State Highlights: Alabama’s Medicaid Overhaul; End-Of-Life Counseling Mandate In Mass.

Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama Takes Step Toward Overhauling Medicaid Delivery
The state took another step Thursday toward changing the way it delivers Medicaid services, with the hope that the new system will improve healthcare outcomes and save the state money. Gov. Robert Bentley announced the formation of six regional care organizations (RCOs) aimed at moving the system, which provides health care to the poor, from a fee-for-service model to one closer to managed care. ... Over 1 million Alabamians receive health care through Medicaid, despite the program having some of the stiffest eligibility requirements in the country. ... The new system aims to reduce costs by getting Medicaid recipients to see primary care providers more frequently, and avoid costly hospitalizations. (Lyman, 12/18)

AL.com: Gov. Robert Bentley Updates Plan To Reform Medicaid In Alabama
The public got an update today on a plan to change Alabama's Medicaid system to a managed care approach. Gov. Robert Bentley announced the first six organizations certified on a probationary basis to provide managed care for specific regions of the state. Final approval and the start of the program is still almost two years away. The state is also awaiting approval of a waiver from the federal government. (Cason, 12/18)

WBUR: Doctors In Massachusetts Now Required To Offer End-Of-Life Counseling
Doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and other health providers in Massachusetts are now required to offer end-of-life counseling to terminally ill patients. The requirement, part of a 2012 law, takes effect Friday with the posting of rules about how it will work. It’s believed to be the first such rule in the country. (Bebinger, 12/19)

NPR: Is Your State Ready For The Next Infectious Outbreak? Probably Not
The report issued Thursday gives half of the states and the District of Columbia failing grades on 10 measures of preparedness, which include maintaining funding for public health services from 2012; getting half the population vaccinated for flu; reducing the number of bloodstream infections caused by central lines for people in the hospital; testing the response time for emergency laboratory tests; and testing 90 percent of suspected E. coli 0157 infections within four days. (Shute, 12/18)

The Associated Press: Single-payer Advocates Express Anger With Vermont Governor
Dozens of supporters of single-payer health care converged on the Statehouse on Thursday to voice their anger at Gov. Peter Shumlin's announcement a day earlier he was scrapping his push for it, while critics voiced dismay he pushed the plan as far as he did. (12/18)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore County Loses Appeal In Police Retiree Health Case
An appeals court has rejected a bid by the Baltimore County government to avoid reimbursing hundreds of police retirees who were overcharged for health insurance. The county paid more than $1.7 million in damages and interest to the Fraternal Order of Police this year under a court order. But it continued to appeal the order. In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals — the state's second-highest court — upheld the lower-court ruling. (Wood, 12/18)

The Associated Press: Missouri Home Care Workers Ask For Higher Pay
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is throwing his support behind home care workers, of which a handful caroled outside his mansion Thursday and called on him to ensure they receive a pay increase. But a union official cautioned the state's proposed action could hurt the cause. Office of Administration spokeswoman Ryan Burns said the Department of Health and Senior Services is drafting an administrative rule to implement wage increases for home-care workers that were negotiated by the Missouri Home Care Union. At issue are home-care attendants who are paid through the state's Medicaid program to help dress, clothe and bathe the older people or those otherwise unable to care for themselves. Those workers often are employed by companies that contract with the state. The minimum for the workers is $7.50 an hour, and the average is $8.58 an hour, according to the union. (Ballentine, 12/18)

Arizona Central-Republic: New Mental-Health Funding Plan Will Cut Exec Overhead
Families of children who need mental-health care likely will see improved access and more money dedicated to services starting early next year, a key advocate says. Changes taking effect Jan. 2 will eliminate a layer of bureaucracy in the funding of mental-health programs, and should cut overhead costs. (Harris, 12/18)

The Oregonian: Kitzhaber Taps Prominent Nonprofit Executive And Republican Lynne Saxton To Head Troubled Oregon Health Authority
Oregon nonprofit executive Lynne Saxton has been tapped by Gov. John Kitzhaber to head the Oregon Health Authority after a year in which the agency's public image has taken a turn for the worse. Saxton, a Republican, was a member of Kitzhaber's 2010 transition team along with her husband, Ron, the 2006 Republican gubernatorial nominee. She is the executive director of Youth Villages Oregon, which provides residential treatment and in-home services for children with emotional and behavioral problems. (Budnick, 12/18)

The Associated Press: KU Hospital Provides Update On Reorganization
The University of Kansas Hospital has told the state Board of Regents that it is making progress toward streamlining clinical operations and hopes the effort will lead to cost savings and growth to help offset financial losses resulting from the state's failure to expand Medicaid. Currently, a nonprofit group that runs most of the clinics on campus has to negotiate among 18 different organizations. Between now and July 1, the plan is to combine those under the University of Kansas Hospital Authority, which has a 19-member board mostly appointed by the governor. (12/18)

NJ.com: N.J. Board Says 11 Hospitals Can Still Perform Angioplasties Without Heart Surgery Licenses
A state health board voted today to continue to allow 11 hospitals to perform the artery-clearing procedure known as angioplasty without holding a license to perform heart surgery. The approval by the state Health Care Administration Board means these 11 community hospitals would be able to continue offering elective angioplasties - a lucrative service in an increasingly competitive medical landscape. New Jersey's 18 hospitals that are licensed to perform cardiac surgery have criticized the policy, saying their fiscal health is jeopardized by allowing the additional angioplasty sites. (Livio, 12/18)

The Charlotte Observer: Second Charlotte Social Worker Charged In Medicaid Fraud
Ryce Edward Hatchett, 43, of Charlotte, a senior social worker with the county’s Department of Social Services, was charged Thursday with one count of selling the names for at least $12,000 to Ronnie Lorenzo Robinson, owner of Peaceful Alternative Resources Inc., according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins. (Perlmutt, 12/18)