Rural News Clips, Sept. 12, 2024
$62M available for state, local health agencies to offer free Covid vaccines; Montana outsources, slashes child care support funding; Outcome of Ohio Supreme Court races will affect school vouchers
POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Will debate move the needle in battleground Pennsylvania?
Sept. 12, 2024
“Pennsylvania not only hosted the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, but there were clear overtures to Keystone State voters that made it plain how crucial the commonwealth is to both campaigns — from the back and forth on fracking to remarks about Pennsylvanians of Polish and Ukrainian descent.”
“Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research and the Floyd Institute for Public Policy at Franklin & Marshall College, said both candidates talking about fracking was a clear signal to Pennsylvania voters, though the impact will probably be limited to certain regions.”
“Yost said that even though many voters in places like rural southwest Pennsylvania have left the Democratic Party over the last two decades, Harris’ reversing her prior support for banning fracking could help her hold down Trump’s margins in those more rural communities.”
Ohio Capital Journal
Outcome of Ohio Supreme Court races will affect private school vouchers
Sept. 12, 2024
“A school voucher lawsuit currently in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas will likely make its way before the Ohio Supreme Court eventually — meaning whichever candidates are elected to the state’s high court this fall could end up ruling on this pivotal school funding case.”
“Six candidates are running for three seats on the Ohio Supreme Court. Republicans currently hold a 4-3 majority. If Democrats win all three races, the court would flip 4-3 Democratic. However, if Republicans win all three races, it would become a 6-1 Republican court.”
Vouchers tend not to help rural students, who don’t have many if any alternatives to the local public schools.
CHILD CARE
Daily Montanan
Montana DPHHS cuts nearly $1M, drives ‘seismic shift’ in support for children, families
Sept. 12, 2024
Montana’s “Department of Public Health and Human Services [has] upended the way Montana helps children and families — and decreased funding for it.”
“The change outlined in requests for proposals earlier this year means Montana will go from having six regional organizations helping both families and providers to one out-of-state entity helping providers.”
“Based in New York, Shine Early Learning, part of Acelero, Inc., will be awarded a contract for assistance to child care providers, according to a DPHHS notice late last month.”
“The change also means possibly just two state organizations will support families — and with a lot less money.”
“The state decreased the budget by roughly $900,000, or 27%, for family support, from $3.4 million to $2.5 million, according to data from one of those organizations, Child Care Resources of Missoula.”
“Across the state, workers at supporting organizations have had longstanding relationships with childcare providers, she said, and now there’s a question: ‘Who do I call if I have a kid with challenging behavior?’”
CONSERVATION
Kansas Reflector
U.S. senators from Kansas, Colorado, Arizona introduce bill to unlock funds for water preservation
Sept. 12, 2024
“States, Native American tribes and local communities could get help accessing federal funds for water infrastructure projects in drought-stricken areas under new U.S. Senate legislation.“
“The Water Project Navigators Act — sponsored by U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and John Hickenlooper and Reps. Brittany Pettersen and Juan Ciscomani — would create a program in the Bureau of Reclamation to place ‘navigator’ positions in local, state and tribal communities. Navigators would help connect communities to resources.”
“Kansas and Colorado — along with Ciscomani’s home state of Arizona — struggle with continual drought and limited access to water.”
“As of last week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 51% of Kansas is in some level of drought, mostly moderate or severe. Almost 5% of Arizona is in extreme drought. Colorado is currently the least affected with about 12% of the state in some level of drought.”
“The legislation is backed by conservation groups, according to the news release, along with the Kansas Water Office, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.”
COVID-19
Route Fifty
$62M available for state, local health agencies to offer free vaccines
Sept. 12, 2024
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will send an additional $62 million to state and local health departments to provide free immunizations for COVID-19 and other diseases, but the extra cash still may not be enough to cover the needed amount of free vaccines in some communities.”
“The federal Bridge Access program had helped state and local health departments provide free COVID vaccines for the country’s 25 million uninsured and underinsured people.”
“Launched last September, the $1.1 billion program helped provide more than 1.5 million vaccines to individuals.”
“But a $4.3 billion federal budget cut to COVID-19 funding earlier this year brought the program to an abrupt demise in August.”
“The cut led state and local public health officials to raise concerns over their ability to keep communities safe from virus outbreaks ahead of the 2024-2025 respiratory illness season.”
CRIME
South Carolina Daily Gazette
SC’s rape crisis centers get federal boost to assist survivors
Sept. 12, 2024
“A federal grant for South Carolina’s rape crisis centers will help survivors access the care they need.”
“The state Department of Public Health announced Wednesday receiving $925,400 to support the state’s 15 rape crisis centers and raise awareness of sexual violence in poor, rural and other underserved communities.”
“Services provided by the nonprofits include emergency hotlines, counseling, legal advice, referrals and transportation to shelters and medical appointments.”
“The two-year grant comes from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. The state’s public health agency also supports the nonprofits with state taxes. This year, its budget included $1.3 million to distribute among the centers.”
CRYPTOCURRENCY
The Texas Tribune and Inside Climate News
Power plant expansion tied to Bitcoin mining faces backlash in rural Hood County
Sept. 12, 2024
Rural “residents say a noisy Bitcoin mine keeps them up at night. Now a plan to expand the power plant that fuels the mine is drawing opposition over pollution concerns.”
EDUCATION
The Daily Yonder
Where Do Rural Americans Learn About Life After High School?
Sept. 12, 2024
“Across the board, rural students [said] they were deeply interested in learning how to improve their lives. However, it wasn’t always clear to them that a degree was their pathway to doing so. Part of that stems from the fact that many are frustrated that they didn’t get more of a financial education while they were still in high school.”
