State Highlights: Connecticut House Passes Bill Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions; Judge Orders Chicago Hospital To Restore Services

The CT Mirror: Legislation Shielding People With Pre-Existing Conditions Clears House
Lawmakers in Connecticut’s House of Representatives passed a measure Wednesday to safeguard people with pre-existing conditions who are on short-term health insurance policies, sometimes called temporary health insurance. They could not say how many people the bill would protect, but pointed to data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation showing that as many as 522,000 people younger than 65 in Connecticut have pre-existing conditions such as cancer or heart disease. (Carlesso, 4/17)

Modern Healthcare: Suburban Chicago Hospital Owner Must Restore Services: Judge
A Cook County Circuit Court judge found Pipeline Health in contempt of court and required it to restore most services offered at Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, Ill. The judge, Moshe Jocobius, ordered Pipeline to restore services like behavioral health and obstetrics by Thursday morning or face daily fines of $200,000. He allowed Pipeline to stop offering weight-loss services (bariatrics) and accepting incoming ambulance traffic, which the hospital already had been allowed to do through a previous order. A written order to be made available will provide more detail about the specific sevices the 230-bed hospital will have to continue providing. (Goldberg, 4/17)

Boston Globe: How To Find A Therapist When You Need One
Ask anyone who’s been in this position: Finding a therapist in the Boston area for a pressing mental health concern, especially for a teen or child, can feel overwhelming. When you need a kind and understanding person who can parachute in to help avert a crisis, if only by listening, sometimes the search feels like a never-ending scavenger hunt while the sun is swiftly sinking. (Baker, 4/17)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: SeniorCare Prescription Drug Program To Continue For 10 More Years
Wisconsin can keep its SeniorCare prescription drug program for at least another decade under a deal with federal regulators that Gov. Tony Evers touted Wednesday. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week authorized the program through the end of 2028, a longer-term extension of the program than the state has gotten in the past. (Marley, 4/17)

The Washington Post: Tick, Tick, Tick: Alaska Braces For Invading Parasites
Health and wildlife officials are taking steps to prepare for potentially dangerous parasites that could gain a foothold because of Alaska’s warming climate. Non-native ticks represent a threat to wildlife and people because they can carry and transmit pathogens, said Micah Hahn, an assistant professor of environmental health with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage. (Joling, 4/17)

The Associated Press: Legionnaires' Disease Found In Adjacent California Prisons
Legionnaires' disease bacteria that killed one inmate and sickened another is more widespread than expected in a California state prison, officials said Wednesday, citing new test results. Preliminary results found the bacteria in the water supply at a prison medical facility in Stockton and at two neighboring youth correctional facilities, Corrections Department spokeswoman Vicky Waters said. (4/17)

Sacramento Bee: Legionella Bacteria Widespread In Stockton Prison Water
Water tests discovered legionella throughout a state prison in Stockton, showing the bacteria found in a dead inmate last month is more widespread than was previously known, according to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation email sent to staff Tuesday. The inmate, whom the department hasn’t identified, died the first week of March after being transported to an outside hospital from California Health Care Facility. (Venteicher, 4/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: With Union Support, Kaiser Patients Demand CEO Meeting Over Mental Health
Kaiser Permanente patients assembled outside the health care provider’s Oakland headquarters Wednesday, calling for shorter wait times for mental health appointments and demanding a meeting with the CEO. The event was attended by officials of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents some Kaiser employees and is in contract negotiations with the company. (Kunthara, 4/17)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Millions Of Family Caregivers Wish They’d Gotten More Training, AARP Report Says
This will come as little surprise to the nation's 40 million caregivers, but a new report from AARP is a reminder to everyone else that caregivers are doing complicated, stressful work with inadequate training and support. The report, called “Home Alone Revisited,” was released Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Society on Aging. (Burling, 4/18)

