By Kathy Wang and Hyeongsu Park
- In the ongoing medical and legal battle over the deadly meningitis outbreak, the victims have been trying to freeze nearly $500 million in assets. US District Judge Dennis Saylor ruled this past Tuesday for an expedited hearing to determine this issue. As of late, the New England Compounding Center and Ameridose have been shut down, pending further investigations into the meningitis contamination.
- It seems that the Supreme Court is moving towards considering several key cases dealing with gay marriage. Three potential cases have been brought before the Court and observers believe that the justices will take up at least one.
- Prominent GOP lawmakers in Massachusetts have been calling for the resignation of the state’s Health Secretary after challenging the handling of the meningitis outbreak and allegations of state-wide drug test tampering.
- Associated Press reported a federal appeals court ruling in Missouri that has temporarily blocked a contraception mandate. This mandate (part of the ACA) requires that certain workplaces cover birth control in their health plans, but opposition has claimed that this infringes upon certain religious and personal beliefs.
- Although Colorado voters passed a measure legalizing marijuana across the state, since the mandate has not yet been enacted, law enforcement officials have been left to contemplate what to do with current marijuana cases of possession. Some precincts have begun dropping misdeamanor cases, but others have still been moving ahead in the prosecutions.
- A key part of the Obama administration’s plan for health care reform hinges on the shift of Medicare information to electronic records, which will hopefully improve patient care and communications while lowering costs. However, critics have raised concerns that this would leave confidential records more vulnerable to abuse and fraud.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that pediatricians treating teenaged girls should consider writing just-in-case prescriptions for the morning-after pill, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends making all birth control pills available over the counter.