State Highlights: Avoidable E.R. Costs Tallied In N.Y. Insurers’ Study; Missouri Nursing School Receives $20M Grant

The Associated Press: NY Study Shows Avoidable Emergency Room Costs
A New York health insurer's study shows 10 common conditions like sinus infections and sprains represented more than 2 million visits to hospital emergency rooms statewide and cost about $1.3 billion in 2013. The study says about 90 percent could have been treated elsewhere for less. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield examined 6.4 million emergency room visits in 2013, concluding many were avoidable with less expensive and faster treatment in doctors' offices, urgent care clinics or even through telemedicine. (4/6)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MU Gets $20 Million To Expand Research Involving St. Louis Area Nursing Homes
The University of Missouri nursing school announced today it has received nearly $20 million in federal funding to expand its research that has been successful in reducing hospitalizations among nursing home residents in the St. Louis area. The grant is the largest the MU Sinclair School of Nursing has ever received and the second largest in the university's history. The goal of the research, which will involve 32 area nursing homes, is to create a model for others to implement. (Munz, 4/6)

News Service Of Florida: Court Backs DCF In Nursing Home Expenses Case
An appeals court Monday sided with the Florida Department of Children and Families in a dispute about expenses for a woman who went into a Tallahassee nursing home after suffering a spinal-cord injury in an accident. (4/6)

The Associated Press: University Of Missouri Nursing School Gets $20M For Study
The nursing school at the University of Missouri has received nearly $20 million in federal funds to expand research that has already reduced hospitalizations among nursing home residents in the St. Louis region. (4/6)

Kaiser Health News: Major Employers Decry Sutter Health's Tactics In Dispute Over Prices
Sutter Health, long accused of abusing its market power in California, is squaring off against major U.S. employers in a closely watched legal fight over health care competition and high prices. The latest fight has erupted over Sutter’s demand that employers sign an arbitration agreement to resolve disputes. Without it, Sutter says employers must pay sharply higher rates — 95 percent of its full charges — for out-of-network care at its hospitals, surgery centers and clinics. (Terhune, 4/7)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Doctor With Diabetes Speaks Out About Chemicals In Plastics
Dr. Nathan Ravi, now 64, was living on the East Coast, working as a chemical engineer; he was a father, husband and in excellent physical condition as a hobby runner — 5Ks, hours of gym time and the like. So why at 28 did he develop type 1 diabetes? He sums up the answer in one word: bisphenol, more commonly known as BPA, for bisphenol-a. It’s the best known and possibly the most harmful culprit in a family of chemicals known to, or suspected of harming people. (Jackson, 4/6)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Head Of St. Louis Alzheimer's Assistance Group Tells Congress There Is National Crisis In Care
A St. Louis director of a nonprofit that helps families care for Alzheimer’s sufferers told Congress Wednesday that there was a “national crisis” because of “15 million unpaid dementia caregivers who need help today.” Lisa Baron founded Memory Care Home Solutions 16 years ago after her experiences helping to care for a mother-in-law who suffered from Alzheimer’s. (Raasch, 4/6)

The Chicago Tribune: Virtual Health Care Guide HealthJoy Raises $3 Million In Seed Funding
Health-tech startup HealthJoy, whose artificial intelligence platform helps consumers navigate health care-related decisions, has raised $3 million in seed funding from GoHealth and angel investors. The River North-based company — founded in 2014 by CEO Justin Holland and president Doug Morse-Schindler — sells a platform called “Joy” that acts as a virtual health care assistant for those trying to cut costs and navigate their insurance plan. (Graham, 4/6)

WITF: Pa. Competing For Federal Grant To Remake Slice Of Health Care World
Pennsylvania is competing with 23 other states for a federal grant that will push health care into the future. A midstate group - Berks Counseling Center - is part of the state's application. It's one of 16 that's been selected to work with the state on the final submission to the federal government. (Allen, 4/6)

WBUR: Should Docs Ask Patients About Guns? AG Healey, Mass. Medical Society Take Up Issue
Every year, the Massachusetts Medical Society picks an important public health topic of the day and tries to figure out how to make a difference. This year, it’s guns. (Bebinger, 4/6)

The Associated Press: Rutgers Forms New Health Care Provider Organization
Rutgers has created a new health care provider organization. University officials say Rutgers Health will become one of the first academic health care provider organizations in the nation to integrate a full range of health-related specialties with more traditional fields. (4/6)

The Washington Post: Barve Ad Focuses On Law Requiring HMOs To Pay For Blood Work
For the first television ad in his 8th Congressional District Democratic primary campaign, Del. Kumar P. Barve recounts the story behind the passage of a 1997 law requiring HMOs to pay for blood work. Barve (D-Montgomery) sponsored the measure after he learned about the crisis confronting Osama Farrag, a Gaithersburg constituent, who faced bankruptcy because his infant son required daily transfusions not covered by his health maintenance organization. (Turque, 4/6)