown, the therapist leading the training.
The session’s lessons included what to ask and not ask when meeting farmers. A big no-no is inquiring right away about how much land they are working. “If you ask them how many acres they’re farming, that’s like asking to see their bank account,” warned Rich Gassman, director of Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, who assisted with the lesson.
It would be better to start by asking what they enjoy about farming, the instructors said.
Many farmers also need to talk through emotional issues surrounding when, how, or even if the next generation will take over the family operation.
Tim Christensen, a farm management specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, said some standard advice on how to deal with stress could backfire with farmers.
For example, he said, a health care professional should never advise a farmer to relax by taking a couple of weeks off. Most of them can’t get away from their responsibilities for that long, he said.
“There’s a common saying on the farm: No good vacation goes unpunished.”
Warning Signs of Mental Struggle
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention lists these signs that a person might be considering suicide:
- The person talks about killing themselves, feeling hopeless, having no reason to live, being a burden to others, feeling trapped, or having unbearable pain.
- The person increases their use of alcohol or drugs, sleeps too much or too little, displays fatigue or aggression, withdraws from activities and family and friends, visits or calls people to say goodbye, gives away possessions, or searches online for a way to end their life.
- People considering suicide often seem depressed, anxious, irritable, angry, ashamed, or uninterested in activities. In some cases, they may appear to feel sudden relief or improvement in their mood.
- People in crisis can reach the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting “988.”
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988,” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741. GRINNELL, Iowa — The farmers’ co-op here is a center of hope every spring. It’s where farmers buy seed and fertilizer for […]
The post Therapists Learn How To Help Farmers Cope With Stress Before It’s Too Late first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(19114) "If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988,” or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741.
GRINNELL, Iowa — The farmers’ co-op here is a center of hope every spring. It’s where farmers buy seed and fertilizer for the summer’s crops, and where they seek tips to maximize their harvest of corn and soybeans.
But on a recent morning, a dozen mental health professionals gathered at the Key Cooperative Agronomy Center to discuss why so many farmers quietly struggle with untreated anxiety and depression.
Studies have concluded that suicide is unusually common among farmers. Researchers believe it’s not just because many farmers have other risk factors, such as rural addresses and access to guns.
The tragic trend has caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sponsors training sessions like the one in Grinnell to help health care professionals learn how to talk to farmers about the pressures they face in wringing a living out of the land.
“A lot of them are born to it. They don’t have any choice,” family therapist David Brown explained to the session’s participants. He noted many farms have been passed down for generations. Current owners feel that if they fail, they would be letting down their grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren.
Brown, who works for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, led the training in Grinnell. He said farmers’ fate hinges on factors out of their control. Will the weather be favorable? Will world events cause prices to soar or crash? Will political conflicts spark changes in federal agricultural support programs? Will a farmer suffer an injury or illness that makes them unable to perform critical chores?
Brown said surveys show many farmers are reluctant to seek mental health care, partly because they think therapists or doctors couldn’t understand their lives.
Tina Recker, a mental health therapist in northeastern Iowa, attended the training session. She has lived on farms, and she has seen how the profession can become a person’s entire identity. “It’s just farm, farm, farm, farm,” she told the group. “If something goes wrong with it, that’s your whole world.”
It’s difficult to estimate how much of farmers’ increased risk of suicide is due to their profession.
Part of the reason for the elevated rate could be that many farmers are middle-aged or older men, who tend to be more at risk in general. “But it’s broader than that for sure,” said Edwin Lewis, a USDA administrator who helps oversee efforts to address the situation.
The Grinnell training session was part of a federal program called the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. Lewis said the program, which also funds counseling hotlines and support groups, spends $10 million a year.
Jason Haglund sees the issue from multiple angles. He’s a mental health advocate who farms part-time near the central Iowa town of Boone. He and his brother-in-law raise corn and soybeans on the 500-acre farm where Haglund grew up. His family has farmed in the area since the 1880s. His parents hung on despite going into bankruptcy during the 1980s farm crisis, and he embraces his role as caretaker of their legacy.
