State Highlights: Status Check On Nev.’s Medicaid-For-All Bill; Fla. Senate Poised To Roll Back Cuts To Hospital Funding

Los Angeles Times: Nevada Moves Closer To A Landmark Medicaid-For-All Healthcare Model
With his signature on a novel Medicaid-for-all-type bill, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval could rewrite the way many of his constituents get healthcare, and establish a model that other states might eventually follow in the absence of congressional action to fix or replace Obamacare. He got the bill delivered to his desk Monday. He hasn’t said what he will do with it. If he doesn’t sign or veto it by June 16, it will automatically become law. (Montero, 6/8)

Tampa Bay Times: Florida Senate Set To Roll Back Hospital Cuts, But Don't Expect The House To Go Along 
Senators are poised to vote today to roll back $260 million in cuts to Medicaid that they passed during the regular session, bringing hospital funding yet again into a political stalemate between the House and Senate. During regular session, lawmakers agreed to $521 million in cuts to hospital payments, with about $92 million coming from Tampa Bay. (Auslen, 6/9)

News Service of Florida: Cap On Damages In Medical Malpractice Cases Overturned In Florida 
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a law limiting pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional, rejecting a controversial change that the Legislature and then-Gov. Jeb Bush approved in 2003. Justices were sharply divided, with the four-member majority finding that the caps on “non-economic” damages violated equal-protection rights. (Saunders, 6/8)

The CT Mirror: Wade May Be Fined For Withholding Records On Aetna-Humana Merger
Katharine Wade, head of the Connecticut Insurance Department, may be fined $1,000 for violating public records laws because her agency declined to release documents relating to her approval of a proposed merger between Aetna and Humana. In a proposed ruling, a Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission hearing officer has determined the Insurance Department failed to prove the records were exempt from disclosure and has recommended a rare civil fine against Wade “after consideration of the entire record in this case.” (Radelat, 6/8)

Los Angeles Times: More Than $30 Million In Prop. 47 Savings Will Go To Mental Health And Drug Rehab Programs In The Los Angeles Area
California state officials on Thursday named the 23 government agencies that will receive $103 million in grant funds from a ballot initiative that downgraded six drug and theft crimes to misdemeanors. For the large coalition of supporters behind 2014's Proposition 47, it is a long-awaited step forward. Other states have passed similar laws. But California is the lone state investing the money saved from keeping fewer people behind bars in services to help people stay out of prison. (Ulloa, 6/8)

Houston Chronicle: Methodist Hospital Sued Over Alleged Secret Taping Of Patient Calls 
A prominent doctor alleged in a lawsuit filed in state district court that Houston Methodist Hospital secretly recorded telephone conversations between patients and nurses without their knowledge for as long as eight years. The practice, if true, may violate state and federal privacy laws, legal specialists said. Eric Haufrect, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, said he complained to top Methodist officials when he learned of the recordings from his nurse and believed it was his duty to report the breach of confidentiality to executives, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in state district court in Harris County. (Sixel, 6/8)

Columbus Dispatch: Families Fight Class-Action Status In Disability Rights Lawsuit
More families are trying to stave off class-action status in the court battle between the state and the legal advocacy group Disability Rights Ohio. Parents and guardians filed nearly two dozen motions Thursday in federal court in Columbus, saying they want a voice in the case. Larry Koebel Sr., whose 46-year-old son has severe developmental disabilities, said he and others are trying to prevent loved ones from being swept up in a broad action that could someday push them out of the residential centers they call home. (Price, 6/8)

The Oregonian: Feds Coming Knocking At Failed Zoom Health
Federal investigators are looking into the sudden demise of Zoom Health Plan, the failed insurance arm of the better-known ZoomCare chain of medical clinics. Investigators showed up at the downtown Portland offices of Zoom Health at about 10 a.m. Thursday and interviewed staff, confirmed Lisa Morawski, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. She would not say which agencies were involved. (Manning, 6/8)

Sacramento Bee: Family Of Mentally Ill Man Shot By Sacramento Police File Second Lawsuit Seeking Answers
The five siblings of a mentally ill black man fatally shot by police in North Sacramento nearly a year ago filed a lawsuit Thursday in their continuing efforts to learn if the officers who fired the shots were disciplined, and what if any changes the department has made to lower its use of force. ... The lawsuit is the second filed by the Mann family. (Chabria, 6/8)

Cincinnati Enquirer: TriHealth Steps Up Its Cancer Care With $100M Investment, New Building
TriHealth announced Thursday a $100 million expansion of its cancer care with a new $62 million clinical building at Bethesda North Hospital to open in two years as a “one-stop shop” for treatment... The emphasis on cancer medicine also serves to elbow UC Health, as it strives to win more federal dollars to expand cancer research in the region. (Saker, 6/8)

Iowa Public Radio: Budget Cuts Force Closure Of Southeast Iowa Domestic Violence Offices 
The Domestic Violence Intervention Program is closing offices in Burlington and Keokuk this summer to prepare for cuts to victim services funding. The closures come as Iowa programs that help victims of domestic and sexual violence are trying to figure out how to deal with a combined $5.7 million cut in state and federal funding. (Sostaric, 6/8)

