State Highlights: Utah Lawmakers Consider Curbing Voters’ Power Over Medicaid; Fla. Bill Would Assist First Responders With PTSD

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Seek Option To Alter Impact Of Ballot Initiatives
Facing the possibility that voters could change laws on several hot-button issues, Utah lawmakers are considering giving themselves the option to change any voter-approved measure before it goes into effect, a move that comes as lawmakers around the country work to limit the effects of ballot initiatives. Utah voters could have the opportunity to consider an unusually high six ballot initiatives, ranging from medical marijuana, school funding and Medicaid expansion, making at least one lawmaker uneasy. (3/1)

ProPublica / WFME: First Responders In Florida Aren’t Covered For PTSD. That May Change After Parkland.
A Florida bill to assist first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder has found new life in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. (Aboraya, 3/1)

Modern Healthcare: Massachusetts Healthcare Spending Varies Widely
The highest-cost providers in Massachusetts spent nearly a third more per patient than their lowest-cost peers, mirroring the widespread cost variation found in markets throughout the country. Massachusetts' largest and highest-cost organization, Boston-based Partners HealthCare, spent 32% more per patient annually than Reliant Medical Group, after adjusting for treatment severity, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission that analyzed the 14 largest providers in the state. That variation amounted to more than $1,500 per patient. (Kacik, 3/1)

The Minneapolis Star Tribune: State's Backlog Of Elder Abuse Reports Virtually Gone Thanks To Improved Intake System
After weeks of intensive triage, state regulators have virtually eliminated a giant backlog of unresolved complaints alleging abuse and neglect at Minnesota senior care facilities, while also modernizing the state's complaint-intake system. (Serres, 3/1)

Detroit Free Press: Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan CEO's Pay Surges Above $13M
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's top executive saw his annual bonus surge last year as the state's largest health insurance company reported a strong overall financial picture. Total compensation for Daniel Loepp, CEO of Blue Cross since 2006, reached $13.4 million in 2017, a new record for him. That was up from his $10.9 million payday in 2016 and $9 million in 2015. (Reindl, 3/1)

State House News Service: Bill Aiming To Better Protect Privacy Of Patients On Others' Insurance Plans Passes House
The House on Wednesday took a step supporters said would improve patient privacy, voting 139-14 to pass a bill that would require insurers to send explanation of benefit forms directly to adult patients instead of to the plan subscriber. (Lannan, 3/1)

The Baltimore Sun: Johns Hopkins Plans $469 Million Expansion And Modernization Of Its Bayview Medical Center 
Johns Hopkins Health System plans a $469 million expansion and modernization of its Bayview Medical Center in Southeast Baltimore.It plans to build a new inpatient building there as well as renovate two existing buildings to modernize the outdated facilities. All patients will have private rooms once the project is completed. (3/1)

Dallas Morning News: One Of Frisco’s Largest Employers Faces Uncertainty As Tenet Healthcare Reworks Its Business 
As Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare aims to dramatically turn around its financial outlook by refocusing attention from hospitals to ambulatory care, there is uncertainty about what could come next for its profitable subsidiary Conifer Health Solutions, Frisco’s second largest employer. Conifer bills itself as a revenue cycle management and patient communications firm. What that means is it helps hospitals connect with patients at the front end of care, to properly code those medical visits, and ultimately, to collect reimbursements for the care that was provided. (Rice, 3/1)

Health News Florida: Key Health Budget Issues Could Get Kicked Upstairs
A top budget writer said Wednesday she doesn’t expect a conference committee to settle all the differences between the House and Senate on health-care spending, leaving the issues to be decided by legislative leaders. (3/1)

The Associated Press: Flu Cases Decrease In NY State For First Time This Winter
The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza has dropped across New York state, the first decline since the flu was deemed widespread in December. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that about 13,700 flu cases were reported last week to the state Department of Health, down from 18,250 the previous week. The Democrat continues to encourage New Yorkers to get a flu shot. (3/1)

KCUR: Facing A Budget Shortfall, Independence Will Shut Down Its Health Department 
City Manager Zach Walker announced the news Wednesday and said the department’s functions would be transferred to other city departments. Independence is facing a projected $3 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year. Walker said the move would save about $375,00 a year for the city’s general fund. (Margolies, 3/1)

KCUR: Kansas Aging Agency Spills Personal Information Of 11,000 People 
Officials with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services said Thursday that a staff member improperly disclosed personal information for 11,000 people in an email sent to multiple addresses. Angela de Rocha, a KDADS spokeswoman, said the disclosure includes Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal details of Medicaid recipients and potential recipients of the health care program. (Koranda, 3/1)

The Connecticut Mirror: Lawsuits Accuse Staff At Whiting Of Psychological, Physical Torture
The brother of the man repeatedly abused at the Whiting Forensic Division has filed two lawsuits on his behalf — one against the state and the other against 12 of the forensic nurses and treatment specialists who the suit charges carried out the abuse. (Rigg, 3/1)

California Healthline: Health Care Revamp At The L.A. County Jails
Michael Callahan, an outgoing 43-year-old carpenter, landed in a Los Angeles County jail last September because of what he said were “bad decisions and selling drugs. ”He had uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure when he arrived, but his health was the last thing on his mind. Consumed by a meth addiction, he hadn’t taken his medications for months. “When I got here, I was a wreck,” said Callahan, who is stocky and covered in tattoos. “My legs were so swollen that if I bumped them they would break open.” (Gorman, 3/1)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Medical Center, Houston's Energy Industry In Talks On Data Science Collaboration 
Executives from the Texas Medical Center and Houston's biggest energy companies could launch a data science consortium that would bring together two of the city's top industries to develop groundbreaking research, a move that could make the city more competitive in the field of technology and big data. Generally speaking, the proposal picks up from the University of Texas System's scuttled plan to create a data science center on 300 acres south of downtown. (Sarnoff, 3/1)

St. Louis Public Radio: McCaskill Zeroes In On Drugs, Guns And Greitens
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill took aim at a variety of targets Thursday, as she reinforced her views on guns and drug companies – and offered up advice to some of the players involved in Gov. Eric Greitens’ legal fight. (Jo Mannies, 3/1)

The Baltimore Sun: St. Joseph Medical Center In Towson Plans $100 Million Renovation And Facility Upgrades 
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center plans a $100 million upgrade to its facilities, which will include modernizing its operating rooms and cardiac catheterization laboratories. The Towson hospital filed a application with the Maryland Health Care Commission for $60 million of the renovations, which must get state approval because they involve medical space. (McDaniels, 3/1)

Georgia Health News: Expanding Footprint: Piedmont Adds Columbus Regional
Piedmont Healthcare announced Thursday that it has formally added Columbus Regional Health to its burgeoning hospital system. (Miller, 3/1)

The Star Tribune: Medical Pot Helps With Chronic Pain, Minnesota Patients Report
A large share of Minnesotans using medical marijuana for chronic pain say they’re experiencing less discomfort and have reduced their reliance on potentially addictive opioid drugs. In the state’s first report card on cannabis and chronic pain, more than 60 percent of patients responding to a state survey said they benefited greatly from using pot in inhaled or pill forms, and 43 percent of their doctors concurred. (Olson, 3/1)