Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
La. Father Who Killed 8 Kids Struggled With Mental Health, Family Says
The New York Times: Haunted By ‘Dark Thoughts,’ Louisiana Father Kills 8 Children
Eight children were killed and two other people were gravely wounded in a shooting spree that spanned at least three locations in Shreveport, La., and ended with the gunman shot dead after a police chase on Sunday morning, the authorities said. The gunman, Shamar Elkins, 31, had mental health problems and had recently expressed suicidal thoughts, family members said in interviews. (Medina, Morales and Diaz, 4/19)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Modern Healthcare: Baptist Health To Acquire Two Arkansas Community Hospitals
Baptist Health has entered into definitive agreements to acquire two community hospitals in its home state of Arkansas. The Little Rock-based system plans to acquire Magnolia Regional Medical Center and South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado. Financial details and terms were not disclosed for either transaction. (DeSilva, 4/17)
Cardinal News: Centra Will Bring Hybrid Emergency Department-Urgent Care Facility To Lynchburg
The model is designed to relieve pressure on hospital emergency departments — in this case, at Centra’s Lynchburg General Hospital — while removing the burden on patients to decide what level of care they need. ... Every patient who walks in will be evaluated by a provider, who will determine whether the patient should receive urgent care or emergency services. (Schabacker, 4/20)
KFF Health News: In Connecticut, Doctors Now Sue Patients Most Over Medical Bills, Surpassing Hospitals
Many hospital systems in Connecticut have stopped suing their patients over unpaid bills, stung by criticism about the harm caused by aggressive collection tactics. But physicians, dentists, ambulance companies, and other health care providers are still taking their patients to court, a Connecticut Mirror-KFF Health News investigation of state legal records shows. Lawsuits by doctors and other nonhospital providers now dominate health care collections in Connecticut, the records show, accounting for more than 80% of cases filed against patients and their families in 2024. (Levey, Golvala and Carlesso, 4/20)
NBC News: Son Of 2nd Patient Who Died After Seeing Florida Surgeon Speaks Out
After his mother’s surgery, Weyman Dorsett worried something was wrong. His unease grew as he watched an ICU doctor check his mother’s medical charts.“I’ll never forget and it’ll never leave my mind, the look on that doctor’s face as he was reading through the files,” Dorsett, 53, said. “He was just shaking his head, like, ‘what in the living hell is going on?’” (Lavietes, 4/17)
In reproductive health news —
ProPublica: Texas Medical Board Disciplines Doctors In Porsha Ngumezi And Nevaeh Crain Cases
The Texas Medical Board has disciplined three doctors ProPublica previously investigated whose patients died after receiving delayed or inappropriate pregnancy care under the state’s strict abortion ban. Two of the doctors failed to properly intervene as a pregnant teenager repeatedly sought care for life-threatening complications, the board found. The third did not provide a dilation and curettage procedure to empty a miscarrying patient’s uterus, and she ultimately bled to death. (Surana and Presser, 4/17)
The New York Times: 3 Years After A Landmark Law, Some Pregnant Workers Still Don’t Get Basic Accommodations
Companies have denied requests from women asking to sit during work or take extra breaks, leading some of them to develop health complications or take unpaid leave. (Astor, 4/15)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Talk Hot Health Topics: Urgent Care Clinics Performing Abortions And Doulas' Pay
KFF Health News Michigan correspondent Kate Wells discussed urgent care clinics offering abortions on Apple News Today on April 15. (4/18)
