DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CNN —Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors will now take effect after a federal appeals court lifted an injunction against the law. The appeals court granted a stay of a lower court injunction, which had been blocking enforcement of a part of the state’s ban. The ban prohibits health care providers from performing gender-affirming surgeries and administering hormones or puberty blockers to transgender minors, pending the duration of the appeal. In five states, providing gender-affirming care to minors is now a felony. The association says gender-affirming care creates “effective pathways to achieving lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves, in order to maximize their overall health, psychological well-being and self-fulfillment.”CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to note that a part of the Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors took effect on July 1.

Persons: CNN —, Bill, Jonathan Skrmetti, ” Organizations: CNN, Sixth Circuit, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child, Psychiatry, Professional Association for Transgender Health Locations: Tennessee

Fight or Flight: Transgender Care Bans Leave Families and Doctors ScramblingLaws in 20 states have left the fate of clinics in doubt and families with transgender children searching for medical care across state lines. But two new laws have left them debating whether to leave Iowa. A ban on a medication that pauses puberty taken by their transgender son, Brecker, was signed into law by the state’s governor in March. “It’s like trying to cross a bridge but the boards just fall out,” said Brecker, who recently finished seventh grade and began receiving puberty blockers in December, a year after coming out as transgender. “So you’re hanging on those two ropes, inching yourself across, not knowing whether the ropes are going to snap or break.”In 20 states, bans or restrictions on transition-related medical care for transgender youths are upending the lives of families and medical providers.

Persons: David, Wendy Batchelder, Brecker, ” Organizations: Republican Locations: West Des Moines , Iowa, Iowa

[1/6] Jan Gilpin poses with a bottle of the asthma and allergy drug Singulair, first prescribed to her son when he was three-years-old, at her home in Newton, Massachusetts, U.S., June 21, 2023. That team found in 2015 that the drug’s distribution into the brain was more significant than its label described. Lawsuits filed against Merck cite this 1996 patent as evidence of Merck’s knowledge of the drug’s potential brain impacts. Marschallinger and her colleagues in Austria came away with a different finding when they reviewed Merck’s original research and did some of their own. Marschallinger said it would have been logical for the FDA to require Merck to investigate the brain impacts more thoroughly once reports of mental-health problems emerged.

Persons: Jan Gilpin, Singulair, Brian Snyder, Merck, Julia Marschallinger, Marschallinger, ” Marschallinger, “ It’s, Robin Respaut, Dan Levine, Janet Roberts, Brian Thevenot Organizations: REUTERS, Brian Snyder Companies Merck, Co, FDA, Molecular Regenerative, Singulair, Merck, Thomson Locations: Newton , Massachusetts, U.S, Austria

☆ Ron DeSantis loses in court on anti-transgender healthcare law for the 2nd time in a month as judge rebukes 'dog whistles' from Florida officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Clinton-appointed judge struck down Florida's Medicaid ban on transgender healthcare. Ron DeSantis' office directed the state's healthcare agency to do an analysis on Medicaid patients who received transition-related medical care. Roughly 12,000 transgender patients in Florida are enrolled in the program, according to Lambda Legal, one of the firms that represented transgender plaintiffs in the case. "Many people with this view tend to disapprove all things transgender and so oppose medical care that supports a person's transgender existence." Hinkle, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, is the same judge who, earlier this month, blocked portions of a Florida law that aimed to ban transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Persons: Clinton, DeSantis, —, Robert Hinkle, Ron DeSantis, Hinkle, Shakespeare, Grisham, Bill Clinton, Omar Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Pagan Organizations: Service, Agency for Health Care Administration, Florida Gov, Lambda, Court, Northern, Northern District of, GOP, Medicaid, Pagan, Health Locations: Florida, Northern District, Northern District of Florida, Charleston , South Carolina

June 22 (Reuters) - A Wyoming judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a law banning medication abortion in the Western state, delaying what could be the nation's first such ban while a lawsuit challenging it makes its way through the courts, the Casper Star Tribune reported. Wyoming's ban, one of numerous abortion restrictions passed by Republican lawmakers in U.S. states in the year since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion by overturning the 50-year-old Roe vs. Wade decision, was set to go into effect July 1. "Essentially the government under this law is making the decision for a woman rather than the woman making her own health care choice," Ninth District Court Judge Melissa Owens said, according to the newspaper. Medication abortion, also called medical abortion, involves taking two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, to end a pregnancy. Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Melissa Owens, Sharon Bernstein, Sonali Paul Organizations: Casper Star Tribune, Republican, Thomson Locations: Wyoming, Western, U.S

