Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Calif.'s Sutter Health Gets Hit With $18K Fine Over Lobbying Violations; Colo. Governor Names Interim Insurance Commissioner
Sacramento Bee: Sacramento’s Sutter Fined $18,000 In Failure To Report Lobbying
The Fair Political Practices Commission voted 3-0 Thursday to impose an $18,000 fine against Sacramento-based Sutter Health because it failed to report paying $270,000 for lobbying services between April 2015 and June 2017. The commission could have imposed a penalty up to $45,000, but investigators found no evidence that the health care giant intended to conceal its violations. (Anderson, 12/21)
Denver Post: Michael Conway Named Interim Colorado Insurance Commissioner
Gov. John Hickenlooper has named an interim insurance commissioner for Colorado amid uncertainties with the Obama-era Affordable Care Act — known as Obamacare — following the passage this week of the Republican tax overhaul. Michael Conway will be the state’s insurance commissioner starting Jan. 1, the Department of Regulatory Agencies announced Wednesday. (Paul, 12/21)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Hospitals' Financial Struggles Likely To Continue Into 2018
The list reads like a who’s who of hospital systems in the Chicago area: Advocate Health Care, Edward-Elmhurst Health, Centegra Health System. But it’s a list of hospitals systems that cut jobs this year to deal with financial pressures — not a list any hospital is eager to join. Hospitals in Illinois and across the country faced financial stresses this year and are likely to continue feeling the squeeze into 2018 and beyond, experts say. Those pressures could fuel more cuts, consolidation and changes to patient care and services. (Schencker, 12/21)
The Oregonian: FamilyCare To Operate Through January, Delaying Planned Shutdown
A Medicaid provider that was poised to sever ties with the state at the end of the year has agreed to a 30-day contract extension, its chief executive said Thursday, giving its 113,000 Portland-area clients more time to transfer to another health carrier. FamilyCare president and CEO Jeff Heatherington said the coordinated care organization had reached an agreement with the Oregon Health Authority, the agency that oversees the state's Medicaid program, to continue operating until Jan. 31. (Njus, 12/21)
The Baltimore Sun: Gov. Hogan Appoints Robert Neall As Health Secretary, Makes Schrader Chief Operating Officer
Gov. Larry Hogan has appointed Robert L. Neall, a veteran public official who has held many roles in government, to run the Maryland Department of Health. Neall, 69, replaces Dennis R. Schrader, who failed to win state Senate confirmation as health secretary. Schrader will take on the role of the department’s chief operating officer, the Governor’s Office announced Thursday. (Dresser, 12/21)
The Star Tribune: Health Officials Expect Minnesota Flu Cases To Rise
Over the past several weeks, federal health officials have reported that some Southern states have been the hardest hit and that cases were picking up in several others, including Wisconsin. Travel to and from the affected regions will spread the flu bug, and Minnesota health officials in the past few weeks have seen several signs that more people are getting sick. (Howatt, 12/21)
Denver Post: As Colorado’s Rural Sheriffs Struggle On Front Lines Of Mental Health Care, They Will Stop Throwing Mentally Ill In Jail Without Charges
The state’s law enforcement officers, particularly those in rural counties, find themselves on the front lines of mental health care. When a family can’t handle a person or when the crisis plays out in a public place such as a school, grocery store or park, law enforcement officers are called. It’s one more responsibility for rural sheriffs and deputies who already must provide a long list of services mandated by the state, including courthouse security, fire protection and issuance of concealed-carry permits. The work is expensive, and counties still struggling to recover from the recession can be challenged to pay for it. Those same deputies find themselves working long hours, patrolling alone and far from any backup. (Phillips, 12/21)
Nashville Tennessean: Nashville General Hospital Board Meets Amid Plans To End Inpatient Care
As a shutdown of inpatient care at Nashville General Hospital looms, its governing board voted Thursday to extend CEO Joseph Webb's contract through June 2018, with the option of renewing the contract for an additional year. Webb's contract was due to expire Jan. 4. Its extension will include the same terms: a $350,000 annual salary and car allowance. It wasn't immediately clear if Webb would accept the contract. (Wadhwani and Boucher, 12/21)
California Healthline: Near Incineration Of Psychiatric Hospital Highlights Gaping Need For More Beds
As fire raged in Ventura, Calif., earlier this month, Gracie Hartman made her way to the county fairgrounds to look for her friend, Fernando. She found him there at the evacuation center, among 69 patients from the Vista del Mar acute psychiatric hospital, one of two such facilities in the county. They had been removed with little time to spare as the hospital was overtaken by flames. Over the next couple of days, Fernando was transferred to one general hospital as a stopgap, then to another, because, unlike the first, it would accept his insurance. (Feder Ostrov, 12/21)
