Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Bitter CRISPR Dispute Could Be Revived As University Of California Is Granted Patent; Arizona Nursing Facility Backtracks Over Closure
Stat: University Of California To Get CRISPR Patent, Likely Reviving Legal Dispute
It has taken nearly six years, detours for bitter legal challenges, and tens of millions of dollars in legal fees, but the foundational CRISPR-Cas9 patent for which the University of California applied in March 2013 will soon be granted, according to documents posted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday, throwing yet another monkey wrench into genome editing’s tangled IP landscape. (Begley, 2/8)
The New York Times: Arizona Nursing Center Where Incapacitated Woman Was Raped Will Now Stay Open
On Thursday, operators of a health care center in Phoenix where an incapacitated woman was raped and gave birth last year announced that they would close it down. But on Friday, the operator, Hacienda HealthCare, backtracked. It said it now planned to stay open, under increased state oversight, after regulators balked, saying in a letter that they were concerned about the “health and safety” impacts of moving the center’s patients elsewhere if it was shuttered. (Zaveri, 2/8)
Arizona Republic: Hacienda HealthCare Won't Close Facility Where Patient Was Raped
One day after Hacienda HealthCare announced it would close its intermediate-care facility where a patient was raped, the state has stepped in to keep it open. ...Officials with those two state agencies on Friday pushed back on Hacienda's announcement that it would close the 60-bed facility at 1402 E. South Mountain Ave. and instead gave the nonprofit entity an ultimatum: Bring in a third-party manager or allow the state health department to assume licensing authority. (Innes, 2/8)
Los Angeles Times: Poor, Elderly And Too Frail To Escape: Paradise Fire Killed The Most Vulnerable Residents
Dorothy Mack had crippling back pain and deteriorating eyesight. Helen Pace used a walker and could barely hear. Teresa Ammons suffered a stroke in 2017 and couldn’t drive. Although each woman had a different frailty, their final circumstances were strikingly similar: They were all seniors on fixed incomes, they all lived alone, and they all died when the Camp fire roared through their mobile home park. (Newberry, 2/10)
Reveal: Concussion Laws: How Does Your State Stack Up?
Of note: No laws specifically address the long-term risk of repeated hits to the head, which currently is a major concern in contact sports, particularly football. We aggregated state laws to create an easy way for you to compare yours with others in a series of graphics. (Harris, Rangarajan and Miner, 2/9)
WBUR: With New 'Telehealth' Benefit, MassHealth Lets Patients Get Therapy From Their Own Couch
Patients in MassHealth, the Massachusetts Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, will no longer have to schedule an in-person appointment to see their therapist, psychiatrist or substance abuse counselor. Instead, they can now use interactive audio and video technology, or "telehealth," the Baker Administration announced Friday. The announcement follows a report from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation that highlighted "critical gaps" in access to mental health care and addiction services. (Harrison, 2/8)
Reuters: Florida Caregiver Charged After Mentally Disabled Woman Gives Birth
A Florida man has been charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disabled woman who became pregnant four years ago at a group home where he worked as a caregiver. Willie Shorter, 58, was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a disabled adult after a test showed his DNA matched that of the child of the woman who was identified only as "DB," Rockledge, Florida, police said in a court affidavit. (2/8)
The Associated Press: Judge Critical Of Mass. Mental Health Services For Children
A federal judge has criticized Massachusetts for being too slow to provide mental health services to low-income children. The Boston Globe reports U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor in Springfield rebuked the state in an order Thursday and denied its request for those services to be removed from court oversight. (2/9)
The Hill: Arizona Considers Declaring Porn A Public Health Crisis
A Republican state lawmaker in Arizona has introduced a resolution that would declare pornography a public health crisis. A measure introduced by state Rep. Michelle Udall (R) passed through the Arizona House Committee on Health & Human Services on Thursday, the first hurdle in its path to a full vote, AZ Central reported. (Gstalter, 2/9)
Tampa Bay Times: All Children’s Says 13 Heart Surgery Patients Were Hurt By Care
An internal review by Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has found more than a dozen incidents in which children in the hospital’s heart unit were harmed by the care they received. The cases should have been immediately reported to state officials, the hospital’s interim president told employees during private town halls this week. None were reported until recently. (McGrory and Bedi, 2/10)