Haglund is trained as an alcohol and drug addiction counselor, and he co-hosts an Iowa podcast about the need to improve mental health care.
He said it can be stressful to run any kind of family business. But farmers have a particularly strong emotional tie to their heritage, which keeps many in the profession.
“Let’s be honest: Farming at all these days isn’t necessarily a good financial decision,” he said.
Farmers traditionally have valued self-sufficiency, he said. They try to solve their own problems, whether it’s a busted tractor or a debilitating bout of anxiety.
“With the older generation, it’s still, ‘Suck it up and get over it,’” Haglund said. Many younger people seem more willing to talk about mental health, he said. But in rural areas, many lack access to mental health care.
Farmers’ suicide risk is also heightened by many of them owning guns, which provide an immediate means to act on deadly impulses, Haglund said.
Guns are an accepted part of rural life, in which they are seen as a useful tool to control pests, he said. “You can’t go into a rural community and say, ‘We’re going to take your guns away,’” he said. But a trusted therapist or friend might suggest that a depressed person temporarily hand over their guns to someone else who can safely store them.
Haglund said health care professionals shouldn’t be the only ones learning how to address mental stresses. He encourages the public to look into “mental health first aid,” a national effort to spread knowledge about symptoms of struggle and how they can be countered.
A 2023 review of studies on farmer suicides in multiple countries, including the U.S., cited cultural and economic stresses.
“Farmers who died by suicide, particularly men, were described as hard-working, strong, private people who took great pride in being the stoic breadwinners of their families. They were often remembered as members of a unique and fading culture who were poorly understood by outsiders,” wrote the authors, from the University of Alberta in Canada.
Rebecca Purc-Stephenson, a psychology professor who helped write the paper, said health professionals face two challenges: persuading farmers to seek help for mental stress, then encouraging them to keep coming back for therapy.
Back at the training in Iowa, instructors urged mental health professionals to have flexible schedules, and to be understanding when farmers postpone appointments at the last minute.
Maybe one of their animals is sick and needs attention. Maybe a machine broke and needs to be fixed immediately. Maybe the weather is perfect for planting or harvesting.
“Time is money,” said Brown, the therapist leading the training.
The session’s lessons included what to ask and not ask when meeting farmers. A big no-no is inquiring right away about how much land they are working. “If you ask them how many acres they’re farming, that’s like asking to see their bank account,” warned Rich Gassman, director of Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, who assisted with the lesson.
It would be better to start by asking what they enjoy about farming, the instructors said.
Many farmers also need to talk through emotional issues surrounding when, how, or even if the next generation will take over the family operation.
Tim Christensen, a farm management specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, said some standard advice on how to deal with stress could backfire with farmers.
For example, he said, a health care professional should never advise a farmer to relax by taking a couple of weeks off. Most of them can’t get away from their responsibilities for that long, he said.
“There’s a common saying on the farm: No good vacation goes unpunished.”
Warning Signs of Mental Struggle
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention lists these signs that a person might be considering suicide:
- The person talks about killing themselves, feeling hopeless, having no reason to live, being a burden to others, feeling trapped, or having unbearable pain.
- The person increases their use of alcohol or drugs, sleeps too much or too little, displays fatigue or aggression, withdraws from activities and family and friends, visits or calls people to say goodbye, gives away possessions, or searches online for a way to end their life.
- People considering suicide often seem depressed, anxious, irritable, angry, ashamed, or uninterested in activities. In some cases, they may appear to feel sudden relief or improvement in their mood.
- People in crisis can reach the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting “988.”
WASHINGTON — Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the battles rage among both advocates and lawmakers over the future of reproductive rights at the state and federal levels. Anti-abortion groups that have achieved considerable success in deep-red parts of the country are working to sway voters […]
The post For both sides, abortion policy two years after Dobbs decision hinges on November • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(9661) "WASHINGTON — Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the battles rage among both advocates and lawmakers over the future of reproductive rights at the state and federal levels.
Anti-abortion groups that have achieved considerable success in deep-red parts of the country are working to sway voters away from approving ballot questions in more than a dozen states this November that could bolster protections for abortion. Several will be decided in states that will have an outsized role in determining control of Congress and the White House.