☆ Pride at Work Is Priceless, but It’s Nice to Be Paid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Roxane Gay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Pronoun EtiquetteIs it OK when first talking alone with a new colleague to ask pronouns to ensure you are referring to them correctly, if it hasn’t already been broached? Asking about pronouns simply removes any ambiguity and ensures that you’re always referring to your colleagues in the manner they prefer. They should value your safety and ensure that you work in an environment that doesn’t tolerate discrimination of any kind. I wish at least some of the time they would affirm my they/them pronouns, which help me feel seen and known. Am I making this too hard for my colleagues by not making a firm request to always use they/them?

Persons: I’m, I’ve, “, ”, Roxane Gay

☆ See the States That Have Passed Laws Directed at Young Trans People
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Not all the laws passed this year have gone into effect yet. Several states have prohibited only certain parts of gender-affirming care. Advocates for trans care have sued in numerous states over these laws, and other Democratic-led states have passed laws protecting transition care for young people. The bill led some providers of gender-affirming care to temporarily suspend their services to adults. And several states have banned Medicaid from covering transition care for adults.

Organizations: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, Democratic Locations: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Nebraska, West

☆ Family of girl who died in US Border Patrol custody denied ambulance, investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 1 (Reuters) - An investigation into the death of an 8-year-old Panamanian girl while in custody of the U.S. Border Patrol in Harlingen, Texas, showed that the family was repeatedly denied an ambulance, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Thursday. The child died on May 17 after experiencing a medical emergency at the agency's station in Harlingen, three days after being transferred from the Donna Processing Facility, near the border in Donna, Texas, for medical isolation. The family had been held by CBP for nine days despite agency policy limiting custody to 72 hours. Neither Border Patrol agents nor the contracted medical personnel who interacted with the family in Harlingen acknowledged being aware of the girl's medical conditions, which included sickle cell anemia and congenital heart disease, CBP said. In addition, CBP said, surveillance cameras at the Harlingen station had not been working while the family was in custody, forcing them to rely on staff interviews.

Persons: Troy Miller, Sarah Morland, Ted Hesson, Leslie Adler Organizations: U.S . Border Patrol, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, Donna Processing, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Border Patrol, Donna, CBP, CBP's, Thomson Locations: Harlingen , Texas, U.S, Harlingen, Donna , Texas, Mexico City, Washington

☆ 8-Year-Old Migrant Who Died in C.B.P. Custody Was Seen by Medical Staff 11 Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Eileen Sullivan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While the investigation is continuing, the initial findings suggest that the child, Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez, a Panamanian national, was not provided proper medical care while she was in government custody. On Thursday, the agency’s acting commissioner, Troy Miller, said that “several medical providers involved in this incident have now been prohibited from working in C.B.P. Background: The girl’s health history was ignored. Her family provided her health history to medical personnel when they were booked into Border Patrol custody in Donna, Texas. But none of the medical personnel she interacted with at a facility where her family was transferred acknowledged being aware of her health history, internal investigators found.

Persons: Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez, Troy Miller, Biden, Anadith Organizations: Customs, Border Patrol Locations: Customs, Panamanian, C.B.P, Brownsville , Texas, United States, Donna , Texas

☆ Explainer: What happens if Washington falls behind on its bills?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jason Lange | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The day's $26 billion in tax revenues would not be enough to cover about $101 billion in spending obligations promised by Congress. Pensioners and other Social Security beneficiaries wouldn't get $25 billion owed them. JUNE 6Weapons manufacturers and other companies supplying the U.S. military wouldn't collect $2 billion owed them. But more bills would keep coming due, and Americans expecting tax refund deposits on June 7 wouldn't get about $1 billion owed them. But revenues wouldn't cover all the other bills due June 15, such as military salaries.

☆ Zipline: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But with the release of its latest drone, Zipline is spreading its unmanned wings far beyond medicine. Zipline also has relationships with medical providers in the country, and in recent years has conducted long-range medical drone flights in challenging geographies including the Appalachian regions of North Carolina. In 2022, Zipline became the first company to receive FAA Part 135 approval for long-range drone delivery in the U.S., a huge step towards greater domestic expansion. From lunch deliveries with Sweetgreen to health prescriptions from Walmart, Zipline can maneuver peak order times by creating its Zips in a way that automatically redistributes the drones from dock to dock for loading and launching. Zipline has already completed 540,000 deliveries to customers, which is more than what Alphabet and Amazon have delivered combined.