Los Angeles Times: Orthodox Jewish EMT Service Faces Fight From L.A. Fire Department, And A Powerful Fire Union
It started with a few bites of ice cream with cashew and ended with a ride in an ambulance run by an Orthodox Jewish emergency medical service. In 2017, 2-year-old Rus Amster was on her way home with her family after Shabbat lunch in Baltimore when she began throwing up. Within minutes, her stomach was swollen with puffy blotches, and she had difficulty breathing. (Miller, 2/10)
St. Louis Public Radio: New St. Louis Health Director Wants To Tackle Sexually Transmitted Diseases
The St. Louis Department of Health's new director plans to make addressing the city's high rate of sexually transmitted diseases a top priority. Fredrick Echols will become the city’s new health director Feb. 19, Mayor Lyda Krewson announced Thursday. Echols is currently director of communicable diseases for the St. Louis County Department of Public Health. (Fentem, 2/9)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Flu Rises And Remains High In Georgia
The Georgia Department of Public Health said 5 percent of patient visits to doctors were for the flu during the week ending Feb 2. That’s up from 4.4 percent of visits the week before, according to the most recent report released on Friday. (Oliviero, 2/8)
Boston Globe: Walsh Announces Grove Hall Neighborhood Trauma Team To Help Residents Affected By Violence
The Boston Public Health Commission will partner with Project RIGHT Inc. and Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center to provide greater community outreach and support to Grove Hall’s residents, the city said in a statement. The new Grove Hall team will join existing teams in Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, and Mattapan, the statement said. (Hilliard, 2/9)
The Star Tribune: Blue Cross Blue Shield Parent Diversifies With Asset Management
Workers who manage assets at Eagan-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota look after a portfolio of investments and holdings with a value of roughly $1.6 billion. Over the past 12 months, Blue Cross officials have decided to try leveraging this expertise by creating a business called Aware Asset Management, a federally registered investment adviser that large companies including other insurers can hire for help with managing investments. (Snowbeck, 2/9)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: NE Ohio Alzheimer’s Homes Grapple With Offering With Medical Marijuana
Executives with a Northeast Ohio memory care company, which has Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, say the section of Ohio medical marijuana law covering caregivers is nearly impossible to adhere to. The issue with the caregiver section of state law, combined with the conflicting marijuana prohibition in federal law, makes the decision difficult over whether to give patients the drug at KemperHouse, which has facilities in Strongsville and Highland Heights, serving about 160 residents. (Hancock, 2/8)
Dallas Morning News: Feds Will Get Oversight On Dallas Area Psych Hospital After Reported Patient Safety Lapses
A DeSoto psychiatric hospital — which the federal government said had put patients in “immediate jeopardy” of harm — will continue to receive Medicare funding after officials agreed to a special oversight arrangement. Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital was set to lose access to the money Friday after federal inspections reported serious lapses in patient care. But the feds say the hospital this week signed what is known as a systems improvement agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Chiquillo, 2/9)
Denver Post: Kaiser Permanente Colorado Cuts Another 200 Jobs As It Changes "Organizational Structure"
Kaiser Permanente Colorado, the largest insurer in the state, is laying off about 200 employees — again. The latest round of layoffs, which follows 200 jobs cut in November, is the result of Kaiser shaking up its operations after recording millions of dollars in losses. (Seaman, 2/8)
Pioneer Press: Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Program Due For Sweeping Changes, Says Lawmaker
Minnesota’s medical marijuana program could undergo sweeping changes under a new House bill that aims to increase patient access and ease restrictions on producers. The state’s two medical marijuana producers could open twice as many dispensaries under the proposal from state Rep. Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina. Parents of adolescent patients would also be allowed to administer the medicine on school grounds. (Faircloth, 2/9)
Health News Florida: Patronis Seeks Banking Changes For Medical Marijuana
Citing a “tremendous safety threat,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is asking President Donald Trump to use his executive power to allow banks to do business with state-authorized medical marijuana companies. Medical marijuana has become a multibillion-dollar industry throughout the nation, but banks are shunning cannabis companies because pot remains illegal under federal law. (Kam, 2/8)
