Have you caught a glimpse of a green comet approaching us? Hmm.
The health sector today is taking note of legislation being introduced in state legislatures that could affect access to treatment for transgender adults.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care RoundupFollow the latest developments in policy and news that affect your health. Nathaniel Weisel and Joseph Choi. SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Transgender Youth Health Care Ban Now Targets Adults
Lawmakers in at least three states introduced legislation this year intended to limit access to gender-affirming health care for individuals under the age of 26. .
- Bills introduced this year in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia would bar state health care providers from recommending or performing treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and gender reassignment surgery to patients under the age of 21. It aims to address the growing battle for transgender medical care.
- Another Oklahoma bill introduced this month is one of the most extreme and restrictive bans ever introduced, banning adults up to age 25 from receiving gender-confirming care.
The state’s proposed “Millstone Act,” named after a passage in the Bible that punishes adults for harming children, would allow Oklahoma’s Medicaid program to allow individuals under the age of 26 to “gender transition.” It also prevents the application of “procedures”.
Independent legislative researcher Erin Reid told The Hill this week about attempts by states and federal governments to ban gender-affirming care over the past two years, saying that “it’s never been about children. I think,” he said.
“These adult bans show that’s not what it’s about,” Reed said. ”
Please check this out for details.
Pence: Candidates must stand on abortion
Former Vice President Mike Pence has argued that Democrats must adopt an anti-abortion stance in the aftermath of last summer’s Supreme Court ruling.
“What I saw in the last election was that men and women who took a stand on the sanctity of life did very well in the election,” Pence said in an exclusive interview with The Hill on Wednesday. .
“From now on, the men and women of our party have a duty to stand up without apology for the sanctity of human life, to stand up to the principle of the inalienable right to life, but also to express compassion for women. I’m facing a critical pregnancy.”
The former vice president was one of the most outspoken conservatives calling for states to enact abortion limits following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade last summer.
Abortion issues: His comments to The Hill highlighted debate within the GOP over how abortions should be handled going forward, after some within the Republican Party said it cost them the race to win in the November midterm elections. doing.
Trump wrote last week in Truth Social that the GOP narrowly won the House and lost its place in the Senate, and shouldn’t be held accountable for the party’s dominating midterm performance.
Please check this out for details.
Pfizer’s bivalent booster not associated with stroke risk: CDC, FDA
Following analysis of vaccine surveillance data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found an increased risk of ischemic stroke among people over the age of 65 who received Pfizer’s bivalent booster. He said he found no evidence to do so.
After Pfizer’s updated bivalent COVID-19 booster dose became available, the CDC said its vaccine safety data link raised concerns about whether shots pose safety concerns for people over 65. said it had urged further investigation.
- “VSD signal rapid response study reveals that people aged 65 and older who received the Pfizer-Biontech COVID-19 vaccine, Bivalent, were more likely to have an ischemic stroke within 21 days after vaccination than 1 day.” The question arose as to whether the risk is also high.22-44 after vaccination,” the CDC said.
- Ischemic stroke, more common than hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain, stopping blood flow and potentially leading to the death of brain cells. If stroke is not treated quickly, its effects can be debilitating.
According to the CDC, studies conducted using databases from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs did not show or increase the risk of ischemic stroke. The vaccine adverse event reporting systems administered by both the CDC and FDA also did not show an increase in reports of ischemic stroke following bivalent booster administration.
Please check this out for details.
Deaths from cervical cancer are increasing among seniors in California.Women: Research
A new study conducted by researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center found that more California women over the age of 65 were diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer and died from the disease.
- Data from more than 12,000 patients diagnosed with the disease between 2009 and 2018 show that almost one-fifth are over the age of 65, compared with 48% of women under the age of 65. 71% of older women presented with terminal illness.
- Older women also tended to have lower late-stage 5-year relative survival rates compared with younger women, ranging from 23.2% to 36.8%. Late 5-year relative survival rates for patients younger than 65 years ranged from 41.5% to 51.5%.
Despite documented disparities, CDC guidelines recommend that most women stop screening for cervical cancer at age 65, making this age group potentially vulnerable. said the researcher.
Please check this out for details.
Biden Official Touts Expanded Health Insurance Coverage
On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported a significant increase in health insurance coverage for a large number of demographics in 2021, two days before the Obamacare registration deadline.
According to a report issued by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the national proportion of uninsured persons under the age of 65 will fall from 11.1% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2021, while the population has historically declined. A statistically significant increase was observed. Uninsured rate is high.
Zoom in:
- Non-English-speaking adults, people ages 19-49, Latinos, and Native Americans/Alaska Natives all saw increases in coverage of about 1% or more.
- The report notes that the highest increase in health coverage was among people in households with incomes between 100 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
- At the state level, Maine saw the largest decline in uninsured rates from 2019 to 2021, with coverage increasing by 3.2%. In the same time frame, Alabama saw the largest increase in the proportion of uninsured persons, and this proportion increased by 0.4%.
About 16 million people have so far opted for a health care plan through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, up 13% from last year, according to an HHS release earlier this week.
Please check this out for details.
what we are reading
- Abortion bans do not prosecute pregnant women. May change (19th report)
- More Men Diagnosed With Advanced Prostate Cancer As PSA Screening Declines (NBC News)
- FDA no longer requires all drugs to be tested on animals before testing on humans (NPR)
by state
- California Attorney General sues drug companies over high insulin prices (Kaiser Health News)
- WCSD aims to address student mental health, chronic absenteeism with federal funding (KUNR).
- Over 700,000 Wisconsin Families Expected to Be Affected by End of Additional FoodShare Benefits (The Post-Crescent)
That’s all for today, thanks for reading. For the latest news and coverage, visit The Hill’s Health Care page.
Programming Note: We are closed on Monday for MLK Day and will be back on Tuesday.
see you next week!
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