☆ Supreme Court Is Expected to Decide on Access to Abortion Pill as Appeal Moves Forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | Pam Belluck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At issue is the availability of mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen that now accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States. More than five million women have used mifepristone to terminate their pregnancies in the United States, and dozens of other countries have approved the drug for use. added a series of guidelines that eased access to the pill. The restrictions would include blocking patients from receiving the drug by mail. The case could also pave the way for all sorts of challenges to the F.D.A.’s approval of medications.

It is the second time in a year that the Supreme Court has considered a major effort to sharply curtail access to abortion. Less than an hour later, a federal judge in Washington State, Thomas O. The competing rulings meant that the matter was almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court. But the panel imposed several barriers to access, siding in part with Judge Kacsmaryk, while the lawsuit moved through the courts. Seeking emergency relief, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene while a fast-tracked appeal moved forward.

☆ Appeals court partially blocks ruling that imperils access to key abortion pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | Laura Jarrett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A federal appeals court late on Wednesday blocked part of a ruling issued last week by a Trump-appointed judge that endangers access to the abortion pill mifepristone. The Justice Department can still ask the Supreme Court to intervene in an attempt to completely block Kacsmaryk's ruling. The Justice Department has filed a motion in the federal district court in Washington state, asking for clarification on Friday's ruling. Kacsmaryk's ruling, if allowed to stand, would not mean that access to mifepristone would immediately be cut off nationwide. The agency has broad power to do so, with the Supreme Court in a 1985 ruling saying that such decisions generally cannot be challenged in court.

☆ Missouri's attorney general opened a new front in the GOP's attacks on transgender people: banning treatment for any adult with depression
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Chris Panella | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adults with depression are banned from seeking care until their mental health issues are resolved. Attorney General Andrew Bailey's sweeping regulation would prohibit medical providers from providing gender-affirming care unless a number of requirements are met. The ACLU of Missouri previously said that the attorney general, a Republican, overstepped his authority when it condemned Bailey's initial announcement of the policy in March. The state attorney general is basing his regulation on a law aimed at fraudulent business practices, The Missouri Independent reported. Republicans and conservatives have moved to restrict gender-affirming care and other trans rights in recent years.

☆ Ask these 4 questions to help avoid surprise medical bills, according to a doctor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Here are four questions to start with, from Todd Thames, a physician and VP of clinical affairs at Included Health, a virtual primary care provider that helps customers navigate medical bills. by your health insurance, ask both your health-care provider and insurer what your total out-of-pocket costs should be, before you get treatment. That's because a medical provider might not be familiar with the dozens of health insurance policies their patients have, including yours, says Thames. However, diagnostic care is much more likely to incur out-of-pocket medical costs, says Thames. If you express cost concerns, the doctor might recommend a more targeted lab test that can reduce how much you owe in medical bills.

☆ The Wild World Inside Your Gut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alice Callahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +20 min

The Wild World Inside Your GutWe tackled everything from heartburn, stress, spicy foods and colon cleanses to antibiotics and more. So grab a kombucha, get comfortable and read on for everything you’ve wanted to know about the wild world inside your gut. 3 What are some simple things I can do to improve my gut health? That “really is going to have the strongest impact on our health, including gut health,” she said. (Though for general gut health, Dr. Rao said, most people living in the United States could benefit from eating fewer refined carbohydrates and more fiber.)

☆ Fact Check-Claims of ICD-10 codes used to track unvaccinated individuals missing context
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The codes in an individual’s medical record, like all personal health information, are protected by U.S. privacy law and could only be analyzed at the group or population level uncoupled from individual identities, medical experts told Reuters. Yet users are sharing news of the 2022 update as evidence that governmental agencies will now be tracking unvaccinated individuals who go to the hospital or see a doctor as part of a “surveillance program,” with comments implying that users think they will be personally identified. All medical providers covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have used the codes since at least 2015, according to the CDC (here), (www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd10.htm ). Reuters Fact Check debunked a similar claim about ICD-10 code Z28.20 used to place unvaccinated individuals in education camps (here). ICD-10 codes are not new, and the COVID-underimmunized codes added in 2022 are not used to track individuals for reasons other than monitoring vaccination status to assess vaccine efficacy and analyze mortality data.