California Healthline: California’s Aid-In Dying Law Turns 1, But Not All Doctors Have Adopted It
John Minor of Manhattan Beach epitomized the active Californian. The retired psychologist was a distance runner, a cyclist and an avid outdoorsman, says his daughter Jackie Minor of San Mateo. “He and my mom were both members of the Sierra Club,” Jackie said. “They went on tons of backpacking trips — climbing mountains and trekking through the desert. He was just a very active person.” But in September 2014, he fell ill with terminal pulmonary fibrosis — a lung disease that his family says slowly eroded his quality of life. (O'Neill, 6/9)

The Oregonian: 18 Cases Of Whooping Cough At Lincoln High; 2 At Skyline Elementary 
Lincoln High School has been hit with an outbreak of whooping cough, with two cases also emerging up at Skyline Elementary. The first case popped up at Lincoln in April, said Dave Northfield, a spokesman for Portland Public Schools. Multnomah County Health Department alerted parents twice, urging them to have sick children treated with antibiotics to curtail transmission...A total of 18 cases, some confirmed, some suspected, emerged at Lincoln, Vines said. The illness affected all grades: freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The last case dates to mid-May. (Terry, 6/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fayette To Explore School Health Centers
Studies relating children’s health to their education success are prompting Fayette County to consider the feasibility of school-based health centers. Head Nurse Debbie King briefed the Board of Education recently about the link between school performance and hunger, chronic illness and physical or emotional abuse. King cited a study showing that nearly 6,000 children, primarily in northern Fayette, live in areas considered to have “very low child well-being,” and often lack health insurance. (Jill HowardChurch, 6/8)

Tampa Bay Times: All Children's Hospital, UnitedHealthcare Resolve Contract Dispute That Affected Thousands 
UnitedHealthcare members can once again pay in-network rates at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, the hospital and the insurance company announced Thursday. All Children's had been out of network since May, when contract negotiations between United and the hospital broke down. All Children's wanted United to pay more; United said All Children's was asking for too much. (McGrory, 6/8)

Denver Post: Englewood Pain Cream Manufacturing Business Owner Charged With Health Care Fraud
The owner and founder of a large compounding pharmacy that sold pain creams around the country and once employed more than 100 workers has been charged with introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce. Darby C. Brown’s company, Brown’s Compounding Center, on Wednesday was charged separately in federal court with health care fraud. Brown illegally sold compounded prescription pain cream through pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark, according to court records. He faces fines of up to $500,000, court records indicate. (Mitchell, 6/8)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly's Largest Nursing-Home Owner Sells All Its Facilities
Mid-Atlantic Health Care LLC, the largest nursing-home operator in Philadelphia, has sold its facilities here, along with one in Montgomery County it bought for $39 million in 2014. The sale closed May 30, Scott Rifkin, Mid-Atlantic’s chief executive, confirmed Wednesday. He said he was not prepared to comment further. The price was not disclosed. The buyer was MIMA Healthcare, of New Jersey, according to SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, a union that represents thousands of licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants at 108 nursing homes in the state. (Brubaker, 6/8)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Ochsner Announces Baton Rouge Expansion With 450 Jobs 
Ochsner Health System is going after more of the health care market share in Baton Rouge through a more than $100 million expansion. Leaders announced plans Thursday morning (June 8) for additional facilities that they said will create more than 450 permanent jobs in the next four years. The big construction plans signal Ochsner following the health care industry's overall move toward putting resources behind outpatient care, rather than acute services at hospitals. The new facilities will include a medical office building, a "micro-hospital" and a surgical center along the Interstate 10 Bluebonnet/Siegen corridor. The three new buildings are expected to be finished for 2019. (Larose, 6/8)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn Study Says Retailers Charge Women More Than Men For Common Hair Loss Medications
According to findings published online Wednesday in JAMA Dermatology, women on average pay 40 percent more than men for minoxidil foams – a hair-loss fighting product most commonly sold as Rogaine...The price differences were found even though the men’s and women’s versions of the foam formulas contain the same drug strength and inactive ingredients, the report found. (Giordano, 6/8)

Houston Chronicle: Demand For Dental Services Keeps Tomagwa Program Busy 
Tomagwa offers health care to uninsured, low-income families and individuals throughout northwest Harris, southwest Montgomery and southeast Waller counties. To qualify for its dental services, one must be no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty line and without insurance. Those patients still contribute some, which helps provide a sense of ownership in their care but also leads to fewer missed appointments according to Jonathan Sanderson, another dentist, who's been with Tomagwa since 2013. (Hill, 6/8)

Arizona Republic: Marijuana Doctor On Her Own After Johns Hopkins Drops Pot Study
Two major research universities have cut ties with a Valley doctor’s efforts to answer this question: Does smoking marijuana help veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder? Dr. Sue Sisley, who was fired by the University of Arizona in 2013 after her study was underway, learned in March that Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University has dropped plans to partner on the first-ever study of cannabis for veterans. (Alltucker, 6/8)