Many are “learning about life skills and potential career paths from family and friends, TikTok, and YouTube.”
HEALTH CARE
Axios
Ambulance bills become subject of surprise billing sequel
Sept. 12, 2024
“Many Americans avoid calling 911 when they're having a medical crisis because of cost concerns. Others get stuck with massive unanticipated bills that are a major driver of medical debt in the U.S.”
But “patients could be spared huge, unexpected bills for ambulance rides under a new plan aimed at closing a gap in the surprise billing law.”
“Congress decided to exclude ambulance rides from the landmark 2020 surprise medical billing legislation and instead charged an advisory committee with recommending a policy fix specific to the ambulance industry.”
“A committee of ambulance providers, patient advocates, insurance experts, and other advisers is recommending Congress adopt a tiered payment system for reimbursing out-of-network ambulance rides.”
“Unlike some other forms of care, patients typically don't have the luxury of shopping around for an ambulance provider. Non-emergency transportation between hospitals often ends up generating surprise out-of-network bills, too.”
HOUSING
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Shapiro signs executive order to create plan to address Pennsylvania’s housing shortage
Sept. 12, 2024
“As Pennsylvania risks falling behind other states on addressing affordable housing and homelessness, Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday signed an executive order creating the commonwealth’s first comprehensive Housing Action Plan.”
“The executive order directs the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and Department of Human Services (DHS) to create the housing action plan by working with stakeholders to create a roadmap for building more affordable housing, while addressing homelessness.”
“Shapiro called it a big task, and said that the agencies have one year to come up with a strategic plan.”
“According to the executive order, the plan will be “data-driven,” and the agencies will provide recommendations for how to increase housing supply, and support the preservation of existing housing.”
MENTAL HEALTH
Maryland Matters
Raskin to introduce first suicide prevention legislation since his son’s death
Sept. 11, 2024
“U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th), whose personal life and political career were incalculably upended by his son’s suicide, is introducing his first major mental health and suicide prevention legislation since Tommy Raskin died on Dec. 31, 2020, at the age of 25.”
“The bipartisan bill will be co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).”
“The Stabilization To Prevent (STOP) Suicide Act would create a grant program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to expand the use of evidence-based models for stabilizing individuals with serious thoughts of suicide.”
“Eligible grant recipients would include community health centers, rural health clinics, certified community behavioral health clinics, primary care and behavioral health providers, state health agencies, and school-based or campus-based health centers.”
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The Washington Post
Judge overturns North Dakota’s near-total abortion ban
Sept. 12, 2024
“A North Dakota judge struck down the state’s near-total ban on abortion Thursday, saying the state constitution gives women a ‘fundamental right to choose abortion’ before fetal viability. Restrictions on the right is ‘a violation on medical freedom,’ he ruled.”
“State District Judge Bruce Romanick declared the law, enacted by the legislature last year, ‘unconstitutionally void for vagueness.’’
“The statute made the procedure illegal in all cases except rape or incest when the woman has been pregnant for less than six weeks or when the pregnancy poses a serious physical health threat.”
“Doctors and other health care professionals found to be in violation of the law could be charged with a felony — and then face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 fine.”
“In the conservative state, where lawmakers have twice passed bans that courts subsequently ruled against, the victory for abortion rights supporters was a bittersweet one.”
“North Dakota no longer has any abortion clinics; its onetime sole provider and plaintiff in the lawsuit, the Red River Women’s Clinic, moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minn., in 2022.”
Reuters
Indiana judge refuses to broaden medical exception to abortion ban
Sept. 11, 2024
“An Indiana judge on Wednesday refused to broaden the medical exception to the state's near-total abortion ban, ruling against a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.”
“Judge Kelsey Hanlon of Monroe County Circuit Court acknowledged that the ban, which makes an exception for a ‘serious health risk’ to the mother, put providers in ‘the incredibly unenviable position’ of providing care in a ‘politically charged environment’ under threat of criminal prosecution or loss of their licenses.”
“However, the judge said the plaintiffs had not shown that the exception would prohibit an abortion in violation of women's rights under the state constitution.”
“Planned Parenthood and the other plaintiffs had asked the judge for a court order setting out that the exception must be interpreted to allow abortion in the case of a health condition that requires treatment that would endanger the fetus, causes debilitating symptoms during pregnancy, or is likely to become life-threatening or cause lasting damage to the mother's health.”
“The plaintiffs said that was too narrow, and that without a clarifying court order, doctors might wait to treat dangerous medical conditions until they become deadly. But Hanlon said the exception did not require them to wait that long and allowed them to use their ‘reasonable medical judgment.’”
Roll Call
For many, incomplete answers on mental health care and pregnancy
Sept. 12, 2024
“Eighteen U.S. states have enacted laws that exclude mental health or risk of suicide among the medical reasons a woman can have an abortion.”
“But women who spoke to CQ Roll Call faced obstacles finding answers on how to treat mental illness during pregnancy even when they were not considering abortion.”
“The Food and Drug Administration has not approved psychiatric drugs for use during pregnancy, though they can be prescribed off label.”
“Instead, pregnant patients are often advised not to discontinue their medications for mental health and substance use disorder because of the risk of exacerbating symptoms or relapsing.”
WILDFIRES
Inside Climate News
‘Weather Whiplash’ Helped Drive This Year’s California Wildfires
Sept. 12, 2024
“Exceptionally wet winters drove a boom of grasses and shrubs that a record hot summer dried into the fuel powering the Park Fire in Northern California, the Line Fire outside Los Angeles and other conflagrations.”