State Highlights: Arizona Says Sackler Family ‘Looting’ Opioid Money, Files Supreme Court Suit; Connecticut Launches Probe Into Health Claims About Vaping

The Hill: Arizona Sues Sackler Family At Supreme Court, Alleging Effort To Avoid Payouts Over Opioid Crisis 
The state of Arizona has taken the highly unusual move of filing a lawsuit at the Supreme Court, asking the justices to order the Sackler family — the owners of Purdue Pharma — to return billions of dollars in connection with their handling of the opioid epidemic. Arizona officials are alleging the family transferred the money from their company in order to prevent paying potential judgements over their alleged role in the crisis, in the process violating a 2007 legal agreement made with the state. The state says the family “reaped profits through misleading marketing tactics.” (Thomsen, 7/31)

The Associated Press: Connecticut Launches Investigation Into Vaping Health Claims
Connecticut launched an investigation Wednesday into the marketing practices of Juul Labs, becoming the latest state to probe the vaping product manufacturer’s health claims and appeal to young people. State Attorney General William Tong said his probe is part of a national effort to curb youth vaping, which has included congressional hearings, a lawsuit in North Carolina over Juul’s marketing practices and similar investigations in states such as Massachusetts. (Eaton-Robb, 7/31)

The CT Mirror: State Launches Investigation Of E-Cigarette Manufacturer, Questions Health Claims
State Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull, who opened the investigation, said they believe the company’s health claims are largely unfounded and that there is mounting evidence to the contrary. The investigation comes on the heels of a study released by Yale University earlier this week, which found that the liquid-based devices not only carry nicotine but the chemicals used for flavoring can irritate lungs and airways. The known and unknown harms of e-cigarettes in large part inspired legislation raising the legal smoking age to 21. (Moore, 7/31)

CNN: New Jersey Will Now Allow Terminally Ill Patients To End Their Lives
Terminally ill adults in New Jersey will now be able to ask for medical help to end their lives. In April, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act. It goes into effect Thursday. It allows adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live to get a prescription for life-ending medication. (Romine, 8/1)

The Associated Press: Jail Officials Faulted Over Epileptic Trans Woman's Death
A lawyer for the family of a transgender woman who died from an epileptic seizure at New York City's Rikers Island says she never should have been placed in a solitary unit. Lawyer David Shanies said Wednesday that medical records provided to the family show that jail officials knew 27-year-old Layleen Polanco had epilepsy, but decided to put her in a restrictive housing unit anyway. (7/31)

California Healthline: California Bill Would Fight Deals That Delay Generic Drugs
California’s attorney general touted a legal victory this week against drugmakers who he said made secretive, backroom deals to keep less expensive drugs off the market. In nearly the same breath, Xavier Becerra also lamented that he didn’t have enough legal tools to go after all the companies that engage in the practice of “pay for delay,” in which brand-name drugmakers pay off generic manufacturers to keep the more affordable generic versions of their medications off the market. (Ibarra, 7/31)

St. Louis Public Radio: Lawsuit Alleges Illinois Prison Policies Jeopardize Health Of Transgender Inmates
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois wants a federal judge to order the state of Illinois to change its practices for providing medical treatment to transgender prisoners. Current policies fail to provide adequate health care to prisoners diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to opening arguments made Wednesday by the ACLU in a federal court in East St. Louis. (Petrin, 7/31)

MPR: New Law Curbs E-Cigarette Use Indoors Beginning Aug. 1
As a new Minnesota state law banning vaping in most indoor public places takes effect, some believe it will slow an explosion in popularity, while others are skeptical. The Clean Indoor Air Act already bans cigarettes and traditional nicotine and tobacco products in most indoor spaces. Starting Thursday, e-cigarettes will join that list. (Moini, 7/31)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Gov. Mike DeWine Again Delays Execution, Says Ohio Should Look At Lethal-Injection Alternatives
Gov. Mike DeWine says Ohio may need to stop executing people by injection because state officials have been unable to obtain the necessary drugs, according to a DeWine spokesman. DeWine, a Greene County Republican, has asked legislative leaders to consider legislation that would change Ohio’s 18-year-old law making lethal injection the state’s sole execution method, according to gubernatorial spokesman Dan Tierney. (Pelzer, 7/31)

KCUR: A New Website Lets Kansas City Patients Comparison-Shop For Medical Care 
Online medical shopping is now available in Missouri and Kansas, and it could be more affordable than going through insurance companies. Launched in March, Sesame allows patients to search for medical care in the Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, areas. MediBid is an online portal that allows patients to make requests for care and doctors and hospitals to respond with an offer. (Aiken, 7/31)

