State Highlights: Calif. Single Payer Proposal In The Spotlight; Neglect Charges At Md. Assisted-Living Home

Los Angeles Times: You Asked, We Answered. Here Are Some Of Our Readers' Questions On California's Proposed Single-Payer Plan
We had some questions about California’s high-profile bill to establish a single-payer system, in which the state would foot the bill for nearly all healthcare costs of its residents. So we looked into the proposal, asking who would be covered, how it would be paid for and other basic questions about how it would work. Times readers sent us their own questions about about SB 562, the measure by state Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego). Many were rooted in their personal experiences. They asked about how this would change their coverage on Medicare, having health issues while traveling or concerns about access to treatment. The variety of the questions underscored that a single-payer proposal like the one being debated in Sacramento is an enormously complex undertaking. (Mason, 6/23)

The Baltimore Sun: Neglect, Abuse Charges Filed Against Operator Of Lansdowne Adult-Care Home 
The owner and a worker at a Lansdowne assisted-living home where 16 residents were found in a facility licensed for four beds have been charged with multiple criminal counts of neglect and reckless endangerment, the Baltimore County prosecutor's office announced Thursday. Dione Griffin, owner of Griffin's Loving Care Assisted Living, and Dijon Lee, Griffin's 25-year-old daughter and an employee at the home, were indicted last week by a county grand jury and each charged with six counts of vulnerable adult neglect, according to the state's attorney's office. (Haq, 6/22)

Boston Globe: Cancer Researcher Awarded $22M In Suit Against Steward Health Care 
A Suffolk Superior Court jury on Thursday awarded more than $22 million to a cancer scientist who sued Steward Health Care System for breaching her contract and causing an unusual series of events that led to the destruction of her laboratory. The jury sided with the scientist, Lynn Hlatky, who argued that Steward broke its agreement when it spun off her research lab at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in 2013 and stopped supporting her work. (Dayal McCluskey, 6/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal Judge Signals He'll Order Major Changes At Lincoln Hills Because Of Treatment Of Teen Inmates
A federal judge signaled Thursday he is likely to force major changes at Wisconsin's juvenile prison, saying it appears the state excessively uses solitary confinement, pepper spray and handcuffs on teen inmates. (Marley, 6/22)

Denver Post: Colorado Mental Health Institute At Pueblo's Problem With Inmate Competency Evaluations
The state mental hospital cannot keep up with an unexpected surge in court-ordered competency evaluations for accused criminals, the Colorado Department of Human Services said Thursday in asking for relief from a long-standing lawsuit. The department filed to invoke “special circumstances” in a case lodged against the state by Disability Law Colorado. State officials informed the advocacy group in a letter Thursday that the mental hospital cannot hold up its end of the settlement agreement, which requires jail inmates to receive mental health evaluations or treatment within 28 days of receiving paperwork from a judge. (Brown, 6/22)

Concord (N.H.) Monitor: New Hampshire Health Officials Warn Of Syphilis Resurgence
The sexually transmitted disease syphilis is making a resurgence in New Hampshire after almost disappearing a decade ago, and doctors are being warned to look out for it. Health care “providers haven’t seen syphilis for a long time. It may not be on their mind to test for it. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to get the word out there,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said.From January through May of this year, 42 cases of syphilis were reported, more than twice the state’s five-year average of 20 cases during those months, according to Chan’s office. (Brooks, 6/22)

Boston Globe: Marty Walsh To Learn How To Issue Narcan 
City health and public safety officials have already been trained to issue Narcan nasal spray, which can be used in an emergency to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. And now, Mayor Martin J. Walsh will learn how to issue it as well. (Valencia, 6/22)

San Jose Mercury News: Santa Clara County Leads In Safe Medicine Disposal
Over the years we become increasingly dependent upon the benefits of prescription drugs and other medications to relieve pain, treat illnesses and save lives. Yet, when no longer needed, these same medications can turn deadly. (Bradley, 6/22)

Miami Herald: Miami Police Reaffirm Support For Needle Exchange After Complaint
Miami’s fledgling needle-exchange program — approved by lawmakers with the goal of helping addicts stay disease free — has been praised by health authorities and the county’s top police departments... So it was a surprise when the program reported this week that a Miami police commander and three others officers showed up at the Overtown facility to proclaim that the department didn’t support needle exchange and “would continue to arrest our participants.” (Ovalle, 6/22)

The Star Tribune: Hennepin County Adds Staff To Confront Soaring Child Protection Reports
Two children have died this year in incidents involving parental maltreatment in Hennepin County, just as the county is increasing its child protection workers and overhauling its system to better protect children and provide help sooner to families. County leaders hope that more staffers and new programs will help prevent child abuse while shrinking the number of child protection reports, which reached a record high of 20,000 in 2016 — nearly double the number from 2008. (Smith, 6/23)

WABE: Food Insecurity Projected To Grow More In Atlanta's Suburbs
People experiencing food insecurity – not knowing where their next meal will come from – mostly live around downtown Atlanta and south of I-20. But that's changing. A new analysis finds that food insecurity will increase more quickly in the suburbs to the east and west as numbers decrease in-town. (Samuel, 6/22)