North Carolina Health News: More Than A Medical School: Health Care Giants Atrium Health And Wake Forest Baptist Health Want To Consolidate
Even after last year’s failure to merge with UNC Health Care, Atrium Health isn’t giving up on consolidations. Last week, Wake Forest University, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Atrium announced that by the end of the year, they would have a proposal for how to join forces. While the prestige of a new medical school may appeal to Charlotteans, large mergers can end up hurting patients’ wallets, say health economists. And on top of negotiating their deal, the two health care giants need to prove to the attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission that they can combine without harming customers. (Duong, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: KPC Group Closes In On Purchase Of Four Verity Health Hospitals
The KPC Group moved a step closer to acquiring four Southern California hospitals owned by Verity Health with approval from a federal bankruptcy court Wednesday. The KPC Group, which is the parent company of KPC Health that operates seven hospitals in Southern California, secured the winning bid at $610 million for St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, St. Vincent Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles, Seton Medical Center in Daly City and Seton Coastside in Moss Beach as well as St. Vincent Dialysis Center in downtown Los Angeles. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra must approve the acquisition. (Kacik, 4/17)

The Associated Press: Police: Maryland Man Spread HIV To 4 Women He Met Online
Police say a Maryland man knowingly spread HIV to four women after meeting them on dating sites and apps. The Frederick News-Post reported Tuesday that 34-year-old Rudolph Jericho Smith has been charged with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He also faces counts of knowingly transferring or attempting to transfer HIV to another person. The charge is a misdemeanor under Maryland's general health law. (4/17)

Sacramento Bee: 10,000 Workers Weigh Strike After UC Imposes Contract Terms
The union representing 10,000 research and technical workers at the University of California on Wednesday denounced the UC’s decision to unilaterally impose wage increases of 3 percent annually over the next four years. UPTE-CWA 9119 leaders said in a news release that they are weighing their options, up to and including a strike. Members of the union have joined in four strikes over the past 12 months. (Anderson, 4/17)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Best And Worst States For Child Health Care: Georgia Among Worst
When it comes to the best and worst states for children’s health care, Georgia doesn’t fare very well, according to a new report. In fact, the Peach State ranked among the bottom of the pack in WalletHub’s latest analysis based on kids’ health and access to health care; kids’ nutrition, physical activity and obesity and, last but not least, kids’ oral health. (Priani, 4/17)

KCUR: Overland Park Psychiatrist Accused Of Having Sex With A Patient Loses His License 
An Overland Park psychiatrist has lost his medical license after state regulators alleged he had sex with a patient, exploited a patient relationship for financial gain and continued to practice after his license was suspended in 2018. Under a consent order entered Tuesday, Brian Patrick Lahey waived his right to a contested hearing and agreed to an indefinite suspension of his Kansas license. (Margolies, 4/17)

The Associated Press: For-Profit Jail, Family Settle Arkansas Inmate Death Lawsuit
Lawyers reached an undisclosed settlement Tuesday in a federal lawsuit in which the family of an Arkansas man alleged employees of a for-profit jail left the man to die in his cell as his health deteriorated. Representatives for Michael Sabbie's family and LaSalle Corrections, which runs the Bi-State Justice Center in Texarkana, Texas, said they would not comment on the terms of the settlement stemming from Sabbie's 2015 death, according to the Texarkana Gazette. (4/17)

The Star Tribune: Racial, Income Gaps In Medical Care In Minn. Are Closing, But Modestly 
Poor and minority patients in Minnesota are starting to receive better primary care, but they continue to have worse overall health outcomes and more difficulty managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes. In a sign of progress against the state’s longstanding health disparities, a new report shows that Minnesota clinics are doing a better job of screening low-income and minority adults for colon cancer and checking minority teenagers for depression — two of the medical indicators tracked in the annual review. (Olson, 4/17)

MPR: Minnesota Health Disparities Narrowing But Still A Concern
Minnesota Community Measurement said people covered through state-run health coverage — Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare — continue to have significantly worse health measures than Minnesotans with private health insurance or Medicare. The health outcome tracking organization's president, Julie Sonier, said those disparities have been shrinking over time for several measures. (Zdechlik, 4/17)

Chicago Tribune: Day After Rebuke From Judge, Owners Of Westlake Hospital Offer To Give It To Melrose Park 
A day after a judge rebuked the owner of Westlake Hospital, its owner is offering to give it to the village of Melrose Park — a pitch the village is calling a “stunt.” “If Melrose Park truly values Westlake Hospital and is so sure it can do a better job of either running this antiquated facility or finding a buyer, they should take us up on this offer,” said Los Angeles-based Pipeline, which owns Westlake, in a statement Wednesday. Pipeline said it would give the 230-bed hospital to Melrose Park at no cost. (Schencker, 4/17)