Modern Healthcare: Blue Cross Michigan Sued For Alleged Unpaid Behavioral Health Claims
Four substance-abuse treatment centers in Michigan owned by U.S. Addiction Services sued Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan on Wednesday for more than $40 million in unpaid claims involving more than 4,000 patients, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. A spokesman for New York-based law firm Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, which is representing the plaintiff, said one of the providers was forced to close and the other three turned patients away because Blue Cross "refused to provide meaningful coverage for addiction treatment." (Greene, 7/31)

Tampa Bay Times: A Crisis Pregnancy Center In Florida Wants To Redefine Choice
Staffers here believe that it’s up to places like this to explain unspoken risks and regret. They want First Coast to be a loving pause, an hour of empowerment, a crucial education. Visitors sit, cry, fidget, text, pray, until a volunteer opens a white door, smiles and leads them through. (McNeill, 8/1)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Akron Children’s Hospital Opens Center For Gender Affirming Medicine
Growing up is hard. Growing up transgender is even harder.That’s why Akron Children’s Hospital’s new Center for Gender Affirming Medicine is providing support, resources and medical treatment for patients as young as 7 years old. (Golst, 7/31)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Juvenile Courts Try To Balance Kids' Privacy, Transparency
The goal: Observe every juvenile-dependency case. The hearings revealed moments of kindness and humanity in a system where bureaucracy often reigns, and cases can last two years or longer. What the Republic reporters observed raises questions about the rights of parents and children. (Náñez, Pitzel, 8/1)

Texas Tribune: Paid Sick Leave Rule Goes Into Effect In Dallas On Thursday
Texas businesses are not required to offer their employees paid sick time, which led Austin to approve an ordinance mandating it last year. ...But on Thursday, Dallas will be the first of three major metropolitan areas to see its proposal come to fruition. Supporters and advocates of the proposal across the state are watching closely to measure its impact. (Samuels, 8/1)

WBUR: Utah Family Sues School After Son With Diabetes Barred From Returning To Class
The family of an 8-year-old boy with type 1 diabetes is suing the school district in Herriman, Utah, because they say he’s not allowed back in class due to a dispute over his treatment. Type 1 diabetes means the pancreas can’t produce insulin, which is necessary to move glucose from the blood into cells for energy. (Young and Raphelson, 7/31)

The Associated Press: Texas Firm Accused Of Medicare Fraud Files For Bankruptcy
A blood-testing company filed for bankruptcy and says it's cutting jobs because Medicare payments have been withheld over allegations of fraud. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports True Health Diagnostics LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week and notified officials of impending layoffs. (7/31)

The Washington Post: Ousted Iowa Director To File Whistleblower Case, Lawyer Says
The ousted Iowa Department of Human Services director will pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit, alleging he was let go after objecting to a pay arrangement for the governor’s deputy chief of staff, his lawyer said Wednesday. Jerry Foxhoven, a 67-year-old legal scholar known for his frequent workplace praise of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, will file a whistleblower claim with the State Appeal Board, his attorney Tom Duff said. That’s the first step toward pursuing a lawsuit against state government. (Foley, 7/31)

Reveal: N.C. Shut Down A Group Home Last Year. The US Just Gave It A Contract To House Migrant Children
The U.S. government plans to send immigrant children to shelters run by a group home recently shut down by North Carolina, a building contractor with no experience in residential care and a Texas children’s shelter with a track record of state violations, a Reveal and WRAL News investigation has found. (Michels, Morel, Browder, Dukes and Fain, 7/31)

Georgia Health News: Smyrna Pledges To Test Air For Toxic Pollution
If Smyrna carries through on its plans, it will become one of just five communities — out of 109 flagged by the EPA nationally as having higher cancer risks — to get its air tested for ethylene oxide, a toxic gas that is used to sterilize medical equipment as well as make other products such as antifreeze. In other areas that have had their air tested, the estimated cancer risks turned out to be higher than those predicted by the EPA’s modeling, which was released in 2018. (Goodman and Miller, 7/31)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Medical Marijuana: All Of Harvest's Ohio Licenses Put On Hold
The Ohio Department of Commerce notified Harvest Grows LLC in January it planned to revoke its large-scale cultivation license. The agency reviewed company documents and concluded Harvest was not actually owned and controlled by Ariane Kirkpatrick, an African-American Ohio woman, as claimed on its application. (Borchardt, 7/31)