Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: July 14, 2015
Kaiser Health News: Do Cell Phones Belong In The Operating Room?
Next time you’re on the operating table and you have one last look around as the anesthesiologist approaches, don’t be too sure that that person in scrubs looking at a smartphone is pulling up vital health data. He or she might be texting a friend, or ordering a new carpet. Cellphone use is not generally restricted in the operating room, but some experts say the time for rules has come. In interviews, many described co-workers’ texting friends and relatives from the surgical suite. Some spoke of colleagues who hide a phone in a drawer and check it when they think no one is watching. (Luthra, 7/14)
Kaiser Health News: N.Y. Law Offers Model For Helping Consumers Avoid Surprise Out-Of-Network Charges
It’s a situation that occurs all too often: Someone goes to the emergency room and doesn’t learn until he gets a hefty bill that one of the doctors who treated him wasn’t in his insurance network. Or a diligent consumer checks before scheduling surgery to make sure that the hospital she plans to use and the doctors that will perform it are all in network. Then she learns later that an assistant surgeon who she didn’t know and who wasn’t in her network scrubbed in on her operation. (Andrews, 7/14)
The Washington Post: Need A New Knee? Heart Valve? Back Surgery? This Web Site Could Help You Find The Top Surgeons Near You.
Now a nonprofit consumers group has come out with a free surgeon rating tool that allows consumers to type in a Zip code and search for the top-performing surgeons in 14 types of major surgery. They include: heart valve and bypass surgery, total knee and hip replacement, gastric (stomach), hernia, and spine fusion surgery. The ratings are based on an analysis of federal government records of more than 4 million surgeries performed by more than 50,000 doctors. Using star ratings (5 stars being the best), the group identified surgeons who have better-than-average performances based on three criteria: Death rates; Other bad outcomes, such as infections, falls or other complications that resulted in longer hospital stays; or re-admissions. (Sun, 7/14)
USA Today: 'Surgeon Scorecard' Measures Docs By Complications
Surgeons around the country are now scored against their peers in a new statistic developed by a non-profit news organization that goes beyond hospital-level data, providing a never-before-available tool for consumers and generating debate and some angst in the surgical community. (Penzenstadler, 7/14)
The New York Times: Obama Wants More State Laws To Make Retirement Saving Easier
A handful of states have passed laws that require certain employers to automatically open retirement plans for employees when they are hired instead of waiting for workers to decide to do so on their own, and about 20 more are considering such laws. Mr. Obama said he wanted to encourage more of these laws to be passed. The president spoke during the sixth White House conference on aging, an event that takes place roughly once a decade. Mr. Obama noted that the conference was particularly well timed because it was being held almost 50 years after legislation was passed creating the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which provide health care to the elderly and the poor. (Harris,7/13)
Los Angeles Times: Obama Wants To Help California Create More Retirement-Savings Accounts
President Obama on Monday threw his weight behind California’s bid to provide more workers with retirement savings accounts. ... A few other states, including Illinois, Oregon and Connecticut, are pursuing similar plans. ... The goal is to provide workers with an added retirement benefit beyond Social Security and Medicare. (Peltz, 7/13)
The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: Health Insurer Mergers Will Pressure Pharma Over High-Cost Drugs
As the nation’s biggest health insurers jockey for supremacy, drug makers should brace for added pressure because doctors are likely to face stingier reimbursement over the next few years. And cancer treatments, in particular, are expected to be targeted, according to a report from Moody’s Investor Service. (Silverman, 7/13)
The Washington Post: Scott Walker Vows To ‘Fight And Win’ With A Conservative Message For 2016
In a 33-minute speech, delivered extemporaneously, Walker had a sharp and ideological pitch focused on his victories over liberals in this blue-leaning state on issues including abortion, school vouchers and voter-ID requirements. ... On Monday evening, Walker, 47 — a Ronald Reagan devotee who was married on the Gipper’s birthday — said Washington leaders are out of touch with the nation, over-regulating businesses, weakening families and forcing mandates such as President Obama’s health-care law. (Johnson, 7/13)
The Associated Press: Where They Stand: Scott Walker On Issues Of 2016 Campaign
Where two-term Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker stands on various issues that will be debated in the Republican presidential campaign, a race he's joining. ... Walker, the son of a Baptist minister, opposes abortion rights, including in cases of rape and incest. As governor, he signed into law a bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion. He's also set to sign a bill into law that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. ... Walker proposed, just six weeks after taking office in 2011, that public employees except for police and firefighters pay more for pension and health care benefits, and only be allowed to bargain collectively over base wage increases no greater than inflation. (7/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Hillary Takes Aim At Republicans In Policy Speech
While liberals are keenly focused on economic inequality, much of Mrs. Clinton’s address centered on ways to boost growth, albeit growth that she said should be spread widely. That satisfied some centrist Democrats. Jonathan Cowan, president of Third Way, a think tank that has tangled with the party’s populist activists, was pleased that Mrs. Clinton didn’t call for a single-payer health-care system, where the government replaces private insurance companies, or a $15 federal minimum wage. (Meckler, 7/13)
The Associated Press: VA Says It May Shut Down Hospitals To Close $2.5B Budget Gap
The Department of Veterans Affairs may have to shut down some hospitals next month if Congress does not address a $2.5 billion shortfall for the current budget year, VA officials warned Monday. (Daly, 7/13)
Los Angeles Times: California Regains Control Over Healthcare At Folsom Prison
The state has regained full control of one of its prisons for the first time since 2006, when a federal court stripped California of control over its sprawling inmate healthcare system. J. Clark Kelso, the overseer of prison medical care and spending, returned responsibility for the health of some 2,400 inmates at Folsom State Prison to California’s corrections department on Monday. (St. John, 7/13)
The Associated Press: AP-NORC Poll: Many Californians Unaware Of Caregiver Program
Christine McCormack quit her job as a restaurant manager two years ago to care for her 88-year-old mother-in-law. While it doesn’t make up for all of her lost income, she’s getting some financial help through an innovative program that allows many of California’s low-income senior citizens and disabled residents to remain in their home. ... A poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that less than one-third of Californians age 40 and over have heard of the program, which dates back to the 1950s. (Freking, 7/14)
Reuters: Oregon Governor Signs Paid Sick Leave, Retirement Legislation
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed legislation on Monday mandating paid sick leave for nearly all workers and establishing a first-of-its kind state-run retirement program for private sector employees. (7/13)
The Associated Press: 400 Employees Of Novant Health To Lose Their Jobs
Novant Health Inc. says it plans to lay off up to 400 employees across the Winston-Salem-based system as part of a reorganization that began last fall. Multiple media outlets report that Novant is recruiting for 1,000 open positions. After deciding which employees can be transferred to new positions, Novant officials say about 400 people will lose their jobs. (7/13)
