State Highlights: Calif. Nurses Launch Campaign Targeting Lawmaker Who Pulled Single-Payer Bill; Audit Of Ga. Health Plan Finds Thousands Of Ineligibles
Media outlets report on news from California, Georgia, Minnesota, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia.
San Jose Mercury News:
California Single Payer Health Care Backers Dog Democrat
The surprise decision by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to block California’s single-payer health care bill, which the Democrat on Friday called “woefully incomplete,” has so infuriated the California Nurses Association — the bill’s sponsor — that the group has launched an aggressive campaign to pressure him to change his mind. The speaker says he’s even getting threats of violence online, directed at him and his family — a claim that a union spokesman on Wednesday dismissed as an attempt to distract the public from his actions. (Murphy, 6/28)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Lawmaker Death Threats For Blocking Universal Health Care
Anger over Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon’s decision to shelve universal health care legislation in California has boiled into aggressive protests and even violent rhetoric against the Democratic leader. Rendon said Wednesday that he and his family have experienced “distressing” death threats since announcing late last Friday that the “woefully incomplete” Senate Bill 562 would not move forward this year. (Koseff, 6/28)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia Saves Up To $56 Million Booting Ineligibles From Health Plan
Department of Community Health officials audited employees and dependents on the plan, which covers 640,000 Georgians. It found that almost 16,000 dependents of plan members were receiving coverage even though they were ineligible. (Salzer, 6/28)
The Star Tribune:
Summer Eats App Helps Minnesota Kids Take Bite Out Of Hunger
The nonprofit Hunger Impact Partners created the free app and launched it this summer, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education and Minneapolis Public Schools. Summer meal sites include community centers, libraries, food trucks in parks, churches and schools. (Prather, 6/28)
Georgia Health News:
Grady Gets Big Corporate Grant To Help Fight HIV
The Grady Health Foundation announced Wednesday that a giant biopharmaceutical company is donating $2 million to help renovate the Grady system’s HIV/AIDS center in Atlanta. The Grady Ponce de Leon Center, which opened in 1993, serves about 6,000 patients annually from a 20-county area that includes Fulton and DeKalb, which have the highest prevalence of HIV in the state. (Miller, 6/28)
Miami Herald:
Miami Beach Wants To Regulate Pharmacies So It Can Regulate Medical Pot
After state lawmakers passed legislation governing Florida’s medical marijuana industry this month, local zoning regulations for dispensaries being considered in Miami Beach have stalled. The new state regulations pre-empt local governments from regulating medical cannabis dispensaries any more than they regulate pharmacies, blowing a hole in the zoning plans of Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach. (Flechas and Dixon, 6/28)
Boston Globe:
Medford Hospital Sharply Cutting Inpatient Services
Hallmark Health System plans to significantly slash inpatient services at its struggling hospital in Medford beginning this fall, the company said Wednesday. Officials said they plan to close 50 of the 98 inpatient beds at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, including all 40 medical/surgical beds and all 10 intensive care beds. (Dayal McCluskey, 6/28)
Houston Chronicle:
Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital Seeks More Volunteers
Officials at the recently opened Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital are seeking volunteers who are interested in helping out at the $168 million facility. Currently, the hospital's program includes 45 active volunteers. Positions are open to those who are retired, community members in the workforce, and college students. (Bradley, 6/28)
Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Virginia Launches Statewide Collaborative To Enhance Care Of Mothers, Infants
Every year, more babies are born in withdrawal from drugs — and as the nationwide opioid epidemic rages on, the problem has only gotten worse. Several regional hospital collaboratives around the state have worked to share best practices for caring for infants and mothers, but new funding in the state budget has allowed for the creation of the statewide Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative. (O'Connor, 6/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Homeless Camps Becoming Entrenched In Oakland
San Francisco has a mature infrastructure to help the homeless — from cutting-edge Navigation Centers that help people find shelter to a recent $100 million charitable donation to support the chronically destitute. Oakland is still experimenting with how to respond to the crisis. (Garfoli and Veklerov, 6/28)
Boston Globe:
A Medical Marijuana Dispensary Might Be Coming To Newbury Street
A medical marijuana dispensary could move in among the retail shops on Newbury Street next summer, after the Boston City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to let the project proceed. The nonprofit that proposed the facility at 331 Newbury St., Compassionate Organics, will need additional approvals from the state Department of Public Health and Boston zoning and health officials before it can start selling cannabis to registered patients. (Adams, 6/28)
