Nov. 24 News: Biden transition, Sanitation crisis, Suicide algorithm, Health insurance shopping to employers

Associated Press – Biden transition OK’d to start as Trump runs out of options

The federal government recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election, formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy. Trump relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud.

Associated Press – Employers start sending workers shopping for health coverage

Instead of offering one or more options, some companies are turning health insurance shopping over to employees. A federal rule change last year stoked this new approach. It allows employers to reimburse workers for coverage they bought without paying a tax penalty.

NPR – 'Waste' activist digs into the sanitation crisis affecting the rural poor

Hookworm is an intestinal parasite often associated with poor sewage treatment and the developing world. It was long thought to have been eradicated from the United States — until a 2017 study revealed otherwise.

POLITICO – Biden taps climate, environment hands for transition teams

President-elect Joe Biden’s teams to review federal agencies include a host of veterans from the Obama administration and others with significant prior experience in domestic and international climate policy battles, according to a list of team members unveiled Tuesday.

Kaiser Health News – Rural areas send their sickest patients to cities, straining hospitals

Registered nurse Pascaline Muhindura has spent the past eight months treating COVID patients at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. But when she returns home to her small town of Spring Hill, Kansas, she’s often stunned by what she sees, like on a recent stop for carryout food.

The New York Times – Can an algorithm prevent suicide? 

At a recent visit to the Veterans Affairs clinic in the Bronx, Barry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, learned that he belonged to a very exclusive club. According to a new A.I.-assisted algorithm, he was one of several hundred V.A. patients nationwide, of six million total, deemed at imminent risk of suicide.