State Highlights: Billions From Big Tech Won’t Solve Housing Crisis In California, Lawmakers Say; TennCare Officials See Drastic Need To Extend Postpartum Care Following 52 Deaths

The New York Times: Why $4.5 Billion From Big Tech Won’t End California Housing Crisis
A mile from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino lies the sun-faded carcass of the Vallco Shopping Mall. At the moment it consists of empty, buff-colored buildings, acres of black asphalt and a pile of rubble where the parking garage used to be. About a year ago, a developer submitted a proposal to build 2,400 apartments on the site, half of them subsidized to put rents below the market rate. The city approved the plan reluctantly, and afterward a community group sued. The project is stuck in court. (Dougherty, 11/6)

Nashville Tennessean: TennCare Wants To Extend Postpartum Coverage After 52 Deaths
TennCare officials want to dramatically expand postpartum health insurance for thousands of low-income women in response to a slew of "preventable" deaths of new mothers who timed out of existing coverage. Currently, low-income women are eligible for TennCare coverage for two months after giving birth. TennCare Deputy Director Stephen Smith revealed during a budget hearing on Wednesday that the agency hopes to expand this coverage to one year. (Kelman, 11/6)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Senate Passes 'Abortion Reversal' And 'Born Alive' Bills
Ohio lawmakers already passed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation this year. But they're not done regulating the procedure. While courts decide whether Ohio can ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected or following a Down syndrome diagnosis, abortion opponents have found new ways to penalize doctors who perform the procedure. (Balmert, 11/6)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Losing Homeless Housing In Closed Board And Care Homes
The news came in September: Long Beach Residential, a 49-bed home for adults who are mentally ill, was being sold. The residents of the converted apartment building, some of whom had lived there for decades, would have 60 days to move. It’s a scenario that is becoming increasingly common across California, brought on by a combination of an inadequate state funding system and California’s red hot real estate market. (Smith, 11/6)

The Baltimore Sun: After Tumultuous Year, University Of Maryland Medical System At Center Of 'Healthy Holly’ Scandal Names New CEO 
After a tumultuous year in which a self-dealing scandal prompted the resignation of the University of Maryland Medical System’s leadership, the hospital network said Wednesday it has promoted Dr. Mohan Suntha to become its chief executive officer. Suntha ― known for helping St. Joseph Medical Center recover after its star cardiologist was accused of placing unnecessary stents in patients and for facing the media after one of the system’s Baltimore hospitals was condemned for “patient dumping” ― will now try to right the overall organization after the board of directors scandal that resulted in the resignation of Baltimore’s mayor. (Broadwater, 11/6)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta Woman Billed $10K By Lab Snared In Alleged Genetic Test Fraud
Alethea Brown learned she took a $10,700 genetic test when the charges appeared in a statement from her insurer, she said.Brown was never told that her psychiatrist needed her DNA and no one from his office counseled her on the test results, she said. She thought the mouth swab she received Jan. 9 was to check how much medication remained in her body.What’s more, a consent form Brown was supposed to sign lacks her signature. And whoever wrote in her name in looping script misspelled it. (Mariano, 11/6)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Approves D.C. Waiver Of Medicaid IMD 'Exclusion Rule'
The CMS on Wednesday approved Washington, D.C.'s request to essentially waive a longstanding federal rule that prohibited reimbursing behavioral healthcare and substance use disorder services performed in large residential psychiatric institutions and treatment centers. D.C. becomes the first Medicaid program in the country to score approval for a demonstration that will use federal Medicaid money to pay for treatment of patients with severe mental illness in "Institutions for Mental Diseases", which Medicaid currently prohibits under its exclusion payment rule. (Johnson, 11/6)

The Star Tribune: Health Care Spending Was Up Sharply In Minnesota Last Year 
Spending on health care surged 5.9% in Minnesota last year, largely due to a rise in the cost and use of prescription drugs and outpatient surgeries and clinics. Total spending per patient per month was $596 in 2018, compared to $563 in 2017 and $475 in 2013, according to an analysis released Thursday by Minnesota Community Measurement, a nonprofit agency that monitors’ clinics based on their quality and costs. (Olson, 11/7)

The Associated Press: Mother Of Brain-Damaged Boy Wins $50M In Malpractice Suit
A jury awarded $101 million to the mother of a severely brain-damaged boy who sued a Chicago-area hospital for medical malpractice, but an agreement between the parties cut the amount to $50 million, a lawyer said Tuesday. Attorneys told a Cook County jury that medical staff at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park ignored ultrasound results that indicated the unborn baby didn't move for six hours during labor in 2014. (11/6)

Tampa Bay Times: Florida Plans To Send Troubled Kids In Child Welfare To This Location
Miami-Dade and Monroe counties could lose about $11.5 million in funding for their child welfare system in the next few years, under changes that are being weighed by the state Department of Children and Families. But a plan to keep the existing funding in place could involve sending some of the state’s most troubled children from other regions to a facility in South Florida for more involved care, DCF Secretary Chad Poppell said, without additional funds to support them. (Koh, 11/7)

