Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Calif. Considers Injured-Worker Protections Against Banned Medical Providers; Catastrophic Claims On The Rise In Tenn.
The Center For Investigative Reporting: California Bill Could Protect Injured Workers From Convicted Providers
California lawmakers are advancing a bill that would bar medical providers who’ve been convicted of felonies from treating injured workers. The bill would require the state Department of Industrial Relations to ban medical providers who have also been stripped of a medical license or excluded from Medicare or Medi-Cal for a fraud-related offense. Citing a recent investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, bill author Assemblyman Adam Gray, a Merced Democrat, told the Senate labor committee on June 29 that the state needs to stop letting people care for injured workers after they are locked out of other government health programs. (Jewett, 7/13)
The Tennessean: Report: Catastrophic Health Insurance Claims Rise For Businesses
Tennessee is among the most expensive states in the country for high-cost medical, or "catastrophic," claims, according to a report from SunLife Financial that analyzed its stop-loss insurance data. The state, along with Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi, had the highest claim charges associated with what are called catastrophic claims – 27 percent higher than the national average. It was the most expensive region analyzed in the 2016 Catastrophic Claims Conditions report. (Fletcher, 7/13)
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Legislators Hope To Repeal Abortion Laws After Similar Rules Struck Down In Texas
Three Democrats in the Missouri legislature plan to file bills repealing two of the state’s laws restricting abortion facilities, following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that threw out similar measures in Texas. (Bouscaren, 7/13)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Kasich Signs Bills Addressing Developmental Disabilities
In a room lined people with developmental disabilities, Gov. John Kasich signed into law two bills Wednesday he believes will alleviate some of the burden they and their families face. ... Kasich signed two different bills at the St. Joseph Home in Sharonville: House Bill 483, which is aimed to allow more direct nursing from health care staff among other provisions and House Bill 158, which replaces all phrasing of “mental retardation” in the Ohio Revised Code with “intellectual disability.” (Samarghandi, 7/13)
Star Tribune: Minnesota's Health Tech Firms Saw Big Funding Increase In First Half
Minnesota health technology firms saw another sharp increase in investment capital in the first half of the year, according to an industry survey. Through June 30, 64 companies raised $227 million, about $174 million of which came in the second quarter alone, according to research published Wednesday by trade group Medical Alley Association. (Son, 7/13)
The Texas Tribune: See Which Texas Schools Have High Vaccine Exemption Rates
In Travis County, where residents are among the best educated in Texas, efforts by national medical groups to debunk concerns about vaccines appear to be meeting some of the strongest resistance. Parents of school-aged children there are choosing to avoid vaccine requirements at among the highest rates in the state, according to state data. (Smith and Daniel, 7/14)
Health News Florida: Want To Watch A Surgery? Just Log Into Facebook
Dr. Castellano, a plastic surgeon working out of his offices in a retirement community about two hours north of Tampa... has been broadcasting surgeries live for just over a year now, and has posted more than 400 videos. He started with wearable tech, like Google Glass, but found it too limiting, so he moved on to streaming straight from his smartphone. (Miller, 7/14)
Star Tribune: Feds Taking A Close Look At Abbott's Proposed Purchase Of St. Jude Medical
Federal antitrust regulators are closely scrutinizing the proposed $25 billion tie-up of local medical device-maker St. Jude Medical and its much larger acquirer, Chicago-based health care products maker Abbott Laboratories. After market-close Tuesday, the companies alerted investors that they had received a “second request” for information about their proposed deal from the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions. (Carlson, 7/13)
San Antonio Express-News: Marathon Oil Sued Over Use Of Workers’ Health Care Funds
Marathon Oil Co. is accused in a lawsuit of teaming up with an insurance company to embezzle Marathon employee health care funds. The suit, filed by Redoak Hospital in U.S. District Court in Houston, alleges that Marathon entered into “an unlawful agreement” with United Healthcare that allows the Minneapolis-based insurer to use money set aside by Marathon and its workers to cover the health care expenses incurred by employees and dependents of unrelated companies, according to the case filed last month. (Sixel, 7/13)
