Starting in November, the more than 7,000 people living in Maryland under DACA status will be able to buy insurance plans from the state’s insurance marketplace.

DACA recipients operate in legal limbo.

They are people who were brought to the United States as children and have received a high school degree or served in the military. While they are allowed to stay in the U.S. legally, they aren’t technically citizens.

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Women of color, those with less education and those with lower income aged 18-44 who live in Maryland are facing health disparities above the national average. That’s according to a new report from the United Health Foundation.

The organization’s report on gaps in maternal and infant health found that Maryland women with less than a high school education are 8 times more likely to be uninsured than women with a college degree. The national average is about 6 times.

Maryland also has a higher rate of infant mortality, 5.9 per 1,000 live births, than the national average of 5.5.

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More than a million dollars worth of waste paper, as well as about $129,000 in pork feet, civil airplane parts, perfume and restaurant supplies, were all aboard the Dali when it hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, according to new court filings.

Two companies, W. E. Cox Claims Group and W. K. Webster & Co., who are acting as agents and trustees on behalf of the various cargo interests filed a motion to extend the amount of time those companies have to submit claims late Monday.

The companies are asking to extend the deadline for claims for damages from the accident to Jan. 25, 2025. The current deadline is Sept. 24.

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The city of Baltimore won yet another settlement from drug manufacturers Wednesday after coming to an agreement with JUUL Labs.

JUUL Labs, which produces e-cigarette products, agreed to pay either $7.5 million by the end of the year or $8 million over three years.

Baltimore sued JUUL Labs in 2020, alleging that the company’s products and marketing tactics were deceptive and targeted minors.

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Next Tuesday, the Maryland Supreme Court will hear the final challenge to the state’s Child Victims Act, which was passed in 2023.

The law, which eliminates the statute of limitations for people to sue their sexual abusers, has come up against staunch lobbying efforts and legal challenges from both the Baltimore and Washington D.C. Catholic Archdiocese.

The case going before the Supreme Court next week comes from the Washington D.C. Archdiocese, and is based on an arcane legal maneuver called the statute of repose.

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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is setting up a robust governance structure to decide how the city will allocate the nearly quarter of a billion dollars it received in opioid settlements and hundreds of millions more that it will likely reap from further settlements.

Scott said the city will initially appropriate $20 million to the health department and $42 million to 12 organizations focused on substance abuse and overdose prevention like Tuerk House and Helping Up Mission.

However, the windfall of funds will need careful stewardship to ensure it’s invested in the right areas to best help those impacted by the opioid epidemic, Scott said.

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning about a surge in Parvovirus throughout the nation.

The disease can be particularly dangerous for pregnant people, people with Sickle Cell Disease and those who are immunocompromised.

“Parvovirus is fairly contagious, and it’s presented via respiratory droplets,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “This is something where you would want to wear a mask if you knew somebody had parvovirus, and you’re in one of those high-risk groups.”

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Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council is considering new ways to advise the state to spend hundreds of millions of dollars won by the state to reduce the use of drug overdoses.

One possibility is increasing incentives for peer specialists, said Emily Keller, Maryland’s special secretary of overdose response, during a Monday meeting of the council.

“We hear very often the need to support peers, peer salaries, ways to attract peers and keep them here in Maryland, because we know we have an incredible peer system, and they do great work,” Keller said.

Read more at WYPR.

More than a year ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved new guidance to automatically enroll newly released incarcerated people into Medicaid.

The program was celebrated by harm reduction and healthcare advocates.

However, since the program’s inception there has been a slow roll out in the states.

Read more at WYPR.

Former Baltimore Health Commissioner Ihuoma Emenuga is under criminal investigation by the Office of the Maryland Prosecutor, according to The Baltimore Banner.

The Baltimore Office of the Inspector General also opened a probe into the former commissioner.

Mayor Brandon Scott fired Emenuga late Monday night.

Read more at WYPR.

It seemed like the stars were aligning for Maryland medical aid in dying advocates. Many felt like the legislature had enough votes in the 2024 session to finally legalize the practice after years of failed attempts and near misses.

Even Senate President Bill Ferguson felt like the bill had a good chance.

“I believe it will pass the Senate,” Ferguson said in January, at the beginning of the session. “I expect it to be a topic of important conversation this year.”

Read more at WYPR.

The Maryland Department of Health released a new online drug overdose dashboard Tuesday, that will allow visitors to home in more deeply into demographic and geographic data.

The dashboard is a new iteration of the state’s previous site, which was maintained by Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response.

The new dashboard will be updated monthly and has new features like the ability to search data by zip code, age, race and gender.

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The mayor and a prominent member of Baltimore’s city council are tussling over the transparency of the city’s response to the opioid crisis.

The city council’s Committee on Public Safety and Government Operations was slated to have a hearing on the issue Wednesday.

However, the public meeting was canceled at the last minute.

“I have sought private briefings from agencies on what the city is doing to combat this epidemic gripping our streets and robbing families of their loved ones,” said committee chair Mark Conway. “The response I have received is that given the pending litigation, we could not be briefed. I asked to have public health and medical experts present at today’s hearing and was similarly dissuaded from doing so.”

Read more at WYPR.

The Maryland Department of Health is building a new roadmap for childhood behavior health, aimed at improving policy and taking actionable steps to better mental health for youth across the state.

“We are making vital improvements — including investments in crisis services for youth, and new school-based initiatives, in partnership with sister agencies,” said Maryland Health SecretaryDr. Laura Herrera Scott. “We also know that significant gaps remain and that not all children and youth are getting care when they need it.”

MDH will team up with the Maryland Coalition of Families, state’s leading organization that helps families and youth navigate the behavioral health system, and Manatt Health, a policy and strategy firm that recently completed a national plan addressing the behavioral health crisis in youth.

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.

Maryland is seeing small improvements in mental health among middle and high school students, according to its latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

The annual report surveys 60,000 students in Maryland about their health and habits.

The state saw a 2% decrease in students feeling hopeless or sad from 2021 to 2022, however, about one-third of all students still reported feeling those symptoms.

“While we see some encouraging results, the data shows a clear link between multiple adverse childhood experiences and increased risk behaviors,” said Maryland Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott. “We are continuing to address the findings through youth-centered health programming, education and outreach to support mental health, reduce tobacco, alcohol, and drug use and protect youth from bullying and violence.”

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.