First Edition: October 30, 2014
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
For Families With Mixed Immigration Status, Health Insurance Can Be Puzzling
Jessica Bravo walks house-to-house in the piercing Southern California heat. Over and over, at doorsteps around Orange County, she asks the same question: 'Are you insured?' Getting an answer isn’t always easy. Doors slam in her face. She gets shooed from porches. And sometimes people cut her off mid-spiel. Bravo is a paid health outreach worker for the Orange County Congregation Community Organization, a faith-based nonprofit. Her job is to inform people about getting health insurance under the nation’s landmark health law, the Affordable Care Act. (de Marco, 10/31)
The Associated Press:
Medicare Bought Meds For Dead People
A report coming out Friday from the Health and Human Services Department’s inspector general says the Medicare rule allows payment for prescriptions filled up to 32 days after a patient’s death — at odds with the program’s basic principles, not to mention common sense. “Drugs for deceased beneficiaries are clearly not medically indicated, which is a requirement for (Medicare) coverage,” the IG report said. It urged immediate changes to eliminate or restrict the payment policy. Medicare said it’s working on a fix. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/31)
The Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Lose Their Grip On Voters With Keys To The House
Reclaiming white, working-class voters is a tall order for Democrats, who have won the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections with broad support from minorities, single women and younger voters. Democrats have won national elections with the message that government should help people through such programs as subsidized student loans, food stamps and the Affordable Care Act. (Peterson and Chinni, 10/30)
Politico:
McConnell Reassures GOP On Obamacare Opposition
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is reassuring conservatives that his position on Obamacare has never wavered as Republicans grow increasingly confident that they will take the Senate and install McConnell as the majority leader.
McConnell’s comments Tuesday to Neil Cavuto that a standalone repeal vote would require 60 votes and a presidential signature were taken as a change in position from the Kentucky senator’s frequent references to the goal of repealing the health care law “root and branch.” NPR posted a headline that “McConnell Concedes GOP Senate Will Not Mean Obamacare Repeal” while the Senate Conservatives Fund likened it to a “surrender.” (Everett, 10/31)
The Wall Street Journal:
Cigna Raises Outlook As Results Exceed Expectations
Cigna Corp. again raised its guidance as fee and premium revenue grew along with its customer base in the third quarter. The health insurer’s results easily topped analysts’ expectations. The company predicted earnings for the year of $7.25 to $7.45 a share, up from $7.20 to $7.40. Fellow health insurers WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. also raised their guidance this week, showing how the industry is profiting amid changes brought by the Affordable Care Act. (Wilde Mathews and Calia, 10/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Kindred Health Names Operating Chief Breier As New CEO
Kindred Healthcare Inc. on Thursday named operating chief Benjamin Breier as the company’s next chief executive, a key step for the long-term care provider as it moves forward with its acquisition of Gentiva Health Services Inc. Mr. Breier, 43 years old, will succeed Paul Diaz, who will become executive vice chairman of Kindred’s board after a decade in the company’s top executive spot. (Dulaney, 10/30)
The Washington Post:
Firms Gearing Health-Related Technology Toward Baby Boomers
Like many of her fellow baby boomers, Rubin was accustomed to solving problems with the help of advanced tech tools. But she believed that a lot of health-care communications still tended to be more phone-and-fax than apps-and-Web. So Rubin adapted office technology to her caregiving needs. She and her brother, John, continually update a shared Google Docs spreadsheet, tracking their mother’s symptoms, physicians, medications and questions. (Yoquinto, 10/31)
The Associated Press:
Soldier Or Civilian, Ebola Protocols Not The Same
A U.S. soldier returning from an Ebola response mission in West Africa would have to spend 21 days being monitored, isolated in a military facility away from family and the broader population. A returning civilian doctor or nurse who directly treated Ebola patients? Depends. The Pentagon has put in place the most stringent Ebola security measures yet, going beyond even the toughest measures adopted by states such as New York, New Jersey and Maine and much further than the guidance set by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for travelers returning from the afflicted region. (10/31)
NPR:
Is It Legal To Quarantine Someone Who's Not Sick?
State and local governments have the legal authority to impose mandatory quarantines. But law experts are debating whether some states' new Ebola quarantine policies may be stepping over the line. (Stein, 10/30)
The New York Times:
From Governors, A Mix Of Hard-Line Acts And Conciliation Over Ebola
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, issued a stern warning on Thursday to medical experts coming to an international conference on tropical diseases that they should stay away if they had been in Ebola-affected countries in the past 21 days, and that those who defied would be confined to their hotel rooms. But in New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, who last week called for mandatory quarantines for health care workers returning from West Africa, sounded a more conciliatory note, joining Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce financial incentives to encourage health professionals to go to West Africa to treat Ebola patients. (Bidgood and Zernike, 10/30)
The New York Times:
In New York, Protections Offered For Medical Workers Joining Ebola Fight
New York officials announced on Thursday that they would offer employee protection and financial guarantees for health care workers joining the fight against the Ebola outbreak in three West African nations. The announcement was an effort to alleviate concerns that the state’s mandatory quarantine policy could deter desperately needed workers from traveling overseas. (Santora and Hartocollis, 10/30)
The Associated Press:
Life Goes On For Nurse In Standoff Over Ebola
She has rebelled against the restrictions, saying that her rights are being violated and that she is no threat to others because she has no symptoms. She tested negative last weekend for Ebola, though it can take days for the virus to reach detectable levels. State officials said that they were seeking a court order to require a quarantine through Nov. 10, the end of the 21-day incubation period for the Ebola virus. But it was unclear Thursday whether the state had gone to court or whether there had been any progress in negotiations aimed at a compromise. (10/31)
The Washington Post:
Anthony Brown’s Work As Md. Lieutenant Governor Was Mostly Behind The Scenes
Brown’s tenure as lieutenant governor was bookended by two projects, both of which offered opportunities for Maryland to stand out from other states: Preparing for an influx of jobs at military posts because of a congressionally ordered base realignment, and leading the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. ... The health-care effort was marred by the failed launch of the state’s online insurance marketplace, which Brown has said was not his direct responsibility. (Johnson, 10/29)
Los Angeles Times:
State Inadequately Investigates Nursing Home Complaints, Audit Finds
The California Department of Public Health has failed to effectively investigate nursing home complaints, a state audit released Thursday found, with a total of 11,000 unresolved complaints in its system. The department, which is responsible for monitoring more than 2,500 nursing homes, classified more than 40% of these complaints and incidents as having caused or being likely to cause harm to a resident. Yet the state auditor’s office found that the average number of days these complaints were open ranged from 14 to 1,042 days. (Flores, 10/30)
The New York Times' DealBook:
Judge Approves Bankruptcy Exit For Stockton, Calif.
Stockton had asked the court to approve its plan, which calls for budget cuts, haircuts for bondholders and even a sales tax increase, which city residents approved in a referendum last year. But it did not touch pensions, not even the benefits that current workers hope to earn in future years. Prospective pension cuts are routine when companies go bankrupt under Chapter 11 and even outside of bankruptcy. But Judge Christopher Klein of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento said he found Stockton’s proposed plan acceptable, noting that it eliminated the retirees’ health benefits. (Walsh, 10/30)