State Highlights: Washington Health Spending Law For Native American Groups Called Promising; Citing Abuses, 5 More Former Ohio State Students File Lawsuit Against Team Doctor

Seattle Times: Under New Washington Law, State Will Invest More In Improving Native American Tribal Members’ Health 
Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill this week to direct money to tribal health-care systems and create a council focused on improving health outcomes for members of the 29 tribes here. “I think it is one of the most promising pieces of legislation I’ve seen on the state level,” said Aren Sparck, Government Affairs Officer for the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB). Sparck worked on the bill, which has been a couple of legislative sessions in the making and got the governor’s signature Tuesday. (Blethen, 5/11)

The Associated Press: 5 More Ex-Students Sue Ohio State Claiming Abuse By Doctor
Five more former Ohio State University students who claim they were abused by a former university physician and team doctor have sued the school. The Columbus Dispatch reports the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit filed Friday are identified as "John Does" to protect their identities. Three of the men say they were wrestlers and two sought treatment at a university health center. (5/11)

California Healthline: Newsom Changes Course On Plan To Pay For Immigrant Health Coverage
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration Friday reversed course on his plan to divert public health dollars from several counties to help provide health coverage to young adults who are in the country illegally. The administration heeded the alarm sounded by Sacramento, Placer, Santa Barbara and Stanislaus counties, which had warned that the governor’s plan would compromise their ability to cope with surging rates of sexually transmitted diseases and, in some cases, measles outbreaks. (Young, 5/10)

The Associated Press: CDC Plans Door-To-Door Survey Near Illinois Ammonia Leak
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan a door-to-door survey this weekend in northern Illinois near where an anhydrous ammonia leak sickened dozens last month. The Lake County Health Department says CDC staff will start interviews Saturday at home within a 1-mile radius of the spill in Beach Park, about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago. The CDC also will interview first responders and nearly 40 people hospitalized after the April 25 leak. (5/10)

The Baltimore Sun: Minimum Age To Buy Tobacco In Maryland Will Go To 21 Under Law Being Signed By Hogan 
Starting in October, you’ll need to be 21 to buy tobacco and nicotine products in Maryland, under a bill that Gov. Larry Hogan plans to sign into law on Monday. The law is intended to cut down on the access that teenagers have to cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco and nicotine products. It contains a key exception: People age 18 to 20 with a military identification can still buy tobacco and nicotine products. (Wood, 5/10)

Columbus Dispatch: As Vaping Spreads, So Do Efforts To Raise Age For Tobacco Products
In all, 15 state legislatures have passed bills raising the age to 21 as of May 1. Twelve have enacted those laws and three are awaiting a governor’s final approval, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. More than 450 localities have passed similar laws as well. Even the federal government is getting involved. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has co-sponsored a bill that would raise the tobacco age to 21. (Wehrman, 5/11)

The CT Mirror: Six-Year Battle Over PTSD Benefits For Emergency Personnel Appears Over
After struggling for six years, legislators, labor advocates and municipal leaders will announce a long-awaited compromise Monday on post-traumatic stress disorder benefits for police and firefighters. Though they declined to provide details of the agreement, Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague — who’s spearheaded the push to expand coverage for first responders — and Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Executive Director Joe DeLong, both predicted Friday it would draw bipartisan support. (Phaneuf, 5/13)

Arizona Republic: Medical Examiner: Indian National's Death In ICE Custody Was Suicide
The Indian national who died in an Arizona jail while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement died by suicide by hanging himself, according to the Maricopa County medical examiner. Police records also show that Simratpal Singh, 21, had been accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger on a Greyhound bus on April 30, two days before he was found unresponsive and not breathing at the La Paz County Jail in Parker, a rural community in western Arizona near the California border line. (González, 5/10)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Insurer's Cancellation Of Contract Draws Scrutiny In Georgia
A top state regulator said the health insurance giant Anthem may have violated the law when it terminated WellStar Health System from its individual coverage, and he has ordered the company to appear at a hearing to explain itself. State Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck made the statements in an order he issued Friday. Anthem is formerly known as Blue Cross. (Hart, 5/10)

Modern Healthcare: Northwell Targets Employee Satisfaction As Key To Reducing Costs
Leaders at Northwell Health realized that improving quality and reducing costs are closely tied to staff job satisfaction. Clinicians and other staff who feel burned out by workplace inefficiencies aren’t necessarily going to provide the best care to patients. So they recently launched an initiative asking the 70,000 employees at Northwell’s 23 hospitals and 700-plus ambulatory sites to identify the biggest problems they face in delivering care and to suggest solutions. It’s called the “Ideas at Northwell” campaign, focusing on common-sense practices and provider well-being. (Meyer, 5/11)

The Associated Press: Minnesota GOP Leader Has Family Stake In Gay Conversion Vote
The top Republican in the Minnesota Senate, who helped defeat a proposed ban on so-called gay conversion therapy for minors, sent his daughter to a therapist opposed to gay relationships after suspecting she had a same-sex attraction when she was a teenager, the Star Tribune reported Friday. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, a conservative Christian from Nisswa, led his caucus in voting down a Democratic proposal May 1 against the practice of trying to turn gay people straight. (5/10)

The Associated Press: States Seek Explicit Patient Consent For Pelvic Exams
Savanah Harshbarger estimates she performed as many as 10 pelvic exams last year on patients before gynecologic surgeries, feeling for fibroid tumors or other abnormalities. The Duke University medical student said the experience was a revelation. “It’s pretty empowering to know this is something you can detect with a gloved hand instead of needing an MRI or some more expensive procedure,” Harshbarger said. (McDermott and Johnson, 5/12)

Des Moines Register: New Glenwood Resource Center Death Adds To Concerns About Patient Care
Eight of the institution's residents died in the first four months of this year — triple the normal rate. State officials deny there’s a problem with the facility's medical care. More than a dozen former and current staff members of the facility have told the Des Moines Register they disagree. ...Records show one of the facility’s three doctors was fired last year without explanation. A second doctor quit after telling the state's top human services director the medical staff had been "gutted." Several other senior health-care providers have left or been pushed out from Glenwood Resource Center since Superintendent Jerry Rea was hired in 2017, critics say. (Leys, 5/12)

Arizona Republic: Dog Disease That Can Be Transmitted To Humans Confirmed In Iowa
Dr. Jeff Kaisand, the state veterinarian, has confirmed several cases of "canine Brucellosis" coming from a commercial small-dog breeding facility in Marion County, Iowa. The sickness is known to only affect dogs and humans, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. (Davis, 5/12)

The Associated Press: Arkansas' First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens Its Doors
Two and a half years after Arkansans voted to legalize medical marijuana, qualifying patients could begin buying the product Saturday morning when the state's first dispensary opened, though the celebratory mood was dampened by confusion about operating hours and fears the dispensary wouldn't be able to serve all the patients by closing time. (5/11)