Request Made To Review Florida Medicaid Cost-Shifting Case
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had rejected arguments that the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association should be shielded from the whistleblower lawsuit because of sovereign immunity. The group wants the full panel to review it.
Health News Florida:
Florida Neurological Injury Fund Fights Ruling Of Appeals Court Panel
A Florida program that pays for care of children who suffer neurological injuries at birth is asking a full federal appeals court to take up a lawsuit about whether the program has inappropriately shifted costs to Medicaid. Attorneys for the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association filed a motion this past week asking the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to consider whether the lawsuit should have been dismissed. A three-judge panel of the court last month rejected arguments that the program, known as NICA, should be shielded from the whistleblower lawsuit because of sovereign immunity. (5/18)
Indianapolis Star:
Free Healthcare Clinic To Begin With IndyGo At Downtown Transit Center
A mobile health care clinic at a downtown bus station had no issue attracting walk-ins. Like 27-year-old Tationa Sims, a single mom out for a walk on a nice day with her 1-year-old son, Noah. She saw the RV parked at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center Tuesday afternoon and decided to see if the physician would fill some of her prescriptions, saving her from finding a ride to her nearest CVS. (Dwyer, 5/19)
Bangor Daily News:
Maine Lawmakers Frustrated With Child Welfare System May Seek Access To Confidential Files
Nearly a year after high-profile child deaths placed renewed attention on Maine’s child welfare system, lawmakers growing impatient with the state raised the idea of gaining access to confidential case files to inform overhaul efforts. Much of the discussion at a legislative hearing on Wednesday revolved around whether a watchdog committee should seek access to depersonalized case records from the Office of Child and Family Services that are now used by nonpartisan investigators to gain a better understanding of potential missteps taken in child welfare cases. (Andrews, 5/18)
The Baltimore Sun:
80% Of Baltimore 911 Calls Are Non-Emergencies. A New Plan Will Make The Department More Efficient, Officials Say
If you call 911 to report a stolen package in Baltimore, dispatchers will soon ask you to do it over the phone or online, instead of sending a police officer to respond in person. If you report someone having a behavioral health crisis, a social worker will be dispatched instead of the cops. Non-emergency calls and minor car accidents will trigger similar non-police responses. The goal is to make the Baltimore Police Department more efficient amid persistent staffing shortages and rising gun violence, according to city leaders. (Skene, 5/18)
Politico:
New York Accuses Amazon Of Pregnancy, Disability Discrimination
The New York Division of Human Rights filed a complaint Wednesday against Amazon over alleged pregnancy and disability discrimination against workers, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced. The complaint accuses Amazon of denying reasonable accommodations to workers who are pregnant or have disabilities, in violation of New York’s Human Rights Law. It alleges that the company, which operates 23 worksites in New York, has policies that force such employees to take unpaid leave rather than allowing them to work with accommodations. “New York has the strongest worker protections in the nation and was one of the first to have protections for workers who are pregnant and those with disabilities,” Hochul said in a statement. “Working men and women are the backbone of New York and we will continue to take a stand against any injustice they face.” (Young, 5/18)
The Baltimore Sun:
Dr. Anthony Fauci To Speak At University Of Maryland, Baltimore Commencement
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, plans to address future doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others in this year’s graduating class at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Fauci, a familiar face on television during the coronavirus pandemic, will speak to a class that spent a good deal of time learning during the pandemic and also contributing to patient care and vaccine research and development for COVID-19. (Cohn, 5/17)
In news about LGBTQ+ health —
Dallas Morning News:
Texas AG Paxton Wants To Intervene In Battle Over Care For Trans Youth At Dallas Hospital
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the state to intervene in a court battle over medical care for transgender youth at a Dallas hospital. Paxton filed a petition in a Dallas County court Tuesday night asking that the state be allowed to get involved in the case between Children’s Medical Center Dallas and the doctor who once led its Genecis medical program. A judge recently granted Dr. Ximena Lopez’s request to temporarily resume her regular practice after Children’s and UT Southwestern, which jointly ran the program, last year stopped providing certain medical treatments for adolescent patients newly seeking care for gender dysphoria. The attorney general is arguing that transgender adolescents should be blocked from accessing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, which he says may constitute abuse but which are broadly supported by the medical community. (Wolf and McGaughy, 5/18)
AP:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Tennessee Bathroom Signage Law
A federal judge on Tuesday struck down Tennessee’s first-of-its-kind law requiring businesses to post special signs if they allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger makes permanent her previous decision from July 2021 that blocked enforcement of the law just days after it took effect. Businesses had sued over the law, arguing the signs would violate their First Amendment rights by compelling them to communicate language they find offensive. (Mattise, 5/17)
