Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Indiana Probes Man's Death After Nurse Says She Removed Oxygen Mask
USA Today: Indiana Nursing Home Nurse Under Investigation For Unhooking Oxygen
The nurse had watched the nursing home resident suffering with breathing complications due to COVID-19. She saw him repeatedly try to remove his oxygen mask and asked him if he "wanted to let go and go to Heaven" so he could "fly with the angels." She then removed his oxygen mask without a doctor's order. The man died. The alleged incident inside Wedgewood Healthcare Center in southern Indiana is detailed in a state health inspection report reviewed by IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network. Local police and the nursing home operator, Ohio-based Communicare, confirmed to IndyStar that the attorney general is investigating. (Hopkins, Evans and Cook, 3/18)
In other news from Washington, West Virginia and Virginia —
Stat: Washington May Become Second State To Distribute Its Own Generic Drugs
A bill moving through the Washington legislature may make the state only the second in the U.S. with hopes of distributing its own line of generic drugs, an idea hatched last year in California as a way to combat the rising cost of prescription medicines that are straining government budgets. The legislation would authorize the state Health Care Authority to form partnerships with other state agencies or nonprofits to distribute generics and insulin. However, any drug must be made or distributed by a pharmaceutical company that is registered with the Food and Drug Administration. (Silverman, 3/17)
AP: CDC: West Virginia HIV Wave Could Be 'Tip Of The Iceberg'
For years, West Virginia has had the nation’s highest rate of opioid drug addictions and drug overdose deaths. Now the state is wrestling with another, not entirely unrelated health emergency: one of the nation’s highest spikes in HIV cases related to intravenous drug use. The surge, clustered primarily around the capital of Charleston and the city of Huntington, is being attributed at least in part to the cancellation in 2018 of a needle exchange program that offered clean syringes to injection drug users not able to quit the habit altogether. (Raby, 3/17)
Axios: Va. Candidate Brags About Raising 5x More For Charity Than Disclosed To IRS
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Pete Snyder boasted about a cash haul for his COVID-19 relief nonprofit last year that was more than five times what it had estimated raising in a sworn statement to the IRS, Axios has learned. The Virginia 30 Day Fund's mission is central to Snyder's political brand. It's a calling card for the Republican in a crowded primary in a bellwether off-year race. But early, apparently erroneous disclosures to the IRS allowed the group to shield from public view key information about its operators, operations and finances. (Markay, 3/17)
In updates from Florida —
WUSF Public Media: Florida Nursing Home Visitors See Slight Changes Under New Federal Guidelines
For the first time since September, federal health officials are recommending that nursing home residents be allowed to see visitors in person. But in Florida, where visitation has been allowed for months, the new federal guidelines will only make slight changes to the state’s current procedures, established to protect vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities. (Wentz, 3/17)
Health News Florida: Florida Senate Expected To Take Up COVID Liability Bill On Thursday
The Senate on Thursday will take up a high-profile bill that would help shield businesses and health care providers from lawsuits related to COVID-19. The proposal (SB 72), sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, was one of 14 bills included Monday on what is known as a special order calendar to go to the Senate floor. (3/17)
Health News Florida: Florida Lawmakers Consider PPE Stockpile Plan
Florida could set up a stockpile of life-saving personal protective equipment and sell it to health-care practitioners at cost, under proposals now moving in the Legislature. Despite some concern from one lawmaker who cautioned the measure could turn a “government agency into an Amazon,” the House Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved its version of the proposal (HB 1353), sponsored by Rep. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville. (Sexton, 3/17)
WJCT 89.9 FM: Florida Could Get Share Of Purdue Pharma Money
Florida could get a share of a $7 billion bankruptcy plan filed late Monday by Purdue Pharma to dissolve the company and steer its assets toward abating the nation’s opioid epidemic. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody hailed the proposal, saying in a prepared statement Tuesday that it would secure additional funding “for Florida communities plagued by the national opioid crisis.” (3/17)