Abortion opponents are also preparing a game plan to implement if former President Donald Trump regains the Oval Office, a prospect that could lead to sweeping executive actions on abortion access as well as at least one more conservative Supreme Court justice.
Reproductive rights organizations are honing in on the numerous ballot questions as a crucial way to remove decisions from the hands of lawmakers, especially in purple or conservative-leaning states.
Abortion rights supporters are also trying to shore up support for Democrats in key races for the U.S. House and Senate as well as hoping to keep President Joe Biden in office for another four years.
$100 million to be spent by abortion rights advocates
Both sides plan to spend millions to win over voters.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, National Women’s Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations announced Monday they’re putting at least $100 million toward building “a long-term federal strategy to codify the right to abortion, including lobbying efforts, grassroots organizing, public education, and comprehensive communication strategies to mobilize support and enact change.”
“Anti-abortion lawmakers have already banned or severely restricted abortion in 21 states with devastating consequences, and they won’t stop until they can force a nationwide ban on abortion and push care out of reach entirely, even in states that have protected abortion access,” they wrote.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and PAC Women Speak Out announced they would dedicate $92 million to make contact with at least 10 million voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote in a statement released Monday that there “is still much work ahead to ensure that every mother and child is supported and protected.”
“Meanwhile we are just one election cycle away from having every gain for life ripped away,” Dannenfelser wrote. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are hell-bent on banning protections for unborn children, spreading fear and lies, and forcing all-trimester abortion any time for any reason — even when babies can feel pain — as national law.”
Democrats have tried repeatedly to enact protections for abortion access, contraception and in vitro fertilization in Congress — both when they had unified control of government following the fall of Roe in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and during divided government.
None of Democrats’ bills have garnered the support needed to move past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.
In addition to calling on Congress to restore the protections that existed under Roe, the Biden administration is attempting to defend abortion and other reproductive rights through executive actions as well as in front of the Supreme Court.
Abortion pill, emergency care
Earlier this year, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued two cases on abortion access.
The first case, brought by four anti-abortion medical organizations and four anti-abortion doctors, addressed access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortions.
The justices unanimously ruled earlier this month that the groups didn’t have standing to bring the case in the first place, though they didn’t address any other aspects of the case.
The second case, yet undecided, has to do with when doctors can provide abortions as emergency medical care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act or EMTALA.
Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein said on a call with reporters Monday that there’s not much the Biden administration will be able to do if the justices side with Idaho in the case.
“If the court rejects our current interpretation, our options on emergency medical care are likely to be limited,” Klein said.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in July 2022, shortly after the Dobbs ruling came out, released a letter saying that EMTALA protected health care providers who use abortion as stabilizing care.
The letter stated that “if a physician believes that a pregnant patient presenting at an emergency department, including certain labor and delivery departments, is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by EMTALA, and that abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve that condition, the physician must provide that treatment.”
“And when a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life and health of the pregnant person — or draws the exception more narrowly than EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition — that state law is preempted,” Becerra wrote.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently established a new portal that is supposed to make it easier for people to file complaints under EMTALA if they’re denied an emergency abortion.
Comstock Act repeal
Klein also said on the call the White House will likely support a bill introduced last week in Congress to repeal sections of the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-obscenity law, that could be used to bar the mailing of medication abortion during a future GOP administration.
“We support all actions by Democrats in Congress to protect reproductive freedom, including this one,” Klein said, after noting the interagency process for determining whether the Biden administration will support the bill was still ongoing.
The legislation, however, is unlikely to pass in a Congress with a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. And divided government appears likely to continue during the next four years, regardless of which presidential candidate wins in November.
Ballot questions in states
Outside of court cases and executive actions, ballot referendums are shaping up to be the more fruitful battleground for those supportive of abortion access, though anti-abortion groups are hoping to make some headway this fall.
Advocates in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have either secured questions for the November ballot or are in the process of doing so, according to the health news publication KFF.
Residents in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont and Ohio have all previously decided to bolster or add protection for abortion access in the two years since the Supreme Court ruling was released.
