On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced, at the request of President Donald Trump, an intent to impose additional work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Under current law, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) are individuals 18 to 49 who is not elderly, a woman who is pregnant, or someone with…
Read More »On Monday, findings from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, indicated a sharp increase in electronic cigarette use, or vaping, among U.S. teens over the past year. The study, conducted annually, surveys eighth, 10th, and 12th graders about their attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol and other drugs….
Read More »On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance for health care providers and patients detailing how naloxone should be prescribed to all patients at risk for opioid-related complications, including overdose. HHS Assistant Secretary for Health and Senior Advisor for Opioid Policy Adm. Brett Giroir announced the updated guidance that reinforces…
Read More »After months of negotiations, U.S. Congress passed this week an expansive $867 billion farm bill. H.R. 2, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, passed the House on a 369-47 vote and the Senate on a 87-13 vote; the measure now heads to President Donald Trump where he is largely expected to sign the measure into…
Read More »On Thursday, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced changes to school meals standards to allow additional flexibilities related to milk, whole grains, and sodium. Under the new final rule, previous sodium level reduction timelines will be slowed, whole grain-rich requirements will be lessened, and flavored, low-fat milk will be able to be served. According…
Read More »The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) this week released three mortality reports, finding that life expectancy declined for the third consecutive year in 2017. Contributing to the declining life expectancy was an additional 70,000 deaths from overdoses and a 3.7 percent increase in the suicide rate….
Read More »Last week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) released new content for the California Public Health and Medical Emergency Operations Manual (EOM). New chapters were added to the EOM after extensive work was done by the EOM Workgroup and in consultation with subject matter experts and stakeholders. The content…
Read More »As a friendly reminder, CHEAC welcomes members to assess the impact of the Trump Administration’s proposed rule on public charge on LHD operations and services and provide written comments to Jack Anderson via email (janderson@cheac.org) by COB on Friday, November 16, 2018. Recall, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services…
Read More »On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 6, titled “SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act”, a comprehensive legislative package to assist in addressing the nation’s opioid epidemic. Earlier this fall, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed their own opioid-related legislative proposals; the two chambers then reached an agreement on the legislation after two…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report that examines the federal government’s emergency declaration on the opioid epidemic, initially declared by the Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services in October 2017 and renewed in April 2018. The report indicates that the emergency declaration allowed HHS to survey more than 13,000…
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