State Highlights: Calif. Health Providers’ Dispute Threatens Coverage; Mass. Focuses On Cost Control

The Associated Press: Fight Threatens Thousands Of Californians' Health Coverage
A contract dispute between health insurance provider Blue Shield of California and the Sutter Health network of doctors and hospitals is threatening to force nearly 280,000 consumers in Northern and Central California to find new doctors. Blue Shield notified more than 139,000 customers last week that they should be prepared to leave the Sutter Health network. (1/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Blue Shield Warns Clients It May End Coverage With Sutter Health
A tense contract dispute between Blue Shield of California and the Sutter Health network of doctors and hospitals may leave nearly 280,000 Northern and Central California consumers searching for someplace else to get health care. (Colliver, 1/19)

WBUR: Trying To Turn Up Heat On Health Cost Control In Mass.
In 2012, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to set a goal to cut health care spending. In 2013, the state beat the goal. Spending grew 2.3 percent, well below the gross state product (GSP), 3.6 percent. Now, at the start of 2015, the state’s largest employer group says good, time to set a more aggressive goal. (Bebinger, 1/16)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Brownback Budget Includes Medicaid Changes, Tobacco Tax Increase
Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration outlined a sweeping budget plan Friday that includes changes to Medicaid and increases in the state’s tobacco and alcohol taxes. Budget Director Shawn Sullivan said closing a $650 million budget gap will require new tax revenue and slowed expenses in the state’s “three major cost drivers”: public schools, public employee pensions and Medicaid. (Marso, 1/16)

The Sacramento Bee: Hepatitis C Drug’s High Cost Hits California Budget
Last year, after the Food and Drug Administration approved a breakthrough new drug for hepatitis C, health officials around the country warned of dire consequences for state budgets. The drug is expensive – about $1,000 a pill, or $84,000 for a regular course of treatment – and many people it could help receive publicly funded care. In California last week, Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration quantified the impact: Tucked inside Brown’s annual spending plan was $300 million for the cost of new hepatitis C drugs, including Sovaldi, the drug approved in December 2013. (Siders, 1/16)

Los Angeles Times: How Safe Is Your Hospital? A Look At California Ratings
A detailed look at performance data shows many California hospitals continue to struggle with medical errors and injuries to patients — despite industrywide efforts to remedy those problems. ... Since 2012, Leapfrog has been analyzing information it collects as well as data reported to Medicare to issue hospital scores in California and nationwide. The percentage of A-rated hospitals in California reached 43% late last year — the seventh-highest rate among states nationwide. That was up from 40% two years ago. (Terhune, 1/17)

Health News Florida: Florida Hospitals Could Lose $1.3B
Florida’s safety-net hospitals stand to lose 15 percent of the money it receives from Medicaid next year, if state and federal officials don’t renew an agreement to cover care for poor state residents. An independent report released Thursday shows that the ending of the so-called Low-Income Pool funding would result in an immediate $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid money. A total of 124 Florida hospitals would be affected, according the Agency for Health Care Administration. (Shedden, 1/16)

Minnesota Public Radio: Nursing Homes Ask For New Funding To Keep Homes Open
Nursing home owners and workers have told Minnesota legislators that they aren't getting enough money from the state to stay open and to keep the best staff in their facilities for years. This year, however, the political climate is different. The state has a $1 billion surplus and Republicans, who control the Minnesota House, campaigned on the issue during the 2014 election. (Richert, 1/20)

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Anthem To Reward Health Care Providers For Quality, Efficiency
When a doctor takes a call or responds to an email from a patient, or when a medical assistant reminds a patient about an overdue exam or unfilled prescription, the medical practice typically doesn't get paid for its time. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin is taking a small step to change that. The health insurer is creating contracts that will pay primary care physicians a monthly fee to help cover the time-consuming tasks that keep people healthy. (Boulton, 1/18)

The Associated Press: Company's Struggles Highlight Challenges Of Inmate Care
Corizon Health Inc. is under growing pressure around the country after losing five state prison contracts, downgrades by credit analysts and increased scrutiny of care of inmates held by some of its largest customers, including New York City. But Corizon, whose responsibility for 345,000 inmates at prisons and jails in 27 states makes it the country's biggest for-profit correctional health provider, is just one of many firms using a similar model to vie for the billions of dollars states and counties spend on prisoner care. (Geller, 1/19)

The Washington Post: Virginia Doctor Tries Truck-Stop Medicine To Keep Family Practice Alive
The massive truck stops just off I-81 here offer diesel, hot coffee and “the best dang BBQ in Virginia.” There’s something else, too: a small-town doctor who performs medical exams and drug tests for long-haul drivers, an innovative effort to keep his beloved family practice afloat. At a time when doctors are increasingly giving up private practice, Rob Marsh still operates his medical office in tiny Middlebrook, Va., about 15 miles from Raphine and 50 miles west of Charlottesville. (Svrluga, 1/19)

NPR: After Aurora Shooting, A 'New Way Of Responding' To Mental Crises
It's been two and a half years since the Aurora, Colo. theater shooting in which James Holmes allegedly killed 12 people at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Jury selection for the 2012 incident is scheduled to start Tuesday. One of the reasons why it took so long to get to court was the battle over Holmes' psychiatric evaluations. After the shooting, Colorado legislators approved $20 million to change how people going through a mental health crisis can get help. (Hood, 1/19)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Health Official Given Taxpayer-funded Money Resigns
The assistant to Texas Health and Human Services Commission chief Kyle Janek who received a pre-paid MBA at taxpayers' expense resigned on Friday. Casey Haney was Janek's assistant when Janek served as a Texas state senator. He also served as an aide to Jack Stick, the former chief counsel of HHSC who resigned last month following questions about his ties to a $110 million deal for Medicaid fraud software that has since been suspended. (Langford, 1/16)

The Dallas Morning News: Texas Prisons Try Telemedicine To Curb Spending
The high-tech medical consultation, known as telemedicine, uses technology to connect prisoners, who are often housed in remote areas, with medical experts throughout the state. It’s just one way that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is trying to control spending on prison health care. But while telemedicine has shown some success in curbing spending, it hasn’t been enough to stem rising costs due to an aging prison population. (Yasmin, 1/19)

The Baltimore Sun: Discussion Over 'Death With Dignity' Emerging In Maryland
Dr. Lawrence Egbert wishes the dictionary had a better word to describe what happened to more than a dozen Marylanders as he held their hands and watched their lives end. It wasn't suicide, says the doctor who lost his state medical license last month for his role in some of those deaths. Some lawmakers are proposing to enact a death-with-dignity law like those in place in Washington state and Oregon. And an ailing former Annapolis alderman, who has Parkinson's disease and says he is "ready to go," could provide a very personal side to the General Assembly debate. (Dance and Cox, 1/17)

The Washington Post: After Fatal Shooting At El Paso Hospital, VA Police Highlight Nationwide Security Lapses In VA’s Medical System
After last week’s fatal shooting of a psychologist inside an El Paso Veterans Affairs clinic by an Iraq war veteran, the VA’s police force is renewing its long-running calls for more staff, better training and increased resources — from fixing broken radios and cameras to installing metal detectors and developing clear procedures for how to deal with agitated patients. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 1/17)