Missouri’s Covid Patient Visitation Law May Have Cost Over $20 Million
The Republican-controlled legislature passed a law barring patient visitation bans, a "signature accomplishment," says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. But estimates of the cost of the law may have been low by a factor of 10, new analysis suggests. Paying for gowns, gloves, and masks is to blame.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cost Of New Missouri Patient Visitation Law Skyrockets In Latest Analysis
One of the signature accomplishments of the Republican-controlled Legislature this year was the passage of a law barring hospitals from prohibiting visitors during emergencies. (Erickson, 10/12)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
The Boston Globe:
Lawsuit Says Mass. Residents ‘Unnecessarily Institutionalized’ In Nursing Homes Should Have Options For Independent Living
Six Massachusetts residents with disabilities who say they’ve been unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities for prolonged periods filed a class action lawsuit in federal court Tuesday calling for the state to expand its residential programs so they, and others with disabilities, can return to living in a community setting, according to the complaint. (Stoico, 10/11)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Evers, Wisconsin DHS Grant $16 Million For Maternal And Infant Health
The funding, largely made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act, will be split between the state health department's Maternal and Child Health program, the Medical College of Wisconsin's Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Medicine and Public Health. Each entity will receive $5.5 million. (Shastri, 10/12)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
New 14-Member Health Bureau To Address St. Louis’ Overdose Deaths
The St. Louis Department of Health has launched a massive effort to address substance abuse issues plaguing the city that involves going from zero to 14 new employees dedicated to prevention and improving access to treatment, city officials announced Wednesday. (Munz, 10/12)
Stateline:
Doctors Prescribe Healthy Meals To Keep Patients Out Of The Hospital
Meals on Wheels had been delivering healthy meals to thousands of older adults in Portland, Oregon, for more than 50 years when a local hospital asked whether the group could cook similar meals for patients leaving the hospital after acute bouts of diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. (Vestal, 10/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Health Justice Advocate Among New MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ Fellows
Priti Krishtel, a health justice lawyer, was among 25 recipients chosen nationwide for the prestigious annual award, which comes with an $800,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago, paid quarterly over the next five years which fellows can use any way they choose. (Vaziri, 10/12)
KHN:
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Checking Up On California’s DIY Insulin Project
This year, the state of California put up $100 million to begin manufacturing its own insulin and sell it cheaply. How’s it going to work? (Is it going to work?)The price of insulin could be the starkest example of an out-of-control health care system: More than 7 million Americans need it daily to survive, and some die because they can’t afford it. But it’s a medicine that’s been around for 100 years, a medicine its discoverers didn’t want to patent. (Weissmann, 10/13)