Polling from the Pew Research Center conducted earlier this year shows that 63% of Americans support abortion access being legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in most or all cases.
The polling shows that Democrats and Republicans hold views in both directions, with 41% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats saying it should be legal in most or all cases, while 57% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats say it should be illegal in most or all cases.
The issue, as well as Biden and Trump’s records on abortion, are likely to be a central part of the first presidential debate on Thursday, just three days after the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
WASHINGTON — Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the battles rage among both advocates and lawmakers over the future of reproductive rights at the state and federal levels. Anti-abortion groups that have achieved considerable success in deep-red parts of the country are working to sway voters […]
The post For both sides, abortion policy two years after Dobbs decision hinges on November • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(9661) "WASHINGTON — Exactly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the battles rage among both advocates and lawmakers over the future of reproductive rights at the state and federal levels.
Anti-abortion groups that have achieved considerable success in deep-red parts of the country are working to sway voters away from approving ballot questions in more than a dozen states this November that could bolster protections for abortion. Several will be decided in states that will have an outsized role in determining control of Congress and the White House.
Abortion opponents are also preparing a game plan to implement if former President Donald Trump regains the Oval Office, a prospect that could lead to sweeping executive actions on abortion access as well as at least one more conservative Supreme Court justice.
Reproductive rights organizations are honing in on the numerous ballot questions as a crucial way to remove decisions from the hands of lawmakers, especially in purple or conservative-leaning states.
Abortion rights supporters are also trying to shore up support for Democrats in key races for the U.S. House and Senate as well as hoping to keep President Joe Biden in office for another four years.
$100 million to be spent by abortion rights advocates
Both sides plan to spend millions to win over voters.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, National Women’s Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations announced Monday they’re putting at least $100 million toward building “a long-term federal strategy to codify the right to abortion, including lobbying efforts, grassroots organizing, public education, and comprehensive communication strategies to mobilize support and enact change.”
“Anti-abortion lawmakers have already banned or severely restricted abortion in 21 states with devastating consequences, and they won’t stop until they can force a nationwide ban on abortion and push care out of reach entirely, even in states that have protected abortion access,” they wrote.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and PAC Women Speak Out announced they would dedicate $92 million to make contact with at least 10 million voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser wrote in a statement released Monday that there “is still much work ahead to ensure that every mother and child is supported and protected.”
“Meanwhile we are just one election cycle away from having every gain for life ripped away,” Dannenfelser wrote. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are hell-bent on banning protections for unborn children, spreading fear and lies, and forcing all-trimester abortion any time for any reason — even when babies can feel pain — as national law.”
Democrats have tried repeatedly to enact protections for abortion access, contraception and in vitro fertilization in Congress — both when they had unified control of government following the fall of Roe in 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and during divided government.
None of Democrats’ bills have garnered the support needed to move past the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster.
In addition to calling on Congress to restore the protections that existed under Roe, the Biden administration is attempting to defend abortion and other reproductive rights through executive actions as well as in front of the Supreme Court.
Abortion pill, emergency care
Earlier this year, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued two cases on abortion access.
The first case, brought by four anti-abortion medical organizations and four anti-abortion doctors, addressed access to mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortions.
The justices unanimously ruled earlier this month that the groups didn’t have standing to bring the case in the first place, though they didn’t address any other aspects of the case.
The second case, yet undecided, has to do with when doctors can provide abortions as emergency medical care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act or EMTALA.
Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein said on a call with reporters Monday that there’s not much the Biden administration will be able to do if the justices side with Idaho in the case.
“If the court rejects our current interpretation, our options on emergency medical care are likely to be limited,” Klein said.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in July 2022, shortly after the Dobbs ruling came out, released a letter saying that EMTALA protected health care providers who use abortion as stabilizing care.
The letter stated that “if a physician believes that a pregnant patient presenting at an emergency department, including certain labor and delivery departments, is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by EMTALA, and that abortion is the stabilizing treatment necessary to resolve that condition, the physician must provide that treatment.”
