News & Insights

Wayne County Michigan, which encompasses the City of Detroit, has a large population of residents of color and also faces some of the state’s most significant challenges. Recently, the county has taken significant measures to address acknowledged disparities in health outcomes, creating Regional Health Equity Advisory Councils, a Black Leadership Council, and committing $300 million to support more than 100 programs to further positive, systemic change.

Wayne County Michigan, which encompasses the City of Detroit, has a large population of residents of color and also faces some of the state’s most significant challenges. Recently, the county has taken significant measures to address acknowledged disparities in health outcomes, creating Regional Health Equity Advisory Councils, a Black Leadership Council, and committing $300 million to support more than 100 programs to further positive, systemic change.

In May 2021, Washington state passed a law that, among other changes, re-classified drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor and required law enforcement officers to refer individuals to treatment at least twice before making an arrest. The law, which expires on July 1, 2023, also created the Substance Use Recovery Services Advisory Committee (SURSAC) to research best practices, create a statewide plan, and advise state lawmakers. Lawmakers are now considering whether to implement SURSAC’s 17 recommendations.

Laws banning or heavily restricting students who are transgender from playing on athletic teams with students of the same gender are increasing, as are challenges to such laws. Human rights advocates are closely watching as one case, B.P.J. v. West Virginia, proceeds through the courts. The case’s outcome may influence the course of similar legal challenges across the country.

Compared to White women, women of color in the U.S. are more likely to be uninsured, live in areas without easy access to contraception, and lack resources necessary to cover health care costs. Consequently, the legal impacts of the overturning of Roe vs Wade have predominantly fallen on pregnancy-capable individuals of color. Despite current serious limitations on access, several states have recently taken important steps toward reproductive justice through the adoption of key health policies.

The Network is pleased to announce the appointments of Carrie Waggoner, J.D. and Colleen Healy Boufides, J.D. as the new Director and Co-Director of our Mid-States Region Office. They will jointly will lead the Mid-States team of law and policy experts in their ongoing work to support capacity building to public health departments and other entities to advance laws and policies that center equity, particularly in public health data sharing. Read the full announcement. 

With accurate and complete public health data, policymakers can be better equipped to interpret and use data to dismantle the legal, social, political, and economic systems that create inequities. However, state collection of non-white racial and ethnic group data has long been incomplete and unreliable due to several barriers. Overcoming these barriers requires legal and policy solutions at multiple levels.

Although it’s been shown to reduce many of the harms associated with opioid use disorder, including overdose deaths, access to the medication buprenorphine has been hampered by several legal restrictions.  The recently passed 2023 Consolidation Appropriations Act includes a provision that removes a key barrier: the X-waiver requirement, which will increase access to buprenorphine, as well as improve provider knowledge of evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, and address disparities in access to care.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, “science denialism” — including misinformation and disinformation — was rampant, engendering opposition to vaccines and other disease mitigation measures, as well as a backlash against public health officials. Combating the spread of misinformation and disinformation requires working with trusted community members and increased government efforts to disseminate clear public health information.

This January, the Biden Administration released a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, outlining five principles intended to strengthen renter protections and housing affordability. These principles are examined in a series of Law and Policy Insights articles, with the first focusing on the first and fourth principles: access to safe, quality, accessible, and affordable housing; and the right to organize.

Maryland’s Abortion Care Access Act is the first of its kind in the U.S. The new law expands the scope of practice for certain health care providers to allow them to provide abortion care, aims to increase provider diversity through training programs, and improves affordability and equity by requiring insurance coverage for abortion care. Experience and evaluation will help determine whether it is effective at improving safe, convenient, and equitable access to abortion care in Maryland. If so, it could serve as a model for other states looking to increase access, improve patient outcomes, and reduce health inequities.

The Network is seeking a Senior Program Coordinator to support our National Director in key initiatives and administrative activities. This role requires excellent planning, problem-solving aptitude, time management, nuanced relationship navigation, attention to detail, and the ability to meet deadlines while juggling multiple requests. A high level of integrity and discretion in handling information and professionalism in dealing with leaders inside and outside the Network is crucial.