Blue Cross Restructure Plan Upsets North Carolina Regulator
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey complained about the bill passed by the House Health Committee because it could allow nonprofit Blue Cross to transfer billions to a holding company instead of returning some of the surplus to policyholders. "This is the people’s money," he argued.
AP:
Blue Cross Oversight Bill Riles North Carolina Regulator
North Carolina’s dominant health insurance provider could transfer billions to a holding company instead of returning portions of that surplus to policyholders, under legislation that advanced Tuesday in the state House. The House Health Committee passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would restructure Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the largest nonprofit provider in all 100 counties, and allow it to behave more like its for-profit national competitors. The House Insurance Committee will debate the bill Wednesday. (Schoenbaum, 4/25)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
New Hampshire Public Radio:
State, Hospitals Disagree On How Long It Will Take To End ‘ER Boarding’ In New Hampshire
State officials say they will need up to two years to fully eliminate wait times for inpatient mental health treatment, after a federal judge ruled New Hampshire must stop holding patients in psychiatric distress inside emergency rooms. A group of about 20 local hospitals, however, say that timeline is too slow. They want the state to end the practice, sometimes called “ER boarding,” within one year. (Cuno-Booth, 4/25)
KFF Health News:
Disability Rights Groups Sue To Overturn California’s Physician-Assisted Death Law
Disability rights advocates sued Tuesday to overturn California’s physician-assisted death law, arguing that recent changes make it too easy for people with terminal diseases whose deaths aren’t imminent to kill themselves with drugs prescribed by a doctor. California’s original law allowing terminally ill adults to obtain prescriptions for life-ending drugs was passed in 2016. Advocates say the revised version that took effect last year removes crucial safeguards and violates the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Thompson, 4/25)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas House OKs Bill Requiring Websites To Shield Teens From Harm
The Texas House on Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill that would require major tech platforms to shield teenage users from a wide array of harmful content and give parents more oversight over how their children use the platform. (Scherer, 4/25)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Philadelphia Jury Awards Record Verdict Against HUP
A Philadelphia jury on Friday awarded more than $180 million to a child born in 2018 with severe brain injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, attorneys for the child’s mother said. The award, part of which will be paid over the child’s lifetime, is the largest ever by a jury in a Pennsylvania medical malpractice case, according to one industry source. (Brubaker, 4/26)
Also —
Arizona Republic:
Sexually Transmitted Infections In Arizona Increased During Pandemic
Arizona in 2021 led the nation for its rate of syphilis in newborns, and preliminary state data indicates the problem got worse last year. Arizona's rate of babies born with syphilis in 2021 was nearly three times the national average rate, according to new data on sexually transmitted infections ― STIs ― released this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Innes, 4/25)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
CDC “Detectives” Study HIV Clusters Among Hispanics In Metro Atlanta
In February 2021, three HIV clusters among Hispanic men in metro Atlanta were identified for the first time. By June 2022, two more clusters of HIV were detected, spreading rapidly among Hispanic men who are gay or bisexual and other men who have sex with men. The cases and how they were discovered were described by one of the lead authors of a Centers for Disease and Prevention study on Tuesday at the agency’s annual Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta. (Oliviero, 4/26)
CIDRAP:
Study On Mpox In Homeless Notes That 60% Also Had HIV
Today in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers describe the epidemiologic characteristics of 118 mpox patients in Los Angeles who were homeless at the time of their diagnosis and note that 60% also had HIV. All patients were identified from July to September 2022. (Soucheray, 4/25)