“And when a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life and health of the pregnant person — or draws the exception more narrowly than EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition — that state law is preempted,” Becerra wrote.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently established a new portal that is supposed to make it easier for people to file complaints under EMTALA if they’re denied an emergency abortion.
Comstock Act repeal
Klein also said on the call the White House will likely support a bill introduced last week in Congress to repeal sections of the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-obscenity law, that could be used to bar the mailing of medication abortion during a future GOP administration.
“We support all actions by Democrats in Congress to protect reproductive freedom, including this one,” Klein said, after noting the interagency process for determining whether the Biden administration will support the bill was still ongoing.
The legislation, however, is unlikely to pass in a Congress with a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. And divided government appears likely to continue during the next four years, regardless of which presidential candidate wins in November.
Ballot questions in states
Outside of court cases and executive actions, ballot referendums are shaping up to be the more fruitful battleground for those supportive of abortion access, though anti-abortion groups are hoping to make some headway this fall.
Advocates in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have either secured questions for the November ballot or are in the process of doing so, according to the health news publication KFF.
Residents in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont and Ohio have all previously decided to bolster or add protection for abortion access in the two years since the Supreme Court ruling was released.
Polling from the Pew Research Center conducted earlier this year shows that 63% of Americans support abortion access being legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in most or all cases.
The polling shows that Democrats and Republicans hold views in both directions, with 41% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats saying it should be legal in most or all cases, while 57% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats say it should be illegal in most or all cases.
The issue, as well as Biden and Trump’s records on abortion, are likely to be a central part of the first presidential debate on Thursday, just three days after the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs ruling.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
Minnesota lawmakers, who adjourned last month, have begun calling for a special legislative session to confront the destruction of rising floodwaters, as residents, businesses and managers of key infrastructure — especially water systems — begin cleaning up while bracing for more. State Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who represents a northeast swing district that’s been […]
The post Flooding news roundup; special legislative session comes into view • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["content"]=> array(1) { ["encoded"]=> string(5355) "Minnesota lawmakers, who adjourned last month, have begun calling for a special legislative session to confront the destruction of rising floodwaters, as residents, businesses and managers of key infrastructure — especially water systems — begin cleaning up while bracing for more.
State Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who represents a northeast swing district that’s been deluged in recent weeks, said on X Monday that a special session limited to disaster recovery and an infrastructure bill “just makes sense.”
Hours earlier, Gov. Tim Walz said he was open to a special legislative session.
Even as legislators began mulling a return to St. Paul, Minnesotans watched spectacular images of the partial failure of the the Rapidan Dam near Mankato.
Rapidan Dam this morning. pic.twitter.com/u1iJJOftr0
— Jason Leary (@jasonlcvcmn) June 24, 2024
The Star Tribune reported that “the west bank of the century-old dam had already washed out, along with several nearby buildings, sending construction material and trees downstream, as the Blue Earth River continued to rise after heavy rains fell on the region over the last several days.”
“The dam could fail,” Eric Weller, Blue Earth County emergency management director, said Monday.
Walz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar are scheduled to provide an update Tuesday afternoon on conditions in southern Minnesota following an aerial survey, Walz’s office said in a release.
Late last week, Walz toured communities in northeast Minnesota that are also getting hammered with rain and flooding, as Jerry Burnes of Iron Range Today reported.
Theresa Drift, a local homeless advocate, told Jerry Burnes of Iron Range Today that she thought her home was safe when only minor rainwater seeped into the basement — until it wasn’t anymore — and three or four feet of sewage poured in from her toilets and sinks. Drift and her family were temporarily staying with a friend.
“I work with homeless people and now I’m homeless,” Drift told Walz, fighting back tears, as state officials toured one of the hardest hit areas on the Iron Range after several inches of rain flooded the area earlier in the week.
Former state Sen. Tom Bakk, who represented Cook for decades, said he hadn’t seen water like this since the flood of 1970.
Walz said that the damage across the state could rival the 1997 Red River flooding that devastated many cities along the Minnesota-North Dakota border.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, did not respond late Monday to text messages about a special session.
Special sessions can be politically tricky: Only Walz can call a special session, but once lawmakers return to St. Paul, they decide on their own adjournment, which means it can turn into a free-for-fall of political grandstanding and gamesmanship.
