Health
Alaska’s TBI-related mortality rate was the highest in the nation between 2016 and 2021
Afternoon traffic builds on the Parks Highway in Wasilla on May 3. Motor vehicle crashes caused some of Alaska's traumatic brain injuries between 2016-2021. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
GOP’s desired work requirements for federal aid would kick roughly 21M from anti-poverty programs
Congressional Republicans’ efforts to slash federal spending by tying work requirements to Medicaid and SNAP would have far-reaching consequences for people with mental health issues, chronic health problems, and some people with disabilities if enacted, policy experts on anti-poverty programs say. They say the work requirements as laid out by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s “Limit, […]
Bills on drug crimes and confinement of offenders fall short in Alaska Legislature
Two criminal-justice bills remain pending in the Alaska Legislature after Wednesday’s adjournment of the 2023 session, even though each passed one of the bodies. The first bill would reclassify drug-overdose deaths as second-degree murders instead of manslaughter cases. It passed the House on May 11 but failed to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. […]
Targeting youth vaping, Alaska Senate passes tax and age limits, sends bill to House
The Alaska Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would impose the state’s first-ever tax on electronic cigarette products. Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, spoke during floor debate in favor of the measure, Senate Bill 89, on behalf of its sponsor, Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak. “It is an important public-health measure, Mr. President,” Kiehl said, […]
Post-Roe abortion bans force pregnant people with life-threatening complications to travel
Jennifer Adkins’ first pregnancy was near-perfect. She sailed through her appointments and screenings with no complications, ticking every box and making lists of all the right questions to ask her medical professionals. By the time her unmedicated labor was over and the nurses placed her newborn son on her chest, Adkins felt like a superhero. […]
COVID vaccination effective in protecting vulnerable Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, study says
In southwestern Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, which has some of the nation’s worst water and sanitation service and most overcrowded housing, vaccines proved to be valuable safeguards against the worst ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. The study, by experts from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. and the Centers for Disease Control and […]
Legislature votes to repeal Alaska law including veterinarians in opioid monitoring
The Alaska Legislature has reversed a seven-year-old law that requires veterinarians to participate in the state’s prescription drug monitoring program. The state Senate voted 19-0 on Friday to approve the repeal measure, House Bill 56. The House previously voted 35-1 to approve the bill, which now returns to the chamber for a procedural vote before […]
Health experts urge FDA to approve over-the-counter birth control in unanimous vote
Dyvia Huitron started having sex when she was 16. Worried about getting pregnant, she talked to her parents about getting on hormonal birth control. Instead, they grounded her. The now-19-year-old had expected pushback – she was living in a religious community in conservative McAllen, Texas. But she underestimated how many years it would eventually take […]
As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next
WASHINGTON — After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations […]
Bill to stiffen drug penalties, aimed at fentanyl epidemic and overdoses, faces Alaska House vote
Spurred by the state’s sharp increase in fentanyl-overdose deaths, the Alaska Legislature is considering a bill that would make those who supply the drug subject to potential second-degree murder charges in cases that lead to death. The measure, House Bill 66, was introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who used part of his Jan. 23 State […]
Alaska Senate approves new rules for subscription-style health care plan
Alaskans would be able to more easily get subscription-style health care from their doctor or dentist if a bill passed by the Alaska Senate on Wednesday becomes law. The Senate voted 18-2 to approve Senate Bill 45 from Sen. David Wilson, R-Wasilla, sending the bill to the House for further consideration. The House Labor and […]
Lawyer fees draw scrutiny as Camp Lejeune claims stack up
David and Adair Keller started their married life together in 1977 at Camp Lejeune, a military training base on the Atlantic Coast in Jacksonville, North Carolina. David was a Marine Corps field artillery officer then, and they lived together on the base for about six months. But that sojourn had an outsize impact on their […]