☆ Virginia blocks a bill that would have stopped police from viewing period app data, raising fears it could be used to prosecute abortions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Virginia bill that would have prohibited police search warrants on menstrual cycle data was shelved. Glenn Youngkin announced his opposition to the bill this week, resulting in it being tabled. The White House has warned women against using period-tracking apps, citing privacy concerns. Around a third of menstruating adults use period-tracking apps, according to a 2019 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Abortion rights activists have raised alarm at the idea that period-tracking apps could be used to prosecute abortion-law violations, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.

☆ Idaho GOP lawmakers want to classify anyone who helps a minor cross state lines to get an abortion as a human trafficker and punish them with up to 5 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Under the bill, transporting a pregnant minor in or outside Idaho would be considered human trafficking. Idaho outlaws abortions with exceptions for rape, incest, or life-threatening circumstances. Proposed by Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt of Idaho Falls, House Bill 98 expands the state's existing trafficking laws and would restrict alternative ways a pregnant minor might seek an abortion. Idaho shares borders with states that have no restrictions or allows abortions up to fetal viability, including Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming. However, no state so far has passed legislation that would ban abortions conducted outside of one's state residence.

☆ Utah is poised to be the first state to pass a gender-affirming care ban in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Utah is likely to become the first state to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors this year. The Utah Senate approved a bill Friday that would bar minors from receiving gender-affirming surgeries and place an indefinite moratorium on their access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Spencer Cox, who became the second Republican governor last year to veto a bill that bars transgender students from playing girls’ sports. Bri Martin, the editor of the student newspaper at West High School, described gender-affirming care as “nothing short of life-saving,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The bill also allows minors to sue medical providers for malpractice for gender-affirming medical care if the minor “later disaffirms consent” before they turn 25.

☆ Abortion pill manufacturer sues over West Virginia ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Rose Horowitch | Rose Horowitch Is An Intern With Nbc News Digital Politics. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Abortion pill manufacturer GenBioPro filed a lawsuit Wednesday arguing that West Virginia's sweeping ban on the procedure is unconstitutional — one of a spate of suits testing the legality of medication abortion in the post-Roe legal landscape. GenBioPro manufactures mifepristone, the first pill in a two-drug regimen used to carry out medication abortion. Medication abortion has become a hot-button issue since the Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. The drugmaker, which filed its case in West Virginia federal court, argues that the Food and Drug Administration's regulations on abortion medication override state law. “Abortion law and the status of the legality of abortion flickers on and off,” Rebouché said.

☆ Record high share in U.S. report delaying medical treatments due to costs — here's how you can save on health care
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Iona Studio | Istock | Getty ImagesMore people in the U.S. are deciding to hold off on medical care for financial reasons. That percentage is the highest since the polling organization began taking the measurement in 2001, at which point 19% of people answered they'd postponed health care because of money. Sometimes, doctors leave a network, McClanahan said, so you want to check this again if you haven't seen a provider in some time. Your deductible is the amount you have to pay for your health care before your coverage kicks in. If you reach your deductible, you might want to squeeze in other care or treatments within the same year to cut costs, McClanahan said.

☆ The 10 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. right now—many pay over $100,000 a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are the top 10 fastest-growing jobs in 2023, according to LinkedIn; you can read the full list of the top 25 jobs here. Salary range: $41,600-$122,000Top locations hiring: New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area3. Salary range: $60,000-$145,000Top locations hiring: New York City, Washington D.C.-Baltimore area, Boston4. Salary range: $55,000 - $125,000Top locations hiring: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles6. Salary range: $60,000-$132,000Top locations hiring: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles9.

☆ Hospitals rely on volunteers for $5 billion a year of free work — and some could be violating federal labor laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Lauren Sausser | Kaiser Health News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The US health system benefits from potentially over $5 billion in free volunteer labor annually. Like paid employees, hospital volunteers typically face mandatory vaccine requirements, background checks, and patient privacy training. Hedges was furloughed for the better part of six months when hospital volunteers were sent home in March 2020. Nonprofit and for-profit hospitals alike benefit from volunteersNonprofit hospitals must follow federal labor laws, too. Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide a benefit to their communities, such as offering charity care, in exchange for their special tax status.

Search resuls for: "Medical Providers"

25 mentions found