Modern Healthcare: Geisinger's Med School To Provide Free Tuition For Primary-Care Students
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine plans to provide free tuition to students who agree to practice primary care after residency at its affiliate health system Geisinger Health, it announced Wednesday. The Danville, Pa.-based integrated delivery system hopes the offering, which will cost Geisinger an estimated $10 million per year, will help address the primary care shortage it faces, which is similar to the national trend. (Castellucci, 11/6)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Racism To Blame For Deplorable African-American Infant Mortality Rates, Group Says
In three years, First Year Cleveland has dramatically reduced the Cuyahoga County infant mortality rate – dropping deaths by 18 percent. But African-American babies are four times as likely as white babies to die in their first year of life. The rate is one of the worst in the country. And it’s largely due to structural racism, says First Year Cleveland, a partnership of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and Case Western Reserve University. (Kilpatrick, 11/7)

KCUR: Pseudoscience Conversion Therapy Could Be Outlawed In Kansas City 
Therapists who attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ minors through conversion therapy could be fined up to $500 dollars and spend as much as six months in jail, if the Kansas City council approves an ordinance passed by a committee today. The proposed ban calls conversion therapy ‘ineffective’ and ‘harmful.’ It’s also been debunked by the American Psychological Association. But, opponents say outlawing it would infringe on the rights of people who want the therapy. (Gott, 11/7)

Kaiser Health News: The Air Ambulance Billed More Than His Surgeon Did For A Lung Transplant
Before his double lung transplant, Tom Saputo thought he had anticipated every possible outcome. But after the surgery, he wasn’t prepared for the price of the 27-mile air ambulance flight to UCLA Medical Center — which cost more than the lifesaving operation itself. (Almendrala, 11/6)

Miami Herald: Troubled Kids In Child Welfare Could Go To South Florida
Miami-Dade and Monroe counties could lose about $11.5 million in funding for their child welfare system in the next few years, under changes that are being weighed by the state Department of Children and Families. But a potential plan to keep the existing funding in place could involve sending some of the state’s most troubled children from other regions to a facility in South Florida for more involved care, DCF Secretary Chad Poppell said, without additional funds to support them. (Koh, 11/6)

KQED: How PG&E's Power Shutoffs Sparked An East Bay Disability Rights Campaign
Among the nearly 1 million Northern California households and businesses that went dark during the outage that began Oct. 26 — just one of several PG&E shutoffs in October — more than 35,000 were registered medical baseline customers with health conditions requiring special energy needs, the utility said. In addition to providing discounted rates, the utility is also required by law to individually notify those customers in advance of shutoffs.In the Bay Area, where about 447,000 customers went dark for at least one night, there were more than 11,500 medical baseline households. (Green, 11/6)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Cornered By Mold, A St. Louis Mother Holds Her Baby Tight 
[Amanda Jackson] and many other residents at Southwest Crossing, a 328-unit complex at 7851 Bandero Drive, are on edge this week. Trash is piled up. There’s fear that the water will be shut off soon. The front office is closed. Management and maintenance workers were either recently laid off or on strike for alleged nonpayment by T.E.H. Realty. ...Still, she stays. Even though Marquise, 1, is allergic to mold, which is a trigger for his asthma. He gets multiple breathing treatments a day. She’s rushed him to the hospital lots of times. (Bogan, 11/6)

North Carolina Health News: NC Sexual Assault Reforms Pass Unanimously 
A wide-ranging legislative package reforming sexual assault laws passed both chambers of the NC General Assembly unanimously last week, with two elements closing decades-old legal loopholes on the definition of rape that set North Carolina apart. The Senate passed SB 199 49-0 Thursday morning. The House voted 108-0 Thursday afternoon. The package was hammered out in conference committee in recent weeks and had wide bipartisan support, despite related measures failing in committee in previous sessions of the legislature. (Martin, 11/7)

St. Louis Public Radio: How Legal Cannabis Could Cloud Illinois Employers' Ability To Enforce Drug-Free Policies
Recreational cannabis will be legal in Illinois in less than two months, and some employers are scrambling to understand what legalization will mean for their drug-free policies. Specifically, the new law pits an employee’s right to use marijuana recreationally on their own time against an employer’s ability to enforce drug-free policies under Illinois’ Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. (Schmid, 11/6)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia’s New Medical Marijuana Program Could Soon Get A Kick-Start
A new law that allows companies to grow and sell medical marijuana in Georgia for the first time has been stalled since it was signed six months ago. But that’s about to change. House Speaker David Ralston said Wednesday on GPB’s “Political Rewind” that he’ll soon begin to appoint members of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission. Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan could also follow suit. (Bluestein, 11/6)