Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NY Gov. Vetoes Bill For Emotional Damage Claims In Wrongful Deaths
AP: NY Governor Vetoes Changes To Wrongful Death Law
New York’s governor has vetoed a bill that would have allowed wrongful death lawsuits to include claims for emotional damage, a change that could have led to much bigger payouts for fatal accidents and deadly medical errors. The bill, which had strong bipartisan support when it passed the Legislature last year, would have brought New York into line with a majority of other states that allow courts to consider emotional pain when calculating how much a lost life was worth. (Khan, 1/31)
AP: NY Judge Jails Ex-Gynecologist Who Abused 100s Of Women
An ex-gynecologist convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of patients was ordered to spend the next two months in jail as he awaits sentencing, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday. After hearing statements from some of the victims during the bail hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman tersely shot down defense attorneys seeking to allow the doctor, Robert Hadden, to remain free while awaiting an April sentencing hearing. ... Hadden had worked at two prestigious Manhattan hospitals — Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital — until complaints about his attacks shut down his career a decade ago. (2/2)
Stat: New York’s Hospitals Are Poised For Political Power This Congress
The new Democratic leadership team in Congress is pretty much the New York hospital lobby’s dream team. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has long been an ally of the Greater New York Hospital Association, often pushing for more funding for teaching slots at hospitals. He goes back decades with the lobby’s CEO, Kenneth Raske. And new House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is another New Yorker representing a Brooklyn district, though he has a less robust record on health care. (Cohrs, 2/2)
In other health care industry news —
San Francisco Chronicle: Feds Grant S.F.’s Laguna Honda Reprieve On Patient Transfers Until May 19
Federal regulators gave San Francisco’s Laguna Honda nursing home a last-minute reprieve on Wednesday from a potential demand to resume transferring its frail residents from the facility as soon as Thursday. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services informed Laguna Honda on Wednesday that it had granted the hospital’s request for a delay until May 19. The notice came one day before the deadline patient advocates had dreaded, believing it would be a live or die moment in time — literally. (Asimov, 2/1)
Capital Gazette: Luminis Anne Arundel Medical Center Closes Last Remaining Birthing Center In Maryland
When Brittany Goodpaster gives birth in June, she’ll have a very different experience than the one she imagined. Goodpaster had hoped to deliver her baby at the Luminis Anne Arundel Medical Center birthing center in Annapolis where midwives assist women with natural births. The center, opened in 1997, is designed to look like a bedroom rather than a hospital room. A bathtub, bed, play space for kids, large exercise ball and other amenities were available to the women who had their babies there. Earlier this week, Luminis closed the birthing center after 26 years of operation due to the low number of births there in the past several years. (Munro, 2/2)
CalMatters: Mpox Reimbursements To Clinics Lagging
Seven months ago, California battled its second widespread infectious disease outbreak in as many years — mpox, formerly referred to as monkeypox. Cases spread exponentially, primarily among the state’s male LGBTQ population, and officials struggled to roll out limited vaccine supplies from the federal government. Community clinics and LGBTQ health centers opened mass mpox vaccination sites as quickly as possible and clamored for assistance from local and legislative leaders, but oftentimes red tape at both the federal and state level hampered a speedy response. (Hwang, 1/31)
St. Louis Public Radio: Black Doulas In St. Louis Want To Improve Black Birth Outcomes
Denetria Thompson remembers her first cesarean section all too well. During a pregnancy checkup 10 years ago, Thompson’s doctor scheduled her for induced labor. She was 38 weeks pregnant, and her doctor told her she could deliver early if she wanted to. A week later, Thompson anxiously walked into Missouri Baptist Hospital at 9 a.m. ready to deliver her little girl. (Henderson, 2/2)
Also —
The Hill: Trump Vows To Punish Doctors, Hospitals That Provide Gender-Affirming Care To Transgender Minors
Former President Trump, in a video released Tuesday on his social media platform, vowed to punish doctors who provide gender-affirming health care to minors if he is reelected next year, wading into a contentious debate that has captured the attention of state and federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. In the nearly four-minute-long, straight-to-camera video, Trump outlined his plan to “protect children from left-wing gender insanity,” unveiling a slate of extreme policy proposals targeting transgender identities, including a federal law that recognizes only two genders and bars transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams. (Migdon, 2/1)
