State Highlights: Promising Texas Law On Surprise Medical Bills Only Aids 16% Of State; Minnesota Hospitals Seeing Uptick Of Less Serious Flu Strain

Texas Tribune: What You Need To Know About Texas’ New Surprise Medical Billing Law
A new Texas law that aims to protect patients from receiving surprise medical bills takes effect this week. Consumer advocates have praised the law as one of the most robust set of billing protections in the nation, though it only applies to about one-third of Texans with private health insurance. (Walters, 1/2)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Hospitals Report More Flu Cases; School Outbreaks Dwindle 
Minnesota hospitals admitted 117 influenza patients last week, the highest weekly total for the season, according to a Minnesota Health Department flu update on Thursday. The department also revised the prior week’s tally upward, to 114, an adjustment that reflected reporting delays. So far, 505 people have been hospitalized for the flu, which is about the midrange for recent influenza seasons. (Howatt, 1/2)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Legislature’s 2020 PFAS Agenda Includes Bottled Water Testing Proposal
New Hampshire legislators this session will consider requiring bottled water brands in the state to be tested and labeled for toxic PFAS chemicals. The industrial compounds have been linked to health problems and can persist in the environment, but aren't subject to binding federal regulations. (Ropeik, 1/2)

The CT Mirror: State Can't Rely On Raising Hospital Taxes To Survive Next Recession
For good or ill, state officials relied on aggressive increases in hospital taxes to keep Connecticut’s finances in balance during an extremely sluggish recovery from the last recession. Between 2013 and this year, hospitals pumped more than $1 billion into the state’s coffers, funds that otherwise might be raised by income tax hikes, municipal aid reductions, program cuts or all of the above. But under this settlement, the state pledges to keep hospital taxes flat through 2026 — even though history suggests Connecticut and the nation are overdue for another economic downturn. (Phaneuf, 1/3)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Payroll Delayed For St. Alexius Hospital Employees Following Bankruptcy Filing
St. Alexius Hospital, once again caught in bankruptcy proceedings, will be several days late in distributing payroll. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy case was filed this week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and involves the small St. Louis hospital and its owner, Americore. James Irving, an attorney for the debtors in the case, said St. Alexius cannot make payments until it receives authorization from the court. He said he anticipates that St. Alexius will be able to make payroll following a hearing that is scheduled for Jan. 8. (Merrilees, 1/2)

The Advocate: Amedisys Acquires Competitor In Pennsylvania 
Amedisys, the Baton Rouge-based home health and hospice company, completed a previously announced deal to acquire Asana Hospice. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Asana Hospice, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has eight locations across five states, including Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and Texas. (Mosbrucker, 1/2)

The Baltimore Sun: Harbor Hospital Gets $500,000 Grant To Connect Bike, Pedestrian Paths In Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City 
MedStar Harbor Hospital announced Thursday that it has received a $500,000 grant to go toward connecting bicycle and pedestrian paths from Anne Arundel County into Baltimore city. In a news release, MedStar wrote that the $500,000 Maryland Anchor SEED funding grant “will provide 30 percent of the engineering design” to develop and connect a 3-mile bicycle and pedestrian path spanning from the BWI Trail in Anne Arundel County to the Gwynns Falls Trail in Baltimore. (Davis, 1/2)

Miami Herald: Miami VA Worker Investigated For Overtime Allegations
A supervisor with the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System is being investigated over allegations of approving false overtime hours for an employee in exchange for sexual favors, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday. The investigation is being handled by the federal VA Office of Inspector General, according to the Miami VA Healthcare System’s public affairs officer Shane Suzuki, who referred all additional questions on the matter to that office. (Conark, 1/2)

Boston Globe: State’s First Cannabis Microbusiness Is A Family Affair
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has taken steps to encourage mom-and-pop businesses. But so far, most of the state’s licensed pot companies are those backed by large corporations or wealthy investors. Microbusinesses like Gibby’s say they can provide consumers with small-batch cannabis flower and products that are superior to pot from bigger operators — akin to the difference between craft beer and Budweiser. (Martin, 1/2)

St. Louis Public Radio: Illinois Sold More Than $3 Million In Legal Weed On First Sales Day
Illinois’ recreational cannabis dispensaries made around $3.2 million in sales on New Year’s Day, according to early estimates from a state agency overseeing the now-legal industry. Customers lined up at 20 dispensaries that were open across the state and made more than 77,000 thousand individual purchases of flower, edible, and concentrated liquid products, according to Illinois' Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. (Dunklau, 1/2)

KQED: SF, Inmates Reach Tentative Deal Over Jail Sewage Flooding
San Francisco city officials have reached a tentative agreement to settle a lawsuit with 217 inmates in the county jail where overflowing sewage leaked for more than a year after faulty plumbing burst in late 2016. At the time, hazmat crews evacuated some offices to install a trap device — further backing up sewage, officials said. The sewage began to spill out of toilets and pipes in the jail at the beginning of 2017, continuing until September 2018. (Garces and Chang, 1/2)