Lakeville Republican state Sen. Zach Duckworth hinted as much Monday, calling for a special session on X that would roll back Democratic spending priorities and use the money on disaster assistance.
“Minnesotans would be well served by a special session to reconsider how much of the $19.5 Billion surplus commitments can be deferred or diverted to emergency disaster relief and critical infrastructure. We should invest in rebuilding our communities and keeping our people safe.”
Often governors and legislative leaders work out an agreement ahead of time to keep a special session’s legislation and timeline tightly constrained.
The flooding comes after recent years of drought. The drought of 2021 was one of the most severe in 40 years, the Department of Natural Resources reported.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com
Minnesota lawmakers, who adjourned last month, have begun calling for a special legislative session to confront the destruction of rising floodwaters, as residents, businesses and managers of key infrastructure — especially water systems — begin cleaning up while bracing for more. State Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who represents a northeast swing district that’s been […]
The post Flooding news roundup; special legislative session comes into view • Minnesota Reformer first appeared on Minnesota Minutes." ["atom_content"]=> string(5355) "Minnesota lawmakers, who adjourned last month, have begun calling for a special legislative session to confront the destruction of rising floodwaters, as residents, businesses and managers of key infrastructure — especially water systems — begin cleaning up while bracing for more.
State Sen. Grant Hauschild, a Democrat who represents a northeast swing district that’s been deluged in recent weeks, said on X Monday that a special session limited to disaster recovery and an infrastructure bill “just makes sense.”
Hours earlier, Gov. Tim Walz said he was open to a special legislative session.
Even as legislators began mulling a return to St. Paul, Minnesotans watched spectacular images of the partial failure of the the Rapidan Dam near Mankato.
Rapidan Dam this morning. pic.twitter.com/u1iJJOftr0
— Jason Leary (@jasonlcvcmn) June 24, 2024
The Star Tribune reported that “the west bank of the century-old dam had already washed out, along with several nearby buildings, sending construction material and trees downstream, as the Blue Earth River continued to rise after heavy rains fell on the region over the last several days.”
“The dam could fail,” Eric Weller, Blue Earth County emergency management director, said Monday.
Walz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar are scheduled to provide an update Tuesday afternoon on conditions in southern Minnesota following an aerial survey, Walz’s office said in a release.
Late last week, Walz toured communities in northeast Minnesota that are also getting hammered with rain and flooding, as Jerry Burnes of Iron Range Today reported.
Theresa Drift, a local homeless advocate, told Jerry Burnes of Iron Range Today that she thought her home was safe when only minor rainwater seeped into the basement — until it wasn’t anymore — and three or four feet of sewage poured in from her toilets and sinks. Drift and her family were temporarily staying with a friend.
“I work with homeless people and now I’m homeless,” Drift told Walz, fighting back tears, as state officials toured one of the hardest hit areas on the Iron Range after several inches of rain flooded the area earlier in the week.
Former state Sen. Tom Bakk, who represented Cook for decades, said he hadn’t seen water like this since the flood of 1970.
Walz said that the damage across the state could rival the 1997 Red River flooding that devastated many cities along the Minnesota-North Dakota border.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, did not respond late Monday to text messages about a special session.
Special sessions can be politically tricky: Only Walz can call a special session, but once lawmakers return to St. Paul, they decide on their own adjournment, which means it can turn into a free-for-fall of political grandstanding and gamesmanship.
Lakeville Republican state Sen. Zach Duckworth hinted as much Monday, calling for a special session on X that would roll back Democratic spending priorities and use the money on disaster assistance.
“Minnesotans would be well served by a special session to reconsider how much of the $19.5 Billion surplus commitments can be deferred or diverted to emergency disaster relief and critical infrastructure. We should invest in rebuilding our communities and keeping our people safe.”
Often governors and legislative leaders work out an agreement ahead of time to keep a special session’s legislation and timeline tightly constrained.
The flooding comes after recent years of drought. The drought of 2021 was one of the most severe in 40 years, the Department of Natural Resources reported.
originally published in the minnesotareformer.com